Chapter Twenty: This Is a Lesson

Fu Yiqing failed to notice her little secret. "That's good. There really isn't much to be nervous about. Our main goal this season is to rack up points, so after the team test and before the Grand Prix, you'll have a challenge event for practice."

Because she already knew her ranking in international competitions was low and her points weren't high, plus Fu Yiqing kept mentioning the Winter Olympics, Shu Ran almost forgot about the importance of accumulating points.

Shu Ran looked up in surprise. "Which event did you sign me up for?"

"The Lombardia Trophy and the Warsaw Cup." Fu Yiqing added, "Of course, if the results aren't ideal, you can try the Tallinn Cup."

Shu Ran swallowed hard.

She should have asked Fu Yiqing about his plans earlier, otherwise she wouldn't be caught off guard by new competitions popping up.

*

Because she had been without her skates for ten days, Shu Ran’s on-ice training came to a temporary halt, but her off-ice training continued. Whenever she returned to her room, she would go over her routines, practicing the choreography. So those ten days passed quickly.

Yet anytime she shared a space with Fu Yiqing, her heart would race, embarrassment overwhelming her, as if time slowed down.

Finally, the night before she was to retrieve her skates arrived, and Shu Ran felt strangely unsettled. After dinner, she returned to the hotel, didn't turn on the lights, but instead drew open the curtains and gazed out at the beautiful night scenery of the city.

She didn't want to leave.

She realized her heart was full of reluctance, unsure if it was for the city or for the person.

Tomorrow, she would get her things and return home. Then, it wouldn’t be just the two of them anymore; these moments of solitude would be gone.

Thinking of this, a sudden impulse surged in her heart.

She desperately wanted to tell him!

Lost in thought, Shu Ran found herself at Fu Yiqing’s door, startled by her own actions, quickly drawing back her hand.

Tell him what?

Tell him her feelings weren’t pure, and then let them drift apart?

She almost wanted to slap herself awake.

Her encounter with Fu Yiqing had only happened because of a bet with the International Skating Union. His concern and worry were all for the sake of changing the international rules of figure skating.

Disheartened, Shu Ran withdrew her hand about to knock and turned away toward the elevator.

*

The team test was rescheduled to the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, after the exhausting journey home, she would definitely need a day of rest. Worried Shu Ran wouldn’t be in good condition, Fu Yiqing called Qin Liubei and asked him to talk to the national team’s head coach, Huo Guang, so Shu Ran would be last in the test order.

Qin Liubei readily agreed, but before Fu Yiqing hung up, he called out, "Wait a moment."

"What is it?"

"Are you still planning to let Shu Ran stay at your place?"

"There’s a girl on the team who’s always making things difficult for Shu Ran. Do you think it’s better for her to train in that environment?"

Qin Liubei hesitated, then said, "But have you considered something else?"

"I’ve been meaning to bring this up. Shu Ran is eighteen now, a normal girl, and girls these days are sensitive. You’re practically trouble incarnate—aren’t you afraid she might... have feelings for you?"

Fu Yiqing’s expression was serious. "I don’t understand what you mean by ‘those feelings.’"

"Oh, come on, don’t pretend you don’t know."

Fu Yiqing lowered his gaze. "From what I see, you seem closer to her."

"Whoa—don’t scare me. My feelings for Shu Ran are completely innocent, okay? Even if you and she develop feelings over time, there’s no way for me." Qin Liubei relaxed, his voice tinged with humor, "But honestly, your words just now made it sound like you were jealous."

Fu Yiqing gave a cold laugh but said nothing, and Qin Liubei didn’t suspect anything.

*

Staring at the changing numbers on the elevator, Fu Yiqing seemed lost in thought.

Qin Liubei said, "But you have a point—what if Shu Ran has an eye for beauty and falls for me?"

Fu Yiqing stepped out from the east-side elevator onto the carpeted floor, silent to Qin Liubei’s sharp question. He rounded a corner, and out of the corner of his eye saw someone in the hallway.

He looked up to see her standing at his door, hand raised, then hesitating and drawing back, repeating the motion before turning away toward the west-side elevator, disappointment evident.

Fu Yiqing stood still, his gaze obscure.

After a long silence, Qin Liubei called out, "Okay, if you think I’m wrong, just pretend you never heard it."

"Mm, I’ll ask Shu Ran for her opinion later."

*

Not long after Shu Ran went out, it started to rain. Summer rain always comes quickly and leaves just as fast. Shu Ran ran through the downpour and finally found shelter at a bus stop.

There were quite a few people without umbrellas, and soon the bus stop was crowded, but the rain showed no sign of letting up.

She watched the heavy raindrops, surrounded by the sounds of a foreign language, her soaked clothes clinging uncomfortably to her body.

A rootless sense of drift and overwhelming grievance washed over her, along with a surge of homesickness.

Suddenly, Shu Ran remembered she hadn’t called her parents in ages. She reached for her phone but found nothing.

She hadn’t even brought her phone.

Utterly hopeless.

Most people realized the rain wouldn’t stop anytime soon; some dashed into it, others called taxis.

Shu Ran wanted to call a cab too, but then realized she couldn’t speak Japanese, couldn’t name the hotel.

All these days, whether in Canada or now in Japan, she had depended on Fu Yiqing. With him around, all she needed was to follow; if she didn’t understand the language, he would translate.

Without him, she could barely manage on her own.

Shu Ran suddenly realized that compared to Fu Yiqing, she knew nothing—only how to skate. If she lost skating, she’d have nothing left for the future.

There were fewer and fewer people at the bus stop. Shu Ran sat on the bench, hugging her calves, head resting on her knees, mood complex, listening to the rain pounding the shelter.

The rain grew heavier, and with fewer people on the streets, Shu Ran’s mind wandered to rain-soaked murder scenes from movies.

Coincidentally, at that moment, she saw a burly man in a raincoat crossing the street toward the bus stop, most of his face hidden.

A surge of fear made her disregard the pouring rain and dart into it like an arrow.

Rainwater pelted her, icy cold.

But she stopped abruptly. Through the dark curtain of rain, she saw Fu Yiqing’s unexpectedly handsome, startled features, and her world fell silent. The sound of rain faded, replaced by her own rapid breathing.

After a brief pause, Fu Yiqing strode to her side, shielding her with his umbrella from the deluge.

"Who told you to sneak out at night?" Fu Yiqing said angrily. "This is your lesson!"

She was drenched, water streaming down her face, her eyes wet, looking up at him, pitiful and dazed.

Fu Yiqing suddenly stopped scolding, wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "We’ll talk when we get back."

Back at the hotel, Shu Ran showered, but Fu Yiqing never came to scold her. He didn’t come at all.

On the way back, worried she might catch a cold from the rain, he had bought medicine.

Now, seeing the medicine made her feel strangely sentimental.

Shu Ran swallowed the pills and lay down to sleep.

All night, she dreamed of Fu Yiqing. She woke up feeling feverish, touched her forehead, and realized something was wrong—she was probably running a fever.

She threw off the covers, trying to find any fever medicine Fu Yiqing might have bought, but her weak footing caught the edge of the blanket, sending her sprawling forward with a thud.

This was ridiculous; she felt like a clumsy heroine in a romance novel.

But reality seemed to be following the same script.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Shu Ran? Are you all right?"

She opened the door, frowning, "Coach Fu, I’m fine, it’s just—"

Before she could finish, his hand pressed to her forehead.

"You’re burning up. Why didn’t you call me?" Fu Yiqing walked in, scanning the room. "What was that sound just now?"

Shu Ran’s cheeks flushed. "It was... me."

The atmosphere froze for a moment. Fu Yiqing motioned for Shu Ran to lie down, then stood by the bedside, towering above her. "I’m going to buy fever medicine. Wait here. I’ll take your room card—don’t open the door for anyone, understand?"

"Mm."

Shu Ran drifted back to sleep. In her dream, Fu Yiqing visited again, saying what she longed to hear, but then suddenly left.

Dazed, she thought she saw Fu Yiqing return, unable to distinguish reality from dreams, and softly called, "Coach Fu, you’re here again?"

Fu Yiqing’s lashes lifted, but surprise didn’t linger on his face. He walked over, inserted the tube into the fever medicine, and held it to Shu Ran’s lips. His other hand slipped behind her back to help her sit up.

Seeing her dreamy look, Fu Yiqing frowned. "Shu Ran, are you awake or still dreaming?"

"You said that earlier."

Fu Yiqing paused, gaze deep. "You were dreaming just now?"

"Not just earlier, even now." A faint glow lit her weak face. "You’re in my dream."

For a moment, Fu Yiqing couldn’t tell if Shu Ran was truly awake or pretending.

He could only speak gently, as if to a child. "Open your mouth."

"Drink the medicine."

Shu Ran moved like an abacus bead, shifting whenever prompted.

After she drank the medicine, Fu Yiqing stood to leave, but the person on the bed spoke, "Only in dreams can I tell you what’s in my heart. Even though you’re always stern, I know you care about me, even if—"

"Don’t say it."

"If I can’t speak even in dreams, when can I ever say it?"

Seeing her ready to continue, he suddenly turned, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.

"Shu Ran," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I—"

Before he finished, the person on the bed leapt up. Just moments before, she had seemed weak, barely alive, but now she pounced, fierce as a little lion, biting him.

Fu Yiqing froze, letting her mischief continue.

Until Shu Ran realized he wasn’t responding at all, regained her senses, lay down and turned her back, burying herself under the covers.

"Shu Ran, just rest. If anything happens, call me."

Even through the thick blanket, Shu Ran could tell Fu Yiqing hadn’t meant to say "just rest," but since she’d acted so recklessly, she had shattered their fragile balance.

A gap appeared at the edge of the blanket. Shu Ran took a breath, then seized control of the covers again, her voice muffled. "Don’t always be so good to me."

She didn’t know what expression Fu Yiqing wore. After a long silence, the room was quiet; Shu Ran turned to find Fu Yiqing had left without a sound, not even closing the door loudly.