0.5 seconds meant half a body length, half a board length.
As Dai Duo’s snowboard tilted 45 degrees and descended, Shan Chong also started!
Dai Duo, being a top competitor, could magnify even a small advantage. With the lead start, he was already two body lengths ahead of Shan Chong before the first gate!
Everyone held their breath.
However, this changed at the first gate. Perhaps to be cautious, Dai Duo, seeing his significant lead, made a wider turn—
His turning speed slowed slightly.
Shan Chong seized this opportunity.
His snowboard didn’t slow down at all during the turn. Using the board’s extreme edge, he completed the first turn with his body almost lying flat on the snow!
This was a highly risky move. Many would fall if they lost control or didn’t tighten their core—
But Shan Chong did it.
After the turn, the board bounced under his feet, and he straightened up, closing the gap with Dai Duo before the next turn!
From a significant initial gap, he caught up a bit at the first gate, then a bit more at the second gate…
By the fifth gate, they were neck and neck again!
The cheers from the crowd were deafening!
Losing his initial advantage, Dai Duo, unlike the emotionless skiing machine Shan Chong, had to reduce his turn radius and slow down less—
But such maneuvers require extreme calm.
In skiing, losing focus means a fall.
At the thirteenth gate, the crowd gasped as the white figure lost control and flew out, crashing into the netting beside the snow track, shaking the net and causing snow to fall from the trees!
Dai Duo was buried in the snow, motionless for a while.
The race ended abruptly, the winner clear.
Shan Chong, seeing the white figure fly out, braked sharply, causing a high snow wall to rise, and stopped steadily between the thirteenth and fourteenth gates.
The once noisy snow track fell silent.
He bent down, took off his board, and picked it up.
Under everyone’s gaze, he walked to the snow pile where Dai Duo lay, stopped, and observed.
Facing away from everyone, they couldn’t see his expression, only feeling the silent, immense pressure from his black-clad figure—
This powerful presence made no one dare to cheer or applaud, despite the clear outcome.
After a long time.
He raised his hand, lifted his goggles, and kicked the person buried in the snow.
At the same time, the oppressive atmosphere vanished.
“If you’re not dead, get up,” Shan Chong’s voice was calm. “Don’t just lie there.”
He said this without any intention of helping Dai Duo up—
Sportsmanship was out of the question.
Never in this lifetime.
Seeing Dai Duo lying there like a useless salted fish felt like coming home, filling him with warmth and joy.
When Dai Duo slowly brushed off the snow and climbed out, a few scattered cheers rang out, quickly merging into a thunderous applause, echoing across the mountain.
Dai Duo ignored the cheers.
He silently took off his board and sat by the snow track, looking up at the man beside him—
Standing still, his dark eyes were unfathomable, backlit by the setting sun, surrounded by a golden glow.
After a long time.
Shan Chong’s eyelashes fluttered, and his thin lips parted.
“Dai Duo.”
Dai Duo’s breath hitched, not remembering the last time he heard his name from this person.
His eyes, filled with resentment, brightened briefly, then dimmed. The young man in the white snowsuit showed a complex expression, about to say something…
When he heard the man’s slow voice from above: “Hand over the goggles.”
Dai Duo: “…”
Dai Duo: “?”
“A race needs stakes,” Shan Chong’s voice was deep and matter-of-fact. “A bet is a bet.”
Ignoring the stunned person in front of him.
He bent down, and pointed at the goggles still on Dai Duo’s face, indicating: What are you looking at? Hand them over.
From a distance, it was another indescribable scene: the young man in white sat in the snow, looking bewildered and disheveled, while the older man in black stood beside him, brushing his goggles and saying something.
In an instant.
Thoughts like “enemies turned friends,” “long-lost friends reunited,” “love and hate,” “if this isn’t love,” and “Shan Chong doesn’t have a girlfriend because of his sexual orientation” flashed through their minds.
In the dead silence.
Only Backstab, running towards them, truly heard what their god was saying—
“Losing the race and not giving up the stakes, why should I race with you? Do I look like I have nothing better to do?”