Chapter 75: The World Championship!

She lingered for a moment over the box before drawing out a slip of paper.
The staff member took it and announced, “Twenty-six.”

Effetinia returned to her seat with a look of regret.
Number twenty-six—second in the fifth group. The order wasn’t particularly good or bad, but compared to the last two groups, even if their starting order wasn’t ideal, their grouping already gave them an edge.

Next, Jennifer from Shu Ran’s group drew number twenty-seven.
Shu Ran pricked up her ears, waiting for the staff member to call her name, eyes fixed on the movement of the staff’s lips. She saw them open and close: “Christina.”

Her heart gave a sudden jolt, and instinctively, Shu Ran glanced over.
This was her first time seeing Christina up close in person. Despite being rivals, strangely enough, this was their first encounter at a competition.

What was even stranger, Christina never once looked at her. If she did, it was only a passing, polite smile, the kind anyone would give a stranger.

Shu Ran couldn’t help but doubt.
Could it be that Christina didn’t know she was her opponent?
Or perhaps the whole talk about a wager was just something Fu Yiqing had concocted to trick her?

Her train of thought was interrupted by the staff’s voice: “Number twenty-nine.”

A moment later came the call: “Shu Ran.”

Shu Ran straightened up and handed her numbered token to the staff, feeling a bit resigned to fate.

Silently, she repeated her hopes in her heart.

But Murphy’s Law has a way of manifesting at just the wrong time.

“Number thirty.”

Last in the fifth group—right after Christina.

This was exactly what Shu Ran hadn’t wanted. She always cared about Christina’s scores; going after her meant being inevitably influenced by her performance.

But it was what it was. Shu Ran could only force herself not to focus on Christina anymore.

In the end, the order for Group Five was: Mia, Effetinia, Jennifer, Miyamae Miyuki, Christina, and Shu Ran.

Chiyuan Yexiang, Chen Yuqi, and Samantha were in the last group. Shu Ran only noted that Samantha would skate second to last in her group.

The World Championships short program officially began.

Shu Ran warmed up backstage, headphones on.
She wondered how Jiang Wanru and Wu Huihui had fared.
Though practicing now wouldn’t change much, staying here at least kept her mind steady.

Shu Ran suddenly recalled her first meeting with Fu Yiqing more than two years ago. Back then, she never could have imagined that one day she’d stand on the World Championships stage.

She’d been so naive then, even thinking Fu Yiqing was out of his mind.

The thought brought a faint smile to her lips, dispelling her earlier nerves.

Because the cameras were rolling, Fu Yiqing didn’t approach her to talk. He’d been worried, but now, seeing her clear gaze and relaxed posture, he finally felt at ease.

A staff member came to notify the fifth group to prepare.

Shu Ran took off her headphones.

Fu Yiqing took them from her, naturally, without a word.

Neither of them spoke.

Christina's glance at them was so swift it went unnoticed by all.

The last performer of the previous group was the Japanese skater, Jo Ma Reina.
After her score was announced, the real-time rankings appeared on the big screen.

Most of the skaters in the fifth group instinctively looked up.

Currently, first place in the short program was Russia’s Nadilova, with 60.13 points.

Close behind were Jo Ma Reina and Zhang Ziqing.

Shu Ran was a bit surprised—not at their scores, but because all three had been Qin Liubei’s predicted dark horses.

She hadn’t expected them to outpace the veterans.

The six-minute warm-up began, and the six skaters glided onto the ice.

Shu Ran skated a bit, pulling in her arms for a jump—but didn’t fully leap, just enough to find her balance. Jumps took too much energy; she couldn’t waste her strength in practice.

Warm-up ended; five skaters left the ice, leaving only Mia.

Mia’s short program music was from the opera “The Barber of Seville.” A veteran, her results had declined in recent years, but today she was in good form. Her movements were powerful and crisp, opening with a 3F and landing the following combination.

Her only disadvantage was stamina in the second half—mistakes began to pile up.

Meanwhile, in the audience, Qin Liubei was giving commentary for his girlfriend, Xu Jingyu.

“That was a 3T-3T—triple toe loop into triple toe loop. You take off from a right back outside edge, use the left toe pick.”

Xu Jingyu didn’t seem grateful. In fact, she complained, “I know that much. My mother is a figure skating coach. I just can’t tell the jumps apart. Just tell me which jump, which step sequence—that’s all I need.”

Qin Liubei shook his head in resignation. “Fine, you’re my girlfriend after all.”

He continued explaining for a while, but this time he was interrupted by a male fan sitting in front of them.

“Hey, buddy, if you want to flirt, can you keep it down? I’m trying to watch the performance.”

Qin Liubei lowered his voice, but the man turned around again, frowning, eyes fixed on them.

Just as Qin Liubei was about to speak, the man’s face lit with recognition. He pointed at the rink, then at Qin Liubei. “Aren’t you... the coach for the Chinese team?”

Qin Liubei was Shu Ran’s coach, and since Shu Ran was China’s skater, to outsiders he was the team’s coach. He didn’t correct the man, just nodded perfunctorily. “Mm.”

The man grew excited, tugging at his sweatshirt to reveal a Shu Ran sticker.

“I’m a Shu Ran fan! Can I take a picture with you?”

Qin Liubei glanced at the rink, where Mia’s performance had just ended, and frowned. “Sorry, it’s still competition time—not convenient right now.”

The man nodded in understanding and turned around.

Next up was Effetinia.

Qin Liubei was about to resume his commentary when the fan turned back. “You can speak louder if you want. I don’t mind.”

In the next moments, the man turned around repeatedly, so what was meant to be a private moment for Qin Liubei and Xu Jingyu now included a fervent skating fan.

Xu Jingyu was speechless, while Qin Liubei held back his irritation.

The broadcast announced, “Now on the ice: Christina, representing France.”

“I love Shu Ran the most...” The fan began to mutter endlessly.

Qin Liubei’s temple throbbed, and Xu Jingyu gritted her teeth.

Qin Liubei gripped Xu Jingyu’s hands tightly; as their frustration grew, so did the pressure of their clasped fingers.

Xu Jingyu muttered so only they could hear, “This guy is so annoying!”

Qin Liubei replied, “I know. But we represent Shu Ran; we can’t cause trouble for her.”

Xu Jingyu took a deep breath.

The broadcast continued, “Her music is from the film ‘Murder on the Orient Express.’”

Fan: “Oh my gosh, that movie is amazing! Coach Qin, I have to recommend it to you—”

“Shut up!”

It was a neighboring spectator who snapped.

All three were stunned. Only then did the fan, grumbling, turn around. Qin Liubei and Xu Jingyu exhaled in relief, exchanging a glance filled with suppressed laughter.

Christina was a consummate technician—each jump flawless, executed with machine-like precision, making those to follow involuntarily draw a sharp breath.

Every one of Christina’s competitions brought notable improvement.

The skating fans saw it clearly.

She had improved once again, her movements even smoother, practically flawless; the highlight was her sandwich combination.

3F-2L-2S.

The grade of execution on this combination could easily be maxed out.

This jump thrilled the commentators and even caused Shu Ran, stretching backstage, to pause.

Though Christina’s performance wasn’t especially artistic, her dazzling technique commanded attention all the same.

In the end, with impeccable technical prowess, Christina delivered a clean program.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be the only clean skate today, but it was the first.

The first is always the most memorable. Immediately, the skating fan in the stands hurried down and tossed a support plushie onto the ice.

Shu Ran entered and waited by the boards for the ice kids to clear the toys.

She watched as Christina exited, where Quentin greeted her with a big hug.

They exchanged a few words; Quentin’s smile widened as he gently patted Christina’s shoulder and walked with her to the kiss-and-cry.

Her technical score was an impressive 40.13, though her program components were less stellar—just 29.3.

Christina’s final short program score:

69.43.

First place, for now.

Though Shu Ran once broke the world record for the women’s short program, today she wasn’t sure she could outscore Christina.

If only she hadn’t been injured.

The thought flickered through Shu Ran’s mind.

“What are you thinking?” Fu Yiqing asked, patting her on the shoulder.

She snapped back to herself and shook her head.

Fu Yiqing glanced at the scoreboard, briefly at a loss for words.

He lowered his eyes. “Good luck.”

Just two simple words, but they carried so much of what Fu Yiqing wanted to say.

He could guess what was on Shu Ran’s mind. He had much to say himself, but with the competition about to begin, time was short, and he knew that no amount of advice would help now.

Shu Ran took a deep breath, laced her fingers, gave her muscles one last stretch, and pushed off the boards, gliding to the center of the rink.

The ice kids had already cleared the surface.

All around her, a vast expanse of whiteness.

Ten years of honing her blade—she had waited so long for this moment, to draw her sword and cut through thorns.

At last, the day had come.

The rink was vast, the crowd’s noise chaotic. Shu Ran closed her eyes, seeking calm.

Gradually, all distractions faded away.

The announcer: “Next to skate: Shu Ran, representing China.”

Shu Ran moved her arms into position.

“Her music is from the film ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.’”

The instant her eyes opened, a single word filled her mind—

Win.