When Vasily was halfway through his warm-up, he heard someone shouting in the hallway. He got off the elliptical machine and, with Sergey, curiously walked to the door.

“What happened?”

Then they saw Zhang Jue clutching his butt and shouting.

“I don’t care! I want to do a quad-toe loop (4T)!”

Of course, since he was shouting in Chinese, Vasily and Sergey didn’t understand. They only saw the little crocodile coach, looking utterly exasperated, chasing Zhang Jue and swatting his butt with a rolled-up newspaper.

“No way! You’re barely keeping the axis of your quad Salchow (4S) steady. What do you think you’re doing trying a quad toe loop (4T)? Do you want to lose your foot?”

According to Zhang Jue, the 4S was like a stable wife he had a marriage certificate with, having a success rate of over 90% in major competitions. But since he started growing taller, the 4S was getting ready to divorce him.

Although they hadn’t divorced yet, their child, the 4S+3T combination, had already run away from home. If he didn’t bring in the second wife, the 4T, their family would be outshined by Vasily’s and Maquen’s next door!

Shen Liu stood by helplessly advising: “Stop arguing, senior. There are foreigners around. Give little Jue some face in front of outsiders. Beat him if you have to, back home. Little Jue, if you keep bouncing around, your uncle might call your mom right now!”

Since it wasn’t the first time Coach Zhang hit Zhang Jue, everyone was used to seeing it, showing expressions of “Oh, the little crocodile made the coach angry again,” and calmly went back to their activities.

Sergey even had the presence of mind to remind Vasily: “Remember to wear your sports underwear. Don’t be like at the Japan meet, looking indecent.”

Male athletes usually wore tight sports underwear to prevent their private parts from flopping around during intense activities, which could cause injury and looked inappropriate. At the Japan meet, Vasily found out he hadn’t brought his sports underwear. It was too late to buy any, so he had to compete in his beloved loose boxer shorts. Since his skating pants were tight, anyone with sharp eyes could see the outline of his boxer shorts.

Vasily replied: “Would you die if you didn’t bring up my embarrassing past?”

After disciplining the kid, they still needed to warm up. Zhang Jue didn’t run or skip rope but did some stretches and balance exercises on a yoga ball. Yang Zhiyuan helped stretch his muscles while reminding him.

“Remember, you’re naturally very flexible. Now that your ligaments are injured, your ankle joints are very loose. Be careful with them.”

Zhang Jue responded while Zhang Junbao flipped open a notebook containing the short program rankings and scores of the men’s singles final.

Vasily (92.6)

Maquen (92.35)

Sergey (88.94)

Zhang Jue (87.31)

Martin (85.5)

David (82.15)

If Zhang Jue wanted to win, he had to overcome a 5-point gap between him and Vasily and Maquen, equivalent to catching up with a 3Lo or 3F base score.

It was a tough task.

He sighed inwardly, the only consolation being that no one had an extraordinary short program this time. Maquen, the world record holder for the short program with 94.5 points, hadn’t surpassed that this season, and Vasily and Sergey were better at free skating.

Otherwise, if top skaters widened the gap by 8 points, Zhang Jue wouldn’t have any hope of catching up, and it would be better to heal and try again next year.

After a while, David stretched, changed into his skates, and walked out.

He was last in the short program and first in the free skate.

The mysterious and eerie “June Boat Song” filled the ice rink again. From Zhang Jue’s memory of the American meet, David’s first jump should be a solo 4T.

As the current highest-ranked male skater in the world, Belgium’s number one, David Bisoli, pushed off with his left foot, ice shards flying around him. He jumped high, and though his body axis was visibly tilted, he still landed steadily, followed by another left-foot push into a 3T.

This was David’s unique skill—no matter how skewed his jump axis was, he could land miraculously. After his growth spurt, David had lost this skill for a while, but he had regained it this year.

Zhang Jue realized his intention: “Is he going to do two 4Ts in the free skate?”

Sure enough, David’s second jump was a solo 4T.

This youth, who had struggled for at least two seasons due to growth spurts, confidently increased his stakes in the senior final!

Yang Zhiyuan exclaimed: “He’s really bold. Bisoli was last in the short program because of a quad jump mistake, and now he’s adding more quad jumps in the free skate. This kid is really gutsy.”

After David, it was France’s number one, Martin, who had won a bronze medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. He was the same age as Shen Liu, 25, already considered old in men’s figure skating, where retiring at any time was not surprising.

Last year, Martin’s performance was affected by injuries, and he didn’t even make it to the final. It was evident to everyone that Martin was hanging on because France had no other male skater capable of making it to the top ten at this year’s World Championships, let alone competing for a Winter Olympics podium.

His junior, Alex, had not yet matured, only managing a seventh place at the China meet and a bronze at the Japan meet this year, far from being a top skater.

When Martin’s free skate music began, all the ice dancers in the audience turned their attention to him.

Canadian ice dance queen Stephanie curiously tilted her head: “Is this ‘There’s Only You in My Heart’?”

GP, the ice dance god-level duo who won back-to-back Winter Olympics, performed their original dance to this music at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Their interpretation of a passionate Rumba mesmerized countless people, helping the young GP, in a sport that valued seniority, defeat numerous veterans and win the Olympic gold that year.

From Martin’s movements, he was also performing a Rumba.

These veterans might not explode with powerful performances, but their mentality was generally steadier, with rich competition experience, making them less prone to mistakes compared to young skaters.

Martin only did one 4T, likely to save his worn-out knees for the World Championships. However, his performance score was very high, almost matching David’s free skate score.

David’s free skate score was 176.9 points, with a total of 259.05.

Martin’s free skate score was 177.5 points, with a total of 263.

Shen Liu shook his head: “Unless there’s a surprise, Martin will retire after the Sochi Winter Olympics.”

There was always a wave of retirements after every Olympics, known as the Olympic retirement wave, marking the departure of numerous veterans from the sport to start a new chapter in their lives.

Zhang Jue was fourth in the short program, and now it was his turn.
The young man took off his jacket, revealing a black-themed costume adorned with glittering rhinestones forming thorny patterns around his shoulders, abdomen, and waist. The back had a large, semi-transparent navy blue mesh, and the costume’s off-should Xu Dela sign highlighted the skater’s slender, agile figure.

He tugged at his long gloves, the rhinestones on the back of his hand marking the endpoint of the ribbon at his elbow.

Francis Miller, who didn’t use a credit card but relied on his savings to buy tickets to Sochi, sat in the front row of the audience, squinting: “Is this… the Night God of Spring?”

This kid had changed both of his costumes, indicating he’d grown quite a bit. But growing up hadn’t affected his looks.

He still looked delicate, but now more like a strikingly handsome young man rather than a fairy. He wasn’t even wearing makeup, yet his bright eyes were more captivating than ever, filled with strong determination.

Many skating fans felt amazed when they saw Zhang Jue’s new costume.

As Zhang Jue stepped onto the ice, he heard a loud whistle. He looked up, unable to find the person who whistled, but he did see many people holding banners and supporting fans.

The most noticeable was a hand-drawn post Xu Dela did of Zhang Jue in his Spring God costume from the American event, smiling while holding a small crocodile. It was likely based on a photo taken at the podium. The person holding the poster was a girl wearing a mask and a knitted hat.

She wore a light green sweater, a Christmas-colored scarf around her neck, and an off-white wool coat. Behind her was Keiko, also wearing a mask and holding a small fan.

Shiratsuka Masako was actually here in person.

Zhang Jue was momentarily stunned, then immediately broke into a bright smile. He waved towards them, causing excitement among the fans in that section. The girl in the light green sweater shook the banner even harder.

Shen Liu reached out his hand to him: “Zhang Jue, give it your all and skate a performance you won’t regret.”

Zhang Jue shook that hand and hugged Shen Liu across the barrier. Shen Liu was momentarily surprised, but Zhang Jue had already turned away.

This time, he didn’t need his uncle to push his back, he went to the rink purely on his own will.

Zhang Junbao, watching him, said: “Kids grow up so fast, don’t they?”

Shen Liu smiled: “Yes, but unfortunately, he probably won’t follow our advice this time either.”

Zhang Junbao sighed heavily: “If he really messes up, I’ll just get punished with him.”

Shen Liu understood that Zhang Junbao genuinely cared for his nephew, willing to face punishment from Zhang Jue’s mother alongside him if necessary.

Now, they could only pray that Zhang Jue wouldn’t mess up. If Zhang Jue truly felt, as he claimed, that his body was back to its peak condition from the American event after receiving treatment, then he might have a fighting chance in this competition!

At his peak, Zhang Jue was a champion-level figure skater!

Jiang Chaosheng watched Zhang Jue intently. It wasn’t a secret that Zhang Jue was growing taller. Anyone in the country who paid any attention to figure skating knew that Zhang Jue had to rush to get new costumes made because of his growth spurt.

Moreover, this child had recently been injured, prompting his coach to call back home to apply for a withdrawal from the competition, indicating the severity of the injury.

Yet now, the entire nation of skating fans hoped Zhang Jue could deliver a stellar performance to lift their spirits. If he didn’t perform well, the pressure he would face afterward would be immense.

Next to him, commentator Zhao Ning spoke into the microphone: “Now on the ice is our young skater Zhang Jue. His free skate program is ‘A Love Story in April.'”

The Night God of Spring stood still on the ice, raising his hands as if touching the stars.

This time, the music didn’t start with a music box chime but with the piano intro of Edvin Marton’s version of “Love Story.”

Many people looked surprised.

Did Zhang Jue change his music?

Zhang Jue hadn’t changed his music; he had simply re-edited his competition piece. The main theme remained the Norwegian folk tune “Appassionata.”

A crisp ice-point sound rang out as Zhang Jue leaped into the air, spinning, his body taut and compact, opening up at the moment of landing like a flower blooming on the ice.

The landing of this jump wasn’t graceful, it lacked the elegant arc of the blade carving a large curve on the ice. If not for the athlete straining his ankles and knees, Zhang Jue might have fallen.

But without a doubt, Zhang Jue had completed a fully rotated 4T!

In the audience, Ilya stood up abruptly, eyes wide.

Hayato Teraoka muttered: “He mastered a second quad.”

How was this possible? During the growth spurt phase, athletes usually experience a decline in performance. Zhang Jue was obviously growing taller, his center of gravity becoming unstable, and growing taller meant his rotational ability would weaken. How could he have mastered a new jump under these conditions?

Only a few experienced veteran skaters could see the nuances.

Ayala, the head coach of the Kazakhstan national figure skating team, squinted.

“He must have undergone at least two years of high-quality strength training, so despite the decrease in body fat due to his growth spurt, his strength allows him to jump higher.”

Unfortunately, the boy’s core strength hadn’t kept up, and the increase in height had thrown off his center and axis. Thus, Zhang Jue’s landings were flawed, but as long as he completed the rotations and landed, other flaws could be corrected over time.

After all, Zhang Jue was still very young.

To the insiders, Zhang Jue mastering a new jump marked a historic moment for men’s figure skating post-Vancouver.

During the Vancouver cycle, the jumping ability in men’s singles had regressed to the point where even triple jumps could win Olympic gold. It wasn’t until after Vancouver that the quad era gradually revived, but most top male skaters only mastered one type of quad, usually incorporating at most two quads in their free skate. Vasily had both 4S and 4T, but he mostly used the more stable 4T.

Until now, Zhang Jue became, besides Vasily, another male skater mastering two types of quads. This signaled that in the new era, skaters would need to practice more quads if they didn’t want to be left behind because geniuses like Zhang Jue constantly challenged the sport’s new limits!

Soon, Zhang Jue began his second jump.

With a swift motion, a layer of ice mist bloomed beside Zhang Jue’s blade as he completed a 4S with raised hands.

Shen Liu exclaimed in delight: “His raised-arm quad is back!”

Free from pain, Zhang Jue had indeed regained his best form!

His performance remained as touching as ever, but now with a bit more vigor. His jumps were crisper, and the following 3Lz+1Lo+3S combination was remarkably high-quality, even better than most of his pre-growth-spurt training.

Next, his jumps into the spread eagle and doughnut spin were equally impressive. Zhang Jue’s flexibility hadn’t diminished with his growth. His body formed a perfect circle during the doughnut spin, so stunning that the overhead camera captured its beauty.

As he began his choreographic sequence with a spread eagle, Shiratsuka Masako’s eyes filled with a deep smile.

Perhaps it was because they had discussed this program before, and she had suggested that Zhang Jue try the spread eagle, so whenever Zhang Jue used it, she felt this part was choreographed just for her.

At this moment, many people exclaimed in surprise.

Zhang Jue, who was performing his choreographed steps, stumbled and fell on the ice. He quickly got up, and the audience applauded as a customary encouragement for athletes who fell and then got back up.

Keiko looked worried: “It seems Tama-chan’s foot is injured. He couldn’t even walk yesterday, and now he’s competing today, it’s too much for him.”

For an injured foot, just those two opening quadruple jumps were damaging enough, and his 4T landing also seemed very hard on the legs.

Shoji thought for two seconds: “He probably had an injection to numb the pain before coming on the ice. Don’t worry, since he had the courage to compete while injured, he won’t let himself be held back by the injury.”

Sure enough, right after the fall, Zhang Jue immediately jumped and completed a 3S+3T with raised hands.

The boy was performing a fresh and lyrical piece, but at this moment, this free skate somehow combined deep emotion and passion in the eyes of many.

He looked very frail as if a gust of wind could knock him down, yet he burst with incredible strength on the ice. Every jump was crisp and sharp, and the emotions he displayed were like a gentle breeze brushing over pine and bamboo at night, light, melodious, gentle yet unwaveringly determined.

Zhang Jue wasn’t just performing; he was openly expressing his inner world, letting his emotions flow naturally through his performance. It was a solo dance on the vast ice rink, yet it was performed with such grandeur that it amplified the performer’s magnanimity and sincerity.

He wasn’t skating as someone else, but as himself, which added an indescribable sense of awe to his performance.

As the program entered its second half, the quality of the boy’s jumps increased rather than decreased, they became higher. He didn’t hesitate to use raised hands and delayed rotations in all his jumps, making each jump appear light and beautiful.

More importantly, his jump heights were higher than before; they no longer looked low. Every time he landed, he would bend his knees immediately to better cushion the impact, protecting his body while giving his all. This unique landing technique piqued the interest of Boris, the head coach of the Russian men’s singles team.

He had never seen such a landing technique before, but when athletes had to challenge more difficult moves, putting more effort into the landing to refine the technique and better protect the joints was a very correct approach. This was not a technique a child could develop in under three years of training.

When Zhang Jue entered the final camel spin and Biellmann spin, the entire audience stood up and applauded.

This was the highest honor in figure skating — a standing ovation. Zhang Jue completed his program in the middle of a nearly deafening venue.

At the end, Zhang Jue punched the air, and Zhang Junbao, by the rink, also slapped the barrier and bumped fists with Shen Liu.

“Good, he really finished the routine while injured.”

Jiang Chaosheng said excitedly: “Our young athlete Zhang Jue has delivered a very impressive performance at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi and successfully completed the quadruple toe loop. He has truly done us proud!”

Zhao Ning was equally thrilled: “That’s right! Zhang Jue never lets us down and always creates miracles again and again!”

With a smile, Zhang Jue took a graceful bow and then skated quickly to the rink’s edge, happily throwing himself into the coach’s arms.

Zhang Junbao hugged him and praised: “Well done, you jumped with great energy this time.”

Zhang Jue grinned, and after hugging his uncle, he hugged Shen Liu, who chuckled: “Alright, alright, you did great. Here, have some chocolate.”

Zhang Jue was happy, but the competitors who followed him grew tense.

Boris told his tense second apprentice, Sergey: “Stay calm and just skate your program.”

Sergey took a deep breath and unclenched his fists.

“Yes, coach.”

He loosened his joints and prepared to take the ice. At that moment, Zhang Jue’s free skate scores appeared on the big screen.

Technical score: 96.67

Performance score: 86.95

Zhang Jue’s free skate score was 183.62, and with the short program score of 87.31, his total score reached 270.93. This was his first time breaking the 270 mark!

Vasily looked at the big screen and suddenly sneered, turning to Boris: “His scores in the second half are off. The judges suppressed at least 4 points in his GOE, and his performance score should be over 90.”

If the judges hadn’t suppressed the GOE in the second half and had given Zhang Jue a performance score over 90, his free skate score should have been close to 190.

The current world record was 189.67, set by Vasily.

No one wanted a newcomer to break the world record of Russia’s top skater on Russian soil.

Boris shook his head and called his disciple by his nickname: “Vasjenka, calm down and control your expression.”

He warned: “Remember, next year is Sochi. As Russia’s leading male skater, you can’t show dissatisfaction with the home judges in public. Remember, you can praise Jue, but he fell on his own and exposed a flaw, giving the judges a reason to lower his program component score and thus his performance score below 90.”

“Don’t say anything unnecessary. Remember, you’re not irreplaceable.”

The Russian judges had plenty of choices. Even if they didn’t support Vasily next year in Sochi, they could still support Sergey or Ilya.

Vasily fell silent. At that moment, he heard another exclamation. He looked back and saw that handsome coach who was usually stern but mostly spoiled his students, lifting the little crocodile and spinning him around.

They all looked joyful and seemed very satisfied with their results.

Vasily watched for a while and sighed.

Although he felt his abilities were sufficient to justify his current scores and position, sometimes he envied the little crocodile.

After all, that boy’s scores were always solid. No one would favor a Chinese male skater, which meant all of Zhang Jue’s achievements were earned by himself.

Whatever medals he won, he could hold his head high.

As Russia’s top skater, Vasily often got inflated scores from Russian judges, especially with the approaching Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia.

The women’s singles were fine. Since Shiro-Yatsuka Shoji retired, Daria had been unrivaled. Her biggest rival, Clara, was struggling with growth spurts, and Helena often faltered due to nerves. Even without score inflation, it was fine. But in men’s singles, Vasily couldn’t completely suppress rivals like Maquen, Martin, and Zhang Jue, so his pressure was immense.

Vasily squatted down, stretched his legs, and his expression grew resolute.

Shen, although you’ve retired, you’ve trained such an outstanding student, forcing me to face stronger opponents.

Since that’s the case, I will also give my all!

 

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