The mature man gasped softly, his breathing was heavy. Zhang Jue didn’t like that kind of breathing; he always thought it sounded messy, so he would try to lengthen his breath during exercise when possible.

He leaned against the wall and did a handstand, and the world in his view turned upside down.

After a while, Zhang Jue returned to a standing position, his body swaying slightly. He patted his head.

“Tsk, I have to win it back in the free skate!”

He muttered to himself, then sat on the carpet and did a pigeon pose from yoga.

Whenever he spent a long time abroad for competitions, Zhang Jue couldn’t help but think of Xuejun making tomato scrambled eggs with eggs laid by chicken no.2 and chicken no.3. When he thought of chicken no.2, he couldn’t help but think of Chicken no.1, which had turned into soup.

Before going to sleep, he sent a text message to Qin Xuejun.

[Master Jue: I want some chicken soup.]

[Xuejun: Should I arrange for chicken no.2?]

[Master Jue: Very good, remember to buy Sihong and Wuhong too, the eggs from Chicken no.3 alone won’t be enough.]

After finishing yoga, Zhang Jue rolled around on the bed, muttering: “Mom, I want some pears.”

However, there was no mom in Nagoya. There were pears on the bedside table, but Zhang Jue didn’t want to wash them himself, nor did he want to peel them. Besides bananas, he only ate fruit that had been peeled and cut into a fruit plate. Oh well, he decided to sleep instead.

Spoiled by his older brother, with pears next to him, he closed his eyes and went to sleep, missing the pears.

If a picture of what Zhang Jue was like when alone were made public… it would likely shatter countless people’s illusions.

The next day’s competition included the ice dance rhythm dance and the women’s singles free skate. Zhang Jue went to watch it live. Before the competition started, he sat and looked at his phone. When Teraoka Hayato passed by, he casually asked: “What book are you reading?”

Zhang Jue casually replied: “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

Teraoka Hayato froze. He turned back, thinking, so Chinese boys like this domineering CEO literature too?

Domineering CEO literature, sweeping the world.

Sai Peng and Sai Qiong had moved up to the adult group this year. In the series competition, they ranked 10th and didn’t make it to Nagoya. Meanwhile, in the women’s junior singles free skate competition held in the afternoon, Vasily’s disciple, Laisha, easily defeated Zhang Jue’s junior, Meng Xiaolei.

Laisha had a 3A, while Meng Xiaolei didn’t. The short program in women’s singles didn’t allow quadruples, so Laisha already had a lead. When it came to the free skate, in order to make up the score from the short program, Meng Xiaolei took the risk of attempting two quadruples but still couldn’t beat Laisha, who only attempted one quadruple but performed steadily.

Moreover, Laisha’s skating and spins were all at level 3, with the potential to push for level 4 with good execution. Her performance wasn’t mature, but there was a spark of talent.

Meng Xiaolei had invested too much energy into the quadruple jumps, and her skating and spins barely reached levels 2 and 3. As for her performance… well, let’s not go into that.

Zhang Jue evaluated his junior’s performance: “She’s just like most Chinese ladies’ singles skaters, technically sound, not going down the wrong path, but too focused on jumps, which makes her a specialist. Her performance is stiff, clearly unable to let go, and the emotions aren’t there.”

Zhang Junbao pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply: “Before, we focused so much on getting Xiaolei’s quadruples stable that we neglected the performance part. I’ll talk to her and try to improve her performance before the next season.”

Keiko Shiratsuka squatted by the side with a hot water bottle. The coaches and older brother were so dedicated to her younger sister that she should have worked harder on the logistics and spoken more encouraging words.

But Coach Zhang had taken a deep breath in front of her! The rise and fall of his chest muscles were simply mesmerizing.

So fierce, this man was so fierce!

According to past practices, when junior students made mistakes in training, Zhang Jue or one of the coaches would casually step in to scold them, but when Meng Xiaolei came back with a silver medal, no one criticized her.

“Silver’s not bad,” Zhang Jue patted the girl’s head: “When I first competed in the junior finals, I only got a bronze.”

Meng Xiaolei looked upset: “Laisha is really amazing, senior brother, I will definitely beat her in the future!”

Zhang Jue smiled: “Good luck.”

What can I say, an athlete with dominance in a certain event must have both technical talent and a spark in their performance. If their overall ability is weak, they’ll be overtaken by others.

As for the most talented women’s singles skaters Zhang Jue had seen, before her leukemia, Zhuang Zi could be one, and Xu Chuo, who hadn’t developed yet, could also be one. But they both fell for various reasons. The current dominators, Qingzi and Min Shan, were almost there, but Meng Xiaolei would fall even further behind. Laisha, however, vaguely resembled the Russian Zhuang Zi.

Although he didn’t know the future, Zhang Jue, having skated for so many years, believed he could judge which talented junior would dominate the next generation.

That said, Zhang Jue actually hoped to see his women’s singles skaters rise. After all, from Xu Chuo and Min Shan to Meng Xiaolei, the three women’s singles skaters from Zhangmen had been suppressed by Qingzi and Laisha and could only get silver medals. Just thinking about it was so sad.

In contrast, the ice dance competition was much more exciting. This year, the rhythm dance was a cowboy dance, and watching them hop around on the ice, it looked as though the ice was burning their feet.

Zhang Jue tilted his head, leaned against his uncle, and watched the ice rink.

This program was full of energy, and it was visually pleasing. Meijing looked much better than last year. It seemed that Meng Cheng had really supported her well. Their performance was outstanding.

Min Shan really liked the style of this program. She tugged at Zhang Jue’s sleeve: “Senior brother, who choreographed Meijing’s program this year?”

Zhang Jue was very popular in the choreography world, so many messages and news came to him without asking. If anyone had any questions about choreography, they could definitely ask him.

The senior brother thought for a moment and gave the answer: “They hired Daliya for the short program choreography this year, and the free skate was choreographed by the female G.”

“Female G?”

Between 1985 and 1995, there was a very active pairs figure skating duo. Their last names both started with the letter “G,” so they were called “GG,” with the female partner being known as “Female G” from the GG duo.

Min Shan suddenly understood. “It’s that pair! They had a very strong bond, and because they were so good-looking, they were considered the most genuine ‘ship’ of figure skating in the last century by ice fans. But wasn’t Male G the one who passed away suddenly from a heart attack on the ice?”

Zhang Jue nodded. “Yes, that’s right. They were the true love that didn’t make it to the finish line. Female G now mainly works in commercial performances and rarely does choreography. I didn’t expect Meijing to turn to her.”

Moreover, their free dance was My Heart Will Go On. Two true love ships working together to create a Titanic story… was that really okay?

Even though Qingzi was struggling with injuries, Zhang Jue still thought her chances of winning the women’s singles free skate in the adult group were the highest. However, before the competition began, she announced her withdrawal.

This left many spectators confused.

“What happened? Why is Qingzi withdrawing?”

“Is she not feeling well?”

The crowd murmured. Teraoka Hayato ran backstage, and Zhang Jue followed him.

Qingzi smiled bitterly in the face of her boyfriend and friends’ concern. “Sorry, I strained myself during warm-up, and it’s a bit uncomfortable. I could still push through, but I want to stay healthy for the Winter Olympics, so I’ll step down now.”

Min Shan shook her head, standing nearby. “It’s fine. I wasn’t in a rush to compete with you right now. If you leave, it’ll be easier for me.”

Qingzi made an encouraging gesture towards her. “Good luck!”

Hayato carried her off. Min Shan bit her lip, watching her retreating figure, a strong sense of disappointment in her eyes.

Zhang Jue placed his hand on her shoulder. “Do your best. Even though Qingzi withdrew, Katerina and Selena are still tough opponents.”

Min Shan remained silent for a moment before asking Zhang Jue: “Senior brother, do you think Qingzi will retire after the Winter Olympics?”

Zhang Jue shook his head. “I don’t know, but even if she retires, I don’t think her love for figure skating will fade. If one day someone we know leaves the rink, don’t be too sad. Just wish them a new life ahead.”

However, based on Zhang Jue’s judgment, Qingzi had probably injured herself while doing a Bellman spin. As she got older, her flexibility had naturally declined.

It seemed that after today, Qingzi’s Bellman spin would likely become her final one.

The withdrawal of such a heavyweight in women’s singles cast a shadow over the competition.

Zhang Jue gathered his energy and came out in his best form on the third day.

He was the fourth to perform in the men’s singles free skate. After Carlson, Arthur, and Chiba Takeshi finished their routines, it was Zhang Jue’s turn.

The difficulty of the free skate was extremely high. The first three young skaters all made mistakes to varying degrees. Arthur fell from three quadruple jumps, but Carlson fell worse, almost as if doing charity, pinning himself firmly in last place, which meant Arthur’s ranking wouldn’t be too bad.

Chiba Takeshi’s spin axis twisted into a knot, and in the end, it was rated only level 2. He also fell during a combination jump.

The instability of the young skaters was fully displayed in the performances of the three. Zhang Jue stepped onto the ice and tested it out.

“Hmm, the ice quality is really good. Looks like the mistakes were all psychological,” Zhang Jue thought as he took off his jacket, tossing it into his uncle’s arms before spinning and skating away. His ponytail swayed with the movement, and the black hair gleamed with a healthy shine in the air.

In the figure skating world, there was a well-known fact: among the “three musketeers,” Zhang Jue was the only one who could naturally portray a sensual style.

Teraoka Hayato’s performance last year didn’t count; his charismatic look could only be called a “bad boy” style. It couldn’t compare to Zhang Jue’s level of sensuality, and based on his cooking videos on social media, it was clear that Hayato had the aura of a good family man deep down.

In comparison, Zhang Jue was much bolder in releasing his own X appeal.

At that moment, the camera captured Zhang Jue with a melancholy and languid gaze in his eyes. His tight black and gold bodysuit hugged his inverted triangle-shaped torso, with a proportionally perfect waist, hips, and long legs. His hair was styled in soft curls at the tips and at his temples.

This androgynous figure skating king stood at the center of the rink, making it impossible for anyone to look away.

Keiko Shiratsuka silently raised her phone, screaming inwardly.

Ahhh! The 20-year-old Zhang Jue is really a living beauty! His presence, confident yet alluring, makes it impossible to resist but also feels unreachable. You can only watch…

Tsk tsk tsk, he’s seductive yet not overly charming, and his indifferent expression carries a hint of elegance. It’s perfect!

 

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