Zhang Jue always considered himself to have no enemies. Even during the most difficult times of his past life, he never thought his life should involve having enemies. This was similar to how he rarely experienced emotions like hatred.

He was used to looking forward and aiming high. Anything or anyone that could hinder him, Zhang Jue could leave behind without a second thought.

Coach Lu once said that what he admired most about Zhang Jue was his single-minded determination to pursue his goals because only by staying focused could someone charge straight to the top.

So, when he faced someone who had indirectly caused his downfall in the past, although he didn’t feel entirely unaffected, Zhang Jue managed to maintain a calm exterior and politely declined the offer of the carbonated drink with a distant attitude.

Moreover, Zhang Jue was telling the truth—he really didn’t drink carbonated beverages. Any athlete with a bit of discipline wouldn’t drink that stuff. Especially since he was in the middle of a fat-reduction phase, and he had also had dental work done before, which meant he avoided foods that were bad for his teeth. Soda was definitely off the list.

Most importantly, as an athlete, Zhang Jue would never casually accept food or drinks offered by strangers. This was something his team leadership had always emphasized.

For elite athletes, accidentally consuming something harmful, and then getting caught by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) during a surprise test, could cause serious consequences.

Not that Zhang Jue thought Yun Si would try to set him up during their first meeting, but… even though Yun Si had an innocent-looking face, he was notorious among insiders as a party animal. When he got too wild, he would sometimes indulge in illegal substances. Who knew if he hadn’t already fallen into those habits and casually tossed something into the drink?

Either way, Zhang Jue wasn’t about to accept anything from him.

With his celestial-like face, when Zhang Jue put on a formal demeanor, his expression and tone together took on an air of coldness. Instead of being seen as rude, it made him appear even more elegant and handsome.

At that moment, it wasn’t yet time for Xu Dela to take the stage, so the younger boy had pulled up a chair and was munching on a cob of corn, branded by his brother’s endorsement. Zhang Jue leaned against the wall, head lowered, chatting with him.

Yun Si pulled aside a male celebrity he knew. “Brother Yuan, who is that?”

Yuan Qin glanced over with disdain in his eyes. “Just some small-time athlete in a niche sport. He hasn’t even won an Olympic gold medal. The only reason he’s got any popularity online is because of his looks. Don’t bother with him, Si.”

He clearly looked down on athletes, believing their high earnings were short-lived. As long as their performance was good, they made money, but if they failed or retired, their income would drop. Even landing an ad deal required strict scrutiny, unlike top-tier celebrities who could easily earn money from variety shows or films.

Yuan Qin, who saw himself as a top-tier idol, certainly didn’t think Zhang Jue was in the same league as him. Especially since Zhang Jue was friendly with Zhuque Band, his rivals. This made Yuan Qin dislike him even more.

Yuan Qin tried to wrap his arm around Yun Si’s waist, but Yun Si pushed him away. The boy who had once again rejected him offered an embarrassed smile.

“Sorry, Brother Yuan, but Brother Shao would get jealous if he saw.”

Brother Shao was his current partner, also a second-generation star. Though not as attractive, Shao was gentle, considerate, and generous, with excellent skills—qualities Yun Si appreciated.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jue, having finished his rehearsal, was comparing heights with the members of Zhuque Band. Men always care a little about their height. After all, while one might feel confident about looking better than some male celebrities, height was a hard, unchangeable fact.

Zhang Jue was 1.80 meters tall, but standing next to Zhuque’s lead singer, who was 1.75 meters, he was at least half a head taller. Zhuque’s boss, Wan Ze, who was a true 1.80 meters, laughed and said: “Zhang Jue, in the future, you can’t stand next to a real 1.80-meter guy. You’ll give yourself away.”

Little Zhang Jue replied, slightly embarrassed: “I can’t help it. Our sport doesn’t allow athletes to be too tall. I’m already seriously over the height limit, and I’m still growing. To reassure my fans, I just stopped mentioning the few extra centimeters I’ve gained.”

Lan Run, draping his arm around Zhang Jue’s shoulders, teased affectionately: “Then you definitely shouldn’t stand next to Yuan Qin. He claims to be 1.80 meters, but he’s really only 1.75. If you stood next to him, he’d look much shorter, and everyone would know his 1.80-meter claim is fake.”

Zhang Jue: “…”

“That explains it,” Zhang Jue thought. “In my past life, Yuan Qin always avoided me on stage. Come to think of it, he never seemed to get along with guys taller than him.”

In his previous life, Zhang Jue was 1.79 meters but claimed to be 1.80. As long as his shoes had a bit of a heel, no one could tell the difference. However, when Yuan Qin, who also claimed to be 1.80 meters, stood next to him, the height discrepancy became obvious.

Thinking back, Zhang Jue realized why Yuan Qin disliked him more than Zhuque’s lead singer—it was because of Lan Run.

Lan Run was exceptionally tall at 1.98 meters, and incredibly handsome. Ever since Zhuque Band made a name for themselves at an overseas rock festival, he had earned the title of “Asia’s Most Handsome Bassist,” a claim that no one could refute. Xu Dela had similarly gained the title of “China’s Most Handsome Drummer,” equally accepted by everyone.

After the rehearsal, the chief director, Lu Xueyun, approached Zhang Jue with her son Yun Si.

She was a professional woman with impeccable makeup, always wearing a smile. “Zhang Jue, if you’re not busy, would you like to join us for dinner? Yun Si here says he’s a big fan and follows all your competitions.”

In truth, this was a complete fabrication. Her son was more interested in fashion magazines than sports.

Zhang Jue remained expressionless, but his manager, Bai Xiaozhen, noticed the underlying reluctance on his face immediately.

Picking up on Zhang Jue’s cue, Bai Xiaozhen quickly stepped forward with a smile: “Sorry, Director Lu. Athletes don’t typically eat out. Zhang Jue even brings his own meals to university classes. Apologies for the inconvenience.”

Yun Si interrupted: “But isn’t it true that another athlete from the same sport was recently spotted dining with his girlfriend? It’s not that strict, right?”

He was referring to a male star who had been rumored to be dating a female celebrity. Though people initially thought the rumor was fake, Yun Si’s comment seemed to confirm it.

Bai Xiaozhen, still smiling, responded: “Well, the thing is, Zhang Jue is on a strict diet. After recovering from an injury for a few months, he gained some weight, and now his team is pushing him to get back to 7% body fat before the World Championships. The pressure to lose weight is intense, and the team has banned all outside food until he reaches his goal.”

Lu Xueyun sighed: “I see. It must be tough being an athlete.”

Bai Xiaozhen nodded in agreement. “Yes, it is.”

Yun Si wasn’t ready to give up. “But doesn’t he sometimes eat with other athletes during competitions?”

Bai Xiaozhen smiled again: “That’s because when athletes dine together, they all drink water and eat chicken breasts, so no one judges anyone.”

After exchanging more pleasantries, Lu Xueyun finally left with her son. Yun Si glanced back several times, noticing that Zhang Jue’s attention was entirely focused on the drummer of that embarrassingly named band.

Yun Si bit his lip.

He knew his looks were fresh and appealing, and he had always been successful in relationships within the same-sex circle. Yet Zhang Jue seemed completely unaffected by him.

“Is he straight?”

While Zhang Jue’s sexual orientation remained unclear, one thing was certain: his popularity with female fans was undeniable.

Later that evening, rumors started circulating online about Zhang Jue acting arrogant and refusing the director’s dinner invitation for the Lantern Festival gala. However, one female fan, who enjoyed lurking in fandoms and following gossip, immediately noticed the rumors and, along with other female fans, quickly shut them down.

A popular influencer with over a million followers complained: “It’s common knowledge that athletes can’t eat out easily! Plus, Coach Shen just posted an update the other day urging Zhang Jue to continue his fat loss. How can people criticize him for this? Are they even thinking?”

However, the haters didn’t give up and continued to bash Zhang Jue, claiming that despite having no major achievements, his popularity far exceeded that of Olympic gold medalists, implying that his fans were only there for his looks.

This directly provoked the male fans. A leading influencer in the sports community immediately fired back: “Yeah, yeah, sure, he doesn’t have an Olympic gold medal, but the gold medalist in his event at the last Winter Olympics has already named him as the next king of the sport. Zhang Jue has set more world records in his discipline than anyone else in the history of figure skating, and he’s one of the country’s top hopes for gold at the next Winter Olympics. You call that ‘no achievements’?”

The haters kept trying, pretending to be Zhang Jue’s fans while criticizing other Olympic gold medalists, claiming they had no right to be compared to Zhang Jue. But before they could do much damage, they were caught in the act.

Zhuque’s boss, Wan Ze, couldn’t tolerate anyone slandering his man’s younger brother. Besides, Zhang Jue, a serious athlete who relied on his achievements, shouldn’t be dragged into entertainment industry scandals. When they found out the mastermind was Yuan Qin, Wan Ze was sure Zhang Jue was being targeted because of his close relationship with the Zhuque band, which Yuan Qin disliked. In Wan Ze’s eyes, Zhang Jue was just an innocent bystander getting dragged into this mess.

The young boss didn’t lack money, and thanks to the connections his parents’ generation left him, when he decided to hit back, he dealt the opposition a significant blow, uncovering some serious dirt on them.

As for Zhang Jue, he was genuinely exhausted from the fat-loss training pushed by Coach Lu and Auntie Ning. Every day after training, the first thing he did when he got home was read papers and studies on the topic. Sometimes he would fall asleep while reading, and Qin Xuejun would have to cover him with a blanket. He was practically living in a world without internet.

This meant that when Cha Hanbuhua became the first person to successfully land a quadruple jump and won a bronze medal at the Four Continents Championships, Zhang Jue only found out through his junior, Jiang Yihong’s live stream.

Due to an injury, Zhang Jue missed both the National Championships and the Four Continents Championships. Although the higher-ups immediately gave him a spot in the World Championships once they learned he had recovered, he still felt a sense of loss over missing the chance to win both titles.

Come to think of it… he often got injured around the time of the National Championships and the Four Continents Championships. Especially the Four Continents… Could it be that he was naturally unlucky when it came to this competition?

Finally, just before the Lantern Festival Gala, Zhang Jue managed to get his body fat down to single digits.

When he arrived backstage to change, he took off his jacket, revealing a slightly tight white shirt underneath. His wrist adorned with a watch, his toned arms and biceps, and the faint outline of his chest muscles caught the attention of everyone passing by.

No one walked by without doing a double-take.

Then he put on his national team uniform, and that was his outfit for the stage.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t dress more stylishly—in fact, given Zhang Jue’s looks, few stylists could resist wanting to spruce him up—but the higher-ups insisted that Zhang Jue present himself in the typical image of an athlete. Because of this, Zhang Jue didn’t apply any hair gel or wear earrings, looking even more modest than he did during competitions.

Even so, when he appeared on stage, people watching at home were still surprised: “Who’s this handsome guy? How come I’ve never seen him before? He’s even better-looking than [insert name of some well-known pretty boy here].”

When Zhang Jue started singing, the ranking for his collaboration with the Zhuque band on the song Riding the Wind shot up on the list of the highest-quality performances at the Lantern Festival Gala.

Appearing on stage as an athlete, Zhang Jue quickly abandoned any thought of performing an explosive, show-stopping number with both singing and dancing. He simply stood there and sang.

But even standing still and delivering with a strong performance was enough to secure the title of MVP!

Zhang Jue’s appearance on stage hadn’t been kept a secret, but when he did appear, many of his ice-skating fans couldn’t contain their excitement.

On the “Icy World” fan forum:

[Meow Meowzi-V: Ahhh! My Zhang Jue is so handsome! And when he sings the chorus of Riding the Wind, you can hear a bit of a soft, breathy laugh in his voice—my ears feel all tingly. This is definitely live singing!]

[Zhang Jue is as beautiful as a flower. When he stands next to Renshen, they’re both like sculptures with such defined facial features—especially their noses. Ahh! You could spend a million dollars and still not get a nose that good. Their beauty is truly a gift from the heavens!]

[Hahaha, Zhang Jue’s height gave him away again. The guitarist is 1.79 meters tall, but he looks noticeably shorter next to Zhang Jue. How can Zhang Jue only be 1.80 meters?]

[I’m so happy to see Zhang Jue standing and singing again. I heard he was using crutches for a long time, and now he’s well enough to perform, which means his recovery is going well. The World Championships are looking promising again!]

 

 

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