“Alright, the men’s short program of the 2016 Grand Prix Final in figure skating ended, and our country’s famous athlete Zhang Jue ranked first in the men’s short program with a new world record of 116.03.”

The screen showed the current rankings and scores of the men’s singles:

Zhang Jue (CHN): 116.03
Ilya Safoshenko (RUS): 111.31

Hayato Teraoka (JPN): 110.5

David Kasule ( (BEL): 106.77

Arthur Cohen (USA): 102.18

Carlson (CAN): 98.45

Jiang Chaoshen said: “Next up is the pairs’ short program live broadcast. Our young athletes Jiang Xiuling and Luo Mi will perform first. This was their first time entering the senior Grand Prix Final. Achieving this result in their first year after promotion was not easy. Their program was ‘The Lonely Goatherd,’ choreographed by Darya Sorinkova…”

The short program only lasted 2 minutes and 30 seconds (±10 seconds). In the past, Zhang Jue skated his short program with ease, but this time he made it too complex, so every time he finished performing, he was drenched in sweat.

After the competition, he immediately found a place and chugged water, then went for a doping test. By the time he watched the pairs competition and returned to the hotel to rest, it was already 9:30 p.m. It had been three and a half hours since dinner, he had undergone intense exercise, and his stomach was completely empty.

Zhang Jue looked at his dear uncle with clear and innocent eyes.

Zhang Junbao said: “Alright, stop looking at me like that. I’ll make you some steamed purple sweet potatoes and a salad with lemon juice, okay?”

Although it sounded very light, athletes could only eat that kind of thing for a late-night snack. Zhang Jue clutched his stomach and nodded repeatedly: “Okay, okay.”

While Zhang Junbao borrowed the kitchen to make food, Zhang Jue crouched in a corner. His stomach rumbled from time to time. Although he didn’t speak, his stomach clearly conveyed his thoughts:

Hurry up.

Zhang Junbao said: “I’m working on it, I’m working on it, stop rushing me.”

Zhang Jue ate and then went to sleep, fully satisfied.

But his opponents were under great pressure. Zhang Jue’s emergence was great news for skating fans but a disaster for other male skaters of his generation.

As long as his health bar was full, his combat power was absurdly high. Many people felt frustrated facing such a monster. Clearly, he never cleanly performed his program even once during the pre-competition run-throughs. Why did he suddenly deliver during the actual competition?

In contrast was Carlson. His short program had always been clean during run-throughs. His coach even posted videos of his form online, but he collapsed during the actual competition. Since “OP” was the abbreviation of “official practice” in English, everyone nicknamed Carlson “OP Prince.”

Zhang Jue wasn’t called “competition king” because of this, but the title “short program king” was shouted loud and clear. Countless skating fans hoped his free skate could also be stable.

Because he never cleanly landed a free skate during any Grand Prix event that year.

So although his opponents panicked, deep down they hoped Zhang Jue would fail his free skate. Everyone was determined to catch up, thinking the same thing:

When the free skate came, even if they had to lower difficulty, they had to skate clean.

Oh, not everyone. Ilya didn’t think this way. After all, he and his senior Vasily shared the same stubborn mindset — believing that a real man must attempt quadruple jumps, and a real man among men must attempt even more quads.

The men’s event took place on the third day. On the second day, there was ice dance rhythm dance and ladies’ free skate.

After last season’s world championship loss, Keiko reflected deeply this year and decided to play it safe. Luckily, she competed at home. Japan always had good ice quality, she had a supportive crowd, and her sister was present. Her condition was very good.

Russia’s Serena also resolved to use a stable strategy this year and not be influenced by her opponents’ performances. Meanwhile, her junior was scolded by Vasily, “Absolutely no lowering of difficulty on your own.”

But this time, Zhang Junbao didn’t take Min Shan to a place without people or distractions to warm up.

He said: “You can’t avoid being influenced by opponents forever. You have to learn to adapt to their excellent performances and handle all the pressure.”

Min Shan’s mindset wavered a bit but remained steady.

Although her short program didn’t suit her style, her free skate was choreographed entirely by her senior. Ever since she started performing it, it received rave reviews. It greatly boosted her confidence.

At that time, Zhang Jue was scolding people.

The Grand Prix Final included both junior and senior groups. The juniors competed in the afternoon, seniors in the evening. That afternoon, the Sai siblings didn’t get first place with the short program he gave them?

Zhang Jue was very dissatisfied. He looked down at the two juniors: “This year’s junior ice dance didn’t have many strong competitors. Your technique was good, your performance scores improved. This should’ve been your best chance to win gold. Everything was in your favor, and you couldn’t grasp it?”

“Logically, sibling pairs should have the best chemistry. I never thought you’d mess up on the twizzle. That shouldn’t have happened.”

Sai Qiong lowered her head under the scolding. Sai Peng still tried to defend himself: “Captain, it was Sai Qiong. She insisted last night that her shower was broken and used mine. Then she used my hairbrush…”

“That’s no excuse for fighting before a competition and letting it affect your performance! If I’d known you were like this, you shouldn’t be athletes at all! Just go home and fight all you want!”

Zhang Jue threatened them: “If you two fight again, I’ll report to Coach Sun and get you split up. We’ll find partners who don’t fight.”

He was tall, muscular, and had sharp eyes. With the authority of being their teacher, his fierce scolding was terrifying.

Sai Qiong immediately cried. She grabbed her brother’s coat and sobbed: “Captain Zhang, I was wrong. We’re both scared now. Please don’t separate us.”

Sai Peng’s legs trembled, but he bravely stood in front of his sister: “Captain, we’re sorry. We won’t do it again.”

Zhang Jue thought: “If only you had realized this earlier.”

He warned: “If you don’t make it to the podium this time…”

The Sai siblings nodded frantically and swore they wouldn’t mess up again. After Zhang the crocodile left, they sat on the ground leaning against each other, as if surviving a disaster.

They entered the finals with golds from two previous events. Since China’s ice dance had never done so well, the two kids became overconfident and fought like usual. Before the short program, they argued over a trivial issue.

After their internal conflict once again affected their performance, their coach unexpectedly invited Captain Zhang. He usually seemed easygoing, but when angry, he was terrifying.

No wonder he went viral at 13 waving a mop on camera. His temper didn’t mellow with age — it became even scarier. He just hid it better.

Sai Peng looked up at the ceiling: “Sis, we must go all out in the free dance now.”

Sai Qiong said: “Yeah, we can’t make another mistake.”

After walking a few steps, Zhang Jue saw Vasily leaning against the wall, looking at him with an amused expression. Zhang felt slightly embarrassed.

Sigh, he went to a quiet place to scold the kids, and still someone saw him. What bad luck.

The two generations of champions sat on the staircase. Vasily instinctively reached for a cigarette, saw Zhang Jue, and quickly put it away.

Zhang Jue waved: “Go ahead, I don’t mind.”

Vasily pressed the cigarette pack back into his pocket: “Better not. You’re an athlete — no smoking or drinking. I won’t make you breathe second-hand smoke.”

Zhang Jue laughed: “How do you know I don’t smoke or drink?”

Vasily raised an eyebrow. Oh? He thought only Russians like himself, Sergei, and Ilya sneaked drinks.

“Looks like you’re not that well-behaved.”

Zhang Jue tilted his chin: “Do I look well-behaved?”

Vasily shook his head. With Zhang’s wild attitude on the ice and refusal to listen even to his coach, if he was considered obedient, then there were no unruly kids left in the world.

The handsome Eastern youth touched his chin with a sly look: “I’m curious about everything. I secretly tried smoking and drinking — but I knew it wasn’t good, so I quit secretly. No one ever noticed.”

Some said Zhang Jue’s temperament resembled Zhang Junbao’s. But his uncle lacked his talent and was beaten by life more often, so he was more stable. Zhang Jue had a fierce mom keeping him in check from a young age, so he never acted out like his uncle by drinking or smoking when training went badly.

But in a past life, Zhang Jue experienced a time without parental control. He hated alcohol, but truly quit drinking after his uncle’s liver cancer diagnosis scared him. As for smoking, he quit after joining Fengming’s company to protect his voice.

Vasily was surprised but calm: “Even if you’re more rebellious than you seem, don’t touch that stuff again. It’s bad for your body.”

Zhang Jue said: “Yeah, I quit long ago.”

Silence settled in. Vasily leaned against the wall and rested his eyes. He was already 28. Once called caramel rose for his sweetness, his looks weren’t as fresh. Worrying aged him, fine lines appeared.

He and Zhang Jue weren’t as close as Zhang was to Ilya or Hayato. They never opened smelly herring cans together or built private chat rooms.

But maybe because they were alike, their rapport was strong. Even sitting in silence wasn’t awkward.

After a while, Zhang Jue reminded him: “You should go check on the girls.”

Serena and Katerina needed him.

Vasily stood, dusted off his pants, casually replied, and asked: “You were practicing 4F?”

Zhang Jue smiled sheepishly: “You noticed?”

“I practiced 4F too. Landed it in training. Then injuries stopped me. It’s not just you who finds 3-turn jumps unstable after training quads. By the way, your rotational-speed quad technique from before puberty was impressive.”

He left, leaving Zhang Jue in thought. After a while, Zhang Jue slapped his thigh.

“Damn, Min Shan’s going to face a strong opponent!”

Based on fan intel, ever since Vasily began coaching, he had planned to train his juniors to attempt quads.

Vasily had hinted clearly enough — he brought up Zhang’s pre-puberty rotational-speed technique, perfect for small, flexible girls to land quads!

The ladies’ six-minute warm-up began. Katerina removed her jacket and shook hands with Vasily.

He said calmly: “Try it in the six-minute warm-up. If it works, include it in the program.”

Katerina swallowed nervously and nodded.

Zhang Jue stood rink-side, watching the girl’s serious expression. She gained speed, launched from a spread-foot takeoff — slender, petite, spinning fast in the air… not quite four rotations — about 120 degrees short, but the landing was solid.

Gasps rose from the audience.

Zhang Jue frowned. In Asian ladies’ skating, anything short of 90 degrees would be downgraded. But Russian girls always got some leniency.

This jump… would probably be credited.

After that, apart from Keiko, the other ladies seemed tense and made mistakes. Min Shan appeared and became the first to clean her program.

This girl trained her 3A with her senior by using a harnessed 4S to improve rotation. No quad could scare her.

Keiko was also steady — her strong mentality paid off.

But to everyone’s surprise, Katerina didn’t attempt the 4S during her program.

Zhang Jue looked at Vasily, just in time to see him give a thumbs-up.

At that moment, Zhang saw in him again the persistence of someone who truly loved figure skating.

Vasily had taught Katerina the quad, but he also stopped her from using an under-rotated jump to earn points.

Author’s note:

Mini theater

Vasily: Thank you, little crocodile, for demonstrating rotational-speed quad jumps before puberty to the world.

Zhang Jue: I feel like I just unknowingly helped the enemy… tch!

In truth, studying top athletes’ techniques is common in many sports — haha, think positively, little crocodile. This proves you’re the reigning king, ahem.

 

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