Chapter Eighty-Three: More Than Just a Game

Shu Ran believed in Fu Yiqing’s abilities, but she also understood her parents’ feelings. It was precisely because they loved her that they could not allow her to ruin herself. Who would win this invisible war, no one knew.

Xu Jingyu helped Shu Ran to the restroom and casually mentioned that Fu Yiqing had taken Shu Ran’s parents away. “Do you think your coach can handle it?”

Shu Ran shook her head. “But I’m willing to trust him.”

“That’s a contradiction.”

Shu Ran only smiled at that. “Perhaps.”

Just as when she once faced so many elite athletes, from her initial hopelessness to eventually shining with a halo, only Fu Yiqing was willing to believe in her.

Meanwhile.

The car drove farther and farther away. This unfamiliar city gave Shao Anhong no sense of security. Her only connection to it was Shu Ran, and now that Shu Ran had encountered trouble, she had lost all affection for City B as well.

Restless, she looked around anxiously. “Coach Fu, where exactly are you taking us? Without us by Ran Ran’s side, there’s no one to care for her.”

Shu Yutian frowned. “Settle down.”

Shao Anhong was about to retort, but Fu Yiqing spoke, “Xu Jingyu is with Shu Ran. You can rest assured.”

Shu Yutian said, “Did you hear that? With Jingyu there, what are you still worried about?”

Shao Anhong felt a little embarrassed and turned her face, ignoring her husband.

The car stopped in front of an ice rink. The couple looked at the enormous building in confusion.

Shu Yutian asked, “Coach Fu, is this... an ice rink?”

Fu Yiqing nodded. “This is the national team’s training rink. Let’s go in.”

Fu Yiqing had already arranged everything with the team, and he led them smoothly to watch the official athletes training.

Although the World Championships had ended, the National Figure Skating Championships were coming up next month, so Wu Huihui and others were still training.

“They... also competed in the World Championships,” Shu Yutian immediately recognized Wu Huihui and Jiang Wanru as participants in the recent event.

Fu Yiqing nodded, “They are Shu Ran’s seniors and juniors. One is twenty-three, the other nineteen. In this field, that’s no longer considered young.”

Shao Anhong couldn’t help but furrow her brow, muttering to herself, “So young and already not considered young. Then is Ran Ran old, too?”

Fu Yiqing replied, “The last Winter Olympic champion was only sixteen when she won.”

The Shu couple exchanged glances, and both took a deep breath, their eyes filled with astonishment.

Fu Yiqing led them around the rink.

During their walk, Wu Huihui and Jiang Wanru fell countless times, each fall making the couple’s hearts jump to their throats.

“They keep falling. Why don’t they take a break?” Shao Anhong seemed a little impatient, but her gaze was filled with concern.

Fu Yiqing explained, “Only through falling can their bodies better remember the balance point needed for success next time, which reduces future falls.”

Shao Anhong said no more, but her worried eyes kept drifting back to the ice.

As they reached the exit, Wu Huihui happened to skate out.

Upon seeing Fu Yiqing, Wu Huihui’s tired expression tightened instantly. She urgently asked, “Coach Fu, how is Senior Sister? Everyone is worried about her. Is she really going to participate in the Olympic qualification?”

Fu Yiqing replied, “The situation is still optimistic. No need to worry.”

At his words, Shao Anhong frowned, about to inquire, but her husband tugged at her sleeve, giving her a look and shaking his head.

She had to hold back.

Wu Huihui breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the Shu couple, assuming they were Fu Yiqing’s parents, and greeted them. “Coach, please persuade her more.”

Hearing the word “persuade,” Shao Anhong’s gaze softened considerably towards Wu Huihui. The smile hadn’t lasted long before Wu Huihui continued, “She shouldn’t feel too much pressure. We all believe she can do it. If there’s anything I can help with, please contact me.”

Fu Yiqing replied, “Alright.”

After bidding Wu Huihui farewell, Fu Yiqing took them to watch more training.

On the ice, people came and went. A dazzling performance was always the result of thousands upon thousands of practice sessions. Every successful jump had once caused aching pain from repeated falls.

Night had fallen, and Shao Anhong’s heart was still at the hospital. She finally couldn’t sit still.

“Coach Fu, if there’s nothing more, I’d like to go back now. Old Shu, you stay here. I’ll return to the hospital and keep Ran Ran company.”

Shu Yutian got up to leave as well.

“Just follow me to one more place.”

The two paused, turned to look at him.

Fu Yiqing’s eyes were full of earnest pleading. “In half an hour, I’ll take you back to the hospital.”

In their exchanged glances, the answer was already clear.

Ten minutes later, Fu Yiqing drove them to another location.

“This is the most ordinary ice rink in City B,” he said.

Shu Yutian frowned, unable to help but ask, “Coach Fu, what do you mean by this?”

Because of Shu Ran, Shao Anhong had long forgotten the saying “leave room for future encounters.” She spoke bluntly, “So you didn’t help us persuade Ran Ran yesterday, and now you’re trying to help her persuade us?”

Fu Yiqing said, “You have twenty minutes. If after twenty minutes you still feel the same, I won’t interfere anymore.”

Shao Anhong lowered her gaze in thought, and Shu Yutian half-pushed, half-pulled her into the ice rink.

It was a holiday, and many children were playing on the ice.

There were also some athletes without proper training facilities. The rink was divided in two: athletes on the right, children playing on the left.

Fu Yiqing explained to the couple, “These are local athletes who couldn’t make it to the national team. Without independent training venues, they share the rink with hobbyists. Coach Zhu said this was how Shu Ran trained when she was on the local team.”

Shu Yutian pondered deeply.

Standing by the entrance, a five-year-old child skated past them, barely able to walk steadily, his trembling legs ready to fall at any moment.

Sure enough, he fell, sprawled on the ground for a while, but didn’t cry.

Shao Anhong instinctively widened her eyes and was about to help, but Fu Yiqing was quicker, picking the child up and brushing the ice from his pants.

Beside them, the child’s mother thanked Fu Yiqing as she took her son. “Sweetheart, why not stop playing?”

The child replied in a childish voice, “This isn’t playing, Mom. I want to be an athlete and bring glory to our country!”

His words were childish but his face was earnest, insisting, “It’s not playing.”

The mother hesitated, “But you’ve fallen so many times. Doesn’t it hurt?”

The child answered seriously, “It hurts, but I like skating.”

“What if you fall and can’t walk?”

The child thought for a moment, “We’ll deal with that when it happens.”

Though the mother was reluctant, she let go, worriedly following behind in case he fell again.

Fu Yiqing returned to them. Shu Yutian’s gaze followed the small, stubborn figure like a spotlight. “Ran Ran was just like this as a child. She’d fall hard but not shed a single tear. Tell her to stop skating and she’d cry instead. She really loves skating.”

Shao Anhong’s gaze drifted away, then suddenly she said, “Time’s up. You can take us back now.”

Fu Yiqing replied, “One more minute.”

Shao Anhong suddenly raised a fierce gaze. “I see through you. You’re not thinking about Ran Ran at all. You just want her to win the world championship so you, as her coach, can make a name for yourself! Even if she loses her leg, you wouldn’t care! What are you doing now—finding an actor to put on a show, trying to soften us so we’ll let her compete? I tell you, it’s impossible. As long as she’s my daughter, I’ll never allow her to hurt herself like this!”

With those words, Shao Anhong gave Fu Yiqing no chance to persuade her further and strode quickly toward the exit.

Suddenly, everything went dark.

All the lights in the shopping mall went out.

Shao Anhong froze. Then came a voice over the mall’s broadcast: “Shu Ran, I’ve told you several times, that move isn’t right.”

The tone was harsh and cold, utterly unlike the usual gentle Zhu Xinhui.

The path ahead was lit at last, the light coming from the ice rink.

Mechanically, she turned, and saw a huge screen slowly descending onto the rink.

Images flickered vividly.

A stubborn, youthful face from her memories appeared on the projection.

The whistling wind filled everyone’s ears. That figure wavered, tears spinning in her eyes, but she held them back and continued skating.

Countless falls, the exact number impossible to tell, and time passed unnoticed as she grew up on the ice.

Shao Anhong numbly followed the images back toward the rink.

Shu Yutian’s gaze remained fixed on the projection.

The little girl from memory had grown into her present self—obedient and quiet, but on the ice she was confident and dazzling, the brightest star.

The screen rose, the scene shifting to the rink.

A figure appeared, skating with skill and expressive emotion.

It was Shu Ran!

Shao Anhong blinked hard, doubting her own eyes. When she realized, she understood that the figure on the ice was a “holographic projection.”

As the applause faded, Shu Ran on the ice resumed her daily training.

Across the broadcast came Fu Yiqing’s voice, “Shu Ran, that’s enough.”

But Shu Ran continued, clearly not in good form, falling countless times, each time getting up to skate again. Even when Fu Yiqing told her to rest, she persisted.

Shao Anhong’s vision was blurred by tears. She wanted to shout along: That’s enough, Ran Ran.

Shu Yutian kept his face lowered, his expression unreadable.

At last, Shu Ran, evidently exhausted from pain, skated from the center of the rink to the exit.

Shao Anhong reached out, but the image vanished, her hand grasping only emptiness.

Fu Yiqing said, “This is only the tip of the iceberg of Shu Ran’s usual training. She falls far more often than you’ve seen. When she’s in her worst state, she finishes the day covered in bruises.”

Shu Yutian glanced at him, the dim light concealing his reddened eyes.

Fu Yiqing continued, “If possible, I’d hope she could cherish her body, too. But yesterday she told me, even if she loses a leg, she’ll compete. Perhaps I don’t truly understand her. I hope after what you’ve seen today, you understand her a little more. This is Shu Ran’s resolve, not mine. I only chose to compromise.”

Shu Yutian choked back his tears. “Alright.”

“No!” Shao Anhong still insisted, “Her life isn’t just skating. She needs to marry, and if anything happens, no one—”

“I will be responsible for her.” Fu Yiqing interrupted her directly.

The couple looked back in astonishment. “You...”

A faint smile touched Fu Yiqing’s eyes. “So you’re not the only ones who care about her deeply.”