Chapter Ninety-Seven: Things Are Not Looking Good

The painkillers did not take effect very quickly. By the time it was Shu Ran’s turn on the ice to warm up, their power had only just begun to stir, and even so the situation remained far from promising.

Ordinarily, athletes who earned Olympic berths through the final qualifying event would not attract much media attention. Shu Ran was different.

With a score of 81.41 in the short program at a Grand Prix event, she had broken the world record. Before that, the women’s short program record had stood untouched for three years. Yet just when everyone had begun to look forward to what this Chinese girl might achieve, she suffered a serious injury, and since then she had been plagued by one setback after another.

Once Shu Ran’s foot healed, it meant she had an excellent chance of contending with the very best.

So while the reporters on site followed the famous names, they were also watching Shu Ran closely.

And at that moment, Shu Ran was locked in a battle with her old skates.

For an ordinary person, a pair of ill-fitting shoes is unbearable even for walking. How much worse, then, for the injured Shu Ran, who had to wear such shoes while executing all manner of difficult movements on the ice?

Thus her first warm-up was poor, so poor it could almost be called dreadful. She barely practiced any jumps; the only jump she attempted, a single toe loop, failed. It was hard to believe this was the same Shu Ran who had once broken the world record.

As a result, some of the media that had been following her gradually turned their eyes to the other skaters on the ice.

Fortunately, after more than ten minutes, the painkillers finally began to work.

The pain slowly ebbed.

Shu Ran seemed reborn at once. Not only had the quality of her skating improved, but the height of her free leg was excellent, her posture exceptionally graceful, and a light, airy single Salchow drew the attention of several reporters back to her.

The official practice session lasted forty minutes. Shu Ran held on until the final minute, performing quite well, and ended the first day’s open practice with a perfect triple lutz.

Many of the reporters who had watched her that day silently thought the same thing: at this Winter Olympics, Shu Ran was not someone to be underestimated.

The next day, Shu Ran took her painkillers before open practice even began, so by the time it was her turn to warm up, the medicine was at full effect.

Her condition was better than yesterday’s, and even seemed to be surpassing what she had shown before.

Seeing this, Fu Yiqing’s expression improved markedly, and a rare smile even appeared on his face.

He only felt a weight settle on his shoulder, and then Qin Liubei, standing beside him, said, “This is Shu Ran’s real level.”

Fu Yiqing’s gaze followed the figure on the ice as though it were a spotlight. “Mm.”

It should have been a happy thing, yet Qin Liubei sighed. “But if Shu Ran performs this well, won’t people suspect she’s taken banned drugs?”

In some major competitions, urine tests are conducted on the top finishers, specifically to check whether an athlete has used prohibited substances.

Even if the final result proves the athlete did not take any banned drugs, fans from other countries who believe the athlete improved too much will still cling to their original view and insist she must have taken painkillers.

There had been cases like this before. One athlete won the championship only to be dragged through the mud by foreign netizens afterward.

“If that were all, it would be fine,” Fu Yiqing said. “If they suspect her, we can still prove her innocence with a test. But if what happened at the qualifying event happens again, then maybe...” All her confidence could collapse in an instant.

Qin Liubei caught the fleeting darkness in his eyes and then nodded in agreement.

Shu Ran was worried about the injury as well, so much so that she was slightly distracted during practice.

But open practice was not true training. Skaters usually did not treat it as they would a normal practice session. To help themselves adapt to the ice before the competition officially began, they would only do some simple basic elements.

So Shu Ran did not increase the difficulty of her movements. After a Biellmann position, she decided to do only a triple Axel to get a feel for things.

Jumping was her specialty.

And yet, in the two days since returning to the rink, she had not practiced that jump at all.

The main reason was that it was the hardest of the six jumps. The other reason was that she had not done it for so long that she feared failure.

But if she did not jump now, then when?

Was she supposed to wait until the free skate four days later to practice a triple Axel?

Clearly impossible.

Shu Ran held her breath, her eyes instantly sharpening as she entered the takeoff steps for the jump.

The reporters outside the rink could see she was preparing for a jump, and all of them turned their attention toward her at once.

Fu Yiqing and Qin Liubei were equally full of anticipation.

A forward jump could only be an Axel.

It was a move that drew everyone’s attention, the only jump that could truly tell the others what Shu Ran’s current level was.

She launched herself upward with all her strength, rotating once in the air, then twice...

The third rotation was slightly unsteady, but her free leg did not touch the ice, and she did not use her hand to steady herself on the ice surface.

Only one thought echoed in everyone’s mind: Shu Ran is back!

Shu Ran’s open practice footage was also spreading on domestic websites. Seeing it, netizens assumed that her foot injury had already healed and excitedly sent her their congratulations.

They also showed how much they were looking forward to this year’s Winter Olympics.

To put it simply, there was only one event still missing.

Pairs skating and men’s singles were rich with talent in our country. Women’s singles, after more than a decade, had finally produced a dazzling bloom as well. Only ice dance remained alone.

Amid the chorus of praise online at home, the reality on Shu Ran’s side was not as easy as the netizens imagined.

Her room was packed with people.

The leg of her right pants was rolled up above the knee. Her knee was swollen and red, seeming even to have traces of blood pooling beneath the skin. As for her ankle, it was a truly horrible sight: the swelling that had already begun to subside was now red and puffy again.

Shu Ran’s brow was furrowed so tightly it seemed it might never relax. Her small face was deathly pale. Even though she was in agony, she still clenched her teeth and asked anxiously, “It should be fine, right?”

The team doctor studied her foot carefully, his expression dark.

“Doctor Li, say something!” Qin Liubei could not help urging.

Dr. Li looked for a while longer before speaking. “The situation is not good. If you want to compete, the ankle will need a pain-blocking injection. The knee has filled with fluid again, though that is easier to handle. We can draw the fluid before she goes on. But the ankle is more difficult, and there is no way she can keep wearing the old skates.”

Shu Ran hurriedly said, “I still have to wear the old skates. Otherwise the competition will have no meaning.”

Dr. Li gave a helpless smile. “Even if I agreed, you still wouldn’t be able to wear the old boots in your current condition.”

Everyone looked down at Shu Ran’s swollen ankle. It had become even more swollen. Before, squeezing it into the skate had been uncomfortable; now, it was no longer a matter of tightness, but of further injuring the foot.

“Even if I have to force it, I’ll force it on,” Shu Ran said, steeling herself. “As long as it doesn’t hurt then, it’s just a matter of being tight.”

Qin Liubei, standing nearby, could not bear it. “Shu Ran...”

But Shu Ran’s attitude was too firm, and he turned to Fu Yiqing for help. “Say something, would you? Have you gone mute?”

Fu Yiqing kept his eyes lowered, lost in thought. He did not react even when he heard Qin Liubei’s words.

Qin Liubei leaned over and grabbed his arm. “Old Fu? Are you deaf?”

Only then did Fu Yiqing finally come back to himself. He immediately asked a sharp question: “How long does the pain-blocking injection last?”

Dr. Li froze, then answered quickly, “Thirty to forty-five minutes. After forty-five minutes, it loses all effect.”

Fu Yiqing’s gaze went straight to Shu Ran. “When the previous group takes the ice, your group will be waiting off the rink. That means the injection has to be given before the waiting period. If each short program lasts two and a half minutes, then by the time it is your group’s turn, fifteen minutes will already have passed. If you—”

If Fu Yiqing’s earlier words had left the others somewhat bewildered, the numbers that followed immediately made the point clear.

Shu Ran jumped in at once. “Even if I draw the last spot in my group, only thirty minutes will have passed. The injection can last as long as forty-five minutes. That’s enough!”

Dr. Li cut in. “I should interrupt here... The period during which the injection fully blocks pain is thirty minutes. From thirty to forty-five minutes, its effect gradually fades. In other words, during that time the pain will slowly become more noticeable, and the pressure on the foot during the program will be greater. If the skate is too tight, the pain will be magnified as well.”

“What about the free skate?”

Fu Yiqing’s five words plunged the room into deathly silence.

A women’s free skate lasts under four minutes per skater, which means one group takes nearly twenty-four minutes.

Qin Liubei, suddenly enlightened, began his favorite data analysis. “If you draw the last spot in your group—no, even if you draw the second-to-last spot, by then the medicine will already be wearing off. If you’re the last to skate, the effect of the injection will have completely disappeared. What will you do then?”

Dr. Li interrupted once more. “I should add one more thing: after about thirty-five minutes, the pain will intensify. Unlike arm strength in ball sports, when you skate, your entire body weight is borne by your feet. If you do a lifting-leg movement, your right foot will suffer even more. And if you add jumps, the force pressing down on your right foot will be beyond what you can estimate.”

After thinking in silence for a moment, Shu Ran still held her ground. “No matter what you say, I have to compete.”

In the end, things ended on bad terms.

Shu Ran sent everyone out and said she wanted to rest properly. The room grew quiet again.

All at once, she felt like having a good cry, and then sensed the faint vibration of the mattress near the edge of the bed.

She had not even looked up, yet she could guess who it was.

Shu Ran frowned unhappily, her voice muffled. “I just want to be alone for a while.”

Fu Yiqing said, “And then? Let you keep being stubborn on your own?”

Shu Ran fell silent.

Fu Yiqing looked at the wound that had just been treated, frowning slightly. “I’m not trying to make you give up. I just want you to change back into the new skates.”

“You might as well just tell me to give up.”

The negotiation deadlocked.

After a moment, a resentful voice, half smothered by the blanket, sounded out, especially clear in the quiet room.

“Were you doing this on purpose? Using this method to force me to withdraw?”

Though it was only a guess, there was no rising inflection of doubt in her words or tone at all.

Fu Yiqing was suddenly amused. He shook his head and helplessly patted the back of her head. “The short program is on New Year’s Eve back home. Do your best.”

Shu Ran’s heart stirred, and she knew this meant Fu Yiqing had yielded.

She hurriedly turned around, her face bright with a smile. “Okay!”

Her childlike reaction left Fu Yiqing without any recourse. He let out a long sigh, hiding the faint unease in his heart. “Your parents will be there too, cheering for you. Don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, you have to tell me. I’ll always be there.”

A trace of emotion entered Shu Ran’s otherwise serious expression, and she nodded hard. “I understand.”

“You don’t,” he said. He knew her too well. In this moment she understood, but when it came time to choose between health and results, she would resolutely choose the latter.

Shu Ran said, “No, I do understand.”

Fu Yiqing countered again.

And so the two of them stubbornly locked horns.

In the end, Shu Ran’s persistence won a temporary victory.