Figure Skating: Waltz on Ice

"Is this your reason for not wanting to continue living? No matter how hard you try or how outstanding you are, you can't get your parents' attention and you're not valued?"

Looking at the person in the mirror, Du Liangchen seemed to see the real Du Liangchen, training desperately to gain his parents' attention, so outstanding yet still unable to receive a single word of concern or greeting from them. Finally, he collapsed on the ice and never woke up again.

"Bang bang~"

"Xiao Chen, open the door, Grandpa brought your clothes over."

Grandpa Du's knocking brought Du Liangchen back to reality from his reverie.

After a quick rinse, the three decided to go out for dinner.

Then the phone rang.

"Xiao Chen is the phone number for the school."

Du Liangchen took the phone.

"Hello~"

"Rui~ I finally got through to you on the phone, where are you now?"

Hao Shuxue's excited voice came through the phone to Du Liangchen's ears.

"I'm at the hotel, about to go out for dinner. Have you left yet?"

"We just got off the bus and are checking in now. We'll see each other tomorrow. It's been almost a year since we last saw each other, and Meijing and I have missed you so much."

Hao Shuxue's nauseatingly sycophantic manner of speaking prompted Mei Jing, who was standing to the side, to finally utter a complaint:

"Can't you speak properly? It's disgusting."

"Hahaha~"

Hearing the familiar tone of their voices, Du Liangchen burst into laughter on the other end of the phone.

After saying a few more words, Mei Jing and the others were going back to their rooms to settle in when the call ended.

Tian Zhixi didn't show up for dinner either. Grandma Du said she wasn't finished with her work and wouldn't come over.

Du Liangchen thought he wouldn't be able to sleep that night, but to his surprise, he slept soundly without any dreams and rested very well.

In the morning, Du Liangchen and his grandfather did morning exercises together, and after breakfast, they set off for the competition venue.

As soon as he got off the car, Du Liangchen pulled his suitcase through the gate, and after signing in and being checked, he went inside.

Follow the staff's instructions to reach the area designated for the participants to train and warm up.

"Hao Shuxue, Mei Jing." Du Liangchen spotted the two conspicuous figures wearing national team uniforms with the national flag.

"Siri~"

Hao Shuxue and Mei Jing turned around when they heard someone call their names. Hao Shuxue then excitedly greeted Du Liangchen.

Mei Jing is introverted and usually doesn't talk much. She usually just nods in response to people. She was also very happy to see Du Liangchen this time and waved to him with a smile.

Du Liangchen saw the national team coach looking at him because of his shouts, and gave him an awkward smile.

Seeing everyone warming up, Du Liangchen found a corner, took off his jacket, and did some simple warm-ups in his sportswear. He then asked Grandpa Du, who had accompanied him, to keep his ice skates and water bottle safe.

Du Liangchen warmed up his joints by rotating them to make sure he wouldn't cramp, then began to bend his legs, arms, and lower back to relax his whole body. This year and a half of dance training has been incredibly rewarding, greatly improving his flexibility.

Du Liangchen was focused on warming up when he heard people around him whispering.

Wow~ How did he do that?

[This leg is so flexible! It can bend like that!]

Wow, that's amazing...

……

Du Liangchen glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye and noticed that everyone in the area, whether they were fellow contestants or coaches, was watching him intentionally or unintentionally.

Du Liangchen felt the pressure increase, so he stopped warming up when he felt his body was no longer stiff. He then watched the video of the short program he was going to skate and practiced it in his mind.