Persuasion, counter-killing, and kettling.

Two weeks later on Saturday.

Dong Ge walked into the provincial team wearing a light blue sweatshirt and dragging a suitcase.

His hair had been cut short after the awards ceremony, and now it was a little longer, freshly washed in the morning, and fluffy with a slight scent of lemon.

A young coaching assistant drove him out of the Bin City Sports School and sent him all the way to the provincial team, and in the meantime, familiarized him with the facilities of the provincial team.

After walking for a while, Dong Ge accidentally saw, not far away, He Zhangsheng and a beautiful girl walked out of the kiosk side by side.

In Dong Ge's memory, the girl's name was Fang Xiaoyan, once He Zhangsheng's partner, at first almost equal to He Zhangsheng's level of play, but later due to poor form and performance, she had to regretfully retire.

Chi Xiaochi raised her eyebrows slightly.

Since He Zhangsheng is here, his neighborhood spin-offs are probably not far behind.

As expected, Lou Sifan followed him out of the kiosk a few seconds later, pressing a bottle of ice water against He Zhangsheng's cheek.

He Zhangsheng shivered and turned back to glare at him.

Lou Sifan unscrewed another bottle of sports drink and handed it to Fang Xiaoyan: "This one is not cold. Girls can drink it too."

His gentle smile was so heartwarming that Fang Xiaoyan looked at him with a gaze of loving spring water.

He Zhangsheng unscrewed the cap of the bottle to himself, and just a few steps forward, the corner of his eye glimpsed a light blue figure.

He gave a "hmm" and called out the name of the visitor, "...... Dong Ge?"

When he heard someone greet him, Dong Ge stopped in his tracks and bowed to them with restraint and courtesy.

Lou Sifan's upturned lips stiffened slightly at the sound of "Dong Ge".

By the time he turned his head, he had skillfully adjusted his expression.

Before Dong Ge arrived, his name was already very famous in the provincial team, and Fang Xiaoyan recognized him at once: "Oops, it's that Dong Ge, he looks better in real life than on TV!"

Dong Ge gave a slight nod, "Thank you, senior."

This serious look was even more appealing, Fang Xiaoyan instantly became a motherly woman, and positively said, "Senior, can I buy you a drink?"

Dong Ge said, "Thank you, seniors."

She grinned, reached for He Zhangsheng's wallet, and scurried toward the kiosk.

He Zhangsheng is a bit resentful: "...... Hey, my wallet."

Fang Xiaoyan replied back from afar, "Look at your petty energy. Why don't you learn from Brother Fan."

He Zhangsheng felt his pockets and was not very happy.

It's not that he doesn't want to spend money, he just doesn't like people just touching his stuff.

Lou Sifan saw that He Zhangsheng's face sank, and immediately spoke out to comfort him: "It's okay, how much Xiaoyan spends later, I'll make it up to you."

He Zhangsheng: "......"

He didn't bother to explain and simply stopped talking.

By the time he returned his gaze to Dong Ge, Lou Sifan had tuned his expression to the gentlest channel.

Before he learned that Dong Ge was going to join the provincial youth team, he had made countless private drafts of what he would say to Dong Ge when he saw him again.

...... He had helped him like that, and had publicly stated that he knew him well, so think about it and know that that group of school fools would not dare to bully him anymore.

If it weren't for himself, he'd still be struggling in deep water, I'm afraid.

That said, Lou Sifan would never make this favor too obvious.

After all, he, Lou Sifan, was never one to condescend.

He coughed and closed the distance with words first, "You cut your hair?"

Dong Ge nods as he touches his soft stubble.

He added a compliment, "We all watched your game. You played well."

Unexpectedly, Dong Ge's attitude towards him was no different from that of Fang Xiaoyan, who had met him for the first time, and he said in a small repeater-like manner, "Thank you, senior."

Lou Sifan : "......"

It was He Zhangsheng who didn't feel so good about himself and asked point blank, "Do you remember us?"

Dong Ge Those watery peach blossom eyes blinked, "You guys are ......"

Lou Sifan : "......"

He Zhangsheng is not surprised.

They had only met in passing, and it had been three months ago, not to mention that they hadn't been able to do much to help in the bullying, so it was normal that Dong Ge didn't remember them.

So he solemnly introduced himself, "I am He Zhangsheng."

Dong Ge nods, "Elder He."

When he finished, he turned back to Lou Sifan and waited for him to introduce himself.

It was a huge psychological shock that Lou Sifan found difficult to accept:

...... How could he not remember himself?

Obviously he helped him ......

At this time Lou Sifan was also just a 15 year old teenager, his heart wasn't that strong, and when his emotions came up, they showed directly on his face.

When He Zhangsheng saw that he did not say anything, he said for him, "He is Lou Sifan."

Dong Ge nodded once, "Elder Lou."

That's considered a hello.

Lou Sifan managed to get a little smile back on his face, "Hello."

...... Forget it, why should he bother with a child four years younger than himself.

What does he know.

But next, the repeater little Dong Ge even took the initiative to talk to him, "Lou senior, have you seen my game?"

Lou Sifan adjusted his mindset and praised, in a rather former fashion, "It was excellent."

Dong Ge gave a shallow smile, "Thank you."

Lou Sifan seized the opportunity and, pretending not to notice, asked the question he had been brewing for a long time, "Dong Ge, when you came to the provincial team, did you ever think about your future?"

Dong Ge said, "Thought about it."

Lou Sifan looked at him encouragingly, "What's the plan?"

Dong Ge said, "Being number one in men's singles skating."

Lou Sifan : "......"

At those words, He Zhangsheng raised the corners of his lips in a rare manner.

...... I didn t expect this kid to have such high aspirations.

Back then he had the same idea, he just never would declare it.

Lou Sifan lifted his breath, and continued to follow his lead, "So, have you considered, uh, switching to pairs skating?"

Chi Xiaochi in Dong Ge's body: "......"

Chi Xiaochi body 061: "......"

Lou Sifan's reason is sufficient: "Our provincial team has strong teachers in pairs skating, it is easy to get ahead and produce many world champions, if you go to the honor classroom, almost all the trophies in pairs skating are displayed there; the competition in singles skating is particularly fierce, and very few people can get ahead. Your age is still young, it's not too late to switch; if you're a little older, I'm afraid it'll be very difficult to switch again."

Lou Sifan's words were heartfelt, but to Chi Xiaochi's ears, they were automatically transformed into bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla.

Chi Xiaochi says to 061, "Wow, that's thoughtful. Should I thank him then."

061: "...... you ignore him."

A set of little words so slickly spoken that 061 reasonably suspected that Lou Sifan had rehearsed the speech in private.

Lou Sifan, still looking like a man of the world, brought up the coach to add more persuasive power to his words, "The coach will definitely ask you if you have any intention of switching to pairs skating, too. You can think about it in advance."

Lou Sifan speaks the truth, and he means every word of it.

The future of pairs skating is indeed a bit brighter and less internationally competitive than single skating.

As a senior, it makes sense to give this advice.

He looks forward to Dong Ge's response.

Dong Ge did put on a serious thinking face, and after a few moments of contemplation, he looked up and asked, "Is pairs skating that good?"

Lou Sifan pulled over He Zhangsheng: "Ask your senior He."

He Zhangsheng succinctly "hmm", a position: "I used to be a single skater. Then I listened to Lou and switched over. Not bad."

Chi Xiaochi , 061: "......" Holy shit, so it was practiced on you?

Dong Ge looks at He Zhangsheng, then at Lou Sifan, and asks the crucial question, "Lou senior, since pairs skating is so good, are you a pairs skater too?"

...... That's pretty fucking exorbitant.

Lou Sifan grimaced for a second, but immediately responded with a grin and asked rhetorically, "Do you think I am?"

Dong Ge lifted his finger and pointed in the direction of the kiosk, "That sister just now ...... well, female seniors, is your partner, right?"

Lou Sifan was amused by the term "senior woman."

He Zhangsheng took over, "She's my partner."

Dong Ge frowned slightly, "...... Oh."

He Zhangsheng felt as if he had something to say, "What is it?"

"Sister seems to have a better relationship with Lou-senpai than with He-senpai." Dong Ge said, "Our coach has told us that the most important thing for pairs combination is tacit understanding. ...... When I saw how close sister and Lou senior were, I thought they were pairs skating partners."

His tone of voice, like that of a young adult, was at first amusing, but Lou Sifan could not stop laughing when he noticed He Zhangsheng's thoughtful expression.

...... He is just afraid that Fang Xiaoyan likes He Zhangsheng and wants to please He Zhangsheng by pleasing her.

After all, He Zhangsheng is so disinterested in everything outside of skating that he really doesn't know what to do to make him happy.

After thinking about it, He Zhangsheng nodded, "You are right. I will pay attention to it."

Dong Ge did not say anything else, his face remained light, as if he had just mentioned it carelessly and casually.

And in such a move, it made Lou Sifan's encouragement to pairs skate go away gently, as if it had never happened.

Fang Xiaoyan came back from buying drinks and said that her friend had just called to ask her out.

She hands the drink to Dong Ge, who nods his head in thanks and walks away, pulling his suitcase with him.

After Fang Xiaoyan left as well, He Zhangsheng stroked his chin and regurgitated Dong Ge's words.

He muttered to himself, "I say why is Xiaoyan always off her game these days. ...... It seems like every time she goes off the deep end and misses a beat, you're there."

Failing to persuade Dong Ge, Lou Sifan was already a bit impatient, and when he heard He Zhangsheng say this, he was even more anxious: "What does it have to do with me."

He Zhangsheng: "I see Xiaoyan kind of likes you."

Lou Sifan : "Where?!"

He Zhangsheng said, "I'm not stupid, she's not even looking at you right."

Lou Sifan got even more anxious and blurted out, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to get her to like me."

He Zhangsheng immediately felt that this is not right: "Then why are you so nice to her. Buying drinks, screwing caps on bottles, and saying you'll make up the money, why wouldn't she think twice about it?"

Lou Sifan: "I--"

He couldn't say it.

What could he say?

After all, He Zhangsheng doesn't look like a faggot by any stretch of the imagination, especially when dancing with his partner Fang Xiaoyan, who has a touching gleam of infatuation in his eye that makes Lou Sifan swoon just by looking at him from afar.

Although He Zhangsheng has said many times that it was a performance, and that he and Fang Xiaoyan were simply partners, and that he was not used to Fang Xiaoyan's spontaneity, and that Fang Xiaoyan did not like his mute behavior when he came off the stage, it was still difficult for Lou Sifan to accept the fact that the two of them would make intimate physical contact at all times.

He may have intentionally approached and shown favor to Fang Xiaoyan, but that was because of He Zhangsheng.

Seeing Lou Sifan agitating, He Zhangsheng simply said: "In the future, when training, you come to her less. Xiaoyan's conditions are very good, and it is the golden period of development, if you can't sink your heart into the training, what will you do in the future?"

Lou Sifan's face turned brilliant.

He couldn't say, "I came to see you," so he tried to swallow his resentment as hard as he could.

Yet the more he thought about it, the angrier he became:

...... If Dong Ge hadn't brought up pairs skating, how would Zhangsheng have offered to distance himself?

So why did he bother with Dong Ge in the first place?

Ten or so minutes later.

Chi Xiaochi, who had settled into his dormitory, sat down on his made bed and sneered, "Heh, young man."

On the display panel, Lou Sifan's remorse value went up another 3 or 4 points at a rate visible to the naked eye.

In Chi Xiaochi's opinion, Lou Sifan's pseudo-madonna's remorse value is really good to brush off.

These people like to put themselves on a moral high ground at all times, and when things don't turn out the way these people expect, they fiercely condemn them and feel that their good intentions have been insulted and trampled upon.

Chi Xiaochi's usual choice for dealing with such self-righteous people is to step on them a little more.

061 didn't realize how quickly Lou Sifan's remorse could rise just by spacing out.

At this rate, Chi Xiaochi doesn't even need to redeem his time compression card, he just needs to tease Lou Sifan a few more times and the world will be complete.

Who would have thought that he had only just ventured this thought when Chi Xiaochi lazily made a request, "Teacher Six, redeem an Intermediate Compression Card."

061: "...... Intermediate?"

Chi Xiaochi asked, "Is there a problem?"

061 said, "After ...... cashing in your card, you'll only have 6 points of Remorse left."

And the point is there's no need to cash in the card at all.

Chi Xiaochi said, "Mr. Six, I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide within three digits without a calculator."

061: "But ......"

Chi Xiaochi interrupted his persuasion as he leaned on the bedroll that smelled of sunshine, "Teacher Six, can you guarantee that I won't run into such a long flow of quests in future worlds? If the favor value and remorse value of the quest subject in that world is as difficult to brush as Zhou Kai's, what should I do?"

061: "......"

The translation of this quote from ...... is using Lou Sifan as a free ATM again.

However, after a little bit of scrutiny, 061 realized that Chi Xiaochi seemed to be referring to something else.

...... Did he realize that the Lord God was targeting him?

But before he could ask, Chi Xiaochi spoke again.

"...... Also, this body can't be returned to Dong Ge right now."

Chi Xiaochi closed his eyes, as if he was talking about something quite insignificant, and his tone was also very loose: "Don't forget what Dong Ge's state was before he died. The next part of the road still needs someone to walk with him."