“Rich and aromatic, with a long-lasting aftertaste, Ladder Mountain Milk is sweet and pure, the top choice for calcium supplementation.”

Zhang Jue, wearing the H City Third High School uniform, held up a carton of milk, sat on the school playground’s grass, and gave a wink to the audience on the screen.

Seeing Coach Lu’s dark expression, his wife deliberately spoke in a relaxed tone: “Oh, since seeing little Jue grow so quickly, Ladder Mountain Milk has been selling better and better. Could it really be that this milk helps people grow taller?”

Coach Lu shook his head: “No. When I first saw his rapid growth, I felt something was off. I called Zhang Junbao, and he said that little Jue biological father was a basketball player, so little Jue height is due to genetics.”

Mrs. Lu looked puzzled: “Isn’t little Jue dad that particularly handsome Xu Yan? He even delivered fried pork to our house before.”

Coach Lu explained: “He’s little Jue stepfather. Didn’t you notice they don’t look alike?”

Mrs. Lu replied: “Aren’t they both good-looking?”

She had once envied little Jue mother for having a handsome husband and a lovely son.

After a while, the commercial ended, and the voice of Zhao Ning, the female host specializing in figure skating from CCTV-5, filled the room.

“Dear viewers, it’s nine o’clock in the morning. Welcome to the Central Television Sports Channel. We are currently live with the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships men’s singles free skate. The competition has reached a fever pitch.”

Jiang Chaosheng glanced down: “Yes, this year’s figure skating rookies are all very competitive and have delivered impressive performances in major events. During the short program, our young skater Zhang Jue suffered a ligament strain from a quadruple jump. He is now taking pain injections and has continued with the free skate. We hope he can safely complete this competition.”

At this point, the two exchanged a resigned glance.

Since learning about Zhang Jue’s participation, many domestic skating fans have been excited, thinking that China might be able to send three men’s singles skaters to the Winter Olympics next year. However, when they saw Zhang Jue’s new height, those in the know felt a chill.

After Zhang Jue secured first place in the short program, their hearts warmed up, but it didn’t last long. Zhang Jue got injured, and their hearts chilled again.

This rollercoaster of emotions was too much for those with weak hearts, like Commander Sun, who was at the front lines with Zhang Jue, Huang Ying, Guan Lin, and Mi Yuanyuan. His stress level was definitely high, and he hoped he had some heart-saving pills on hand.

Zhang Jue’s condition was visibly poor. The skater who used to enjoy showing off his skills during six-minute practices now just skated around and found a chair to sit in after his performance.

He didn’t even want to stand, raising concerns about whether he could complete the free skate.

Jiang Chaosheng decided that, even if Zhang Jue fell badly later, he would ensure that public opinion remained tolerant of the kid.

Originally, if not for the lack of other options, who would willingly send their top skater in a crucial developmental phase to risk his health? If Zhang Jue hadn’t won the internal test, Jiang Chaosheng would not have agreed to send him out.

But, as he had said earlier, this year’s rookies were impressive, with the final group consisting of half rookies for the first time.

The new generation’s trio of Zhang Jue, Hayato Teraoka, and Ilya were indeed strong competitors.

However, the veterans were not to be outdone. Compared to the younger skaters who lacked experience and often faltered at crucial moments, the veterans performed more steadily and with greater maturity, earning higher performance scores from the judges.

So, despite mistakes from both Ilya and Hayato Teraoka, Vasily scored 186.1 points with his routine “Spring in St. Petersburg,” the highest free skate score of the event so far, with a total score of 275.5, placing him first.

Maquen was second, Hayato Teraoka third, and Ilya fourth.

Zhao Ning continued to announce: “Now taking the ice is Martin from France, the bronze medalist in men’s singles at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. He is a skater known for his interpretation of classical music. His free skate program is ‘From the New World.’”

As Martin appeared, Zhang Jue noticed Shen Liu’s tense expression.

He asked quietly: “What’s wrong?”

Shen Liu shook his head: “Martin’s injury has been quite severe. He was hospitalized before the season started, and his condition in previous major events hasn’t been good. It seems he’s just trying to make his presence known for France on the front line. His disciple, Alex, is still too inexperienced. At 19, he should be at his peak, but he still lacks strong performance and stable jumps.”

“If Alex had performed better before the World Championships, Martin would have retired. If his spinal condition worsens, he might never even get a wheelchair for the rest of his life, and the worst-case scenario could be fatal. Fortunately, Alex performed well this time, so Martin’s retirement should be more reassuring.”

Zhang Jue pursed his lips: “It’s Martin’s own choice to continue competing.”

Shen Liu rarely scolded Zhang Jue: “Don’t say it’s his own choice. I warn you, after the competition, you must go to the hospital. I won’t let you be so stubborn anymore.”

Zhang Jue wanted to retort that even his uncle couldn’t control him, let alone Shen Liu, but then he saw Shen Liu give a strangely unsettling smile.

“To be honest, allowing a 15-year-old like you to take three injections this season is my fault. But if something like this happens again, I’ll have to use a knife.”

“Ugh!”

Zhang Jue widened his eyes in fear.

This person looks refined and handsome, but he’s actually such a ruthless sadist.

Then he heard Shen Liu add: “If you don’t follow treatment in the future, I’ll use the knife on myself.”

Zhang Jue sighed with relief, thinking, oh, that’s okay. He had thought Shen Liu meant he would use a knife to force him to the hospital.

Wait, using a knife on oneself is also quite sadistic! Figure skating is just a sport, Shen Liu, don’t be so extreme!

Zhang Junbao shot Shen Liu a sideways glance: “Zhang Jue never joked like this with you before. You should tone it down. This kid hasn’t seen what you were like in your teens. He always thought you were a serious person and would believe whatever you said.”

Shen Liu smiled slightly: “Just making a joke to lighten the mood, so little Jue doesn’t get nervous.”

Zhang Jue was baffled: “?!”

He realized that his elders, from Zhang Junbao to his biological mother and father, and now Shen Liu, were probably not well-behaved youths when they were young.

Actually, Zhang Jue had noticed before, when Dong Xiaolong visited Shen Liu’s house, that Dong Xiaolong was not only particularly respectful towards his uncle but also very cautious around Shen Liu. It seemed that it wasn’t just simple politeness.

Onlookers Zhang Junbao and Shen Liu’s provincial team coach, Song Cheng, rolled their eyes dramatically.

He was the biggest victim of this group of mischievous monkeys!

At that moment, a gasp arose from the arena.

They turned their heads to see Martin suddenly lose his balance and fall heavily during a spin. This was completely different from falling during a jump; most experienced top male singles skaters wouldn’t fall so hard during a spin. Such situations were quite rare.

Zhang Jue was stunned and was about to guess if Martin was affected by his spinal injury when he saw Martin get up and continue performing.

Shen Liu clicked his tongue: “With a spinal injury and such a heavy fall, he should just withdraw. Anyway, Alex is the highest scorer in the penultimate group. This time, the World Championships will be at least seventh for him. There’s no point in pushing so hard.”

After this fall, Martin’s free skate score was bound to be poor, and his chances of reaching the podium were slim. Why bother?

But strangely, after the fall, Martin’s performance took on an astonishing emotional intensity. He seemed like a traveler who had crossed rugged mountains and vast oceans, having endured countless hardships to reach a new land, gazing at this new world with a hopeful smile.

Seeing this, Zhang Jue suddenly recalled the athlete’s entry in future encyclopedias.

Martin Dubois, born in 1988 to a middle-class family in France, saw his parents divorce before he turned one. He lived with his mother but couldn’t speak fluently until the age of three. Coupled with his obesity, he was considered a slow child by those around him. His academic performance was poor in elementary school. His mother took him to many doctors and enrolled him in various interest classes, hoping to help him catch up with his peers, but to no avail.

It wasn’t until the winter he was seven that his grandmother took his hand and led him onto the ice, teaching him to skate. Under his grandmother’s patient instruction, he fell in love with skating and, with the encouragement of his coach and grandmother, lost weight and began competing in children’s events.

In an interview, he once said: “Figure skating gave me confidence and a drive to become better. For me, it was a new land that gave me a new life. I considered the day I stepped onto the ice to be the luckiest day of my life.”

Despite the severe fall he had endured, his program did not seem tragic but rather joyful.

Zhang Jue felt a surge of respect inside him.

When the competition ended, Martin’s total score was announced.

His free skate score was 173.91, and with the short program score of 91.08, his total score was 264.99, placing him fourth.

For him, this free skate performance could hardly be described as good, but Zhang Jue felt deeply moved. Martin was pleased with the score, stood up, and high-fived his coach. His junior, Alex, rushed to him, hugging him tightly, with tears in his eyes, shouting something.

Shen Liu, understanding French, told Zhang Jue that Alex was shouting “Thank you.”

Alex had already secured seventh place in this World Championships, and Martin’s fourth place, combined with a fifth place, meant their rankings added up to less than 13.

France would have three spots for the men’s singles at the Winter Olympics next year.

Zhang Jue knew this was Martin’s final battle, and he had given everything for his country in his last World Championships.

At that moment, only one male single skater remained to perform in the World Championships.

Sun Qian glanced at the ice rink: “Zhang Jue.”

Zhang Jue took off his jacket: “Got it.”

The Night’s Spring God took the stage again. Zhang Jue stepped onto the ice, turned around, and smiled at Zhang Junbao.

Zhang Junbao sighed, gave him a push on his back, and the child swiftly headed towards the rink.

Even Song Cheng, usually very certain, said to Sun Qian: “Zhang Jue will definitely go for two quadruple jumps in this performance.”

From what he knew of Zhang Jue, Martin’s performance had definitely sparked his fighting spirit.

Sun Qian took off his glasses and wiped them with his sleeve: “Well, I guess I can’t do much about him. Since I became head coach, I often live in such emotions. It’s painful to see athletes injured, and it’s painful to see them compete while injured. Sometimes I want to stop them from competing, but when it comes down to it, I feel it’s wrong to hold them back after all the hard work they’ve put in…”

Yet, he still sent generation after generation of athletes to compete, seeing them fight for their dreams, although the brilliance was dazzling, Sun Qian also imagined how nice it would be if these kids could bring home gold medals without injuries. Unfortunately, such things don’t happen in the real world.

Yang Zhiyuan said in a deep voice: “Zhang Jue’s ligament injury is level one. The injection can only relieve the pain, but if he continues with that landing style, it’s absolutely certain it will worsen to level two, or even a ligament tear is possible.”

Song Cheng said: “Let’s see how lucky he is. This kid’s luck has exploded this time; maybe he’ll have another stroke of luck on the field.”

The music of “April’s Love Story” began to play.

Zhang Jue’s first jump was a quadruple.

A beautiful 4T.

But what was astonishing was that after this jump, Zhang Jue did a flip and landed a 1lo, then followed up with a 3S.

4T+1lo+3S! This was the first-ever sandwich jump in the world with a quadruple as the first jump!

Many people were stunned by this jump, and Boris squinted at it.

“This kid’s jumping rhythm is really good; it seems he’s been practicing this move for quite some time.”

Seeing his performance, Zhang Junbao showed a sharp smile.

“Little calculating machine is at it again.”

Zhang Jue’s 4S was out, and he could only complete 4T. If he wanted to achieve a good result in this competition, two quadruples in the free skate were necessary.

However, the same type of quadruple jump can only appear once in a program; the second jump must be followed by a connected jump to comply with the rules.

Could Zhang Jue’s condition support him in completing 4T+3T? Of course not, but if he jumped 4T+2T, the base score for 2T was too low for Zhang Jue, only 1.3 points, making it not worth it.

However, Zhang Jue’s sandwich jump was strong, and connecting it with 3S was easier for him than connecting with 3T. After all, S jump was Zhang Jue’s signature jump; his first triple jump was 3S! His first quadruple was 4S.

So, he chose to include the 4T in the sandwich jump!

Shen Liu sighed: “This kid is indeed sharp and calm. He can calculate his scores so clearly even at such a moment. In the future, when he takes his college entrance exam, at least we won’t have to worry about his math.”

Zhang Junbao looked proud: “Yes, with his brain, if he retires after this competition and focuses on studying, he might even get into the top university in the country.”

Sun Qian was comforted by this.

As a coach, he was always afraid that his athletes would struggle after retiring with injuries. So seeing Zhang Jue being able to have a bright future through studying made him particularly happy.

In the subsequent performance, Zhang Jue amazed everyone, including his coaches.

Watching the boy on TV, Zhuang Zi smiled slightly.

“It was such a wonderful performance.”

The inspiration for this program came from the collaboration between her and Zhang Jue. During the choreography, Zhang Jue had kept in touch with her via email.

It was a story about someone who, after enduring countless regrets, met their dream in April after a harsh winter. Through Zhang Jue’s portrayal, Zhuang Zi once wondered if Tama-chan had experienced some heartache, just as she had to permanently leave the rink.

Undoubtedly, the protagonist in Zhang Jue’s previous story found a new dream in April, and now he seems to be bidding farewell to the new dream he had so hard to obtain.

He was sad, but even if he was sad, his passion for the dream was still burning fiercely, like a flame blooming on the pristine ice rink.

Yes, just like how she had once performed Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto for the last time on the rink, releasing all her love for figure skating with such determination.

This young athlete, still in development and with injuries, put forth the highest emotions and the best technique in the competition.

Zhang Jue made no mistakes, not a single one. Even his footwork was slightly better than usual. Perhaps his skating had flaws, but Zhang Junbao’s practice on the required elements had made some improvements.

As the youth spun, his necklace slipped out from under his collar, flying in the air, reflecting the white light of the ice along with his flying sweat.

At that moment, Zhang Jue vaguely touched something. He seemed to merge with the wind on the ice, his control over his body reaching its peak after development, and the performance’s emotions naturally emanated from within.

In the last major competition of Zhang Jue’s self-awareness, he delivered the best performance he could in the world of figure skating!

It turned out that using one’s soul as fuel to complete a performance had such a refreshing taste.

Until the end of the competition, Zhang Jue knelt on the ground, gasping for breath, sweat dripping down. The entire venue seemed to rise, the applause was loud and dense, almost shattering eardrums, and some people were screaming.

“Tama-chan, you’re the best!”

He turned his head and saw Yin Meijing, amidst the astonished gazes of those around her, sitting on Liu Mengcheng’s shoulders, waving a white rose wreath like a lasso, and tossing it towards him.

Zhang Jue skated over to catch it, and as Yin Meijing blew a kiss, he put the wreath on his head and smiled at her.

The camera focused on the boy’s smiling face, but perhaps due to the angle of the shot, someone noticed that the child’s smile, as bright as the sun, held a glimmering tear in his eyes.

In the next moment, Zhang Jue covered his eyes, tilted his head back, and tears really began to slide down his cheeks.

Every athlete who learned they had to leave the rink felt a deep sense of reluctance, and some even cried.

Crying out of reluctance, crying out of unwillingness, crying for the lack of successors, crying because the dream had to leave before it had truly taken off.

Zhang Jue thought: “Today, I skated so happily. To perform like this and have everyone like it so much—this feeling is so blissful. I almost don’t want to leave here.”

 

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