“Hello, audience friends! You are currently watching the 2017 National Figure Skating Championships. The event taking place now is the Men’s Singles. The national team’s rising star from H province, Jiang Yihong, who has won gold in the Youth Finals and World Junior Championships, has already taken to the ice.”

“Jiang Yihong is a disciple of our famous coaches Zhang Junbao and Shen Liu. His senior brother is our country’s top male singles player, Zhang Jue. We can see that Coach Zhang seems quite nervous.”

This year, Jiang Yihong’s short program and free skate were both choreographed by masters like Francis and Zhang Jue, providing him with world-class choreography resources.

The young athlete was performing well. His short program, The Veil, was elegantly mysterious, exuding an oddly dark yet beautiful vibe—gothic, but even better than gothic

His free skate, In the Mood for Love, was directly inspired by a film that Maggie Cheung had starred in. Although the free skate only lasts four minutes, the style of director Wong Kar-wai was already evident. If all went well, this program would be carried into his senior career, becoming one of his first programs in the senior category next season.

Sun Qian watched the young athlete’s performance with a satisfied expression: “Yihong’s expressiveness is good, but his performance is somewhat limited by his music choice. He needs Zhang Jue’s help more.”

Coach Lu looked up at the ceiling: “He has already taken charge of all the new season’s music choices for his junior and senior teammates.”

As the senior, Zhang Jue was very competent and responsible. He rarely refused to help when the younger athletes asked, and he truly helped them soar with their performances.

Jiang Yihong’s current issue wasn’t performance points but rather his inability to land the 4S jump consistently. This kid was born after July, so he wouldn’t turn 16 until next year, which would be when he moved up to the senior category. Right now, in the men’s singles figure skating field, no one could compete at an elite level without two or more quadruple jumps. Without them, there was no hope of reaching the Grand Prix Final. His goal would be to aim for the podium in smaller events, like Chahan’s competition, for example.

In Zhang Jue’s circle, aside from Zhang Jue and Min Shan, everyone else preferred jumping with edge rather than with toe jumps, and Jiang Yihong had hit a bottleneck.

At this moment, Zhang Jue interrupted, saying: “That’s why I said, just skip the 4S and focus on the 4F.”

Shen Liu gave him a smack on the back of his head: “Go warm up! The 4T and 4S are basic lower-level quadruple jumps. No matter what, you need to let him practice them!”

And remember, you yourself had a long period where your 4S jumps were disastrous after your growth spurt, didn’t you? Even now, after your injuries, you’ve still managed to keep those basic jumps as the foundation of your technical points.

Don’t underestimate the importance of the ‘second wife’ just because you’ve had so many ‘first wives’!

Zhang Jue reluctantly went to warm up. Due to some considerations, like Qin Xuejun’s request, after the final, he changed his costume from the Costin pants for the short program to leather pants.

Because the lights in the rink were white and the ice surface was also white, the pants were quite shiny, emphasizing the curve of his buttocks. Zhang Jue, with the best body proportions among his peers in China, had well-developed glutes and legs, and a low body fat percentage. Walking around, he stood out like no one else.

At that moment, Zhang Junbao slapped his head: “Oh, right! Bai Xiaozhen said that the variety show has started filming. The production team will come over today to get some footage. Ah, I forgot to tell Yihong earlier. He should perform well—he might even get some screen time.”

Zhang Jue was already the most popular figure in the four major figure skating disciplines. He had so many endorsements that he was overwhelmed. However, Jiang Yihong’s family was only middle class, and his parents still hoped that he could develop well, which was a completely reasonable thought. The coaches were also willing to help as much as they could.

Coach Lu said: “It’s better you didn’t mention it. This kid doesn’t have the pressure resistance that Bu Hua and Zhang Jue have. If he knew there were more cameras, his mistake rate would definitely go up. And based on what I know about variety shows, they probably want to film Zhang Jue more. They even mentioned wanting to show Zhang Jue off-ice.”

Uncle: “What’s so great about him?”

This year’s National Championships were held in the Mountain City. As soon as Zhang Jue arrived, he ran off to dig his ears and then shouted for hotpot and dumplings. After the coaches calmed him down, he acted cute and made excuses, using a voice full of 300% sugar to coax Coach Zhang into agreeing to buy him noodles after the competition.

It wasn’t that Zhang Junbao wasn’t firm, it was that Zhang Little Jue was the number one darling in figure skating. Anyone would’ve been unable to resist.

So, just let them take the competition footage. If they included footage of Zhang Jue off the ice, that material would just be renamed “The Black History Collection of the Country’s No. 1 Male Figure Skater.”

Forget it, they weren’t going to put Zhang Jue on the show anyway. Let them film whatever they want, as long as it didn’t interfere with Zhang Jue’s competition.

After talking for a few minutes, the coaches sat with Jiang Yihong for a while. The staff began to clean the ice surface, and not long after, there was a burst of excited screaming from the audience.

Jiang Yihong took a sip of water and turned to look: “Is that… Li Lanyi and Song Di?”

Uncle, who didn’t know any stars, looked puzzled: “Who are they?”

Commander Sun explained: “They’re the celebrities from Ice Star. I remember this show has been filming for a month, and it’s already in its third episode. They seem to have learned steps like forward cross steps, three-turns, double foot spins, and forward lunges, and now they’re starting to choreograph for the competition.”

Coach Lu scoffed: “They’ve been practicing for a month and this is all they can do?”

Back when Zhang Jue was still overweight, he had already been eager to try landing a 1Lz after one month on the ice. Though he fell, he still managed to crash into a nearby teammate. But Zhang Jue had learned five types of jumps within three months of learning figure skating.

Commander Sun said: “You don’t have to compare them to Zhang Jue. For regular adults, this progress is pretty good.”

That kind of talent Zhang Jue has is rare in the history of men’s singles figure skating. Few can compete with him.

In fact, the director coming over to film was out of goodwill. They wanted to give the national team athletes more exposure and to show the domestic audience how strong our figure skaters are, hoping to generate attention for the upcoming Pyeongchang and Beijing-Zhangjiakou Winter Olympics.

Because of the appearance of the celebrities, the audience seating became chaotic for a while. In the end, the event organizers had to quickly move them to another area to sit, where only athletes and coaches should sit. Fans who understood event etiquette wouldn’t crowd into those areas.

Yuan Qin glanced at the ice surface and hummed nonchalantly: “They say figure skaters are all beauties, but these people don’t seem that great.”

Song Di gave him a strange look: “Really? Aren’t all these athletes above average in appearance?”

Plus, all these athletes have great bodies. Figure skating also requires good posture, so most of the athletes in this sport have excellent physiques and great temperament. Many of them could easily score 6 or 7 points even without makeup.

Isn’t that more authentic than some stars who rely on heavy makeup to create an illusion of beauty? Yes, Song Di was referring to Yuan Qin.

Li Lanyi and the lead drummer of the Earth Dragon Band, Jiang Xuewen, were from the same company. It was heard that this drummer was also a professional figure skater and from Northeast China, having skated on the ice since childhood. Since the show started, her progress had been the fastest.

She quietly asked her colleague: “I heard we were originally supposed to visit the national team’s training facility in Beijing, but why did they change the location?”

Jiang Xuewen explained: “The timing didn’t match up. During the first episode, the national team was abroad competing, and it was when the production team was doing basic training with us. During the second episode, the national team had just returned from a big competition and needed to rest. Their head coach didn’t allow the filming crew to disturb the athletes. This episode is the first chance to see them live.”

Actually, when Zhang Jue just returned to the country, the national team leaders were still arguing about whether Zhang’s team could participate in the competition. They had no time to manage a variety show.

Li Lanyi said: “Then we can visit the national team in the fourth episode. That way, we can directly interact with the athletes, right?”

Jiang Xuewen thought to himself, they just didn’t want us to interact with the athletes. Didn’t you see that before, they were training Jin Meng and Yao Lan, both of whom were Olympic champions before retiring? But when they were tough on that young man Liu Xing, his past immediately surfaced, and they said the coaching fees were too expensive and the students’ level wasn’t high.

It was pitiful. Those senior athletes focused on enhancing the talent pool for figure skating after their retirement, not even participating in commercial performances. Their fees were in line with industry standards. The only reason their students hadn’t shown results yet was because of their young age, but they still got criticized. It was really too harsh.

In front of the camera, Jiang Xuewen didn’t feel comfortable saying that the national team was unwilling to risk losing its few Olympic gold prospects and that they didn’t want close-up shots. So, he told the director not to let them film up close.

Sigh, it was such a shame. He had specifically practiced hard on the ice before joining the show, hoping to show off his friendship with Zhang’s team on camera, get more chances to appear with him, but now those moments could only happen in his dreams.

At this moment, the production team reminded them: “You can start the live stream now.”

Jiang Xuewen responded and took out the selfie stick. His expression immediately changed to the kind of sunny, funny older brother look typical in variety shows.

“Hello, everyone! We’re now at the Ice and Snow Sports Center in Shancheng, where the 2017 China Figure Skating Championships are being held… As you can see, there are foreign spectators here as well. They specifically came to watch our country’s famous athlete Zhang Jue compete.”

This person started speaking a string of professional figure skating terms, clearly and concisely introducing the venue, event, and the upcoming program, sounding quite professional.

Li Lanyi sat next to him, echoing him. She didn’t add anything spectacular, nor did she drag him down.

Zhang Jue stood in the athlete’s tunnel, feeling confused as he listened to the noise outside: “The audience seems very enthusiastic today?”

His competitions always had a 98% attendance rate, so the liveliness was normal. However, there were rules of spectator etiquette, so the audience wouldn’t get too loud before his official appearance.

Cha Hanbuhua asked curiously: “What’s going on?”

Shen Liu replied: “It’s nothing. Just focus on warming up and competing. Don’t worry about anything else. Zhang Jue, when you go up, activate your glutes and legs first.”

“Huh?”

Zhang Jue tilted his head, not understanding. His warm-up move to activate his glutes and legs was the swan glide, which required lifting his legs and engaged his core strength. But since it excited the fans every time he did it, he had been doing it less recently.

Shen Liu continued to remind him: “Also, if you’re in good shape, you can start jumping during the six-minute practice session.”

Zhang Jue understood. His coach wanted him to show off today.

Was his short program not cool enough, so the coach wanted to make up for it during the six-minute practice session?

Although he wasn’t sure what exactly the coach meant, Shen Liu’s request didn’t require much effort from Zhang Jue, so he nodded in agreement.

He coughed lightly and waved at Liu Yeming, Jin Zixuan, Shi Mosheng, and Cha Hanbuhua: “Let’s go, time to get on the ice.”

The moment they stepped onto the ice, a flash of camera lights made Zhang Jue squint. He looked up and saw a handsome young man waving at him enthusiastically.

The former trainee blinked and struggled to recall the man’s name from his memories.

Was that… the rich second-generation Liu Xing, who had once coveted his father’s company?

Zhang Jue had never interacted with this person before, but he was clever. A quick glance revealed an obvious head of red hair.

Oh, so it was him.

He patted Jin Zixuan, who was rubbing his eyes: “Focus on warming up, and compete well. Don’t let external things distract you.”

Jin Zixuan was stunned and immediately straightened up: “Yes, captain!”

Since falling in love with figure skating, Zhang Jue had completely given up on entering the entertainment industry. He calmly did what he needed to do, and during his warm-up, he smoothly executed a perfect swan glide, which sent the crowd into a frenzy. When it came to the competition, he easily crushed everyone else.

Who knew that that night, a young girl watching the variety show posted a picture of his swan glide on her social media.

Brother Xing’s little fan: “I just found a new crush today. He’s an athlete. I saw him during the Ice Star live broadcast with Brother Xing. He has perfect looks, and his posture on the ice is super elegant. The only downside is that he’s muscular. I prefer the slender body type of younger guys. His name is Zhang Jue.”

Soon, other fans followed suit. Some were surprised that such a hidden gem hadn’t been discovered by the “face lovers” in figure skating.

Then, someone commented, saying they had seen this guy in an ad for a luxury watch. Their gay brother had collected many of his posters, and at first, they thought he was a model due to his height and build, but to their surprise, he was an athlete?

In the comments under that fan’s post, a bunch of fans who had long fallen for the “crocodile” in the figure skating world began posting crying-laughing emojis.

[Am I getting old? The little crocodile was already famous when I was in high school. Seems like some young kids don’t know him.]

[Wasn’t he on the news when he broke the world record in Sochi? Oh, I forgot some kids don’t watch that.]

[Wow, Zhang Jue is famous for his small frame. His waist is so slim that you could hold it with one arm. His body fat is single digits. He’s slender but powerful, not too thin, not bulky. He’s internationally recognized as the sexiest male singles skater. What’s wrong with his body?]

[If athletes were too skinny, how could they have the strength to do quadruple jumps? Zhang Jue is also really hardworking. In the past couple of years, his buttocks have filled out a bit more. He deserves it. He won the national championships again this year!]

[But comparing Liu Xing and Yuan Qin to Zhang Jue makes them seem weak, haha. Athletes who can do quadruple jumps have really strong legs. One kick could send someone to the hospital. When Hayato Teraoka was on a Japanese talk show, the host asked him who in figure skating could fight, and he immediately said Zhang Jue and Qing Mei, haha.]

[Huh? I thought he’d mention some Russian skater’s name. Is Zhang Jue more of a “fighting” figure than the Russian “fighting” athletes?]

[Why is Qing Mei also mentioned in the “best fighter” list? Did something happen I don’t know about?]

[She’s an adult, and I love Zhang Jue’s physique. Plus, Zhang Jue has a baby face like his uncle. He looks youthful, and he’s slender in clothes but muscular without being bulky. His flexibility is amazing. He can do the Berman, and wow, this is another skating beauty after Coach Zhang!]

Zhang Jue was well protected by the leaders. Except for the bright lights flashing during his short program at the national championships, he wasn’t disturbed at all, so he considered this a minor interruption.

He had no idea that after this incident, he had gained so many “face” fans.

After his free skate at the national championships, he returned backstage, sat down, and began massaging his muscles. A pair of long hands placed an ice pack on his thigh.

The tall young man with gray eyes knelt in front of him, untied Zhang Jue’s skates, lifted his feet, removed his socks, and gently pressed on the acupuncture points on his soles.

“Congratulations, you won the championship again.”

Zhang Jue paused, enjoying Dr. Qin’s massage so much that his eyes narrowed in comfort. He lifted his left foot, placed it on Dr. Qin’s shoulder, and knocked on his scapula with his heel.

“Thanks, handsome. Are you free tonight? How about taking me out for a drive?”

Such flirtatious words and actions would probably have made many same-sex fans go wild if Zhang Jue’s feet were as delicate and fair as rumored.

Unfortunately, Zhang Jue was an athlete who could train until his feet bled, and years of intense training had already caused his feet to deform.

His feet weren’t pretty. When Zhang Qingyan saw her son walking around in flip-flops in the summer, she would clutch her chest in pain. Not many people would feel tender affection for such deformed feet, but Dr. Qin in front of Zhang Jue did.

Dr. Qin lowered his head, his tone soft: “Okay, you say where, and I’ll take you there.”

 

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