Chapter 124 The Lower Limit, Watch Me Now

The good news came first from the men's singles.

Lin Ye also went to the closed-door event. After seeing Feng Simai stabilize his ranking, he took the initiative to lower the difficulty of his free skate and secured three Olympic spots in men's singles.

Before the women's singles free skate began, the Chinese ice dance pair was ranked 16th in rhythm dance, having already secured an Olympic spot. Given their current level of difficulty, climbing any higher was unrealistic.

As for the injured Cao Lu pair, after missing the Four Continents Championships and the Asian Winter Games, they won first place in the short program at the World Championships in their first competition after their return. The other pair, He Qi, who were highly anticipated, ranked sixth.

As long as these two pairs of skaters don't falter in their free skates, their three Olympic spots are practically guaranteed.

Therefore, the biggest suspense lies in the women's singles competition that begins in the afternoon.

Zhang Mengyi and Yan Rui appeared in the same order, while Yang Yiyan appeared much later. Xia Yuezi and Meng Xin separated as soon as they arrived at the venue, each taking one child with them.

I had already explained everything to Yang Yiyan, and I didn't even bother to check on her before the team doctor administered a painkiller injection and went straight to the vicinity of the ice rink.

It wasn't that Xia Yuezi didn't want to stay with her, but Yang Yiyan's previous gaze was still lingering in her mind.

Zhang Mengyi has been playing it safe in her free skate this season, and she didn't dare to increase the difficulty at this World Championships. After the total score was released, she was temporarily ranked third. If the skaters behind her don't give her any help, this ranking has already exceeded the maximum limit of the sum of the three spots.

Yan Rui has already stepped onto the ice, and looks even more nervous than he did two days ago.

Xia Yuezi didn't let her see Zhang Mengyi's score, but told her to take advantage of the time before the score was released to do a few more laps on the ice by herself to catch her breath. Just before she went on the ice, Xia Yuezi patted her on the shoulder to help her relax.

After hearing the organizer announce Yan Rui's name, the CCTV commentator began his explanation with a smile.

"Now taking the stage is Yan Rui from China. He is 15 years old and has just been promoted to a higher level. He is also the bronze medalist in this year's National Championships. He achieved good results this season, finishing fifth in the China leg and seventh in the French leg."

"Her free skate this season is 'The Real Things,' taken from the French musical 'Rock Red and Black,' and so far, the highest score for this program is 125.96."

Xia Yuezi stood to the side, her face equally tense.

Yan Rui's free skate routine has never been cleaned in international competitions since its inception. Perhaps due to puberty, her 3lo has become unstable again.

In the Chinese competition, she landed the jump on both feet, but in the French competition, she didn't even manage to jump, ending up with a 110. Only in the National Championships did she clean up this program, and with the lenient scoring from the Chinese judges, she scored over 140, bringing her total score to 210.

However, Xia Yuezi believes that there is still room for this score to be reduced.

Yesterday, I called her into my room to try and persuade her to switch back to the youth group, since she hadn't mastered the 3LO setup yet. The girl was unusually firm and refused quite resolutely.

"Sister Mengyi is injured, and she twisted her ankle in the short program. She will definitely have to go to a closed-circuit rink for the free skate just like her senior. If I lower the difficulty at this time, wouldn't I be putting all the pressure on her alone?"

"The two setups differ by nearly three points in terms of technical skill. As long as the 3Lo doesn't fall, then my setup will be profitable."

Xia Yuezi clenched her fists on the sidelines, silently praying before the music started.

"We won't interfere with your choices. Whether this show succeeds or not is entirely up to you."

As the electric guitar intro began, Yan Rui raised his hands expressionlessly, but in a rather strange pose, like a puppet being manipulated.

Until the first jump, her eyes were vacant, her gliding and limbs were stiff, and she swayed mechanically to the music.

Although it fits the theme of the music, Yan Rui's performance and choreography look stiff.

Press the blade of the left leg inward, find the right opportunity to quickly apply ice, and after completing 3F, follow up with 3T.

Like Yang Yiyan, Yan Rui is better at F jumps. Even though she can already complete the 3LZ+3T jump off the bar on the ice, her success rate is not high, so she still doesn't dare to include this jump in her program.

As she herself said, this World Championship is not about points, but about rankings and consistency.

She wants to share the burden with her seniors and become the minimum standard player for Chinese women's singles in this competition.

Xia Yuezi nodded slightly from the sidelines, but her heart jumped again when she saw her legs cross.

"Triple loop jump... It's a real shame, he had to touch the ice with his hand."

When Yan Rui took off, his axis was slightly back, and he couldn't maintain his balance when landing. He had to use his left hand to support himself on the ice.

The commentator's voice was tinged with regret. She was also a regular commentator for figure skating and had watched Yan Ruiyi's competitions throughout the entire season, so she knew her situation very well.

She was probably just as anxious as the athlete about this mistake, but she couldn't show her feelings in front of so many fans.

Xia Yuezi's fist, hidden between her right elbow and chest, clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

Yan Rui's mental resilience is not comparable to that of the youth group, but with all the pressure on her shoulders, Xia Yuezi is unsure whether the girl can recover.

The music returned to the section where the Deraina couple sang together, followed by an added instrumental piece featuring a drum and electric guitar ensemble.

Because the original song is not four minutes long.

Yan Rui plays the role of Madame Deraina, an aristocratic lady trapped in the sophisticated shell of high society and forced to conform to her husband's utilitarianism.

To prepare for the performance, Yan Rui went to see the official filming. In the musical, Madame de Rênal was like a statue, manipulated at will by her husband, completely devoid of her own consciousness.

Although she couldn't understand the original novel "The Red and the Black" with her current reading ability, she wrote a short biography of Madame de Rênal based on her own understanding.

Xia Yuezi chose this song for her not only because the musical was quite popular, but also because the song suited Yan Rui's performance style.

She doesn't need to make many facial expressions or have any big, sweeping physical movements, but even with the best arrangement, such a piece is destined not to get a high score.

Zhang Mengyi stood in the aisle, looking at the timer on the central screen, and murmured, "It's almost the second half. She's a brave girl."

In the free skate, Yan Rui performed four of the seven jumps in the second half: 2A+3T, 3LZ+2T+2LO, 3S, and 2A. If she was not careful, she could easily be caught by the judges.

Seeing Yan Rui complete the second half of the jumps in a series, Xia Yuezi finally relaxed, opening her palm to reveal bright red fingernail marks.

As the program drew to a close, Yan Rui's face showed a rare hint of sadness, yet she was driven by various reasons to continue fulfilling her duties as Mrs. Redner.

At the last moment, she knelt on the ice, looked up at the audience, as if searching through them for her unmarried self. The tenderness and numbness in her eyes intertwined, creating an indescribable impact.

Applause erupted as Yan Rui knelt on the ice, panting heavily. Her legs had already begun to weaken after completing the triple jump, and she had to rely on her last breath to complete the remaining jumps and movements.

Now that the show is over, she finally has time to catch her breath.

Xia Yuezi walked quickly to the entrance of the ice rink, picked up the knife sheath on the table next to her, and waited for Yan Rui to skate back.

Looking at the girl whose face was covered in sweat and whose eyes revealed exhaustion but couldn't hide her smile, Xia Yuezi gently hugged her.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Yan Rui, who was wearing ice skates and was about the same height as Xia Yuezi, had his head resting on the coach's neck. He sniffed and responded with a muffled sound.

In the waiting area, Yan Rui couldn't hide his nervousness, clutching the doll given to him by a fan and occasionally picking at his kaostemma pendant.

Xia Yuezi noticed her little actions, took the initiative to take Yan Rui's hand that was placed aside, took off her gloves, her palms were full of sweat and a little cold.

The scores weren't out yet, and Xia Yuezi knew that no matter what she said, Yan Rui would find it hard to relax, so she gripped her hand tightly and told her not to be afraid.

The scores came out after a while.

Technical score: 68.38; Program component score: 62.31; Free skate score: 130.69.

Upon seeing this, Yan Rui instinctively gripped the coach's hand, and even Xia Yuezi silently clenched her other free hand.

The short program scores of the penultimate group of skaters are very close, and her free skate score is currently almost the same as the skater who is in first place.

Yan Rui ranked tenth in the short program. If Yang Yiyan's goal is the podium, then her task is to maintain her current ranking and not fall out of it.

However, skating fans with good math skills quickly calculated the total score of 196.88, a score that would have been enough to break into the top ten in the previous World Championships.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, she should finish ninth or eighth in this World Championships, because several of the athletes who compete later in the tournament have inferior equipment compared to her.

The moment Yan Rui saw her score, she couldn't help but cry. Xia Yuezi gently patted her back, letting her tears drip onto her coat.

Yan Rui was not a particularly resilient skater, and his first attempt at an adult competition was a disaster. He caught a cold and had a fever before his free skate, which caused him to completely break down.

In the next two qualifying rounds, after a 3-lo mistake, he made a series of small mistakes. It was only during the finals that he gradually adjusted his mindset. As a result, the first international competition after he had adjusted was the battle for Olympic qualification.

Thinking about this, Xia Yuezi felt a little emotional.

The women's singles event is the most popular, but the requirements are also higher.

In singles figure skating, many fans are used to the spectacular performances of men's singles skaters, but in women's singles, whether in the junior or senior categories, a mistake is a mistake, and no skater is allowed to make excuses. If a skater makes a big mistake like the men's singles skaters, they will be criticized from head to toe.

As for athletes, the youth group is constantly pushing the limits of difficulty while training their endurance. They finally make it to the adult group, but then they have to rely on their seniority to the judges. By the time they retire, they may still be a minor.

In China, most children the same age as the contestants are still being pampered by their parents at home, and their independence is questionable.

Yan Rui's results quickly reached Yang Yiyan's ears. She sat on the yoga mat, eating a banana, and slowly exhaled while looking at Meng Xin.

"Okay, watch me now."