Chapter Sixty-Two: White Ice Skates

Yet Qin Liubei sensed something amiss. "Wait a moment, you agreed so easily?"

Fu Yiqing replied, "Anyway, let him do as he wishes with this matter."

Seeing Fu Yiqing unwilling to elaborate, Qin Liubei had no choice but to let it go.

Fu Yiqing stood by the window, his mind drifting back to yesterday.

Huo Guang had spoken at length about comforting Shu Ran, but only after did he get to the point.

"Chairman Fu, though the incident has already happened, I will find the culprit," he said, then shifted the subject, "But I have a favor to ask."

Fu Yiqing raised an eyebrow at him.

Huo Guang continued, "If we announce publicly that Shu Ran simply ate something bad, people online will speculate blindly. If innocent people get implicated, it would be unfortunate, and it would negatively affect the national team."

In other words: if outsiders learn that Shu Ran's condition was deliberately caused by someone internal, the national team would face a scandal. As head coach, Huo Guang certainly didn't want the situation to escalate.

Huo Guang was nervous. Fu Yiqing had been with the national team for two years, but always remained independent, with Shu Ran as his only close companion. Now that Shu Ran was in trouble, Huo Guang could hardly imagine Fu Yiqing’s state of mind.

So whether Fu Yiqing would agree was uncertain.

If Fu Yiqing refused, Huo Guang would have to resort to coercive measures.

"Alright," Fu Yiqing answered succinctly, music to Huo Guang’s ears. Before he could express gratitude, Fu Yiqing added, "But I have one condition."

"What is it?"

"How the person who harmed Shu Ran is dealt with will be up to me."

His expression was calm, but Huo Guang felt a chill in his heart. Silently, he mourned for the perpetrator, then decided, "Okay, I agree."

Afterward, Fu Yiqing returned to Shu Ran’s dormitory to collect her remaining belongings. On the way, he happened to run into Wu Huihui.

At the sight of Fu Yiqing, Wu Huihui’s heart skipped—not with excitement, but with fear.

She wanted to avoid him, but Fu Yiqing approached her, "Can you take me to Shu Ran’s dorm?"

Wu Huihui, like a student confronted by the dean, nodded with reverent eyes.

"Is senior... alright?" she asked.

"Yes."

"She’s moving out?"

"Yes."

The air was silent.

After a while, Wu Huihui sighed, "Perhaps it’s better she moves out. Coach Fu, could you please tell Shu Ran I’m sorry?"

"No need."

Wu Huihui was startled, not expecting such bluntness, feeling awkward.

But Fu Yiqing continued, "It’s not your fault, so there’s no need."

Wu Huihui looked at him, surprised, then smiled gently, "So senior was right after all."

Now it was Fu Yiqing’s turn to be taken aback. "What?"

"Um—" Wu Huihui recalled Shu Ran’s expression, imitating her tone, "Coach Fu always speaks directly, but is clear about right and wrong. Talking to him isn’t exhausting, there’s no need to guess."

Fu Yiqing lowered his gaze, "She... really said that?"

"Yes."

Since Jiang Wanru, Shu Ran’s roommate, wasn’t in, Wu Huihui helped Fu Yiqing pack Shu Ran’s things.

After the recent exchange, Wu Huihui felt Fu Yiqing wasn’t so difficult to get along with. "Actually, I still have doubts. I don’t think it was anyone from the dinner party that did this. We’d discussed senior’s upcoming opponents and genuinely hoped she would rank well, since it’s for the country’s honor. More importantly, if the women’s singles manage to achieve something, the Sports Administration will pay more attention to us."

Fu Yiqing said, "Since someone could do such a thing, either they were impulsive, or they’re absolutely confident they won’t be discovered. If it’s the latter, given your attitude, they’ve already succeeded."

Wu Huihui remained skeptical. "People say athletes aren’t very smart, but that’s because we can only improve by constantly pushing ourselves. Everyone is really quite simple. We even agreed to take a group photo after senior’s GPF competition for comparison!"

Fu Yiqing didn’t respond.

Wu Huihui showed Fu Yiqing all the places in the dorm where things could be stored, then prepared to leave, but was called back.

"Wait."

"What else?"

"You said you'd take a photo together after GPF... So you took one at the dinner?"

Wu Huihui nodded blankly, quickly realizing Fu Yiqing’s intention. "You want to check each person?"

The photo was in their group chat. Wu Huihui opened the enlarged image and helplessly introduced, "This is Zhu Hongzhe, Wu Xinchen..."

After finishing, she said, "Believe it or not, I really don’t think any of them would do such a thing."

"On what grounds?"

Wu Huihui was caught off guard, then lifted her head, her gaze unusually firm. "Because we’re teammates who spend every day together."

Fu Yiqing withdrew his gaze.

He stared at the photo, his look growing intense, even tinged with danger.

Wu Huihui said, "You still don’t believe..."

"Send me the photo."

"Alright."

Fu Yiqing carried the suitcase downstairs, reaching the entrance just as Liang Yue walked in.

Fu Yiqing glanced at her lightly, then looked away as if he hadn’t seen her.

Liang Yue passed by, then stopped, glancing at his back with utmost contempt.

As Fu Yiqing was about to leave, a janitor cleaning the trash called out, "Miss, aren’t you keeping these ice skates?"

Liang Yue didn’t even turn, "They’re broken, I don’t want them."

The janitor muttered, "They look fine, such waste."

Fu Yiqing instinctively glanced at the janitor. At that, his expression tightened; he turned, "Liang Yue!"

Liang Yue looked back instinctively. Seeing it was Fu Yiqing, her eyes flickered. "Yes? Shu Ran’s coach?"

Fu Yiqing stepped forward slowly, his eyes glinting, sizing her up for a long time. "Those ice skates, are they yours?"

His expression was somewhat sinister, cold light flashing.

Liang Yue felt a wave of fear but forced herself to stay composed.

"So what?" Liang Yue sneered. "You want to give them to Shu Ran? Go ahead, I’ve thrown them out, you can fish them from the trash."

Fu Yiqing, unfazed by her provocation, smiled instead, "So it’s you."

"What do you mean?" Liang Yue suddenly panicked.

"You knew Shu Ran was allergic to seafood. Jealous of her taking your spot as the top women’s singles player, you deliberately swapped her delivery."

Liang Yue’s pupils widened. "Wha... what nonsense? Just because you’re a coach doesn’t mean you can slander athletes. Everybody knows Shu Ran and I don’t get along. How could I know she’s allergic to seafood?!"

Fu Yiqing’s eyes seemed to see through everything, piercing the little tricks before him; he merely smiled.

That smile was full of confidence, as though she didn’t even qualify to be his opponent.

Fu Yiqing handed over his phone, pointing to the corner of the group photo taken at the gathering.

A white ice skate was visible under the table, its owner absent from the frame.

"This shoe is yours, isn’t it?" he said. "You were there that day. You heard Shu Ran’s seafood allergy, then knew Zhu Hongzhe would order food for her. So you ordered seafood porridge and swapped the deliveries. Am I wrong?"

Liang Yue involuntarily stepped back, her pupils contracting, her expression frozen. After a long moment, she managed to compose herself. "Others were there too, they all knew about Shu Ran’s allergy. Why single me out?"

Fu Yiqing’s smile widened, as if he’d heard a joke. "It’s easy enough to check who ordered seafood porridge that day."

His smile was like a messenger from hell, watching Liang Yue’s petty schemes.

Liang Yue’s terrified eyes grew wide, speechless.

"Huo Guang has already agreed—the person who harmed Shu Ran will be dealt with entirely by me."

"Fu..." Liang Yue felt suffocated under his demonic aura.

Fu Yiqing curled his lips, pressing closer, "You’re lucky I have no time these days. So, see you in a few days."

With that, Fu Yiqing turned and left.

Liang Yue watched his departing figure; the external pressure vanished, but inside, the weight was crushing. She collapsed to the ground, unable to bear it.

Jiang Wanru returned just then, seeing Liang Yue’s frail state, helped her up. "Liang Yue, what’s wrong?"

"It can’t be... how could..." she muttered to herself.

"What can’t be? What’s wrong?"

Liang Yue seemed to think of something, "I’ll go ask Coach Huo." She staggered up and ran toward Huo Guang’s office.

Xu Jingyu and Qin Liubei’s arrival brought much joy to Shu Ran’s life.

Fu Yiqing wanted Shu Ran to rest for three days, but she refused to slacken even in her downtime.

Leisure TV time became movie, opera, and music sessions.

Xu Jingyu and Shu Ran curled up on the sofa, legs folded; Qin Liubei sat beside Xu Jingyu, Fu Yiqing beside Shu Ran.

The four watched a Western opera.

The English lyrics were hard to understand, but thankfully there were subtitles.

Shu Ran posed a soulful question, "Western opera has a long history, but our own Peking opera and Kunqu are excellent too. Why don’t we watch Kunqu?"

Qin Liubei slapped his forehead, "That’s a good idea. To be honest, I’ve never seen it."

Xu Jingyu was eager to try something new. "Shall we watch together?"

Qin Liubei quickly found a video of 'The Peony Pavilion,' and the four began watching Kunqu.

A single line was sung for a full minute; Qin Liubei’s expression shifted from excitement to utter despair.

Yet Shu Ran watched with relish.

When Fu Yiqing began to feel bored, Shu Ran’s eyes suddenly brightened, "I’ve got it!"

Three pairs of eyes turned to her.

Her face shone, "Next season’s exhibition skate."

Hearing 'exhibition skate,' Qin Liubei’s anticipation vanished. "I thought it’d be something else."

Fu Yiqing’s eyes lifted, a faint smile with a hint of expectation.

Looking into his gentle gaze, Shu Ran confidently mimicked the actors on screen, flicking her sleeves, "Flicking sleeves—next season’s exhibition skate will be 'The Peony Pavilion.'"