She said she would go change into her ice skates, but since she still had to demonstrate jumps, her legs couldn’t be too weak before stepping on the ice. Qiao Nan was still taken by Cheng Cheng and the others to the training ground she had been longing for. 

Since it was just a warm-up, Qiao Nan only glanced at the equipment. 

At the same time, thanks to the system that had been pre-initialized, she was able to see which parts of her body each warm-up move would improve—and by how much. 

⌈Side-to-side jumps, 10 minutes: Leg strength +0.1, Jumping +0.2, Stamina +0.12⌋ 
⌈Fancy jump rope, 15 minutes: Leg strength +0.1, Jumping +0.1, Stamina +0.1⌋ 
⌈Running 2000 meters: Stamina +0.5⌋ 
⌈50 push-ups: Arm strength +0.2, Stamina +0.07⌋ 
⌈50 back extensions: Back strength +0.1, Stamina +0.05⌋ 
⌈Stretching for 20 minutes: Flexibility +0.3⌋ 

Altogether, the whole warm-up took about an hour, but according to the system’s calculation, Qiao Nan’s abilities only progressed by a fraction. 

Relying solely on these exercises, it would be a dream to raise her physical fitness from 17 to over 60 before joining the national youth team. 

On top of that, her physical attributes seemed to be tied directly to future tasks in the system. 

⌈ Qiao Qiao, your next mission will unlock once your overall physical rating hits 20. ⌋ 
⌈ According to the system rules, you must reach 20 before you turn eight, or the mission will automatically fail. ⌋ 
⌈ Aging will give a slight bonus to physical fitness, so keep going, Qiao Qiao! ⌋ 
⌈ If you ever feel like giving up, we could always try the entertainment industry instead. ⌋ 
⌈ That path is way easier, you know. ⌋ 

After Qiao Nan chose figure skating as her career path, the system automatically adjusted the overall career mission line accordingly. 

According to Tuan Tuan, who secretly peeked at the mission script, this mission line was much tougher than becoming a big star in the entertainment circle. 

Even after she cleared the novice mission, the system never stopped trying to talk her into switching careers. 

“I know,” Qiao Nan muttered as she crossed off the last item on her warm-up checklist and began practicing jumps and spins in place. 

Before attempting on-ice jumps, she needed to build muscle memory through off-ice training and train her spatial awareness to prepare for precise landings. 

Since returning from the Volin Memorial, she has been working on learning the double loop jump (2Lo) and has deliberately set aside time during practice to strengthen her rotation. 

Today was no different. 

Her off-ice training segmented the jump into components: approach and takeoff, in-air rotation, and controlled landing. 

In breaking down the moves, special attention had to be paid to the difference between the double loop jump with a controlled entry and the double loop jump with a back inside edge takeoff—any carelessness could cause the blade to slip incorrectly. 

Qiao Nan had messed this up more than a few times before, and she was still working hard to fix those mistakes. 

“Phew—” 

The point of warming up was to loosen her body and raise her temperature. Even though she was used to high-intensity training, sweat still beaded on her forehead. 

“Tuan Tuan, how are my stats looking now?” she asked, breathing heavily as she leaned against the wall mirror. 

⌈ Qiao Qiao, your activity level is good now. ⌋ 

Although the physical fitness data was mainly to let Qiao Nan understand how far she was from her goal, upon learning the system offered this feature, she immediately played the poor-person card and managed to get Tuan Tuan to help her sneak in a backdoor—through a third party, she got permission to check other data, such as the effect of warm-ups on physical activity. 

Like how warm-ups affected her activity level, for instance. 

“I think I can jump a double loop with a controlled entry on the ice right now.” Hearing Tuan Tuan’s report, the little girl squinted and smiled sweetly, “Tuan Tuan, do you think I’m ready?” 

She was definitely trying to get the system to give her some kind of cheat again. 

The little ice crystal, usually quick to respond, went unusually quiet. 

“Tuan Tuan?” Qiao Nan called again when she didn’t get a reply. 

Tuan Tuan gave in with a sigh and stepped back in defeat. 

⌈ Okay… I can give you a stamina progress bar. That’s all I can do. ⌋ 

✵✵✵ 

Qiao Nan’s warm-up was taking a while. Fang Longze and Cheng Cheng, watching her run around from outside the glass, were starting to get bored and struck up a conversation. 

“One of the kids I’m coaching just landed their first double loop (2Lo) the other day,” Fang Longze said. “Still a little shaky, but they’re jumping without the harness now.” 

Fang Longze was most proud recently of this student. Although his skills were no match for the international geniuses, he was more than decent in the provincial team—one of the top young skaters. 

“This kid is just over seven years old. In a few years, when he grows more, he might snag the top five spot at the national youth championships.” 

Cheng Cheng had been busy the past few days handling Qiao Nan’s paperwork, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the other coaches’ students. But hearing his friend praise this kid so much got him a little curious. 

“A double loop with an outside edge? How long has he been training? He’s got talent.” 

After all, not every skater is a Qiao Nan. Cheng Cheng had a pretty clear idea of the average skill level in the country. For a double inside loop, even though he’d seen Qiao Nan land it countless times during competitions, this boy’s level was honestly one of the best he’d seen from the provincial team. 

“Qiao Nan still needs about twenty minutes to warm up. We’ve got nothing to do just sitting here,” Cheng Cheng glanced at the girl stretching nearby and made a rough guess at her warm-up time. “Is that kid still practicing? How about calling him over to take a look?” 

It seemed Fang Longze had been waiting for Cheng Cheng to bring it up. When his colleague finally did, the man raised an eyebrow and pointed toward a boy in the corner of the rink who was repeatedly attempting jumps. 

“Yeah, that kid,” he said, standing up and calling out toward the rink, “Lu Guangji, come here for a moment.” 

The boy turned at the sound of his coach’s voice and skated over without hesitation. 

“Coach, is there something you need?” the somewhat shy boy asked Fang Longze. 

“How’s your new double jump going?” Fang Longze got straight to the point, aware of his student’s personality. “Can you land it steadily yet?” 

Landing on solid ground and on the ice are two entirely different things. Even if you can land a perfect double jump on dry land, there’s no guarantee you won’t fall flat on the ice. 

“Still… still needs a bit more work,” Lu Guangji stammered, seemingly aware of his coach’s intentions. He quickly added, “But my success rate has definitely improved a lot…” 

“Keep practicing,” Fang Longze glanced over his shoulder at the girl still warming up. “Your junior is about to go on. Don’t make a fool of yourself when she gets here.” 

✵✵✵ 

By the time Qiao Nan was fully geared up and standing on the ice, nearly an hour had passed. 

Carrying her skates, she walked toward the two coaches chatting by the rink’s barrier, but her eyes first landed on the boy attempting jumps on the ice. 

Lu Guangji was still struggling to stay balanced on his double loop. Every time he landed, he’d lean forward due to instability. 

If luck was on his side, he could just about stay upright. If not—he’d fall. 

He’d already experienced this coin-toss level success rate countless times over the past few days. 

“Your legs aren’t stable. Your center of gravity is off.” 

Right after he barely managed to stick a landing, an unexpectedly soft voice came from the direction of the coaches. 

Lu Guangji looked up and saw a girl with twin ponytails standing there. 

“Qiao Nan’s here?” Cheng Cheng also heard the familiar voice, turned his head, and saw the girl looking as sweet and obedient as ever. He couldn’t help but give her fluffy hair a gentle pat. “All set?” 

It was just a demo, after all. Cheng Cheng trusted Qiao Nan’s ability and didn’t give her any special instructions. 

The magical choreography of Jasmine Flower wasn’t designed for nothing. Back in Moscow, he and Marlon had spent two whole weeks at the Garcia Rink tweaking her program while chatting over coffee. He’d seen it so many times it barely fazed him now. 

Four double jumps? No big deal. In the underage division, that level of difficulty probably wouldn’t even crack the top ten. Cheng Cheng had gotten used to it. 

“Yep, I’m ready.” Qiao Nan nodded, then hesitated a little and asked shyly, “Coach, is the harness trainer still around today?” 

After transferring to the provincial team, she’d started calling Cheng Cheng “Coach” instead of “Uncle.” 

“Harness coach?” Cheng Cheng thought for a moment. “Old Ma already left for the day, I think.” 

“You were thinking of trying it on the ice?” he asked. 

Cheng Cheng knew she’d been working on the double toe loop. Still, the Volin Memorial had just ended less than a month ago, and she was already thinking of transitioning the jump from off-ice training to the rink—that was a bit ambitious. 

But based on her past pace, maybe it wasn’t that fast after all. 

After all, she had learned a full Axel and four types of double jumps in just eighteen months. That averaged out to about two months per jump—pretty fast, if you ignored the difficulty. 

“You sure you’re ready?” Cheng Cheng paused, then relented. “It’s a bit late today. Let’s wait for Old Ma to come in tomorrow.” 

Then he remembered how Marlon had mentioned Qiao Nan could be weirdly stubborn about certain things, so he added, “Just stick to what you already know today, okay? Don’t push the difficulty, got it?” 

That was definitely a rumor Marlon made up. It’s not like she’d suddenly raise the difficulty just for fun—this wasn’t even a real competition. 

“Got it.” Qiao Nan nodded obediently, slipped off her skate guards, and stepped onto the ice. 

The difference between Qiao Nan off the ice and on the ice was like night and day. She zipped around the rink a few times at high speed before skating toward the coaches to start showcasing the results of her training. 

She’d practiced these moves countless times, and it showed—her jumps were strong and light. The height she got on them made Fang Longze, who’d been lounging comfortably, sit up straight and then stand up to watch more closely. 

She started with all the single jumps, followed by a beautiful layback spin, and finally finished it off with a solid double inside toe loop before gliding to a stop in front of her coaches. 

“Why didn’t you keep going?” Before Cheng Cheng could speak, Fang Longze beat him to it. 

She landed a (2F) just fine—there was no way she couldn’t handle the rest. He didn’t buy for a second that she was holding back to spare Lu Guangji’s ego. 

Panting, Qiao Nan glanced at the stamina bar hovering in her field of vision—which had been flashing red ever since Tuan Tuan installed the backdoor mod—and replied honestly: 

“…No more energy.” 

Please forgive a girl with only 17 stamina. Those jumps had already drained what little strength she had left. QAQ 

Author’s Note: 

Qiao Nan: I wanted to go for the Salchow-toe loop combination and even try a Lutz, but this dumb progress bar keeps screaming at me. QAQ 

Tuan Tuan: Your stamina’s trash. Don’t pin this on me, I’m not taking the blame! 

The off-ice training stuff comes from watching Russian skaters on Bilibili. I wanted to write about other drills, but… a lot of those moves only have English names. Translating them into Chinese just sounds weird (like all those box jumps and stuff), so I stuck with the basics everyone knows.