The harness wasn’t just a test of Qiao Nan’s technique—it was also draining her coach’s strength. 

After a few jumps, Qiao Nan skated over with Coach Ma and stopped next to Cheng Cheng. 

“Not bad,” Cheng Cheng said before Qiao Nan could even speak. 

Of course, after that bit of praise, he didn’t forget to point out everything she did wrong. He paused for a second, then started criticizing her harshly. 

“Did you just slam your leg on the ice?” 

“You’re leaning way too far forward—are you trying to bury yourself into the ground?” 

“Why are your legs tucked in that tight? Planning to jump straight up in place?” 

“You were doing fine during off-ice training. What’s with all these issues now?” 

Perhaps it was because Fang Longze was watching nearby, but Cheng Cheng wasn’t holding back at all. He even nitpicked at mistakes that didn’t really affect the overall jump much. 

Taking a sip of iced water from his thermos, he said, “Go again. Keep practicing.” 

Qiao Nan didn’t throw a fit or anything. 

“Okay.” She nodded calmly and immediately turned to Coach Ma to discuss the next part of her training. 

Watching this, Fang Longze, who’d seen plenty of kids cry after getting scolded by Cheng Cheng, was quietly impressed. 

She didn’t even flinch after that intense feedback, just moved straight on to fixing things. 

With that kind of discipline, no wonder people called her a prodigy. 

Technically, Qiao Nan had only been specializing in the double toe loop for just over a month, but in truth, she had started working on distinguishing between inside and outside edges nearly four months ago. 

Though she had been reborn into this world and her past life memories had grown hazy with time, only vague impressions remained. Still, certain instincts had crossed the boundary of time, embedding themselves into her body like muscle memory. 

Whenever she learned a new jump, those lingering instincts helped her body avoid the wrong movements, letting her land more steadily. 

Sometimes she couldn’t even tell if a jump was something new, a review, or just her mind playing tricks. 

So even when her coach said a jump was good, she always wanted to push herself further—to burn it into her muscle memory and make sure every bit of progress came from her own effort, not some leftover reflex. 

That mindset slowly turned this carefree little girl into an overachiever. 

In her past life, her peak was the triple loop (3Lo). Now, with her training speeding up, she was getting close to breaking through those old limits. 

Even though she was getting better at correcting her mistakes and adjusting her form, the thought of losing control of her future still filled her with anxiety. 

Qiao Nan wasn’t unaware that Cheng Cheng and even Marlon often called her a “genius,” or that behind her back, they’d compare her to internationally known skaters like Park Jin-Ah or Elena. 

But after moving up to double jumps, she felt her progress slowing down. She wasn’t picking up new jumps as quickly anymore. 

And that visible slowdown triggered her inner perfectionist like nothing else. 

Meanwhile, Lu Guangji had just finished warming up and stepped onto the ice. 

There weren’t many people at the rink today, so it was easy to spot Qiao Nan falling again and again in the corner. 

He’d overheard the coaches talking yesterday, so he knew she was trying out a new jump. 

But… he had just finished warming up, and she was already off the harness and attempting jumps on her own? 

Watching her fall hard every time she lost balance mid-jump, Lu Guangji couldn’t help but think of what she’d said to him earlier during warm-up. 

This is what she calls “a little pain”? Was her pain tolerance turned off or something? 

Trying to focus, Lu Guangji got his coach’s approval and found a quiet corner to practice his triple loop. 

He was starting to feel the pressure. Qiao Nan, who was younger than him, was already attempting double axels, and he still hadn’t nailed his 2Lo. The gap between them felt huge. 

Before he realized it, her crazy drive was rubbing off on him. He clenched his teeth and pushed himself harder, brushing aside his earlier laziness. 

Qiao Nan had no idea that her one offhand comment had basically stirred up a storm in Lu Guangji’s mind. 

She’d said it casually before stepping on the ice to that shy-looking boy, but once she got home and saw the bruises on her legs, she couldn’t help but cry out. 

“Hiss…” she winced as her mom pressed a huge ice pack against her leg, and the next second, she was howling from the pain. 

That hurt way more than she expected; was this woman really her mom? 

Qiao Nan knew she’d made Xie Luoying upset, so she blinked up at her with teary eyes, begging, “It hurts, it hurts, Mom, be gentle.” 

“Gentle?” Xie Luoying snorted. “You didn’t think of that when you were slamming into the ice, did you?” 

Every morning, a perfectly healthy kid gets dropped off at the ice rink—and comes back in the evening covered in bruises and limping. Even though she knew just how hard Qiao Nan pushed herself, Xie Luoying couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed. While helping with the bruises at night, she ended up applying the ointment a bit more forcefully than necessary. 

“Qiao Nan, what did you promise me before you went? Look at you now; are you planning to show up at school in a wheelchair tomorrow?” 

Despite her scolding, Xie Luoying’s touch eventually softened. She gently placed an ice pack on the big, ugly bruise on her daughter’s leg. 

“I didn’t mean to…” the girl mumbled. She’d completely forgotten her promise once she hit the ice. She instinctively shrank back from her mom’s tone, but that only made her bump the sore spot and suck in a sharp breath. 

Just in time to meet her mom’s totally unconvinced expression. 

To avoid a long lecture, she lowered her head and admitted, “I was wrong.” 

Qiao Nan hesitated for a second, then, under Xie Luoying’s sharp gaze, added, “I promise I’m not going to school in a wheelchair tomorrow.” 

And true to her word, the next morning—even though she was clearly in pain—she refused the wheelchair. 

She went with crutches instead. 

Qiao Li accompanied her to school and struggled to hold back laughter as he watched her awkwardly hobble along. 

Even though Qiao Nan had missed a lot of classes last semester, she was still on good terms with her classmates. So when they saw her come in looking a bit battered, they kindly made way so she could reach her seat without trouble. 

Not everyone was that nice, though. Just as she finally got to her desk, her deskmate—who’d been working on homework—suddenly stretched out one leg and slapped it right on her chair. 

“Well, well. The little cripple’s here,” Wan Huzhong smirked like some cartoon gangster. “So, how’s that weekend homework coming along? Mind letting me copy it?” 

Wan Huzhong was known as the class troublemaker. Short and chubby, he was obsessed with old Hong Kong gangster dramas and dreamed of being some mob boss—even though he was only a first grader. He liked to act like a TV villain and boss people around, making him one of the least liked boys in class. 

The teacher had paired him up with Qiao Nan partly because she missed school so often. 

Wan Huzhong’s obsession with Hong Kong dramas seemed to come from watching them together with his grandparents at noon. Kids pick up things fast, so by the afternoon he inevitably wanted to imitate what he had seen, even in front of others. 

The teacher couldn’t use corporal punishment on students, and any scolding was quickly forgotten by the little chubby boy. Teacher Ning was helpless and arranged for him to sit with Qiao Nan. 

Though it didn’t help much, this seat at least kept him a bit apart from the other kids. 

It had worked fine for one semester. Who knew he’d start stirring trouble this early in the new one? 

Qiao Nan had gone way too hard at practice yesterday. Her legs were weak. She could walk, but her mom made her use crutches just in case. Seeing her seat being blocked and her annoying deskmate putting on a whole act, she was already in a bad mood—and this just made it worse. 

Qiao Nan thought: My stamina is poor, and yes, my leg does hurt a bit, but do you believe if I kick you with this leg, you could break a bone? 

“Move your leg,” the girl looked down at Wan Huzhong with some displeasure. 

The chubby boy didn’t take her seriously at all. He not only kept his leg there, but also started dumping half his pencil case onto her desk. 

He’d spent the weekend playing at his grandparents’ place and totally forgot about the homework. Now he needed Qiao Nan’s help, or rather, her answers, but he wasn’t about to ask nicely. 

“Eh, I just won’t move it,” Wan Huzhong put his hands on his hips, acting comically without realizing it. “If you don’t give me your homework, I won’t move.” 

Suddenly, a small ice crystal appeared beside him in her mind. 

⌈ Qiao Qiao, need help? ⌋ 

 
It was Tuan Tuan, sounding all cute and fluffy. 

⌈ Tuan Tuan can help you pull a little prank ~ ⌋ 

“No need,” Qiao Nan muttered. She set her crutch aside and, without a word, grabbed her smug deskmate’s leg—and yanked it up. 

“Ow—ow ow!” Wan Huzhong had the flexibility of a brick. Qiao Nan might’ve looked small, but her grip was strong enough to keep him from escaping. As the pain kicked in, his attitude vanished. “Qiao Nan, let go! My leg’s gonna break!” 

She glanced at the angle. Barely past 120 degrees. Pathetic. 

“Still want that homework?” she asked, giving him a cold look. 

“No… no, I’m good,” he stammered, nearly in tears. 

She dropped his leg, letting it thud back onto the bench with a loud smack. 

He scrambled to pull all his stuff back to his side of the desk and even wiped off her chair like some eager little henchman. 

This deskmate is already acting like a wannabe gangster. What will he be like when he’s older? 

Qiao Nan paused, then deliberately imitated the teacher’s serious expression. 

“If I ever catch you picking on someone again, it won’t end with just a leg stretch.” 

Wan Huzhong clutched his leg and nodded frantically. “Okay, okay! I won’t do it again!” 

Knock knock. 

Someone tapped the window behind her. 

Qiao Nan turned and saw a vaguely familiar face. 

It was Cheng Jue Zhi, the kid from next door who was in third grade now, right? Supposedly top of the class too? 

She squinted at him, then grinned with bared teeth. 

“What’re you looking at?” Qiao Nan leaned in close to the glass, voice full of warning. “If you tell anyone about this, I’ll make sure you’re not number one in class anymore.” 

Author’s note: 

Today’s a fierce little Nan Nan~ 

Nan Nan (shaking voice): You’re the one who’s lame! 😤