Chapter Fifty-Eight: Better to Seize the Day

The opening ceremony of the GPF would take place tomorrow afternoon. Tonight, they would fly directly to Vancouver to prepare. Thus, the afternoon training session proceeded as usual.

Today, only Shu Ran and Wu Huihui were on Rink 3. Shu Ran had just finished her break and was about to step onto the ice again when Wu Huihui asked, “Senior! You hardly ate anything at lunch and have been training for so long. Aren’t you hungry?”

Fu Yiqing’s hawkish gaze swept over immediately. “You didn’t eat? Why?”

Shu Ran replied, “I wasn’t very hungry then.”

Fu Yiqing’s handsome brows furrowed at once. He pulled out his phone and tapped a few times. “I’ll have Qin Liubei bring something over.”

For an athlete like her, the chances to eat outside were almost nonexistent, let alone order takeout where you couldn’t see the cooking environment. The cafeteria was closed at this hour, so the only option was to have something made fresh. Fu Yiqing was busy, so the errand naturally fell to Qin Liubei.

This wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened. Shu Ran was indeed hungry, so she didn’t protest.

“No need for so much trouble! It’s already here—I’ll go get it.”

With that, Wu Huihui hurried out. Fu Yiqing and Shu Ran exchanged a glance. In about a minute, Wu Huihui returned, holding up a paper bag, squinting as she tried to glimpse the contents through a gap in the bag.

Muttering to herself as she walked, “I wonder what they brought.”

Wu Huihui handed the bag to Shu Ran. “Eat while it’s hot—it won’t be as good once it’s cold.”

Shu Ran opened the wrapping and caught a faint but familiar scent she couldn’t quite place.

Through the transparent lid of the food container, the contents were revealed—porridge.

Wu Huihui was the first to exclaim, “Why is it porridge?”

“Wait.” Fu Yiqing raised a hand to stop Shu Ran from moving further, eyeing the container suspiciously. After examining the exterior and seeing it was just plain porridge, he asked, “Who brought this?”

“It was…” Wu Huihui realized she’d nearly let something slip; the subtle purse of her lips didn’t escape Fu Yiqing’s notice.

Fu Yiqing said, “Wu Huihui, you should know an athlete can’t eat anything of unknown origin, especially when she has a competition tomorrow.”

Wu Huihui replied, “This isn’t something suspicious.”

Fu Yiqing didn’t respond, only studied her intently, waiting for her answer.

He always wore a blank expression, but to those unfamiliar with him, he could be rather intimidating. Even though Wu Huihui had seen Fu Yiqing many times, she always felt a bit cowed in his presence.

Sensing Wu Huihui’s apprehension, Shu Ran tugged lightly at Fu Yiqing’s sleeve, signaling him to go easy on her. But he was steadfast in his principles and unmoved.

At last, Wu Huihui gave in, sighing and confessing everything. “It was Zhu Hongzhe who ordered it. He heard you hadn’t eaten lunch, and his uncle owns a hotel. Half an hour ago, he had his uncle make something and send it over. I just got the message telling me to go pick it up.”

Fu Yiqing remained silent, his sharp gaze as if interrogating a criminal, trying to judge whether Wu Huihui’s words were true.

Wu Huihui wished she could offer her heart as proof, and in her panic, she remembered their chat log.

She quickly pulled up her messages with Zhu Hongzhe. “You can check if you don’t believe me!”

“Zhu Hongzhe and Shu Ran are such good friends—how could he possibly harm her?” Wu Huihui added.

Hearing this final point, Shu Ran felt the odds of being allowed to keep her porridge had dropped even further. Though it really did smell delicious, if Fu Yiqing forbade her from eating it, she wouldn’t object. In both public and private matters, caution was paramount during such sensitive times. Still, Wu Huihui’s reasoning was sound—Zhu Hongzhe would never harm her.

Fu Yiqing nodded. “Eat, then rest for twenty minutes before resuming training.”

Shu Ran was a little surprised, but after considering the tight training schedule, she found his decision reasonable.

Wu Huihui, task complete, hurried onto the ice to resume her practice.

Listening to the sounds of Wu Huihui skating, Shu Ran slowly sipped her porridge. It was fresh and smooth, melting in her mouth and whetting her appetite. It was, without doubt, the best porridge she had ever tasted.

Fu Yiqing stood before her. “Eat slowly.”

“Okay.” Shu Ran licked her lips, her eyes sparkling with joy, her brows arching unconsciously.

In truth, Shu Ran’s expression hardly changed between eating something delicious and eating something mediocre. When the food was good, she looked quietly content; when it was just average, her face remained the same. Only in the extremes—when something was either truly awful or extraordinarily tasty—did she reveal subtle shifts in her demeanor.

Fu Yiqing soon noticed the slight lift at the corners of her eyes.

He raised an eyebrow. “Is what he brought really that good? Even if it’s just… porridge?” His trailing tone suggested a hint of displeasure.

Shu Ran nearly choked, breaking into a fit of coughing. She turned her head, and her hand holding the bowl suddenly felt empty, then her back was gently patted.

Fu Yiqing soothed her, “Honestly, you’re impossible. Is this question really that upsetting?”

Shu Ran turned back. “I’m not upset!”

Her cheeks puffed out, flushed from coughing, making her look irresistibly cute.

Fu Yiqing’s jealousy gradually faded, and his lips curled into a smile. “I was just joking—no need to be so worked up.”

Shu Ran’s tone softened. “It really is delicious. It’s the best porridge I’ve ever had.”

“You haven’t eaten much in your life.”

“No, I mean it! You should try it next time!” Shu Ran’s earnest expression seemed to vouch for her recommendation with all her integrity, her wide eyes speaking on her behalf.

Fu Yiqing glanced at the porridge, his gaze gentle. “Why wait for next time?”

Shu Ran didn’t notice the fleeting mischief in his eyes. She only saw him take her spoon, scoop up some porridge, and bring it to his lips.

The porridge was thick and required little chewing, but Fu Yiqing still withdrew the spoon slowly from his mouth.

He nodded. “Not bad.”

Shu Ran quickly scanned the rink for Wu Huihui; seeing that she hadn’t witnessed this, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her face, now even redder, dropped lower as she tried to look composed, her voice barely above a whisper. “See? Even you think it’s good. That proves I’m right—it really is delicious.”

Fu Yiqing handed the bowl back to her. “Hurry and finish. It’ll get cold soon.”

Shu Ran’s heart thumped wildly, her hands trembling. Worried that Fu Yiqing would notice her embarrassment, she paused for a few seconds to regain her composure.

Fu Yiqing noticed her small gestures, his eyes alight with amusement.

Just then, Wu Huihui skated by and, turning her head, was startled.

Was she seeing things? Did Shu Ran’s coach just smile?

No, it must be her imagination. Or—no, it wasn’t. That was…

Wu Huihui made up her mind. “Of course, it must be Coach Fu’s twin brother.”

She was about to dismiss the “shocking” scene from her mind when Fu Yiqing’s voice suddenly rang out, “Wu Huihui!”

Wu Huihui flinched instinctively, halting her footwork.

She hurried over, noticing that Shu Ran’s expression wasn’t looking too good either. A heavy tension hung over the three of them, the atmosphere somewhat frightening.

Fu Yiqing’s face was steely, as if restraining something. Then, collecting himself, he said to Shu Ran, “Go to the restroom and induce vomiting. The team doctor is already on the way.”

Wu Huihui had never seen Fu Yiqing so angry before. Shu Ran didn’t speak up for her either; instead, after casting a complicated glance her way, she quickly ran toward the restroom.

At the words “induce vomiting,” Wu Huihui guessed most of what had happened.

She was alarmed. “What happened?”

“That’s seafood porridge,” Fu Yiqing replied.

“Huh? What’s wrong with seafood porridge? Wait, wasn’t it just plain porridge?”

Fu Yiqing’s sharp gaze pinned her. “Shu Ran is allergic to seafood.”

Wu Huihui felt a sudden jolt at her temple, stunned for half a second before shouting, “I really didn’t know! It was Zhu Hongzhe who sent—wait.”

Noticing Wu Huihui’s sudden pause, as if something had just occurred to her, Fu Yiqing pressed, “What is it? What did you remember?”

Wu Huihui swallowed, looking up in disbelief, then said, word by word, “This afternoon Shu Ran said—she’s allergic—to seafood.”

Fu Yiqing’s eyes turned even colder, a raging fury burning in their depths.

*

Zhu Hongzhe was scheduled to compete in the GPF tomorrow, but Chen Lecheng was not, so at this time it was just him and Coach Lu Jiang at the rink.

During a break, Zhu Hongzhe went to the restroom. When he came out, he was met with an unexpected sight.

Fu Yiqing’s jet-black eyes locked onto him like searchlights, leaving him nowhere to hide.

Zhu Hongzhe shot his coach a puzzled look. “Coach Lu?”

Lu Jiang clearly didn’t know what was happening either. Though unfamiliar with Fu Yiqing’s background, the fact that even Head Coach Huo Guang treated him with deference meant he was not someone to cross.

Fu Yiqing said, “I have something to ask you.”

There was no hint of negotiation in his tone—this was a command.

Lu Jiang gave Zhu Hongzhe a look, signaling him to behave and go outside.

Zhu Hongzhe followed Fu Yiqing out of the rink, the man’s silhouette ahead of him exuding a dark intensity. “Excuse me, what do you want? I still have to…”

In a flash, Zhu Hongzhe felt his collar yank tight—he was being shoved against the wall.

“Was it you who sent Shu Ran the porridge?”

The man’s menacing glare caught him off guard. For a moment, Zhu Hongzhe was stunned. “Uh, yes, so what?”

“You’re so strict with her—it’s just a bowl of porridge… Wait—porridge?”

Fu Yiqing sensed something amiss and frowned. “What is it?”

“That’s strange. I told my uncle to send over some food, how did it end up as porridge?”

“You’re sure you asked your uncle to send food, not porridge?” Fu Yiqing’s grip loosened slightly.

Zhu Hongzhe had always been a golden boy, never treated like this by anyone, much less by Shu Ran’s coach. The physical intimidation stung his pride.

“Let go first!”

Fu Yiqing stared at him for a moment, then released his grip.

Zhu Hongzhe straightened his collar. “It was seafood porridge.”

“What?”

Zhu Hongzhe looked up, bewildered, and Shu Ran’s gentle face flashed through his mind.

—I’m allergic to seafood.

His pupils constricted and he drew in a sharp breath.