On the way back, Zhang Jue made a call to his uncle.

“Uncle, I want to contact Francis Miller to come to China and choreograph a new program for me.”
There was a burning confidence in his eyes: “If I want to go to the Olympics, I need to present a new program.”

His uncle casually replied: “That sounds great! It’s the middle of the season, so Francis probably doesn’t have any ongoing projects. As long as you’re willing to cover his airfare, he can come anytime to work with you.”

Zhang Jue said: “Then I’ll contact him. Bye.”

Beep. The call ended, and his uncle continued talking to Sun Qian. After a while, he suddenly slapped his forehead.

“Hey! Zhang Jue plans to make a comeback!”

Sun Qian, who had already guessed this from the conversation, couldn’t help but smile: “You’re just realizing that now?”

Zhang Junbao, who was looking at some documents, said: “Hey, don’t get your hopes up too high. It’s already September, and the National Championships are in January, right? Who knows how much of his technique Zhang Jue can recover by then.”

He was trying to manage expectations so that people wouldn’t be too disappointed if Zhang Jue slipped up and didn’t live up to them. Then, as soon as he left the office, he excitedly called Song Cheng.

“Coach, little Jue is coming back!”

Zhang Junbao left, delighted, while Liu Yeming sat in the national team dormitory, touched his bed, and smiled.

“It looks like one of the three spots will be taken, so only two are left to compete for.”

The competition just got tougher.

As a former teammate, Liu Yeming was genuinely happy that Zhang Jue was returning to training. He had no doubt that Zhang Jue could secure a spot for the Winter Olympics.

Young Liu knew that Zhang Jue had lost a lot of his technique after going through growth spurts and injuries and was now changing his technique, but he also knew how terrifying Zhang Jue could be when he gave his all.

In the past, Zhang Jue, despite a four-year break, took less than 10 months of training to defeat all the domestic junior skaters and win medals in international competitions. If it hadn’t happened in real life, Liu Yeming might have thought Zhang Jue was possessed by some figure skating system.

Well, if he really had a system, he wouldn’t have been tormented by injuries to the point of despair.

Anyway, now that Zhang Jue had only been out for half a year, his recovery would certainly be faster than before.

Most importantly, the level of competition at home was nowhere near as intense as on the international stage. As long as Zhang Jue could recover enough to make it to the podium at the National Championships before January, he could then focus on preparing for the Olympics.

Would Zhang Jue fail to make it to the podium at the National Championships?

In Liu Yeming’s memory, with Zhang Jue’s performance scores, as long as he nailed the 3A, he could easily get on the podium at the National Championships!

Liu Yeming sighed: “The competitors I’ll be facing are Jin Zixuan, Fan Zhaoying, Shi Mosheng, and Brother Dong.”

He couldn’t count on Brother Jin having an off day every time. Although that was quite likely, to be safe, he knew he had to outperform the other three.

Zhang Junbao was thrilled to hear that Zhang Jue had made up his mind. He immediately bought rice flour and went home to make crispy rice pancakes. But when he got home, he saw Zhang Jue and Qin Xuejun sleeping head-to-head on the sofa, with “The Tale of Genji” playing halfway through on the TV. They had rice cakes in their mouths, and there was a cold ginger soup on the coffee table.

Luckily, both young men were in good health. After their water fight, they had taken off their wet clothes, wrapped themselves in blankets from the car, and driven back to Beijing looking like fur-clad wild men. Amazingly, they showed no signs of catching a cold.

New soil had been added to the troughs on the balcony, since Zhang Jue had eaten all of Qin Xuejun’s vegetables, and it was only fair to replant them.

On the way back, Qin Xuejun admitted that he hadn’t expected Zhang Jue to eat all his vegetables because if it were him, he wouldn’t have been able to finish them in half a month, and they would’ve rotted in the soil.

Zhang, the athlete with a big appetite, Jue: “Ahem, do you still have seeds at home? I’ll help you replant the vegetables.”

Before heading home, they passed a second-hand video store that sold various legitimate movie discs. Japanese films were on sale, so Zhang Jue bought “The Tale of Genji,” which was Keiko’s free skate program theme for this year.

Before retiring, Masako had mentioned wanting to bring the essence of their culture to a larger stage. Now, Keiko was carrying on her sister’s dream. Unfortunately, Zhang Jue had already decided on his program for this season. Otherwise, a Chinese-themed program would’ve been a good direction too.

The next day, Zhang Jue was dragged to the dentist because of a toothache. The dentist took a look and sighed: “I haven’t seen a young person with so many cavities in a long time.”

Nine cavities! He must have fallen asleep while eating without brushing his teeth.

Zhang Jue, who liked to eat apples before bed: “…But I’ll be hungry if I don’t eat.”

Fortunately, getting fillings wasn’t painful, just a bit uncomfortable. Afterward, the dentist said: “If you don’t know how to brush your teeth properly, just buy an electric toothbrush and eat less at night.”

So when Song Cheng sat by the window early in the morning, waiting to see Zhang Jue enter through the provincial team’s gate, he noticed the kid looked downcast.

Song Cheng: “Why does he look so gloomy?”

Zhang Jue: “It’s my first time using an electric toothbrush, and I poked my gums. It hurts, hurts, hurts!”

Regarding Zhang Jue’s determination to create a new program and aim for the Olympics, the coaching team had mixed reactions.

Song Cheng believed that Zhang Jue was one of the most independent athletes he had ever met. It was hard to sway his opinion. Besides, Zhang Jue had proven his excellent taste in choosing music every year. Each new program he performed became a new classic, so he decided to let him go ahead.

Shen Liu, however, had concerns: “It’d be good enough if you can recover your technique before the National Championships. Do you really have time to create a new program?”

Zhang Jue had to work on his technique, resume training, and now, with the addition of creating a new program and refining it, he would inevitably have to spend more time on the ice.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qingyan insisted that Zhang Jue should focus on his studies until early December and only then would he be allowed to take a month off to prepare for the competition. He was worried that Zhang Jue might not be able to manage everything.

Zhang Jue placed one hand on Shen Liu’s desk and the other on his hip, full of confidence.

“I’ll make it. I’ve already called Miss Mia, and she agreed to help me choreograph the short program.”

Shen Liu asked: “Ballet style?”

Zhang Jue nodded excitedly: “Yes, I’m planning to perform the male variation from ‘Flames of Paris.’ It’s the best dance I do.”

If he didn’t use his ace at the Olympics, when would he?

“And Francis Miller has already bought his plane ticket. Coach Song also agreed to reimburse him for the airfare and my choreography fees for this season.”

That meant Zhang Jue had already arranged everything before even discussing it with Shen Liu—he acted first and reported later!

Shen Liu rolled his eyes: “I’m telling you, if these two programs don’t turn out well, you’ll have to switch back to last season’s program. Every time you perform those, you bring something new, and the fans and judges love them. You might even get extra points for nostalgia.”

Zhang Jue laughed: “I’m only 16, and I’ll still be more than four months away from turning 17 when the Olympics begin. It’s too early to talk about nostalgia. Young people should try new things.”

At that moment, Coach Lu, who had been sitting silently in his chair, hands resting on his crutches as if deep in thought, finally spoke up.

“You should first let me see how you perform ‘Flames of Paris.’ If the quality isn’t up to par, it’s better to stick with ‘Adios Nonino’ for the National Championships, as that’s the priority for you right now.”

Although the old man was a retired coach brought back for technical guidance, he was highly respected by Zhang Jue’s head coach, Zhang Junbao, the previous jump coach, Shen Liu, and the head coach of the provincial team, Song Cheng.

After all, despite having become a chubby, white-haired Buddha in appearance, the old man was a strict and tough coach in his younger days, known as the “White-Haired Demon” when he was teaching kids. Zhang Jue had been disciplined by him many times, so much so that he felt a sense of dread whenever he saw him.

Zhang Jue replied: “Alright, Madam Mia also wants to see it. She seems worried that after sitting in a wheelchair for a few months, my dancing skills might have sunk along with my skating.”

So, when Madam Mia arrived, everyone headed to the dance studio together.

Although Zhang Jue could perform the ‘Esmeralda Variation’ en pointe, that was just something his teacher had him try when he was younger. As a male dancer, Zhang Jue personally preferred more masculine performances, which made him quite envious of Cha Hanbuhua, who had a background in Mongolian dance.

Mongolian dance is so cool to perform!

‘Flames of Paris’ is one of the representative works of Soviet modern ballet, created against the backdrop of the French Revolution. It’s grand and powerful, depicting the leader, Philippe, leading the rebellious people of Marseille to march toward Paris. The dancers must embody the spirit of revolutionary heroes, a style completely different from fairy tales or love stories involving scoundrels.

Naturally, the male dancer must also demonstrate strength and masculinity. The male variation in this piece includes several high-difficulty technical moves.

If a male dancer wants to perform ‘Flames of Paris,’ his skating level needs to be at least good enough to land a 2A, which shows how challenging it is.

Zhang Jue: I can not only land a 2A, but I can also do a 3A!

Standing at 179.4 cm, Zhang Jue had a slender, lean figure, with smooth, evenly distributed muscles covering his youthful body.

To draw a comparison, Zhang Jue’s physique was similar to that of a famous ballet male principal dancer known as “Angel Uncle,” who gave a classic performance of the Ali Variation in the ballet ‘Le Corsaire.’

(Note: In this performance, he danced shirtless, showcasing his excellent physique and dance skills together.)

However, Zhang Jue’s preferred dance style was marked by a strong sense of masculinity—wild, untamed, bold, and powerful, yet his natural physical attributes made him appear graceful and agile.

This style was more comparable to another male principal dancer, nicknamed “Little Wah” or “Little Flying Hero,” whose version of ‘Flames of Paris’ was iconic because his character traits made his style particularly suited for this piece.

When Zhang Jue started dancing to the music, Madam. Mia, who had previously taught him dance, remained calm, but everyone else was stunned as soon as Zhang Jue began.

After not seeing him for a few months, Zhang Jue’s jumps had an impressive hang time, as if gravity didn’t apply to him. Moreover, his emotional expression was so rich that the viewers could all feel the inspiring, uplifting emotions he conveyed.

After the dance, Zhang Jue’s short program was decided.

The coaching team: “You should stick with this new program.”

Mia: “Working on the choreography…”

Two days later, Francis Miller, now a top choreographer, was waiting for his ride at the airport.

This season had been very busy for him. He had choreographed for Han Yige, Choi Jung-soo, who switched to training in Canada with former Olympic bronze medalist Saron, Kazakhstan’s top male singles skater Kharhasha Golovkin, the top female singles skater Amina, the top ice dance duo Liu Mengcheng/Yin Meijing, Japan’s top female singles skater Shiratsuka Keiko, and Tsumura Ichie, among others.

Originally, after the season started, he was supposed to stay home watching competitions, occasionally attending events to provide post-sale services to the skaters, helping them tweak a few moves.

But as soon as Zhang Jue called, he immediately flew over.

It wasn’t for the money, nor was it to see Zhang Junbao’s charming face. The main reason was his deep friendship with Little Crocodile (Zhang Jue). As a friend, he couldn’t refuse to help at such a critical moment.

When Zhang Jue found Francis, he was sitting on a suitcase, sipping juice. Zhang Jue walked up to him.

“Francis, did you get all your luggage? Is this everything?”

Francis looked up and was instantly shocked, his heart racing.

Zhang Jue, with his hair cut short, wearing a black sports headband, a white T-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers, attracted numerous glances as he walked by, but he was already used to moving effortlessly under all those gazes.

He called again: “Francis?”

The obsidian earring on his ear reflected a bright gleam, making this stunning beauty even more dazzling. Francis quickly looked away, only to see Zhang Junbao walking toward them.

For a moment, Francis didn’t know where to focus his eyes.

It wasn’t until he saw the plain, simple van that his heart rate returned to normal. Zhang Jue lifted his two suitcases and backpack into the backseat, asking as he did so.

“There’s an eight-hour time difference from the UK. Did you sleep on the plane? Are you tired? We’re taking you to the provincial team now. They’ve prepared a dorm room for you. Do you want to sleep first or eat something before sleeping?”

Hearing Zhang Jue’s voice made Francis hands tremble slightly.

“I-I slept on the plane, and I’m not hungry, thanks.”

Zhang Jue nodded and took an MP3 player out of his pocket, handing it to Francis.

“Here, this is the music I’d like you to choreograph to. I’ve already edited it to 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Right now, the plan is to have three solo jumps in the first half, a double jump combo, and in the second half, two solo jumps, a double jump combo, and a sequence with a combination jump. You can decide the placement of the spins as you see fit.”

Talking about work finally made Francis serious: “Combo jumps are more exhausting. Have you recovered fully?”

Zhang Jue laughed lightly: “My stamina is the last thing you need to worry about. Oh, I also put the soundtrack from ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in there. See if you can choreograph an exhibition program for me.”

Francis couldn’t hold back any longer: “Jue.”

Zhang Jue: “What?”

Francis: “Please tone down your hormones. I know you don’t mean to, but your tone just now is not very appropriate for a single, bottom guy like me.”

Zhang Jue: Confused.jpg

Francis put on his headphones, letting the piano music flow into his ears.

Zhang Jue’s free skate music was “Rain, in Your Black Eyes.”

He fastened his seatbelt, leaned back, and rolled his right shoulder. Zhang Junbao glanced at him with a smile.

“An athlete’s life is never without hardship, right?”

Zhang Jue replied self-deprecatingly: “You said it. Even though I’ve made up my mind, sometimes I wonder what I’m really aiming for.”

Despite having a future worth ten thousand Bitcoins, and the potential to become a millionaire, he wasn’t lounging at home. Instead, he chose to be a figure skater, enduring endless falls and bruises—a tough life, indeed.

His uncle casually comforted him: “A bit of hardship now isn’t a bad thing. You’re starting from basics again, training week by week. It’s like solidifying your foundation, which will be beneficial in the long run.”

Zhang Jue agreed: “Yes, yes. I’ll quietly refine my technique and then amaze everyone.”

 

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