SDC: Chapter 5

Mu Huan put his phone away and continued to clean up the room. Time passed and in the blink of an eye, he could smell the scent of food.

The cafeteria was in the courtyard and the two-story building could be seen from Mu Huan’s dormitory.

It wasn’t time for the meal to start but people were already making their way to the cafeteria one by one.

Mu Huan thought it was almost time for training. He hurriedly stopped what he was doing and went downstairs with his room card.

The national team’s standard of accommodation was naturally excellent. There were 40 types of dishes for dinner and they often changed patterns. This guaranteed the nutritional balance of athletes.

It was just that Mu Huan wasn’t in the mood to taste the food. He casually scooped up some cooked food, finished eating and left before the main group arrived.

He went upstairs to grab his training supplies and put on another mask. After going downstairs, he put the hood of the jacket on his head and headed in the direction of the skating rink.

The skating rink closed at 8 o’clock in the evening but it would usually be cleaned and the gate closed by 7:30. It was currently 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Counting the digesting time, he would only be able to skate for an hour an a half this evening.

The enrollment day for the training team in the summer vacation was July so he really didn’t have much time.

Yu Yiman requested that not only should he meet the standard but he should be much higher than the standard. This wasn’t a requirement that could be achieved with hard work alone for an athlete who stopped training for a year. 

It was only by working hard and making every effort to progress that he would be able to succeed.

Mu Huan walked to the end of the community in the complete opposite direction of the gate. At the end of a spacious road that people could drive in, there was a red painted iron gate.

The iron gate was closed tightly and only the small side door was open. He could see the Capital Skating Rink on the other side of the iron gate.

It was big.

In order to prepare for the upcoming Olympic games, the country had built this new ice center. Not only did it have a skating rink tbut there were two other ice training rinks. Next to a huge skating rice was a 500m ice road and complex track. These two super large buildings alone could hold almost all the indoor snow and ice events.

For this reason, the country demolished all the surrounding houses and invested a huge amount of money.

Mu Huan looked a the glass wall with curtains exposed in the gap between branches and joy leaped in his heart.

He loved figure skating. In his past life, figure skating had become a part of his life. It was as indispensable as breathing and sleeping. It was only on this cold ground that he could feel the joy of being alive.

He went to the side door and entered. A person’s head poked out the side building window to look at him before retracting.

Mu Huan took one step on the ground and it was a world of ice and snow. Even the air seemed a lot fresher.

He walked along the main road and the ice rink slowly grew larger in front of him. After walking for a full 15 minutes, Mu Huan arrived at the bottom of the stairs of the main entrance.

Looking up, the stairs were high, like a ladder to the sky. He remembered that every figure skater who was tired from repeated training would constantly complain when climbing these stairs.

Mu Huan once complained but he hadn’t later. If it hadn’t been for almost leaving, he wouldn’t have known the preciousness of staying here.

Mu Huan turned the backpack with the ice skates upside down and headed up the stairs.

One step, another step.

One step at a time.

He didn’t walk quickly but he was never slow. For the last few steps, he simply took it two at a time. He stood in front of the entrance and the familiar cold wind blew into his face.

Mu Huan simply loved the beauty of the ice and snow with its unique, gentle atmosphere.

The ice rink was too big. In addition to the main ice rink directly opposite the main entrance, there was also a circle around the periphery. There were four big and three small rinks spread out for training purposes.

Mu Huan knew that the main ice rink wasn’t available for the one who ‘abandoned’ the national team so he consciously went to the B1 ice rink on the left.

In fact, there was no difference between the ice surface of the main and secondary rinks. The only difference was that the main ice rink had spectator seats and all the headlights were turned on, making it particularly dazzling.

Mu Huan had mainly skated on the secondary ice rinks in his previous life and he had still had amazing results. Now he was just taking the familiar road and doing familiar things.

There was another reason why Mu Huan went to the B1 rink on the left. In his memories, he had just come out of the shadow of his pheromones at this time. In order to  pick himself up again, he would basically go to this ice rink for training.

He wanted to see ‘himself’, know ‘himself’ and stand beside ‘himself’ in order to let ‘himself’ have at least one trustworthy friend. This time, he would no longer be alone. They would work hard and succeed together.

The passage to the training ice rink was long and every three lights were turned on. The lighting was dim and the air was cold.

If he was a newcomer, the hair all over his body would be standing up and he would be scared.

Mu Huan naturally didn’t care. He just raised his hand to neaten his hair and pulled out the tuck-in shirt. He was about to meet ‘himself’ soon. It was just a bit embarrassing due to Mu Huan’s infamous nature.

‘I don’t know if ‘I’ will like it or not.’

Finally, he reached the entrance of the passage and saw the white ice.

Mu Huan had thought a lot along the way. He was both expectant and worried but now that he was looking at the ice, he didn’t see anyone.

Li Xin didn’t come.

Why didn’t he come?

Did I come too early?

Mu Huan lowered the slightly risen corners of his mouth and headed down the stairs with lowered eyes. He walked to the front seat, found a place to sit down and took the ice skates out of his backpack.

It was only after seeing these handsome skates that Mu Huan’s mood improved again. He had never worn black ice skates. As an omega, it was common to think that the white color was more suitable for a soft omega. At that time, he never cared about color as long as he could slide around.

Mu Huan never felt that a pair of ice skating shoes he had to change every year could be so handsome when black.

He bent down and put the ice skates on his feet. His feet were completely wrapped and it was a tight fit. The size was just right.

The laces were adjusted at the ends, a little at a time to ensure both the tight fit of the foot and the flexibility of the ankle.

The introductory teaching of figure skating was how to properly wear ice skates. Young children didn’t know what was appropriate and skated with loose or to right shoes until older. They spend an unknown number of years on the ice rink so their sense of the ice and skates would become more sensitive.

Mu Huan took a long time putting on the skates. He wasn’t familiar with the feet, the skates or even himself. It wasn’t until the skates were finally worn that Mu Huan got up and slowly eased himself onto the ice.

The blade of the ice skate had a unique connection with the ice and the method of going forward had changed. It was no longer his feet that were straining hard but the thin, silver blade at the center.

He cut the ice with the blade, forming friction. Then he used his waist and hips to drive his legs until an explosive force was formed at his feet.

Fierce! Step on the ice!

“?!!!”

Mu Huan was so scared that he felt numb. His heart was jumping due to the sudden increase in speed.

He had been practicing figure skating for over 10 years and this was the first time he was frightened by his speed on the ice.

He was the former world champion in the omega singles!

Mu Huan stabilized his speed and moved his ankles gently to cut a circular arc on the ice. Then he turned and looked back again.

This once kick caused him to easily slide seven or eight meters away. Was this the power of an alpha?

The distance wasn’t so exaggerated. As Li Xin, Mu Huan’s explosive power on the ice could easily reach this level. It was just that Mu Huan had used lighter strength just now but easily reached this level.

The gap between an A and O really was that big.

Mu Huan was completely excited!

Now his body was like a treasure house with endless secret treasures hidden in it. He wanted to know all the secrets belonging to an alpha very eagerly.

He wanted to know the upper limit of his strength, the limit of his endurance and how to turn on the ‘switch’ that was in charge of balance somewhere in his body. This seemingly steel body should also have some flexibility.

Mu Huan explored his body meticulously. Every new discovery made him feel interested and forget anything else.

“Notice, notice, the skating rink will be closed in 10 minutes. Athletes, please leave in an orderly manner…”

The overhead broadcast was suddenly heard and Mu Huan’s soul returned. It had already been an hour and a half? Looking back, it seemed to be just over 10 minutes.

Mu Huan stepped down from the ice, took the phone that had been placed in the phone rack and stopped the recording function. It was really an hour and 40 minutes of video.

He needed to take a closer look at it after going back to conceive the next training plan.

Mu Huan wasn’t worried about the lack of coaching guidance. He had stood at the highest point of singles skating and this was more than enough to deal with a team assessment. It was only by recording and watching the videos that he could understand himself and make correct arrangements.

He put away the phone with only a few bars of battery left, sat down and took off his skates. Then his mind suddenly returned.

He looked around and found that Li Xin hadn’t come? Was there anything delaying him?

He recalled his past life. For nearly two years, he barely stopped training, rain or shine. The number of times could be counted on one hand.

Achievements were like sailing against the current. If they didn’t retreat then they would end up retreating. Without persistence, there would be no success.

Mu Huan carefully recalled this time period. On the day that ‘Mu Huan’ died, he was surprised and regretful but it still didn’t stop his training plan.

Why was it a bit different from his own memories?

Mu Huan put the ice skates into his backpack, wore his jacket and left the skating rink.

At the door, he waited a bit. People came out one after another.

Not all of them were members of the national team. Many children and coaches from hobby classes passed in front of Mu Huan. There were many familiar people among them but Mu Huan was wearing a mask and the hoodie of his jacket. The people leaving in a hurry didn’t look at him.

The lights of the entrance went out and Mu Huan didn’t see the person he was waiting for.

This person really didn’t come.

Mu Huan suppressed his anxiety and chuckled in his heart.

It was useless even if he saw the person. In Li Xin’s eyes, Mu Huan was just a conceited and arrogant person with many emotional disputes. He was too troublesome to get involved with.

The way back was very quiet. The sky was dark and thick clouds blocked the starry sky. The wind was a bit strong and the temperature cooled down at night.

Mu Huan thought about the sheets and blanket hanging on the top floor and quickened his pace.

By the time the half-dry linen were taken back, there was a lot of noise in the dormitory building.

The national team members got up early in the morning to exercise. Then they ate and train. They also had to go to school when it wasn’t a holiday. They were busy all day and it wasn’t until evening that they had time to play.

This time, the national team members would chat and play cards in the dormitory. If any of the team’s phones and computers weren’t collected and a game was played in the dormitory, the room could be packed with spectators.

These boring and ordinary days allowed the youths to sing and spread out the wings of a dream. In this small dormitory building, countless world champions were hatched.

Before Mu Huan crossed into his body, he was still part of the national team. He was familiar with the environment and even relaxed.

He returned to his dormitory and first hung up the half-dry clothes on the wire and washed his face. Then he threw himself on the bed that couldn’t really be described as clean and picked up his phone.

The video of him on the ice was playing on the mobile phone. Since he deliberately moved so the phone camera had the best view, Mu Huan could clearly see rom a third party perspective when he skated.

It had to be said that ‘Mu Huan’ did have a good foundation. As a former singles champion, he had too many perfect marks left on his body.

His figure was beautiful and his posture was graceful. Mu Huan might’ve deliberately controlld the use of the blades but his muscle memory was perfect.

Looking at himself in the vide, Mu Huan could almost imagine the figure of ‘Mu Huan’ on the ice. He was like smoke and fog, like a sharp sword, like he was shrouded in thousands of stars of glory, the focus of attention.

In particular, the long legs were really exciting.

After satisfying his curiosity about how Mu Huan looked skating once, Mu Huan stopped the video. He was just about to search for Mu Huan’s competition videos on the Internet when there was a knock on the door.

Knock knock knock.

There were three knocks on the door before a clean voice rang out, “Mu Huan, please open the door. I am Li Xin and I’m here to do the registration.”

The phone slipped out of Mu Huan’s hands and Mu Huan abruptly sat up.

Li Xin was outside the door?!