Chapter 22 Kwon Ji-yong pulled his baseball cap down even further…

Kwon Ji-yong pulled his baseball cap down even lower, and a black mask covered most of his face. Dressed in understated black, he blended in with the coaches and staff around the field. Everyone was focused on the athletes on the field and the training data in their hands; no one noticed who this man in an ordinary black hoodie was, which was exactly the effect he wanted.

Before the official competition begins, each group of athletes will skate on the ice to familiarize themselves with the surface and switch between inside and outside blades to adapt to the skates and the ice more quickly. The women's 500m will start first.

I told you I would come when I secretly went to the physiotherapy room last week.

Now, he was truly standing here. Kwon Ji-yong leaned forward slightly. On the track, Ren Xiyao wore a short track speed skating protective suit; the blue and white bodysuit outlined her well-proportioned figure. Her black hair was tied in a low bun, peeking out from under her helmet, with stray strands fluttering in the wind as she moved.

The coach blew the whistle, and Ren Xiyao and several other athletes took their positions at the starting line. In the ensuing silence, even Kwon Ji-yong unconsciously held his breath.

Ren Xiyao's body was like a spring compressed to its limit, every muscle taut. Quan Zhilong could even feel that pent-up power from this distance.

"Ready!"

"Bang!" The starting gun fired.

Ren Xiyao practically launched herself forward; her starting motion was clean and crisp, without a single wasted burst of energy. Quan Zhilong's eyes widened involuntarily. Having seen countless dancers on stage, this was the first time he had been so awestruck by someone's explosive power. He had watched many of Ren Xiyao's competitions, and had even been to the rink last time. But that time, he was huddled in a corner of the stands, too far away to notice, and could only sense her wind-like speed on the ice. This time, however, he was right there at the rink, almost touching her. He finally understood what she meant by explosive power.

"Oh my god..." he murmured, his voice drowned out by the cacophony of ice skates in the arena.

Ren Xiyao quickly took the lead over the other skaters, having already overtaken one person before even entering the turn. As she entered the turn, her body leaned at a breathtaking angle, her left skate almost scraping the ice. Kwon Ji-yong felt his palms sweating; he had never seen short track speed skating so closely before—the sport was both dangerous and beautiful.

Ren Xiyao said that elite athletes typically maintain a torso angle between 10° and 30° and a knee angle between 100° and 300° at the start of a race. At that time, he couldn't quite intuitively grasp the quantitative changes that such strict angle control would bring. But now he saw it. It was the explosive power that allowed her to instantly overtake others from third to first place.

"That starting reaction time is quite good..." a middle-aged man whispered to the younger man next to him, "His cornering technique is also good. Low entry angle, no obvious flaws in either foot."

Ren Xiyao completed the final lap and crossed the finish line first. As she slowed down to glide, Quan Zhilong saw her chest heaving violently. Even from this distance, he could feel the heat emanating from her body.

Coach Kim went over and said something. Ren Xiyao nodded, took off her goggles, and wiped her sweat. Kwon Ji-yong noticed that her cheeks were flushed from the intense exercise. The way she tilted her head back to drink water carried a unique kind of athletic pride.

"Next group!" a coach shouted.

Ren Xiyao handed the water to the coach, took off her helmet, and walked towards the exit of the ice. Her gaze seemed to unintentionally sweep over him. Quan Zhilong wasn't sure if she had seen him, but her movements paused almost imperceptibly.

He watched the following races as well, and now he understood what Ren Xiyao meant when she said the thrill and adrenaline of extreme speed was addictive. Every group of competitors had commendable performances. But he truly couldn't forget that 500m race, where Ren Xiyao was in the lead from the very beginning. She led from start to finish, and by the time she crossed the finish line on the last lap, she had left the competitors a full turn behind. It was an extremely dominant and crushing display.

As the ice-pouring truck finished pouring ice again, the women's 1000m race was about to begin. Kwon Ji-yong's spirits lifted. When the third group arrived, he saw that familiar figure. This time in the 1000m, he noticed that Ren Xiyao's choice was different from before. She was no longer in the lead position from the start. With five people in her group, she chose to skate in third place.

The 1000m race consists of nine laps. This time, she will participate in three events, which will be a significant test of her physical strength, with very short rest periods in between. Therefore, she needs to adjust her energy distribution during the 500m and 1000m races to ensure she can still compete with high-level athletes in the 1500m race.

Ren Xiyao's push-off technique is powerful yet light, and she displays amazing agility when overtaking. The unexpected turn of events occurred on the seventh lap of the 1000m race. At the moment of entering the bend, a skater behind her attempted to overtake her, resulting in a collision.

Such a collision at such high speeds is very dangerous. He instinctively wanted to bite his nails. He could feel her about to lose her balance, and just when he thought she was going to fall, she miraculously regained her balance and skated back to the back of the line.

With one lap left, everyone in front wanted to overtake. The moment she opened the inside lane, she made a lateral cut on the inside, followed by an acceleration on the outside, and moved into third place just before the final corner! She overtook two players without any physical contact—a perfect overtake! When she crossed the finish line, the gap between her and the second-place finisher was just a hair's breadth apart.

Kwon Ji-yong could sense that she had slowed down her final sprint. Compared to the previous two finishers, her movement seemed more like a natural, effortless push towards the finish line. As she crossed the finish line, he instinctively clenched his fist, almost shouting out loud. Feeling a little guilty, he glanced around and coughed softly. Finding that no one was paying attention and everyone was focused on the race, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

But when his gaze fell on the figure on the ice again, "Like a spirit fox..." Kwon Ji-yong exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.

The coach next to me said that the interval between the 1000m and 1500m races was almost an hour. Now that the athletes had all left, the coaches were starting to gather in small groups to discuss the races. Kwon Ji-yong didn't dare linger; he was too conspicuous. He quickly slipped away before anyone noticed.

He wandered aimlessly along the path outside the venue. Athletes from other sports were training on the sidelines. He casually snapped some photos of the scenery. He thought this was a path she had walked countless times. In this tranquil and relaxed atmosphere, Kwon Ji-yong unconsciously softened a lot. There were no cameras, no flashes, and no noise. Even the heat seemed less irritating.

When Kwon Ji-yong returned to the venue, he saw that Ren Xiyao was already on the ice. The 1500m was Ren Xiyao's ambition. She first achieved good results in long distances, but her physical data showed that she was more suited to short distances. Because of her ambition, she usually trained very hard in endurance training.

Just when he thought the race would see a clash in the later laps, as before, things took a turn on the ice. After the starting gun fired, one skater surged forward at incredible speed. Another skater quickly cut in front of Ren Xiyao, controlling her path. Ren Xiyao reacted swiftly; before the other skater could fully regain control of her speed, she immediately pulled up the outside lane, overtaking him in an instant. She then accelerated, chasing after the skater skating at full speed ahead.

Kwon Ji-yong tensed up immediately, his brows furrowing. If he wasn't mistaken, the two were cooperating. Normally, in these group practice matches, everyone plays individually, unlike in international competitions or formal tournaments where results matter. So, if this kind of cooperation is simply aimed at winning, it's fine. But if someone is targeting a specific player, then it's not good.

What worries Quan Zhilong is that Ren Xiyao has already completed the 1000m and 500m races, so her stamina reserves shouldn't be that high. However, there should be some athletes in this competition who only participate in the 1500m or only participate in two events. He once asked around and found that there are no more than five all-around athletes in the women's team at the training camp, which means that stamina is Ren Xiyao's disadvantage at this moment.

When the lap count reached the eighth lap, the skater who had taken the lead in the first group and Ren Xiyao had slowly caught up with the second group. The two who were in last place started to follow each other.

You could tell that the skaters who had surged ahead were extremely exhausted. Their movements were already somewhat distorted. Ren Xiyao was close behind, but she had also started using her hands on the ice when skating around the corners. Usually, Ren Xiyao only used her hands on the ice during the final three sprints, when her lap speed was very high; otherwise, she mostly skated with her hands behind her back. Now, even the skater in first place, who was trying to control their speed, was starting to lose control, and the skaters behind them were constantly overtaking them.

By lap 10, the riders behind had overtaken her. The monitor screen showed that the chasing riders had already reduced their lap times to around 9 seconds. Ren Xiyao's skating wasn't as light as it had been at the beginning. The riders behind began to chase. By the last corner of lap 12, the chasing riders were almost catching up. Kwon Ji-yong felt a pang of anxiety. He worried that his stamina might not be up to par at this point.

But just as she was feeling nervous, Ren Xiyao suddenly accelerated. Seizing the moment when the athlete ahead of her erred in the corner and entered the turn at a dangerous angle, she overtook them and took first place!

The last lap!

The pursuers were getting closer and closer. The skater who had initially taken the lead was now gliding with his legs on his hands, having fallen to third place. The skaters behind him were about to overtake her. However, Ren Xiyao maintained her speed and firmly controlled the inside lane. The skaters getting closer tried to pull over on the outside, but her line control remained precise, offering no opportunity to pass.

Short track speed skating is not a purely speed-based sport. Line selection is even more important than speed. With excellent line control, even if a skater behind is faster than the one in front, there is no way to overtake them. They can only follow behind and try to overtake them; attempting to do so will only result in a violation of the rules.

On the final bend, Ren Xiyao slid out first, finishing a full body length ahead of second place. However, just as she crossed the finish line, she crashed. Kwon Ji-yong lost his composure and cried out in surprise. Fortunately, the cry wasn't abrupt, as other coaches nearby also yelled.

A coach immediately moved towards Ren Xiyao. The referee on the ice also went over to inquire about the situation. Ren Xiyao lay there for a while, then waved to the referee. After a short while, she slowly stood up. Quan Zhilong was a little worried and was about to take out his phone to send her a message when he noticed Ren Xiyao glancing in his direction before leaving the ice. With just one glance, he understood what Ren Xiyao meant; he knew she had seen him.

A note from the author:

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