Ski Into Love (Hush, the king is hibernating) [Requested]

Part 147

Searching for the Full Moon on a Snowy Day (Part 3)

November 16, 2024, Zhangjiakou, Chongli, Summit Ski Resort.

The ski season had officially begun.

The familiar equipment hall at the summit bustled with activity.

The Winter Olympics had successfully concluded, leaving behind three hundred million people eagerly awaiting winter, ready to flock to the slopes en masse each year.

In the locker area's rest zone, a man stood behind an open locker door, slowly donning his ski suit.

Not far from him, on a long bench, sat two girls—one big, one small.

The older girl wore pink overalls with a white hoodie underneath. Her long, curly hair was casually tied back. She sat hunched over, focused on the ice cream in her hand.

Next to her was a toddler dressed in a Stella Lou onesie. Likely due to the thick layers underneath, her arms and legs looked plump, with the character's ears perked up on her head. She, too, was engrossed in her ice cream.

Wei Zhi turned to glance at her daughter's ice cream and frowned.

"It's about to melt all over your hands. I told you we could share one. Your hands will get all sticky—let your dad help you eat some."

Shan Xin Yue looked at her ice cream, now a melting mess dripping down the cone.

She hesitated before extending her hand towards the locker door.

The man, steadying himself against the locker, peeked out.

One look at the gooey mess in Shan Xin Yue's hand made him pause.

"You try to feed me everything. What did I do wrong as a father?"

Wei Zhi took the ice cream from her daughter's hand, quickly finished it off, and pulled out a wet wipe to clean the child's hands.

With downcast eyes, she told her daughter, "See? On the way here, you kept calling 'Daddy, Daddy' sweeter than an oriole's song. But does your dad pay any attention to you?"

Shan Chong: ".........."

Shan Chong: "Are you trying to drive a wedge between us?"

Wei Zhi: "Well, you could be smoother about it. Don't give me reasons to criticize."

The man expressionlessly pulled out a face guard from his snowboard bag and put it on.

Just as he finished, a group passing by the lockers suddenly stopped, took a couple of steps back, and peered in their direction.

Wei Zhi was still bent over, wiping her daughter's hands.

"Chong God?" one of them tentatively asked.

"Is that you?"

Shan Chong grunted in affirmation, his voice deep and magnetic—the familiar tone often heard giving remote instructions in their group chats.

Simultaneously, Wei Zhi, who had been looking down, raised her head to glance at the newcomers.

One of them exclaimed, "Oh!" It was one of Shan Chong's disciples from the group chat, nicknamed "Horizon of Marrakech"...

Years had passed, but he still looked only about 22 or 23, just a youngster.

Horizon first called out "Sister-in-law," then turned his gaze to Shan Xinyue, who was peeking out. "Ah!" he exclaimed, "Little Man is here too!"

Little Man was Shan Xin Yue's nickname.

Originally, she was just called "Full Moon," but nicknames tend to evolve—from "Stinky Baby" to "Sweetie" to "Man-Man" to "Yue-Yue" to "Stinky-Stinky," finally settling on "Little Man," a nickname both cute and endearing.