“Next, let’s head to the ice rink,” Lin Bowen said, flipping through the camera in his hands, checking the photos he had taken, frowning. “Something feels like it’s missing.”

“Missing what?” Zhang Guanghua asked attentively. “Do you think the infrastructure needs something added? Or should the regulations be changed in some way?”

“Ah, no, it’s not those things.”

Lin Bowen waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t know much about what you guys in sports do. I just feel like this news won’t have much impact unless there’s something really eye-catching—something that can grab people’s attention!”

“Eye-catching protagonist?”

“Yes, exactly. It’s like making a movie. Think about it—if a movie is going to be good, it needs a main character to support the story. The main character’s shining moments need to be frequent to draw in more viewers, right?”

“Right now, we just need a movie’s main character to support this story.”

Zhang Guanghua stared at him for a moment before replying, “…But we’re not making a movie.”

“I get it, I get it, I’m just using an analogy.” Lin Bowen made an ‘OK’ gesture with his hand. “We’re just missing something to draw attention. If we send out what we have right now, it won’t catch people’s eye, and the promotional effect will be greatly reduced. So, do you have any special athletes or events in your figure skating team? Tell me about them, and maybe we can use that as the highlight.”

Zhang Guanghua fell silent. After a long pause, he shook his head. “Our figure skating team doesn’t have many athletes.”

Of course, if they had athletes, he wouldn’t have come to Lin Bowen for promotional help.

Lin Bowen: “….”

“Alright then.” Lin Bowen sighed. “If the promotional effect doesn’t turn out as expected, you can’t blame me.”

Zhang Guanghua sighed as well. “It’s fine, I won’t blame you.”

He was just testing out this possibility.

“Let’s go, the next stop is your training hall. I’ll take some photos of the athletes training and see if I can find some topics to write about.”

“Okay,” Zhang Guanghua nodded.

They made their way to the training rink, and as soon as they pushed open the door, they were greeted by a chill. The temperature inside the training hall, with the ice rink, was much colder than the air-conditioned space outside.

As soon as the door opened, Lin Bowen spotted a young boy standing in the center of the rink, while the others had stepped out of the rink and were standing outside the barrier.

Curious, Lin Bowen pointed at the boy in the center of the rink. “What’s he doing? Performing?”

Zhang Guanghua followed Lin Bowen’s gaze and, upon seeing the boy, nodded knowingly. “A coach recommended this child to join the team today. He should be doing an ice test now.”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Lin Bowen became interested and looked at the boy for a few more seconds. He immediately noticed something unique about him.

Instinctively, Lin Bowen raised his camera, aimed it at the boy, and hit the record button for a video. Before he could adjust the settings, the boy had already started moving.

Lin Bowen didn’t have time to change the mode and could only continue recording the boy.

Music poured out.

The music of Swan Lake was soft and soothing, and compared to the grand, sweeping movements, it was the graceful footwork that matched the melody. The young boy stretched his arms out, becoming the wings of a swan. With his fluid steps, his arms subtly trembled, and his fitted sportswear perfectly showcased the delicate movements of his arms, resembling a true swan.

Even though it was just an ordinary sports outfit, it exuded an extraordinary charm on him.

Swan Lake tells the story of an evil sorcerer who transforms a princess into a white swan. Only true love can break the spell. The prince falls in love with the white swan, but the sorcerer, determined not to let the curse be broken, sends the black swan disguised as the white swan to deceive the prince. Eventually, the prince realizes the truth, angrily kills the black swan, and, in the end, the two swans perish together.

This tragic love story, combined with the fact that Swan Lake is a ballet, made it an ideal piece for interpretation.

Li Nan had a smile on his face, yet there was an inexplicable sadness that surrounded him. His hands were crossed over his chest, his body slightly bent in a gesture of struggle. After a set of relatively simple steps, he followed with a swan-like glide. His movements were incredibly smooth, like a white swan spreading its wings on a calm, undisturbed lake.

In the next moment, Li Nan pulled his hands back and leaped into the air, floating gracefully.

One turn, two turns, three turns!

A triple jump!

This time, unlike when he was at the ice rink in the mall, where he nearly fell after landing, he landed firmly on one foot and stretched his arms out. He left a beautiful arc on the ice, and the bright overhead lights cast a soft glow on him, surrounding him with a delicate haze. The smooth ice reflected his faint shadow, creating an unreal, ethereal feeling.

“Wow—” The little girl who had previously dismissed the boy as merely ‘handsome’ gasped, covering her mouth in awe.

She suddenly understood why her friend had said this person was so beautiful.

Lin Bowen, who was filming, widened his eyes, his heart pounding. Fortunately, after years of being a reporter, his hands remained steady, holding the camera with precision.

It seemed like he had found the male lead for the figure skating team!

On the stands, Li Nan’s family was also stunned, watching the light, graceful boy gliding across the rink. They could hardly believe it was Li Nan.

­

They didn’t understand the difficulty of the jump, but as soon as they heard the surrounding gasps of awe, they instantly realized how amazing Li Nan was.

That young boy dancing on the ice—he was their son!

This was Li Nan’s signature jump: the Philippe jump.

Without the help of a high-definition camera to analyze, Ding Jianguo, relying on his own experience, could tell that this 3F pre-rotation was nearly flawless, less than 45!

The jump was clean, crisp, and visually pleasing—completely up to standard!

Many figure skaters face issues with premature blade turn (rotation) during takeoff, and although there’s no specific deduction in the technical handbook for pre-rotation, if the angle is excessive, it will still be considered a negative point in high-definition footage.

However, Li Nan’s takeoff was impeccable.

Although it appeared to be an unconventional jump at first glance, the details were perfect, meeting all the standards. Even Ding Jianguo, who had seen many skaters over the years, found it hard to fully grasp the technique of this young boy.

Li Nan didn’t stop. He tilted his head slightly, his long, curly eyelashes casting a small shadow across his face as he lowered his gaze. With the music, he turned and leaped forward, performing a perfect one-and-a-half rotation in the air before landing smoothly.

An Axel jump with a full rotation.

The music continued, and Li Nan’s movements became sharper as the rhythm of the music quickened. His jumps and spins, once soft and graceful, now carried a sharpness that made every movement more decisive. There was an intensity to his jumps, a kind of force that made the audience’s hearts race along with the music, following his every leap.

This routine was just a performance skate, and the choreography itself wasn’t complex. Aside from the first triple Philippe jump, the rest of the jumps were double and single rotations. Li Nan’s other two best triple jumps weren’t even included in the routine.

But for a ten-year-old child, this level of difficulty was already extraordinary, showcasing immense talent.

As the orchestral music swelled, becoming more enigmatic and mysterious, Li Nan’s performance reached its climax. The intricate and ever-changing steps expressed pain and struggle, culminating in a piercing motion as though the blade itself was striking him.

Li Nan compressed himself into a thin layer, holding his legs in a sitspin, then quickly transitioned into a one-handed broken-leg spin, arms extended in a graceful imitation of a swan. He changed feet and seamlessly flowed into a layback spin before performing another sitspin followed by a backward counter-spin.

A dazzling series of spins slowed, and in the center of the rink, the young boy continued to dance. Suddenly, he collapsed toward the ice. Before anyone could react in shock, he raised his head again, but this time, there was no gentle smile on his face. Instead, his lips curled in a mocking grin, resembling the smug satisfaction of a mischievous little devil after deceiving everyone.

Lin Bowen’s heart skipped a beat, and his breath seemed to slow, as if he were afraid that even his breathing might disturb the boy in front of the camera.

In the lens, the boy’s side profile was beautiful, his features refined, and that mocking smile didn’t make him repulsive—instead, it stirred a wild, irrational desire to get closer to him.

To approach him, to be the object of his devilish games, to…

“Is this…?” Lin Chunya, sensing something, was taken aback. “Is this the Black Swan interpretation?”

Most skaters performing Swan Lake choose to interpret the perspective of the White Swan. There was no particular reason for this choice, except that the White Swan was easier to perform with this piece, especially since the original music evokes a sense of mystery and sorrow that contrasts sharply with the sinister nature of the Black Swan villain.

Even if someone did choose to perform from the Black Swan’s perspective, they would usually alter the composition. It was nearly impossible to convey the Black Swan’s essence with the original style of the piece.

Li Nan had done the impossible.

No, it wasn’t just a simple interpretation of the Black Swan. He was performing a scene where the Black Swan disguised herself as the White Swan to deceive the Prince.

While everyone thought he was dancing the sorrowful White Swan, tricked by the illusion into thinking the wrong person was the one he loved, it wasn’t until the end of the performance—after a fast spin, followed by a mocking grin—that the audience realized he had been playing the Black Swan all along, manipulating hearts under the guise of the White Swan.

In the original ballet, the Black Swan meets her tragic end after being exposed by the Prince. But in Li Nan’s interpretation, it was as if the Black Swan had toyed with people’s emotions, and just when everyone thought her scheme was doomed to fail, she pulled away, revealing it had all been a game—a game she was in control of.

No wonder! No wonder Li Nan’s movements became sharper in the latter half, unlike the soft elegance of the White Swan. Everything had been a clue.

He was portraying the Black Swan disguised as the White Swan!

This contrast in design was sophisticated and difficult to pull off. Many figure skaters might falter in their performance and end up with a smarmy smile, breaking the audience’s immersion instantly. But Li Nan’s performance was truly exceptional.

Yes, it was a remarkable performance, far beyond the level expected of a mere test run. In fact, the choreography was so well-structured that with just a few tweaks, it could easily be taken to a competition.

From the moment Li Nan stepped onto the ice, Ding Jianguo had suspected he must have studied figure skating. However, he hadn’t expected Li Nan to perform with such confidence and poise—he was skating better than many competitors who had been in numerous contests.

Ding Jianguo took a deep breath and led the applause.

Slowly, the clapping grew louder, reverberating across the ice rink. Under the watchful eyes of the few spectators, Li Nan had completed his first performance on the ice in his life.

Li Nan climbed up from the ice, still slightly out of breath, and glided slowly toward the exit. Ding Jianguo met him halfway and gave him a big hug. “That was amazing!”

At this moment, the one-minute test that Ding Jianguo had mentioned had long since passed.

But none of the coaches showed any signs of impatience. Instead, they were all filled with excitement.

They all realized that Li Nan’s presence might bring a massive change to their figure skating team, potentially even elevating them to a higher level. They knew that with such a gifted child, he would never settle for just being a part of a provincial team.

Lin Bowen kept replaying the video on his camera, over and over. “Perfect, really perfect. Why does he look flawless in every frame? There’s not a single awkward angle.”

Each frame in the video was stunning, so beautiful that even when Lin Bowen’s hand shook, the camera still captured Li Nan’s beautiful performance. It was almost unbelievable.

“So there really are people in this world who are born to be camera darlings,” he murmured.

Lin Bowen slapped Zhang Guanghua on the shoulder, giving him a big thumbs-up. “Congratulations in advance. With this video, your figure skating team is going to be a sensation.”

Zhang Guanghua’s eyes sparkled as he watched Li Nan on the ice, completely captivated by the sight.

Yes, his skating team was about to produce a genius athlete.

“Xudong… is that really our little Nan?” Li Wenqing asked in disbelief. “He… he looks so… so… uh…”

Li Wenqing couldn’t find the right words to describe what she was seeing. The young man on the ice was so dazzling. He glided gracefully across the rink, like the wind, like snow, like a spirit. He was nothing like the mischievous boy who used to climb trees all day long!

She never expected her child, the one she had given birth to, to have such a brilliant side to him.

It completely shattered her previous understanding of Li Nan.

But when did he learn all of this?

Had they truly overlooked this child? Without them even realizing it, he had already grown to be so outstanding, while their memories still lingered in the faded, yellowed past, thinking of him as nothing more than a mischievous troublemaker?

Shen Xudong remained silent for a while, then reached out to tightly grasp Li Wenqing’s arm. “It seems that Xiao Nan really loves this sport. He’s grown to this level without us even noticing.”

“Although it’s regretful that we weren’t there for every fall he took, we still have plenty of time to be a part of his even more dazzling future.”

“Perhaps that’s the reason he didn’t tell us.”

Don’t worry about my falls, but be proud of the applause I receive with every performance.

Just as they were moved by these thoughts, they suddenly saw Li Nan’s expression change in an instant. One second he was the little devil playing with people’s hearts, and the next, he was happily running toward them.

“Dad—Mom—Grandpa—Grandma! I passed the test!”