Chapter Fifty-Five: Forced Official Pairing

Shuran walked outside, unaware that someone was calling her from behind. She was just about to get into her car and leave when she suddenly realized.

"Jozen."

It was the romanized pronunciation of her name, and only then did Shuran understand that she was being called.

Turning around, she was taken aback once again.

Samantha.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you," Shuran said. "Is there something..."

"I don't think your performance was any better than mine today."

Samantha's English was not fluent, but her meaning was clear enough that Shuran was momentarily stunned, thinking she had misheard.

"What?"

"I couldn't see any trace of love for figure skating in your performance, so I can't recognize you as the champion." Samantha's expression was serious, her eyes devoid of mockery or doubt—she spoke more like a neutral observer offering her critique.

While Shuran was still in a daze, Samantha had already left.

Fu Yiqing, seeing Shuran still standing there, walked over with concern. "What happened? What did she say to you?"

Frowning, Shuran pondered Samantha's words for a long moment before shaking her head. "It's nothing. Let's go back. I'm tired."

A photo of Qin Liubei and Fu Yiqing hugging in front of the cameras was captured by a photographer at the scene and posted on Weibo. Shuran stood out in the picture, raising her arm as if wanting a hug, only for Qin Liubei to beat her to it. The smile in her eyes froze, her slightly furrowed brows expressing confusion at what she was witnessing.

The internet exploded with heated debate.

"Shuran: What's happening here? I won the championship, so why are those two hugging?"

"Even through the screen, you can feel Shuran's bewilderment. She perfectly embodies the figure skating version of 'Who am I? Where am I?'"

"This is hilarious. Has no one noticed that both coaches are handsome? Is there a new beauty standard for coaches now?"

"Shuran is just awesome—she broke the world record yesterday and today defeated last Winter Olympics' champion. So, I've decided to stan—her coach."

By the time Shuran saw the post, it was already the next morning. She had only just retrieved her phone from Fu Yiqing the night before and forgotten to set it to silent, so the buzzing woke her early.

She rubbed her eyes and couldn't help but laugh at what she saw.

Wu Xincheng had already reposted her Weibo, prompting Shuran to do the same.

@Shuran_ice: "Clearly this was supposed to be a story about three people, yet I don't even deserve a name //@WuXincheng: Shuran's coach is too much, what do you all think? I've decided to become her coach's fan and think about him every day so he'll keep sneezing //@SportsNews: Shuran wins the Russian leg of the Grand Prix! Congratulations, Shuran! [Bewildered Shuran meme]"

Many casual viewers were charmed by Shuran's attitude, and over the past few days her followers increased by 400,000, with the number still climbing.

Wu Xincheng's post soon drew in the notorious troublemaker Zhu Hongzhe.

@ZhuHongzhe: "What's your take? @Shen Yu"

Netizens had a field day, leaving comments under Zhu Hongzhe's post.

"Who would've thought, turns out you're a 'Speechless CP' shipper too?"

"How naive, obviously Wu Xincheng and Shen Yu are a well-known couple in their skating team, or why else would Zhu Hongzhe post this?"

"No, you're the naive one. Let me explain: Zhu Hongzhe, 20, nicknamed the Grandmaster of Mischief. Loves stirring up drama, not just for others but himself too. The media don't even need to set traps when interviewing him—he digs his own holes and even comes up with the day's headlines for them. He's a real wolf in sheep's clothing."

"I'm dying, does Shuran really not deserve a name?"

Of course, Shuran saw these comments too, since Wu Xincheng had already pulled her into the group chat, making five of them in total—a perfect odd number.

Wu Xincheng posted screenshots of the comments in real time, one of which read: "Everyone else has a CP; Wu Xincheng has Shen Yu, Zhu Hongzhe has Chen Lecheng, even her coach has another coach for company. Only she's left all alone, so she just focuses on skating and casually wins a championship to keep warm."

At last, the usually silent Chen Lecheng couldn't hold back.

Chen Lecheng: "Let me just say, what does it mean Zhu Hongzhe has me? Did anyone ask me? I object to this marriage."

Zhu Hongzhe: "I object too—I don't think he's good enough for me."

Chen Lecheng: "@ZhuHongzhe, you round up to 1.8 meters tall, what do you mean, you look down on me?"

Shuran: "Front row seat to watch the couple bicker."

Shuran, sitting in the hotel restaurant downstairs, had just sent her reply when Qin Liubei called her over to choose breakfast.

But Fu Yiqing had already picked out her food. "Sit down and eat."

Seeing Shuran already eating, Qin Liubei shot them both a look of disdain and brought his tray over. "Old Fu, what's with you? You only got food for the two of you and not me?"

Unfazed, Fu Yiqing replied, "As her coach, it's my business to know what she should and shouldn't eat."

Qin Liubei could only sigh, pointing at him. "Fine, you win."

Suddenly Shuran's phone lit up, and Fu Yiqing instinctively glanced at the screen, catching a line of text.

Wu Xincheng: "So now both of Shuran's coaches have been forcibly shipped as a couple. What do they have to say?"

Shuran smiled and opened the message, typing: "My coaches are bickering again. Seems every male-male CP..."

She suddenly paused, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.

She felt someone's gaze on her.

Turning her head, she found Fu Yiqing staring at her intently. Her heart skipped a beat, and in her nervousness, she tried to close the chat window—but it was too late.

Fu Yiqing's lips parted, his tone unreadable. "He and I—shipped as a couple?"

Shuran gave an awkward laugh. "That wasn't me."

Qin Liubei hadn't noticed their exchange but was aware of the online buzz. He grinned. "Oh, that business? Little Goldfish just told me she wanted to post a clarification to assert her status as the official partner."

Fu Yiqing: "You think that's funny?"

Qin Liubei's smile faltered. "Old Fu, you can't be taking this seriously, can you?"

Fu Yiqing said nothing.

Just as Shuran and Qin Liubei exchanged glances, he suddenly turned to her. "So every male-male CP... what?"

"Ah? Coach Fu, don't misunderstand. They're all just joking. No one really thinks you and Qin Liubei are actually a couple."

Shuran noticed that with her explanation, some of the gloom in Fu Yiqing's eyes faded.

But then he asked, as if determined to startle, "When are you and Xu Jingyu going public?"

Qin Liubei: "Me? Why would I? I'm not a celebrity; even if I did, no one would care."

Fu Yiqing smirked. "Didn't you say you were Shuran's agent?"

"I said it, so it must be true?" Qin Liubei shook his head in exasperation. "Old Fu, you're getting more childish every year."

They thought that would be the end of it.

But the situation soon escalated, and Qin Liubei really did have to go public with his relationship.

That evening was the exhibition skate for this leg of the competition. After morning rehearsals, just as Shuran was still puzzled by Samantha's attitude, she saw Qin Liubei striding over toward them, phone in hand.

"Fu Yiqing!" he shouted. "What have you done?"

Shuran looked at the two, confused, but Fu Yiqing was as calm as ever, as if nothing had happened. For a moment, even Shuran wondered if Qin Liubei had gotten it wrong.

"What happened?" she asked.

Qin Liubei shoved his phone into Shuran's hands. "You tell me, isn't he out of line?"

Shuran took the phone uncertainly. The screen was still on the trending topics page.

#Shuran's Coach#

@OldFu: "If either of us is gay, it definitely isn't me."

"Translation: He's the gay one, I'm straight."

Most of the comments were laughing, but the majority took Fu Yiqing's words as a subtle hint that Qin Liubei was gay.

Qin Liubei fumed, "Now even Little Goldfish suspects I'm gay and she's mad at me. How could I not be angry!"

Shuran was surprised. "She's really upset?"

"Why else would I be so mad? She said if I'm not gay, why am I always with Fu Yiqing?"

Shuran bit her lip. "There's something I've wanted to say..."

Qin Liubei looked at her.

"When we first met, you were really hostile to me. Back then, it was as if you were defending your man—"

She didn't finish, but Qin Liubei's face turned green.

"Fu Yiqing, we're done for two minutes today."

With that, Qin Liubei walked off to call Xu Jingyu and explain himself.

Watching Qin Liubei speak nervously into the phone, Shuran frowned thoughtfully. "Why did you post that, Coach Fu? Now Qin Liubei is really mad."

Fu Yiqing said nothing, simply walking ahead. He didn't even know what he was thinking at the time—he just remembered seeing a comment that said, "Shuran isn't alone, she still has Yuan Cangyu," and he suddenly lost his head.

Of course, Qin Liubei wasn't really angry. As soon as he heard Xu Jingyu laughing on the other end of the call, he realized he had been played, and his anger faded.

So, Qin Liubei posted a Weibo: "Spent ages coaxing my girlfriend, she finally believes I really love her and that's why we're together."

The top comment was eye-catching: "Is your girlfriend a man or a woman?"

Qin Liubei replied: "Want me to block you too? Just like I blocked Fu Yiqing."

Everyone was surprised to learn that Shuran's coach was named Fu Yiqing.

Some of Shuran's fans rushed to Qin Liubei's post to explain, "Calm down, Shuran said our Old Fu is like an old man—he takes things too seriously. When others are joking, he'll believe it, so his clarification post was just him being earnest."

To get back at Fu Yiqing, Qin Liubei tagged both Shuran and Fu Yiqing: "Oh, I see, so it was my misunderstanding."

Seeing this, Fu Yiqing's face darkened even more.

Qin Liubei was clearly calling him old.

When Shuran saw the post, her heart skipped a beat.

Oh no! Her comment about Fu Yiqing being old-fashioned had been exposed.

She quickly glanced at Fu Yiqing, noticing his tightly furrowed brows. She tentatively called, "Coach Fu—"

"You..."

They both paused. Shuran took a step back. "You first."

Fu Yiqing was silent for a moment, then looked up. "Am I really that old?"