Qiao Nan realized it wasn’t just her high jump and long jump that had regressed—even her flexibility seemed to have declined a bit. 

It wasn’t a big drop, but enough for her to notice the difference right away. 

The provincial team regularly assessed the young athletes’ performance data, but the school sports meet reminded Qiao Nan that she hadn’t had a review in over a week. 

Although she trained with the provincial team every day without exception, the last time Coach Cheng had called her in to go over her stats was at the beginning of the month. 

In fact, Qiao Nan had vaguely felt that the quality of her training had declined recently—not only in the loop jumps she was trying to improve, but even in other jumps that had previously stabilized, there was now a noticeable downward trend. 

At first, the girl thought it was just her imagination, but after seeing the stats from the school sports meet, she couldn’t help but feel a little panicked. 

Even holding her medals didn’t feel satisfying anymore; her mind was full of thoughts about the training she’d have to do back at the provincial team. 

“Tuan Tuan, can you check if there’s anything wrong with my physical condition?” 

She took a deep breath and finally asked her personal “nanny system” for help. 

Tuan Tuan, observing from a godlike perspective how Qiao Nan had been overexerting herself lately: Are you serious right now? Ever heard of muscle fatigue? Do you think you’re made of steel? 

Don’t you realize why your stamina’s been improving so fast? 

Sure, high-intensity anaerobic training can rapidly build endurance, but the fatigue it induces in your muscles also accumulates. 

Just the training records Tuan Tuan pulled from the system over the last two days matched what Qiao Nan used to do in a whole week. 

Even the coach had quietly increased her training load, but Qiao Nan still thought it was all part of “adapting” to her coach. 

The little ice crystal glanced at the competition schedule on the system and wisely chose to keep quiet. 

Maybe pushing a bit more on flexibility wasn’t the worst idea. 

⌈ Qiao Nan, your body’s fine. You just need to rest. ⌋ 

⌈ Or rather, you can forget about endurance for a while and focus more on your flexibility. ⌋ 

Tuan Tuan didn’t even need to check the system to respond directly. 

Every manipulation of the system consumed points. Though it looked like Qiao Nan had gained a lot of little perks by bending the rules, once she surpassed 30 points and the system’s shop opened, all of it would need to be repaid. 

It might even count some of her rebirth energy against her balance. 

Thinking about her host’s super niche path, Little Ice Crystal silently decided to dismiss the system pop-up. 

Better save those points—don’t want to end up losing even your last pair of pants. 

The school sports meet lasted two days, but all of Qiao Nan’s events were scheduled on the first day and wrapped up quickly. 

To her, it was better to make good use of the second day by heading to the provincial team than hanging around as a mere spectator. 

Tuan Tuan had reminded her that her strength loss was mainly due to fatigue, but her flexibility decline was purely from negligence. 

Ballet was one of Qiao Nan’s most important supplementary courses, but since returning from Russia, her previously spotless attendance record had become patchy due to overlapping provincial team training sessions. 

The provincial team also offered ballet classes, but because she hadn’t found one that fully suited her, Qiao Nan hadn’t signed up and hadn’t been using her free time to attend those extra sessions. 

She decided to set a small goal first: making her Biellmann spin look good. 

Although she could pull off a Biellmann, her form was so ungraceful that even Marlon felt too embarrassed to include it in a routine. 

Considering the gold medal Qiao Nan had won for the class, Ning Jiwen happily approved her leave request, letting the girl bounce away from school with her slip in hand. 

Then early the next morning, Qiao Nan rushed straight back to the provincial team. 

Some kids lived at the training center, and when Qiao Nan arrived, He Yelan was leading a group of noisy youngsters in warm-up exercises in the indoor training room. 

Unlike school warm-ups, the figure skating team’s exercises focused mainly on agility, coordination, and flexibility, with many moves matching the jumps on the ice. 

As expected, Qiao Nan spotted Lu Guangji and Yan Yijin in the team. 

The two stood on opposite sides, perfectly displaying the contrast between someone slacking off and someone fully focused. 

“Qiao Nan, what brings you here?” He Yelan noticed the girl at the door and turned his head to ask. 

She snapped out of her thoughts and replied, “Good morning, Coach He. I don’t have class today, so I came by for training.” 

She looked around—it was quiet—and asked in confusion, “Coach Cheng isn’t here yet?” 

Qiao Nan had informed Cheng Cheng in advance that she would be visiting, but hadn’t expected not to find him when she arrived. 

As the provincial team’s rising star over the past two years, Qiao Nan had become a focal point of coach discussions not long after joining. While Cheng Cheng was still her primary coach, her training regimen had passed through the hands of more coaches than she could count. 

He Yelan was aware of Cheng Cheng’s recent plans. With the training load he’d assigned, and the girl silently completing it all, He Yelan had to admit: this kid was intense. 

And judging by how Qiao Nan looked, she probably didn’t even think it was that hard. She might even want extra training. 

Truly, birds of a feather flock together. Cheng Cheng was already considered crazy by the team’s standards, and his student might just be even crazier. 

No wonder Cheng Cheng had so confidently requested the registration form for the city figure skating competition. 

But despite the jokes, He Yelan was pretty straightforward when answering questions. 

“Hold on, Old Cheng is probably still having breakfast.” He glanced at the shining young talent and suddenly had the urge to poach her. “Qiao Nan, look, your coach’s training standard is a bit lacking—he’s not even here this early in the morning. Why not consider Coach He? I might be a rank below him, but I’m much more dedicated.” 

Before he could finish poaching, the window beside them suddenly opened, and an annoyed Cheng Cheng stuck his head out. 

“Get lost,” Cheng Cheng snapped, then called to his distracted little disciple, “Qiao Nan, don’t just stand there. Go warm up.” 

“Later, I’ll talk to you about something.” 

“Okay!” Qiao Nan nodded automatically, took a few steps forward, then turned back and shouted toward the coach who was eating noodles behind a protective screen. 

“Coach, don’t worry—I promised I’d take you to the top!” 

It was a very cringey way to say it, but as long as she could shamelessly power through, she could pretend not to notice at all. 

She completely ignored the wide-eyed looks from the little kids around He Yelan, and after her declaration, she ran straight toward the equipment room with her bag. 

Cheng Cheng froze, chopsticks halfway to his mouth. 

“Still a kid,” he chuckled softly, stood up, grabbed his takeaway box, and headed back to his seat. 

On his desk lay a signed guarantee form and a blank registration form, the ink still wet. 

The neighboring club always tried to poach his kids halfway through their training by throwing big money at them. 

This had been going on for five or six years, and it made Cheng Cheng pretty disheartened about figure skating as a whole. 

Over time, although he still poured genuine effort into coaching new students, he had gradually stopped offering his resources so freely. 

He had to admit—although Qiao Nan’s behavior just now was a bit overly dramatic—it had, surprisingly, reassured him somewhat. 

“Alright, consider this your birthday gift,” he said, glancing at the calendar where a date was circled, took a deep breath, and gently placed the registration form into a gift box by the wall. 

The gift box already held a number of other items. Though most were just small snacks, they clearly reflected Cheng Cheng’s care. 

✵✵✵ 

Qiao Nan’s birthday was June 1st, which was actually a lucky day for figure skaters. 

The International Skating Union (ISU) calculates athlete age cutoff as of July 1st each year, meaning a new skating season starts from then. 

It’s often said that those born before July carry a bit of good luck. 

For Qiao Nan, this year’s birthday turned out to be a surprise. 

Because of recent training and exams, she’d completely forgotten it was her birthday. 

After finishing her usual training, bouncing happily, she was picked up by her mom and got hit with a shower of streamers the moment she opened the door. 

Her face was full of confusion. 

What? Today’s her birthday? 

She had just landed her Biellmann spin steadily and was still overjoyed, so she didn’t immediately register what was happening. 

Thankfully, her parents quickly stepped in. As Qiao Li sang an off-key birthday song, Qiao You’an wheeled out a cart from the kitchen carrying a cake. 

“Happy birthday, Nan Nan. Congratulations on growing another year older,” he said with a smile, as his wife pulled their stunned daughter inside. “Make a wish.” 

“We’ve got your presents ready. Are you ready, Nan Nan?” 

Ready? What does that even mean? 

Her dad’s sentence trailed off, leaving Qiao Nan puzzled. 

But soon, she got her answer. 

After sharing cake with her family, and with Tuan Tuan’s prompting, the girl slowly made her way toward the pile of gifts stacked in the center of the living room and began unwrapping them. 

There were Ice skates from her older brother, a beautiful new costume from her mom, the usual boring check with a number on it from her dad, and… a blank piece of paper from Coach Cheng? 

Wait, a blank paper? 

Qiao Nan paused, as if realizing something, and flipped the light paper over. 

“Beijing Figure Skating Competition Registration Form.” 

On it, Coach Cheng even stuck a little note on it: Registration deadline is June 2nd, 24:00. 

Author’s note: 

Nan Nan: ??? June 2nd?! 

✵✵✵ 

Qiao Nan really is a little lucky star, always inexplicably earning the favor of key NPCs. 

Coach Cheng Cheng, after hearing her dramatic speech: +1 +1 +1 Favorability