At 8 PM, Yin Meijing and Liu Mengcheng, who had just won the junior ice dance gold medal, saw the junior ice dance gold medalists squatting side by side and respectfully presenting a gold medal to Zhang Jue, who was rinsing his mouth.

“Zhang team, this is the junior ice dance gold medal.”

Zhang Jue nodded, mumbling: “Hmm, okay.”

It was only natural that the combination capable of winning gold in favorable conditions achieved the expected outcome. Zhang Jue casually praised them for a moment and let them go to enjoy themselves.

The Sai siblings breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Mengcheng commented: “What a scene, like a sycophant offering tribute to the boss.”

After a while, Guan Lin, who had won the senior pairs skating gold medal, came over with Huang Ying. They squatted side by side and presented the gold medal hanging around their necks to Zhang Jue, who was eating a sandwich.

“Zhang Jue, we won the gold, it’s up to you now.”

Zhang Jue swallowed the last bite of his food and gave them a thumbs-up: “Hmm, watch me.”

Yin Meijing, who loved watching Hong Kong movies, said: “Isn’t this like the white paper fan cheering for the red double sticks?”

Liu Mengcheng, who watched Hong Kong movies with his wife, responded: “Tama-chan, rather than the red double sticks, it’s more like the fragrant master or the leader.”

No matter what role Zhang Jue played, it was clear that he was seen as a very social person in the eyes of the couple.

The social crocodile boss did some warm-ups, especially stretching in the cat pose. Passersby couldn’t help but glance over at him, and David watched for a while before turning away.

“Ah, this figure really makes one have impure thoughts. Sin, sin, I need to control myself. I already have a boyfriend!”

The first skater to perform in the men’s free skate was Carlson, who ranked last in the short program. His free skate was set to a lively jazz saxophone piece.

Although he struggled in the short program, Carlson regained his form in the free skate.

In the previous timeline, the men’s single four-turn jump battle had been at a level where skaters with 4T and 4S could claim to be at the top, and when top skaters like Hayato Teraoka or Ilya made mistakes, the North American champion Carlson had won World Championship gold.

But in this timeline, Hayato and Ilya had greatly improved thanks to Zhang Jue’s influence, creating a noticeable gap between the “Three Musketeers” and other athletes.

Even so, Carlson still had a chance to compete for the fourth spot in men’s singles. His skating skills were so superior that he could glide 50 meters on one foot smoothly, a skill previously only seen in Hayato Teraoka.

Just by looking at his steps, he was like a bug, and the fact that this young guy was only one month younger than Zhang Jue, with fewer injuries than Hayato, made him even more dangerous.

After completing four clean four-turn jumps in his free skate, Carlson sighed in relief and bowed to the audience, feeling that he had turned things around with his performance.

There were few men’s singles skaters who could clean four four-turns, and before, only the Three Musketeers had managed it. Hayato Teraoka had even attempted five four-turns, but had not cleaned them. Now that Carlson had completed his routine, his status had risen.

Arthur Cohen was under significant pressure. His coach stood behind him and whispered: “It’s okay, Carlson isn’t great at the A-jump, so his program only has one 3A. If you do three four-turns and two 3A’s, your base score will be just as high as his. With the advantage from the short program, you won’t be in last place.”

Arthur looked bitter: “Coach, you’re right, but North American jumping techniques are all passed down the same line. If Carlson can’t do the A-jump well, how can I do better?”

However, men can’t admit they can’t do something, so Arthur gritted his teeth and went on stage, feeling like he was going to fall.

And fall he did, on his second 3A jump.

As the youngest man’s single skater in the field, Arthur had the most pressure. Technically, none of the other five skaters were weak—they were all podium regulars.

His music choice was special. During his training at the Cotten Club in Canada, with coach Sarah’s suggestion, Arthur chose the same theme for both his short program and free skate, drawing from the movie The Great Gatsby.

This allowed him to focus all his performing energy on this film, making it easier to find his feeling and perform more smoothly.

Arthur always identified with Gatsby, the man chasing the American dream, deeply in love with Daisy and willing to give up everything for her.

Daisy, a girl like gold, Arthur remembered clearly. Gatsby had said that just standing there, that girl made all the buildings shine.

Arthur too was chasing someone, that person who stood on the ice, and it felt like all the light of the vast galaxy was shining on the ice, creating a miracle.

He wanted to defeat him but could never even touch the edge, but even without hope, he couldn’t give up on the pursuit.

His performance was beautiful, and Ilya and Vasily whispered: “This kid expresses emotion well, but the take-off for the A-jump is glaring, and the 3Lz’s edge work is a bit off.”

The 3Lz jump required the skater to take off with the outside edge of the left foot, but Arthur’s outside edge was shallow, barely an outside edge, and in the moment of take-off, it turned into a flat edge.

This was a jump that could be judged as unclear in edge use, but the judges wouldn’t call it, because Arthur was an American men’s skater.

Hayato Teraoka commented: “If this kid competed in China, he’d lose at least 5 points.”

Keiko, who was not afraid to compete in China, said calmly: “At least his four-turns are decent. The lack of rotation is within 90 degrees, which is better than Katerina.”

Her coach, Morishima, agreed: “The four-turns should still be judged by top men’s singles skaters, like Teruoka’s 4F, Zhang Jue’s 4Lo and 4S, 4Lz, Ilya’s 4T and 4Lz.”

The jumps of the Three Musketeers were considered textbooks by many athletes aspiring to do four-turns.

Especially Zhang Jue. He had contributed turning speed techniques, power-type jumps, skating-enhanced blade jumps, hand-raise to adjust axis jumps, ice-landing buffer techniques, and other A-level techniques to the world of figure skating, speeding up the development of four-turn jumps by at least 30%.

Arthur Cohen’s technique was typical of the North American style, but when he performed the 4T, there was a clear influence of Zhang Jue.

David’s style was even more obvious. Like Zhang Jue, he was tall with long legs and relied on hand-raising to help find the correct axis and adjust his center of gravity during jumps.

His free skate was set to a gothic version of Corpse Bride, with a smoky eye makeup look. His visual effect was stunning, and with the humorous body language paired with the eerie music, the story immediately stood out.

Shen Liu whispered to Zhang Junbao: “David’s outfit this season is the best after Little Jue, his taste is really good.”

Zhang Junbao replied: “That’s right, his casual clothes and costumes have never been wrong.”

Little Jue also had this sensitivity to art, even surpassing others, so there was nothing to envy.

The first three competitors each had their own distinct style, and none of their programs were bad, but David fell during his 4S jump, and Arthur Cohen dropped a 3A. The only one who completed his program cleanly was Carlson, but he was in last place in the short program.

Unless the three musketeers failed spectacularly, giving warmth to the competitors behind them, the three who had already finished their performances were unlikely to make it to the podium.

“They’re here.”

Teraoka Hayato had been wearing a hat until just before his performance, when he took it off. The arena instantly quieted, then exploded—this person had dyed his hair silver!

Zhang Jue had also dyed his hair red when he performed “Moulin Rouge” in the past, so he was surprised to see Hayato doing the same today. Coupled with his blue eyeshadow, light-colored lips, and the blue-and-white CosTen costume, the “bad boy” vibe was immediately subdued, and he looked much colder and more composed.

His program was the classical “Snow Goddess” by Himekami.

As the vast, distant music began to play, an ancient scroll seemed to unfold in Hayato’s performance, with a strong classical flavor in his every gesture. Every movement captured everyone’s attention.

It felt like… like standing on a prairie, gazing at a snow-covered mountain in the distance.

Zhang Jue widened his eyes. “Aside from ‘The Good Doctor,’ he actually brought out another program that could be considered his signature piece.”

Hayato was amazing.

Unfortunately, Hayato fell during his signature jump, the 4F, but everything else was perfect. When his program ended, Zhang Jue sincerely clapped hard.

Still, it was Ilya who pressed his hand down.

The earnest bear said: “Save some excitement for me, little crocodile. I’ll also bring out my best work this season.”

Zhang Jue lowered his hand as told, encouraging him: “Good luck!”

Zhao Ning, watching the interaction between the two athletes, couldn’t help but smile. “Safoshenko, Teraoka, and our Zhang Jue have been good friends since the youth group. Safoshenko even fought with Zhang Jue once. But Safoshenko and Teraoka aren’t particularly close, they’ve always been fierce competitors, so Safoshenko doesn’t like seeing Zhang Jue so happy for Teraoka.”

Indeed, the straightforward battle-hardened Russian would express his jealousy openly.

Zhao Ning shook her head in her heart and continued explaining: “Safoshenko’s free skate this season is Sarasate’s masterpiece ‘Spanish Dance,’ interpreted by Edwin Marton. The choreography was done by Russian skating matriarch, Serena.”

Serena and Boris were both in their seventies or eighties, and twenty years ago, they had fierce rivalries, but now, with Boris retired, Serena actually agreed to choreograph for his student—this was quite rare.

Serena, known for her impeccable taste, had been involved in the choreography of the ice dance masterpiece “Requiem of Remembrance.” Naturally, Ilya’s performance with this piece received much praise. Unfortunately, he had never performed it cleanly at any prior competition and even injured his foot at the French Grand Prix.

Now, he was finally able to perform at his best.

Zhang Jue watched attentively, his expression growing serious.

“The choreography is amazing.”

Ilya had always been the least expressive of the three musketeers, but this choreography maximized his strengths, highlighting his character and technical advantages.

What an amazing piece of choreography—tight structure, perfect alignment of body movements. A masterwork, indeed, and Zhang Jue even found himself reflecting on the flaws in his own choreography while watching it.

Ilya himself was in excellent condition. His jumps were clean and powerful, each one graceful, clearly showing that he was finally in top form.

When his free skate finished and he sat with Vasily in the kiss-and-cry, Zhang Jue already anticipated that this would be an impressive score.

However, when the score was revealed, Zhang Jue was still stunned for a moment.

224.13, 0.17 points higher than the free skate world record of 223.96 set by Zhang Jue.

Zhang Jue’s record had been broken.

The author has something to say: Zhang Little Jue was never invincible. In his rookie years, he had to face Vasily and Maquen, as he matured, he was squeezed by both Hayato and Ilya, and then other juniors started challenging him. These waves of pressure kept coming, and yet, he stayed consistently at the top of men’s singles from the Sochi cycle to the Beijing-Zhangjiakou cycle. His ability to maintain top-tier performance for so long is enough to make many people envious (compared to his peers, he is the one who endured the most in high-level competition).

Little Jue: “I want to thank Aunt Ning, thank the coaching team, thank my parents. Without their support, there would be no Zhang Little Jue, no stormy but glorious competitive career… bla bla bla…”

 

 

Support translation: