Zhang Jue first confirmed his jump points during the six-minute warm-up and then calmly observed his opponents, his mind racing.

Aside from the Olympic season, the World Championship gold medal was the most prestigious. During the Olympic season, everyone was fighting for the Winter Olympics. In the season before the Olympics, the focus was on securing more Olympic spots. But now, the most important thing was still the World Championships.

Hayato Teraoka had just attempted a 4F jump and succeeded. It was uncertain whether he would include it in his short program, but there was no room for complacency. After all, hadn’t Alex challenged the 4Lz in his short program before?

Zhang Jue narrowed his eyes. He was the king of the short program, always excelling at gaining a big lead right from the start. After all, the probability of errors in the free skate was much higher than in the short program, and his opponents were tough. Maybe he needed to hold back a little.

With that in mind, he tried a 4Lo jump.

It felt fine.

That was it. He turned around, instinctively stepping to the side, narrowly avoiding colliding with Rojas.

The Spaniard waved apologetically at him. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t expect you to turn around so suddenly.”

Zhang Jue waved it off casually. “No problem.”

He tried another 4Lo, which felt good, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Rojas was following him at a distance, not too far but not too close either.

He frowned slightly. This was getting in the way.

Shen Liu frowned as he watched. “Rojas is disrupting Zhang Jue’s warm-up.”

Coach Lu shook his head. “It’s fine. Zhang Jue has already noticed.”

After completing two successful 4Lo jumps, Zhang Jue didn’t attempt any more jumps because he knew just how dangerous a collision at high speed during jumps could be for both skaters.

Would he admit that, as a child, he once knocked out little Fatty front tooth?

Moreover, his first coach had been Coach Lu, who used to be responsible for brawling on a hockey team. The old coach had noticed early on that Zhang Jue had an aggressive streak. To be honest, he had initially thought about training him to be a hockey player, teaching him techniques to avoid collisions.

It wasn’t until he realized that Zhang Jue completely lacked a sense of teamwork that Coach Lu gave up the idea of teaching him hockey, rolling his eyes in frustration.

Despite his carefree appearance, Zhang Jue was actually a cautious person. He was very self-aware, knowing that at 1.8 meters tall, with single-digit body fat and the ability to punch through a wooden board, if he collided with a smaller skater, it wouldn’t be surprising if they went flying on the spot.

As Zhang Junbao put it: “My nephew has the most solid muscles in men’s figure skating!”

So, during the six-minute warm-up, aside from those two 4Lo jumps, Zhang Jue didn’t do any more jumps and kept his skating speed at a controlled, steady level.

Chen Sijia noticed something. “Zhang Jue is controlling his speed.”

Her classmate was puzzled. “Controlling? Isn’t he skating fast?”

Having watched Zhang Jue’s competitions live multiple times, Chen Sijia shook her head. “He can skate even faster. His top speed is much faster than what he’s showing now.”

Masako rubbed her chin, thinking: “Last season, Tama-chan also controlled his speed to fix his unclear edgework during step sequences. But he’s already solved that problem. Is it because of Rojas’s interference?”

But once the competition began, this guy would surely reclaim his title as the fastest skater in figure skating. Masako was a big fan of his light, swift skating.

Sure enough, when the music from Moulin Rouge started playing, Zhang Jue’s start was fast.

Even when other skaters used their strongest strokes, they could only glide about 5 meters per step, but Zhang Jue was the kind who could reach 10 meters with just one or two strokes. This was why many initially believed that “Zhang Jue’s skating skills were exceptional.”

Compared to the first half of the season, Zhang Jue’s acceleration now looked even stronger. While other skaters had to visibly engage their core and legs, leaning forward to build speed, Zhang Jue seemed to accelerate without any of these preliminary actions. He would simply speed up when he wanted to, leaving others wondering how he achieved such speed.

Zhang Jue took the ice.

Zhao Ning announced: “Now entering the rink is our country’s famous skater, Zhang Jue. Haha, though he’s only 17, so calling him a ‘rising star’ is still fitting. He won the silver medal in the individual event and the bronze in the team event at the Sochi Winter Olympics, and he’s the reigning World Champion.”

“His program is Moulin Rouge.”

With the tango music playing, he turned around, the red curls of his hair draping elegantly by his face, a slight smile tugging at his lips, exuding a captivating beauty.

With an arm span of 189 centimeters, when he extended his arms, his long and graceful limbs added an inherent beauty, making his movements even more striking.

Compared to the start of the season, the completion of this program had undoubtedly improved. From the very first move, it had a unique flavor.

Although the ice was pure white, the intricately made-up boy on it exuded a seductive allure, making it seem as if he were walking through a glamorous world of lights and shadows, full of luxury and temptation.

In the middle of the program, he added a move where he reached forward, slowly closing his fingers, as if trying to capture someone’s heart, radiating a sense of confidence that said: “I will win you over.”

The World Championships version of Moulin Rouge had no standout moments because every part of it stood out! Whether it was his posture, expressions, body language, skating, spins, or jumps, everything reached perfection.

Because every move was captivating, even the jumps, which theoretically would appear forced due to long preparation times, seemed seamlessly integrated into the program.

He landed two quadruple jumps, a 4S+3T combination, and a 4Lo, as well as a 3A with an arm raised. What should have been difficult jumps that countless athletes struggled with seemed light and effortless when he executed them.

It wasn’t until the end of the program, when Zhang Jue bent over, catching his breath, that people realized that such a difficult program was not easy, even for someone as physically strong as Zhang Jue.

At that moment, when his program ended, it wasn’t just his competitors, fans, or the seasoned coaches and judges who were impressed. Even commentators from various countries, known for their cautious remarks, agreed that “this will be a new world record, and the score will be unprecedentedly high, shockingly high.”

After all, the judges scoring Zhang Jue were known to be strict, but they never withheld deserved points. If Zhang Jue performed perfectly, they would definitely give him +3 GOEs!

In fact, Zhang Jue had already received +3 for his 3A.

Some coaches, who were good at math, had already roughly estimated Zhang Jue’s score. Based on his performance, he should have scored over 110 points earlier in the season, and this time, he might even surpass 112.

Maquen, sitting in the audience, chuckled lightly.

“Having judges like these is a slap in the face to those who scored unfairly. But the fact that this happened is tied to the athlete’s success, the expansion of the figure skating market, and even China attracting several sponsors to the ISU. Indeed, money is the most powerful force.”

And Zhang Jue’s commercial value was inseparable from his appearance, so, if you round it up, didn’t he, in a way, help improve the fairness of figure skating scoring with his looks?

Maquen touched his face and suddenly sighed. Ah, back in the day, he was an incredibly beautiful young man too. Now, he was already approaching thirty, and maybe because of all the dates, he was aging a bit fast.

In comparison, the supposedly still-virgin Handsome remained youthful, even looking younger than him. It was truly enviable! Was the power of virginity really that strong?

Zhang Jue sat in the kiss & cry, silently wiping his sweat with a tissue. Looking at the tissue, he commented: “At least the eyeshadow didn’t smudge.”

Zhang Junbao added: “It’s the brand recommended by Shan Shan. It’s really expensive.”

They didn’t seem nervous at all.

Even the usually composed Coach Lu said: “The GOE for the jumps didn’t fall below 2 points, and both skating and spinning received level four ratings. Scoring above 112 shouldn’t be a problem.”

Zhang Jue gulped down more water and exhaled. “I think it’ll be more.”

At that moment, Zhang Jue’s score appeared on the big screen.

Technical Score: 66.2

Performance Score: 49.1

Short Program Score: 115.3

In what seemed like an instant, the world record had increased by nearly 10 points, and both the previous record and this new one were set by the same person.

Zhang Junbao clapped his hands excitedly: “Great! With this kind of lead, the free skate will be more relaxed!”

“Not necessarily.”

“Since the scoring is fair, I don’t think my opponents will be far behind.”

Zhang Jue stood up and waved to the audience, his smile radiant and full of sunshine. Yet, his tone remained calm, as if setting a new world record by such a margin wasn’t something to get excited about.

The competition wasn’t over, and his focus remained sharp.

At that moment, the announcer’s voice echoed through the arena: “Next to take the ice is Rojas Jean, representing Spain.”

A chubby coach standing by the boards calmly said: “Rojas, your take-off balance for the 4S isn’t stable, so just use the 4T. We’ll go all out in the free skate.”

Rojas responded: “Understood. The short program is about stability; the free skate is where we fight.”

To bring a medal back to Spain, and to elevate his career… If he retired without an A-level event medal, he wouldn’t achieve his goal of financial freedom by age thirty.

Earlier, he had tried to appeal to some fans by suggesting a publicity stunt with Zhang Jue, but Zhang never gave him the chance. So, as an athlete, the best strategy was still to focus on medals.

After all, he didn’t want to end up like his biological father, retiring as a second-rate athlete and having no choice but to work as a commentator and perform in low-attendance shows. He wanted to climb higher.

Rojas took a deep breath, then slammed his fist into the boards.

David watched Rojas’s back and scoffed. “That guy’s pretty fired up.”

But he wasn’t about to lose either. As fellow European skaters, they both knew the European judges were looking for a top male skater to back, and they would pour all their resources into that person, even extending to sponsorship deals.

He and Rojas were direct competitors.

Meanwhile, Ilia was listening to a lecture from his senior, Vasily.

“Ilia, I’m sure you don’t want domestic fans to keep saying you’re unworthy of Vasily’s coaching, that you’re not as good as Vasily, right? So, focus and show your true abilities.”

Kersten stood beside his coach, eyes closed, murmuring prayers, holding a cross in his hand.

Hayato Teraoka, the last skater to perform, was tapping his body, trying to stay loose and ready. Before his turn, he had to keep his body warm.

Zhang Jue was impressive, but were they going to lose? Before reaching this level, each of them had already defeated countless national champions to get here.

Every athlete who could reach the world stage had extraordinary talent and pride.

Especially now, during this technical boom, these young athletes were more powerful than ever.

When they clashed, it was a battlefield of quad jumps!

The men’s competition that day was undoubtedly the highlight. Zhang Jue did not disappoint, securing the best score. His highly competitive opponents, however, had mixed performances: some soared, some stayed steady, and some made minor mistakes.

Kersten was the one who soared, while Hayato Teraoka, who had landed a 4F in practice but only used a 4T and 4S in competition, performed steadily. When he finished, Zhang Jue gave him a subtle look, as if saying: “I feel like I was deceived,” to which Hayato walked over and extended his hand.

“It’s best to save the special moves for the free skate.”

Zhang Jue snorted and turned away, continuing to drink water. He still had to go for a doping test later.

Meanwhile, Ilia, who had touched the ice during his jump, quietly found a chair backstage and curled into a ball.

He whispered resolutely: “I’ll make up for it in the free skate!”

Vasily responded calmly: “It’d be great if you can.”

“We’ve always been waiting for your rise, Ilia. Don’t make us wait too long. If your performance here is too poor, it’ll just confirm the stereotype that Russian male skaters can’t win without biased judges.”

 

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