Seventeen Years on Ice [Figure Skating]

[Reader advisory: This is a romance-focused story, not a competitive sports power fantasy. It's a slow burn, centered on personal growth and falling in love.]

Newly promoted to the senior division, figure skater Lu Xi has become the hottest young talent in the sport, thanks to his sweet, handsome looks and his title as World Junior Champion.

But he's also the most outspoken and arrogant problem skater.

He once offended the "rising star" on his own team with a single remark, and he often leaves his coach speechless.

Not long ago, at the World Junior Championships, he offended media from several countries during a post-competition interview when he said, "I want to be the world's number one men's singles skater." Many people mocked him as an ambitious dreamer, young and arrogant.

Not long after moving up to the senior division, Lu Xi seriously injured his foot during training.

Everyone said he was finished. Plenty of people were waiting to laugh at him, but even though he had to relearn almost all his technical elements from scratch, reporters still couldn't capture the slightest sign of dejection on his face.

To everyone's surprise, Deng Chang, the "rising star" he'd offended, suddenly changed his usual cool demeanor.

He helped Lu Xi through rehab, stayed with him day and night, and took meticulous care of him.

Five years later, the Winter Olympics arrive.

Lu Xi and Deng Chang, the sport's twin stars, each boast top-tier records as they take the Olympic ice side by side.

After weathering countless ups and downs and controversies over the past five years, and enduring repeated injuries, the talented Lu Xi lands every jump cleanly in his free skate. With perfect technical and program component scores, he breaks the world record and defeats every rival.

At the post-competition interview, 21-year-old Lu Xi smiles proudly, just as he did at 16 when he "spoke too soon":

"Hello, everyone. I'm the world's number one men's singles figure skater."

"I'm Lu Xi."

- You're my strongest rival, my most devoted companion, and my closest lover.

- Sweet-faced, strong and arrogant genius uke vs. the seme who says, "My Xi Emperor can be as arrogant as he likes."

Happy ending. A slow-burn figure-skating story written just for my own enjoyment. Both leads win the Grand Slam, though the seme's happens in the extras.

Theme: Love forever, stay pure forever, and never give up