“In recent years, whether fans in Asia or the Americas admit it or not, the top male figure skaters have indeed been concentrated in Europe. This made the European Championships a gathering of strong competitors, and if the Four Continents Championship were held normally, Zhang Jue should have been the champion.
After all, based on the first half of the season, Zhang Jue had already defeated Maquen and Sergey in succession. Among the top male skaters, only Vasily hadn’t lost yet, but everyone knew how much of that was due to his nationality advantage.

Therefore, to the ninety percent of skating fans who were paying attention to the men’s singles at the Four Continents, if Zhang Jue wasn’t the champion, then who else would be?

Hence, when Hayato Teraoka was preparing, he wrote the words ‘Defeat Zhang Jue’ at the top of his training plan, constantly reminding himself that if he wanted to reach the pinnacle of the world, this Chinese teenager, who was two years younger than him, was his biggest rival.

However, when the competition began, fans and athletes alike discovered that Zhang Jue hadn’t come at all.

Hayato Teraoka looked over at the Chinese team. Mi Yuanyuan, who had competed for China in the senior women’s singles for two consecutive years, was a familiar face. He also recognized Huang Ying and Guan Lin from the pairs category, but the men’s singles competitor was neither Zhang Jue nor the previous Dong Xiaolong.

It was a complete stranger.

Many people started asking around.

“Why didn’t Jue come to the Four Continents?”

“Didn’t the little crocodile win the national championship? Why isn’t he here?”

Zhang Jue: My stamina was exhausted in the Grand Prix Final and National Championships. I’m currently at home recuperating…

Even though Zhang Jue wasn’t at the competition, he sneezed as countless skating fans mentioned him. His vocal coach, Teacher Liu, patted him.

“Is your nasopharynx uncomfortable again? I did turn on the humidifier.”

With the heater on indoors during winter, it inevitably became dry, and Zhang Jue always suffered from nasopharyngitis in winter, making his nose and throat feel like they were on fire.

He wiped his nose and said: “No, my nose just suddenly itched, but I’m fine.”

Only then did Teacher Liu feel relieved and handed him a music score: “Come on, have a duet with Sister Shiyu. She’s going to study in the U.S. next year and plans to try her luck on Broadway, so she needs to practice a lot beforehand.”

Zhang Jue looked at the music score and found it was a classic song from the French musical version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ called ‘Aimer.’ To help Zhang Jue, who wasn’t good with languages, sing the song smoothly, the lyrics had both Chinese translations and phonetic annotations.

Zhang Jue: This is really unnecessary. Even though I don’t know French, I’ve practiced many songs from ‘Romeo and Juliet’ countless times.

Meng Shiyu cleared her throat, waved at him, and smiled: “Come on, you’re the most handsome Romeo I’ve ever sung with.”

As the music began, the long-haired boy lowered his head slightly, his delicate features naturally exuding a melancholic aura. He focused on the girl and began to sing: “Love is full of the ultimate beauty…”

For a moment, the girl’s voice didn’t join in.

Under Zhang Jue’s gaze, Meng Shiyu slapped her forehead, apologized, and turned around.

“Sorry, can we start over?”

She had been momentarily stunned by the boy’s handsome appearance up close. Everyone understood her reaction because when Zhang Jue returned to class, the first question that plagued everyone in the vocal class was “Who is this handsome guy?”

Moreover, the male lead in the French version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ also had long black hair during the premiere, so when Zhang Jue sang the first line, the strong feeling of Romeo’s presence also contributed to the students’ dazed state.

As the background music played again, Teacher Liu listened to the duet between the boy and girl, a trace of satisfaction on her face.

After Zhang Jue’s voice started changing, he stopped taking vocal lessons, which she understood. After all, he had to juggle his studies and figure skating. Giving up vocal lessons due to a poor voice condition was a pity, but understandable.

However, she hadn’t expected that after his voice change, Zhang Jue would return with a voice transformed into a thick and clear metallic quality. His high notes were bright and resonant, his voice carried a natural emotional appeal, and his attention to detail was meticulous.

With his good looks, it was as if he was blessed by the heavens.

Teacher Liu thought with regret, how could such a singing talent choose to pursue figure skating?

After the lesson, when Zhang Junbao came to pick him up, Teacher Liu tentatively asked: “Is Zhang Jue’s injury healed? If he’s available, I have a recommendation spot for a competition…”

A strong alarm sounded in his uncle’s mind.

He forced a smile: “Zhang Jue is not available. You see, he’s still limping. We don’t let him go out much, except for your class, to avoid worsening his injury.”
Teacher Liu persisted: “I can drive him there. He doesn’t need to walk.”

Zhang Junbao firmly refused. Seeing that the injury excuse wasn’t working, he quickly changed the subject: “He’s taking the college entrance exam next year. Balancing studies and figure skating is already exhausting for him. Zhang Jue, do you want to take on vocal lessons as well?”

His uncle’s eyes were filled with deep emotion, and Zhang Jue tried hard not to laugh, shaking his head firmly.

“No, no, skating and studying already take up all my energy. I really can’t handle anything else.”

So, uncle, you really don’t need to worry about me being taken away by vocal lessons because I’m already deeply passionate about figure skating.

Zhang Junbao was very satisfied with Zhang Jue’s answer. He happily took Zhang Jue to his old Jinbei van, and the familiar engine started with a coughing sound.

Zhang Jue suggested: “Uncle, you’ve saved up some money. Why don’t you get a new car?”

We don’t have to buy an expensive one. A new van only costs about thirty to fifty thousand…

Zhang Junbao chuckled: “Got it, got it. But let’s not talk about cars now. Let’s hurry back to watch the Four Continents live broadcast. The men’s short program is about to start.”

Talking about this made both uncle and nephew feel worried.

Jin Zixuan should be fine, right?

It was Jin Zixuan’s first international competition. Everything seemed new and exciting to him. Although families who could afford figure skating weren’t short of money, and taking their kids abroad wasn’t unusual, Jin Zixuan had only been to Thailand once before, and this was his first time in Japan.

He sat in the warm-up area, meditating with his eyes closed and doing some yoga poses. It was said that Brother Shen used to adjust his mindset through yoga when he got nervous before competitions.

Sun Qian personally led the team to the Four Continents this time, sitting on the side folding towels and whispering to Coach Qiao.

“Actually, competitions are the same at home and abroad. Encourage the kid before they go on the ice, hand them a blade cover when they get off, remind them to put on their jacket, give them a towel to wipe their sweat, and keep them calm.”

Coach Qiao smiled wryly: “My mindset is fine. I’m worried about little Zixuan. He has too little experience in international competitions.”

He feared that Jin Zixuan wouldn’t be able to handle the Four Continents. Before the competition even started, several athletes came looking for Zhang Jue: Cui Zhengshu, Hayato Teraoka, Yin Meijing, Liu Mengcheng… It was only Shiratsuka Keiko who passed by and told them that Zhang Jue was resting due to injury.

What? How did Shiratsuka Keiko know Zhang Jue was resting due to injury?

Of course, it was because Shiratsuka Keiko had previously asked Zhang Jue to help edit her free skate music. They occasionally chatted on international calls, which is how Keiko found out about Zhang Jue’s Twitter account.

“I saw Tama-chan’s recent posts. He mentioned that he couldn’t skate due to an injury and was spending his time at home playing with his hamster.”

As a result, the top skaters from Japan and Korea immediately asked Keiko for Zhang Jue’s Twitter handle.

Coaches Sun Qian and Qiao, along with Jin Zixuan, who overheard this, also learned from Keiko that Zhang Jue’s Twitter handle was “Saori’s Dad.” He frequently posted nine-grid photos of his hamster, giving off a very fatherly vibe.

But without a doubt, foreign skaters only sought out Zhang Jue among Chinese athletes. This indirectly showed that Zhang Jue was the only Chinese male single skater the public recognized. Jin Zixuan, in their eyes, was just an unknown person.

Coach Qiao knew that Jin Zixuan’s English was excellent and worried that the conversations among the foreign skaters might make him feel inferior, affecting his performance. After all, this kid had an unpredictable nature, unprecedented in Coach Qiao’s career.

However, to everyone’s surprise, the fighting spirit that Jin Zixuan ignited during the Nationals seemed to carry over to the Four Continents.

He calmly executed a 3S jump with a raised hand, kicked his leg while holding onto the rail, and then circled the rink quickly.

Jin Zixuan had always had good luck with draws. He drew the second-to-last group and the third position in the second spot, meaning he wouldn’t suffer from being scored harshly as the first skater, nor would he face excessive ice marks and holes from previous skaters.

In other words, compared to Zhang Jue, who often skated either first or last, Jin Zixuan had a significant advantage in terms of the rink’s condition.

When the announcer called out “representing China,” countless skating fans looked expectantly to the side of the rink, only to see an unfamiliar young man standing there.

He had the handsome appearance common among figure skaters, but he wasn’t their familiar “Little Crocodile.” The fans whispered among themselves.

“Who is that boy?”

“Did China send two skaters to the Four Continents?”

“No, it seems Little Crocodile didn’t come to the Four Continents.”

Jin Zixuan drank some water at the boards before gliding onto the ice.

Hayato Teraoka was stretching his arms in the waiting area and shifted his gaze to Jin Zixuan.

“The Last Emperor? I remember Chen Zhu’s rendition of this was the most classic.”

It was common for younger skaters to pay tribute by choosing pieces performed by their predecessors. However, to Teraoka, this “zixuan.jin” seemed like a typical Chinese male single skater.

He could jump well, his 4T was clean and high, his combination jumps were good, his spins were not fast, his flexibility wasn’t great, but his axis was stable, showing solid basics. However, his skating and presentation were lacking.

The chubby head coach standing nearby said slowly to Teraoka: “Skaters like Tama-chan and Chen Zhu, who excel in performance, are exceptions in their country. This boy is technically good and should make the podium, but his lack of expressive power will limit his ability to reach higher levels.”

Teraoka responded and looked around, spotting the Chinese filming crew. He ran over.

Shufen… or Shufeng, was filming and saw the top Japanese skater running over, waving to the camera, and greeting someone in standard Mandarin.

“Hi, I heard you got injured. I wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you at the World Championship.”

Zhang Jue, sipping barley tea, paused, and his uncle nudged him with his elbow: “Hey, he’s talking to you.”

Zhang Jue covered his face: “I know.”

He thought Teraoka was being reckless, talking to him during a live broadcast, but Zhang Jue couldn’t help but smile.

His uncle, leaning back on the sofa, also relaxed: “Jin Zixuan did well. For his first major international competition, to cleanly skate the short program is much better than I expected.”

Zhang Jue, texting on his phone, replied: “Yes, he’s quite good.”

After a while, Jin Zixuan’s score came out.

82.65, not as high as his national score, but already a respectable score in the current international scene, indicating that the judges had a good impression of this young skater.

Several other skaters took the ice afterward, and as Zhang Jue predicted, among the second-to-last group, Jin Zixuan was the strongest with his quadruple jumps, maintaining the top position until the final group.

Canada’s top male single skater, Samov, scored 86 without any quadruple jumps, followed by America’s top skater, Mike, with 85.9.

Jin Zixuan looked at their scores, his expression changing.

“How can their scores be so high?”

He believed his jumps were far superior to theirs, and while their performance wasn’t outstanding enough to justify a 45-point technical score, how could their presentation scores be higher than the technical ones?

Even Zhang Jue, who excelled in performance, had never received such high presentation scores in international competitions.

Coach Sun glanced at him: “Don’t worry about it. Your scores are close, and those two have limited technical difficulty. You can easily catch up in the free skate.”

Coach Sun didn’t explicitly say that the North American skaters received inflated scores for the sake of appearances, but he believed Jin Zixuan should understand.
After all, Zhang Jue, with nearly three seasons of international competition experience before coming to the Four Continents, had always faced unfair scoring but kept winning with his absolute strength. His presentation scores had also improved due to his relentless efforts.

Chinese skaters could only rise in figure skating by breaking through injustice with their skills, like Zhang Jue and the pair skaters Huang Ying and Guan Lin.
Jin Zixuan bit his lip: “But even if I give my all, if it’s not enough to overcome their national advantage, what’s the point of trying so hard in the free skate?”

He wasn’t Zhang Jue, his skills weren’t yet at the level to break through the bias.

Coach Qiao internally screamed that Jin Zixuan was once again on the verge of a breakdown!

Meanwhile, Zhang Jue, unaware of Jin Zixuan’s mindset, was busy deciphering broken English.

Concerned about him, Ilya, who had just finished the European Championships, immediately called when he discovered Zhang Jue’s absence from the Four Continents.

Zhang Jue struggled to understand Ilya’s meaning and replied: “I’m okay, I got injured during the national competition. The doctor told me to rest for a while… Yeah, it’s no big deal.”

Zhang Jue was telling the truth; his injuries weren’t severe enough to hinder his athletic career. What worried him more was his height, which had now surpassed 1.7 meters.

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