“The piece Rain, In Your Black Eyes was specially created by Francis Miller for Zhang Jue with the Olympics in mind. Combining the music with Zhang Jue’s ethereal appearance, Miller spared no effort in crafting a stunning performance, and the effect was truly breathtaking.

Right from the beginning, when the music tempo was still slow, Zhang Jue successfully captivated the audience’s attention. The sheer beauty of it was enough to mesmerize them.

As the music picked up slightly, the sound of rain transitioned into the second section: the rain curtain. This was a highly impressive sequence of steps. Though he was skating on ice, Zhang Jue appeared like a dancer moving underwater. His upper body was soft, yet it seemed as though he was being pressed by immense pressure, embodying both suffocation and resilience.

Towards the end of this step sequence, viewers watching the live broadcast on Barrage saw the words: ‘High-energy ahead!’ Many who hadn’t watched the Nationals were confused, but then they saw Zhang Jue crouch, lean back, and touch the ice with his fingertips.

It turned out to be a crab step, which requires immense core strength!

Amid the applause that sounded like light rain, Zhang Jue rose and transitioned into a camel spin, lifting his blade with gritted teeth and straightening his leg. At this point, the program entered the second half, where jump base values would be multiplied by 1.1, and Zhang Jue still had two solo jumps, two two-jump combinations, and one three-jump combination yet to complete.

He spread his hands downward, as if the performer was taking a bow, and the feeling of oppression vanished at that moment, as if the suffering had ended, but the journey was just beginning.

The jumping storm began with a 3Lz.

First, a 4T+1Lo+3T, followed by a 3A+2T, a 3F+3T, and finally, a 3Lo solo jump. Each jump was performed cleanly and perfectly in sync with the rhythm of the music, creating an impact that was difficult to describe.

He was completely in the zone, and every move he made was of the highest quality, sweeping across the rink like a storm, with eyes that seemed to hold the stars.

From the moment he returned to the ice, Zhang Jue knew that as long as he continued to perform quadruple jumps and stay on the competitive stage, his body would, one day, be riddled with injuries like the veterans before him. Every second of health was precious.

It was because the time to shine was so limited that he cherished the present moment even more.

Thus, in this season’s free skate program, the first half was deliberately restrained. However, in the second half, even with the ferocity of the storm, he danced in the rain like a dancer, embracing the rain just as he embraced hardship, growing through it.

Finally, with the hurried pace of the music, Zhang Jue entered a sit spin, followed by a small jump into a side sit spin, and then clasped his hands together, raising them above his head, transitioning into a fast upright spin.

He spun so quickly that his body seemed to blur. At the end, he opened his arms, raised his right hand, and gazed up at the Olympic rings hanging in the arena.

Even though this was just the second men’s free skate in the team competition, the audience could not contain themselves, rising to their feet to give him the highest honor in figure skating—a standing ovation.

It was unbelievable. A 16-year-old newcomer, performing at the Olympics for the first time, completed a clean program featuring an unprecedented three quadruple jumps, with a performance that was both technically excellent and deeply moving!

Zhang Jue, coming out of the emotional state of the performance, supported his waist with both hands, breathing heavily, with sweat dripping from his forehead as if he had been drenched in rain. He waved to the audience, bowed, picked up a crocodile plush toy, and stepped off the ice to embrace his uncle.

Shen Liu handed him his blade covers, which Zhang Jue took and put on as he said: “Doing three quads in one program is exhausting. It feels like I just ran a 10-kilometer race with a heavy load.’

Shen Liu chuckled: “You’re 69 kilograms now, and you’re the tallest one in the men’s singles for the team competition, still doing quads. Of course, it’s tiring.’

Luckily, this kid was strong. He managed to pull off the three-quad setup, and even though his limit was clearly like running a 20-kilometer race, it was clear he had some energy left.

Indeed, Zhang Jue could probably run a marathon, although he might need a few seconds to rest along the way, but his endurance was undeniably strong.

Even the 4T+1Lo+3S combination was performed with a quad in the middle, so if he switched one of the two-jump combos to 4T+3T, he’d achieve a four-quad layout, wouldn’t he?

The thought of this made those with some understanding feel a chill. However, even if Zhang Jue added another quad, he might make a mistake.

Without a doubt, some of Zhang Jue’s jumps had noticeable forward leans upon landing, indicating that the landings weren’t perfectly stable and that his axis hadn’t been maintained properly, so he had to adjust his center of gravity with this posture.

The coaching team saw this clearly. Zhang Jue had only returned to the ice since September, less than half a year ago, yet he was already handling such difficult combinations, proving that he had not only recovered his technique but also had a post-growth spurt body brimming with potential, waiting to be tapped into.

He still had so much room for improvement.

Coach Lu draped a coat over Zhang Jue and muttered: “Your last upright spin still had significant axis deviation. I’ve told you before, don’t rush. Focus on stability first. Did you lose control again when your emotions got the better of you?’

Zhang Jue, embarrassed, replied: “Yeah, once I got carried away with the skating, I instinctively wanted to spin faster and forgot about the axis.’

Coach Lu continued to scold: “And your steps—your crab step took too long, so didn’t you run out of time for the final part of the choreographic sequence? I’ve told you that blade clarity is important, but not so much that you don’t have time to finish the moves!’

Zhang Jue hung his head, replying honestly: “Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.’

Of course, no one else knew that Zhang Jue’s 4+3 combination wasn’t yet stable enough to be executed 100% consistently in competition. After all, most skaters were more comfortable with 4+3 in a two-jump combination. Given that Zhang Jue had completed a three-jump combination with a quad, the two-jump combination should have been a breeze.

So, his decision to forgo the 4+3 combination and stick to a three-quad setup was seen by many as deliberate restraint, a signal to his rivals.

Athletes like Vasily, Hayato Teraoka, Ilya, and Maquen all clenched their fists, their expressions turning serious.

Hayato Teraoka muttered: “What kind of stamina monster is this guy?’

In free skating, there are only eight jump elements—five solo jumps and three combinations—yet this guy only bothered with three solo jumps in the first half, saving the rest, including the combinations, for the second half. He’s insane!

Looks like after this, I’ll have to not only work on new quad types but also ramp up aerobic training and stamina!’

After Zhang Jue’s excellent performance, as he sat wiping off sweat in the kiss-and-cry area, his teammates stood behind him, waving red flags. Meanwhile, Zhang Jue kept using tissues to wipe his face and neck. If it weren’t for the cameras on him, he would’ve probably taken off his shirt and shaken it out. After using six tissues, his score finally came out.

Technical score: 104.28

Presentation score: 90.61

Free skate total: 194.89 (WR)

The previous free skate world record was 189.67, and Zhang Jue’s score had just pushed the world record up by over 5 points!

Adding in his short program score of 95.15, Zhang Jue’s total in the team event was 290.04, pushing the world record for the combined score (previously 281.02) up by more than 9 points!

The arena erupted in gasps.”

Zhao Ning shouted excitedly: “Oh my God, Zhang Jue has broken the free skate and overall score world records again, after setting a new record in the short program!”

“Figure skating is a dangerous art. In past competitions, it’s rare for a skater to break both the short program and free skate records in the same event. Usually, when the short program goes well, there’s a mistake in the free skate, or vice versa. But Zhang Jue was in perfect form, accomplishing something unimaginable!”

Zhang Jue looked at his score and clicked his tongue: “This score is so high. I wonder if I can maintain this form for the individual event.”

He felt that if the Russian judges still wanted to favor their top skater, his situation in the individual event might not be so favorable.

Of course, those who knew Zhang Jue understood that he was just saying nonsense. Inside, he was confident he could perform well. But the coaching team responded in unison: “You’ll be in great form for the individual event too!”

Sun Qian widened his eyes: “You better keep it together! You can mess around like Xiao Jin during practice, but not at the Olympics!”

With Zhang Jue on such a record-breaking streak, the higher-ups were likely about to set new expectations for him, seeing him as a new contender for gold. This was definitely not the time to mess up!

Xiao Jin, standing nearby, clutched his chest, pretending to be hurt.

Zhang Jue twitched his mouth: “Okay, okay, I got it.”

He reached for a water bottle: “I still need to do the drug test. Give me a few more bottles of water.”

Seeing how calm he was, more and more of his competitors clenched their fists, feeling indignant, thinking this kid probably already believed he’d won, which explained his complete lack of nervousness.

If he didn’t go all out in the individual event, Zhang Jue might really be unbeatable. After all, Zhang Jue had always been a consistent skater, barring any injuries. His consistency was top-tier in the entire figure skating world.

The emergence of a strong, talented new skater, who broke records, was a huge blow to the older generation of skaters.

Maquen said directly to his coach: “This is my last Olympics anyway. I’ll retire after this, so I can go all out in this competition, right?”

His coach rolled his eyes: “Save your strength for the individual event.”

You have no chance to push yourself in the team competition.

Hayato Teraoka’s face darkened: “Looks like I have to use that setup.”

Even though it wasn’t stable yet, he couldn’t let that little crocodile get too cocky. Zhang Jue wasn’t the only one capable of a three-quad jump setup.

Vasily, who was usually the most composed, also mentioned to his coach: “We can’t win the gold medal with a conservative approach anymore. I need to boost my individual event setup. Sorry, coach, I won’t go all out in the team event, but I’ll need injections for the individual event.”

Boris replied seriously: “The individual event gold is more valuable than the team gold. Do as you said.”

The pressure Zhang Jue brought nearly crushed everyone, including his own teammates. Mi Yuan Yuan was trembling all over, feeling that if she made a mistake in her event, she would have let down Zhang Jue’s record-breaking effort and her other teammates as well.

Ugh, she really wanted to get another injection now to safeguard her busted knee, but it was already too late.

Next up was the U.S.’s Arthur Cohen. His free skate music came from Tom Cruise’s movie Top Gun, a high-energy movie soundtrack. Many people who had seen the film could immediately recall the F14 launching from the aircraft carrier’s deck.

Arthur Cohen was a hard-working young man. He landed two triple Axels, but his body tensed up when attempting a quad toe loop, turning it into a double toe loop, which caused a collective sigh of regret from the audience.

Even for the most composed young skaters, being promoted to the senior level in their first year and then competing in the Olympics with the pressure of landing quads was a heavy burden.

Arthur stumbled, and after him, Canada’s top skater, Carlson, avoided a full fall. He was better at the quad toe loop, landing it, but fell on the triple Axel.

In short, these young skaters had performed admirably, but compared to Zhang Jue, who was only one year older, they simply didn’t shine as brightly.

The schedule on the 10th was tight. Men’s free skate at 19:00, women’s free skate at 20:05, and ice dance at 21:10, so the final results of the team competition would be determined today.

After completing his task, Zhang Jue sat quietly, waiting for his teammates’ results.

In an alternate timeline without Zhang Jue, China wouldn’t have even made it to the team competition finals. The major shortfall in men’s singles initially disqualified them from competing for the podium, but now, the opportunity was within reach.

Although Mi Yuan Yuan had always been a second-tier international skater due to her talent and injuries, she had one trait: consistency. She took the ice and finished in fifth place.

It wasn’t that she didn’t skate a clean program, but her ceiling was only so high, and she couldn’t outperform the others.

Fortunately, Japan’s ice dance was weak, having only made it to the finals thanks to teammates Hayato Teraoka and Keiko Shiratsuka, so China’s ice dance team, Mei Chunguo and Hua Taishi, managed to place fourth.

After a fierce competition, the final results of the Sochi Winter Olympics figure skating team event were announced, and China ranked third on the points board!

Thanks to Zhang Jue’s top-ranked finish in men’s singles, which earned the highest points, China had secured the bronze medal. Zhang Jue had a premonition that the team’s bronze medal was pretty much locked in, but when the results were officially out, he still felt like he was in a dream.

Huh? They really won? So, does that mean he can get ready to stand on the podium?

…

 

He was going to stand on the Olympic podium!

Zhang Jue jumped up in excitement, first hugging Coach Lu and giving him a kiss, then hugging Shen Liu on the left and his uncle on the right. Not even Vasily, who won the team gold, was as excited as Zhang Jue.

But after all, he was just a 16-year-old kid, so everyone gave him warm, understanding smiles until Zhang Jue picked up his teammate, Guan Lin, from the pairs team.

Guan Lin, suddenly seeing a much higher and broader view, looked terrified.

“Whoa, Zhang Jue! Put me down!”

Just because you’re 1.80 meters tall doesn’t mean you can just lift your 1.72-meter-tall teammate whenever you want!

The act didn’t hurt, but for Guan Lin, the shortest male partner in top international pairs skating, it was deeply humiliating. Zhang Jue successfully achieved the “teammate knockout” milestone, drawing laughter from everyone.

The loudest laughter came from Huang Ying.

 

 

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