The “Please do not run in the corridor” sign was hanging on the second-floor corridor of Love Heart Baby Pet Hospital. The sign was light blue, with cartoon-style writing, looking warm and cute.

At that moment, however, someone ignored the sign, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor. A veterinarian, irritated, almost opened their mouth to remind the person but held back due to the visitor’s handsome appearance.

“Sir, you…”

Zhang Jue pushed open the ward door and rushed to a small sickbed, carefully whispering: “Saori, open your eyes, Daddy has come to see you!”

Saorii kept her eyes closed. Although her small body was still rising and falling with weak breaths, she was obviously much weaker than before, and even her fur lacked its usual luster.

Qin Xuejun, eyes red, pressed his hand on Zhang Jue’s shoulder: “Zhang Jue, don’t do this.”

He had never seen Zhang Jue in such a distressed state. Due to the time difference, Zhang Jue still had heavy dark circles under his eyes, a bit of stubble, and messy hair, showing that he had been focused on rushing here and had not taken care of himself.

Zhang Jue pushed his hand away, looking at Saori, and began wiping away his tears with genuine emotion.

“Saori, Daddy hasn’t even grown the best sunflower seeds for you yet. The thesis is only just started. How can you leave so soon? Is our father-daughter bond really so shallow? You haven’t even tasted the newly launched Sweet Corn No. 2! At least finish that before you go!”

The veterinarians watching had sweat pouring down their faces.

He hesitated, then reminded: “Actually… hamsters can live to be over two years old without injury or illness, but then they choke on sunflower seeds. That’s already a bittersweet farewell.”

Many hamsters don’t even live to one year old because their owners aren’t careful enough. This hamster had lived for over two years, still with plump, shiny fur, looking like it had enjoyed a life of luxury. As a hamster, it deserved to have a book titled “The Best Life of a Two-and-a-Half-Year-Old Daughter.”

At that moment, Saori opened her black, shiny eyes. She looked at the two-legged creatures, weakly squeaked, and then closed her eyes for the last time.

Zhang Jue cried, beating his chest and stamping his feet: “Saori—”

Don’t go! Don’t make Daddy send you off with a tea offering, little furball!

That night, Zhang Jue’s secondary Twitter and Instagram accounts posted an obituary along with a black-and-white photo of Saori. Since he had previously only posted photos of Saori looking cute, his followers on these accounts had all regarded him as a pet blogger and loved Saori, the well-cared-for pet.

Thus, once the obituary was posted, the comment section turned into an ocean of tears.

Those who knew this was Zhang Jue’s secondary account offered condolences, advising him not to be too sad and that he would eventually have another pet. They told him to take care of his health and they’d see him again during their next public performance.

The day of Saori’s funeral was a sunny day.

Zhang Jue wore a black suit, holding a black umbrella in the daytime, and solemnly placed his beloved hamster into a small box, then cremated the remains and scattered them into the river.

Qin Xuejun wrapped his arm around Zhang Jue’s shoulders and spoke to the river: “Saori, go live a good life on Hamster Star. May you find your true soulmate hamster in that world.”

After they solemnly finished the funeral for their daughter, Zhang Jue felt another wave of sadness as he returned home to pack things away.

He had bought so many toys for Saori and was planning to get her a new cage in the off-season, but now she had been taken away by a single sunflower seed. Life is so fragile, and fate is so unpredictable.

Qin Xuejun, hearing Zhang Jue muttering, carefully asked: “So, are you still going to skate with the love theme next season, or are you changing it to a family theme?”

Honestly, he wasn’t too concerned whether Zhang Jue skated with a love theme. After all, whether Zhang Jue skated or not, Qin Xuejun was already here, their relationship was half-established, and they just had to wait for one of them to be promoted to associate chief physician and the other to retire before they could officially start their relationship. He just wanted to know about Zhang Jue’s career direction.

Zhang Jue wiped his eyes with a tissue and finally pulled himself out of his sadness.

“Still skating love, I’ve already written the music for the short program.”

Qin Xuejun: “You wrote it yourself… oh, I meant, what about your free skate?”

Zhang Jue: “I’ll try classical music or a musical for the competition program, but I haven’t chosen the piece yet.”

He smiled sheepishly: “Since it’s for the competition, I plan to write the lyrics in English. It’s a challenge for me, and I’ll need to make a demo and have a singer sing it, or I’ll do it myself. It’ll take quite a bit of work.”

Qin Xuejun’s face flushed, and he stuttered: “N-no rush. As long as you’re happy skating, I’ll watch whatever theme you choose!”

Zhang Jue stared at him for a while, then gave a mischievous smile.

“Now, there’s only one thing I need your help with.”

Qin Xuejun, looking seriously into Zhang Jue’s eyes, responded: “Hmm, how can I help?”

Zhang Jue leaned closer: “I need some inspiration for the lyrics.”

“Use yourself as inspiration for me, Petr.”

Zhang Jue didn’t understand Russian, but his pronunciation of “Petr” was always flawless.

The lingering sound faded between their lips as they touched.

After a moment, Qin Xuejun said: “Aren’t we not dating for now?”

Isn’t kissing a bit inappropriate then?

Zhang Jue: “We’re just not giving it a title yet. I didn’t say we can’t do other things.”

 

…

 

The season just ended, and Zhang Jue was still resting. Other athletes were in the same situation. As for topics, those with bad procrastination would delay until August or September, but if it passed the deadline, they wouldn’t be able to participate in the B-level competition.

Qin Xuejun took out a stack of Sweet Corn No. 2 from the steamer, peeled off a few kernels, and placed them in a small dish. He then placed the dish in front of a photo on the bookshelf.

In the photo, Saori was lying on black velvet, looking adorable. It was taken during their spring outing last year. The memory was still fresh, but the hamster was no longer with them.

Qin Xuejun thought that if they were to get another pet in the future, it would have to be a long-lived one. Otherwise, Zhang Jue would be too heartbroken.

But since Saori had only passed away a few days ago, Qin Xuejun didn’t bring up getting a new pet. Instead, he focused on working hard, studying, and taking care of Chicken Nr. 2 and Chicken Nr. 3

Chicken Nr. 3 laid eggs much more frequently than Chicken Nr. 2, and was comparable to the peak period of Chicken Nr.1 . Based on appearances, it seemed likely that she would live a long life.

He brought breakfast into the bedroom and placed it on a small wooden table. When Zhang Jue heard the noise, he opened his eyes. Lying on his side, he smiled and stretched out a hand, lazily calling out.

“Xuejun, peel me an egg.”

Qin Xuejun pinched his fingers.

“Xuejun, I want to drive.”

Xuejun coughed: “I want to drive too, but without a title, we can’t drive. You can’t just get on the bus and buy a ticket after.”

Zhang Jue: “What are you thinking? I want to drive a real car. You forgot I signed up for driving school? After the off-season, I’ll be practicing. I’ll be taking the test soon, need to practice more.”

Qin Xuejun remained expressionless: “Oh, so you’ll practice on the family car? Fine, but I’ll come along.”

Given this person’s consistent wild and carefree style on the field, who would dare let him practice driving alone? It was better to keep a close watch on him.

Zhang Jue spent nearly 20 days recovering his feet and easing the grief from losing his daughter. When he returned to the ice rink, many people were surprised by his condition.

This person, who was prone to gaining weight, had stayed at home for so long but hadn’t gained any weight!

Zhang Jue helplessly said: “I just lost my daughter, I really didn’t feel like eating. Besides, I went out swimming and walking, I did a lot of cardio, so I couldn’t gain weight.”

Sazhi’s granduncle patted Zhang Jue on the back of his head and said: “Stop standing, go take a fitness test. I want to see how much your physical abilities have declined.”

Zhang Jue always experienced some degree of physical decline after each recovery period. His skills and competitive condition also weakened a bit. These were things the coaching staff had to consider when making his training schedule.

Aunt Ning then reminded him: “Zhang Jue, do you remember? You always do a period of vegetarian diet for fat reduction during the off-season. I didn’t bring it up earlier because your right foot wasn’t fully recovered, but now it’s time to start.”

Zhang Jue nodded eagerly: “Alright, let’s start.”

Then, Coach Sun reminded Zhang Jue: “Zhang Jue, your commercial performances are scheduled to start in July during the summer break. Are you sure you want Francis to take charge of the group dance this year?”

Jiang Chao Sheng said to Zhang Jue: “Captain, tomorrow Jiang Xiu Ling and Luo Mi will officially join the team. They will practice single jumps with Shen Liu for a while. Also, Sai Peng and Sai Qiong hope to find better choreography to improve the program quality. Do you have any good suggestions?”

Various matters came rushing toward Zhang Jue, and this was his daily life.

As someone who could be considered a half-coach and the strong leader of the team, Zhang Jue always had countless challenges and tasks that required him to push the limits of his physical abilities.

Zhang Jue was always happy to accept these challenges.

In May, Francis Miller arrived in Beijing. He was sitting on his suitcase waiting for Zhang Jue when someone patted his shoulder. When he turned around, he was startled.

The person who approached was dressed all in black and wearing a mask. With that outfit, they were either a celebrity or a weirdo.

Francis recognized the person as Zhang Jue, and he winced.

“Tama-chan, why are you dressed like that?”

“Are you so famous in this country that you have to dress like this just to go out in public?”

Zhang Jue calmly replied: “It’s a common upper respiratory infection during season changes. I don’t want to spread it to you, so I’m wearing a mask.”

Francis waved it off: “I’m perfectly healthy. A little flu won’t bring me down.”

Even though he had retired years ago, as the former British men’s singles champion, his body was still in great shape!

Having experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and staying at home for months, almost running out of supplies in his dorm, Zhang Jue, who was very sensitive to respiratory diseases, replied seriously: “Some precautions are really necessary.”

If it hadn’t been for knowing it was 2016, Zhang Jue almost considered getting a test when he felt sick.

And athletes, once they got sick, couldn’t even get the medicine easily. Many would just tough it out, so when they caught a contagious disease, it was really important to take precautions to avoid spreading it to the whole team. Zhang Jue had been trying to practice on the ice only during lunchtime breaks, avoiding overlapping training times with others. To recover quickly, he didn’t dare do high-intensity training, he could only do his best to maintain his condition.

He also carried around a small spray bottle filled with disinfectant from Xuejun, spraying it occasionally in the air. Many people in the team joked that he was making a big deal out of it.

Although Bai Xiaozhen had told Zhang Jue that his popularity was now comparable to some up-and-coming celebrities in the sports world, and he was truly a top-tier figure, that didn’t stop him from riding the bus and subway with Francis.

On the way, Zhang Jue told Francis about his plans for this year’s POI, and he intended to debut the program at a commercial performance.

Zhang Jue seriously stated: “Last year, I didn’t have enough time to fine-tune the program. Some parts didn’t get perfected until the end. This year, I plan to showcase the program more in public events, using commercial performances as practice.”

Francis was shocked: “Darling, you’re so particular. You tortured me for two months to make a program. Now, I also have to choreograph for your juniors and do the group choreography for POI. You’ll need to rehearse the program before showcasing it, right? The program has to be finished in advance. Are you sure I can manage all this?”

Zhang Jue said: “I’ll pay more.”

He made a money gesture.

Francis immediately straightened up: “Leave it to me! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure all these programs are perfect.”

For Francis, who had once been so poor he had to use a credit card to buy his flight ticket to competitions, as long as there was money, working hard was no problem.

Zhang Jue thought to himself, Francis’ response was so perfect, with just a hint of a northeastern accent.

 

Support translation: