Figure Skating: Waltz on Ice

As the music of "Riverdance" filled the venue, Du Liangchen began to tap dance on the ice.

The music was stirring and powerful, and Du Liangchen moved freely on the ice, performing squats, turns, jumps, and even somersaults with great skill.

As the music stopped, Du Liangchen also struck a pose to mark the end.

The eleven jumps were executed exceptionally well, and the entire performance concluded cleanly.

He achieved the highest technical score in the National Championships, and then performed a triple Lutz followed by a double Axel, and then another double Axel in a high-level combination jump.

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause, and the way everyone looked at him changed.

Coach Liu and Grandpa Du waited at the barrier.

Coach Liu looked at Du Liangchen, his eyes narrowing with joy, and said excitedly, "You did a fantastic job! You actually cleaned it! Remember that feeling, and keep doing it like that from now on."

Grandpa Du handed the knife sheath to Du Liangchen, then draped a coat over him to keep him warm.

"Xiao Chen is very capable."

Coach Liu and Du Liangchen waited for the score. When they saw the score of 74.73, Du Liangchen excitedly clenched his hands.

However, the overall score was a bit low, since the performance score of 35.84 was not high.

"It's okay, you've done your best," Coach Liu said, patting Du Liangchen on the shoulder.

Du Liangchen nodded somewhat disappointedly when he saw the total score of 110.57.

He knew that if the other contestants made mistakes, he would still have a chance. But if everyone else performed normally, he wouldn't be in the top three.

Du Liangchen and Grandpa Du left the ice rink to rest backstage. He sat quietly in a corner, watching people hurry by, his eyes revealing a cold and indifferent feeling, as if he had already isolated himself from this noisy world.

Grandpa Du looked at his grandson with heartache, but said in a light tone, "Xiao Chen, you're already amazing. After failing in the exhibition skate, you withstood the pressure and skated like this in the free skate, completing the competition perfectly. I've never seen anyone do what you've done. Even your uncle couldn't do it at your age."

This shows your skill is second to none; you just lacked a little luck. Cheer up! You broke 70 points in your free skate! I just overheard the staff saying that no junior skater has scored over 70 points in the free skate so far; the best score is only in the 60s. So you might have surpassed the historical record!

Du Liangchen listened to Grandpa Du's words and looked at him with surprise. Grandpa Du patted Du Liangchen's little face encouragingly.

Looking back at the results of past championships, it seems that no one has ever scored over 70 points; the highest historical score is 68.14. These scores were only achieved by athletes who had reached the junior level.

His face, usually languid, remained calm, but a subtle glint occasionally flashed in his deep eyes, disappearing in an instant, almost imperceptible.

"Grandpa, I'm hungry."

Du Liangchen murmured, with a slight nasal tone, and the last syllable carried a hint of coquetry and grievance, which made him seem even more relaxed.

Grandpa Du looked at him with amusement, took out a "post-match gift pack" from the snack bag, and handed it to Du Liangchen one by one.

Looking at the protein powder, sports drink, and juice in my hand, I didn't hesitate at all and just stuffed them into my mouth and swallowed them.

Because the taste was really bad, I could only eat it when my sense of taste wasn't paying attention in order to regain my strength.