Leaving the equipment hall, Wei Zhi and Shan Chong silently moved towards the hotel, maintaining a not-so-intimate distance of one meter apart, one in front and one behind.
During the walk, Wei Zhi turned back eight times to look at the turtle corpse dangling from the man’s hand, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Unfortunately, he completely ignored the atmosphere of her wanting to speak, all the way until they reached the hotel entrance. He jerked his chin and said, “Go in.”
He hadn’t even removed his face guard, just his helmet which he held in his hand, with his board tucked under his arm as he stood under the light.
Wei Zhi blinked, waved at him, and pushed open the hotel door. After a moment’s thought, she looked back at him once more, hesitated, then waved again before bending down to slip through the gap of the open door.
When she reached the hotel lobby and looked back, the man who had been standing outside the door was gone.
She felt a bit disappointed, yet also conflictingly relieved. She rubbed her cold-stiffened hands and pressed the elevator button to return to her room.
The elevator descended from the high floors, taking quite a while. Wei Zhi stared blankly at a mottled spot in the corner of the wall, then thought of her new goggles again.
Her mood was a bit elated at receiving a gift from someone! But also a little uneasy. After much deliberation, she took out her phone, opened Taobao, and searched for “Burton M4” using the keywords. The first result which looked like snow goggles showed a price of 1,098 yuan, with free shipping.
…Oh, just over a thousand yuan, not too bad.
Wei Zhi clutched her phone, just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she suddenly noticed something off about the keywords in her peripheral vision. She squinted and held the phone closer to the screen for a better look—
[Burton Men’s Autumn/Winter Anon M4 Ski Goggles Anti-fog Protective Lens.]
…Lens.
Lens?
One lens…
1,098?
Huh?
Then how much is the frame?
Is it free?
………………………
Wei Zhi (horrified): “Eeeeeeeeeeeek?!!!!!!!!!”
…
Meanwhile.
After personally seeing his little disciple walk back to the ski resort hotel, looking back every few steps, Shan Chong returned to the relatively run-down apartment building next to the ski resort.
Unlike tourists, most of the skiers who stay in Chongli ski resort for the season live in this apartment building. It’s close to the ski resort and quite cheap if rented by the month—during peak season, it only costs about 3,000 yuan a month, and can even be shared.
Carrying his snowboard, he took the old, worn elevator plastered with small advertisements slowly up to the third floor, then walked to a room at the far corner. The man finally came to a stop.
He took out his key and opened the door. As soon as the door opened, a wave of warm air mixed with the aroma of food washed over him, along with the yellow glow of light spilling out and the noisy sound of a TV.
Though simple, the apartment was decorated quite cozily in a Japanese-style natural wood theme. In the center of the living room was a sofa and coffee table. Scattered on the carpet were Beici, who shared the apartment with Shan Chong… as well as several uninvited guests.
Peanuts and junk food were opened and placed on the table, two or three bottles of beer casually set within easy reach. Several men lounged lazily on the sofa or carpet, gathered around watching a horror movie.
A few crumbs of potato chips were scattered on the carpet. Shan Chong’s eyes swept over them, but he didn’t even furrow his brow.
He pretended not to see.
“Master Dad, you’re back,” Beici called out lazily from the sofa, without even lifting his head.
After a moment of no response, there was a “poof” sound as a damp, cold plush toy hit him in the face.
Beici, who still had popcorn in his mouth, was caught off guard and nearly bit his tongue. He sat up with a start, hurriedly pulling the plush toy off his face… Upon closer inspection, it was none other than the turtle butt pad he had reverently presented to his little junior sister a few days ago.
“It’s broken,” Shan Chong said. “Fix it.”
Beici shook the pad, turned it over, and saw the burst seam and cotton poking out near the butt. “Geez,” he asked Shan Chong, “Did you and the current owner of this turtle butt pad, Miss Junior Sister, get into a fight on the ski slope or something?”
Shan Chong: “?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen one of these things worn to the point of bursting!” To emphasize his shock, he even thumped the little turtle a couple of times. “Such a thick pad!”
“She falls a lot,” Shan Chong took off his jacket and tossed it casually onto the sofa. “And doesn’t let anyone mention it. Gets angry if you do.”
His tone carried a hint of helplessness.
As soon as he spoke, the group of idle onlookers who had been watching TV immediately turned their attention away from the screen, all looking over, clearly finding this drama more horrifying than the horror movie.
The bystanders chimed in one after another—
“Am I dreaming? What kind of tone is this from Brother Chong?”
“Damn, Chong God, if you could use such a gentle tone with me, my 1080 would’ve been nailed ages ago! Wah!”
“Wait, hold on, why do you all seem to understand… What’s the gossip? Who are we talking about? Who falls a lot?”
“…Who else could it be, do any of us look like we’d use a turtle butt pad—Remember that photo? The one of her putting on a board!”
…
Three seconds of collective silence.
The bystanders suddenly realized: “Oh!”
Beici glanced at the waist pack Shan Chong had just put down and added, “Dai Duo’s goggles were probably given to her too.”