When Zhang Jue saw the score, he let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Great, at least we won’t fall too far behind in the short program.”

The ice fans on the scene were also very enthusiastic. As soon as the score was announced, they started clapping loudly. Shen Liu was pleased as well, then he felt a force pressing down on his shoulder. Turning around, he found Zhang Jue holding onto his shoulder as he stood up, bowing deeply to the audience. It was several seconds before Zhang Jue straightened up and looked at them.

“Should I go for post-competition ice therapy now?”

Shen Liu noticed something, and Zhang Junbao reacted even faster, standing up as well.

“Yes, let’s go.”

With that, he placed Zhang Jue’s arm over his shoulder and took him out of Kiss & Cry.

Zhang Jue took a few steps, then his right leg shook and he dropped to one knee.

Gasps were heard as Sun Qian and Song Cheng both exclaimed: “Zhang Jue!”

Zhang Junbao quickly crouched down: “What’s going on? Can you still walk? Should we call for a stretcher?”

Zhang Jue extended his hand, saying briefly: “I can walk. Just help me a bit.”

So Shen Liu and Zhang Junbao each supported Zhang Jue and together they helped him to the backstage.

Watching them leave, Ilya looked worried: “He’s injured.”

“With a landing like that, an injury was inevitable, it was just a matter of when,” Vasily said, pounding his thigh, admiration in his eyes.

Ilya couldn’t help but ask: “Will he withdraw?”

Vasily replied nonchalantly: “Who knows? He’s Shen’s disciple, and they all have a stubborn streak. I think, in such a critical moment, as long as he can still move, he won’t give up.”

Yin Meijing covered her mouth, her eyes filled with concern: “He’s only 15. How could he be injured so badly? It looks like he’s in as much trouble as those veteran skaters with injuries. It’s really worrisome.”

Liu Mengcheng silently embraced her.

In front of the TV, Coach Lu’s wife shouted: “Old man! Watch Zhang Jue’s score before you leave!”

Coach Lu shouted back with full force: “I’m not watching. With his performance, he’s sure to be in the top three in the short program. It’s pointless to check the score!”

“He got 91.33, a personal best!”

There was silence in the bedroom. Mrs. Lu continued to shout: “But he fell on the ice later. It seems like he’s injured!”

The sound of slippers moving quickly on the wooden floor grew urgent. Coach Lu, wearing a thin robe, rushed out, completely unlike his slow, cane-assisted demeanor from earlier that day.

On the TV screen, the camera focused on Zhang Jue’s back as he was supported by his coach. The teenager, now a bit taller than Zhang Junbao, walked slowly, his profile tense as if he was enduring pain.

Meanwhile, domestic figure skating forums and fan groups were filled with worry.

【hot~】The top skater is injured!

1L

Oh my God, kneeling on the ice, when did he get hurt? How serious is it?

2L

Let’s hope it doesn’t affect the free skate. This is the first time we have more than one male skater with a chance at the Winter Olympics. We’re pinning all our hopes on him.

3L

Sigh, it’s also young Jin’s fault for letting him compete injured. It ended up like this. What’s wrong with these athletes? Why are they all so fragile? Doesn’t the coaching team care about their health?

4L

I’m at the scene. Our top skater has been helped to a place I can’t see. Still don’t know the situation. I’m so anxious!

5L

If it really comes to it, he might have to withdraw. If he competes with a serious injury, it could ruin his career. But Sun Qian is also on-site. I wonder if he’ll pressure Zhang Jue for the Olympic spots.

6L

It depends on whether Coach Zhang can handle it. I hope he can. If our Brother Jue gets seriously injured and still has to compete in the free skate, I might really turn against this coach.

7L

Hard to say. If Coach Zhang were a sensible person, he wouldn’t have agreed to let Brother Jue practice quads at such a young age. Training for quads before fully developing is very taxing on the body. These coaches are only focused on results, not the athletes well-being.

8L

Praying that Brother Jue is okay, but also hoping he can achieve good results【tears.jpg】

9L

Tsk, the ones calling Brother Jue might be those fans who idolize athletes as celebrities?

……

Chen Sijia slammed her computer shut, angrily exclaiming: “What kind of people are these, complaining about the coach and disparaging female fans at a time like this?”

Zhang Jue had worked so hard to achieve such a good score in the competition. If his injury affected future performances, it would be devastating for him.

The girl took out her Little Crocodile fan and touched the confident-looking child on it. Remembering the determined and handsome young man on the ice, her heart ached.

She whispered: “Being an athlete is so difficult. Why does it have to come with injuries?”

…

Yang Zhiyuan came over to examine him.

“It’s not a bone issue. The knee joint movement is abnormal. It should be an ACL injury. He needs to go to the hospital for an MRI to assess the damage.”

Thanks to the efforts of the cafeteria aunt and her uncle’s supervision, Zhang Jue had been well-nourished during his growth period. Coupled with his inherent physical sturdiness, even though his landing technique had caused significant strain on his knee, he had no other major problems aside from some meniscus wear.

However, ligaments are not as tough as bones, and his landing from the 4T was indeed hard on the body, making an injury somewhat expected.

So, Zhang Jue was helped into a car and taken to a local hospital for an MRI. After reviewing the results, the doctor advised that the injury was serious, recommending that he avoid intense physical activity and rest well. At this stage, conservative treatment was possible, but if it worsened, he might need arthroscopy.

Additionally, the impact force during his 4T jump had caused a strain in his left leg’s soleus muscle, which also needed rest.

The men’s short program competition was in the evening. According to Zhang Jue’s usual habit, he would eat something to fill up after the competition. Zhang Junbao, fearing he might gain weight, usually prepared some vegetables boiled in water, seasoned with a bit of soy sauce, or simply threw in a couple of apples.

This time, after their emergency visit, Zhang Jue didn’t ask the coaches for food like he usually did. Instead, he sat in the hospital lobby while Sun Qian and Song Cheng took turns advising him to withdraw.

Song Cheng earnestly said: “Ligaments and joints are crucial for athletes. The intensity of the free skate is greater than that of the short program. Competing with an injury could cause significant harm.”

Sun Qian spoke sincerely: “Zhang Jue, with your talent, it would be better to skip this World Championship, focus on recovering and adjusting your condition, and then compete well next season for the Olympics. Losing a spot is not the end.”

After all, even with more spots and more people going to the Winter Olympics, to be blunt, aside from Zhang Jue, no one else in the country could win a medal. Going to the Olympics would only serve to make a presence and claim: “I’ve been to the Olympics.”

Sun Qian was under a lot of pressure as well. He wanted to meet the targets set for him, but he was more reluctant to see a promising talent be ruined for the sake of a spot.

Zhang Junbao sat quietly without speaking, and Shen Liu felt something and also remained silent, sitting beside Zhang Jue. Zhang Jue looked left and right and broke into a smile.

“Commander Sun, my biological father is 1.93 meters tall.”

He blinked and added: “And I’m still growing! Every night I get leg cramps or even wake up in pain, so I can’t stay at my current height. Also, we have a tendency to gain weight in our family, which means if I become a 1.80-meter tall guy, my weight will definitely increase by at least 10 kilograms from what it is now.”

Sun Qian stopped. Honestly, this was the last thing he wanted to hear. He understood that Zhang Jue’s biological father, who had supposedly contributed genes but not financial support to Zhang Jue’s growth, had left him with a height potential that was quite troublesome for a figure skater.

But he also knew that Zhang Jue’s concerns were very realistic and he had to face them.

Song Cheng looked at Zhang Junbao and Shen Liu, who remained silent, and a surge of frustration rose in his chest. He rolled his eyes and sat down angrily.

Zhang Jue continued: “To be honest, I already have a feeling that after this season, even if I can still land jumps with my current technique, I probably won’t be able to jump anymore.”

“So, before I retire, I want to bring more Winter Olympic spots home for our country.”

Zhang Jue was sincere and determined. Then he turned to Zhang Junbao and said: “Coach, I’m applying for a cortisone injection.”

Yang Zhiyuan glanced at him: “Cortisone injections are very painful, and you have more than one injury. You’d need at least two shots.”

Taking three cortisone shots in a season was enough to harm any athlete. Although Zhang Jue’s shots were not in the same place, no parent would want to see their child getting injections just for the sake of results.

With the child’s parents present, Yang Zhiyuan felt he had to refuse.

But to his surprise, Zhang Junbao nodded: “Alright, anyway, if you don’t get it now, you might not have the chance later.”

The Lan family was useless except for dragging their son down, a waste. Fortunately, his sister had ditched that thing early. It was just a pity for his little jade; at 15, he was still being dragged down by that useless person, which was very unfortunate.

However, Zhang Junbao had been an athlete himself. When he confirmed Zhang Jue’s determination to take on the responsibility of being the top skater, his feelings were mixed with pain and pride.

Initially, when Zhang Junbao first brought the kid to the rink, he only hoped Zhang Jue could use his talent to bring more honor to China’s figure skating. At that time, Zhang Jue seemed uninterested in figure skating and would sneak out to play soccer during lunch breaks, infuriating the coaching staff.

Now, he had become the true top skater, so determined to carry the banner. Zhang Jue had competed for three seasons, and his growth was not just in technique and height, but also in maturity.

He had become a real man.

Zhang Junbao stood up and looked at Sun Qian, speaking sincerely: “Zhang Jue is an adult. From the moment he decided to compete in the World Championships, he knew his jumping style would eventually lead to injuries. I think he was prepared for cortisone shots from the start.”

“Commander Sun, let him do it. He knows the consequences of his actions.”

At the end of the short program competition, Zhang Jue was in first place with 91.33 points, adding another piece of evidence to the rumor that his short program never faltered.

France’s top skater Martin followed in second with 91.08 points.

Vasily ranked third with 89.4 points.

However, Zhang Jue was absent from the small medal ceremony.

David Bisolit wiped the sweat off his face with a towel and looked at the Chinese reporters packing up in the interview area, sighing in resignation.

He still hadn’t recovered from the weakness caused by a recent accident. After a rough fall on his 4T in the short program, he was only in 9th place, effectively withdrawing from the medal contention of this World Championships.

Unlike him, many people thought Zhang Jue, after cleaning up the short program and setting a personal best, was aiming for the podium and even targeting the silver medal, attempting to bring three Winter Olympic spots to China (the top two in the World Championships and the combined ranking of two participants not exceeding 13 could earn three spots).

Unexpectedly, Zhang Jue had been injured during the competition.

He and Alexis, both French-speaking male skaters, had a good relationship. At this moment, he lamented: “It looks like he got injured while attempting the 4T but still managed to finish the final set of spins without showing any signs of pain. He even walked back to the kiss & cry without letting anyone see his injury. His pain tolerance is truly impressive.”

Alexis nodded in agreement: “He’s always been like this. He looks cute but is actually a tough guy.”

His coach’s senior Martin was also full of injuries. Before this season started, he had undergone spine surgery and received cortisone shots before the competition. Alexis knew that Martin had to use such methods because he was still too weak to compete for an Olympic spot, and his senior had to clear the path to the Winter Olympics for him.

On the flight to Canada, Alexis had a conversation with his senior.

“Alexis, since Saren left, our men’s singles has declined. Winning a bronze medal in Vancouver was actually a beautiful accident because there were very few athletes daring to attempt the quad jumps. I happened to be one of them and managed to land it in the competition… but that doesn’t change the fact that French men’s singles is in decline.”

Martin, who had always had a serious face, showed him a gentle smile: “Others say French people are slack, but in reality, both you and I enjoy seeing the national flag raised because of us, right? I won’t be skating for much longer, so you need to work hard before I retire.”

Now, Alexis saw that same sense of responsibility and honor in Zhang Jue as the strongest skater for his country.

“He won’t give up on this competition,” Alexis murmured.

The next day, Zhang Jue appeared at the venue with his backpack. After a brief warm-up, he sat down on a chair, and his team doctor knelt in front of him, massaging his knee and left calf.

Many people secretly watched him, thinking that his injuries were not limited to just his knee.

Zhang Jue drank some sports drink mixed with painkiller powder and checked his phone, which had several encouraging messages, including “I knew you wouldn’t give up. Fight on!” from Zhang Junbao and Qingyan, and “Do your best. If you can’t hold on, retire. It’s not shameful to withdraw due to injury, it’s a strategic retreat,” from his mother.

They understood and supported him so well. At that moment, a shadow fell on his screen. Zhang Jue looked up and saw Cui Zhengshu standing in front of him, carefully examining him before smiling.

“I knew you’d insist on finishing the free skate. Here, take this.”

Cui Zhengshu said, taking off the necklace he had worn during the competition and putting it on Zhang Jue.

“This is a lucky charm I wore when I won the Korean National Championship for the first time. I’m lending it to you for now. Remember to return it after the competition. Also, Meijing specially made a garland. After you finish skating, remember to pick it up. She always says you look handsome, and if you wear the garland during the free skate, you’ll be even more handsome. Good luck and skate well.”

Zhang Jue was stunned for a moment and then broke into a bright smile.

He nodded vigorously: “Thank you. Don’t worry, I’ll skate great this time!”

Zhang Junbao handed him a peeled banana: “Here, eat a banana to replenish your energy. You’re the last one to perform. Later, Vasily, Maquen, and Martin will definitely push themselves to the limit. The advantage you had in the short program won’t last long, so be prepared.”

Zhang Jue gave him a thumbs-up: “Absolutely.”

 

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