Chapter Eighty-Six: The "Holiday" Life

Fu Yiqing smiled faintly, saying nothing, and sat down beside her, naturally taking her leg to massage her calf and foot. Shu Ran was caught off guard and instinctively drew her foot back.

Fu Yiqing spoke calmly, “What did the doctor say?”

“Hm?” She didn’t react at first.

“Massage.”

Shu Ran frowned lightly, “I’d better do it myself.”

Fu Yiqing questioned, “Do you know how?”

She shook her head, “Do you?”

Unexpectedly, Fu Yiqing nodded, “I do.”

As he spoke, as if he’d been officially certified, he held her foot and placed it on his leg.

“This isn’t really appropriate. What if someone sees us…”

“Right now, your task is to recover as quickly as possible so the situation will be more favorable for us. And my task…” Fu Yiqing interrupted her, his gaze sincere and clear, then bowed his head and began massaging her calf with earnest care, “is to help you recover quickly.”

Compared to Fu Yiqing’s straightforwardness, Shu Ran suddenly felt her own thoughts were not so pure, and her embarrassment vanished completely.

Her heart settled, and she watched his beautiful hand on her calf with undivided attention.

His fingers were well-defined, gently kneading her muscles.

From the front of her calf to the underside, bit by bit, his movements were gentle, the pressure just right.

Curious, Shu Ran asked, “When did you learn to massage?”

He didn’t look up. “A few days ago.”

“You learned so quickly?” Shu Ran was surprised. “Is it true that successful people succeed at everything?”

Fu Yiqing laughed softly, “Not really. If you count strictly, I started looking into it after the last GPF.”

She clicked her tongue, stunned into silence.

When he didn’t hear her speak, Fu Yiqing guessed what she might be thinking. Looking up, he saw her heavy expression and knew he’d guessed right, so his smile widened, his voice gentle, “Let go of your guilt. Recover quickly so everyone won’t worry about you. You know, the whole country is concerned about your condition now.”

His words amused Shu Ran, and she put her guilt aside, unable to resist smiling, “I know.”

He raised his hand, pretending to lightly scrape her nose, but stopped a millimeter short.

They locked eyes for a second, then he laughed softly and withdrew his hand. “I haven’t washed my hands yet. I’m afraid you’ll dislike it.”

His fingertips weren’t as smooth as his palms; the pads were a bit rough, rubbing against her skin, warmth spreading from the touch into her body—and her heart.

Shu Ran stared at him in a daze for a long time.

Aunt Zhang, carrying a plate of sliced fruit to the living room, paused in the kitchen doorway, witnessing the scene.

The early spring sunlight was still as gentle as winter’s rays, streaming in by the window, enveloping the girl in warmth like a soft filter. The man massaging her was touched by the golden light only on the side facing her, his back still shrouded in the dimness of the room, as if his tenderness blossomed only for her.

Shu Ran’s arrival had revealed a side of Mr. Fu that Aunt Zhang had never seen.

She glanced at the fruit plate, pondered for a moment, then turned back into the kitchen.

Fu Yiqing didn’t want Shu Ran to spend all day in the villa, so he tried to persuade her to go out, but all his efforts failed.

In the end, it was Qin Liubei’s words that changed Shu Ran’s mind.

Thus, the four of them set out for the nearby park.

The three of them, plus Xu Jingyu.

The park wasn’t far, so they walked.

Since Shu Ran had just had her cast removed and couldn’t walk much, she sat in a wheelchair with Fu Yiqing pushing her.

Qin Liubei, impatient with their slow pace, doubled back to walk with them, asking, “Shu Ran, why won’t you come out? Are you becoming a recluse while recovering?”

Shu Ran sighed, “It wouldn’t be good if reporters took photos.”

Qin Liubei laughed, “You overestimate your own popularity. Before the Olympic qualifying tournament starts, you couldn’t trend even if you tried.”

Xu Jingyu agreed, “Qin Liubei usually talks nonsense, but he’s right this time. Your recent popularity has faded, and your situation isn’t explosive news. Even if someone takes photos, it won’t cause much stir.”

Shu Ran replied, “Then I can relax.”

She finally broke into a broad smile, greedily savoring a ‘holiday’ life she hadn’t enjoyed in ages.

She hadn’t expected, however, that a few days later she’d still end up trending.

#ShuRanLiangYue#

@EntertainmentInsider: “Liang Yue, the national figure skating team’s ladies’ singles skater, once hinted at retirement in a post. Before Shu Ran’s rise, she was the top ladies’ singles skater. Shu Ran’s ascent replaced Liang Yue as the ‘top skater,’ and Liang Yue’s earlier posts suggested her retirement was caused by someone else. Some say her relationship with Shu Ran is hostile. Is ‘someone’ referring to Shu Ran? Now that Shu Ran is injured, will Liang Yue reconsider and reclaim her ‘top skater’ status?”

“Is the blogger out of their mind? Deliberately stirring trouble?”

“As a Liang Yue fan, I must say, Liang Yue only said she wouldn’t compete due to health issues, not that she’s retiring. She and Shu Ran are on the same team—who told the blogger they’re enemies?”

“I don’t think the blogger is making trouble. I just saw Liang Yue’s old posts, and they do hint her retirement was due to someone. She’s previously expressed dissatisfaction with teammates, so that ‘someone’ must be Shu Ran.”

“The two posts above are probably paid trolls. Shu Ran used to be at the bottom of the team rankings—if she could push Liang Yue out, she would’ve done it when she first joined the national team, not now.”

“Looks like Liang Yue wants to be famous, case closed.”

The trending topic about Shu Ran and Liang Yue quickly rose to the top spots. Qin Liubei nearly choked on his own saliva when he saw it.

He sat upright on the sofa and looked at Shu Ran on the yoga mat, “Looks like I underestimated your popularity.”

The other three glanced at him in confusion, then read the content.

Shu Ran fell silent.

Qin Liubei couldn’t help but laugh, “What do you think? Should I help you clarify?”

Shu Ran lowered her right leg, half-crossing it, “No need. I just want to heal quickly and get back on the ice.” Only after being injured did she realize that negative news online was nothing compared to the regret of being unable to perform despite having the will.

Moreover, the netizens were quite understanding; most comments under the post were rational, helping her explain things.

Qin Liubei wanted to ask more, but Fu Yiqing called him into the study to look for a book.

Qin Liubei followed him in. “What book?”

“Who do you think posted that topic?”

Qin Liubei realized the book was just a pretext. “Maybe a marketing account, maybe Liang Yue herself.”

Seeing Fu Yiqing didn’t respond, Qin Liubei frowned, “Tell me, besides them, is there a third possibility?”

“It’s not impossible.”

Qin Liubei grew curious, sat on the tatami in the study, shook a cigarette from its pack, held it in his mouth, crossed his arms, and waited for Fu Yiqing’s analysis.

Before he could light it, the cigarette was taken away.

“Hey!”

“Smoking is bad for your health.”

Qin Liubei was suddenly touched, “Old Fu, you…”

You actually care about your friends?

Before he could finish, Fu Yiqing continued, “If you must smoke, don’t do it in my house.”

“…"

Luckily, Qin Liubei was used to Fu Yiqing’s sharp tongue. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then said, “So the third possibility is someone afraid Shu Ran will recover her strength after healing?”

Fu Yiqing didn’t refute, “That’s possible.”

Qin Liubei said, “If that’s the case, it must be someone from another country—maybe spies in China with a new task.”

Their purpose, as Qin Liubei had previously explained to Xu Jingyu and Shu Ran: spies trying to eliminate threats to their own athletes by deliberately spreading rumors to affect Shu Ran’s mood.

“Perhaps,” Fu Yiqing said. “Shu Ran hasn’t fully recovered yet. We’ll have to be more careful in the future.”

Qin Liubei added, “Looks like Shu Ran’s concerns aren’t unfounded.”

Fu Yiqing nodded.

Thanks to the rational netizens, the topic didn’t spark a flame war; instead, Liang Yue gained some popularity. Unable to compete, she took on several variety show gigs, performed figure skating on air, and her special entrance drew more fans.

But Shu Ran’s recovery was not going as smoothly as hoped.

Her leg muscles had indeed atrophied, but thanks to Fu Yiqing’s persistence in massaging her for several days, things weren’t as severe as right after the cast was removed.

Shu Ran’s grandfather was improving, but Shao Anhong was worried both about her daughter and her father. She finally compromised, letting Shu Yutian stay to care for her elderly father while she returned to City B to look after Shu Ran.

Thus, the massages were handed over to Shao Anhong.

After a month, Shu Ran could finally walk normally, though she was still a bit unsteady. A month of rest and practice gradually restored her walking to normal.

She could walk, but still couldn’t return to training. In July, Shu Ran began some simple exercises.

After a month of training, she and Fu Yiqing nervously went to the hospital for a follow-up.

Dr. He, his reading glasses perched on his nose, held the test results far away and studied them for a long time without speaking.

Shu Ran had seen this before—only bad news seemed to come after a long silence. Her mood worsened.

But Fu Yiqing gently placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezed it, drawing her attention to him, and gave her a reassuring look.

Meeting his relaxing smile, her brows eased.

Dr. He said, “Your metatarsal and knee have recovered well—you can start basic training!”

The heart that had been tightly clenched finally found relief. Thinking of the past four months of endurance, Shu Ran’s eyes grew hot, a sense of release washing over her.

Though her recovery was good, the situation was still grim.

August was approaching, and this month, Shu Ran could only do basic training. The Olympic qualifying tournament was scheduled for mid-September.

This meant she had less than a month to fully resume training.

Even though she’d run countless mental simulations of her revised routines over the past four months, memorizing every move, this remained a significant challenge for Shu Ran.

She seemed to hear a gentle, soothing voice in her ear.

She turned to look at Fu Yiqing.

He smiled softly, his slightly callused fingertip pinching her cheek, breaking her heavy expression. “Trust me, and trust yourself.”

She paused, then nodded firmly. “Alright.” Her voice was sweet, like the subtle fragrance of cotton candy melting in the warm spring breeze.