If Zhang Jue was recovering from an injury somewhere else, it was serious rehab; but when he was recovering at his parents’ side, it was enjoying life.

He would read books and do homework when he had nothing else to do, and occasionally play some games, having great fun. When his condition improved, he could even swim a few laps in the pool or go to the theater to watch Beijing opera. Mr. Xu treated him very well and would sometimes even take Zhang Jue backstage.

There were several photos with famous performers in Zhang Jue’s photo album.

With good food, drink, and enough rest, Zhang Jue’s condition improved more and more. His skin became much more moisturized, and when he returned to training, he was glowing, like a cat with smooth fur, well taken care of.

By the time his teammates who had gone to the Wudi Cup returned, Cha Hanbuhua had won a bronze medal due to a 4T mistake, and Min Shan happily brought home a gold medal.

Because his daughter had won her first match in the senior group’s first season, her father, Min Xiaoshuai, specially sent a flower basket to the coaching team and posted a message on his social media thanking the coaches and senior brothers for their help.

As parents of Zhang, Min Shan’s parents gave the highest respect and friendliness to their child’s teachers, just as Cha Hanbuhua’s mother and brother would bring pig legs and beef legs during holidays to express their gratitude. This was their simple way of showing appreciation.

It was because of their excellent attitude as parents, and the fact that their younger siblings were so lovable, that Zhang Jue, as the senior brother, generously taught them his special skills.

Upon seeing Min Shan’s gold medal, Zhang Jue was very proud and raised his chin to his uncle: “How about that? I told you my method for practicing 3A was great, right?”

The coaching team was silent for a few seconds. Shen Liu pinched his cheek: “Silly boy, if it weren’t for your junior sister’s talent, almost as high as Bai Ye or Zhong Qingzi, do you think she could use your method?”

They didn’t deny that Zhang Jue’s method was useful, but the prerequisite was that the person using it needed to be highly talented. That’s why Jiang Yihong and Qingzi could use it, but Cha Hanbuhua couldn’t.

Shen Liu slapped the back of Zhang Jue’s head: “Alright, go warm up and jump a few times on the ice. It’s been a while since you’ve moved, and it will definitely affect your technique. Try to get your condition back before the Grand Prix starts.”

Zhang Jue picked up a jump rope and sighed.

“Yes, yes, I won’t chat or boast anymore. I’ll go train, alright?”

He rolled off to warm up, and Shen Liu looked at Jiang Yihong with a gentle smile: “Yihong, Zhang Jue told me you can land your 4T now, right?”

Jiang Yihong nodded shyly: “Yes, it’s all thanks to my senior brother’s good teaching.”

As for Zhang Jue’s method of teaching his juniors, Shen Liu chose not to comment, but instead talked to him about preparations needed for competitions, like what luggage to bring, remembering to bring spare skates, and how to pack his costume so it wouldn’t wrinkle or get damaged…

With the increasing development of the internet, coaches would record their students’ jumps during training. If the quality was good, they would post the videos online, showing off “our kid just conquered a new jump.”

For domestic skating fans, it was really uplifting to see their children mastering new high-level techniques, and such videos were among the most popular ones to watch in the offseason.

Unfortunately, currently, the skaters who can post short videos that excite skating fans in the country are limited to Zhang and Huang Coach Ma pairs.

Everyone knew Zhang, the most powerful figure in individual skating in China, though there were only four people, they were all elites.

Pairs was centered around pairs skating with Coach Ma. His two pairs were among the few in the world who could consistently complete quadruple throws and twists.

Unfortunately, both pairs, Huang Ying/Guan Lin and Jiang Xiuling/Luo Mi, had been plagued with injuries.

According to Yang Zhiyuan’s judgment, this was because the two male partners in these pairs were not particularly tall. Guan Lin was only 1.7 meters tall, and his partner Huang Ying was 1.55 meters. Jiang Xiuling was 1.77 meters tall, and his partner Luo Mi was 1.6 meters.

In international top-level pairs skating, the male partner is usually over 1.85 meters, while the female partner is usually under 1.6 meters. The height difference wasn’t enough, meaning the male partner had to exert more effort during throws and lifts, leading to ongoing shoulder injuries, and the female partners inevitably faced a higher risk of injury.

Because of this, Coach Ma paid special attention to bone age test data when scouting boys and girls during the offseason.

He even sighed to Zhang Junbao: “If only Zhang Jue could practice pairs skating, his strength and height are perfect.”

He almost got a punch from Coach Lu, who was standing next to him.

Good job, daring to steal talent from Zhang! Well deserved!

The day after Zhang Jue resumed training, the list for this year’s Grand Prix was announced.

The schedule for this year’s Grand Prix was: Tokyo, Japan; Moscow, Russia, Shanghai, China, Lake Placid, USA; Paris, France, and London, Canada. The final was held in early December in Nagano, Japan.

Zhang Jue signed up for the Russia and France stations, which were both in mid-October.

Cha Hanbuhua and Min Shan signed up for China and France stations. Originally, they wanted to compete in the same station as their senior brother to support each other, but the leaders wanted the two new rookies from Zhang to debut in their home country.

Their first station was different from Zhang Jue’s, while Jiang Yihong was also going to compete in the Russia station for the junior Grand Prix’s first event.

After seeing the schedule, Zhang Jue suggested to the coaching team: “Since the St. Petersburg station is only five days earlier than the Moscow station I’m going to, and I need to arrive early to adjust to the time zone, I could fly to St. Petersburg with him, watch the competition, and then head to Moscow.”

The St. Petersburg event started on October 6, just during the National Day holiday, so Zhang Jue would not miss any studies if he left at that time.

Zhang Junbao agreed: “Okay, I was thinking of that too.”

Jiang Yihong was still nervous. His short program was choreographed by a famous international choreographer, and his free skate was edited by Zhang Jue, who then went to Japan to work with a choreographer named Miyamoto. The two programs and costumes were expensive, and the coaching team focused even more on him this offseason.

He knew that since his senior brothers and sisters had all moved up a level, he would now be shouldering the responsibility for Zhang in international junior competitions.

This time, the team was led by Shen Liu, and Zhang Junbao would stay with the national team to train his other two disciples. According to Sun Qian, a few 11-12-year-old kids were going to try out. They were medalists in the boys’ and girls’ singles events in this year’s club league’s junior division.

If Zhang Junbao didn’t have any objections after watching their training performances, Zhangmen would soon have new disciples.

The coaches’ attention and the resources of the team were limited, and how much attention an athlete received depended on their performance in major competitions.

Jiang Yihong was a thoughtful kid. He knew that landing the 4T in training wasn’t a big deal. It was the stable performance in competitions that would guarantee him the most attention among his peers in the junior men’s singles.

At that moment, someone patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry. You’re excellent. As long as you do your best, you’ll be fine.”

Jiang Yihong looked up and saw his senior brother giving him an encouraging smile.

Then, the children’s pressure grew even greater.

On October 3rd, Shen Liu and Yang Zhiyuan, along with Zhang Jue and Jiang Yihong, were preparing to arrive at the airport. They would take a flight to Saint Petersburg from there, and Jiang Yihong’s mother was also in the group.

She was surprised to see Zhang Jue pushing a trolley full of luggage to check it in and asked her son: “Brother Hong, why is your senior carrying so much stuff?”

Jiang Yihong scratched his head: “It’s not that much, just five suitcases. His performance this year is based on traditional Chinese opera elements, so he has to bring his costume.”

It was said that the costume was particularly expensive. Some of the jewelry had been borrowed from a Peking opera teacher, old items passed down from their school, which were then replicated by artisans because the real items couldn’t be taken abroad.

Jiang Yihong’s mother was also a fan of figure skating. After hearing her son, she immediately became very interested in Zhang Jue’s performance this year.

She sighed: “Your senior really loves figure skating. When it comes to putting effort into the program, none of you can match him.”

However, after they arrived at their destination, Jiang Yihong’s mother found that the trouble of carrying all that luggage wasn’t Zhang Jue’s but the coach’s. He started feeling sick halfway through the flight, and by the time they landed, he was already half paralyzed from motion sickness. The combination of motion sickness and jet lag made him drowsy at the airport.

Yang Zhiyuan was supporting this muscular, 1.8-meter tall (?), annoying kid forward, while two tall bodyguards helped with the luggage… Her son’s senior was going to a competition with bodyguards!

After they arrived at the hotel, Zhang Jue lay on the bed and fell asleep in a second, while Shen Liu busily arranged his luggage, set the alarm, and quietly left. Jiang Yihong and his mother tidied up their things. The next day, after waking up, Zhang Jue, still without much energy, slowly ate a sandwich. Several nearby children were pushing each other and ran up to ask for his autograph.

The leader was a blonde girl, and she was the only one not asking for an autograph.

The little girl looked at Zhang Jue with her blue eyes: “Hi, do you remember me?”

Zhang Jue blinked and handed her a piece of candy: “Of course, you’re Raisa, we met in Sochi (Chapter 133).”

The little girl smiled proudly: “I can now do 33 continuous jumps. Hey, can we take a photo together?”

Zhang Jue stood up: “Of course.”

He waved at Jiang Yihong: “Yihong, come help take a picture.”

Jiang Yihong finally snapped out of it. He jogged over to help take the photo, then watched his senior handle these adoring kids so skillfully.

Before leaving, Raisa cheerfully said to Zhang Jue: “I’m the ice assistant for this competition, but some of the skaters aren’t even as good as me. When I join the youth group, I’ll definitely be the best. Your junior sister is amazing, I’ll work hard to catch up with her.”

Zhang Jue encouraged: “Yeah, keep it up!”

Once they left, Zhang Jue was still not feeling well, but Jiang Yihong let out a sigh of relief.

“Finally, they’re gone.”

Zhang Jue looked at him confused: “Huh? Aren’t kids fun? Don’t you like kids?”

Jiang Yihong quickly shook his head: “No, I like kids. I just don’t know how to get along with them.”

The young man showed a disappointed expression. He also wished he had more friends, but compared to talking to a group of people, he was better at recharging by being alone.

Zhang Jue seemed to understand and sat down with his arm around his junior’s shoulder: “It’s fine, everyone’s personality is different. Some are extroverted, some are introverted. No matter what your personality is, I think you’re great.”

He pushed a plate of fruit in front of his junior: “Want some?”

Perhaps because Zhang Jue’s tone was too relaxed and casual, Jiang Yihong smiled, and for some reason, the heavy feelings in his heart, which had been growing as the competition neared, loosened up a bit.

Jiang Yihong did not complete the 4T at the Saint Petersburg competition because, during the six-minute warm-up before the free skate, the normally calm boy realized that he was unable to perform the four-turn jump. So, he only included two 3A combinations and won the championship with that.

For a young person, not being able to perform to their full potential in a competition naturally left him feeling regretful. However, surprisingly, Jiang Yihong didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he quickly adjusted his state and eagerly asked his mother to adjust the camera lens.

Because the Russian competition for the senior category was about to begin.

At this competition, Zhang Jue would face Vadim, David, Rojas, and Kharhasha—four athletes ranked in the top 15 in the world. Vadim wasn’t very strong, but being the local competitor, he could still be considered a potential opponent.

They arrived at the hotel in Moscow at 6 PM. Shen Liu went to handle the check-in while Zhang Jue sat on the sofa drinking hot milk. Jiang Yihong sat beside him, and the two had already gotten used to the clicking sounds around them.

At this moment, Jiang Yihong heard someone calling out Zhang Jue’s last name.

“Zhang.”

They turned around to see a delicate, refined man standing in front of them, looking down at Zhang Jue, who was sitting.

“It’s a pleasure to face you again. I heard you injured your ankle, hope it won’t affect the competition.”

Jiang Yihong recognized the man as Vadim, the current Russian senior “third brother.” He had typical Slavic good looks, with light hair and a narrow nose, but there was something subtly effeminate about him.

Jiang Yihong couldn’t shake the feeling that Vadim’s tone was a bit strange, not quite provocative, but with a slight touch of attention-seeking flirtation.

Zhang Jue looked up at Vadim, who, sitting down, appeared much shorter in comparison, but his presence far exceeded Vadim’s.

He casually replied: “Oh, it’s you. If your jump rotations were a bit more, maybe your international ranking would be higher.”

Zhang Jue stood up, his long, athletic frame making Vadim look like a child who hadn’t fully grown.

“Yihong, let’s go.”

Zhang Jue picked up his bag and left. Jiang Yihong followed him, filled with curiosity.

His senior was a high emotional intelligence person who was very good at making friends. Whether it was his greatest rivals, Ilya and Hayato, or the stern judges, Zhang Jue would always communicate with them in the most gentle manner. He maintained respect and kindness toward everyone, never showing dislike even when facing those he didn’t like.

Such a slightly disdainful yet still polite attitude was rare from Zhang Jue.

But Jiang Yihong subconsciously felt that Vadim probably had a high regard for his senior, but Zhang Jue didn’t care for him at all.

Little did Jiang Yihong know, as he won the championship in Saint Petersburg, and with Zhang Jue constantly supporting him, other people in the figure skating world began to notice him, just like how they noticed Cha Hanbuhua and Min Shan through Zhang Jue.

After a whole evening, his Twitter account followers surpassed 100,000. On the day of the competition, Ilya, who should have been preparing for the China competition, and his coach, Vasily, were also in the audience. When the camera panned to them and their figures appeared on the big screen, many people shouted in surprise.

Zhang Jue waved at the audience, and Vasily raised his fist in a gesture of encouragement.

The brief exchange between two generations of champions, and the sight of the country’s top skater lifting his little crocodile fan, also influenced the local Russian fans.

The cheer of the crowd when Zhang Jue completed a jump during the six-minute warm-up was even louder than that for Vadim. Everyone was eager to see his victory, and that anticipation had already surpassed their expectation for their own national athletes.

This incredible popularity left Jiang Yihong’s mother utterly baffled: “I remember when Russian fans hated Maquen during the rivalry with Vasily. How come they all like Zhang Jue so much now, after he fought against Vasily and Ilya?”

Jiang Yihong suddenly had an epiphany.

He firmly said: “Because my senior is a heartthrob.”

His mother: “Huh?”

As they were talking, Zhang Jue returned to the rink to drink water and handed his jacket to Shen Liu.

This year, his short program: “Kostin,” featured a white “celestial maiden’s feather robe” as the base, with a layer of white gauze covering it. The gauze had faint red dots, and the back was a deep V, with snow-white feathers on either side. It looked even somewhat sorrowful.

And Zhang Jue hadn’t gained weight as usual before the season; instead, he kept his weight at 65 kg, making him appear thinner than previous years. His collarbone and shoulder blades were especially visible when he moved, and his hair, which hadn’t been cut for a few months, hung longer, with the ends draping over his shoulder.

No one looked more like a comic book handsome youth than he did, and this radiant, moonlight-like beauty made him the center of everyone’s attention as soon as he stepped on the ice.

Zhang Jue closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made his last adjustment.

Vasily furrowed his brows: “His short program is ‘Lovely Bones’? Is it related to the movie?”

After watching the tweet Zhang Jue posted, many athletes rewatched Lovely Bones and Farewell My Concubine. After watching, many believed that Zhang Jue’s performance this season would be healing and dark, yet hopeful.

Because Zhang Jue was the kind of person whose performance was always full of life, with the heat of the sun and an innate trust in hope.

But Vasily had a premonition that if it was Zhang Jue, he would constantly push himself beyond his limits, never trapping himself in just one style of performance.

He whispered: “What will you do next? What surprise are you going to give us?”

 

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