Chapter 132 - The Echo of the Ovation and the Broken Ink

​The roar that shook the foundations of the Capital Indoor Stadium was unlike any other Aibek had heard in his career. It was not merely the enthusiastic applause for a technically perfect routine, but a dense, moved, and almost reverential clamor from thousands of people who had witnessed the baring of a soul upon the elastic ice of Beijing. The audience of the sixth venue, known for their focus and almost ritualistic respect toward athletes, had completely poured their hearts out, breaking the order of the stands to throw artificial lotus flowers, plush bears, and letters toward the center of the rink. Yet, for the brunette, all that noise was nothing but a distant buzz, a distorted echo floating in the twilight of his mind while he tried to regain the breath Jake's words had stolen from him.