Yang Zhiyuan checked Zhang Jue’s knee and sighed in relief: “It’s fine, just normal wear and tear. After you go back, just get more physical therapy.”

Knee wear and tear was a common issue for many athletes, only varying in severity. As for the cracking sound when jumping, that was just a daily occurrence for figure skaters.

Who hasn’t heard that cracking sound while competing? Shen Liu had it, Zhang Junbao not only had it in his knee but also in his hip, which eventually forced him to retire. Coach Lu had it while practicing ski jumping, and while playing hockey, he had it every day from others.

You get used to it.

Zhang Jue scratched his head: “I just feel like my stamina is getting shorter.”

Old Uncle rubbed the kid’s hair: “It’s perfectly normal. It’s the usual situation for athletes.”

Whose stamina doesn’t gradually decline with age? Don’t worry, at least you traded your health for gold medals, while there are others who give up everything and still have nothing to show for it/

As a champion, Zhang Jue was shining brightly, while athletes like Hayato Teraoka, Ilya, Carlson, David, and others could only stay in his shadow. Some of them were still unrecognized by many. Like Carlson—if he had competed in the same era as Vasily, he might have been a great hero. But now, he couldn’t even make it onto the podium.

That being said, they still took Zhang Jue to the hospital for an examination as soon as possible.

This time, X-rays, MRIs, and other diagnostic methods were used, but no serious injury that would require Zhang Jue to rest from competition was found, so everyone was relieved.

Coach Lu said: “When it comes to the national competition, just lower the difficulty a bit.”

Lower difficulty meant lower wear and tear. Plus, with Zhang Jue’s skill level, there was no need to go all out for a domestic competition. The benefit of the Three Musketeers being from different countries was that they only clashed at international events.

Zhang Jue’s expression was serious: “I’m still worried about one thing, though. Every year when I compete at the Four Continents, things never go smoothly…”

Even though, on paper, his strength was slightly better than Hayato Teraoka’s, and he had more valuable titles, Zhang Jue seemed to lose more than he won at the Four Continents.

While athletes in the sports world did tend to rely on probability, and many adjusted their mental states in an almost mystical way, like Shen Liu, Zhang Junbao, and Coach Lu, who somewhat believed in metaphysics, Zhang Jue’s luck was truly strange.

But they still firmly told their kid: “No, you’re not in conflict with any competition, don’t worry about these unnecessary things.”

That being said, Zhang Junbao still secretly whispered to Yang Zhiyuan: “We should really increase Xiao Yu’s therapy time.”

Better safe than sorry.

Yang Zhiyuan felt bitter inside. He thought to himself that this kind of athletic wear and tear could only be slowed down by therapy, not cured. As long as Zhang Jue kept training, it couldn’t be fixed.

Clearly, Zhang Junbao understood this as well. He exchanged a glance with Yang Zhiyuan, both of them sharing a look of helplessness.

The next afternoon was the performance skate.

Zhang Jue’s performance skate this year was also a new program, choreographed by Francis, set to his beloved Piazzolla’s iconic piece: “Libertango.”

The costume for the performance skate was, of course, red, but it was much bolder in style than the competition outfit. The shoulders, back, and sides of the waist were made of semi-transparent mesh, and the low-cut design exposed his collarbones.

This was a very traditional ice tango, showcasing the athlete’s outstanding dance skills, with a seductive intensity, as though pulling someone into the whirlpool of love.

Tango is a dance that expresses passion and seduction in an elegant form. Rather than saying Zhang Jue performed a free tango, it was more accurate to say he was freely seducing someone on ice.

Although he didn’t perform a quadruple jump in the program, he executed a double-footed Bellman spin—usually, a Bellman is performed with the right foot over the head during a counterclockwise spin, but Zhang Jue could do it with both feet.

Coach Lu, upon seeing this, asked Zhang Junbao: “Has he shown any signs of flexibility deterioration during training?”

Zhang Junbao replied: “No, his natural flexibility is great. Right now, aside from some pain, he has never faced any issues with the Bellman unless he injures his waist.”

Many top athletes have some extraordinary talents, like Zhang Jue’s flexibility and sense of rhythm, or even Cha Hanbuhua,’s robust stamina. Hayato Teraoka’s flexible use of small joints and the amazing skating skills it brings, and Ilya’s explosive power…

At this moment, Hayato Teraoka also took to the ice. His program this year was also a tango: “Tango El Caramel.”

This tango came from a Lebanese-French film “Caramel,” which portrayed the lives of five women and explored themes like same-sex love and pre-marital relations.

With his “bad boy” look, Hayato Teraoka skating to a female-themed piece was unexpectedly fitting. He seemed to embody a female role, with every movement exuding the seductive demeanor of a mature woman faced with her lover.

How should I put it? When Zhang Jue saw him, he was reminded of Lily from the movie The Danish Girl.

One theme of tango is seduction, and he was indeed seducing someone.

Zhang Jue watched for a while, then seemed to realize something. Following Hayato Teraoka’s gaze, he looked around and spotted Keiko.

Oh—wait a minute—

But something felt off. In the movie, Lily was a man who later realized he was a “woman,” and she truly fell in love with a man.

But Teruoka, with such a gaze, was looking at Keiko. Could it be that Keiko… was like a man to you?

Zhang Jue: I always seem to notice things I don’t want to understand.

When Ilya took the ice, laughter erupted from the audience because his performance skate this year was also a tango!

His piece was “Milonga De Mis Amores,” the liveliest tango, and he deliberately displayed a humorous quality on the ice.

Hayato Teraoka, who had just finished, hummed and said: “He clearly has the face of a prince, but he ended up choosing the comedic style.”

No wonder this guy had always struggled to find his style, as his mentors had always pushed him toward the ethereal male figure due to his face. It was no wonder his comedic style was so far off the mark!

The climax of the performance skate came at the end. The music suddenly changed to Zhang Jue’s “Libertango,” and then Hayato Teraoka skated a segment with technical moves identical to Zhang Jue’s, except he couldn’t fully lift his Bellman, only performing a bent-knee version.

When the lighthearted “Milonga De Mis Amores” played, Zhang Jue skated out, and during “Tango El Caramel,” Ilya joined the performance.

The Three Musketeers were actually switching programs!

Not only that, Zhang Brother Jue spoke to the organizers, and soon they added a segment of Hayato Teraoka’s signature moves from The Good Doctor.

The atmosphere in the venue was ignited by the three super playful male singles, and then Keiko, Min Shan, and Katarina also took the stage to swap programs.

The coaches watched, completely dumbfounded.

When did these kids secretly practice their opponents’ programs this well?

At the end of the exhibition skate, a group of athletes gathered together. Liu Mengcheng tried to stretch his hand holding the selfie stick.

“Everyone, smile—”

The athletes squeezed together, tilting their heads up and showing bright smiles to the camera.

Click. The moment was captured.

After returning to the country, Zhang Jue had another checkup with Dr. Chai. He held up the X-ray and said: “As for your knee, if you weren’t an athlete, I’d definitely advise you not to exercise for a while and rest your body. But since you’re an athlete, this level of wear and tear is pretty normal.”

“Competing in the National Championships is fine. I remember that this competition will determine your spot for the second half of the season, right?”

Zhang Jue nodded: “Yes, I must participate in the National Championships this year.”

He didn’t participate in the National Championships last year, and as a result, he took the competition spot originally meant for Liu Yeming and went abroad to compete. Although the final result was good, he still felt a bit dissatisfied, so it was better to compete and secure the spot officially.

Dr. Chai said: “Then go ahead and compete. As long as you don’t do high-level quadruples with extreme wear, it should be fine. After the National Championships, you should rest for a while. If the wear becomes too serious, I’m worried you might suffer from stress fractures again.”

Zhang Jue scratched his head. But this year, the Four Continents Championships and the National Championships were only 20 days apart. If he rested for too long, he would lose his form and risk losing at the international level.

Sigh, it was really troubling.

When the leaders found out about this, they were split into two factions. One group believed that since Zhang Jue was going to clash with Four Continents, he shouldn’t go and should let Liu Yeming go instead, giving him the international competition opportunity he missed last year.

The other faction thought that Zhang Jue was the most capable athlete to represent the country on the international stage, so he should focus on resting now, and the leaders would directly give him the competition spot later.

This year’s World Championships would determine the Winter Olympics spot for next year, and as the only male athlete who could secure 3 spots, everyone hoped that Zhang Jue could compete in the World Championships in good health.

For a moment, Zhang Jue became the one person who was most detached from the question of whether he would compete. How many competitions he would attend depended on the results of the leaders’ arguments.

He sat in the hallway holding his body report, looking lost.

“I thought you’d be facing this after you turned 20, but it came a year earlier than expected.”

Zhang Jue turned his head and saw Shen Liu sitting next to him.

Shen Liu said: “I regret it. If I had known you’d face this so early, I should have been firmer when you were going through the development phase. I should have fought for a season-long suspension for you, let you get through that stage smoothly, so you wouldn’t have these hidden dangers.”

He rubbed Zhang Jue’s hair: “You little brat, seven years passed without us noticing, and now you’re taller than me. You’ve grown so fast.”

Zhang Jue lowered his head obediently, his eyes full of a smile: “I’ve never regretted competing with injuries. If I had to do it again, I’d still make the same choice.”

For the glory that everyone was chasing, he was willing to give everything.

“Brother Shen, I think I can compete for the second half of the season, National Championships, Four Continents, World Championships, I want to compete in all of them.”

Shen Liu replied decisively: “Then go for it! You want to compete, right? I’ll help you convince the higher-ups. Commander Sun and Director Bai will support you. Zhang Jue, you have plenty of backup.”

Zhang Jue smiled at him. In that moment, Shen Liu was surprised to find that no matter how time passed, no matter how much taller this kid had grown, those clear eyes were still the same as before.

 

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