Chapter 143 June 2026...
In June 2026, most parts of China were already in the sweltering heat of summer. Winter sports athletes were also beginning their summer. But this was probably the most leisurely time Ren Xiyao had experienced in years. What should have been a busy summer training period had turned into a period of tranquility. She had officially submitted her retirement application, thus officially beginning a new chapter in her life.
The elevator was broken, so Ren Xiyao and Quan Zhilong climbed six flights of stairs. The dark green door at the end of the corridor looked like its paint was about to peel off, and a wooden plaque hung on the doorknob, engraved with "Входтолькодлячемпионов" (Champion's Exclusive Entrance).
Kwon Ji-yong couldn't understand it, so he took a picture with his phone to translate it. The translation made him raise an eyebrow: "Your coach has always been like this...?"
“Even more outrageous.” Ren Xiyao stood beside him without translating, waiting for him to understand before knocking on the door: “The first time I came here to train, he made me wear a thin down jacket and do five sets of inner and outer edge balance poses on an outdoor ice rink at minus twenty degrees Celsius, saying, ‘Only those who can’t freeze to death can skate.’”
The door opened.
Coach Ivanovic is seventy-four years old this year. He's shrunk a bit, but still looks like he's over 1.8 meters tall. His gray beard resembles a Siberian snowdrift, and he makes the door look small when he stands there. He squinted at Ren Xiyao and suddenly yelled in broken Chinese, "Where's the gold medal?!"
The coach's wife, Galina, yelled from inside the house, "What kind of talk is it to let people in and stand at the door like that?"
Ren Xiyao smiled and took out a velvet box from her backpack, inside which six Olympic gold medals were neatly arranged. Only after receiving the "toll" did the coach release her.
As soon as they entered, they saw a kind-looking Slavic elderly woman wearing an apron, looking at them with delight. Ren Xiyao immediately rushed over and hugged the old woman. The woman was preparing borscht for Ren Xiyao. She often enjoyed Galina's cooking when she was a child training in Russia.
Coach Ivanovic grabbed a Pyeongcheng Winter Olympics gold medal and bit it. Kwon Ji-yong almost rushed up to stop him, but Ren Xiyao pulled him back: "He's checking the gold medal."
Galina shook her head at the sight, muttering complaints about her husband. After settling them in, she went to the kitchen to prepare borscht.
"Хорошо! (Not bad!)" But after looking at it more closely, he couldn't help but frown: "But the quality of this from Pingcheng is really bad, it's even fading." Ren Xiyao couldn't help but laugh out loud. The old man threw the gold medal on the sofa and suddenly stared at Quan Zhilong: "Is this the kid who made you cry until you were dehydrated in 2017?"
Kwon Ji-yong froze, startled by the coach's slightly exaggerated movements, but not understanding what the coach was saying, he looked at Ren Xiyao innocently. Ren Xiyao facepalmed: "...Are there so many boring marketing accounts in Russia too? You should read less gossip news."
Coach Ivanovic poured vodka into his teacup: "So, you're really retiring?"
"Hmm." Ren Xiyao pushed the teacup towards Quan Zhilong: "It's about time. We're getting old enough."
"32 is nothing!" The old man slammed his fist on the table: "In 1964, I fractured my spine during a competition and skated the whole course on half a bottle of vodka!"
Kwon Ji-yong doesn't understand Russian very well, but his coach's sudden and exaggerated actions always tend to have an unexpected impact on him. For example, right now, he was choked and coughed.
At the same time, Galina's loud voice came from the kitchen: "He's bragging."
After Ren Xiyao finished translating for Quan Zhilong, she replied without changing her expression, "Then you lay there for three months."
“But the medal is real!” Coach Ivanovic pulled an old cashmere scarf from his drawer, its edges frayed—the very one he had wrapped around Ren Xiyao’s neck in 2014: “Remember?”
Ren Xiyao lowered her head and stroked her scarf: "'Bring a medal from the Pingcheng Winter Olympics, and while you're at it, bring a bottle of Moutai to celebrate.'"
"You brought back six yuan. But you're not on time," the old man suddenly smacked her shoulder with his scarf, "And what about the Moutai?"
While chatting earlier, Kwon Ji-yong finally got his translator working, and the moment he put it on, he heard this sentence. He couldn't help but say in English, "In 2018, she almost couldn't stand up during rehabilitation!"
"So what?" Coach Ivanovic understood and poured the third glass of wine: "She is a warrior, and a warrior is still a warrior even with a limp."
A tram clanged past outside the window, like an echo of bygone days. Ren Xiyao understood what her coach was talking about and shook her head with a smile, but didn't explain to Quan Zhilong. In a sense, it was a tacit understanding between them. The setting sun shone on her face, gentle and serene, a beauty refined by time. She nudged Quan Zhilong, asking him to fetch the gift box placed by the door. Taking out the Moutai inside, she said, "When I had Natasha bring the scarf back in 2018, they said the liquor hadn't cleared customs. Today, I'm giving you double compensation with Moutai and Wuliangye, although you probably only drink vodka. Drinking this is just to try something new. But this is good liquor, don't guzzle it down."
“Дедушка! (Grandpa!)” Eight-year-old Alina rushed forward, followed by Natasha, who was carrying a three-year-old girl, their high heels clattering on the floor.
Ren Xiyao jumped up from the sofa: "Natasha?!"
“Surprised?” Natasha tucked three-and-a-half-year-old Sofia into her arms. “The last time you held her was in New York. Now she can walk.”
Coach Ivanovic pinched Alina's cheek: "Why didn't you say so beforehand?"
“You call this a surprise after telling me?” Natasha took off her mink coat (wearing this in St. Petersburg in June is really outrageous), and pulled a bottle of champagne from her bag: “I won the bet, so of course I have to collect the debt in person.”
Ren Xiyao rolled her eyes. When Natasha got married in 2014, she said that she would also get married when she was 30. Now she suddenly regrets it a little and should say that she should get married later, like when she is 35.
The coach led little Alina to the kitchen to see his wife. As they passed by, the old man suddenly said something in Russian. Kwon Ji-yong looked confused, but Ren Xiyao smiled and said, "He said you need to work harder to be a better match for me."
“I’m trying to learn!” Kwon Ji-yong immediately pulled out his phone’s memo app: “Ты красиваякаклёд (You’re as beautiful as ice)...right?”
Galina, who happened to be bringing out the soup and placing it on the table, paused for two seconds upon hearing the Russian spoken with a Korean accent, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Дурак! (Idiot!)"
The spoon tapped Kwon Ji-yong's forehead very lightly.
The stern Slavic old man in the kitchen also broke into a relieved smile. Natasha, standing beside him with a glass full of vodka, was also laughing so hard she was bent over. Only the two innocent children were still blinking their big, curious eyes.
Galina returned to the kitchen—while slicing pickles—and revealed her secret: "At Natasha's wedding in 2014, Yao said, 'I'll get married before I turn thirty.'"
"What's the stake?" Kwon Ji-yong's translator had a slight delay, but thankfully he could understand. He asked in English, somewhat curious.
Galina is a university professor here. Ivanovic and Natasha have both competed abroad. They don't speak much, but you can understand a little.
Natasha took a sip of vodka and said, "If she loses, she'll be the godmother of my child; if I lose, I'll be her Winter Olympics volunteer."
“So she’s Sofia’s godmother now.” Galina shrugged. “But she couldn’t go to Milan because she was pregnant with her third child.”
Ren Xiyao squeezed Sophia's chubby little hand: "Your mom cheated, this round doesn't count. I don't completely lose. But I'm still your godmother."
Natasha suddenly said something quickly in Russian, and Alina immediately ran to Kwon Ji-yong, blinking her blue eyes and asking, "Дядя, вы женитесьнатёте (Uncle, will you marry your godmother?)"
Kwon Ji-yong choked on his vodka again: "Я... (I...)"
"Don't teach the kids bad habits!" Ren Xiyao grabbed a cushion and threw it at Natasha, who laughed and hid behind Galina.
Galina, however, showed no favoritism. Remembering something, she said, "Natashka, you lost a bet on your wedding too! You promised you wouldn't be shy."
“That doesn’t count! Your husband absolutely refused to come to my wedding! That’s all hearsay! There’s no proof!” Natasha pointed at the coach: “They insist that ‘an athlete’s marriage affects their performance,’ but I had already retired by then, okay?!”
The old man frantically sprinkled fennel seeds into the soup: "You married an engineer! Can he tell the difference between an Axel jump and a hook jump?"
The sun gradually sank below the horizon. The sky outside grew increasingly dark, but the atmosphere inside remained heated; Natasha and the coach were arguing again. Except for Kwon Ji-yong, who seemed slightly bewildered, the rest of the group continued with their tasks, seemingly unfazed.
The time for parting gradually arrived amidst a warm atmosphere. It was already completely dark. The sparse streetlights had a unique Russian charm.
"Here you go." Before leaving, Coach Ivanovic handed the scarf back to Ren Xiyao: "Now it's time for it to retire with the real warriors."
Ren Xiyao hung the Pingcheng gold medal back around the old man's neck: "Interest." Natasha, standing beside her, looked at her with a mixture of relief and envy. The two children played all afternoon and were starting to get sleepy. Her husband was waiting for her downstairs. In the dim light of the streetlamp, they embraced, just like when they were children leaving the ice rink to go home. This time, they turned and walked onto different paths in life. But the ending was the same: happiness. They would sincerely pray for each other.
On the taxi ride home, Kwon Ji-yong noticed her smiling: "So happy?"
“He said the Russian word for ‘warrior’ is богатырь.” Ren Xiyao rolled down the car window, and the summer wind blew in: “It refers to that kind of madman… who knows he will lose but still cuts off the dragon’s head.”
Kwon Ji-yong wrapped the scarf around her neck: "Like you."
"Like us."
Doesn't it mean 'win'?
Ren Xiyao looked out the window with a nostalgic gaze: "It's 'win,' but Natasha and I invented it together. To confirm the 'gesture patent,' we even made a silly video back then. We said it was our invention, and at that time we both thought we would be the twin stars on the ice."
Kwon Ji-yong listened quietly, a smile in his eyes, holding her hand. It was a past he had never seen before, a truly vibrant girlhood.
After Ren Xiyao finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in the carriage. Suddenly, she gripped Quan Zhilong's hand, turned to look at him, and said, "Actually, Natasha is more qualified to be a warrior than I am. Because she lives more openly than I do."
Kwon Ji-yong suddenly remembered that in the afternoon, Alina suddenly screamed and rushed over to hug her mother's leg, while Sofia clapped her hands and giggled.
Kwon Ji-yong vaguely understood another definition of the Warriors. He seemed to finally understand what Coach Ivanovic meant by those words.
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Author's Note: Thank you so much for your support. The story of Ice Blade and Starlight is nearing its end. I'm quite happy that I actually managed to finish it.
I'm offering a basic, original pre-order. Those interested can add it to their favorites. Thank you again everyone.
Shu Ying's seventeenth year was marked by an Olympic gold medal, but also by the anxiety of seeing decimals on the scale and the despair of never being able to jump higher, no matter how hard she tried. Puberty struck, and her weight and public opinion spiraled out of control. The whole world lamented her past failures. But in her world, there was only jumping and music.
Xu Youting's twenties were a time of immense popularity, a period marked by both career transition difficulties and intense scrutiny. He faced the growing pains of transition, the power struggles of capital, and the anticipation of his fans. Everyone was debating where he should go. But the more chaotic the outside world became, the simpler his world remained.
They were childhood sweethearts from the neighboring dance and skating classes.
An amusement park that failed to keep its promise, a journey where farewells were missed.
For many years afterward, they became famous throughout the world, but by a twist of fate, they ended up on the same path.
Until one early morning, by the river in my hometown.
He saw her tears of anxiety about her weight after the spotlight faded.
She saw the weariness he couldn't hide after taking off his mask.
“Xu Youting, they say I’m dying.”
"What a coincidence, Shu Ying, they also said I'm not good enough."
This is a story about "survival".
It is a brutal struggle between a shining gold medal and the laws of the body;
It's a difficult struggle between maintaining a perfect persona under a 360-degree lens.
This is also a story about a "boy".
Even when bound by the rules of the adult world
We're still using the most clumsy method.
Practice how to love, how to grow up.
【Eating Guide】
1. Figure skating girl (INFP, socially awkward) × Top actor (cool and nostalgic), both strong and both virgins, happy ending.
2. Childhood sweethearts + reconciliation after a breakup (emotional focus). The story emphasizes both career and romance, unfolding slowly and delicately.
3. In this glamorous world, we are all learning to be adults for the first time, but thankfully, you are with me.
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