Song Yongsong stood frozen in place, staring blankly as his muse walked away, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

That nearly scorching smile burned his eyes.

Yes, he understood. Because they were the same kind of person—he, too, was working his entire life toward a goal.

…

Li Nan declined the invitation from the genius director and skipped down the stairs with light steps.

At this moment, his mood was particularly uplifted, as though something was about to break free from its shell.

【Host, are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?】

The system seemed a bit reluctant, and its tone revealed that hesitation.

Li Nan’s mood brightened even further. He realized that despite the system’s apparent control over everything, his rejection had thrown all its plans into disarray.

As long as he remained firm in pursuing his own goal, no one would be able to stop him.

The ice rink in the department store seemed quite rudimentary to Li Nan. After joining the national team, he practiced in the internal training rinks of the team. Especially after his performance improved, he became one of the few male singles athletes in China who could compete on the international stage. The training facilities assigned to him were much larger, with better equipment.

At any given time, no more than ten people used the rink at the same time, and this count included the coaches. Now, seeing the small rink in the department store, packed with people, and without the regular ice resurfacing and grinding that professional rinks had, Li Nan found it truly basic.

However, these conditions were still quite good. Li Nan had once discussed with his coach that he was born in one of the three northeastern provinces of China, where the economy wasn’t well-developed and there were no public rinks for ordinary people to use. People there would only skate on frozen lakes during winter.

And those frozen lakes didn’t have ice resurfacing machines. The ice, formed purely from water, was more prone to injury when skated on, with conditions far worse than the department store rink.

As one of the most economically developed cities in China, S City having an ice rink available for tourists in the year 2000 was already quite a pleasant surprise for Li Nan.

Li Nan found the ticket counter, but his height wasn’t enough to reach the window, so he had to stand on tiptoe and lean forward to ask the elderly ticket clerk inside, “Sir, how much are the tickets?”

The elderly man was holding a fan, idly waving it back and forth. Next to him was a radio playing the high-pitched sounds of traditional opera. He closed his eyes, swaying his head in rhythm, enjoying the performance and mimicking the singing. When he heard Li Nan’s voice, he opened his eyes, looked at him, and handed over a piece of cardboard that he had fished out from beside him.

It was a piece of cardboard made from used paper, with black handwriting listing a few prices.

10/ hour

30/ for private booking

Shoe rental 10/ hour, deposit 200

The prices weren’t particularly expensive for Li Nan—his pocket money was usually quite ample—but the 200 yuan deposit seemed a bit much.

At this time, what kid could carry a few hundred yuan with them when going out? Even before his rebirth, Li Nan had never seen an elementary school student, only about ten years old, who could casually carry that much money.

It was understandable, though. Ice skating was a rare activity nowadays, and ice skates were expensive consumables. In Li Nan’s time, even an entry-level pair would cost several hundred yuan, let alone in the year 2000, when the cost of making ice skates was even higher.

Li Nan reached into his pocket and realized he didn’t have much money on him today. He didn’t have enough to cover the 200 yuan deposit, meaning he couldn’t rent the skates. But without skates, how could he skate?

Should he just go back? But Li Nan’s heart was already attached to that pristine ice surface. The thought of going back just like this made him unwilling to leave.

“Sir—” Li Nan adjusted his expression to look even more pitiful. His appearance was already quite delicate, and acting cute was always his strongest suit. He had even studied performance and knew how to amplify his advantages. Very few people could resist his charm.

And now that he was in the form of a child, this advantage was even greater.

“I didn’t bring that much money. Could I just pay for the rental?” Li Nan blinked at the elderly man and placed four fingers against his cheek. “I promise—I promise I won’t damage the skates!”

If it had been an auntie at the counter, Li Nan probably would have already succeeded. Unfortunately, the ticket clerk was an old man.

An old man who was deeply engrossed in opera. Upon hearing Li Nan’s words, the elderly man simply waved his hand dismissively, closed his eyes again, and began swaying and mimicking the singing.

Li Nan: “…”

The first failure since his rebirth.

Li Nan felt a bit down as he turned to leave, but just a few steps in, he heard a loud, cheerful voice from behind: “Old man, give me two pairs of skates and reserve a session.”

Li Nan curiously looked over at the voice and saw a big, burly man with a full beard pulling out his wallet, ready to pay.

Wow, this man’s beard had quite the character.

Li Nan had never seen someone with such a thick beard… Maybe it was just that his hair grew naturally thick? In that case, he probably didn’t have to worry about balding when he hit middle age.

“Hey, uncle, when you reserve a session, it means you’re booking the time from 2:00 to 5:30. After 5:30, they need to resurface the ice, and it won’t open again until 6:30, which is considered the evening session,” Li Nan casually reminded him. “It’s already 3:30 now.”

There were only two hours left in the afternoon session, and reserving the entire session for 30 yuan was obviously less cost-effective than buying an hourly ticket.

The burly man glanced at Li Nan and then smiled and nodded. “You’re right. Old man, I’ll just buy tickets for two hours, for two people.”

With that, he handed over a 500-yuan note.

The old man glanced at the bearded man, took the money, placed it to the side, and then pulled out two tags from a drawer, each secured with a rubber band. He tossed them to the bearded man, then took out a receipt book, scribbled something quickly, tore off two slips of paper, and handed them over along with twenty yuan in change. “Take these tags and the receipt over there to get the skates. We have adult and child sizes, just let the staff know your shoe size and they’ll pick the right ones for you.”

After speaking, without waiting for the bearded man to say anything more, he pulled down the small window, looking as if he had no intention of continuing to sell tickets. It was as if their conversation had interrupted his opera listening.

Li Nan was stunned. So this is how people did business back in the day— it wasn’t about how much money they could make, but whether they felt like it or not?

He sighed, deciding that anything could happen at this hour.

He was about to head home since he didn’t have enough money, and the old man wasn’t willing to make an exception. He’d just have to wait until next time to bring his New Year’s money to go ice skating. Maybe he could do it tomorrow?

Just as he was thinking this, the burly man with the beard called out to him. “Aren’t you going ice skating? Why are you leaving?”

Li Nan froze for a moment, feeling a bit awkward. It reminded him of the time he went to the convenience store and forgot his phone, unable to pay. But in his current childlike form, not having money was completely understandable. “I don’t have enough for the deposit,” he said.

The bearded man shook the tags in his hand. “I know, that’s why I rented one for you, too.”

Li Nan: ???

He was surprised. “But this is too expensive…”

“It’s just the deposit,” the bearded man waved his hand nonchalantly. “As long as you don’t intentionally damage the skates, the 200 yuan will be refunded. If you feel bad about it, just give me the ticket price and the skate rental fee.”

Li Nan felt the weight of the ice skates in his hands, their unpleasant smell lingering in the air. He could tell they were cheap, likely used by many before him. But he wasn’t bothered by it. After all, these were just tools for the experience, not an end in themselves.

He took the hand tag from the bearded man, who had led him to the skate rental area, and felt the thrill of the moment bubbling up. He was about to step onto the ice again. That alone was enough to make him forget about the uncomfortable skates.

The bearded man then asked, “Do you need any protective gear?”

Li Nan shook his head confidently. “I don’t need any. I know how to skate.”

The bearded man shrugged, clearly not expecting resistance, and left him to get on with it.

Li Nan inspected the skates. They were a standard, unremarkable adult women’s size, clearly not ideal, but they were the closest fit. The color—neon pink—was far from pleasing, but at least they’d fit his feet.

He adjusted the straps tightly, remembering how the shoes needed to be secured well to avoid injury. His fingers were nimble, and his body buzzed with anticipation. He had missed this. The feeling of skating, the freedom, the sharpness of the cold air—he had dreamed about it so many times in his past life.

Now, here he was. With a youthful body that was unburdened by age or injury. He felt it was a gift that he wasn’t going to waste.

Taking a deep breath, Li Nan made his way toward the rink, his heart racing slightly with excitement. He was about to experience something that had been out of reach for too long.

Li Nan tested his movements, adjusting the skates. They were a bit too big, but they would do. As long as he could skate, that was what mattered most.

After doing a quick warm-up on the ice, Li Nan arranged with the bearded man to return the skates half an hour before the rink closed. Then, with a burst of energy, he glided into the center of the ice.

The moment Li Nan stepped onto the rink, he immediately felt the difference. The ice was too soft, with a layer of shavings and thin water covering it. His skates dug deeper than usual, giving him an unusual grip on the surface.

This type of ice was prone to slipping and made it hard to maintain balance. It also disrupted the rhythm needed for jumps, and he could see that falls were common on this rink.

Li Nan instinctively began analyzing the ice based on the standards of a competition rink. Every athlete learns to assess the condition of the ice at every competition and adjust accordingly. Athletes who adapt well to different ice conditions tend to secure stable rankings in every event.

On the best ice, athletes can unleash their full potential, achieving their personal bests.

But after a moment of reflection, Li Nan realized this wasn’t a competition, and he wasn’t a professional athlete anymore. He smiled wryly, patting his forehead in mild frustration, then lowered his body slightly, hands behind his back, and shot forward into a carefree glide across the rink.

The wind caught in his hair, and the cool breeze brushed his face, bringing with it a familiar sense of freedom. The ice, the wind, the smooth movement—it all wrapped around him like an old friend, and his heart lightened with joy. He could feel the years of longing melting away as he sped across the ice, allowing the simple pleasure to take over his senses.

For the first time in a long while, he felt completely free.

Li Nan felt a surge of emotion as he extended his arms, leaning slightly to the left. With a powerful push from the tip of his right skate, his body lifted like a light swallow, twisting in the air with a graceful ease.

One spin, two spins, three spins!

As he landed, his arms flared out, but he wasn’t done yet. This time, with a strong push off his left foot, Li Nan’s body rose again. Another three spins followed before he landed smoothly on the ice.

The bearded man, who had been watching Li Nan intently, widened his eyes in surprise.

What was that?!