Teacher Nian’s WeChat profile picture showed Crayon Shin-chan in red swim trunks floating in a pool.
To be honest, it was quite cute.
Except that it completely mismatched his actual personality.
His WeChat name, however, was cool—just the single character “Chong.”
The same “Chong” as in Hakubara Takashi.
What a coincidence (doge.jpg).
[Little Girl Chirp: Heart.jpg]
She casually sent an emoji.
The other side showed “typing,” and after a moment, a line of text appeared.
[Chong: You’re not coming this afternoon? Are you sure?]
[Little Girl Chirp: Sure!]
[Chong: Then I’m going to the park this afternoon. Don’t come peering through the ski school windows looking for me everywhere later. It’s embarrassing.]
[Little Girl Chirp: Okay, I promise I won’t look for you!!!]
After a while, he replied.
[Chong: …]
[Chong: Fine.]
…
Shan Chong returned to the coaches’ lounge to warm up by the stove while waiting for Lao Yan, Bei Ci, and others to have lunch together.
The coaches’ lounge was quite lively. Everyone was gathered around someone who was showing off protective gear on their bottom—
It was the turtle-shaped butt pad that novice skiers always wore, visible everywhere on the slopes.
There were matching knee pads too.
“I’m telling you, this thing is really warm. When you fall, it doesn’t hurt at all!” the person said loudly. “No wonder push-off specialists love using it!”
Shan Chong glanced over. The young man with spiky hair, wearing a black hoodie with “Rampage” written on the back instead of proper ski wear, was none other than his beloved disciple (backup), Bei Ci.
He walked over and bent down to feel the little turtle. It was soft and quite thick.
“Master Dad, you’re back!” Bei Ci turned around.
“Where did you get the little turtle?”
“A student I taught graduated and went home, leaving this as a thank-you gift.”
“…”
“I’m telling you, this little turtle butt and knee protector is useful. When you kneel on the ground, it’s not cold at all. Mom doesn’t have to worry about me getting rheumatism while teaching newbies to push off anymore…” Bei Ci lovingly stroked the turtle, his mouth unstoppable. “Oh, right, do you still have classes this afternoon? Are we finally going to the park today? A bunch of people are waiting for you, but you insist on teaching push-offs. Are you crazy? I can’t keep being the backup anymore!”
“I’m free this afternoon,” Shan Chong said, pinching the turtle’s tail and shaking it lazily as he lowered his eyes.
“Let’s go then.”
…
Wei Zhi put down her phone and looked around. It was lunchtime, and the equipment hall was very busy with people coming and going.
There was an interesting detail here—
At this time, everyone had taken off their boards to go eat. Whether it was a snowboard or skis, people just casually placed them on the racks outside the equipment hall and walked away.
Except for newbies renting resort equipment to try out, seasoned snow enthusiasts usually owned their gear. Good brand snowboards generally cost between three to ten thousand yuan, with skis being even more expensive… Yet everyone just left them there, not worrying about losing their equipment. It was as if there was an unspoken agreement that at the ski resort, no one would take or steal someone else’s gear.
Leaving something worth thousands or tens of thousands of yuan unattended in a public place for hours, without any locks—this was unthinkable outside the context of this community.
Why was this sport, with its remarkably high average integrity, still considered niche?
It truly shouldn’t be.
Wei Zhi sat in a chair, observing people with great interest, and casually sent her thoughts to Jiang Nanfeng.
Jiang Nanfeng’s reply was equally unsympathetic.
[Ginger: Are you so bored you’re doing the police’s job?]
[Ginger: You must have some serious issues.]
[Little Girl Chirp: …]
[Little Girl Chirp: How do you still have the energy to scold me when you’re working hard on the mountain?!]
[Ginger: Because I’m taking a break! The view up here is great. Can’t I sit and enjoy the scenery with my puppy coach?]
Wei Zhi smiled and was about to type more when two girls carrying snowboards floated past her—
“I just caught Lao Yan on the advanced A trail.”
“Oh? Wasn’t Bei Ci supposed to be in the park today, imparting wisdom? Why is he on the advanced trail instead of burying his head in practice?”
“He was teaching a newbie girl how to push off, holding hands and everything.”