Zhang Junbao expertly gave Min Shan a push, and she glided forward with his momentum. Shen Liu and Zhang Junbao watched her back with a sense of satisfaction.

At the beginning, their team only had Zhang Jue as an athlete. Shen Liu and Zhang Junbao carefully nurtured this incredibly talented child, fearing they might waste Zhang Jue’s potential.

Before they knew it, Zhang Jue was already winning medals in A-level adult competitions, and the other disciples were gradually growing up.

Shen Liu said: “In recent years, many good coaches have moved to clubs, and this year, many outstanding children have come from these clubs.”

Especially in the south, since the economic development improved, many ice rinks had been built, and numerous good coaches had moved there. The overall strength of some clubs had become comparable to provincial teams.

For example, H Province’s provincial team was now strong in singles but lagged behind clubs in pairs and ice dance.

Zhang Junbao replied calmly: “Market commercialization inevitably brings new opportunities.”

The topic they were discussing was not understood by Cha Hanbuhua and Jiang Yihong nearby. Zhang Jue, who understood, leaned against the barrier, his eyes fixed on Min Shan’s back. In the stands behind him, a row of girls was taking photos with cameras and phones, all wearing GG.bond hats.

Since Zhang Jue’s phone ringtone, which sounded like “Lulalulele,” was exposed when Xu Dela called, and fans began showing up at competitions with Piggy Hero hats and support fans, this had become a routine for the young fans.

One girl whispered urgently: “Ah, ah—little brother is so manly!”

Her friend nodded vigorously: “Yes! I used to think he would develop into an Omega, but he turned out to be an alpha! His personality has always been very alpha, and in sports requiring aggression, alpha is indeed mainstream. I’m going to use him as the prototype for my character when I get back!”

Another friend looked confused: “What, what Omega? Is that a math symbol?”

As Zhang Jue’s appearance increasingly resembled his past life’s complete form, his ability to attract fans also became more apparent.

Even those who hadn’t followed men’s singles before but came in just because they saw the sign saying “Welcome to the National Figure Skating Championships” and free admission couldn’t help but ask those around them: “Do you know the long-haired handsome guy holding the black cat tissue box by the rink?”

Qin Xuejun, holding two fans with “Must” written on the left and “Victory” on the right, sat in the stands with a worried expression.

“Little Liu ligaments haven’t fully healed, and she had trouble sleeping because of the pain last night. Is it really okay for her to compete like this?”

The girl’s program included 3lo+3T, 3F, and 2A.

Starting this year, to ensure that young athletes had solid fundamentals instead of just pushing for higher-difficulty jumps, the skating federation began to specify required jumps for youth competitions. For example, this year’s junior event rules required the short program for women to include a back outside loop (lo), a back inside toe loop (F), and an Axel jump (A) in each program.

Min Shan’s skill of raising her hands during jumps was also taught by Zhang Jue. However, unlike the senior brother who always raised his hands during the second jump of a combination, Min Shan raised her hands during the first jump.

This wasn’t about the difficulty level but rather different habits. Zhang Jue preferred stability, focusing on landing the first jump reliably before deciding whether to raise his hands on the second jump based on his condition. Min Shan, being a bit impulsive and reckless, raised her hands during the first jump without waiting even a second.

Xu Chuo, who had already left Zhang’s school, naturally also raised her hands, and now she could even raise her hands during both jumps in a combination. Zhang Jue could do this as well, but he believed that raising hands during both jumps would affect the rhythm and quality of the combination due to the additional load time, so he rarely did it.

As expected, Min Shan almost faltered during the first jump of her combination. After barely stabilizing, she could only attempt a 2T for the second jump.
Shen Liu touched his hairline and said: “Senior brother, I don’t know if it’s my illusion, but it seems like our disciples are all a bit…”

A bit wild.

Not only Zhang Jue and Min Shan were wild, but Cha Hanbuhua and Jiang Yihong were the same. The stronger the opponents they faced, the more they dared to attempt difficult elements in their performances. Among the three juniors, Zhang Jue was especially bold and often modified his routines during competitions.
Zhang Junbao remained calm: “As Coach Song said, coaches and students choose each other. Perhaps our aura attracts these kinds of children.”

Some coaches develop calm and rational athletes, while others cultivate exceptionally unique problem children. For instance, there’s a rumor in the neighboring table tennis community that “Qin’s school produces scholars, while Xiao’s school produces aggressive players,” meaning Coach Qin’s athletes tend to be more rational, while Coach Xiao’s are more flamboyant.

Zhang Junbao believed that the children he and Shen Liu trained shared a noticeable common trait—they were all very confident, never intimidated by even the strongest opponents, and were willing to take risks and challenge themselves. This was good, as athletes needed to be determined to continuously push their limits in the future.

So, when Min Shan finished her performance, Zhang Junbao didn’t scold her but only sighed, opening his arms. The little girl immediately joyfully jumped into his embrace.

It wasn’t until she took a tissue from Zhang Jue that she was startled by his disapproving gaze.

Zhang Jue said: “I told you that your 3lo+3T wasn’t stable, so don’t raise your hands during the short program. Save the wildness for the free skate, alright?”

Min Shan quickly flashed a flattering silly smile. Zhang Jue rolled his eyes, draped her coat over her shoulders, and then watched as Min Shan, accompanied by the two handsome coaches, happily went to the kiss & cry area.

It was no exaggeration to say that Min Shan’s coaching team was the most handsome in the venue, so the sight of her linking arms with one of each drew envious glances from many females and some male friends.

This was the treatment of Zhang team little girl.

The final score for the young girl was 59.55 points.

Don’t think that this score was low. The judges in China were very strict, and the scores given to athletes were highly condensed. Moreover, with the limited level of women’s singles in China, Xu Chuo’s short program score was only 62 points when she won the championship last year.

In last year’s National Championships, the tenth place in the women’s singles short program scored only 42 points

This was why Xu Chuo was considered a rising star when she emerged because among the struggling women’s singles in China, she was the only one who could compete on the world stage with other top female skaters.

However, Min Shan, a 12-year-old girl, scoring 59.55 on her debut, also demonstrated her strength.

Sun Qian and Jiang Chaosheng muttered: “Zhang Junbao and Shen Liu really know how to train single skaters. They have developed several promising talents over the years.”

Led by Zhang Jue and Xu Chuo, the two had almost monopolized the national singles gold medals. It was well-known that Xu Chuo, before joining Zhang Junbao, could only manage the toe loop adequately, while her 3lo and 2A were weak. It was under Zhang Junbao’s training that she improved her blade jumps and combinations.

Most importantly, other single skaters in the country focused on how to perform well in the National Championships, competing against top athletes from other provincial teams. But Zhang Junbao’s athletes, regardless of their previous levels, had less pressure compared to domestic competitions. They set their sights on international competitors.

The level was just different.

Even if Zhang Jue had setbacks in his development, Sun Qian was still eager to have these two people join the national team as coaches. Unfortunately, they followed Zhang Jue wherever he went, and no one could move them.

After Min Shan’s competition ended, Yang Zhiyuan did post-match relaxation for Min Shan, while Zhang Jue turned and went to the warm-up room.

Jin Zixuan, Shi Mosheng, and Fan Zhaoying had already started warming up. But when Zhang Jue walked in, the room went eerily quiet for a few seconds. It wasn’t until Zhang Jue laid out his yoga mat and began stretching that the warm-up room returned to its original atmosphere.

Chen Zhu whispered to Coach Ma, who was next to him: “Zhang Jue’s aura is unique. I’ve never seen anyone so dominating before.”

Coach Ma agreed: “You’re right. Among the younger generation, this kid’s champion aura is the strongest.”

Apart from his physical talent, Zhang Jue had a very strong aggressive personality. In his first year of promotion, he dared to challenge world champions like Maquen and Vasily. He remained neither arrogant in victory nor disheartened in defeat, and he was decisive and determined at critical moments, with a fighting spirit.

Compared to him, other young athletes inevitably seemed less imposing.

Coach Qiao, who was coaching Jin Zixuan, looked helpless: “As soon as Zhang Jue arrives, my Zixuan doesn’t dare to make a sound. I don’t understand why he’s so intimidated by Zhang Jue when Zhang Jue is quite friendly to him.”

Before even stepping onto the competition floor, the aura alone made Jin Zixuan seem inferior. How could he compete with others under these conditions?

Sometimes, Coach Qiao wanted to grab Jin Zixuan by the collar and shout: “Wake up, you’re 18 now, and Zhang Jue is three years younger than you. Why are you afraid of him?”

With a loud bang, Zhang Jue landed a triple Axel on the floor.

He was indeed very lean, with body fat so low that you could see the faint veins in his tightened arms while jumping. His strength had visibly increased compared to before. When he jumped, he was like a small cannon, with a powerful visual impact.

Chen Zhu noticed that Zhang Jue had a fierce determination today, like a wolf king not ready to give up after being injured, slowly sharpening his claws to overcome adversity.

Zhang Jue might indeed be carrying an injury. Chen Zhu, being a top-level female singles player, knew how intense international competitions were and the heavy toll they took on athletes.

A few athletes with weaker resistance to interference were already feeling intimidated. A coach stood up and took his child to the corridor outside.

Since Zhang Jue’s aura could affect the kids, they decided to move to a different place.

Jin Zixuan also needed to perform a triple Axel in the competition. Gritting his teeth, he attempted a triple Axel on the floor but fell because his body wasn’t tightened during the rotation.

Zhang Jue glanced at him but ignored him, calmly going to get some water from his coach.

Shen Liu lowered his voice and asked: “Aren’t you supposed to be friendly with him? Why didn’t you help him up after he fell?”

Their crocodile was supposed to make friends wherever he went. Jin Zixuan had such a fragile heart that if a friend had helped him when he fell, his condition would have been much better. Shen Liu didn’t believe Zhang Jue couldn’t see this.

Zhang Jue showed a hint of confusion: “I am friendly to him, but this is the competition floor. He is a figure skater. Isn’t getting up by himself after falling here basic training?”

If Jin Zixuan had fallen on the street, Zhang Jue would have immediately helped him up, even carried him home. But if he fell during warm-up due to his own mistake and wasn’t injured, why should Zhang Jue bother?

Zhang Jue was also competing with an injury, feeling pain in his right ankle ligament with each jump. He had fallen during floor exercises before, but as long as he wasn’t injured, he would just get up on his own.

Shen Liu was silent for a moment, thinking that if he had Zhang Jue’s strength and determination when he was active, he wouldn’t have frequently lost his composure due to mental issues.

Though they didn’t speak loudly, Jin Zixuan, being close, had reddened eyes and felt an inexplicable surge of shame and anger.
He scrambled up, attempted a 3S with an arm raise, and after finishing, looked at Zhang Jue, only to find that Zhang Jue didn’t even glance at him, focusing instead on pouring pain relief powder into a bottle.

Zhang Jue expressionlessly drank half a bottle of the oddly flavored drink, turned his head and retched, then pulled off his hair tie and rubbed his scalp.

“I feel like my whole head is clenching.”

Zhang Junbao pressed on him: “Why did you stay up late last night? I told you not to watch Min Shan’s competition and to catch up on your sleep. I know you can sleep… How’s your leg?”

Zhang Jue replied leisurely: “Don’t worry, it’s fine. If I can’t hold on, I will withdraw from the competition voluntarily.”

Zhang Junbao said firmly: “You’d better do as you said.”

They fist-bumped, and Zhang Jue pulled out his costume from his bag, took off his clothes, revealing a body with only single-digit body fat.

His left arm and shoulder had heavy bruises, clearly from falling. From his shoulder to his waist, there were purple to black cupping marks, and his lower back and right shoulder were covered with plasters, while his left elbow was wrapped in bandages.

Even with such a lean body, he carried a fierce and sharp aura like a cheetah. No one knew how much Zhang Jue had sacrificed to restore his condition to compete in the National Championships in just three days after returning to the ice.

Jin Zixuan only knew that on the last day of the training camp, when everyone was packing up to leave in the evening, he could still see Zhang Jue continuing to train in the lit arena.

 

 

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