Chapter 30: From Day One to Day Three. Ren Xi…

From the first to the third day, Ren Xiyao participated in the 1000m(a) and 1500m events, as well as the women's 3000m relay. She won a bronze medal in the 1500m and a silver medal in the women's 3000m relay. Through these competitions, she gradually regained her competitive form. Competition is the fastest way for athletes to recover their competitive edge.

For short track speed skating, the intensity and flexibility of world competitions are several levels higher than those in China. This is because it involves top-level athletes from around the world, and the competition is much more rigorous. The first and second legs of the World Cup were only five days apart. After completing their competition on Sunday, they packed up and headed to Montreal, Canada that same evening to prepare for the second leg.

Winter had quietly arrived amidst this intense schedule. Ren Xiyao sat on the plane, gazing at the clouds outside the window. Her phone, off airplane mode, displayed a chat log from a few hours earlier with Kwon Ji-yong, where she had mentioned her trip to Canada. They had been together since the end of September. It seemed like there was only a confession and a few hours together—a very short time—before they faced their respective busy schedules. Whenever the longing intensified, she would immediately interrupt her thoughts and find something to distract herself. But longing was like that. It would still seep into her bones at any moment.

And this longing wasn't just spreading in Ren Xiyao's heart.

Sitting on the Montreal ice rink for too long made everyone's head ache from the cold. Kwon Ji-yong, his baseball cap pulled low, his eyes behind sunglasses fixed on the rink entrance, had huddled tightly in his black down jacket, huddled in the far corner of the regular stands. Surrounded by enthusiastic fans waving flags from various countries, no one noticed the two young men dressed in all black. His manager beside him kept checking his watch: "We don't have much time. We need to catch the last flight back to Tokyo after today's competition."

“I know.” Kwon Ji-yong’s gaze never left the ice. The big screen was showing the athlete group assignments. Every time he saw the Chinese flag, he would subconsciously tense up. He found a group assignment chart saved from a short track speed skating forum on his phone’s photo album and counted them. The first time he saw this schedule, he frowned. The schedule was too dense. If an athlete had to participate in two events, then he would have to compete in 4-6 events a day, not counting relays. Only now did he understand why Ren Xiyao had always said that her physical fitness was a disadvantage. He felt that, given this schedule, no amount of physical reserves would be enough.

The agent next to me was still nagging: "At last week's shareholders' meeting, Director Xu turned green when he heard your girlfriend was a Chinese national athlete. The president even asked me yesterday if you'd been cursed. The company doesn't object to you dating, but dating a foreign athlete, especially in a sensitive field..."

"Next up is the Women's 500A Final," the English commentator announced over the loudspeaker. Accompanied by a DJ's energetic march, the camera panned across each finalist. The broadcast also provided brief introductions to each athlete.

The atmosphere reached a fever pitch with each introduction of the contestants. Kwon Ji-yong was also caught up in the excitement. He had participated in many concerts, but this was different. It was pure passion, a thrill that made his blood boil, even for those in the audience.

"Ren Xiyao from China!" When the commentator announced her name, Kwon Ji-yong felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The camera focused on Ren Xiyao fourth, which meant she was in lane four in the 500m final, not an ideal lane.

At the entrance to the ice, Ren Xiyao removed her skates and placed them on the protective mat before quickly gliding off. She adapted to the ice. Her movements were crisp and efficient, her saddle swaying gently with each motion. The way she adjusted her goggles was as swift as someone checking weapons on the battlefield. Kwon Ji-yong suddenly smiled, tilting his head slightly but his gaze never leaving the figure on the ice. He said to his manager, "Watch the competition. The way she flies so low on the ice is dazzling."

The starting gun pierced the air as the competition began. Kwon Ji-yong clenched his fists, watching Ren Xiyao dash off like an arrow. It was unlike any of her previous matches at the club. Back then, she seemed to be holding back, but here, her explosive power was awe-inspiring even from a distance. The sound of her skates hitting the ice alone conveyed the intensity of the competition.

Kwon Ji-yong's gaze was fixed on the red figure speeding through the center of the rink. As Ren Xiyao glided around the bend, the ice shards kicked up by her skates looked like scattered diamonds under the lights; the television broadcast couldn't capture even a tenth of her actual speed. Even though he had secretly watched the team's qualifiers, it was completely different from this high-level world competition.

She had already moved from lane four to second place by the first corner, firmly controlling the inside lane while the Canadian skater next to her kept trying to overtake her on the outside. But her lines were completely controlled. Her skating was very stable; when she took her steps in the corner, her knees almost touched the ice, and the arc of her corners was as beautiful as a precisely calculated curve.

"That Chinese athlete turns so fast," a Canadian spectator next to him muttered to his companion.

"She won all the individual gold medals in the youth group, and now she's incredibly strong in the adult group as well."

Kwon Ji-yong's eyes were fixed on the ice rink, too busy to speak, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knee. In this world-class competition, her performance was vastly different from before.

At this moment, Ren Xiyao on the ice rink was completely different from the girl he knew in private who would laugh and tease him. Her eyes were focused to the point of being sharp, and every push off the ice carried an explosive force that was almost ferocious.

He heard his agent beside him mutter, "That's incredibly fast..."

The 500m race in this world-class competition was even more intense than expected. The final was also more brutal than Kwon Ji-yong had anticipated. Two collisions had already occurred in just three laps. After exiting the first corner, Ren Xiyao began pulling away from the outside, even with the high-speed gliding of the 500m and lap times approaching 9 seconds, she still chose the most aggressive approach to overtake. After three laps on the outside, Ren Xiyao finally took the lead the moment she exited the corner. Until the referee rang the final lap bell, the atmosphere reached another climax. Cheers, slogans, applause, and the DJ's intense music created a suffocating atmosphere.

Kwon Ji-yong suddenly grabbed the armrest of the seat.

"It's okay," he whispered to himself, recalling what Ren Xiyao had said in the hotel room the night before last while she was putting kinesiology tape on her knees during a video call: "Short track speed skating looks scary, but the chances of falling are not as high as you might think."

On the ice, Ren Xiyao was already more than a body length ahead of her opponent, and even had time to glance at the finish line. Just as Kwon Ji-yong was about to breathe a sigh of relief, disaster struck. The entire audience screamed before they could even cheer. The Dutch skater collided with the Canadian skater on the final turn, lost her balance, and both of them flew sideways into the safety mat, their skates tracing dangerous arcs through the air. Even her manager was startled.

Amidst gasps from the crowd, the Canadian skater slowly rose from the ice, but the Dutch skater remained lying on the ice, unable to get up. The medical team rushed onto the ice with a stretcher. Many members of the referee and medical staff gathered around. The Dutch coach also monitored the skater's condition from outside the ice, separated by protective mats. The skaters competing in the same event kept a close eye on the situation during their laps, until the crowd dispersed. Kwon Ji-yong watched the girl being carried away in a neck brace and suddenly realized his palms were sweaty. He remembered what Ren Xiyao had told him: "If you're worried, don't come to watch the 500m. The 500m is the easiest place for accidents to happen."

The award ceremony music interrupted Kwon Ji-yong's thoughts. He watched as Ren Xiyao, wearing the Chinese national team jacket, removed her helmet and goggles. The big screen panned across her face, still flushed from exercise, her breathing not yet fully calmed. Her hair was also slightly disheveled. But there was a stunning beauty about her. The second time they met, Kwon Ji-yong thought her face was suited for the big screen, and now, even without makeup, even after just finishing intense exercise, she was still breathtaking in the instant the camera focused on her. When the announcement of the gold medal rang out, the audience erupted in applause, and Kwon Ji-yong realized his hands were aching from clapping.

The World Cup awards ceremony was simple. Ren Xiyao stood in the center, accepting the gold medal. She gave a faint smile to the camera in the distance. The coaches of the Chinese national team on the sidelines were beaming with joy. But she showed little excitement, calmly accepting the award. Kwon Ji-yong, standing in the stands, quietly took a picture of this scene with his phone.

Just as he left his seat, he overheard an Asian-looking boy and the white girl next to him speaking in English: "She's the hope of the Chinese team; she'll definitely be like the previous women's team captain..."

Back on the ice rink, watching Ren Xiyao compete in the 1500m, his heart ached. Fortunately, although the 1500m competition was fierce, no one fell off the track. The subsequent relay brought the competition to another level, with Ren Xiyao as the first runner for the women's team, responsible for the start, requiring extremely strong explosive power. She said this was her forte. Watching Ren Xiyao and the national team girls embrace after winning their gold medals, her smile was even brighter than when she won gold in individual events. This leg of the competition concluded perfectly as Ren Xiyao bent down to accept the bronze medal in the 1500m and the gold medal in the 3000m relay.