There was something very amazing, and that was that generally speaking, newcomers in competitions easily performed poorly due to reasons like nervousness and pressure.

Speaking of this, let’s take Jin Zixuan from the same country as Zhang Jue. If Zhang Jue hadn’t made a brilliant debut in figure skating, Jin Zixuan should have been the future top skater of China. But for a long period, he performed so erratically that the skating fans of China preferred to rely on the younger Cha Hanbuhuahua.

Jin Zixuan was three years older than Zhang Jue and six years older than Cha Hanbuhuahua. This means that when Jin Zixuan was in his theoretical peak period as a figure skater in his twenties, people placed more expectations on the still-young Cha Hanbuhuahua.

However, Zhang Jue seemed to face no such pressure that newcomers usually experienced in any major competition. Not only did he never perform poorly, but many veterans were also beaten by him.

Even though the child had only been in the senior group for half a season, he didn’t just beat well-known skaters like Maquen at the American and Russian competitions. Many first- and second-tier veterans had their mentality shattered because of him. They thought that if a newcomer was this strong and they, as veterans, had no chance against him, it might be better to retire after this Olympic cycle.

This wasn’t an exaggeration but rather a real impact Zhang Jue had on the sport.

It wasn’t just that this kid was strong, but he also had an innocent fairy-like face. He was so slim and small that it seemed like he had no muscle. Who wouldn’t question their life after losing to such an adorable creature?

Only athletes like Liu Mengcheng, who had a good relationship with Zhang Jue, knew that this little guy was actually a muscle baby trained by Handsomebaby.zhang, with at least 8 hours of weight training per week. Though he looked thin, he had chocolate abs!
Snap.

The still-cute crocodile bit into a piece of dark chocolate, chewing it. Sitting in the back row, Yin Meijing patted his shoulder.

“Tama-chan, do you want some horse meat jerky?”

Zhang Jue reached out: “Yes.”

Liu Mengcheng raised a bottle: “Tama-chan, Masako said it’s a bit cold in the venue, so she left first. Shiratsuka Keiko sent her off, and this bottle of berry juice hasn’t been touched. Do you want to drink it?”

Zhang Jue reached out again: “Yes.”

Yang Zhiyuan glanced over, feeling that even if you only gave Zhang Jue a ticket and 10 yuan to send him abroad, this kid wouldn’t go hungry and would happily return home with a bunch of snacks and local specialties.

Sergey’s free skate was set to Wagner’s opera “Lohengrin.” His technique and performance were both strong, and his first jump, a 4T, had great power, a typical Russian-style jump, impressively high.

He muttered: “The jumps of the fighting nation all seem so powerful,” and then Sergey did a 3A with raised hands and fell.

So far, only Zhang Jue had completed a raised-hand quadruple jump and a raised-hand 3A in official competitions. Others had tried but failed.

After all, quadruple jumps and 3A already had a success rate of only 60% to 70% in competitions. Adding a raised hand was completely against oneself.

Zhang Junbao was not concerned about whether Sergey raised his hand but rather: “Did he fully rotate?”

Shen Liu adjusted his glasses, calculated: “His jump just now was about 120 degrees short of the required 1260 degrees for a full 3A rotation. Missing more than 90 degrees, this jump will be downgraded.”

This meant that Sergey originally intended to jump a 3A worth 8.5 base points. Even if he fell, losing 3 points for GOE and another 1 point for the fall, he would still have 4.5 points.

But if the jump was downgraded to a 2A, the base points would only be 3.3. After deducting GOE and the fall, the jump would be nearly worthless.

Therefore, there is a saying in figure skating: “Better to fall than to under-rotate,” meaning it’s better to fully rotate and fall than to under-rotate.

When the big screen showed the immediate scores, many sharp-eyed people like Shen Liu understood.

The judges didn’t downgrade Sergey’s 3A. Well, since Sochi was on their home turf, there was no way around the judges protecting their own athletes.

Shen Liu also overheard a choreographer chatting with a coach: “Fortunately, this season’s World Championships are in Canada. Competing on their turf is suffocating.”

The coach replied: “At least during the Sochi cycle, the Russians will desperately boost their own athletes to make their Sochi victory more legitimate. You haven’t seen the North Americans during the Vancouver cycle, changing the rules to support that skater without a quadruple jump, even robbing Vasily’s gold medal.”
Bias in scoring wasn’t unique to the Russians. The North Americans were no less guilty. They just didn’t have anyone to support right now, making the Russians appear dominant.

If there was one place where the scoring was strictly fair, it was China. Many athletes relying on inflated scores found their technical flaws harshly judged in Chinese competitions. An athlete scoring 170 elsewhere might only get 155 in China.

This was why, when Zhang Jue rose to prominence, few people doubted his scores and status as a newcomer. He consistently outperformed those with inflated scores, leaving no room for argument.

Sergey’s free skate score was 172.39, combined with his short program score of 88.94, totaling 261.33, ranking behind Zhang Jue and Martin but ahead of David.
Zhang Junbao clicked his tongue: “He collapsed badly. Getting such low scores in a home competition, his coach might beat him up later.”

Zhang Jue: “No, I don’t think every coach beats their kids.”

Shen Liu glanced at him: “Not every kid deserves a beating.”

There were few kids in figure skating as troublesome as Zhang Jue. Coach Zhang was truly enduring a lot.

After Sergey, it was Maquen’s turn. This veteran skater, known for his excellent performance skills, never failed in competitions, only held back by injuries.
Zhang Jue could tell that Maquen was in a good mental state, his performance full of emotion. In the latter half of his routine, the audience started clapping along, but Maquen fell on a 3Lo jump.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to perform well, but his injured body didn’t cooperate.

Zhang Jue remembered his own uncontrolled fall, slowing down his chocolate chewing. When Maquen struck his final pose, the kid put down his chocolate and clapped.

Maquen’s free skate score was 176.2, with a short program score of 92.35, totaling 268.55, just 2 points less than Zhang Jue.

Vasily was 9 years older than Zhang Jue, now 24, and had become Russia’s most popular male athlete after years of competing worldwide. His popularity was immense, with the entire audience shouting “дaвan (go)” as he took the ice.

However, in terms of injuries, Vasily wasn’t much better off than Maquen.

He was the only skater before Zhang Jue to have two kinds of quadruple jumps. Achieving such skill required intense training. Shen Liu had said that skaters who compete with injuries would have severely damaged ankle ligaments, knees, and hip bones by the time they retire.

Vasily’s program was “The Piano,” his first time attempting a love-themed piece, which was surprisingly moving.

The piano music echoed on the vast ice, with the sound of waves flowing continuously. Each of Vasily’s jumps landed on the waves, carrying the vastness and depth of the ocean. This was a true champion’s performance, blending technique and artistry.

Zhang Jue gazed in fascination at the performance, his eyes filled with amazement.

It was the first time this season that he felt truly moved by a program. Although Vasily did not have the same stage experience as he did, his expressiveness was excellent.

“Ah!”

The boy let out a soft exclamation when he saw Vasily fall. It seemed that the ice in Sochi was cursed, every male skater who performed today, except for the last one, David, made some kind of mistake.

For instance, Vasily fell on his 3A and 3S jumps. Nevertheless, his mistakes did not diminish the brilliance of “The Piano Duet.” When the program ended, Zhang Jue, along with the rest of the audience, stood up and applauded enthusiastically. He was as thrilled as any other skating fan who had just witnessed a great performance, showing no concern that his rivals’ outstanding performances might cost him his medal.

Seeing his reaction, Shen Liu, Zhang Junbao, and Yang Zhiyuan couldn’t help but laugh.

His uncle looked on helplessly: “This silly boy.”

No one knew who Zhang Jue inherited his carefree personality from.

Vasily’s free skate scored 183.2 points, just 0.42 points lower than Zhang Jue’s 183.62. Based on the free skate scores alone, Zhang Jue turned out to be the biggest winner of the day.

Unfortunately, Zhang Jue’s short program was disappointing, scoring only 87.31 points, while Vasily’s short program scored 92.6 points. With the free skate added, Vasily’s total score reached 275.8 points.

The results of the 2012-2013 Grand Prix Final in men’s singles were announced.

Vasily took first place thanks to his advantage in the short program. Zhang Jue, who had just moved up to the senior level, climbed to second place with a strong free skate, while Maquen, with his excellent performance, came in third.

It wasn’t the best result, but it wasn’t bad either.

As the theme song of “Ultraman Tiga” played, accompanied by the words “A new storm has emerged,” Shen Liu answered the phone.

“Hello, Commander Sun… Yes, little Jue won the silver medal…”

Then the theme song of “Digimon” also started playing, and Zhang Junbao answered his call.

“Hello, Coach Song… Hey, don’t praise him too much. This kid is quite mischievous, and if you praise him too much, he’ll get a big head…”

The theme song of “Saint Seiya” played next, and Yang Zhiyuan picked up his phone.

Although Zhang Jue had won a medal, he was ignored by both the coach and the team doctor. After a moment of silence, he turned around. Liu Mengcheng instinctively raised his hand to lift him up but hesitated.

Zhang Jue extended his hand cheerfully: “Go ahead, lift me up. If you don’t do it now, you won’t be able to later.”

Liu Mengcheng complied, lifting Zhang Jue onto his shoulder and spinning him around. Yin Meijing stood nearby, smiling and congratulating him: “Tama-chan, congratulations on winning the silver medal. But to make Brother Mengcheng unable to lift you, you’ll need to grow another ten centimeters. After all, you’re shorter than me right now.”

Zhang Jue confidently replied: “Don’t worry, it’s still easy for me to be taller than you.”

When he landed, Zhang Jue stumbled, and Zhang Junbao quickly steadied him. Zhang Jue stood on his left foot, lifting his right foot and giving it a small kick.
He shrugged: “It hurts a bit. I think I can’t walk again.”

The effect of the local anesthetic shouldn’t have worn off so quickly, but Zhang Jue’s numerous jumps during the free skate had undoubtedly worsened his injury.

Russian is widely spoken in Kazakhstan, and Liu Mengcheng spoke it fluently. After learning that Zhang Jue planned to attend the awards ceremony, he quickly said:

“Wait here,” and ran off to speak with the event organizers. After much discussion and gestures, the staff, mesmerized by his handsome face, managed to find a crutch.

Although the organizers also had wheelchairs and stretchers, Zhang Jue preferred to stand upright on the podium, so he opted for the crutch.
Finally, China had produced a male singles skater who could stand on the podium at the Grand Prix Final in the senior category, making history. However, during the awards ceremony, none of the China skating fans watching TV could smile.

Unlike Vasily and Maquen, who could still circle the rink in their skates to thank the audience, Zhang Jue wore flat athletic shoes, hobbling on a crutch that was clearly too tall as he limped onto the red carpet.

The child examined the silver medal podium for a while, unsure how to get on it. Vasily patted his head.

“Let me help you.”

Maquen took the crutch, and Vasily lifted Zhang Jue by the waist, placing him on the podium.

Zhang Jue gave them a grateful smile, thinking that this might be the last time he participated in a competition where he could be lifted by others.

While on the podium, he heard Vasily whisper to him.

“You skated very well. Tonight, you are the true champion.”

He turned in surprise to see both his senior competitors smiling warmly and encouragingly at him. Despite the scoring controversies, these two genuinely loved figure skating and were both excited and pleased by Zhang Jue’s emergence.

Maquen clenched his fist at him: “Take good care of your injury. I look forward to competing with you at the World Championships. I’ll be at my best then, so you won’t have a chance to beat me.”

A surge of inexplicable emotion rose in Zhang Jue’s heart.

He replied: “Thank you.”

Thank you for letting me see the brilliance of this sport. It is not only elegant and beautiful but also filled with wonderful people like you. It is my honor to skate with you on the ice.

 

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