On the day the competition started, reporters, equipped with long and short cameras, were stationed at the entrance of the athletes’ passage, waiting for them to arrive.

One well-known athlete after another walked in.

“It’s Stephanie! She’s such a beauty. Today, she didn’t enter holding hands with Zhu Lin.”

“Look, it’s Keiko Shiratsuka!”

“It’s Serena! The former Russian figure skating queen. At least 20 top-level athletes in North America and Russia have won Olympic gold medals under her guidance. She could coach both singles and ice dance. Unfortunately, it seems she no longer takes on students, and this time she was invited as a judge.”

“Zhang Jue is here!”

Zhang Jue, pulling a suitcase containing ice skates and accompanied by his coach, entered the passage. Jin Zixuan, Huang Ying, and Guan Lin followed closely behind him. He walked without looking around, his face expressionless, exuding a powerful aura.

Zhang Jue’s personality was not unapproachable, but when someone stands in a high position, people naturally feel a sense of distance when looking at them. His dignified face only added to his commanding presence.

Everyone knew that the most popular and anticipated event was usually placed last. In most other places, the women’s singles were the grand finale because they were the most popular in figure skating, but given that the women’s singles in Tuvillage had not performed well for some time, this year, the Chinese competition started with women’s singles, followed by ice dance, and ended with pairs and men’s singles.

It was widely understood that the popularity of the men’s singles had been largely boosted by Zhang Jue. Even though men’s singles performances had recently broken records and surpassed the women’s singles in results, Zhang Jue was the only one who could represent Tuvillage’s men’s singles on the international stage.

Brother Jin, despite his quadruple jump, was unpredictable. When people thought he would perform well, he stumbled. When they thought he wouldn’t, he did well. So watching his competitions required a calm mindset, with no expectations to avoid heartache.

Brother Liu Yeming’s highest achievement was a double 3A, Brother Fan Zhaoying struggled with injuries, and Brother Shi Mosheng couldn’t increase his technical difficulty. Moreover, they came from well-off families, so their lack of drive often made them seem like they were skating just for fun.

Of course, these skaters still had enough ability to compete in at least one competition early in the season. Whether they would compete in a second event depended on luck. This year, Liu Yeming placed third in a test competition, so when the Tuvillage Skating Federation applied for Zhang Jue to compete in the Japan competition, they also submitted Liu Yeming’s name.

For weaker second- and third-tier skaters, participating in more competitions was a good thing. But for top-tier athletes like Zhang Jue, other competitions actively sought to invite them.

Though Zhang Jue only applied for the Chinese and Japanese stations this time, all the other four stations had also extended invitations to him. The skating federation spread out star athletes across different stations based on last season’s rankings to avoid clashes early on.

As a new member of the H Province team and a student of Ming Jia, Zhang Jue’s new coach after he joined the national team, Liu Yeming looked on with concern at his younger teammate, Xu Chuo, who had started competing ahead of him.

Xu Chuo took first place in this year’s test competition, becoming another tall singles skater to emerge from the province after Zhang Jue, which had shocked China singles skating experts.

“How are you feeling?”

Xu Chuo did some crossovers, breathed out, and smiled brightly: “Hmm, I feel better in all aspects than last season.”

After a year of eating well, sleeping well, and with the help of doctors, along with traditional Chinese medicine, her menstrual cycle had returned to normal, and her bone density was now at an acceptable level.

Though she had gained weight and now weighed over 53 kg, her height of 1.69 meters made the weight reasonable.

Coach Ming Jia had originally come from ice dancing and mainly taught skating in the provincial team. Xu Chuo had mentally prepared herself to practice jumps on her own, but to her surprise, Ming Jia proved to be a good jump coach as well. After a year, Xu Chuo had regained five triple jumps, including the 3S+3T, 3T+3T, and 2A+3T combinations.

Unfortunately, due to her large frame, Xu Chuo could barely manage advanced 3-3 combinations, but it was hard for her to fully rotate. The 3F+3T might not be retrievable this season.

Looking at Keiko Shiratsuka warming up in the distance, Xu Chuo thought that she might never compete with her old rival again. But figure skating wasn’t just about jumps; there was also skating and performance.

Her long-term goal was to compete in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and her short-term goal was to ensure China presence in the women’s singles internationally, aiming to increase their one Four Continents and World Championships spot to two.

Even though she had lost much of her technical prowess, Xu Chuo believed she could still fight for a spot in the world’s top ten.

She was the second skater in the third group. As she prepared to head out, someone called her name in halting Chinese.

“Xu-san.”

Xu Chuo turned around and saw Keiko running over, extending her hand: “I’m glad to see you back.”

Compared to her once-rival, who had developed to the point where she now had to look up to her, the 1.54-meter-tall Keiko seemed petite.

Xu Chuo was stunned, shook her hand, and quickly turned to leave.

Her eyes filled with warmth.

If only she hadn’t dieted to the point where her bones had been affected during her development, which prevented her from doing high-intensity training. That way, she wouldn’t have to flee awkwardly when faced with her old rival’s expectations.

Ming Jia noticed his student’s sadness and placed a hand on her shoulder: “Relax, just show the form you had in the test competition. You’re amazing.”

“Xu Chuo, you’re amazing.”

Though Ming Jia was 36 this year, he remained handsome and gentle, like the approachable uncle type. When he spoke kindly, both Liu Yeming and Xu Chuo would listen carefully, proving their loyalty to looks.

As the famous Russian song “Dark Eyes” played, Zhang Jue looked toward the rink and couldn’t help but smile.

“Such an obvious Madam Mia style.”

Shen Liu glanced over: “Mia teacher’s choreography now starts at 7,000 dollars, which is 45,000 RMB.”

Xu Chuo’s father didn’t hold back on investing in her. However, Mia would discount her rate for familiar clients, while Francis Miller’s choreography started at 8,000 dollars with no upper limit, and he required all expenses to be covered, or he wouldn’t work. Most notably, he wouldn’t give Zhang Jue any discounts, but he would design Zhang Jue’s makeup for the entire season.

Both choreographers had produced iconic programs (performed by Zhang Jue), and since two seasons ago, they had been creating at least ten programs per season, sometimes up to twenty when business was booming.

Their rise directly led to more choreographers wanting to work with Zhang Jue. After Zhang Jue won gold at the World Championships this year, the 70-year-old Serena, known as the queen of Russian figure skating, approached him at the banquet and recommended that he listen to William Joseph’s “Stella’s Theme.”

Zhang Jue had encountered many fans, and the look in the old lady’s eyes told him she wasn’t much different from the girls who wanted to see him sing love songs or dance energetically.

While Serena wanted to see the man known as the “first handsome man in figure skating” skate to her favorite song.

Out of respect for her legendary status in figure skating, Zhang Jue was happy to oblige, especially since the song was excellent. He decided to use it for his exhibition skate in the upcoming season.

This year’s Chinese event for the women’s singles didn’t have any strong competitors. After the short program competition ended, Keiko ranked first, and Xu Chuo came second. The two went together to collect their small medals.

Next up was the pairs skating, which was beautiful as well. As for the ice dance… although they came in fourth place, the coach was very pleased because China ice dance team ranked higher than South Korea and Japan.

Before the competition began, Coach Lu spoke with Zhang Jue.

“Zhang Jue, do you know why I insisted you choose the Chinese event?”

Zhang Jue, stretching his legs, replied in a puzzled tone: “Is it because I don’t have to adjust to a different time zone?”

Coach Lu said: “Not only that. This season’s World Championships are also being held in Shanghai, at this very same venue. We want you to compete here to get used to the venue early. That’s also why Xiao Ma selected Ying Ying and Xiao Lin for this event.”

Zhang Jue responded: “Oh, I see.”

Coach Lu, noticing Zhang Jue’s relaxed demeanor, couldn’t help but tap him on the head.

“You don’t seem nervous. Don’t forget, the World Championships are the season’s final competition, and in a non-Olympic year, they’re the most important. You gained such a huge reputation after Sochi, but if you mess up this World Championships, you’ll definitely become a laughingstock.”

The title he referred to was “Uncrowned King,” an honorary title but also a source of pressure. If Zhang Jue’s performance didn’t live up to that title, certain people with ill intent would undoubtedly launch a wave of criticism against him.

Zhang Jue’s rivals were numerous, all of them aiming for the championship. Zhang Jue couldn’t claim a guaranteed victory, only that he had a higher chance of winning. But as Zhang Jue improved, his rivals weren’t idle either, so as his coach, Lu needed to ensure every possible advantage for Zhang Jue.

Ilya, in the short program of the U.S. event, had landed two quad jumps and set a new record with a score of 101!

4T, 4T+2T, 3A—that was Ilya’s layout when he broke the world record. But any keen observer could see that the 2T was originally meant to be a 3T, which he under-rotated. If he cleaned up that layout, the score could be even higher.

Zhang Jue sighed and slicked back his sweaty hair.

“Yeah, when you think about it, I do have a lot of pressure. No wonder Zixuan says I’m the one under the most pressure in the whole national team.”

He seemed to have finally realized the weight on his shoulders, but it also felt like he was well-prepared. This young man had chosen to face the trials that fate brought with a calm attitude.

Shen Liu reminded him: “Earlier in the B-level competitions, you only included one quad jump in the short program. But now, in training, you’ve become quite proficient with the double quad layout.”

“It’s time to take things seriously, Zhang Jue.”

Zhang Jue drawled: “Yeesss—”

During the six-minute warm-up, the rink buzzed with excitement. Whenever a skater completed a difficult jump, the audience responded with enthusiastic cheers.

Zhang Jue didn’t jump. He calmly went over his planned jump spots for the competition and, when it began, took off his jacket, folding the sleeves neatly before handing it to Coach Lu, then hugged his uncle.

His costume, mainly purple and black, sparkled with reflective details, showing just how many small crystals and beads were sewn into it. The shoulders were designed with a light, off-the-shoulder cut, with fringes flowing from the shoulders to the elbows and back. His purple velvet gloves wrapped from his elbows down to his fingertips.

As he turned, the diamond-studded earrings swung with his glide. Despite his ethereal looks, the boy surprisingly suited such glamorous attire.

Qin Xuejun, holding a small crocodile fan, watched Zhang Jue seriously. He noticed that Zhang Jue’s aura had become flirtatious, with a seductive charm now visible at the corners of his eyes.

The announcement echoed.

“Representing China, Zhang Jue.”

CCTV-5 commentator Zhao Ning smiled and said: “Next up is China’s star, Zhang Jue, 17 years old. His short program is Moulin Rouge, another tango from this skater.”

At the same time, commentators from other countries became excited.

“Ladies and gentlemen, here comes our new king. Fifteen days ago, Ilya Safchenko broke the short program world record previously held by Jue. Let’s see if he plans to take that record back.”

“Oh my God, he’s so beautiful. It’s clear he’s matured, looking even more captivating than before.”

 

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