Chapter 105: This Heart Remains Unchanged

The morning’s interruption soon passed.

For the rest of the day, Shu Ran seemed lost in thought, moving mechanically as she ate and chatted with them.

Though dinner ended before five o’clock, darkness had already fallen, yet the vast snowy landscape outside lent the night a hue that was far from pure black.

The three sat on the sofa watching television for a while before each retreated to their own rooms to rest.

Shu Ran turned off the lights early and lay in bed. The whiteness of the snow outside softly illuminated the room, casting everything in a serene blue.

When exactly had her heart come to hold only one thought: to win?

Indeed, whether for victory or for the love of figure skating, those initial intentions were not contradictory.

But at the moment when one struggles the most, it is emotion that drives one forward.

Suddenly, Shu Ran thought back to herself a year ago. Even knowing her chances of winning were slim, she had persisted in trying.

Her thoughts muddled, Shu Ran slowly closed her eyes.

*

Throughout the day, Fu Yiqing had noticed Shu Ran’s strange demeanor. Not long after returning to his room, he found himself once again at her door.

Unease gnawed at him.

After hesitating for a moment, he knocked.

Once, twice—no response.

“Might be asleep,” he murmured.

Just as he was about to turn away, he noticed the door wasn’t fully closed, only gently settled in its frame.

A wave of unease washed over him. He carefully pushed it open, and in the pale light reflecting off the snow, a chill ran through him.

The bed was empty.

A year’s worth of fear and anxiety erupted all at once.

Fu Yiqing lost his composure, switched on the light, and called out for Shu Ran, but she did not emerge.

Panic overtook him, and he hurried to fetch Luo Lin.

Luo Lin had long since gone to bed. Seeing Fu Yiqing’s flustered state, she was startled, and upon hearing his words, she too grew anxious.

As they searched the house, they spoke of Shu Ran’s odd behavior that day.

“Could it have something to do with what I told her this morning?” Luo Lin wondered aloud.

“What did you say?” Fu Yiqing asked.

Luo Lin recounted her words in full.

Fu Yiqing paused in his movements.

“What's wrong?” Luo Lin pressed.

“The main reason she gave up figure skating lies within herself,” he said quietly.

They wasted no more time on talk and scoured the entire house, upstairs and downstairs, inside and out, but found no trace of her.

Standing by the window downstairs, they looked out at the snow-covered world. The snow had stopped, but the accumulation was deep—deep enough to cover half of Shu Ran’s calf. If she had gone outside, she would be in danger.

Fu Yiqing pulled up the hood of his down jacket and prepared to step out. “I’m going to find her.”

Luo Lin stopped him. “How can you search out there with no footprints? Maybe she never left.”

The suggestion hung in the air, and even Luo Lin doubted it herself.

They had searched every corner of the house; if Shu Ran were still inside, she could not have escaped their sight.

Fu Yiqing replied, “Maybe it snowed again after she left, covering any footprints. Anyway, I’ll go look first.”

“No,” Luo Lin said firmly. “I can’t let you get into trouble too. Let’s wait a bit longer. If she’s still not back, then we’ll contact the Chinese consulate.”

Fu Yiqing withdrew his arm from her grasp, his expression resolute. “Precisely because she might be in danger now, I can’t let her face it alone.”

Seeing his determination, Luo Lin could not hold him back. She found him some waterproof gear, but Fu Yiqing’s tall frame meant he couldn’t fit into it properly. In the end, he only wore the hat.

With that, Fu Yiqing stepped outside.

Luo Lin, racking her brain for any overlooked place, went upstairs and, on a whim, drew open the curtains.

Of course, Shu Ran was not hiding behind them, playing a prank to scare them.

Luo Lin turned away, somewhat disappointed, when out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of something.

Frowning, she hurried back to the window and pressed her face against the glass.

In the snowy field they had watched together that morning, a small figure appeared—a girl clad in heavy clothing gliding across the frozen expanse. She moved awkwardly and attempted a jump, but failed, falling heavily into the snow.

Luo Lin quickly ran outside the front door. Seeing Fu Yiqing still in sight, she felt reassured.

They led Fu Yiqing back inside.

After braving the icy outdoors, the warmth of the house felt overwhelming, and Fu Yiqing sneezed.

Luo Lin hurried toward the back door and noticed her ice skates were missing from the shoe rack. She sighed, “I told her earlier our feet were the same size, so if her skates got wet in the snow, she could wear mine. Maybe that gave her the idea.”

The two stood by the back door, watching the girl outside for a while.

Just as Luo Lin was about to open the door and call Shu Ran in, Fu Yiqing’s hand caught the handle first. “You should go back to bed. Sorry for troubling you with her stubbornness.”

Luo Lin didn’t mind. Her gaze drifted outside, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Perhaps, for you both, this is a blessing in disguise.”

Fu Yiqing said nothing.

With Shu Ran found, Luo Lin finally relaxed and went upstairs to sleep.

Shu Ran, having been off the ice for too long and now skating on a wild frozen lake, knew she couldn’t compare it to a professional rink. The ice was uneven in thickness and covered with snow.

She could only comfort herself with this thought.

But the repeated falls were undeniable and left a bitter taste in her heart.

“Lift your leg higher!”

A stern male voice rang out.

Startled, Shu Ran looked up and saw Fu Yiqing standing not far off, his expression serious—an echo of the coach she once knew.

The coach she once knew?

She was shocked by her own realization—she hadn’t seen this side of Fu Yiqing in a long time.

“Shu Ran, be serious during training.”

Without hesitation, Shu Ran lifted her leg, though bundled as she was, she had already raised it as high as she could.

The two remained quietly focused in the snow for ten minutes.

Afterward, Fu Yiqing carried Shu Ran back to Luo Lin’s house.

She took off her skates and sat by the back door, wiping them clean. “Coach, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“I thought you weren’t sleeping.”

Fu Yiqing took the other skate and began cleaning it.

Only then did she notice the hat he wore wasn’t his—it was bright red.

Such a vivid color had never adorned Fu Yiqing before, yet now it lent him a unique charm.

Red suited him well.

But more than the color was his demeanor.

Recalling his earlier words, Shu Ran was stunned. “You went out looking for me?”

Fu Yiqing shook his head. “We couldn’t find you and woke Luo Lin to help. We searched everywhere but came up empty. I was just about to go out again when Luo Lin told me you were behind the house.”

Shu Ran felt a pang of guilt. “Living in her home and disturbing her sleep—I must be the most troublesome guest.”

Fu Yiqing smiled wryly. “I’m the one who disturbed her sleep, but you are certainly not easy to manage.”

Shu Ran looked up in surprise.

Their eyes met, and for a moment they were both still, then they laughed softly.

After finishing the shoe cleaning, Fu Yiqing suggested she take a hot bath to ward off illness.

They didn’t speak of skating again.

For three or four days, they stayed like this. The snow began to melt, the roads cleared, and the time to part came.

They decided to leave early the next morning.

Shu Ran rose at dawn and spent a long time in the kitchen before finally preparing three decent bowls of hot noodle soup.

Just as she was about to serve, Luo Lin’s surprised voice rang out, “Shu Ran is so lucky—Coach Fu is cooking again… Hey, Shu Ran, why are you the one cooking?”

Shu Ran smiled sweetly, a little embarrassed. “You made me Italian pasta, so according to the Chinese tradition of reciprocal hospitality, I should let you try Chinese food. But I only know how to cook noodles, so you’ll have to bear with it.”

Luo Lin eyed the steaming bowls curiously. “It must be delicious.”

Fu Yiqing sat on the sofa for a while, then came over to help.

Luo Lin didn’t know how to use chopsticks, and there were none in the house, so the three ate their noodles with forks.

Luo Lin took a bite, her brows knitting slightly. “It’s… fresh tasting. I’ve never had noodles like this before. But drinking the hot soup warms me all over—I really like it!”

Seeing her enjoyment, Shu Ran finally felt at ease.

After eating, Shu Ran and Fu Yiqing packed their bags and prepared to leave.

Luo Lin took Shu Ran’s hand. “Having you all here made me so happy. If you ever come back to Italy, you must look me up.”

Shu Ran nodded, then wrapped Luo Lin in a tight embrace. “Luo Lin, I have to go now.”

Luo Lin replied softly, “Take care on the road.”

Just as Luo Lin was about to step away, Shu Ran added, “I’m returning to the rink.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Luo Lin’s eyes but was quickly replaced by calm—it was all expected.

Her hands slid from Shu Ran’s shoulders to hold her tightly. “I never understood why such heavy snow suddenly fell here. Now I do.”

Shu Ran looked at Fu Yiqing, bewildered by the sudden change of topic.

Luo Lin’s voice grew serious. “I have always believed this was fate’s design—heaven trapped you in this snowstorm so I could persuade you to return to the ice. Keep fighting, Shu Ran. Once your heart is strong, no hardship can defeat you. I, and all the competitors who have skated alongside you, sincerely wish you victory. Only the championship trophy can truly reward years of hard training.”

Shu Ran felt her nose sting and her throat tighten with emotion.

They spoke different languages and came from different countries, yet on the rink, they shared similar journeys and common dreams.

Because of shared experiences, they understood each other deeply.

To others, they might be rivals, but in their hearts, they were comrades striving side by side.

Sniffling gently on Luo Lin’s shoulder, Shu Ran smiled. “Thank you, Luo Lin.”