Actually, in the places the TV didn’t capture, Zhang Jue had already stunned everyone with his appearance once.
During the warm-up of the athletes, to stay warm, Zhang Jue wore a coat outside of his costume. At this point, everyone just thought the boy’s forehead ornament and earrings were exquisite.
It wasn’t until the six-minute practice that Zhang Jue took off his coat. The audience immediately became lively, with a mix of voices and camera flashes flickering towards the ice. Many people were continuously taking photos of Zhang Jue.
Due to this commotion, Zhang Jue later received the treatment of having his face teased by the camera.
If it were a few years later, Zhang Jue might have made it to the headlines of UC— “Shocking! Americans Astonished by His Beauty.”
Marisa, a figure skating enthusiast in her thirties, had been following figure skaters’ elegant and athletic figures since her youth. She not only liked the mature male singles with refined skills but also enjoyed paying attention to the slender, promising teenage athletes.
Before the competition began, Marisa learned from a friend who worked as staff that a young Asian athlete who had arrived this year was remarkably handsome.
“Handsome? Can he be more handsome than Ilya Safoshenko? That boy looked like a fairy tale prince at the age of 13, although he’s been looking more like a young man in the past two years.”
Her friend sighed: “Dear, this kid is even more beautiful than Ilya. He’s like a larger porcelain doll.”
Her friend always spoke very frankly. Jue Zhang was a very beautiful kid. As the competition was about to start, Marisa steadily held her camera, keeping the lens focused on the young figure.
The boy constantly pounded his thighs and buttocks before the official start of the competition, awakening the muscles in these areas. This was to ensure more agility and flexibility in the performance. He drew a Chinese character on his chest to stabilize his body’s axis, and the movements were skillful.
Marisa sighed softly: “A really beautiful kid.”
Angus Joe, accustomed to receiving the most attention from judges, opponents, and spectators in North American competitions, muttered quietly when he saw this scene: “Ladyboy.”
His father pressed his shoulder, reprimanding him quietly but sternly: “Be careful with your words. If someone hears you, the LGBT community will give you a hard time in the public opinion.”
“The kid’s legs are too thin. His muscle strength is not enough. He won’t be your rival, Angus. You should pay more attention to Alex and Tré, they have completed their development and have age advantages.”
At this moment, the music on the ice had already started. Marisa was surprised to find that the first technical move of the little handsome boy after the opening was a spin.
After an amazing butterfly with a fantastic hang time, he entered the swan spin. The rotation speed was not high, but the technique was textbook-standard. Then he changed into the rarely used pancake spin posture, followed by a more beautiful twizzle spin.
The technical group judge frowned: “Excellent flexibility, but the axis is not very stable.”
The lifted leg during the spin was a free leg, and the supporting leg was a skating foot. Jue Zhang’s skating foot deviated at least 10 centimeters from the original axis during the spin.
However, at the same time, this boy changed three spinning postures without changing his foot. Among them, the pancake spin rotation reached more than 8 turns, and there were changes of edge during the spin. All of these met the requirements for an upgrade.
“Can only give level 3, no higher.”
The judges confirmed their own ratings and scores, and the screen above the venue lit up.
FCSp3 (Change-foot camel spin level 3)
BV (Base Value): 2.8 GOE (Grade of Execution) +1.
CURRENT (Current skater technical score): 3.9 [Medium]
LEADER (Current leading technical score): 35.6 [Excellent]
After this spin, Zhang Jue still did not start jumping but instead entered into a step sequence. Madam Mia did not choreograph overly complicated steps for Zhang Jue, but his skating speed was astonishing. The changes in the blade were clear and smooth, demonstrating excellent skating skills.
The young boy’s body was soft yet powerful, truly resembling a high-level ballet dancer on ice. His facial expressions matched the cunning and madness of the Black Swan Odile, disguising himself as Princess Odette and gradually approaching the prince, deceiving him into making a vow of love. This was deception and temptation.
Undoubtedly, portraying such a character was a challenging task for a junior skater. However, with practice, Zhang Jue had become increasingly skilled at performing this deceptive dance of the Black Swan.
Alex, who was waiting backstage, watched the young boy on the ice, becoming serious: “His expression is very strong.”
His bald coach nodded in agreement: “Yes, the performance is very mature.”
In his heart, the bald coach added that this kid’s performance was mature to the point that he no longer looked like a junior skater.
In figure skating, which emphasizes jumps as the main attraction, anyone who can captivate the audience with their performance doesn’t need to worry about choreography.
The other technical judge responsible for the spin rating greatly appreciated this kid’s skating. She generously gave a rating of level 4. However, any technical score for a skater is a combination of all the judges.
Therefore, when the results came out, the rating for this step sequence was still level 3, but with a GOE of +1.5.
StSq3 (Step sequence level 3)
BV (Base Value): 3.3 GOE (Grade of Execution) +1.5
CURRENT (Current skater technical score): 8.7 [Medium]
LEADER (Current leading technical score): 35.6 [Excellent]
Although these added scores might seem slow and meager, in reality, even top-level senior men cannot guarantee stable scores of level 3 or above in every program.
This boy from China hadn’t even jumped yet, and he had already demonstrated his solid foundation and performing talent to everyone. He even received praise as “very good” from several industry professionals.
Until 1 minute and 40 seconds into the short program, Tré Zheng frowned.
Now, the second half of the program was starting, and according to the new rules of the ISU, jumps completed in the second half would receive a 1.1x base value bonus.
And Zhang Jue had strategically placed all his jumps in the second half of the program!
The tiny Black Swan didn’t show any nervousness at all, having just stepped onto the international competition stage for the first time. He didn’t slow down noticeably before starting his jumps, quite the opposite—his skating speed increased steadily. Finally, with a clean and precise tap of his right foot on the ice, his left foot pressed deeply into an outside edge, and his body soared into the air.
This was the 3Lz (6 points) with a delayed rotation he used to mock Angus Joe during training!
After completing this jump, Zhang Jue again tapped the ice with his left foot, raised both hands high during takeoff, and executed a 3T (4.3 points).
This is the first set of advanced 3-jump combination seen on the ice today. After the 1.1x bonus, the base score alone reached a terrifying 11.33.
Marisa watched and exclaimed: “Beautiful!”
This time her admiration had nothing to do with Zhang Jue’s appearance. It was solely based on the appreciation of this particular jump. Not exaggerating, she said it was the most outstanding jump she had seen since the junior competitions began!
Accompanied by the increasingly urgent orchestral music, Zhang Jue tapped the ice again with his right foot. This time, however, his left foot turned inward, pressing into a deep inside edge.
Zhang Junbao, along with coaches Shen Liu and Song Cheng, became nervous.
“The critical moment is here. Don’t fall, little Jue. You absolutely cannot mess up at this point!”
With a snapping sound, Zhang Jue landed on the ice. His body swayed imperceptibly but overall remained stable.
Zhang Junbao excitedly threw a punch, muscles bulging on his arm, intimidating the Korean coach standing next to him, who took two steps back.
“Good!”
This 3F couldn’t be considered perfect, but as long as there was no fall or stumble, the coaching team was satisfied.
At least he received a GOE of +0.8!
Coach Ma sighed: “Zhang Jue is definitely a competitive skater. No matter how he falls during training, he can stabilize himself in competition better than anything.”
Having passed the hurdle of the 3F, Zhang Jue became more relaxed.
He unabashedly poured his emotions into the music. The powerful physicality even inspired the audience to start tapping their feet to the rhythm.
For other competitors, this infectious energy was terrifying. Before today, had they ever seen someone of the same age move the audience to this extent with a classical ballet program?
The final jump, 2A!
In H Province’s team, there’s a saying: “Zhang Jue’s Axel jump is a bug.” Among them, the Axel jump was his specialty. Even when he came back after his rebirth, not fully adapting to his small body, he could still execute a 2A as if it were second nature.
He performed this 2A with such ease that it seemed like he could add another rotation on the existing base!
Finishing the last jump, Zhang Jue entered an illusion difficulty posture, bending into a spin. Then, he pulled up his floating leg towards his head, contorting his body into a graceful teardrop shape.
Many people gasped at this spinning posture.
Marisa’s arms trembled slightly: “It’s truly astonishing. Look at what I witnessed in a junior competition? A Biellmann spin completed by a boy! And he entered it with difficulty, changing posture only after eight turns in the layback spin. This spin should be rated as level 4!”
As the last note of the music dropped, the Black Swan leaned back, wings spread open, displaying a powerful presence. Enthusiastic applause erupted.
This was the most elegant solo figure skating performance seen since the start of the competition in the United States. No significant errors in technical elements, flawless coordination between performance and music, and the emotions of “Black Swan” were vividly demonstrated by the performer.
As the program ended, Zhang Jue stood tall again, reveling in the cheers and applause. He bowed and waved to the judges and the audience, wearing a confident and cheerful smile.
Just a moment ago, he was the wild Black Swan, but now he had transformed back into the delicate porcelain doll.
At this moment, Zhang Jue could clearly feel the love from figure skating enthusiasts. They weren’t professional fans bought by an agency, earning their affection required skill, and their response to each jump and spin was equally passionate and sincere.
It seemed that besides the smaller number of on-site figure skating fans compared to the fans in the audience, and the absence of light boards, the difference between the competition arena and the stage wasn’t that significant.
Thinking this, he picked up a bouquet wrapped in plastic, gave a sweet smile to the fan who threw it, and immediately received several more bouquets and two raccoon plush toys.
Lake Placid had hosted the Winter Olympics twice, and the raccoon was the mascot of the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Shen Liu, holding a bunch of gifts, returned to the side of the rink. Coach Song Cheng took the bouquets and plush toys, and Shen Liu immediately helped Zhang Jue put on his coat, wearing a brilliant smile.
“Congratulations, Zhang Jue, your first all-clean is on the international stage.”
Zhang Jue was somewhat surprised: “Did I get all positive GOEs? I remember my 3F wavered a bit on the landing.”
Zhang Junbao patted his nephew’s head and said: “You did waver, but it wasn’t very noticeable. The judges didn’t penalize you hard. Consider yourself lucky.”
The group walked and chatted, eventually arriving at the kiss & cry, the waiting area for figure skaters.
After a while, his final score appeared on the screen.
Technical Score: 40.28
Presentation Score: 32.85
Zhang Jue’s short program final score was 73.13 points, making it the first short program in the competition to break the 70-point mark.
The coaching team was pleased, understanding that Zhang Jue’s presentation score did not match the level he displayed. It was clear that the judges were conservative in scoring.
However, given Zhang Jue’s unfavorable starting order, his Asian background, and his first appearance on the international stage, they accepted the lower score.
Shen Liu, relying on his experience, judged: “There are still several competitors with good skills to follow. Whether this score can place him in the top three for the short program depends on their performances.”
Zhang Junbao was optimistic: “No problem. Little Jue has good stamina. As long as the short program score isn’t too low, we can catch up in the free skate. Little Jue, are you confident?”
Little Jue clenched his fists to express his full confidence, but at the moment, he was more concerned about other issues.
Before the competition started, to prevent him from wanting to use the restroom on the ice, the coaching team not only halved his lunch portion but also restricted his water intake.
Zhang Jue’s stomach growled loudly, and he covered it, smiling sheepishly.
The child was hungry.
Zhang Junbao, with a lack of patience, took out the box of chocolates he confiscated earlier and handed it to him. Zhang Jue picked up the chocolate bar, transforming once again into a regular person.
Many who knew them found this scene on television irresistibly amusing.
Cui Zhengshu said with a serious expression: “He’s really strong.”
Cui Zhengshu’s coach showed admiration on his face: “The quality of this program is very high, full of strength. It’s unimaginable that such a small child can have such explosive emotions and decent stamina.”
Putting jumps in the latter half gives a stamina advantage, as everyone knows. However, this advantage must be backed by real skill!
The bald French coach observed even more: “Zhang’s coaching team is formidable. Just by looking at the program arrangement, you can see they fully utilize the rules, relying on the athlete’s stamina to push the jumps to the latter part… Zhang has a flaw in spins, but they’ve added many upgrading elements to his spins.”
Whether it’s the posture changes during spins, the change of edges underfoot, or that eight-turn layback spin, it’s all a means of leveraging strengths and avoiding weaknesses.
Of course, to leverage strengths and avoid weaknesses, the athlete must have strengths to leverage in the first place! Zhang Jue’s individual strength was definitely not to be underestimated!
Moreover, due to the racial advantage, the development of Asian athletes is generally better than that of European and American athletes. This child looks short and thin now, but the probability of him facing developmental issues in the future was very low.
“Alex, figure skating in the East is on the rise. We need to pay attention not only to Teraoka Hayato.”
Alex nodded seriously: “Yes, I have another opponent that cannot be ignored. I must start training for the 3A when I return.”
When Zhang Jue walked by again, hands in his pockets, other athletes looked at him with a touch of awe in their eyes.
Strength is always the best credential. Observant individuals know that as long as Zhang Jue doesn’t collapse in the free skate, he is undoubtedly a strong contender for the podium.
Passing by Angus Joe, Zhang Jue smiled again.
Seemingly friendly but actually provocative.
Angus Joe felt a burst of frustration in his heart. In his mind, he sneered: “What’s there to be proud of? Here, even if you perform well, you won’t beat me!”
In a situation where their strengths were comparable, European and American athletes always received more favor from judges than Asian athletes!
In the eyes of others, the interaction between Zhang Jue and Angus Joe seemed quite harmonious. Moreover, as they were both Asians, many commentators believed that these two athletes had a good relationship off the competition stage.
Only Qin Xuejun, holding a cup of milk with a milk mustache on his lips, chewing on bread, had a look of confusion in his gray eyes.
“Why does little Jue look like he really dislikes this person?”

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