Zhang Jue, 16 years old, was a student at No. 3 High School in H City, about to start his senior year. Around four months ago, he had been a figure skater.

But that was all in the past.

Now, he was just an ordinary high school student.

Although he had black hair with a diamond sheen, a height of 179.2 cm (rounding up to 1.8 meters), and striking good looks once hailed as the most handsome in the figure skating world, he also achieved top-thirty grades in the final exams at No. 3 High School in H City, and could sing rock, write songs, dance, play guitar, and fight (crossed out).

Despite his rich and aristocratic aura, after shedding his identity as an athlete, Zhang Jue’s daily life was no different from other high school students, busy with preparations for college entrance exams.

With final exams over, although he still had extra classes during the day in the holidays, Zhang Jue had free time in the evenings, so he secretly went to the provincial team ice rink.

It had been nearly four months since his surgery at the end of March, and Zhang Jue had been walking again for almost a month. Perhaps due to his youth, he recovered quickly, although his right knee was still stiff and his right ankle unstable. Zhang Jue himself couldn’t tell if this was due to psychological factors or post-surgery aftereffects.

In any case, he had a solid foundation, so Zhang Jue looked around, took a few steps back, ran a bit, and leaped over the wall.

Ha, a mere three-meter wall couldn’t stop a little crocodile who was already 1.8 meters tall.

Having trained here for three years, Zhang Jue was thoroughly familiar with the layout of the provincial team. It was not difficult for him to sneak in quietly.

As he approached the ice rink, he clung to the window like Spider-Man and peered inside.

As expected, Liu Yemeng was practicing the 3A, using Zhang Jue’s advice to rely solely on leg strength. His jumps were pretty good, with solid rotations.

Indeed, having reliable rotations and technical standards was characteristic of China’s figure skaters.

Cha Hanbuhua had mastered five types of triple jumps last year, but his combinations were weak. Before Zhang Jue left, the kid could only perform 2A+3T, 3T+3T, and 3S+3T combinations. Now, he was practicing 3F+3T.

Although the difficulty of triple jumps progresses from 3T to 3A, many practice combinations starting with 2T or 2lo before moving to 3T and finally 3lo. But Cha Hanbuhua’s 3lo was average, even his single jumps were cautious, let alone in combinations. So Zhang Junbao skipped the 3lo+3T training and started with 3F.

The boy’s inside and outside edges were perfect. Despite lacking in rotation speed, his delayed rotation was weak, and arm raises were only usable for 2T. However, his progress was evident.

Min Shan progressed even faster. For female singles, their best physical state is before puberty, around twelve or thirteen years old. Min Shan was in her peak period, already having two advanced combinations with a base score above eight points.

Zhang Jue thought that if she could strengthen her power before puberty, she might be able to attempt the highest difficulty single jump for female skaters—the 3A.

If the talent of pre-pubescent Xu Chuo was comparable to pre-illness Shiratsuka Masako, then Min Shan was on par with Keiko. Though not as outstanding as their sisters, they had talent far above average and, most importantly, strong perseverance and determination.

After a while, Zhang Junbao started giving a pep talk, saying: “Liu Yemeng, don’t be complacent when you participate in the China Grand Prix. Your performance there will determine if you can enter the pre-Olympic altitude training camp.”

He also reminded Cha Hanbuhua to take care of his health and balance work and rest: “Don’t train too hard just because you’re strong. Your senior brother was healthy enough to take down a bull, but now he’s sidelined by injuries.”

The senior brother blushed with embarrassment. His uncle really didn’t need to mention him every time.

Lastly, Zhang Junbao addressed Min Shan, emphasizing one point: “Don’t be reckless during competitions. Although your senior brother is known for never crashing in short programs, he has crashed because he was too reckless. Shan Shan, don’t follow his example.”

These three kids were among the most watched newcomers in the country. Liu Yemeng’s coach had retired early this year, so his main coach was now Shen Liu, who used to coach the most promising men’s singles in China.

Although Zhang Jue’s injury-plagued participation in the World Championships brought online criticism for Zhang Junbao and Sun Qian, other than Zhang Jue, who faced multiple issues like growth spurts and changing skates, none of his students suffered from training-related injuries. In fact, they achieved good results in national championships before even entering the junior group.

This showed that under Coach Zhang’s guidance, one could not only achieve good results but also ensure safety. Plus, having a famous senior brother allowed them to gain some fame. Many parents were still willing to send their children to Zhang Junbao, including a few who believed he should train their children to the utmost as long as they achieved results.

However, many skating fans, frightened by Zhang Jue’s experience, often commented on Zhang Junbao’s Weibo, urging him to take it easy on the younger students.

Even Zhang Junbao, who was lenient and wouldn’t let the kids diet harshly, sometimes wondered what kind of villainous image he had in their minds.

Xu Chuo entered puberty a month before the World Championships last season and, due to overtraining, suffered a bone fracture in May. She was still recovering and it was uncertain if she could compete in the Winter Olympics season.

Having both the top male and female skaters fall to puberty issues made the domestic figure skating community dread the “puberty curse,” treating it like a ghost. Coaches no longer considered taller kids for single skating, focusing instead on short ones with short parents.

After all, tall male skaters could switch to pairs, and long-limbed girls could consider ice dancing. Tall skaters had a higher chance of faltering during puberty.

Zhang Jue felt somewhat apologetic towards the former French champion, Joubert, who was 179 cm tall and weighed a solid 75 kg—quite heavy for a single skater. His impressive muscles and masculine performance style won him multiple international medals, including a European Championship gold.

Yet, Zhang Jue’s struggles almost tarnished the reputation of tall male singles skaters.

Zhang Jue wanted to explain: it wasn’t that tall male singles couldn’t skate well. Many tall skaters like Ilya (178 cm) and Hayato Teraoka (177 cm) had better results than shorter peers.

Zhang Jue’s downfall was due to rapid height growth, unbalanced center of gravity, and injuries from changing skates!

Fortunately, Cha Hanbuhua and Min Shan were among those who smoothly transitioned through puberty. Their training states were good, and with them around, Uncle Zhang could still produce good students after Zhang Jue, giving Zhang Jue peace of mind.

Zhang Jue quietly slipped from the window sill and left the provincial team.

Near the provincial team, there was a particularly good pancake stall. The owner was kind, and the fillings were generous. Many young office workers loved to eat there. In his past life, when his uncle finished work, he would often bring Zhang Jue a serving.

In this life, Zhang Jue became an athlete and didn’t dare to eat out easily. He got used to the heartache of craving but not being able to hand money to the stall owner every time he passed by.

From the provincial team to the pancake stall was 500 meters. Zhang Jue walked 300 meters towards it, then turned and went to the mall on the other side.

Instead of eating pancakes, it was better to go to the mall and get some tasty sunflower seeds since Saori loved them.

In the center of the mall’s first floor was a commercial ice rink, standard competition size: 30 meters wide and 60 meters long. All city-level testing sites were here.

It’s worth mentioning that there were beginner figure skating classes here, divided into adult and children’s classes. The former practiced figure skating for interest, while the latter, if talented, might have a few go on to become athletes.

After picking out chew stones, new bedding, and bath sand from the pet store, Zhang Jue leaned against the rink for a while, put on a mask, and rented a pair of skates to go on the ice.

When he initially returned to figure skating, Zhang Jue was astonishingly slow at tying his laces, often prompting Zhang Junbao to help him. Now, he tied his laces with dizzying speed, leaving onlookers gaping.

Returning to the ice after four months felt strange. At first, Zhang Jue was unsteady, but after skating by the railing for a while, the familiar sense of home returned.

The ice had no life, but if it did, Zhang Jue would certainly be its favorite. Just as some people naturally excel at sports, Zhang Jue had the best feel for the ice.

When he was young and skating with a group of kids, Zhang Jue was the first to stand steadily and skate the fastest. With a gentle push, he could glide impressive distances for a child. When trying jumps, bold Zhang Jue was the first to attempt and succeed.

His talent allowed him to easily complete many moves, even pushing him onto the podium at A-level events despite his unstable foundation.

But this talent also made him proud. Zhang Jue was impatient with basic training, always wanting to tackle more challenging moves and resistant to criticism. He had no persistence in the interest classes his mother enrolled him in, constantly switching when something became too easy.

Looking back, he realized he was quite a troublemaker. Zhang Qingyan was strict yet kind-hearted, granting him the freedom to explore various interests as long as his grades didn’t drop. She was a great mother, always thinking ahead for Zhang Jue while giving him the greatest freedom. Even when he made willful decisions, she stood behind him in support, providing him with immense confidence.

If it weren’t for his injuries… if it weren’t for the injuries, he wished he could skate a program just for her.

“You’re still using a blurry edge.”

As he returned to the sidelines to drink water, Zhang Jue heard this remark. He turned and saw an old man with white hair, dressed in a red down jacket that made him look like a red balloon, calmly watching him. The reading glasses reflected a white glare.

Seeing Zhang Jue look over, the old man continued: “Don’t focus on skating fast. First, clarify your edge work. You used to lose control because you skated too fast, which led to falls on the rink.”

Zhang Jue was taken aback: “Uh, you are?”

Who is this?

The old man paused, then huffed: “I’m Lu Zhaosheng! You brat! Don’t you recognize me?”

Startled, Zhang Jue fell back, landing on the ground, his hands shaking as he pointed.

“You’re lying! Coach Lu was a skinny, fierce old man!”

Even if you’re an old man, pretending to be my initial coach with such a big belly is too much!

Retired and plumper, Coach Lu found that even after years, Zhang Jue still exuded a need-to-be-punished aura.

But then he noticed something interesting.

He knew Zhang Jue had an easy-to-gain-weight physique. His stepfather Xu Yan, a chef, fed him meticulously, and his mother doted on him so much that she’d bring him bone broth in a thermos to warm him up after lessons.

So, when Zhang Jue trained under Coach Lu, he was a round little dumpling, probably padded with extra cushion, making falls less painful.

However, now, four months after leaving the rink, Zhang Jue still maintained a slim figure, indicating he was controlling his diet.

This could only mean one thing.

Despite his childhood lack of dedication to figure skating, young Zhang Jue still harbored some unresolved feelings.

 

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