“Reportedly, the figure skating Grand Prix in Russia was in full swing in Moscow. Sergey Mikhailovich was a favorite to win this competition. During an interview about the championship, Ilya Safoshenko also firmly expressed his desire for the gold medal…”

Shen Liu turned off the TV, sighing: “In Russia, everything is full of trilled consonants.”

However, this fervent atmosphere brought on by figure skating could not be felt elsewhere. After all, high-latitude countries had a higher popularity for winter sports, especially Russia, which had a vast pool of figure skating talents, enough to run a variety show.

For Zhang Jue, this Russian part of the competition was yet another fierce battle.

He got up, picked up tissues, sports drinks, towels, and other items, and slowly left the room.

At the end of the corridor, Zhang Jue was standing by the elevator, pulling a trolley with his skates. Zhang Junbao waved to him.

“Hurry up, we’re leaving. Little Jue was so excited he didn’t take his nap and is just waiting to set off.”

The competition was about to begin.

There was a 5-hour time difference between Moscow and China, and the men’s short program in the Russian leg only started at 6 p.m. So, Chinese viewers who wanted to watch the live broadcast had to wait until 11 p.m.

At 10:30, Cha Hanbuhuahua sneaked out from under the covers, put on a thick cotton coat, turned on the TV, lowered the volume to the minimum, and switched on the electric heater. Although there was central heating at home, it was old and inefficient, so in the deep northern night, additional measures were necessary to keep warm.

By the time he wrapped himself in a blanket and sat on the sofa, he found his brother also standing at the entrance to the living room, wearing thick clothes.
The child was startled, but Bai Yin sat next to him: “You just can’t wait to watch the broadcast, huh? Alright, but let me remind you, if you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll end up short like your senior brother. Remember to drink a glass of milk before bed.”

Cha Hanbuhuahua whispered in retort: “I’m only in middle school, and you’re in your third year of high school. You should be going to bed even more.”
Despite the exchange, neither of them moved.

After a while, Cha Hanbuhuahua asked his brother: “Why are you watching senior brother’s competition?”

Bai Yin casually replied: “Ever since you started figure skating, I learned about this sport. Your senior brother is quite impressive. Among athletes who rely on rotation for jumps, he’s the best in the world.”

To be honest, Bai Yin liked their senior brother, Zhang Jue, very much. Despite the saying that colleagues are enemies, Zhang Jue had always treated his younger brother well, taking him along for performances and helping edit music for competitions. If it weren’t for the fear of giving athletes food that might cause problems, Bai Yin would have loved to give Zhang Jue a few smoked lamb legs as a thank-you gift.

It’s said you should eat what you need to strengthen. Since figure skating was tough on the legs, Zhang Jue, with his thin legs, should definitely get a good supplement.

Moreover, the scoring system for figure skating was very subtle. As the strongest skater in China, Zhang Jue had to face those challenges head-on. By paving the way, he made it easier for other skaters, including Cha Hanbuhuahua, to follow.

So, despite his small frame, Bai Yin saw Zhang Jue as a true warrior.

The first three groups of the competition weren’t very strong, with some skaters from countries where figure skating wasn’t popular only managing 3+2 jump combinations, unable to complete 3+3.

It wasn’t until the final group was about to perform that the two brothers perked up.

They knew Zhang Jue was about to take the ice.

He was definitely going to be the first in the final group!

Sure enough, Zhang Jue walked out from the waiting area, took off his blade guards, and stepped onto the ice.

Zhang Junbao was saying something to him, and Zhang Jue turned around and held Shen Liu’s hand for a moment before jumping.

Bai Yin wondered: “Did he grow taller? He looks like he’s about 1.6 meters now.”

Cha Hanbuhuahua replied: “Senior brother has been growing a bit faster this past month, but he’s only 1.59 meters. Wearing skates probably makes him look taller.”

Everyone looked taller with skates on, especially those with good proportions. Zhang Jue’s proportions met even the strictest ballet standards.

Bai Yin shook his head, quite certain: “He’s definitely 1.6 meters now.”

The last time he had seen Zhang Jue was a month ago, and now Zhang Jue not only seemed taller but also slimmer, showing signs of a boy growing quickly.

Considering what Cha Hanbuhuahua had said about Zhang Jue’s recent growth spurt, Bai Yin thought he might be hitting a growth phase.

On camera, Zhang Jue looked as usual, tapping his thighs a few times, likely to activate his muscle groups, doing so with evident effort.

As he glided across the ice, the background was filled with banners supporting Russian skaters, featuring their faces.

But there were also quite a few fans holding banners and waving small fans for Zhang Jue. Judging by the numbers, they were almost as many as those for Ilya.

Bai Yin astutely noticed that Zhang Jue seemed to have wealthy, dedicated fans who followed him around the world to watch his live performances.

His silly brother’s senior had a strong fan-drawing ability.

The highly praised “Adios Nonino” since the start of the season didn’t falter in the Russian leg.

Zhang Jue’s jumps in the short program were as stable as ever, and the sadness in his program was less pronounced, with a stronger tango flavor and a hint of jazz.

Astor Piazzolla, who composed “Adios Nonino,” was a creator who skillfully integrated various elements into his works, including jazz, known for its improvisation.

He often wrote only the “skeleton” of a piece and filled it with his emotions during performances, making each rendition unique.

Zhang Jue achieved this in his performance, with variations in his upper body movements, hand gestures, and expressions, adding a joyful, passionate, and profound tango flavor while maintaining the core sadness of the program.

As many fans had commented, Zhang Jue’s short program this season was a masterpiece worthy of appreciation and reflection.

At least, Francis Miller, watching Zhang Jue’s performance, couldn’t be more satisfied.

It had been just a short time since the US leg, yet this child’s performance had become even more refined and completed to a highXu Delagree.

If there was anything wrong with the program, it was the more noticeable axis deviation during his spins.

But this was an old issue. Fans were used to and accepted that spinning was Zhang Jue’s Achilles’ heel. Some domestic fans even left messages on the National Skating Association’s website asking when he would be sent to Switzerland for external training.

Swiss spins were internationally renowned and highly regarded by fans.

But the small issue of axis deviation didn’t count as a disaster. Zhang Jue still completed his short program cleanly, scoring 90.95 points.
It was an impressive score. The current world record for a short program was 94.75, set by Maquen at last year’s World Championships with Chopin’s “Nocturne.”

Zhang Jue was very satisfied when he saw his score, and Zhang Junbao felt the same.
When they received the detailed scores after the competition, Shen Liu patted Zhang Jue’s head and said to his uncle: “This time the technical score is 1 point lower than at the US leg, but the GOEs for the jumps are normal. This means the judges were just stricter this time, but the performance score increased a bit, reaching 39.”

Asian athletes were used to being judged harshly, as long as the judges gave them the scores they deserved and didn’t suppress their points.

With this in mind, the judges at the Russian leg were more fair than those at the US leg.

Just then, Zhang Jue clutched his stomach, saying: “I’m hungry.”

“How are you hungry again? Didn’t you eat dinner before the competition?” Zhang Junbao patted his stomach and found it really was flat.

This digestive ability made his uncle’s mouth twitch. He handed Zhang Jue a piece of dark chocolate: “Have this for now. I’ll make you some boiled cabbage when we get back. I can’t give you anything else, or your intake for today will exceed the limit.”

Zhang Jue held the chocolate, listlessly following his uncle to the doping test.

His uncle, puzzled, put an arm around his shoulders: “What’s wrong? You said you were hungry but don’t want to eat. Didn’t you perform well just now? Cheer up.”

After a while, Zhang Jue squatted down, holding his knees cautiously: “My knees hurt.”

In fact, Zhang Jue had started to feel slight joint pain at night two days ago, but it wasn’t severe. Sometimes, after overdoing the quadruple jumps, either his knees, hips, or ankles would hurt. It was never-ending.

This noon, he was woken up by the pain, and after holding his knees and thinking for a long time, he realized it was probably growing pains.

So during the short program, he was already a bit conflicted. After the competition, he hesitated for a while before telling his uncle the truth.

Zhang Junbao and Shen Liu exchanged glances and simultaneously called out a name.

“Yang Zhiyuan!”

Zhang Jue was the first to perform in the final group, and Ilya followed. So while they were checking Zhang Jue’s legs backstage, they could still hear bursts of applause and the background music of Ilya’s short program: “Dark Eyes.”

“No injuries. The pain isn’t in the muscles but the bones,” Yang Zhiyuan said, frowning slightly. He helped Zhang Jue stand and measured his height with a tape measure.

“160.9 cm, almost 161 cm.”

Zhang Junbao quickly opened his notebook recording Zhang Jue’s physical data.

“He was only 159.3 cm before the US leg! How did he grow so fast in less than two weeks?”

The coaches and team doctor simultaneously realized the child had started to develop.

Yang Zhiyuan skillfully applied a heat patch to Zhang Jue’s knees, instructing the two coaches to ensure he got enough calcium and to reduce his training load. They would revisit this once Zhang Jue’s growth spurt ended.

“I was still on the national team when Shen Liu went through his growth spurt. Boys grow rapidly for a period, but it doesn’t last long, especially since figure skating can impact their height development. I estimate Zhang Jue will grow another 7 or 8 centimeters before he stops.”

Shen Liu also reassured the uncle: “It’s okay. Little Jue growing before the Olympic season is good. If he reaches 1.68 or 1.7 meters this year, he’ll be able to adapt to his new center of gravity in time for Sochi. If he suddenly grows in the middle of the Olympic season…”

At this thought, the three adults shuddered simultaneously.

Then they began discussing how to adjust Zhang Jue’s training schedule to maintain his strength even as he grew several centimeters, ensuring he could achieve decent results at the World Championships and secure at least two spots for China in the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Zhang Jue, holding his chocolate, sat obediently on a chair, unable to tell them they hadn’t realized the seriousness of the problem.

If Zhang Little Jue remembered correctly from his past life, he would grow more than just 7 or 8 centimeters.

Moreover, maybe due to the excellent nurturing by the cafeteria ladies in H Province, his starting height this time was already 2 centimeters taller than in his previous life before he hit his growth spurt.

 

 

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