Cha Hanbuhua’s short program music was from Cirque du Soleil, lively and energetic.

Unlike the resilient Zhang Jue, Cha Hanbuhua had always been an understanding child. So even though they knew he was calm and composed, Zhang Junbao still felt anxious, afraid that the child might make a mistake in an important competition, which could affect his mindset afterward.

Fortunately, the young man remained steady, completing the 3A, 3F, and 3Lo+3T with high quality. Even before the program ended, live-stream viewers were already posting bullet comments on the screen.

“Brother Hanbuhua is amazing, his jumps are so stable! Watching his competition puts my mind at ease.”

“Little White Bull is way more composed than his senior, not even a bit shaky, haha.”

“His senior is like a fairy dancing on waves, but Hanbuhua is a steady prairie man.”

“Hanbuhua’s 3A was beautiful, the rotation speed was average, but the height and distance were great, full of power! Just watching his jumps makes me feel his strength!”

Zhang Junbao, Shen Liu, and Coach Lu were also very satisfied with Cha Hanbuhua’s performance. Though the child’s calm personality didn’t quite match the lively theme of Cirque du Soleil, despite his efforts. His performance displayed the innocence and cuteness of a child but couldn’t energize the audience like Zhang Jue did when he skated to Riverdance.

Zhang Junbao stroked his chin and said: “I originally wanted Hanbuhua to try expanding his performance style, but if the music isn’t suitable, it still affects the result.”

Indeed, there were few kids like his nephew, who could skate to any music with great flair. Hanbuhua lacked the passion needed, and this overly lively music wasn’t suitable for him.

Shen Liu judged based on his experience: “For the junior level, Hanbuhua performance is already good enough. Fortunately, the free skate music suits him much better.”

Speaking of which, Cha Hanbuhua’s free skate music choice was a suggestion from Zhang Jue. Initially, everyone thought it would be odd for the tall and dark Hanbuhua to skate to that piece, but with Zhang Jue’s music editing and Francis choreography, the result was surprisingly good.

Their crocodile, if nothing else, had impeccable taste in music and never failed in music selection.

Cha Hanbuhua finished second in the short program, and he didn’t feel disappointed. Smiling joyfully but calmly, he waved to the camera and said a few greeting words like: “Mom, brother, did you watch my competition?”

This child’s appearance naturally exuded “honesty,” “uprightness,” and “simplicity,” and his gentle, calm personality, lacking aggression, gave him an unexpected charm, attracting many male fans.

In Zhang Jue’s memory, little Hanbuhua had more male fans than female fans when he grew up, a rarity in figure skating. His fanbase was mostly made up of men.

Cha Hanbuhua gave a thumbs-up to Takeshi Chiba, confusing many as to why he did that. Then Takeshi Chiba suddenly turned and walked away.

Zhang Jue was full of question marks.

Huh? Do these two kids already know each other?

Takeshi Chiba ranked third, the handsome young man clearly unwilling, looking deflated like a wilted eggplant.

Hayato Teraoka consoled him for a few moments, but Takeshi Chiba, head down, responded angrily, leaving Teraoka looking helpless.

With one hand on his hip, Teraoka gently advised his junior: “It’s normal for athletes to have ups and downs in their careers, don’t get too hung up on temporary wins or losses. This score isn’t impossible to catch up on.”

Takeshi Chiba puffed out his cheeks: “But I really don’t want to lose to that dark-skinned guy! Senior, get one thing straight: it’s not just you representing the JPN men’s singles on the international stage, I also have to compete against Tama’s handsome protégés!”

This is a rivalry between two figure skating schools, and I absolutely don’t want to lose!

Teraoka Hayato: “…Uh.”

On the ice, athletes just need to focus on competing. Why bring up a school rivalry? JPN skating will be collaborating with Zhang’s team during the offseason; they’re supposed to be friendly. If he had to clash with someone, Teraoka still felt the bear was the one who really annoyed him.

He couldn’t help but glance at the two Russian male skaters, one of whom was leading the short program.

But neither of them were Boris’ students. Reportedly, Vassily had taken on two male students after becoming a coach, but they were too young to compete in the junior group.

As if by coincidence, when Teraoka scanned the audience, his gaze met Ilya’s. The two old rivals locked eyes for two seconds before coldly looking away.

Hmph! What do these junior skaters’ wins or losses matter? He would make sure to settle things with him on the ice later!

Meanwhile, the mood was best among the China athletes, with Zhang Jue hugging his junior: “Hanbuhua, you skated great! Come on, big bro is treating you to tapas and Spanish seafood paella.”

Cha Hanbuhua knew well that it was actually his senior who wanted to eat these Spanish dishes, but being an understanding kid, he didn’t expose this.

“Thank you, senior.”

Zhang Junbao reminded Zhang Jue: “Don’t wander off too far. Just eat at the hotel restaurant. And don’t overeat—you have a competition tonight. You might throw up if you eat too much before the event.”

Zhang Jue dragged out his response: “Yesss—”

When the captain treats, Huang Ying, Guan Lin, fatty (no, Jiang Xiuling), Luo Mi, and Min Shan all tagged along. After all, following the junior men’s competition was ice dance, while pairs and ladies would compete the next day, so everyone was in no hurry.

Zhang Jue, already handsome, rested his chin on his hand at the restaurant, his earring gleaming under the light. Occasionally, athletes from other countries passed by, unable to resist taking pictures with their phones.

Since foreign phones couldn’t be set to silent mode, Zhang Jue could hear the shutter sounds but didn’t mind. They were polite enough not to disturb him, and that was fine.

Cha Hanbuhua, however, felt a bit uncomfortable in this environment. He shifted in his seat, and Zhang Jue tilted his head to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

Though his senior had only asked casually in a lazy tone, Cha Hanbuhua felt a tingle in his ears and quickly shook his head.

“Nothing.”

Guan Lin, looking at Hanbuhua profile, clicked his tongue, pulling out his phone: “Captain Zhang, let’s take a picture together. I need to show off to the fans that I’m having dinner with you.”

Zhang Jue casually pulled Jiang Xiuling close: “Don’t we eat together every day on the national team? Come on, let’s all take one.”

Fatty: “Let go, I’m peeling shrimp for Xiao Mi.”

That evening, the senior competition began.

David, Sergey, and Arthur Cohen took to the ice one after another.

The first, Arthur Cohen, succumbed to the pressure, falling once and touching the ice on another jump, finishing with only 82 points, even lower than his junior scores. In the kiss and cry, the young man, a year and a half younger than Zhang Jue, sobbed in his coach’s arms.

His performance frightened many. Even Zhang Jue winced, watching Cohen’s falls.

What a disaster.

Coach Lu explained to Cha Hanbuhua: “Cohen didn’t keep his weight centered on the takeoff of his 4S, so his axis was off from the start. He got full rotation but couldn’t land it. His technique was wrong. Don’t imitate him.”

Zhang Junbao added: “This is a classic case of focusing on the jump but ignoring the landing, just like Shen Liu in his first two senior seasons.”

Shen Liu protested: “I fixed that later, okay? Besides, my bad landings were a mental issue, but my technique was correct!”

Was it necessary to bring up his dark past from years ago in front of the kids?

David, who performed after Cohen, showed consistency, and Sergei, who had missed the Sochi Winter Olympics due to illness and injury, gave a spectacular performance. The audience was completely on board, giving a round of applause that resounded through the venue.

Zhang Jue was the fourth to take the stage, and his appearance shocked everyone.

The young man placed his hands on his hips. His tall and powerful body was wrapped in a costume, his shoulders not broad but beautifully shaped, moving gracefully. His waist was slender, creating a striking inverted triangle shape with his upper body. His hips and legs were well-muscled.

This was an aesthetically pleasing and strong body, sculpted perfectly for figure skating performances.

Of course, to many people, Zhang Jue’s figure was extremely attractive, but the most surprising thing was that he had dyed his hair red with temporary dye, slicking it back into a pompadour. A sparkling gem adorned his forehead, and with his cool pale skin, full red lips, and youthful, passionate aura, he exuded an aggressive beauty.

He tested a 1T jump, raising his arm in his long gloves, and the arena fell silent.

This was Barcelona, but Zhang Jue had already turned it into his home ground, with everyone’s eyes fixed on him.

Takeshi Chiba stared in awe at Zhang Jue’s figure, and the senior next to him, Shoji, said: “Takeshi, this is currently the strongest men’s singles skater. Look at the details of his costume, it perfectly matches ‘Moulin Rouge,’ doesn’t it?”

Young Chiba trembled slightly, managing to squeeze out a few words.

“Arrogantly perfect.”

Shoji: “Huh? What did you say?”

Chiba thought to himself, this person was so breathtakingly perfect, he could effortlessly become the center of attention just by standing there, and he was well aware of it, using it to his advantage.

What followed was a wild and seductive tango, blooming on the ice like a fiery autumn rose, dazzling like a brilliant diamond.

He did not look like a 17-year-old kid at all. His performance was mature, his appearance tall, classical, and strikingly handsome. Despite being dressed in a stunningly beautiful outfit, he somehow exuded no femininity at all.

Audiences were used to seeing this young man appear in a fresh and ethereal image, so this year’s “Moulin Rouge” was undoubtedly his breakthrough. Zhang Jue had successfully unearthed his adult charm, leaving a large number of people mesmerized.

It was an incredibly stunning and captivating performance, but Zhang Jue was not satisfied with his score, and neither were his coaches.

Coach Lu reprimanded him lightly: “104.86 points. I’ve told you before, adding the 4Lo to the short program now will affect your GOE. The quality of that jump wasn’t great. If you’d gone for the 4S instead, you might have broken a record.”

Zhang Jue looked at the electronic scoreboard, biting his lower lip, then releasing it.

He brushed a lock of hair behind his ear. “It’s fine, it was just a trial. It’s not like if I didn’t succeed this time, I won’t succeed next time.”

Using the combination of 4S, 4T, and 3A would have allowed him to steadily break records, but competitive sports are always evolving. Eventually, men’s singles skaters will also be competing with 4Lo, 4F, and 4Lz jumps, with base scores above 12 points.

Given that, Zhang Jue figured it was better to start practicing these jumps early, to get used to the difficulty level, so he would never be left behind by the tides of change.

Even though he didn’t break a record, Zhang Jue still secured first place in the short program.

Three high scores were displayed on the large screen:

104.86 (China)

101.9 (Japan)

101.15 (Russia)

The three scores above 100 brought the atmosphere to a fever pitch, but many skating fans were actually a bit disappointed. They had noticed that all three top male skaters had coincidentally upped the difficulty of their programs. With such high technical content, it was harder to achieve perfection, and each of them had made mistakes to varying degrees. However, they were strong enough to withstand the deductions from the judges.

One fan grumbled: “If even one of them had a clean program, a new world record would have been set. But they’re all so obsessed with difficulty. Tama-chan is fine, he always makes sure the technical flaws don’t affect the performance. But the other two, their mistakes directly impacted the beauty of the program.”

Someone else explained: “There’s no helping it. In competitive sports, once someone raises the difficulty, everyone else has to follow, or they’ll be left behind.”

Ilya was the first athlete in the world to include two quads in the short program, and Zhang Jue not only kept up but also turned around and included a high-level quad that only he could land.

It seemed Zhang Jue was determined to challenge the Russian skaters. He used to compete against Vasily, and now he’s facing off against Vasily’s junior. And Hayato Teraoka was just as fierce, quickly adding two different quads to his program as soon as he made it to the Grand Prix Final, even though his previous programs only had one.

Some fans who loved shipping athletes watched the intense competition with a sense of dismay.

“They’re going at each other so hard. You can feel the tension just watching. No wonder so many young skaters who were once close friends grow distant when they get older. There can only be one champion, and they’re always competitors. No relationship can survive that kind of strain.”

But in reality, the fans misunderstood. For Zhang Jue, competition was just competition. On the ice, he fought harder than anyone, but off the ice, he was very friendly. And Hayato Teraoka and Ilya had never been close, even during their junior years, so there was no friendship to strain in the first place.

Their relationship wasn’t going to change because of one competition!

After the competition, Zhang Jue stood at the rink’s edge, holding a small crocodile plushie while waiting for the medal ceremony. With nothing else to do while waiting, he naturally started chatting with his competitors.

Excitedly, he said to them: “Speaking of, I felt like I got so much more support this season. I even saw a beautifully crafted banner from Japanese fans in the audience earlier!”

Hayato Teraoka smiled: “Yeah, I guess watching you grow from a tiny kid into the skater you are now, supporting you probably feels like raising a child to some of them.”

Zhang Jue continued: “But what really surprised me was the Russian fans. The hand-drawn posters they made for me were so beautiful. It’s strange—I’m Vasily and Ilya biggest rival for gold, so why don’t they hate me like they hate Maquen?”

Ilya calmly explained: “We hate Maquen because his presence annoys us. But you’re a good person, so a lot of Russian fans like you.”

Zhang Jue had earned all his honors through sheer hard work. His scores were dry and solid, with less inflation than any other top male skater. He thrived under pressure, never backing down, even when injured. This type of tenacity endeared him to the Russian fans, so much so that during the Sochi Winter Olympics, he was known as “Vasily’s greatest rival.”

And when Zhang Jue helped Vasily onto the podium at Sochi, he won over a lot of Vasily’s fans completely.

So, little crocodile, don’t worry—Russian fans really do like you.

Hayato Teraoka wasn’t to be outdone. “Takeshi likes you too. He’s my junior. Can you take a picture with him?”

Zhang Jue: “Sure.”

Ilya narrowed his eyes. “By the way, Boris said he’s planning a themed ice show next offseason called ‘Champions Go to the Ice,’ inviting past Winter Olympics and World Championships champions, along with this year’s Junior World Champion. You’ve got a Worlds gold medal, so you’d fit right in. Want to come?”

Ilya didn’t invite Hayato Teraoka because he didn’t have a Winter Olympics or Worlds gold medal, nor had he won Junior Worlds. He wasn’t worthy!

Hayato Teraoka felt a sharp pain in his chest, his fists clenching.

 

Support translation: