Even though Tuan Tuan provided some comforting words for her, the little girl still found it hard to accept. She frowned but thanked Aurora, who had been kindly translating for her, then quickly pushed those fake fans’ enthusiasm out of her mind and got back to her daily, tough physical training. 

Fortunately, Aurora wasn’t familiar with how to use QQ. Otherwise, if Qiao Nan ever saw the comments that were supposedly active on the official website, she might just die of embarrassment and want to dig a hole and hide. 

Figure skating is a winter sport, and since most competitions are held in the Northern Hemisphere, athletes usually spend March to August in preparation mode—basically the off-season. 

During this time, besides regular training, a lot of athletes make some money by doing commercial shows. 

Because of her age, Qiao Nan didn’t face much competition pressure this off-season, nor did she receive any commercial invitations. Her main focus was on stabilizing and gradually improving her performance, and adapting to her coaching team. 

Not to brag, but if Qiao Nan were a little older, given her talent, she might not even need to join the provincial team. Just showing up at a competition might be enough for a national coach to spot her and snatch her up as a treasure. 

After all, a seven-year-old who can land a double loop is super rare in the whole country. If she had competed domestically, no one would be sure which team she’d be on by now. 

But when it came to “adapting,” it was really more about the coaching team adjusting her training plan step by step by assigning tasks. 

Qiao Nan was exhausted every day, but at least her stamina was slowly improving, which gave her some comfort. 

“You’re getting worn out like this every day. Maybe you should’ve stuck with Coach Marlon,” someone teased. 

“It’s not like our family can’t afford it,” 

It was another day of picking up the little girl from school. Seeing her daughter flushed from exercise, Xie Luoying sighed. 

Even if she had stayed with Coach Marlon, she would have gone through all this sooner or later. Every coach has their own training style, and the older you get, the harder it is to adapt to a new one. 

Better to get it over with fast than drag it out, and Qiao Nan was pretty practical about it. 

“At least I’m getting something out of it,” the girl said as she lay on the recovery bed, listening to her mother nag while a professional massage therapist worked on loosening her muscles. 

She had fallen hard on the ice earlier, and every little pinch made her wince. 

“Well, at least I found out how tough Uncle Cheng really is,” she joked. 

Her mother laughed lightly and patted her head. “So, do you still remember the school sports day the day after tomorrow?” 

After the class meeting, it had been the weekend. Qiao Nan’s training had intensified, and she had racked up quite a few injuries. 

Xie Luoying wasn’t worried about her skill but watching how hard she pushed herself and the bruises on her knees, she was scared something bad might happen. 

Qiao Nan replied very straightforwardly: “Nope, don’t remember.” 

The massage therapist paused and brought over an infrared therapy lamp. She shifted slightly but didn’t seem bothered. 

“What’s there to worry about? It’s just regular training.” 

Sensing why her mom was worried, she turned to look at her standing by the wall. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself.” 

“I promise tomorrow won’t be like today!” she said, raising both hands for emphasis, though her mom clearly didn’t believe her. 

Besides adjusting to the coaches, she was also working on perfecting her double loop jump. 

It’s not like landing a jump once means full mastery. In addition to correcting technique, increasing the success rate is equally important. 

Every jump must go through a transition from “able to jump” to “able to land consistently.” 

Qiao Nan’s other double jumps had a success rate of around 80%, but the double loop was stuck at about 35%. 

In truth, that success rate was already acceptable for many skaters, but the little girl’s determination drove her to keep pushing. 

She’d be satisfied only once she hit at least 50%. 

Her training was intense, especially since she was focusing on the same jump recently and had taken some hard falls. Her mom noticed during treatment. 

Even though Qiao Nan had made all kinds of promises on Saturday, by the next day, things still went wrong. During practice, her blade caught a groove in the ice, and she landed hard on her backside. 

Luckily, she was fortunate. Although the fall was awkward, she only twisted her ankle a little. After spraying some pain relief ointment, she was back on her feet and bouncing off to school the next day. 

To participate in a few very, very ordinary competitions. 

Among all Qiao Nan’s events, the top priority was the 400-meter run that no one wanted to enter. 

Her class had six slots, but including Wan Huzhong, only four actually signed up. 

Two boys and two girls filled the minimum requirement. 

Running the 400 meters with Qiao Nan was Shang Congtong, the PE assistant. 

Though Shang Congtong looked fragile compared to Wan Huzhong, she was still one of the tougher girls in the class. 

That’s why she ended up filling in for the 400 meters. 

Feeling guilty about her past actions, Shang Congtong couldn’t even look Qiao Nan in the eye during roll call. 

Normally she’d be chattering nonstop in the classroom, but ever since seeing Qiao Nan, she’d gone completely silent. 

Because of the race, Qiao Nan uncharacteristically wore her training outfit—short sleeves and shorts. In the slightly warming weather of mid-April, it was a bit chilly but still fine. 

That also meant her knees, covered in patches from recent intense training, were on full display. 

To Shang Congtong’s eyes, those patches were something else entirely. 

After threatening to report Qiao Nan’s name to the teacher, Shang felt uneasy all day. 

Because she’d been threatened into giving Qiao Nan’s name to the teacher, the girl had been feeling guilty these past few days. She kept telling herself over and over that it was just a competition—just like Wan Huzhong said, it was just for physical exercise. No big deal. 

But when the sports meet day came and Shang Congtong saw Qiao Nan covered in bandages, she felt a bit overwhelmed. 

Qiao Nan didn’t spend much time in class, so Shang Congtong didn’t know her well. 

But that didn’t stop her from completely breaking down inside at this moment. 

Qiao Nan was already hurt this badly, and she was still upset about being forced to join the competition. 

Gritting her teeth, Shang Congtong braced herself and gently patted Qiao Nan on the shoulder. 

“Qiao Nan, maybe… maybe you should go rest.” 

“This competition isn’t something you even wanted to be part of. I’m here, so our class still has someone competing.” She paused, then bit her lip hard under Qiao Nan’s surprised gaze. Her voice grew quieter and quieter. “Wan Huzhong threatened me into submitting your name. After the competition, I’ll go tell the teacher.” 

“I’m sorry… I really am, it’s just… I was scared.” 

During the class meeting, the PE assistant had left early, so she was completely unaware of how outmatched Wan Huzhong was by Qiao Nan in terms of strength. 

The moment Qiao Nan realized she’d been tricked into signing up, she immediately guessed the PE assistant must have been involved—after all, Wan Huzhong wouldn’t have been able to register her alone. 

After all, Qiao Nan knew her deskmate’s habits well enough—even though Shang Congtong didn’t say it outright, it was almost certainly a threat. 

Just because she could overpower Wan Huzhong didn’t mean others could, especially not a girl. 

Qiao Nan didn’t hold any grudge against Shang Congtong. In fact, when she saw the girl trying to avoid her earlier, she was actually thinking of going up to say hello. 

Seeing that she was clearly misunderstood, Qiao Nan smiled and pointed toward their class’s rest area, then gestured at the little chubby kid crouching at the front of the first row. 

The boys finished their 400-meter race before the girls did. Even though Qiao Nan was still getting ready for her race, Wan Huzhong was already lying flat in the rest zone, wheezing like crazy. 

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” The girl mimicked Cheng Cheng and gave Shang Congtong a firm pat on the shoulder, sounding totally relaxed, “Have you seen Wan Huzhong? With his physique, he can run 400 meters no problem. What do we have to be scared of?” 

Although she didn’t know why Wan Huzhong suddenly joined the 400-meter race, Shang Congtong quietly objected, “But… he’s a boy.” 

Qiao Nan shrugged. “So?” 

And under Shang Congtong’s stunned gaze, she watched the seemingly frail girl explode forward the moment the starting gun fired—finishing the race half a lap ahead of the others and easily taking first place. 

And, as Ning Jiwen had hoped, she broke the school record while she was at it. 

But that wasn’t all. After the 400 meters, with Shang Congtong still stunned, Qiao Nan casually hummed a tune as she left the track race area and headed to the field events. 

Compared to the 400 meters, long jump and high jump were the real basics for a figure skater. 

While she couldn’t compete with professional high jumpers, dominating at school level was no big deal. 

And sure enough, with a 1.77-meter long jump and a 1.1-meter high jump, she won two gold medals for her grade. 

The only issue? Qiao Nan herself didn’t seem too happy with the results. 

“Only 1.77?” She stared at the score the teacher gave her and kept asking in disbelief. “Are you sure you measured that right?!” 

Author’s note: 

Shang Congtong: 1.77? That far?! 

Qiao Nan: 1.77?! I didn’t train for two days and dropped off this much?! I’m doomed, coach is going to kill me. 😩