Chapter 134 Ren Xiyao pushes away the old man from Suzhou...

When Ren Xiyao pushed open the carved wooden door of the old Suzhou house, the aroma of sweet and sour fish wafting from the kitchen, mingled with the warmth of the heating, enveloped her. The four elderly people planned to retire there. They didn't want to live in high-rise buildings; they just wanted a small courtyard where they could listen to the wind and play chess. It was truly a display of refined taste. But it must be said, the old house had its own unique charm.

"Yaoyao's back!" Grandma stood up shakily from the sofa, still clutching a knitting needle in her hand. Her eyesight wasn't very good anymore, but she still loved knitting sweaters for her granddaughter, even though Ren Xiyao had been wearing her team uniform much more often than her regular clothes over the years.

"You wouldn't let me pick you up. It's such a hassle to take a taxi back." The father took the suitcase, grumbling softly as the wheels rumbled on the flagstones. "How's your back?"

"It's alright." She casually brushed aside the fall during the Fourteenth Winter Games and stuffed the folder containing her retirement report into the innermost layer of her backpack.

When the belated New Year's Eve dinner was served, the news was on TV. Her mother placed a piece of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish in her bowl: "How long can you stay home this time?"

Ren Xiyao paused with her chopsticks: "Maybe... we can stay here from now on."

Six pairs of chopsticks stopped in mid-air at the same time.

"I have submitted my retirement application."

There was a moment of silence at the table. Grandpa was the first to speak, adjusting his reading glasses: "Have you thought it through?"

"Um."

"Who would have thought it would almost cost him his life?" The father took a sip of rice wine. They remembered the years of helplessness they had felt. They remembered the eleven needles he received for the Pingcheng Winter Olympics and the two years of rehabilitation training.

Grandma's ball of yarn rolled onto the floor: "So what will you do after that? Come back and take the civil service exam or become a coach?"

"My visiting scholar position at NYU has been approved." Ren Xiyao pulled out her email: "Art History and Theory. I'll use this as a stepping stone. If there are no problems, I might apply directly for a PhD program."

Grandma's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She just kept looking at the acceptance letter, as if touching a wound that had finally healed.

The Ren family's New Year celebrations officially began the day Ren Xiyao returned. Afterwards, the atmosphere at home became much more relaxed. Her family prepared a variety of delicious meals for her. Her aunt also made a special trip back to see her, bringing her many gifts. Her mother is also retiring soon this year and will most likely come to Suzhou; she's already bought a house there, just across the street from this little courtyard.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Ren Xiyao received an overseas call from Li Enjing.

"Coach Kim is in the hospital." The voice on the other end of the phone carried the chill of a Seoul winter night: "Mid-stage lung cancer."

Ren Xiyao stood under the garden's covered walkway, her fingers unconsciously picking at the paint on the wooden railing. Coach Kim Sun-hoon was her coach during her training in South Korea years ago, and his help along the way was no less than that of the club's coaches. From equipment polishing to right-angle change-of-direction training, his influence was everywhere. The phrase "teaching without discrimination" perfectly describes this kind of coach who nurtures countless students.

I'm going to South Korea next week.

“I knew you’d say that.” Lee Eun-jung laughed, but there was a hint of sourness in her voice: “Guess what Coach Kim has on his hospital bed? The newspaper about your victory at the Pyeongsang Winter Olympics, he framed it. I’m his disciple whom he’s trained from the ground up, and he didn’t even frame my record. He’s so biased.”

South Korea has appeared quite frequently over the years. Almost every year, the two Asian stops for the World Cup are China and South Korea, only the advertising billboards at Incheon Airport change each time, featuring different boy and girl groups' smiling faces. When Ren Xiyao pulled her suitcase out, Lee Eun-jung waved at her with a cup of hot Americano, just like when they first met at the ice rink ten years ago.

How is Coach Kim?

"You lost all your hair from chemotherapy, but you're more energetic than your attending physician." Li Enjing handed over the coffee, her tone still quite relaxed: "Don't worry, the chances of recovery are still very high. It was also discovered in time. When he heard you were coming today, he insisted that the nurse change him into a hospital gown, saying he couldn't lose face in front of his Chinese students. There have been quite a few contestants from various countries these days, but you're the only one who gets this treatment. It's really unfair."

“He came to see me last year,” Li Enjing suddenly said.

Ren Xiyao's coffee cup wobbled slightly.

“Ask about 2017.” Li Enjing looked straight ahead: “As you said, Chengbei has no right to interfere in the affairs of the Sports University. Lanhai does have close cooperation with the Sports University, but we wouldn’t know the specific details of the cooperation projects.” Then she sighed softly and said, “Actually, even if you don’t tell me, I can piece together the general outline. Those intricate details can’t be explained in a few words. Their methods are ruthless, using soft knives, but every strike is fatal.”

"He asked me back then... about that Korean ice skating association... did you ever hate him because of that? I said... no, after all, back then, besides the Winter Olympics, you probably didn't have time to think about anything else." Lee Eun-jung's voice grew softer and softer, as if she dared not continue.

Ren Xiyao was visibly taken aback by these words. Clearly, this was the first time such an option had crossed her mind. However, Li Enjing's next words made her want to laugh involuntarily: "Friends are still friends, right? You understand me best."

Hearing her say that, Lee Eun-jung slowly let out a breath: "I'm glad you don't blame me for taking matters into my own hands."

Ren Xiyao gave a short laugh as the scenery outside the window rushed past. More and more familiar scenes from her memories seemed to burst through the floodgates of her emotions: "In 2017, they came on strong, they..." Ren Xiyao was somewhat at a loss; this was actually the first time in so many years that she had brought up 2017 on her own initiative: "They...in the end, they didn't even get a single solid piece of evidence of their relationship...I know he must have arranged so much behind the scenes...in those years we were together, in those places I couldn't see...he had already done everything he could..."

Li Enjing turned her head to look at her, her eyes filled with indescribable complexity: "Everything will be alright." Even after so many years, the psychological shadow left over from 2017 could still be seen in Ren Xiyao. The avoidance in her eyes and the subconscious resistance when mentioning 2017 were unmistakable.

"Yes. Everything will be alright from now on."

Lee Eun-jung smiled, her voice full of determination: "Yes, everything will be alright from now on."

Pushing open the hospital ward door, Coach Kim's room was filled with flower baskets. In the most conspicuous place was a framed picture, just as Li Enjing had said, which combined the news briefing on Ren Xiyao's victory in Pingcheng with the news headlines of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

"Girl!" The old man's shout startled the nurses away: "I heard you were bullied by those idiots again?"

Ren Xiyao placed the Biluochun tea she brought from Suzhou on the bedside table: "Wow, your news is even faster than Yonhap News Agency."

“Li Enjing reads sports forums to me every day.” The old man patted the tablet computer proudly, causing the IV tube to sway wildly. “I don’t know what she was thinking. It seems that nowadays every industry is going out to get a gilded plating.”

The two chatted for the entire afternoon, from training to competitions, from the development of short track speed skating to the current state of international competitions. Lee Eun-jung occasionally chimed in, taking the opportunity to complain about Coach Kim's favoritism.

As dusk fell and the nurse came in to change the dressing, Coach Jin suddenly grabbed Ren Xiyao's hand: "Do you know why I kept your match videos?" He pointed to the photo frame on the table: "Back then, I thought, you're a carbon copy of your captain. Girls in China are either geniuses or madmen, and you're both." The old man choked up: "This time when you retire, you're not allowed to cry in secret."

Ren Xiyao grasped his withered hand in return.

She didn't stay in Seoul for long. Her flight was for the following afternoon, flying directly to New York. That night, she and Lee Eun-jung went to a barbecue restaurant near the Seongbuk training base. Speaking of which, it turned out Rita was the one who led them there. At the time, Lin Shan laughed at Lee Eun-jung, saying that she'd been training there for so long, yet Rita, a foreigner, was less informed. Now, thinking back, it's clear how much time has passed. So much that they've both retired. But some habits haven't changed, like how she still can't get used to South Korean soju.

She and Lee Eun-jung talked a lot. From their first meeting to their training, and then to their fierce competition on the court. The power struggles and factional infighting within the South Korean team. Things that couldn't be said while they were active, now that they've retired, they no longer have to suppress them. The internal strife between Park Min-hee and Kim Sook-yeon. Lee Eun-jung, being someone who was involved, filled in the details to make it even more complete.

Ren Xiyao was amazed. Back then, the two of them openly tore each other apart on the field. Being in the same group was worse than not being in the same group at all; even the coach had to pray with his hands clasped together. During the competition, before they even had a chance to fight with anyone else, the two of them started fighting. Everyone was just watching the drama unfold. It was truly an open feud within the team. But who would have thought they'd end up in the same photo? This is a long-standing tradition in South Korea; the battle for the top spot on the women's team has always been fierce and bloody. From the establishment of the short track team to Park Hye-yeon's rise to the top, and now to Park Min-hee and Kim Sook-yeon, the competition has always been exciting.

Lee Eun-jung said mysteriously, "If it weren't for the rise of Europe and America in recent years, which has had a significant impact on Asia, they wouldn't have released Park Min-hee. Now that they've released her, they'll warn both of them to behave themselves. The higher-ups are keeping a close eye on them."

After a few rounds of drinks, both of them tacitly agreed not to mention Kwon Ji-yong. But Lee Eun-jung couldn't help herself; in a sense, the fact that the four of them could hang out together meant they shared some similar traits. Finally, Lee Eun-jung asked Ren Xiyao, "Do you regret it?"

Ren Xiyao smiled brightly, a smile that made Li Enjing feel as if they had returned to their 20s. She seemed to see that 20-year-old girl sitting by the ice rink, the resolute and rational girl who first talked to her about Kwon Ji-yong: "Even though I am a little hesitant now, I will never regret my past decisions. That would be too tasteless."

Li Enjing raised her wine bottle and toasted Ren Xiyao. Indeed, people change, and over the long river of time, their edges are smoothed out. But ultimately, the most genuine human nature in these close friends has never faded for a moment.

After dinner, Ren Xiyao went to the North City Training Base alone.

The ice rink was deserted in the early morning, but the manager recognized her and quietly turned on the lights.

Lee Eun-jung sent a text message: "Coach Kim said there's an ice rink in New York owned by a Canadian, and the owner is his junior teammate."

"New York has the best rehabilitation training center in the United States. While studying is important, injuries must also be taken seriously."

"Have your boss make the connection for you. Coach Kim said so."

Ren Xiyao smiled and replied with a "thank you".

At Incheon Airport Terminal 2, Ren Xiyao bought a cup of hot lemon water at the boarding gate.

When the boarding announcement came over the loudspeaker, she took out her phone and snapped a picture of her plane ticket: Harbin → Seoul → New York, like a belated graduation trip.

Before takeoff, my mother sent me a WeChat message: "Your dad polished all your childhood medals and insisted on hanging them in the living room. I told him he has no taste. Hanging them like this doesn't show how amazing my daughter is at all."

The accompanying picture shows the father standing on tiptoe to hang the photo frame from behind, with a photo of his victory at the Heijo Winter Olympics prominently displayed on the wall.

Then another message came: "Your aunt said the same thing; she wants to find someone to design a wall of medals."

Ren Xiyao smiled and turned off her phone. The plane had ascended to 30,000 feet, and the clouds resembled an endless ice rink.