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The ancient city of Moscow weathered 779 years of storms, from 1147 to 1926.

This was Zhang Sushang’s first visit to Moscow in this time. The place was packed with people, and noise surrounded them. Misha, carrying a large bag and pulling two suitcases, panted as he got out of the train.

“It’s so crowded here.” The young man who was just over 1.6m tall struggled to move through the crowd. It became marginally easier when Zhang Sushang kindly moved in front of him to clear the way.

Both of them let out a breath of relief when they exited the station. Misha even sighed, “I saw a donkey in there and almost thought that Ilya was here for a case.” However, after seeing it pooping on the train, he could be sure that it wasn’t Boris, after all, Boris was a magical donkey that could flush the toilet on its own.

Divine Detective Ilya was once regarded as magical realism due to the existence of Boris, and some people analysed that Chyushka used stories as a medium to satirise society.

The real Chyushka: No, I didn’t think of that much.

Wu Yeming had modified Zhang Sushang’s suitcase to have two wheels added to the bottom, making it much easier to move. He once again reflected on how convenient it was to have a skilled engineer as a friend as he piled Misha’s backpack onto his suitcase and pulled both along.

He had originally thought that he would have to pay for travelling expenses, but Misha waved his hands and said that someone had arranged all of that, so they could just bring themselves there.

The advantage of being part of the national sports system: your boss will reimburse your food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

Zhang Sushang, as a coach not part of the system, had simply taken advantage of the situation. He and Misha were picked up from the train station by the tournament organisers and taken to the hotel by car, wide-eyed the whole time like they were country bumpkins.

The staff member who came to pick them up discreetly sized up this overly tall foreign youth, a subtle flicker of disdain in his eyes.

“Chyushka, do you think I can do it?” Misha fidgeted uncomfortably.

Zhang Sushang was puzzled. “Huh? Didn’t I already give you intensive training? You have an overwhelming technical advantage and your program is so sophisticated, there’s no reason for you to lose.”

Apart from that ancient god Gillis who was unsurpassed in compulsory figures, even Böckl, currently renowned for his jumping prowess, couldn’t match Misha.

With such a big advantage, it would take a miracle to lose!

“But what if I make a mistake on the ice?”

Assessing his expression, Zhang Sushang placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder and replied in a soothing yet powerful voice, “If you make a mistake, just get up and keep skating. No matter what, you have to give the audience a complete performance. Only then can you live up to the effort you’ve put in.”

Misha was successfully comforted.

The staff member had already secretly rolled his eyes to the sky. His thoughts were very similar to those of Luka, Coach Maxim, and Mr. Pyotr before they met Zhang Sushang in person — it must be that this Chinese man used sweet words to con Misha, their champion, into obeying him.

How could a Chinese know how to skate? Chyushka must be a scammer! He even had the same name as that best-selling author, he probably chose it to capitalise on the hype.

The hotel was simple but tidy with posters plastered on the walls encouraging the athletes, and energetic young athletes constantly moved throughout the building. Although it was so cold that every breath sent forth a plume of white mist, they all had smiles on their faces.

When arranging for their rooms, Zhang Sushang, wearing a thick green coat, requested, “Please give us a room on the first floor. Misha needs to exercise, and he’ll jump a lot, which would disturb anyone below us.”

The receptionist glanced at him, then at Misha.

“Yes, I need to exercise,” Misha said.

Only then did they hand over a set of keys. Just then, they heard someone yell, “Let us stay next to Misha and Chyushka!”

Everyone turned and saw Luka and Maxim rushing over, their faces flushed red. Maxim immediately embraced Zhang Sushang and patted his back.

“Hey, Chyushka, why didn’t you tell us when you left? We could’ve gone together!”

Luka, still panting heavily, crouched down, opened his suitcase, and looked up at Zhang Sushang like a puppy wanting to be praised. “Chyushka, I asked Giselle to make me a costume too, what do you think?”

“As long as you like it,” Zhang Sushang replied in confusion.

Coach Maxim received his keys, then took out two shredded burdock sandwiches. “You’ve had a long journey, come eat something.”

Luka picked up Zhang Sushang’s suitcase, which was when he discovered that it had wheels underneath, causing him to exclaim in surprise and praise it for its handsome appearance.

Passerby, including staff, were shocked by Maxim and Luka’s enthusiastic attitude. They were all proletarian brothers and sisters so they were naturally polite to everyone, but they had never seen them be so exuberant towards anyone, even Misha.

Who exactly was that Chinese boy?

If Zhang Sushang knew what they were thinking, he would definitely complain: I’m not anyone in particular, just a poor idiot who’s had way too many lessons mooched off for free by these two.

After Lucas attended his class, not only did his posture improve, he mastered five double jumps with just the hardest 2A left to learn, not to mention courses on muscle building, physical fitness, etc. Whatever Misha learned, Luka gritted his teeth and learned too.

Zhang Sushang had hardly sat down when there was a knock on the door. When Misha opened it, Luka’s head poked through the crack.

“Chyushka, are we starting training?”

“About to,” Zhang Sushang replied, stretching his legs on the ground.

Luka shyly opened the door and sidled closer. “Chyushka, I can do your errands tonight, like getting hot water for bathing or buying drinks, so, can I train and sleep with you guys?”

As long as he could train with them, he’d be Chyushka’s dog for a day.

Zhang Sushang had already seen him freeload his lessons so many times, it made no difference if it happened again. He looked at Misha. “What do you think?”

Misha shook his head. “I don’t mind,” he said.

The room was only big enough for two people to jump around, so Zhang Sushang sat cross-legged on the bed.

“First activate your hips, legs, core, and other muscle groups, then do a hundred jumping jacks to warm up.”

Two equally handsome, lean, fit men immediately lay on the ground and started performing high leg raises, reverse leg raises, donkey kicks… then they started jumping together. The scene was truly delightful.

Young people were full of energy, and the two of them only wore singlets as they exercised, leaving their muscles on display. Zhang Sushang, the little Northeastern bear afraid of the cold, stayed wrapped in a quilt.

“Are all you Slavs so cold-resistant?”

“I’m not Slavic though,” Luka replied through his panting breaths, “I’m Jewish, but I’m also part of the Communist Party. As for the cold, you’ll get used to it after having a few snowball fights!”

They were quite noisy as they exercised. People passing by smiled at the two athletes’ efforts, then snorted as they caught sight of Zhang Sushang tucked in his quilt.

Afterwards, Luka wanted to get water for Zhang Sushang’s bath as agreed, only to be stopped. “It’s too late, and it’s getting colder outside. Don’t go out. Go to bed,” Zhang Sushang said.

He’ll just wash his face and rinse his mouth later. An athlete’s health was precious; nothing was allowed to go wrong before a competition.

Staying healthy was more important than how much he hated their post-exercise Slavic body odour.

“It’s okay, I want to wash up too,” Luka said nonchalantly. He liked cleanliness too.

Luka went out with two buckets, followed by Misha with a basin. When they returned, the three of them wiped themselves down, changed into pyjamas, pushed the two beds together, and snuggled into the soft covers.

“I’ve never slept with others on the same bed before,” Misha couldn’t help but chuckle.

Luka was equally excited. “I slept with my brother when I was little, and he’d read me bedtime stories.”

He was born in the vast and sparsely populated Siberia where you might not see another living human for hundreds of miles, not to mention how prevalent theism was in Russia – quite a few people believed in the supernatural.

Luka told a few stories from his hometown, scaring Misha so much he trembled, only for Zhang Sushang to clear his throat dramatically.

“In the south of my country, there stands a mountain village where a woman named Cho Yan-may lives. Her story is very interesting…”1Refers to the 1999 Hong Kong horror movie A Wicked Ghost

With a bestselling author’s narrative ability, Miss Cho’s already chilling story, and the eerie wind which whipped branches against the window, the story’s atmosphere was fully realised, leaving the two Slavic boys scared out of their wits.

Misha subconsciously gripped Luka’s sleeve, gulping nervously. “A-And then? How did it end? Was Miss Cho freed?”

“No, she’s not free yet. She’s still singing at that river, and may even appear in your dreams,” Zhang Sushang replied slowly.

The two bears hugged each other with a single thought simultaneously emerging in their minds: is everyone named Chyushka so good at telling stories?

“Alright, good night.” Zhang Sushang fell asleep, unconcerned with whether a woman surnamed Cho might really walk into their dreams.

But halfway through the night, he was awakened by Luka’s tossing and turning. He got to his feet as the young man shivered and clutched at the blanket. As a medical student, he subconsciously touched Luka’s forehead and noticed that it felt a bit warm.

“What’s going on?” Misha asked sleepily.

Zhang Sushang helped Luka up, examined his tongue, and took his pulse. Thanks to Jiang Jinghu’s teachings, he diagnosed him with a cold.

After all this hassle, everyone in the room woke up.

Misha looked at Luka worriedly. “What now? He’s sick? But we’re skating tomorrow!”

He and Luka had learned together for a long time and were already very familiar with each other. Although Misha was wary of his hardworking rival, he certainly didn’t want him to collapse before the competition.

“It’s okay, don’t worry, his symptoms aren’t serious,” Zhang Sushang said calmly. He’d asked Jiang Jinghu for some commonly used pills before they left.

He sent Misha to fetch Maxim then get some boiled water from the front desk, and after they came back they fed Luka both the pills and water. Zhang Sushang massaged his back with some oil, then wrapped him in blankets and let him sweat it out.

Luka allowed Zhang Sushang to torment him, staring at him with full trust despite the way his eyes watered from the heat. “Chyushka, you’re a medical student, right? Can you cure me?”

“Yeah,” Zhang Sushang said, patting his head, “I’m half your coach after all, I can’t let you skate while this sick.”

“You’ve acknowledged me as your student,” Luka snickered foolishly. A gleam of happiness shone in his eyes, as if the joy of Zhang Sushang’s recognition overcame the strain of his illness.

“Luka admires you a lot, he says it’s a pleasure to learn from you,” Maxim whispered to Zhang Sushang.

He was not only Luka’s coach but also his uncle. With no children of his own, he had always been filled with affection when talking about Luka.

It wasn’t until dawn broke that Luka’s temperature returned to normal.

Author:
Pikachyu: Jiang Jinghu, my little superhero! A must-have doctor for home and travel!

Mild colds can be relieved by essential oil massages and cupping because these can strengthen the body and dispel evil. I’ve tried it before for coughs, but everyone should still see a doctor if you’re sick~ Sushang is in an emergency, so he’s practising medicine without a license (don’t do this at home).

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