After putting on their helmets and entering the snow field, Beijiao still refused to look at Jiang Ran directly, even though she spoke in a conciliatory tone: “I just thought that since it was your first time on the snow yesterday, using a small turtle wouldn’t be a big issue… I didn’t expect you to fall so hard. When I asked you, you insisted you could handle it.”
She murmured beside his ear. As they entered the snow field and the hypnotic music began, the boy walking ahead slightly slowed his pace, took half a step back, and leaned toward her ear: “Shh.”
Jiang Ran was puzzled: “What’s wrong?”
Beijiao stared straight ahead, his thick eyelashes quivering slightly: “I don’t talk to traitors.”
“…You’re so petty.”
“Betraying me and then criticizing me,” Beijiao sighed, “Indeed, what’s easily obtained is rarely cherished. I shouldn’t have been so casual about going home with you.”
“Buy-buy-buy!” Jiang Ran gritted her teeth and spat out the words, “I’ll buy you inner protective gear when we go home, okay!”
As they spoke, they had already reached the gate entrance of the snow field cable car—
Yesterday, they had practiced frontside and backside pushing on the beginner slope, as well as the falling leaf technique, rolling all over every corner of the beginner slope.
Therefore, on the way here, Jiang Ran had already agreed with Beijiao that today they would first go to the advanced slope to practice falling leaf several times with some speed for warming up. Then they would return to the beginner slope to learn edge changes. Slowing down would give a feeling of dimensional superiority, perhaps making the brief moment during edge changes, when the line of sight couldn’t keep up, less frightening.
At this moment, Beijiao swiped his card and entered the gate. He didn’t seem particularly interested in Jiang Ran’s offer to buy him protective gear. However, at the cable car, he held his board and, for the first time since entering the snow field, turned his head to look at her.
…What was he looking at?
The chairlift at Sunac Snow Field could only seat two people per chair.
And now, they were three people.
Jiang Ran threw her snowboard on the ground and asked him, “What are you looking at? Do you know how to get on and off the cable car with your board?”
Beijiao, of course, did not.
“Getting on and off the cable car with your board is a basic skill in snowboarding. In domestic snow fields, if the management is lenient, it’s okay, but in strictly managed or foreign snow fields, it’s generally uncommon to allow skiers to board these chairlifts while holding their snowboards.”
“That does sound pretty basic.”
“Because it is basic.”
“Then why didn’t you teach me yesterday?”
“Because I feel like it. Don’t comment on my teaching pace,” Jiang Ran said calmly while demonstrating, “Put your dominant foot, which is your right foot, on the board, leave the other foot free for support on the ground, and scoot forward slightly—”
She pushed off the ground with her back foot and slid forward about two meters on the board with one foot.
“When the cable car approaches, it will pass over a flat area. At that time, you lift the safety bar, stand up—place your completely free back foot on the board, stand steadily inside the bindings, keep the board completely upright and parallel to the direction of travel, and slowly stand up while holding onto the chairlift, then let the cable car push you forward.”
She explained while having Beijiao put on the board with one foot and try gliding on one foot.
He tried it and felt that it didn’t even need to be learned. He seemed to be able to slide forward effortlessly with a slight push, as if he was born knowing how to do it.
So he looked up at Jiang Ran: “Ready to take the cable car?”
“Single-foot control gliding” was indeed the first lesson’s content after confirming the dominant foot. However, Jiang Ran hadn’t strictly followed that order—leaving it until now when they were about to take the cable car to teach it, because yesterday Beijiao had already become quite familiar with the feel of the snowboard. Therefore, today he learned very quickly…
Or rather, he didn’t really learn at all.
He could basically imitate and slide right away.
Thus saving time on these basics.
As they spoke, he had already managed to drag his board, swipe his card through the gate, and stand by the line for boarding the cable car, looking back at Jiang Ran again.
Jiang Ran silently sighed in her heart, thinking that Beijiao indeed needed someone to watch him during his first time getting on and off the cable car. So she patted Song Die’s shoulder and stepped onto her board to join him, taking the same cable car as him.
Song Die rode alone on the next one.
Sitting side by side, Jiang Ran could feel the person beside her exuding a sense of satisfaction.
“Don’t always target Song Die,” she advised him. “Look at him—he didn’t get angry with you every day, he obediently took the cable car alone. Unlike you.”
Beijiao was bending forward, leaning on the railing and intently watching the people below on the slope practicing carving turns—
Early in the morning at Guangzhou Sunac Snow Field, people were already coming in to enjoy the fresh powder snow, usually those practicing carving turns…
Because they specialized in advanced sliding techniques, the quality of the snow significantly affected their standard movements and attention to detail. Good snow and bad snow were entirely different experiences.
He was watching intently when he heard the person beside him scold him, not even lifting his eyelids: “When you talk to me like that, he’s already won.”
Jiang Ran: “What?”
Beijiao: “Have you read the Tao Te Ching?”
Jiang Ran: “Huh?”
Beijiao swung his legs, speaking in a very calm tone: “Not striving is the greatest form of striving.”
Jiang Ran fell silent for a moment, then asked somewhat bewilderedly, “Do you even need the Tao Te Ching to compete with me?”
“I don’t think it’s necessary, but maybe you should ask Song Die,” the boy said sarcastically, “perhaps he’s already started memorizing The Art of War at night.”
…
Perhaps because Song Die was behind them, Beijiao got off the cable car quite seriously, following all the steps Jiang Ran had taught—
Lift the bar, shift his butt sideways outward, place the board on the ground, right foot forward, left foot stepping onto the board near the binding, hold onto the cable car to stand up, and let the cable car push him forward.
At the downhill position of the cable car station, he just needed to slide down naturally.
He didn’t fall.
It was somewhat disappointing that Song Die didn’t fall either.
…
At the top of the mountain, Teacher Jiang began her lesson.
“Do you know what carving turns are?” she asked.
“Alright, you don’t know,” she answered herself.
Beijiao, Song Die: “…”
“Carving turns originally referred to ground-hugging sliding. There’s the European and American EC, which is purely ground-hugging sliding, commonly known as armpit hair giant turns.”
She lifted her arm slightly, “This armpit hair.”
Beijiao, Song Die: “…”
Beijiao: “If possible, I really want to choose a more elegant teacher.”
Song Die: “95% of the time, she is still elegant.”
Jiang Ran completely ignored them: “The EC technique involves the entire arm and body leaning sideways, almost touching the ground. This style of play is known as European carving… Later, the Japanese combined this style with their normal freestyle sliding, eventually forming what we commonly call carving turns.”
“Actually, carving turns are also called technical sliding. Technical sliding is mass sliding, suitable for the general public, not a very professional style of play—in Japan, carving turns are roughly divided into two categories, one called SAJ and the other JSBA.” Jiang Ran lifted her foot slightly to nudge Beijiao, “Did you notice while you were lying on the cable car watching others slide, even though they were all touching the ground while carving, their postures weren’t exactly the same?”
Beijiao thought for a moment and nodded.
“SAJ pursues a free-style line, during the sliding process, accompanied by edge changes, the center of gravity constantly shifts, the sliding path is long, and the posture is more graceful; while JSBA pursues high speed and stability, during the sliding process, the body’s center of gravity always remains in the middle of the snowboard, powered by the core, relying on deep flexing and a low center of gravity to achieve stability at high speeds. Compared to SAJ, JSBA’s sliding speed is faster.”
Jiang Ran said, “My sliding style is JSBA, so in the future, you will also be JSBA.”
“What if I think SAJ looks better?” Beijiao asked.
“Then I will break your legs until you admit that JSBA is the best in the world.” Jiang Ran said expressionlessly.
Beijiao: “…”
Jiang Ran: “Besides these two systems, there’s also Infinity, a new system created by the grandfather of carving turns, Hiruma and Tokuda, based on their own sliding styles. However, this style has little to do with beginners. I’m just telling you this so you know, otherwise you might end up with knowledge gaps when you go out to brag in the future, which would make me lose face.”
Beijiao: “What’s the significance of knowing this?”
Jiang Ran: “SAJ and JSBA competitions focus on completely different aspects. In the future, when you learn and go out to compete and build your reputation, don’t go to the wrong event.”
Beijiao: “Why would I compete?”
Jiang Ran: “Who would be willing to pay extra money for lessons from someone without a reputation?”
Beijiao shut up.
Because she made a lot of sense.
After Jiang Ran finished speaking, she taught them the first step of proper carving turns—folding.
Which was what Beijiao did within the tenth minute of his first day on the snow.
“First, frontside, push with the front foot, bend the back leg, try to bring your chest as close as possible to the thigh of your front leg, pull your hips back into the board, and press your hips toward the front edge.”
She explained while demonstrating. On flat ground, both students did a pretty good job of getting into position.
But once on the snow, it was a different story.
Based on her earlier observations, Beijiao’s first impression was quite similar to most people’s, thinking that carving turns involved a low posture during sliding, allowing the hand to brush the snow surface.
So during the first practice of moving forward on the front edge alone, his left hand instinctively reached closer to the snow surface. This action caused his right hand to lift, his whole body to open up, and he forgot the proper folding and bending of his legs, as well as leaning his hips forward—
Jiang Ran initially followed him, thinking there would be an adaptation process, so she let him be.
It wasn’t until the fourth frontside turn, when he bent down and his left hand brushed the snow surface.
He immediately stiffened and stopped.
He sat down by the side of the slope, lowering his head to carefully look at his palm, feeling as if his entire palm was numb. It was hard to describe the smooth and satisfying tactile pleasure he felt the moment his hand touched the snow—
Perhaps every millisecond was shouting: Yes, you’re a carving genius!
He sat there appreciating himself for a while, until there was a loud “swish swish” sound of a board cutting through the snow behind him. He turned his head just in time to see the woman behind him with her long hair flying, quickly approaching him with a frontside turn—
As she got closer and closer, the hand that had been brushing the snow lifted, accompanied by a burst of snow dust, and she was already in front of him!
It looked like she was about to crash into him!
Suddenly, she forcefully stomped and pushed with her back foot. The snowboard, which had been sliding sideways, immediately turned upright. The edge of the board caught the snow, pushing up a huge amount of snow dust, like a snow wall, engulfing everything!
Her sliding speed sharply decreased, and she suddenly braked, maintaining her frontside folded posture, sliding backward down the hill for a meter. Then, she quickly turned the board sideways again, stopping steadily in front of Beijiao.
At this moment, Beijiao was covered from head to toe in the snow that had been sprayed from her sudden stop.
He sat there unmoving, his mind filled with the fierce aura she had displayed when she kicked up the snow wall just before reaching him. He blinked.
Jiang Ran extended her hand and patted the snow off him, her voice gentle: “Don’t do that to strangers on the slope, spraying them with snow. It’s impolite and you might get hit.”
Beijiao: “…”
Looking at the woman in front of him who showed no sign of remorse, he suddenly understood where her high self-esteem and the natural “I’m the best” attitude came from…
If anyone else could slide like she had just done, they’d probably be even more arrogant than her.
He let her brush off the snow from his body, paused for a moment, and then suddenly grabbed her wrist.
The grip was a bit strong, and she let out a slightly exaggerated “Ouch!” while looking up at him in confusion, asking if he was angry about being sprayed with snow.
“How long will it take for me to be as good as you?” he asked.
Jiang Ran was momentarily stunned, her wrist still in his hand, but it didn’t stop her from giving him a slight smile: “If you keep bending down to touch the snow like you just did, not even in your next life.”
He let go of her hand, the surge of admiration and appreciation he had felt for her moments ago instantly extinguished like a bucket of ice water.
Along with it, the joy he had felt the moment he touched the snow was also gone.
“Touching the snow is just a synchronized phenomenon that occurs when the body is in a low posture and the snowboard’s edge is high during carving. It shouldn’t be the standard for good carving. What you just did was really ugly—”
“…”
She actually said he looked ugly!
“I didn’t bend down.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
“I’m not blind.”
“You are blind.”
“Then ask Song Die.”
“No asking,” he said, “you two are in cahoots.”
Jiang Ran thought to herself, well, he won’t admit it. Next time, I’ll follow behind him and record a video, then force him to either swallow his phone or apologize by kowtowing—
As the two argued, Jiang Ran was mentally ranting and wanting to scold the stubborn little brat a bit more when suddenly, a commotion came from below the hill.
Jiang Ran instinctively turned her head and saw that the group of park kids who had previously been playing on the rails and jumps near the edge had suddenly gathered together, discussing something…
Everyone’s expression was very serious, as if something significant had happened.
She blinked a few times, somewhat confused about what had occurred, and then focused again. From the neighboring intermediate slope, Zhao Keyan seemed possessed, tumbling and rolling his way down—
At the bottom of the slope, he bent down, took off his board, and without caring, threw it aside before rushing toward the exit.
“…What’s going on here?”
She muttered, a bad premonition creeping into her mind.
Seeing her look puzzled, Beijiao also didn’t know what had happened. Like a small animal, he looked around for a while, then turned back and asked, “What’s wrong with those people? Why are they panicking?”
Jiang Ran couldn’t answer, so she decided to ask. She handed Beijiao over to Song Die, telling them to support each other and go down the slope on their own. She stood up and quickly slid down—
And she really was fast!
Beijiao hadn’t even had time to see how she slid when he saw her front and back edges deeply cutting into the snow, leaving two very noticeable deep grooves on the already uneven snow surface. Where she passed, the snow was blurred by the dust!
In the blink of an eye, she was already at the bottom of the hill!
She took off her snowboard and dragged it, running in a quick pace to catch up with Zhao Keyan, who was being stopped by other park kids. She approached and hadn’t even had time to ask what was going on when Zhao Keyan grabbed her—
The usual cheerful and never-serious playboy kid was now pale and completely lost, calling her “Ran Jie” several times before finally stammering to tell her, “Chong Ge fell from the jump platform at the Changbaishan training base, spinal fracture, what should I do?”
…
In the chaos, no one noticed that Beijiao had followed them down.
Standing far away, watching Zhao Keyan clinging to Jiang Ran, wanting to take him off because he might get pregnant.
As he approached, he heard the whining, that a familiar person was injured, and the hand he had foolishly extended out was pulled back…
Oh, well then, he decided to turn a blind eye and allow this one time.
Author’s Note:
Information for new readers—
1: Shan Chong is not a male lead; he is the park domain expert in this parallel universe (?) and has no special relationship with the female lead (this will be written in the next chapter; mentioned in advance to avoid misunderstanding)
2: The timeline here has been slightly adjusted, slightly different from the neighboring “King,” where it’s winter. Here, it’s changed to summer, delayed by about a month, but there’s no conflict, so no need to worry.
This won’t be written in detail here, just a side description to introduce the main storyline of this piece. The focus of this chapter is Ran Ran showing the little brat a backward slide and rudely spraying him with snow.
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