On December 27, the day before the National Championships began, all the athletes who came to compete had already checked into the event organizer’s designated hotel.

Many people knew that Zhang Jue had resumed training, and the H Province team arrived in large numbers. Among them were several energetic elderly people. Occasionally, they would go outside, with the grandmothers leaning against street poles, waving silk scarves in the wind with elegance, while the grandfathers crouched with cameras, enthusiastically shouting “cheese.”

It seemed like the H Province team was very eager to show off this year, with an abundance of elderly couples.

Naturally, two of Zhang Jue’s younger teammates, Cha Hanbuhua and Min Shan, also came to participate, and even Xu Chuo joined, although she was still “sinking underwater” in a metaphorical sense, just aiming to participate.

This year’s competition landscape featured top athletes in the adult categories for singles and pairs from the national team, while J Province dominated the junior pairs, and H Province boasted the strongest junior singles team.

Ice dancing, as always, received little recognition. When people saw male-female pairs entering the hotel together, they often assumed it was a pair skating team.

Ice dancers: “Actually, we’re also a mixed-gender discipline, just not very visible in this community.”

Still, figure skating, though a niche winter sport, had a modest fanbase. Even the most underappreciated discipline, ice dancing, drew some attention. This year, the most anticipated ice dancing pair was from Beijing: the “Meihua Pair.” The female partner, Mei Chungu, was 16 years old, and the male partner, Hua Taishi, was 19. They had dominated the domestic junior ice dancing competitions and moved up a category last year.

In other words, they were Zhang Jue’s peers, but due to the limited attention on ice dancing, they hadn’t made much impact on the international stage, which meant their popularity paled compared to Zhang Jue’s.

Earlier this year, however, the Meihua Pair had gone to the Koten Club in Ontario, Canada, for external training, greatly improving their skills. During the Grand Prix series, their scores ranked them in the top ten for the first time, though they narrowly missed the top six and didn’t qualify for the finals.

Yes, this performance was still weak internationally, but in Asia, they ranked just behind the Asian champions, the Yin Meijing/Liu Mengcheng pair.

For those who don’t remember the Koten Club—Zhang Jue recalled that the club was currently led by Saren, a former Winter Olympics bronze medalist. Saren had trained the 2022 men’s singles champion, and now Cui Zhengshu was Saren’s senior disciple as Saren transitioned into coaching.

Mei Chungu fiddled with her phone: “The Northeast Crocodile God is back? Is that true?”

Hua Taishi: “And I’m the South Sea Crocodile God… It should be true. I saw many girls near the competition venue holding crocodile-themed fans, and some even hung support flags inside the arena early. Sometimes these die-hard fans have even more accurate information than the insiders.”

Mei Chungu clicked her tongue: “He really is the top star. He hasn’t shown up during the off-season, missed half a season, and yet his popularity remains sky-high. But we didn’t see him when we went to the arena for practice, and we didn’t spot him at lunch either. Where do you think he’s hiding?”

Hua Taishi glanced at his partner: “Why are you looking for him?”

“A relative wants his autograph,” Mei Chungu grinned, pulling two small B5-sized posters of a plump little crocodile from her backpack: “I want his autograph too.”

Hua Taishi thought: Are you mama-fans really going to ask him to sign his youth group’s embarrassing photos? Aren’t you afraid he’ll knee you in the face? Oh wait, Zhang Jue is supposedly a towering 1.8-meter muscle man now.

Speaking of which, since Zhang Jue had grown so tall, switching to pair skating might actually offer a brighter future. The tallest Asian men’s singles skater before him was Hayato Teraoka at 1.77 meters, and Zhang Jue had already surpassed that. His return to competition might be fraught with challenges.

But Mei Chungu, still full of enthusiasm, said she was going to wander around the hotel, hoping for a chance encounter with Zhang Jue.

Her reasoning was sound: “If I wait until the competition to ask for his autograph, what if it affects his performance? And if I wait until after the competition, he might leave right away. It’d be great if I could see him before then.”

Hua Taishi had no choice but to head to the restaurant first. The H Province team members were already seated, including the elderly folks. One particularly dark-skinned boy quickly finished his meal and packed some food in a lunchbox, probably to deliver to someone.

Half an hour later, Mei Chungu returned, disappointed.

She complained: “It’s mealtime now, and the hallways are full of people delivering food or heading to eat. I searched from the 18th floor down to the 12th and only ran into a tall guy crouching near the stairs, acting a bit strange while talking on the phone.”

Former Beijing team member and current China top women’s single skater, Mi Yuan Yuan, asked curiously: “What do you mean by acting strange?”

Mei Chungu replied: “It was just a big guy wearing a super thick military coat, squatting against the wall, talking on the phone in an overly affectionate voice. He was saying things like, ‘Saori, do you miss daddy? Mom, you have to take good care of Saori, make sure she eats on time but don’t overfeed her, and don’t forget to make her take a bath.'”

Hearing this, Mi Yuan Yuan shuddered: “That sounds like some newly-made dad from a pair skating team, doesn’t it?”

Mi Yuan Yuan smiled slightly: “If that’s the case, he sounds like a good dad. Oh, by the way, Chungu, about getting Zhang Jue’s autograph—you’ll probably see him this afternoon at the drawing lot event. This year, the officials are requiring athletes to attend in person.”

Meanwhile, Cha Hanbuhua filled five lunchboxes, and Coach Lu added a walnut bun to one.

“Walnuts are good for the brain. He’s studying a lot, so he must be exhausted” Coach Lu said.

Cha Hanbuhua grinned sheepishly: “After all, senior brother has to go back for final exams right after Nationals. It’s tough, but there’s no way around it.”

If he falls out of the top 150 in the rankings, Aunt Qingyan might just raise her laundry rack as a threat.

Even though Zhang Jue had arrived two days early, he stayed inside studying all the way until the afternoon of the 27th. He only remembered he was in C City for a figure skating competition when Cha Hanbuhua reminded him at lunch.

“Senior brother, the drawing lots event starts at 2:00. Make sure you set an alarm so you don’t oversleep… actually, never mind, we’re sharing a room. I’ll wake you up. Just don’t cling to the bed, okay?”

Since Cha Hanbuhua was only 1.58 meters tall, he couldn’t pull his 1.8-meter tall senior out of bed, much less toss him off like their muscle-bound coach Zhang could.

Zhang Jue agreed, brushing his teeth with an electric toothbrush. After getting nine cavities at once, he no longer dared neglect his dental hygiene and brushed after every meal.

By 1:40 in the afternoon, most of the athletes had arrived at the drawing lot hall. Mei Chungu was among them. By 1:50, the room was nearly full.

At 1:58, Cha Hanbuhua entered, pulling a tall, sleepy-looking boy behind him.

That boy wore an H Province team uniform, with messy black hair and flushed cheeks, as though he had hurriedly wiped his face with a towel after getting out of bed. His eyes were still bleary with a misty, otherworldly aura about him.

As soon as he entered, the room fell into an eerie silence.

Only after Zhang Jue sat down, dozing off against Coach Zhang, did the white-haired old man next to him tap him on the head with his cane, finally waking him up.

Mi Yuan Yuan gaped, her voice trembling: “So puberty can actually give someone a complete makeover?”

Why hadn’t her own puberty given her a beauty boost?

Lu Xiaorong clutched her chest: “Unbelievable.”

Huang Ying’s eyes nearly popped out of her head: “Did he eat pig feed or something? Why does he look taller than Brother Lin?”

Brother Lin, or Guan Lin, let out a sad smile: “Ying, stop. I’ve always been the shortest male pair skater in the top tier.”

Perhaps because Zhang Jue was too handsome, Huang Ying and Guan Lin’s junior, Jiang Xiuling, suddenly fell off his chair.

Mei Chungu’s pupils also shook. She instinctively touched her cheek and muttered: “Sorry, my fellow fans, I’m not a good ‘mom.’ I thought my love would never waver, but it’s not my resolve that’s weak—it’s just that our baby has changed too much. He’s no longer my baby.”

With his sharp brows and noble, cold aura, she almost wanted to shout “immortal” at him!

At that moment, a young lady stood up, holding a microphone and calling out names. The athletes walked forward one by one, reaching into a box to draw numbered balls.

When she called “H Province, Zhang Jue,” Zhang Jue jogged over, effortlessly leaped onto the one-meter-high stage, and reached into the box.

The lady glanced at the ball in his hand and chuckled: “Zhang Jue, number 19, first in the fourth group.”

Many people suddenly let out a sigh of relief, exchanging glances and whispering.

“It’s really him.”

“It’s really Zhang Jue.”

At first, seeing the once cute, boyish figure turn into a dashing young man, people weren’t sure. But no matter how much his appearance changed, Zhang Jue’s legendary bad luck in draws remained constant.

Zhang Jue, learning his position, showed no expression. Hands in his pockets, he even had the urge to whistle.

As he passed by the national team’s male singles skaters, he stopped and waved at them.

“Hey, did you miss me?”

Honestly, Zhang Jue said this with the intention of friendly pre-race banter, hoping to spark some competitive spirit, especially in Jin Yige. Overall, it was a seemingly cocky but well-intentioned move.

However, the group of boys avoided his gaze, looking everywhere but at him. The only one who responded was Liu Yeming.

Liu Yeming, his eyes darting around, mumbled something even he couldn’t quite understand.

“Haven’t seen you for a month, I do kind of miss you. Your face looks rosy, your complexion is great, and your hair is smooth. The cafeteria ladies must’ve taken good care of you.”

Zhang Jue: ?

 

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