To prepare for KBS’s “Ice Dance Miracle”, I’ve been secretly learning to ice skate these days. The show also organized practice sessions for the celebrity contestants, with each participant assigned an ice dance instructor, essentially a coach. There are 5 male and 5 female contestants in total, including actors, singers, and even comedians. I’m not very familiar with most of the contestants. But there’s one person I know all too well – it’s Shu Shuang! Actually, when I heard she was also competing, I felt quite conflicted. I really couldn’t imagine her dancing on ice wearing a professional female skater’s costume – wouldn’t that be a mismatch?
When I saw Shu Shuang again, I was helplessly standing on the ice holding my instructor’s hand, barely able to keep my balance. Meanwhile, Shu Shuang coolly stepped onto the rink wearing ice skates. She glided effortlessly in front of me, even gracefully spinning around me before raising an eyebrow and calling out, “Hello, Gu Baobei!” When she excitedly slapped my shoulder in greeting, I nearly fell over. So I shamelessly clung tightly to my instructor’s arm, shooting resentful looks like arrows at the inconsiderate Shu Shuang.
But she carelessly flashed a big grin, ruffling my hair like teasing a doll, and said with a pout, “Gu Baobei, Gu Pufferfish, you’re so cute! Ice-chilled pufferfish is delicious!” I was left with messy hair, feeling exasperated…
I was the worst skater among all the contestants. Sure enough, when the first episode started live broadcasting, I still couldn’t skate steadily on the ice due to fear.
The first episode featured solo figure skating performances by the contestants, with no eliminations. The rankings determined the order for choosing partners. In subsequent episodes, contestants would perform pair figure skating with their partners. Two contestants would be eliminated each episode, leaving four finalists to compete for the top three places.
“Ice Dance Miracle” was a live show. When filming contestant reactions backstage, I candidly stuck out my tongue at the camera and said, “Dear sea treasures, your silly pufferfish seems to be here just to bring up the rear…”
On the day of filming, we arrived at the country’s first ice rink studio. As a reality show focused on figure skating, the program invited renowned national figure skater Jin Yunxi as a judge and host, world-class figure skating choreographer Ji Fanke, and up-and-coming dancer Xiao Enpan. The contestants only met the judges at the show venue. Among them, I knew Xiao Enpan – her mother was my childhood dance teacher. We had studied dance together in the same studio when we were young. But later I stopped learning dance and moved around a lot, so we lost touch. I never expected to meet her again in such circumstances…
For the first performance, my ice dance instructor and I chose the gentle melody of “She”. We picked this song because I could barely stand steadily on the ice, let alone use the blades properly. So my instructor had no choice but to completely abandon any attempts at required single figure skating elements like spins or jumps. The strategy was simply to prevent me from falling during the live broadcast.
Therefore, my entire ice dance routine was just going through the motions. Relying on my long-neglected dance skills, I barely put together an awkward solo figure skating program. It may have looked graceful, but it was more like dancing while standing in place on the ice rather than true ice dancing. From a professional perspective, I was definitely at the bottom.
Sure enough, when the music ended, I unsteadily stood my ground on the ice. When it came time for the judges’ comments, all three smiled helplessly at me, especially Xiao Enpan. Since she knew my background, her smile held extra meaning.
Jin Yunxi, as the show’s host and judge, spoke first. She slowly addressed the live audience: “When the contestants were rehearsing, I secretly visited the rink once. At that time, Xiao’ai caught my attention the most on the ice. Because only she couldn’t even stand steadily while holding her instructor’s hand.” Then she looked at me and said, “Xiao’ai, first, thank you for your performance. I kept wondering how you would perform an ice dance for everyone when you couldn’t even do the most basic skating during the official performance. I was very worried about this, but you surprised me. Although your ice dance this time didn’t have many professional moves, and the only straight line step sequence you used wasn’t very steady, I did see your effort. You didn’t fall today, which is quite an achievement.”
I smiled faintly, but inwardly I was conflicted. I’m afraid of pain and falling, so if I had known about the competition earlier, I would have withdrawn long ago. Even when preparing for this first performance, I thought about shamelessly making excuses to back out. But because of An’an, I finally decided to persevere…
I remember that day when Fang Qing brought An’an to the rink to keep me company. Looking at the little one’s big eyes full of curiosity and expectation, clapping his little hands, watching me repeatedly fall and barely stand on the ice, An’an still thought I was the most amazing. In the end, the little one happily walked on the ice in his shoes like a penguin, waddling and shouting: “An’an is Pororo! Pororo! Pororo cheers for sister!”
I don’t know why at that moment I remembered Fu Junyan’s words, “If you don’t fall, you won’t learn to walk.” Finally, I tried to muster up the courage to let go of my instructor’s hand, falling over and over but still managing to skate a few steps on the ice.
But in the end, fear isn’t something that can be erased instantly. Just thinking about spinning and jumping on the ice would leave me frozen in place, unable to move. So even now, I’ve only learned the most basic ice dance move of a straight line step sequence, and it’s still extremely unstable…
When it was Xiao Enpan’s turn to speak, she smiled at me meaningfully, but still used an unfamiliar tone: “Gu Baobei’s choice of song is very beautiful and moving, but not very suitable for a figure skating program, because this song’s rhythm and melody don’t have much variation, making it hard to stand out. Looking at the dance moves alone, your movements were a bit rusty, but basically up to standard. If judged solely as a dance, it’s not bad. You clearly have a dance background, right?”
Isn’t this girl just asking something she already knows? I nodded, looking at her innocently with big eyes and answered: “Yes, I learned dance for a few years when I was young.” At the end, I reached up to touch the hair at my temples and smiled at her. Naughty girl…
Xiao Enpan also casually reached up to smooth the hair at her temples, smiling and nodding at me.
In the end, for my ice dance that wasn’t really an ice dance, the three judges predictably gave me the lowest score of all contestants. I stuck out my tongue and looked innocently towards Wan Qing and Fang Qing sitting in the audience. One looked helpless, while the other was still full of hope. I had already known my abilities, so I wasn’t particularly upset. On the contrary, little Gu Xiao’an in Fang Qing’s arms kept cheering randomly. In the little one’s eyes, I seemed to always be the best. Seeing the judges give their scores, he happily waved his arms and legs, kicking his little feet and grinning non-stop.
After my performance, I sat down in the audience area. Shu Shuang got the highest score in this round. She didn’t wear a dance dress, but rather a gender-neutral costume similar to men’s. Her music choice was intense and passionate. Surprisingly, in the very first competition, she nearly flawlessly executed the extremely difficult Axel jump. We saw her take off on one foot, arms spread wide, leap forward, bring her hands together in the air, rotate two and a half times, and land steadily on one foot. Even little Gu Xiao’an’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape watching this, drool trickling down. He kept shouting to me: “Wow! Wow! Brother flew!” Hearing this, I turned my head away in embarrassment…
At the end of the show, the partners arranged for us by the production team were all national-level professional skaters, also five men and five women. Shu Shuang, having the highest score, went on stage first to choose her partner. Gu Xiao’an looked up at me and asked, “What is brother going to do?” I patiently explained to the little bun that the contestants all have to choose an opposite-sex partner to dance with.
The little one nodded, seeming to half-understand. Then he seriously tugged on my arm and said: “Sister, brother went the wrong way!” I looked and saw Shu Shuang standing on the male partners’ side, confidently reaching out to invite a somewhat muscular male skater to be her partner. With her short hair flying and eyes smiling, there really wasn’t a better word than “cool” to describe her. I looked down at An’an’s troubled face and inwardly nodded, muttering softly: “Yes, she went the wrong way…” Oh Shu Shuang, you’re so cool and your partner is so handsome – what are people supposed to think of this visual…
Naturally, the last remaining male partner became my partner. His name is Meng Dongyue, slightly taller than me but not very noticeably. He has fair skin with some baby fat. His personality seems quiet and introverted, not very talkative. He’s currently serving in the national team. I nodded to him, smiling apologetically. I thought to myself that such a promising national team skater was going to be ruined by being paired with me…
After the show, we briefly arranged times for joint practice and music selection. Fang Qing exchanged phone numbers with him to facilitate future contact. Afterwards, I took Gu Xiao’an from Wan Qing, said goodbye to them, and went directly to the show’s backstage makeup room.
When we were children, Xiao Enpan and I had a secret code for whispering – touching the hair at our temples, then meeting in the nearest makeup room. Sure enough, I easily found Xiao Enpan in the judges’ makeup room. Seeing me holding Gu Xiao’an, she first raised an eyebrow, then crossed her legs, folded her arms across her chest and shook her foot, saying: “I just returned to the country to join the show team. When I saw your name among the contestants, I wondered if it was really you, girl. And it really is! You could have lived comfortably as a young lady from a good family, why did you come out to be a celebrity? Is Uncle Moxiao willing to let you suffer out here?”
“What do you think? When has Daddy ever not indulged me?” I looked her up and down, taking in her tomboyish sitting posture, before continuing: “I thought you might have changed your ways! You were so proper and ladylike at the judges’ table, how come you’re back to your old self now? Xiao En, you haven’t changed a bit in all these years! It seems teacher still can’t do anything with you! But I really missed you.” I smiled at her and sat down in a nearby chair, still holding An’an.
She rolled her eyes at me and lazily pointed at Gu Xiao’an: “Illegitimate child? Who did you have him with?”
I took a deep breath and glared at her in annoyance: “What are you thinking!” I wordlessly poked Gu Xiao’an, who was nestled in my arms blinking his big eyes, and glanced at Xiao En saying: “An’an, this is sister’s good friend!”
Gu Xiao’an pouted his little mouth, looked her up and down and weakly called out: “Hello, sister.”
Xiao Enpan nodded stiffly, and only under my fierce glare did she finally suppress the stiffness in her face and say quietly to me: “Don’t forget I don’t like children!” Before she finished speaking, she widened her eyes in surprise and asked: “Uncle Moxiao isn’t staying widowed? He’s changed?”
“Widowed? Look at the words you’re using! Besides, do you think that’s possible?” I glared at her and turned my head away, not bothering to respond further.
Speaking of Xiao Enpan, she’s an up-and-coming dancer. To outsiders, she would be considered a gentle and virtuous lady who completely inherited her mother’s beauty. But in reality, this is all a facade. Under her mother’s high-pressure ladylike upbringing, perhaps due to long-term suppression, or perhaps out of resentment towards her father for abandoning her and her mother when she was young, Xiao Enpan truly grew up to be a rebellious girl completely at odds with her outward appearance.
For example, in her previous life, everything she did behind the glamorous facade went against her teacher’s ladylike principles. And now, how do you explain a lady sitting with her legs spread in a figure-eight and constantly shaking her foot? But at least she doesn’t say it out loud, and she does care for her mother in her heart, so she manages to keep up appearances reasonably well. But for someone like me who knows her well, seeing the huge contrast between her public and private selves is truly painful…
Gu Xiao’an had also clearly never seen someone sit like this before. So after staring at Xiao Enpan for a long time, the little one finally couldn’t contain his curiosity. His chubby little hand waved crookedly as he looked up with innocent big eyes and asked her: “Sister, does your leg hurt?” Hearing this, I quickly covered the little one’s mouth to prevent a possible outburst from someone who doesn’t like children… The clever Gu Xiao’an looked at me, then at Xiao Enpan, and obediently covered his own mouth, lying still in my arms. But occasionally, he would still secretly peek out with his big eyes to look at us.
I directly ignored Xiao Enpan’s various unconventional behaviors and just looked at her beautiful face, unable to help sighing: “Although you’re still the same in private, teacher’s hard work wasn’t in vain. At least you’ve still become the gentle and excellent up-and-coming dancer she wished for.”
“Cut it out!” Xiao Enpan snorted, not hiding the rejection and boredom in her eyes. She shook her head and looked at me complainingly: “Heaven knows how much I hate being this so-called up-and-coming dancer! Back then when you became my mom’s student, my mom said at first glance that you had talent. She even tried to give up on cultivating me, this unruly child, and focus all her efforts on you. But just when I thought I could be free, you said you didn’t want to learn anymore. You naughty girl, you don’t know how angry I was then! The day Uncle Moxiao took you away, do you know what my mom said?”
I shook my head, thinking back to those days which now seem so distant to me. When I felt tired of learning dance day after day with no novelty, I told Daddy I didn’t want to learn anymore. Daddy nodded and without another word, took me away from the teacher’s house the next day. Except for his obsession with piano and violin, Daddy was almost indulgent with me in everything else. From a young age, he told me to follow my interests and leave when I lose interest, that the most important thing was to be happy. If I wasn’t happy anymore, he would help me clean up the mess. So I just happily left without a care, but for the teacher who had such high hopes for me, it certainly wasn’t a good thing. Now that I’m no longer that young and carefree, thinking of the teacher’s earnest expectations for me then, I can’t help feeling a bit guilty…
“What did teacher say?” I asked.
“She said losing a talented student like you in her lifetime was her biggest regret. If you had continued dancing, you would have been the best dancer in the world, bar none.”
I chuckled lightly and shook my head, saying: “Xiao En, I’m mediocre at everything I do. Teacher was just grasping at straws then.”
“Indeed, I can see that. Your dance moves today might fool others, but not me. Those movements were obviously very rusty! You haven’t practiced in a long time, right?” She glared at me and said bluntly. Hearing this, I shrugged and nodded at her without trying to hide it.
She snorted twice, took a breath, and then said irritably: “Forget it! It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, so I’ll give you a gift! I see your timid nature hasn’t changed a bit either. As soon as you step on the ice, you’re so nervous your fists are clenched – are you going to box? I just asked around, and your fan club ‘sea treasures’ is quite impressive and fierce. But considering we’ve known each other since childhood, I’m willing to risk universal condemnation. If you really don’t want to continue and want to quit early to avoid suffering, I’ll give you the lowest score in the next round to send you home! What do you say?” Xiao Enpan tilted her head carelessly and smiled.
I smiled too after hearing this, and reached out to take away the cigar she was about to light, pointing at Gu Xiao’an in my arms. She twitched the corner of her eye, looking helpless.
I tossed the cigar aside before waving my hand and saying: “I really didn’t want to come to this competition originally. But you can keep this gift. Let things happen as they should. If it’s too deliberate, I won’t feel comfortable. Besides, my An’an is very clever. If I did this, wouldn’t I be teaching him that no matter what you want to do or don’t want to do, you can get away with anything as long as you have money, connections, or influence without putting in effort? I don’t want to educate children that way. Alright, I won’t ramble on with you anymore. Go ahead and smoke. See you next time.” As I spoke, I stood up holding Gu Xiao’an and nodded to her. After thinking for a moment, I added: “If you have a chance, please give my regards to teacher.”
Hearing this, Xiao Enpan didn’t speak. She just sat silently in her chair and lowered her head to light the cigar. But I knew she would pass on my message.
After the first live broadcast of “Ice Dance Miracle”, the reports were mostly positive, and the sea treasures were actively supporting me.
When I was lurking on the BBS, I saw a senior sea treasure comment: “The look on our goddess’s face when she got on the ice was just like a pufferfish waiting to be slaughtered on an ice block. So cute, don’t you just want to poke her chubby cheeks?”
“It’s because our pufferfish took a deep breath and puffed up her cheeks before going on stage. So in the end, she walked away with the chubbiest young man on stage who looks like a white bun…” I rubbed my nose and closed the computer. My partner is being wronged…
Mini-story: The Silly Pufferfish’s Plant Adventures
One day, after lurking on Weibo, Gu Pufferfish stared at Shu Shuang’s newly posted picture for a long time, then nudged Fu Junyan and sighed: “Fu Junyan, that little aloe plant on Shu Shuang’s desk is so cute…”
Fu Junyan nodded, and the next day took action. He brought Gu Xiao’an and Xiao Qi to tour the flower and bird market for a week, finally bringing back a round cactus with small red spines. The cactus was plump but a bit skinny, looking adorably like a fuzzy-headed child.
Gu Pufferfish was delighted when she saw it. She kissed Fu Junyan, kissed Gu Xiao’an, and even unabashedly kissed Xiao Qi.
From then on, Gu Baobei began her love-filled journey of raising “Gu Xiaohong”.
Gu Baobei carefully followed the principle of not watering cacti too much, only giving it a little water each day. But one day, she noticed “Xiaohong’s” head was tilted a bit. Gu Baobei raised an eyebrow and watered it some more. A few days later, a strange smell came from the corner of the desk. Gu Baobei lifted her laptop screen to look, and saw her “Xiaohong” had shed its head and spilled its guts…
So the pufferfish mourned on Weibo, ‘My “Gu Xiaohong” has died…’ When asked about the cause of death, the sea treasures concluded that “Gu Xiaohong” had been drowned by the silly pufferfish’s overwatering…
So the next day, Fu Junyan brought back another cactus. This one was also very cute, with small balls growing together that looked like a mushroom house up close, absolutely adorable.
Gu Pufferfish became even more protective, naming it “Gu Mogu” (Mushroom). This time she remembered the lesson and refused to water it at all. So a few days later, “Gu Mogu” died an even more tragic death, shriveling into a black puddle.
Gu Baobei was at a loss for words. She mourned again on Weibo, “My ‘Gu Mogu’ has died…” When asked about the cause of death, the sea treasures once again concluded that “Gu Mogu” had been completely dried to death by the silly pufferfish’s lack of watering…
So Fu Junyan went to the flower and bird market again. This time, the mischievous young master simply bought up all the similar-looking cacti in one go. Gu Baobei, feeling discouraged this time, named it “Don’t Die”.
Sure enough, this cactus was very strong and stood firm for several months. It happened that Fu Junyan left to film, and half a month later it finally died.
On the surface, the reason was that Gu Baobei had dried it out again.
But the real reason was that after Fu Junyan left, the “Don’t Die” cacti died too quickly, and our little Gu Xiao’an could no longer find replacements to swap in, so…
From some point on, the sea treasures began discussing the idiom “beauty that would shame the moon and make flowers hide”, commenting: “It’s totally normal that our goddess can’t keep plants alive. Those cacti see her and are too ashamed to live!” When Gu Pufferfish saw these comments while lurking, her inner universe began to stir. She silently accepted it, but still felt gloomy inside.
Another day, Fu Junyan casually mentioned to a coworker on set about growing plants, saying: “Smart women grow fake flowers. They require no time or effort but are always beautiful.”
Soon after, this comment spread online through the mouth of a certain actress. Gu Pufferfish heard it and cheerfully agreed, excitedly buying two fake cacti to put on the corner of her desk. From then on, she was at peace.
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