Chapter 74 On the day of the Little New Year in the North, ...

On the eve of the Lunar New Year in northern China, Ren Xiyao and her companions boarded a flight to Germany. From the sky, they watched fireworks illuminate the night. On this day of family reunions, they were heading to their own battlefield.

In the past month and a half, in addition to individual training and improving her cornering technique, Ren Xiyao has also resumed training for relay competitions. Since returning to competition this season, she has only participated in one relay preliminaries. As a team sport, short track speed skating relays have always been a strong point for the Chinese team, and being able to play a key leg in a relay is a recognition of her ability. Ren Xiyao would be happier to win a relay gold medal than an individual gold medal, so this time she hopes to return to the relay arena.

Everything went smoothly during her acclimatization training in Germany. For Ren Xiyao, it was a long-lost feeling of fluidity, a pure enjoyment of speed and the exhilarating rush of adrenaline. There was no hesitation or hesitation, no pain or fear. Even the jostling for position and collisions only excited her.

This is the true state of Ren Xiyao.

Wang Lu, who was some distance away, looked rather unwell, but Ren Xiyao ignored her and pretended not to see her.

The final baton order for the relay is:

In addition to the 1000m and 1500m, Ren Xiyao also participated in the 1000m and 1500m events. This season, it's clear the coach wants her to specialize in long distances. Her long-distance style is very flexible, and her stamina management and tactical awareness are more than sufficient. The team doesn't lack talent in the 500m, with veteran Wang Xue, rising stars Lin Shan and Xu Xin, and many promising athletes from various winter training centers and clubs. However, in the long distances, besides veteran Xu Qinghe, the only rising stars are Ren Xiyao and Wang Lu, and only Ren Xiyao can compete with world-class 1500m athletes for the podium. Therefore, the team has high hopes for her. Xu Qinghe won the women's 1500m championship in two consecutive Winter Olympics, and before her, the 1500m event was almost entirely dominated by South Korea. The team is also working hard to cultivate talent in the 1500m.

As they were leaving after the meeting, Xu Xin came over and patted Ren Xiyao on the shoulder. They mentioned that they were from the same training center, just with different head coaches; Xu Xin spent most of her time with the national team, but the three of them had a good relationship.

The starting gun shattered the month-long silence of the Fast and Furious series. The fifth leg of the competition, Dresden, had begun.

Ren Xiyao adjusted her helmet while getting used to the inside and outside edges of her skates. The coach on the sidelines was still loudly giving instructions, but she couldn't hear him anymore. Not counting her disastrous preliminary round performance, this was her first time being included in the relay team since her comeback, and her palms were so sweaty they were almost soaking her gloves. The individual events were over. Ren Xiyao, whose form had improved, unsurprisingly won the gold medal in the 1000m and the silver medal in the 1500m. This time, she lost to Li Enjing by a single body length.

While it's a pity, it wasn't exactly an upset. South Korea boasts a wealth of talent in the 1500m and above, besides veteran Park Hye-yeon. The younger generation includes Kim Suk-yeon (born in 1997), who is three years younger than Ren Xiyao. There's also Park Min-hee (born in 1996) and Lee Eun-jung (born in 1993). All of them are very capable. During overseas training, the club's 1500m test races often saw her and Lee Eun-jung neck and neck. Although Ren Xiyao has a slightly higher winning percentage, the two are definitely evenly matched competitors.

"Xiyao, remember to make the handover a little earlier, and move a bit towards the outer lane." Sister Xu specifically reminded her, "The Dutch team's fourth batter doesn't control the inner lane well, making collisions very easy."

She nodded and adjusted her goggles. A few Chinese students were waving national flags in the stands. The announcer was introducing the athletes in German, and when they called her name, the pronunciation was terribly strange.

"Nervous?" Lin Shan slid over to her side and gave her a high five.

Ren Xiyao curled her fingers: "A little."

"Wow, that's impressive, Ren Xiyao," Lin Shan grinned. "Finally, you've stopped being so stubborn. You deserve praise!"

Before Ren Xiyao could retort, the referee's whistle blew. Lin Shan's smile vanished, and she instantly became serious as she slid towards the starting line. Ren Xiyao shouted "Go for it!" to her, also ready for the challenge.

The starter signaled for the athletes to take their positions. 3000m, 27 laps. Everyone gritted their teeth, their eyes glued to the track.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Kwon Ji-yong had lost count of how many times he had turned on his phone. The meeting was already forty minutes overtime, and the team was still arguing about the print density of the clothing and the color of the hairstyles. He tapped the table with his fingers, the solid wood conference table making a dull thud.

"So what's the final plan?" he interrupted the styling team's endless chatter.

The meeting room suddenly fell silent. The designer in charge wiped his sweat: "We believe that option 3 has a relatively high density..."

Kwon Ji-yong took a silent breath, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly. This was her first relay race since her comeback, and he knew how much she valued the event and how hard she had worked over the past year. A silver medal was already a huge recognition for her.

"GDxi?"

He looked up and found everyone in the conference room staring at him. The sun kicked him under the table and mouthed, "Focus."

"Let's go with Plan 2." Kwon Ji-yong placed his phone face down on the table. "Let's finalize it with all parties as soon as possible."

As the stylist nervously carried his laptop out to communicate, Taiyang immediately came over and asked, "How did the comparison go?"

"Second," Kwon Ji-yong showed him the photo, "the last one."

In the photo, Ren Xiyao's hair, which was pulled back loosely, was a little disheveled, and her bangs were stuck together in clumps with sweat. Taiyang whistled: "Not bad, you're on the podium in your first relay race since your comeback."

Kwon Ji-yong typed, looking down, "Saw it, so cool." He added a few more emojis of confetti before sending.

After the match, I returned to the hotel and immediately packed my bags to catch my connecting flight to the Netherlands. It wasn't until I was on the bus that I had a chance to glance at my phone screen, where three messages had appeared in quick succession:

"The meeting is over."

"The setlist for the 10th anniversary concert has been finalized."

I miss you. Happy New Year!

The last message was sent ten minutes ago. She glanced at the time; it must be a little past four in the morning in Seoul. Looking at the last message, "Happy New Year," she realized it was the first day of the Lunar New Year. Looking out the window at the already dark streets, which seemed rather desolate, she listened more closely in the car; other team members were already wishing their families a Happy New Year, and Lin Shan was also texting beside her. Ren Xiyao thought for a moment and replied, "Transferring tonight, Happy New Year, get some rest."

The Netherlands is also a major country in winter sports and places great importance on these events. It has produced many renowned athletes in long track speed skating. Short track speed skating, also benefiting from the long track advantage, has become increasingly popular in recent years.

February 14, 2016. The final women's competition of the last stop of the 2015-2016 Short Track Speed ​​Skating World Cup is about to begin. Throughout the season, despite her less-than-stellar performances, Ren Xiyao has steadily climbed into the top 8 of the world rankings thanks to her increasingly better form.

At this moment, Ren Xiyao was repeatedly checking her equipment. She was back in the first batter's position for the finals. She didn't quite know how to describe her feelings; there was happiness, joy, and many other complex emotions. But she knew that all of this had ultimately paid off for her hard work.

"Xiyao." Xu Xin slid over and gave her a high five: "Go for it, you'll be fine."

She nodded and tightened her helmet. Suddenly, a cheer erupted from the stands as the Dutch team entered the field. Ren Xiyao subconsciously looked up and saw several familiar figures in orange jerseys.

“I know,” Ren Xiyao interrupted her, “I broke the 500m record at last year’s World Junior Championships. It was on the main road.”

The announcement began introducing the athletes. When it read "Ren Xiyao, China," she took a deep breath, high-fived Lin Shan, and slid towards the starting line.

Her timing during the handover was impeccable, perfectly avoiding the Dutch skaters' blocking. The moment she pushed her teammate forward, a deafening roar erupted from the stands. She didn't dare let her guard down for a single lap. The only sound in her ears was the scraping of the skates against the ice. Her mind was constantly analyzing the situation on the ice.

Until the final three laps, when Lin Shan handed the baton to Ren Xiyao, he used the push from the handover to overtake her before entering the corner, taking the lead. At that moment, everyone's only thought was to keep accelerating, keep up the lap times, and maintain their lead.

As Xu Xin took the lead, Ren Xiyao gave her a powerful push, handing the baton to Xu Xin with all her might. Her chest heaved as she stared intently at Xu Xin. When she saw Xu Xin cross the finish line first, Ren Xiyao was instantly thrilled and quickly skated towards her. While waiting for the results to be verified, the four girls hugged each other tightly. The relay gold medal carried the team's glory and sweat. This recognition was even more significant than that of an individual event. The big screen showed that the Chinese team ultimately won by 0.8 seconds. At that moment, Ren Xiyao truly breathed a sigh of relief; she could finally say she was back. Truly back on the track.

On the podium, Ren Xiyao looked down at the gold medal hanging around her neck, and for some reason suddenly remembered someone saying they would "paint" her previous silver medal gold. She touched the cool metal surface and couldn't help but laugh this time.

As if on cue, Kwon Ji-yong pressed the pause button and took off his headphones. While the others in the studio were still discussing the arrangement details, he quietly took out his phone. A sports news notification popped up: "Chinese Women's Relay Team Wins Gold at Short Track Speed ​​Skating World Cup in the Netherlands."

In the photo, Ren Xiyao stands at the highest point of the podium, her gold medal gleaming under the flashing lights. He zoomed in on the picture and noticed that Ren Xiyao was smiling brightly, not just a polite smile, but a genuine smile from the heart, her eyes crinkling into crescents.

He knew the pressure she was under, but thankfully, what was taken away a year ago had all returned today.