Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

The night in the abandoned factory was as cold as a block of iron.

The enormous ice rink glowed eerily in the darkness, like a huge, unpolished obsidian.

Everyone has left.

Or rather, everyone thought there was no one here anymore.

From a shadowy spot at the edge of the ice rink, a figure glided out like a ghost.

It's Gu Xidong.

He didn't turn on the lights, but stood alone on the ice, wearing ice skates, by the dim moonlight outside the window.

He was clutching the metronome tightly in his hand.

"drop……"

He flipped the switch.

The monotonous electronic sounds were exceptionally clear and jarring in the deathly still night.

He took a deep breath, the icy air filling his lungs and causing a sharp pain. Instead of walking in a straight line to the beat as he had during the day, he suddenly pushed off the ice, his body shooting out like an arrow.

He sped wildly across the ice.

Desires that had been suppressed for too long finally burst forth at this moment.

He needs to jump.

He needs that thrill of soaring into the air, feeling weightless, spinning, and then landing steadily on the ice.

That was his poison, and also his oxygen.

He skated to the center of the ice rink and began to accelerate.

He pushed off the ice with his right skate and jumped!

His body spun one and a half times in the air, and then—

"Bang!"

The landing wasn't perfect. An old injury to his left leg made him lose his balance upon landing, causing him to crash heavily onto the ice.

But he doesn't care.

He lay on his back on the ice, panting heavily, looking up at the dark roof above him.

Although that jump was just a basic double toe loop (2T), the long-lost feeling of control over his body made his blood boil.

He smiled.

Laughter echoed across the empty ice rink, carrying a hint of madness and a sense of liberation.

He thought Ling Wuwen was a madman. All that talk of gradual progress and rebuilding the foundation was utter nonsense. His body remembered how to fly, but his soul needed to soar, not crawl on the ground!

He braced himself against the ice and stood up unsteadily.

Again.

This time, he's going to try a triple jump (3T).

Just as he was about to step off the ice, a cold voice suddenly came from behind him, like a bucket of ice water being poured over him from head to toe.

"What are you doing?"

2

Gu Xidong suddenly turned around.

Ling Wuwen stood in the shadows at the edge of the ice rink.

She didn't know how long she had been standing there. She was wearing a thick down jacket, her hands in her pockets, and she almost blended into the darkness.

Her face appeared exceptionally pale in the moonlight, and her eyes, like two icicles, were fixed intently on Gu Xidong.

"What are you doing here?" Gu Xidong felt a little guilty, but he was more embarrassed and angry at being caught red-handed.

"This is my territory." Ling Wuwen stepped into the ice rink, his footsteps echoing in the empty space. "I'm asking you, what are you doing?"

"I'm training," Gu Xidong straightened his back. "I'm getting back into the swing of things. Your method is too slow, Ling Wuwen. I can't wait."

"Finding your rhythm again?" Ling Wuwen walked up to him, his eyes filled with contempt. "You call this training? You call this finding your rhythm again? You're committing suicide!"

Her voice suddenly rose, carrying an uncontrolled anger that Gu Xidong had never heard before.

"Gu Xidong, didn't I tell you that you're not allowed to jump without my permission?"

"That's overprotective!" Gu Xidong retorted, his eyes gleaming with stubbornness. "My legs are fine! I can jump! I don't need to practice walking like a primary school student every day! I'm a world champion!"

"You're a fart!" Ling Wuwen suddenly cursed.

She suddenly reached out, grabbed Gu Xidong's collar, and slammed him hard against the partition!

With a loud thud, Gu Xidong's back slammed open, causing him a sharp pain.

He stared in shock at the face so close to his. Her face no longer held that cold, formulaic expression, but was filled with genuine, raging emotion.

"Who do you think you are? A world champion?" Ling Wuwen gritted his teeth, saying each word clearly, "You're just a cripple who can't even stand up straight! A self-righteous fool!"

"I'm forbidding you from jumping for your own good!"

"For my own good?" Gu Xidong sneered. He caught a faint scent of coldness and medicine emanating from her. "You're doing this to control me! Ling Wuwen, you're a pervert! You enjoy watching me suffer, don't you? You enjoy the feeling of controlling someone's life and death!"

His words were like knives, each one stabbing into her heart.

3

"Yes, I am a pervert." Ling Wuwen did not deny it.

Her eyes, which shone brightly in the darkness, were fixed on him, filled with complex emotions that Gu Xidong couldn't decipher—anger, hatred, and... a hint of despair?

"But I'm a freak who can get you back on the ice."

"And you, Gu Xidong?" She leaned close to his ear, her voice low and seductively malicious, "You're nothing but a pathetic drug addict who hides in the night, secretly indulging in outdated fantasies."

"You can't live without this feeling, can you?" She pointed to the ice. "This thrill of soaring through the air, this illusion of being the center of attention. You'd rather risk losing your other leg than not jump, to fly. You're more twisted than me. You're a gambler. You're betting your life on a vague 'miracle'."

"Shut up!" Gu Xidong's face turned deathly pale.

She exposed his most vulnerable weakness.

"What do you know!" he roared, trying to break free from her grip. "A theorist like you who only knows how to recite from the book will never understand! What's the point of my life without all this?"

"A theorist?"

Ling Wuwen was taken aback.

Then she smiled.

That smile looked incredibly ironic in the moonlight.

4

"What a theorist who only knows how to talk the talk." Ling Wuwen loosened his collar and took a step back.

The anger on her face vanished, replaced by a cold, resolute calm.

"Since you think I'm a theorist, that my methods are too slow, and that you've already succeeded..."

She looked at him, a resolute glint in her eyes.

"Then I'll show you what true 'ability' really is."

Gu Xidong was stunned.

He didn't understand what she meant.

Ling Wuwen walked to the edge of the ice rink, bent down, and took off his down boots.

She picked up a pair of ice skates from the side and began to put them on slowly.

"What are you doing?" Gu Xidong asked warily.

"Since you think jumping is the only way," Ling Wuwen tied his shoelaces, stood up, and stretched his ankles, "then I'll jump for you."

She walked onto the ice and stood still.

"Are you crazy?" Gu Xidong looked at her. "You didn't warm up, your physical condition..."

"My physical condition is much better than you think," Ling Wuwen interrupted him, his tone carrying a hint of arrogant confidence that Gu Xidong had never heard before.

She did not do any warm-up exercises on land, did not stretch, and did not even skate on the ice to warm up.

She just stood there with her eyes closed.

The moonlight shone on her, giving her a silvery halo.

Gu Xidong looked at her and suddenly felt a strange pang in his heart.

A few seconds later, Ling Wuwen suddenly opened his eyes.

Her eyes became incredibly sharp.

The next second, she moved.

Her initial speed wasn't fast, but every step she took was incredibly solid.

She drew a large arc on the ice, and then suddenly leaned her body backward.

Her right skate landed precisely and powerfully on the ice!

The moment the ice was applied, her body shot up like a fully drawn bow!

Her body spun in the air once, twice, three times!

Her posture was textbook perfect.

Her body tensed up like a taut string.

Then--

"Whoosh."

She landed steadily on the ice.

The left foot glides out a smooth arc, while both arms maintain a perfect finishing pose in the air.

The entire process was smooth and efficient, without any unnecessary delays.

A standard, perfect triple toe loop (3T).

5

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

Only the lingering sound of the ice skates gliding across the ice echoed softly in the factory.

Gu Xidong's mouth dropped open, his eyes wide like saucers, staring intently at the woman who remained in the final pose.

He felt his worldview collapse at that moment.

Triple jump.

That's the threshold for professional figure skaters.

That's a move he wouldn't dare to try easily now.

And she, a woman he thought was just a cold-blooded therapist, or even some kind of "agent," did it as naturally as breathing, without any warm-up or preparation.

How is that possible?

That doesn't make sense!

Ling Wuwen slowly lowered his arm, turned around, and looked at Gu Xidong.

Her breathing was slightly rapid, and her face was flushed an unnatural red from the exertion. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

But her eyes were frighteningly bright.

"How about it, theorist?" She looked at him, a cold smile playing on her lips. "Is this leap enough for you to teach me?"

Gu Xidong's throat was dry, and he couldn't utter a single word.

He looked at her as if she were a monster.

No, it's more terrifying than a monster.

This is a... sealed god.

"You..." He finally found his voice, but it was trembling uncontrollably. "Who are you?"

Ling Wuwen did not answer him.

She simply walked up to him, reached out a hand, and gently patted his cheek.

Her hands were warm from jumping.

"Gu Xidong, didn't you want to fly?"

Her voice was soft, yet it was like a curse, branded deep within his soul.

"I warned you, some heights, once you jump up, you can't get down."

"Now you see."

"Now that you've seen it, you'd better... crawl obediently!"

"Until the day I allow you to fly."

After saying that, she withdrew her hand and stopped looking at him.

She turned and skated toward the exit of the ice rink.

The gliding posture was still so standard and so elegant.

As she passed the speaker, she paused, bent down, and picked up the metronome that was still making a "beep...beep..." sound.

She held the metronome and walked into the darkness.

Gu Xidong was left alone, standing on the empty ice, his whole body ice-cold.

He looked in the direction she disappeared, then looked down at his left leg, which was still sore from the fall.

He suddenly felt like a clown.

A clown waving a small wooden stick in front of a real giant.