Chapter Twenty-Eight: Beyond Calculation

Fu Yiqing remained silent. Shu Ran glanced at Qin Liubei, blinking as she bit into her bun. Though none of the three spoke, each was lost in their own thoughts.

Qin Liubei cleared his throat softly. "Here’s what happened: yesterday, Coach Fu wanted to ask you something. You didn’t answer his messages, so he went upstairs directly. Then he hesitated, afraid he’d disturb Aiphetinia. The woman you saw earlier lives right across from your room. She thought Fu was standing at her door, and..."

Fu Yiqing shot him a look.

Qin Liubei hurriedly changed his tone. "She called the hotel front desk. They checked and confirmed Fu wasn’t suspicious. That’s all."

"So that’s what happened."

Seeing that Shu Ran believed his story, Qin Liubei let out a breath of relief. But then Shu Ran spoke again, this time addressing Fu Yiqing, not him.

"Coach Fu, what did you want to ask me?"

Fu Yiqing looked silently at Qin Liubei, who returned a helpless expression.

"I wanted to ask..." Fu Yiqing thought carefully, maintaining his composure. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Eh?"

His mood now more settled, Fu Yiqing explained, "I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I picked this up at random. Are the buns to your taste?"

Shu Ran, suspecting nothing, replied, "They’re good."

At last, the three found a hotel near the ice rink that had just been vacated. Shu Ran contacted Aiphetinia, told her what happened, and after Aiphetinia expressed regret, they agreed to meet at the Tallinn Cup opening ceremony the next day.

Shu Ran had training that day as usual.

To prevent a repeat of the incident at the French Grand Prix, Fu Yiqing talked through her feelings about both the short program and free skate, had her skate twice in her performance costume, and only then let her train alone with peace of mind.

The next day, they ran through the choreography, fixed minor mistakes, and finished practice early.

Arriving at the rink, Shu Ran was surprised to find Miyagi Mihui there, surrounded by media for interviews.

Only then did Shu Ran realize how fierce the competition was this season at the Tallinn Cup. She’d need even more focus and courage to stand out.

She was walking forward when she heard someone call her name.

Turning, she saw Aiphetinia waving at her from the crowd of reporters, her face unable to hide her delight. She looked ready to run over and chat, but her coach, Kelly, forced a smile and said something to her, so she composed herself and continued her interview.

Qin Liubei observed, "Aiphetinia has swept the junior world championships for three years. She just moved up to seniors this year—her strength isn’t to be underestimated."

Shu Ran nodded her understanding.

After her interview, Aiphetinia came by to greet Shu Ran, then waved goodbye.

With the opening ceremony over, the tense competition began.

No matter how friendly the skaters, everyone kept a polite distance during competitions. There was an unspoken rule: once the contest started, no more socializing. It was to avoid disrupting each other’s training and to prevent any misunderstandings.

The women’s singles field was stacked with talent: European champion Maggie, last year’s Four Continents silver medalist Blanche from Russia, American star Chen Yuqi, and three-time junior world champion Aiphetinia.

In other words, whether Shu Ran could improve on her fifth-place finish at the Warsaw Cup was still in doubt.

The starting order for the short program was chosen by draw: 30 skaters divided into five groups. Shu Ran drew the third group—not the best, but not the worst position either.

Maggie and Aiphetinia would skate in the fourth group, Blanche in the fifth, and Chen Yuqi, the American star, was in Shu Ran’s own group, skating just before her.

Shu Ran’s performance would be directly compared to Chen Yuqi’s—a skater ranked among the world's top ten.

The competition began.

At the Tallinn Cup, the skaters' abilities varied widely. The first two groups faltered, with many falls and poor scores.

Soon it was the third group’s turn.

Chen Yuqi skated first, her performance finally igniting the crowd.

Shu Ran stood on the ice, deliberately avoiding the scoreboard for Chen Yuqi’s short program.

She knew watching would only affect her mood. Besides, the short program scores rarely showed wide gaps between skaters—unless she made a major error, she’d be fine.

When the music from "Resurrection" swelled to its climax, Shu Ran’s combination spins and step sequence dazzled the audience. The delicate spray of ice from her footwork sparkled as if she’d planned it all along.

Chen Yuqi, already off the ice, watched Shu Ran’s silhouette in a daze before breaking into a gentle smile and leaving.

The two and a half minutes of the short program ended quickly. Shu Ran skated off, still in a daze.

Her bewildered gaze met Fu Yiqing’s smiling eyes. They shared a gentle embrace. Fu Yiqing patted her back. "You did really well today."

"Really?"

"Of course," Qin Liubei chimed in, joining in the hug. "I’d say at least sixty points."

Qin Liubei was right. Shu Ran performed flawlessly—a perfect, clean program, scoring 63.15 points.

It was the best result of her career so far.

The short program rarely created large point gaps.

The words she once used to comfort herself now reminded her not to be complacent.

The final short program standings:

First: Maggie

Second: Chen Yuqi

Third: Shu Ran

Fourth: Aiphetinia

...

Shu Ran was satisfied with the result. If her free skate the next day was also clean, she was confident she could outdo her Warsaw Cup performance.

For the free skate, Shu Ran was again in the final group but skating second, right after Maggie.

Maggie’s performance was flawless. Unlike many Asian skaters, foreign skaters were generally less flexible, but Maggie was an exception.

Taking a deep breath, Shu Ran stepped onto the ice while the audience was still immersed in Maggie’s brilliant routine.

This time, Shu Ran didn’t manage a clean skate. On her second combination jump, her free leg touched down early, causing her following jump to be under-rotated—less than three revolutions. Fortunately, in the bonus section later on, she added two triple jumps to recover the lost points.

As she left the ice, before she could say a word, Fu Yiqing enveloped her in a big hug. "Your performance surprised me today."

Shu Ran was taken aback. "Really?"

"Yes," said Fu Yiqing. "Your expressiveness was outstanding. The program component score should be high."

When they sat to wait for the score, the announcer read out her results.

Free skate: 130.28 points. Added to her short program, her total was 193.43.

She was temporarily second, just 6.5 points behind Maggie.

Looking up at the scoreboard, Shu Ran saw Fu Yiqing was right—her high program component score, her artistic expression, had made all the difference.

After the last skater, Chen Yuqi, finished, the final Tallinn Cup standings were clear.

Maggie, who relied on technical merit, took first. Shu Ran was second. Chen Yuqi came third. Aiphetinia was fourth.

As Shu Ran was about to leave, Aiphetinia called out to congratulate her, and even Coach Kelly, usually stern-faced, offered Shu Ran a warm congratulations.

Watching them walk away, Qin Liubei marveled, "That old woman’s ability to switch faces is impressive."

He suddenly grinned, slinging an arm around Shu Ran’s shoulders. "But it means you’ve earned her recognition. You’re about to make your mark."

A hand brushed his arm away. Fu Yiqing, his expression cold, said, "Don’t let your guard down, Shu Ran."

She nodded seriously.

Qin Liubei went to the restroom. Suddenly, Shu Ran remembered her performance costume was still in the dressing room locker and hurried to retrieve it.

Thinking of those TV dramas where the heroine’s costume is slashed, she checked her outfit carefully before breathing a sigh of relief.

She packed her things and, as she closed the dressing room door, turned and met someone’s gaze. She smiled in greeting.

Chen Yuqi extended her hand. "Your performance was excellent."

Shu Ran was pleasantly surprised and shook her hand. "Thank you."

"I look forward to seeing your next competition."

The conversation was formal, but Chen Yuqi’s smile felt genuine, making the exchange seem like a friendly chat.

When Shu Ran emerged, Fu Yiqing asked, "Still have your costume?"

She nodded.

"Let me see." He inspected it thoroughly and, finding no issue, let go of his urge to scold her. "Next time, be more careful. If you can forget your costume, what’s to stop you from forgetting yourself?"

On the way back, Shu Ran told Fu Yiqing and Qin Liubei about bumping into Chen Yuqi.

Fu Yiqing asked, "Did she ask which competition you’re entering next?"

"No."

He fell silent for a while. Qin Liubei raised an eyebrow. "What’s up?"

"This season’s competitions are nearly over. Only the Grand Prix Final, Worlds, and Four Continents remain. Chen Yuqi didn’t qualify for the Grand Prix Final; we only know she’ll be at Worlds. If she said that, it probably means she’s also entering Four Continents."

"So what? She was third this time, and our Shu Ran was second."

Fu Yiqing looked up. "The point is, for even a skater of Chen Yuqi’s caliber to pay attention to Shu Ran and track her competitions means other skaters will start watching Shu Ran’s performances too."

His expression grew stern as he turned to Shu Ran. "If any skater comes up to you and offers you food, be extra cautious. Try not to eat it."

Shu Ran immediately thought of the stories about athletes testing positive for banned substances before competitions. That was clearly what Fu Yiqing meant.

She nodded. "I understand."

The Tallinn Cup point-earning mission was a complete success. Back at the hotel, Shu Ran received a congratulatory call from Head Coach Huo Guang in City B.

These calls usually went to the skater’s coach, but Shu Ran’s case was unique. Neither Fu Yiqing nor Qin Liubei reported directly to Huo Guang, so he could only call Shu Ran.

She took the call while Fu Yiqing and Qin Liubei sat nearby, drinking coffee, their eyes never leaving her.

Qin Liubei asked, "Did you notice?"

Fu Yiqing nodded.

Qin Liubei’s gaze was complicated as he sipped his coffee, warming himself and exhaling a breath of steam. "Who would’ve thought Shu Ran wasn’t just a slacker?"

Not only wasn’t she a slacker—she was a prodigy.

"The competition results this time exceeded my calculations," Qin Liubei said.

Fu Yiqing pondered a moment. "I didn’t expect it either."

He hadn’t expected Shu Ran to be a competition-driven athlete.

The weaker her opponents, the more mistakes she made; the stronger they were, the more she rose to the challenge.

It seemed their plans for this season had missed the mark.