Qin Xuejun was the biological grandson of Dr. Qin and Madam Mia. He had provided Zhang Jue with countless study notes, and they had long been good friends. Living with him also meant access to top-tier tutoring, so even Mother Zhang’s was delighted when she learned they would be staying together.

But after they actually moved in together, Zhang Jue realized that although Qin Xuejun was called a training resident, his training didn’t stop him from passing the practicing physician’s exam in his first year of graduate school. With his mentor’s favor, he was already doing the work of a resident doctor. This meant he wasn’t home much, and sometimes after a night shift, he would collapse on the couch and sleep deeply.

Qin Xuejun was relatively fast in his progress. Many training residents spent their three-year training period just writing medical records and assisting in minor tasks. In contrast, Qin Xuejun, with a top-tier mentor guiding him through high-difficulty surgeries and multiple published papers, was nearly done with his graduate studies. His achievements made many medical students envious.

From what Zhang Jue knew, Qin Xuejun’s rapid rise was unparalleled domestically. He completed the stages of resident and chief resident before graduating with a PhD. Shortly after receiving his doctorate, he became an attending physician at Harmony Hospital, reputed as an industry legend. While others were slowly progressing, Qin Xuejun, thanks to his talent, hard work, and his mentor’s guidance, sped toward his goals as if on a high-speed train.

But this path was indeed exhausting.

“Sigh, studying medicine is not easy. Hard work.”

Zhang Jue didn’t expect Qin Xuejun to take care of him. He sighed softly, threw a thin blanket over Qin Xuejun, placed a Russian doctor matryoshka on the coffee table, and wheeled himself to heat up some milk.

The house had some homemade bread baked by Qin Xuejun, which tasted just like what Madam Mia made. It seemed to be a family recipe. The pure black rye bread was a bit hard, but its crisp texture combined with the authentic wheat aroma was very tempting.

Zhang Jue tore the bread into pieces and soaked them in milk, eating spoonful by spoonful. The warmth of the milk and the combination of carbohydrates and calcium brought a comforting feeling.

Enjoying his meal, Zhang Jue consumed two-thirds of Qin Xuejun’s bread stash with his permission. As a return gesture, he stocked the freezer with several bags of Wanzai Wharf dumplings.

Despite his busy schedule, Qin Xuejun even grew a lot of vegetables on the balcony, and they thrived, much to Zhang Jue’s envy.

Satisfied and full, Zhang Jue rubbed his belly, wheeled himself outside to sunbathe, and followed along with vocabulary in his earphones.

Sunbathing absorbs vitamin D and promotes growth.

For some reason, since two days ago, Zhang Junbao only took him for therapy in the mornings and had other engagements in the afternoons.

It seemed Zhang Jue hadn’t been this idle in a long time.

Previously, he had been training hard for better competition results, and studying hard after training, always busy without a moment’s rest.
Zhang Jue was just an ordinary person. Despite his talents in sports and studies, without hard work, medals and acceptance letters from prestigious schools wouldn’t fall into his lap.

This injury forced him to take a break, focusing only on recovery and studying, making him feel somewhat lost. Less than three days after returning from Sochi, he already missed the sound of ice skates on ice, the full-body sweat from intense exercise, and the dizziness from high-speed spins.
And the jumps.

Leaping, rotating, landing, gliding out, followed by the coach’s cheers and the audience’s applause. That feeling was even more addictive than completing a solo performance on stage.

He pressed pause on his MP3, leaving the earphones at the word “alive.”

A beeping sound drew his attention.

Turning his head, he saw a toddler in tiger-head shoes that squeaked with each step. She had pigtails, her hands in her sleeves, and wore a bear suit, her face flushed from the sun.

The toddler smiled at the pretty big brother, extended a small hand, offering a piece of hawthorn wrapped in plastic.

Zhang Jue looked around, pointing at himself: “For me?”

The toddler indicated: “Help me open it.”

Oh, she wasn’t giving it to him; she just needed help with the packaging.

Zhang Jue unwrapped it, and the toddler leaned in, biting the hawthorn from his hand before toddling off.

She just left.

Zhang Jue blinked, holding the wrapper, then wheeled himself to throw it away.

At that moment, he received a text from his uncle.

[My dear uncle: I discussed with Coach Song. We’ll still register you for the National Championships. If your condition hasn’t recovered two days before the competition, we’ll withdraw. Even if you can recover, you can’t use the quad jump in the competition.]

Sending this message was the result of Zhang Junbao’s careful consideration. He knew Zhang Jue’s personality well. If the coaching team outright denied his qualification, this kid would definitely cause a scene.

He had previously reduced Zhang Jue’s quad jump training time, and the kid had argued with him about it. This time, outright banning the move in competition—he wasn’t sure if Zhang Jue could calmly accept it.

His uncle was prepared for a fight, but to his surprise, Zhang Jue didn’t object.

[Zhang Jue: Received, thank you, uncle.]

He didn’t cause a scene.

Zhang Junbao felt a pang of sadness. Knowing Zhang Jue’s temperament, how badly must he be injured to agree to such a restriction?

“Junbao, how is it?”

Zhang Junbao came to his senses and nodded to Sun Qian: “Little Jue will definitely recover enough to compete. Thank you for your concern, Commander Sun.”
Sun Qian waved a hand, looking haggard: “As long as he recovers quickly, that’s the best repayment. Sometimes I think the skating fans are right. Maybe there’s some curse on our country’s male singles, causing endless trouble.”

Zhang Junbao stood up straight: “Commander Sun, you’re a Party member. You should believe in materialism!”

Sun Qian replied: “You’re a Party member too, but doesn’t Zhang Jue always wear amulets during draws?”

If it weren’t for the single domestic entry slot, requiring the National Championship to secure Four Continents and World Championship spots, Zhang Junbao wouldn’t want Zhang Jue to participate at all.

However, with the increasing calls for fair competition, some events had to be contested. If Zhang Jue were to withdraw from the National Championships yet still secure spots for Four Continents and the World Championships, people wouldn’t accept it.

Moreover, Sun Qian had his own concerns—whether Zhang Jue could maintain his technical skills during his growth phase.

He seriously asked Zhang Junbao: “Junbao, honestly, if Zhang Jue grows taller than 170 cm before the World Championships, can he still perform the quad jumps?”
Zhang Junbao was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head: “I don’t know.”

Even Shen Liu, at 173 cm, had unstable jumps during his growth phase. He only grew seven centimeters, but Zhang Jue’s growth wouldn’t stop at just seven.
Sun Qian’s heart sank as he opened his notebook.

“Let me tell you something too: Jin Zixuan managed to master the quadruple toe loop (4T). Although Dong Xiaolong and Fan Zhaoying had injury issues, their triple axels were stable. Shi Mosheng also practiced the triple axel. Before the National Championships started, they all came to the national team for training.”

Although Chinese men’s singles skating had a hiatus after Shen Liu’s retirement, the new generation of skaters were not content to let Zhang Jue shine alone. They were all working hard and making progress. Perhaps their performance wasn’t as impressive as Zhang Jue’s, but with his injury, it was hard for him to maintain his top position.

Sun Qian sighed: “Junbao, you’re one of the few coaches in the country who can teach the quadruple jump, and Zhang Jue is the first in our country to not only master it but also remain relatively injury-free. So some leaders suggested that while he’s recovering, you should take on a part-time role as a jump coach during the training camp.”

“If you don’t want to, I can help you decline…”

Zhang Junbao clenched his fists and firmly replied: “No, I’ll go.”

“But I have a bold request. I hope my other student, Cha Hanbuhuahua, can join the training too. This kid is only 12 years old but has already mastered all five types of triple jumps except the triple axel.”

“This kid Cha Hanbuhuahua jumps were taught by Zhang Jue himself. I believe he will be the brightest star in the junior group at this year’s National Championships.”

Just as Zhang Jue wasn’t the only male skater in the country, he wasn’t his uncle’s only student either. So when an opportunity for progress arose, Zhang Junbao would strive to seize it for his other students too.

It was his responsibility as a coach.

Taking a deep breath, he called Cha Hanbuhuahua’s home.

“Hello, Bain, there’s an opportunity for Cha Hanbuhuahua to join the national team training camp…”

As he made the call, Zhang Junbao decided to keep this from Zhang Jue until he recovered, to avoid making him upset and hindering his recovery.

What he didn’t know was that two seconds after he hung up, Cha Hanbuhuahua grabbed the phone from Bain and called Zhang Jue.

Just as Zhang Junbao told Sun Qian, all of Cha Hanbuhuahua’s moves were taught by Zhang Jue. In addition, Zhang Jue also edited competition music for his juniors and trained them in compulsory figures, so these kids were very close to their seniors.

Although Zhang Jue hardly fought anymore, if he ever returned to the battlefield, all these kids would be ready to support him.

Cha Hanbuhuahua held the phone and anxiously said: “Senior brother, something’s wrong. Someone wants to steal our coach…”

Zhang Jue was stunned after hearing the report: “I see.”

His smile faded, but he gently reassured his junior: “Hanbuhua, don’t worry. No one is stealing our coach. Joining the national team training is a great growth opportunity for you. It also means more people recognize our coach’s talent.”

“So it’s a good thing. But I must warn you, bring your books with you to training. Don’t forget to get your homework for the next month from your teachers. I’ll tutor you on your schoolwork after your training.”

Although it seemed Zhang Jue was more focused on figure skating, he was actually a diligent student and cared about his juniors’ studies.

After hanging up, Zhang Jue sat in silence for a long time until the sunset. A basketball landed near him, bringing him back to reality. He saw a sturdy figure grab the ball and turn to look at him.

“After the sun sets, the temperature will drop quickly outside. Aren’t you going home?

Zhang Jue noticed the guy only wore a short-sleeved T-shirt and sweatpants, drenched in sweat as if he had just exercised.

He asked: “What about you? Wearing so little, aren’t you going home?”

Qin Xuejun grinned: “I was about to. Here, take this.”

He tossed the ball into Zhang Jue’s lap and pushed his wheelchair home.

“Do you want to have a hot pot? I have an electric pot. We can make a tomato soup base. You can’t eat pork, beef, or lamb outside, so we can just have the vegetables I grow on the balcony. We can also cook sweet potato noodles, and I have pickled garlic. Do you want some?”

He mentioned all of Zhang Jue’s favorite foods!

Zhang Jue’s mouth watered, but he tried to appear polite.

“Isn’t that too much trouble for you?”

Thinking of the boy’s earlier lonely figure, Qin Xuejun quickly assured: “Not at all. Consider it a thank you for the blanket and the nesting doll. Besides, I want to have hot pot too.”

Seeing Zhang Jue’s eyes light up like stars, Qin Xuejun felt a sudden, inexplicable happiness.

So when Zhang Junbao returned home with packed meat and vegetables from the national team cafeteria, thinking about how to console his nephew, he found him and Qin Xuejun happily enjoying a hot pot.

Zhang Jue, seeing his uncle, hurriedly pulled out a small horn-shaped object from under the table and pressed it. Colorful confetti sprayed all over Zhang Junbao.

Zhang Jue, sitting in his wheelchair, beamed at him: “Uncle, congratulations on becoming a national team coach.”

Instinctively, Zhang Junbao responded: “I haven’t joined the national team?”

Zhang Jue was stunned too: “What? But Hanbuhua called and said you were going to be a jump coach for the national team. Did Commander Sun want you but not give you an official position?”

How is that different from watching a video without liking, commenting, and subscribing?

He quickly asked: “What about overtime pay? Uncle, you took a leave of absence to stay with me. Now you’re teaching jumps during your vacation. Did they arrange your overtime pay properly?”

Zhang Junbao: Oh right, Commander Sun hasn’t mentioned the salary for the classes yet.

 

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