Figure Skating: Waltz on Ice

"Has the baby finished his injection? I washed some fruit; Grandpa brought it over yesterday. It's so fresh! Come and try it—is it sweet?"

Mei Jing brought the washed fruit out of the kitchen and saw Du Liangchen sitting on the sofa, looking down at his phone. She sat down next to him, took out a strawberry with the leaves removed, and fed it to him.

Du Liangchen opened his mouth and took a bite. "Mmm, delicious! Didn't my grandpa come to bring us vegetables? Why is there fruit too? I didn't even know I had any."

Mei Jing naturally ate the half he had bitten off, then poked his cheek with her index finger. "You, when Grandpa and Grandma come to bring us things, you take them and just pile them up in the kitchen without even opening them to check. Of course you don't know anything about them."

Du Liangchen's dark eyes lit up instantly when he saw there were still lychees in the basin. He nudged Mei Jing beside him and said softly, "There are still lychees. I want to eat lychees, but I didn't wash my hands. Can you peel one for me?"

Mei Jing couldn't stand him like this, but she still pouted modestly.

Du Liangchen immediately understood what he meant, tilted her head and kissed him, "Can you feed me lychees now?"

Mei Jing glanced at him sideways, and before he could speak, Du Liangchen kissed him again, blinking his wet eyes. This time, he, who had wanted to be more reserved and get more benefits, instantly gave in and picked up the basin to start peeling lychees.

Du Liangchen really liked his hands. Watching his slender fingers peel the tender white flesh hidden inside the shell in just a few strokes, he swallowed hard, eagerly stretching his head and opening his mouth to wait for him to feed him.

"Mmm~ Delicious! So sweet! How come yours are sweeter than mine? That's strange, is it because your hands are sweeter than mine?!"

Mei Jing raised an eyebrow as she watched Du Liangchen's little mouth begin to praise him in various ways. In reality, her eyebrows were curved, and her bright eyes were full of mischievousness, like a little fox who had stolen some fish. She let out a soft laugh.

She took the tissue Du Liangchen handed her, wiped her fingers clean of lychee juice, pinched his chin, and turned his face towards her. "Since it's so delicious, I'll try it to see how sweet it really is. You like it so much?"

As they spoke, their faces drew closer and closer, and just as they were about to kiss, Du Liangchen spat out a black fruit pit with a "poof," hitting Mei Jing in the face and catching her off guard as she was about to do something intimate.

Du Liangchen smacked his lips, still wanting more, and said, "That's all, I've finished eating it all, you can see for yourself."

Mei Jing closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then gritted her teeth as she called his name.

"Du——Liang——Chen!"

Seeing that Mei Jing was about to punish him, Du Liangchen knew he was in trouble. He quickly broke free from Mei Jing's grasp, threw his phone aside, and frantically scrambled off the sofa, running barefoot towards the room while shouting, "Ah! Murder!"

Mei Jing braced herself against the sofa with one hand and leaped up, then took several large strides to successfully intercept Du Liangchen in front of his door. "Du Liangchen! Where do you think you're going, huh?"

Du Liangchen chuckled, his mind racing. "Ah~ I've been focusing all my energy on preparing for the exams lately. Now that they're over, I feel like I haven't been getting enough exercise, so I thought I'd go for a run, hehe, to get some exercise."

Mei Jing pressed closer, bracing herself with her arms to trap Du Liangchen between him and the wall. "Is that so? Then how about I go all the way and help you wear yourself out?"

"No!"

Just kidding, judging by Mei Jing's expression right now, he'd have to be blind to agree. Besides, Mei Jing isn't blind. Du Liangchen realized his reaction was a bit too strong as soon as he opened his mouth, and said with a forced smile, "No need~ Hehe, I'm not the kind of person who pushes my luck. I'll do it myself, I'll do it myself..."

Mei Jing leaned over him and, seeing his little mouth chattering on and on, simply shut him up.

Suddenly the world became quiet.

Ever since Du Liangchen was able to speak, he has become unusually talkative, chattering away in Mei Jing's ear every day. Mei Jing even thought she had brought the parrot from the neighbor's grandfather's house next door in the family compound to her home.

Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the two figures. Their shadows on the ground intertwined, shifting back and forth, making it difficult to discern who was more dominant.

In the bedroom.

Du Liangchen sat cross-legged on the bed, holding a small mirror in his hand and looking at himself.

Seeing Mei Jing come in, she glanced at him sideways.

With a fawning smile on her face, Mei Jing carefully moved to Du Liangchen's side, holding an ice pack in her hand, and gently placed it on Du Liangchen's mouth to cool him down.

"Hiss~ It's so cold, bro!!"

"My bad~ My bad~ I'll be gentle, I'll be slow, please don't move."

Du Liangchen glared at him angrily again, then tilted his body and rested his head on his lap. His eyes, slightly red-rimmed, seemed to be glaring at him fiercely, but in reality, they were not intimidating at all.

"Come to my place for dinner tonight, you decide what to do, hmph!"

"I know I'm trying my best, baby, and you were the one who..."

"Snapped!"

"Ow~"

Du Liangchen slapped Mei Jing's arm, making a crisp sound, successfully silencing the foul-mouthed Mei Jing.

Mei Jing cried out, bringing the spot where he had been hit close to his face. "You really went all out, look at the handprint on your face."

Du Liangchen looked at the red mark on his fair arm, a hint of guilt flashing in his eyes. He pointed to his swollen, red mouth where he had been bitten, and said, "You're the one who really bit me! Look at me, look at this."

Mei Jing coughed lightly, and gave a guilty smile. "Baby, weren't you checking your grades today? Isn't it time?"

Du Liangchen blinked, then flipped himself out of bed and looked around. "Ah! Right, to check my grades. Oh dear~ Where did I put my computer?"

"I know, I'll go get it." Mei Jing, still in her slippers, shuffled towards the living room. "Coming, coming, it's here!"

Du Liangchen took the phone and entered a string of numbers.

Mei Jing leaned closer to look with him, then her smile grew wider and wider, and she excitedly hugged him and kissed him passionately.

"Baby, baby, baby! You passed the exam! Hahaha... You passed! That's amazing~"

This time, Du Liangchen didn't hit him. He just reached out and covered the mouth that was being kissed randomly, his eyes fixed on the screen, checking it again to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"I'm really coming..."

"Haha~ I passed the test!"

"I'm going to tell my grandparents this good news now, so they can be happy too."

While they were still celebrating, the list of those recruited through the public sector recruitment program this year had already been published online.

At first, no one paid attention to this except for the people taking the exam.

It wasn't until Du Liangchen's fans discovered this publicly posted recruitment results sheet and forwarded it to their fan groups that the news spread. It quickly became a trending topic.

Du Liangchen's potential absence from the Grand Prix due to a suspension already caused panic among his fans. Now, he's even passed the civil service exam – is he securing a backup plan?

It's important to understand that athletes' positions are not lifelong; their employment contracts and permanent positions are terminated upon retirement.

Many athletes obtain permanent positions through this method, which is a safe and promising path for each athlete, free from worries and providing stable security after retirement.

Du Liangchen is usually very low-key, and he is almost invisible to the public except when he appears in the public eye during competitions.

Furthermore, Du Liangchen did not go abroad for training this year, and instead participated in a variety show as a regular guest, which is unusual for him. All of these behaviors reflect that things are not simple.

This has led to an exceptionally high level of attention surrounding this year's Winter Olympics, with not only domestic netizens speculating whether Du Liangchen and Mei Jing will appear on the field, but also international netizens and athletes competing on the same stage.

Even without Du Liangchen and Mei Jing, there will be other players in the national team to fill in.

The competition will proceed as scheduled and will not be canceled due to anyone's absence.

Time flew by, and the opening ceremony of the quadrennial Winter Olympics arrived in no time.