Chapter 29 2014-2015 Competition...

The national roster for the 2014-2015 short track speed skating season is as follows:

Women's Team: Xu Xin, Su Meng, Ren Xiyao, Lin Shan, Wang Lu, Chen Xinyu

Men's Team: Jiang Tao, Wang Yan, Cheng Du, He Muyang, Chen Wei, Zhang Hongbo

With six men and six women, plus four substitutes, two men and two women, the team officially began its World Cup journey, embarking on its "wandering earth" adventure. The first stop was Salt Lake City, USA, from November 7th to 9th, 2014. The men's team consisted mostly of newly promoted young athletes, with the top four having performed well at the Solskjaer Winter Olympics. The national team quickly assembled after the second leg of the Elite League, training together for a long time before setting off for Salt Lake City on November 2nd.

After a day of acclimatization training, Ren Xiyao returned to the athletes' dormitory, where she shared a room with Lin Shan. Lin Shan lay on the bed, idly scrolling through her phone. Ren Xiyao, meanwhile, was researching academic papers. Ren Xiyao was 18 when she took the college entrance exam. She had already achieved some success in short track speed skating. Coupled with her good academic performance, she attended a regular high school in the city, No. 9 Middle School. With her decent academic and athletic achievements, she was successfully admitted to R University, majoring in art history and theory. It wasn't directly related to sports, but it was one of her many interests. Therefore, compared to other athletes studying sports-related majors, she had many things to handle at school. For example, the papers that every college student has to write.

Many people assume athletes are highly competitive before competitions, but actually, they shouldn't be too tense. Just like before taking the college entrance exam, they need to relax for a while. Some established sports teams even hire professional psychologists to help them relax before competitions. Pre-competition training isn't very intense. Firstly, there's the cost of ice time at the competition venue, and secondly, national teams arrive early to try and get on the ice for acclimatization training, making it difficult to schedule ice time. Therefore, they spend more time on land for training.

Ren Xiyao didn't allow herself to be too nervous before the competition. She completed her daily training and didn't put in extra practice. Her pre-competition relaxation method was writing papers and reading literature. She aimed to stabilize her emotions and clear her mind. She finished the final section. Her phone screen lit up. A message from Kwon Ji-yong appeared in the notification bar: "I have something to tell you today."

She pulled her earphones from under her pillow, put them on, and started a voice call. His slightly tired voice, mixed with the background noise, came through: "My scandal might be on the news next week..."

Ren Xiyao stared at the end of her newly completed paper. A strange sense of irritation washed over her. She replied, "For work purposes?"

Ren Xiyao's phone vibrated almost immediately. She glanced at Lin Shan beside her, went into the bathroom, and answered, "It's not what you think." Kwon Ji-yong spoke quickly, "The president said the company has had some negative news lately, and since it's almost the end of the year, they need to generate buzz, so..."

"I know." She interrupted him, her tone calm and revealing nothing: "Take care of yourself."

The sound of a lighter being opened came from the other end of the phone, then the call was quickly cut off: "Are you angry?"

Ren Xiyao held her phone between her shoulder and turned on the tap to wash the ink off her hands: "The people from Lanhai Club have been targeting me again recently." She heard her own tone was frighteningly calm: "They were implying, intentionally or unintentionally, that I went out without permission."

Kwon Ji-yong's voice suddenly became serious: "Has someone seen us?"

"Just being sarcastic." She turned off the tap. Wiping the water droplets from her hands, she suddenly smiled with a hint of schadenfreude: "This time, even including substitutes from both the men's and women's teams, there are only two players on the roster. Their club must be furious."

When will the rumors start?

"This Saturday," he lowered his voice, "if you don't want to..."

"Here you go." Ren Xiyao turned around and leaned against the sink. "Working normally, doing my job normally." She unconsciously touched the necklace around her neck.

Suddenly, Kwon Ji-yong called her name: "Ren Xiyao".

"Um?"

"I miss you."

Her breath hitched, and then the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.

"……knew."

"That's all the reaction you're going to get?" Kwon Ji-yong raised an eyebrow.

Ren Xiyao couldn't suppress a smile: "How about I get touched and cry for you?"

Kwon Ji-yong laughed out loud: "Never mind, I hope you're always smiling." Ren Xiyao hadn't even had time to be moved when Kwon Ji-yong's next sentence came: "Besides, you probably don't look very pretty when you cry."

On the other end of the phone was Kwon Ji-yong's unrestrained laughter. On this end, Ren Xiyao couldn't help but smile. Long-distance relationships weren't the worst thing; the worst thing was the silence, which they didn't have. At this moment, distance and time were no obstacle for them.

So even as the laughter subsided, a sweet atmosphere permeated the air between them, condensing the vast distance between them into the moment when they were so close.

"Go on with your work." She heard a knock on the door. "Don't keep the staff waiting."

He glanced at the time, didn't answer, and didn't hang up. Ren Xiyao didn't hang up either. It wasn't until the knocking on the door sounded again, this time more urgent, that Quan Zhilong spoke, his voice filled with deep reluctance.

"So, did I hang up?"

"Um."

"...Really dead?"

"Hang it up."

"..."

She said helplessly, "If you keep dawdling, I'm hanging up now."

He smiled and said, "Okay, you can hang up now."

"Focus on your work and don't overthink it."

The screen went dark, and Kwon Ji-yong stared at the blacked-out phone for a long time. Suddenly, he felt that the unease in his heart was inexplicably soothed.

The agent pushed the door open and walked in: "Finished?"

"Okay." He put his phone back in his pocket, stood up, and said, "Let's go, let's go record the show."

The agent looked at him suspiciously: "...Why are you suddenly in such a good mood?"

Kwon Ji-yong didn't answer, but simply smiled, put on his sunglasses, and strode outside. She wasn't angry; she understood, and it meant she also missed him. Kwon Ji-yong understood. This was far more important than any scandal.

The ice rink of the Salt Lake City Short Track Speed ​​Skating Oval gleamed coldly. This venue has set numerous world records in short track speed skating, and the names of everyone who sets a record here are inscribed as a symbol of honor. Right now, the women's 1500m semifinals are underway nearby.

The preliminary rounds concluded on Friday the 7th, and Ren Xiyao participated in the 1000m(a)m and 1500m events. She successfully advanced to the quarterfinals in both. The World Cup schedule typically involves the preliminary rounds (qualifying rounds) on the first day. Those who lose on the first day have a chance to revive their group on Saturday morning; the top performer in each group advances to the quarterfinals. The afternoon begins with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals of the 1000m(a)m and 1500m. Gold medals are awarded on the second day of competition, which also includes the relay semifinals. The third day features the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals of the 500m and 1000m(b)m, as well as the men's 5000m and women's 3000m relay finals.

Ren Xiyao's 1500m semifinal group was very tough; four out of six skaters in her group were gold medal contenders. Coupled with her long absence from international competition, she struggled to adapt to the pace and skating with some difficulty. She ultimately finished third in her group. The rankings will be determined after the two semifinal groups in the women's 1500m are completed. The two fastest skaters will advance to the A final (qualified by a small score), while the rest will go to the B final.

Sitting in the waiting area off the ice, Ren Xiyao put away her gloves and realized that she hadn't been careful when she stepped off the ice and had touched her skate. She had cut her hand on the skate.

She overheard two girls from the South Korean team next to her discussing, "Did you see the rumors about GD?" One of the girls seemed quite angry: "It's about her again..."

Another girl chimed in, "Oppa wouldn't really be dating her, would he? Rumors about them have been circulating for 10 years. Could they really have been together for four years...?"

Ren Xiyao quickly changed her skates, picked up her ice skates, and turned to leave, wanting to shake off the noise behind her. As she walked into the athletes' tunnel, she saw the manager of the Lan Hai Club and the national team leader chatting. They saw her approaching.

"Xiao Ren," the middle-aged man smiled kindly, "it's been a while since you've competed in an international competition, has it been difficult to adapt?"

"Thank you for your concern, Manager Xu. It's just a normal adjustment process; one or two stops should be enough." Ren Xiyao stopped to tidy her hair.

"I heard you often went out alone when you were training in Seoul?" Manager Xu continued with a smile, feigning concern for the athlete: "Young people need to be careful, especially in unfamiliar places..."

Ren Xiyao turned around: "I always report when I go out. My phone is on 24 hours a day, and I strictly follow the rules."

"Hey, I'm just reminding you. Be careful." Manager Xu winked.

"Thank you for your concern. I'll go prepare for the next match now."

The sharp whistle summoned all the athletes back to the starting line, and Ren Xiyao stood on the track for the women's 1500m final. Returning to the world-class arena after a year's absence, she was still a little nervous standing at the starting line. When the starting gun fired, echoing across the ice rink, everyone began looking for an opportunity.

The sound of skates slicing across the ice mingled with the screams and cheers of the audience. As the DJ's high-energy music swelled, the atmosphere reached its climax. The 1500m race entered its final stage, with overtaking and being overtaken constantly taking place on the ice. Some skaters collided and fell off the track. Ren Xiyao was now in fourth place. She kept a close eye on the skating trajectory of the skaters ahead of her.

The race had entered its ninth lap. By this time, her stamina was starting to wane. While her endurance had improved significantly during her training camp, she wasn't controlling her rhythm well in this race, inevitably becoming somewhat flustered. She managed two overtakes in the early laps, constantly trying to maintain third or fourth place, which took a toll on her energy.

With two laps remaining, the battle on the inside lane and the tug-of-war on the outside lane became increasingly intense. Currently, Canada's Sanx and South Korea's Kim Suk-yeon are in first and second place, respectively.

The two skaters were giving it their all. Until the last lap and a half, Ren Xiyao decided to make a desperate attempt. Ahead of her was Sofies from the Netherlands. She could feel it. Her stamina was waning. Her technique was starting to falter, so Ren Xiyao decided to overtake, forcefully pulling on the outside. The angle of entry into the corner was steep. As her speed and push-off frequency increased on the outside, Ren Xiyao felt her lungs were about to explode; the lactic acid buildup throughout her body was nearing its limit, but there was only half a lap left. At the final corner, just as she exited, Ren Xiyao was parallel to Sofies. She was a step ahead, quickly adjusting her body to remain upright as she exited the corner. At the last moment before crossing the finish line, she led the Dutch skater by a blade's length.

Third! Bronze medal!

Accompanying the applause was her first medal after a year's absence from the competition. As she crossed the finish line, Ren Xiyao let out a long sigh of relief; at least the year's training had begun to bear fruit.