“Little panda?” The name immediately made Qiao Nan think of Aurora. 

“Is this the same panda I’m thinking of?” The little girl hesitated for a moment before asking. 

You know, the one they called the red panda because their spinning base wasn’t very stable. 

But Tuan Tuan didn’t give Qiao Nan any chance to dodge the question. 

⌈ If you’re referring to Carlos, ⌋ 
⌈ Then yes. ⌋ 

“Carlos?” The name sounded familiar. Qiao Nan flipped through her memories of chatting with Aurora and precisely recalled it. 

“The Russian figure skater?” 

Russian men’s singles might not be as famous as the women’s, but as a big winter sports country, they have plenty of solid mid- to high-level skaters, even if there aren’t too many stars at the very top. 

Carlos was probably one of Russia’s top skaters, someone with a respectable ranking in international competitions. 

Tuan Tuan’s answer was very clear. 

⌈ Yes. ⌋ 

As Qiao Nan watched Carlos excitedly coming down the stairs, she felt a little puzzled. 

“Tuan Tuan, why do you think he likes me?” The little girl switched gears and glided over toward the railing near the stairs. 

She might be a bit naive when it came to being liked, but she could clearly sense Carlos’s appreciation for her. 

Qiao Nan’s appearance was pretty much classic lolita style: a round, chubby face, and big, bright apricot eyes. 

Plus, her “Jasmine Flower” costume was a white gradient corset dress, and her hair was styled in two little buns. 

Wasn’t that the textbook panda color combination? 

The little ice crystal scrutinized the girl carefully. 

Then chose to stay silent. 

Qiao Nan wasn’t about to back down. Seeing the usually chatty system not responding, she cleverly switched questions. 

“Hey system, do they know that the red panda’s nickname is ‘Gun Gun’?” 

One problem with having blurry memories from a past life was often confusing the timeline. 

Tuan Tuan kindly reminded Qiao Nan. 

⌈ The nickname “Gun Gun” didn’t go viral until after 2005. ⌋ 
⌈ They just think your footing is unsteady. That’s all. ⌋ 

Qiao Nan suddenly felt asking Tuan Tuan that question was just asking for trouble. 

The little girl leaned on the railing, looking at the blond man in front of her with a small smile. 

“Hi, Mr. Carlos.” She switched to English and politely greeted the tall man, “I’ve heard about you from Aurora.” 

“She said you’re a really great athlete.” 

Carlos and Aurora’s shared the same coach—Wright. Though their training intensity was different, they often ran into each other. 

But Carlos always tried to avoid that chatty girl who was always buzzing around him. 

He only knew that she seemed to see him as a goal to chase. 

Still, being over ten years older than Qiao Nan, Carlos didn’t have much in common to talk about with the little girl. 

“Aurora?” Carlos gave an awkward smile and tried to keep the conversation going, “Are you close with her?” 

“She seems to be training extra hard lately.” 

“We met at the Volin Memorial,” Qiao Nan replied softly, also sensing that the topic was hard to continue. So she gently asked, “Mr. Carlos, are you here in China to compete?” 

The season had just started, and the international competitions in China hadn’t kicked off yet. 

Other than that, Qiao Nan couldn’t think of any reason why Carlos would be here. 

Carlos wouldn’t even tell James the purpose of his visit, let alone say anything when meeting Qiao Nan. 

“No, no, I’ve got some things to take care of.” He kept dodging and happened to glance at the claw machine by the stairs. 

Suddenly remembering something, he invited Qiao Nan, “Hey Qiao, wanna try the claw machine?” 

“Huh…?” The girl tilted her head in confusion, not understanding why this man—who wasn’t even that familiar to her—would suddenly ask her such a question. 

But the claw machine was right next to the rink, not far at all. 

She still made sure to inform Cheng Shishi, who was strolling around the rink, then changed her shoes and returned to Carlos’ side. 

Qiao Nan hadn’t tied her hair in a bun today, but her two small ponytails bounced as she walked, somehow reminding Carlos of the clumsy little panda he’d seen online. 

He subconsciously wanted to reach out and mess with her hair. 

And he did just that, then looked at Qiao Nan’s messy hair and awkwardly tried to make an excuse. 

“Your hair’s a little messy…” Carlos tried hard to explain, rather stiffly, then looked at Qiao Nan’s slightly watery eyes and awkwardly changed the subject: “So, what kind of plush toy do you like?” 

Ten minutes later, Qiao Nan stared blankly at the pile of pandas she was holding. 

She didn’t get why, with a whole row of different plushed toys, Carlos only managed to grab panda ones. 

If she hadn’t seen him try again and again, she might have thought he was doing it on purpose. 

“Tuan Tuan, was that you?” She wasn’t happy and blamed Tuan Tuan beside her. 

But the little ice crystal, who hadn’t done anything and had just been quietly watching from a stranger’s point of view as panda after panda was clawed out wasn’t about to take the blame. 

⌈ I didn’t do anything. ⌋ 

⌈ That’s your own fate, Qiao Qiao. ⌋ 

✵✵✵ 

Even though Qiao Nan admired Carlos’s claw machine skills, she still politely thanked him. 

She picked one panda plushed toy—one holding a bamboo shoot and slightly more acceptable-looking than the others—as a keepsake and said goodbye to him. 

It wasn’t late, and she planned to head home with Cheng Shishi. 

Holding the panda plushed toy, she suddenly remembered Qian Hongdou, who she had seen at the rink, and glanced back toward the ice. 

The rink was still busy with people, but the girl in the red training suit had disappeared. 

“What is it?” Cheng Shishi asked. 

She must’ve left already. After all, it had been a while since they crossed paths. 

Qiao Nan pressed her lips together, “Nothing.” 

She looked up and gave Cheng Shishi a sweet smile. 

“Let’s go home, Aunt Shishi.” 

The little girl happily bounced along, tugging on Cheng Shishi’s hand as they left the mall, perfectly missing Zhang Lezhang, who had just come looking for Qian Hongdou. 

Qian Hongdou hadn’t actually left Xishuang; she just found a quiet corner to start training on her own. 

Compared to the Axel triple jump that Jixing Club constantly forced her to practice, she preferred the prettier, though lower-scoring, movements. 

Kids picked by Cheng Cheng usually had some standout artistic flair, which clearly clashed with the Jixing Club’s extreme focus on high scores. 

Thinking back, Qian Hongdou sighed—she had only been poached by Zhang Lezhang with a high salary because of her perfect double Axel. 

She guessed that’s probably how Qiao Nan caught Zhang Lezhang’s eye too. 

Even Qian Hongdou, who’s two years older, couldn’t deny how the little girl’s amazing artistry was backed up by undeniable skills—how could Zhang Lezhang not see that? 

The Jixing Club was expanding rapidly. Although its reputation was rising domestically, it still lacked a truly iconic skater. 

That’s also why Zhang Lezhang kept squeezing Cheng Cheng for talent year after year. 

Compared to the northeastern provinces, Beijing’s figure skating level was only average. And yet, in such an environment, Cheng Cheng could still produce athletes for the national team—his judgment was beyond question. 

Too bad Jixing Club was really good at spotting other coaches’ talents, but… 

“Why are you here?” 

After falling out with Zhang Lezhang, Qian Hongdou had developed a kind of resistance to the Jixing Club and rarely trained at their rink when Zhang Lezhang was around. 

When she came to Xishuang, she told Zhang Lezhang as usual, thinking he’d be too busy applying for funding and recruiting new skaters to bother with her. 

But unexpectedly, Zhang Lezhang had just been scolded by the higher-ups. He stormed over, frowning, and slapped a stack of papers right onto her arm without hesitation. 

“Why were you so terrible today? Can’t you practice more? You want to mess up again at the competition day after tomorrow and get laughed at?” 

“You know your situation. At this pace, when will you even land a triple Axel?” 

“Don’t even think about breaking your contract with the club—you can’t afford the penalty.” 

Since their fallout, Zhang Lezhang hadn’t shown any kindness to his ‘club star’ anymore. And Qian Hongdou wasn’t living up to expectations—her skills and mindset were getting worse. 

Although the two of them could maintain a surface-level peace in daily life, now the only thing holding Qian Hongdou back was the huge penalty clause in the contract that Zhang Lezhang had signed when recruiting her. 

The amount was far more than what she had earned in the past few years. 

Qian Hongdou was only nine years old, but because of her family situation, she saw everything very clearly. 

“You weren’t just here to talk to the leaders about funding, right?” Zhang Lezhang’s grip was strong; her arm was starting to turn red. She rubbed it and stepped back until they couldn’t touch. 

Her voice was cold. “Don’t worry, once you find a new student, I’ll apply to leave right away. I won’t waste your coaching spot.” 

“If I’m not mistaken, this time it’s Qiao Nan, right?” The little girl said coldly. “Don’t worry, I won’t ruin your good plans.” 

“But I do wish you bad luck this time.” 

Including herself, all the students Coach Cheng had ever trained who went to Jixing Club were either kicked out or pushed too hard. 

Qian Hongdou once swore to Cheng Cheng she’d never betray him, but in the end, her parents won. 

Her parents had signed the contract. When she came back from training and heard the news, she was stunned. 

At this crossroads, she’d been forced down the wrong path—but strangely, she believed Qiao Nan wouldn’t be like that. 

For the first time, Qian Hongdou genuinely wished Zhang Lezhang would fail. 

Zhang Lezhang was efficient as always. 

So the next day, when Qian Hongdou followed Zhang Lezhang onto the ice, it was no surprise she saw him turn and greet a girl walking toward them. 

“Hi, Qiao Nan,” Zhang said, half-bowing, using that warm and friendly tone Qian Hongdou had heard from him a year ago, as he tried to sell the Jixing Club to the little girl with two buns in her hair. 

In his description, Jixing Club was like a utopia that fulfilled every athlete’s wish. 

“Would you like to learn about our Jixing Club? Great pay, lots of benefits. Come to Jixing Club, and we’ll give you everything you want.” 

Author’s Note: 

Qiao Nan: Thanks for the invitation, but I want an international-level coach. Can you fulfill that? 

✵✵✵ 

Because I was watching some late-night streams on Bilibili, I wanted Qiao Nan to perform “Above the Moon.” 

My best friend stopped me. 

She said she didn’t want to see Qiao Nan turn into a comedian. 😅