Chapter 22 Chapter 22
This made everyone in the car stunned.
The girl who was speaking was a little embarrassed. She scratched her head and explained with a wry smile, "But maybe I was mistaken."
Chu Xi was still wearing a black mask, revealing only a pair of bright eyes, making it difficult to identify him accurately.
Wang Xingwen nodded to Chu Xi, then turned around and began to ask the team members to take seats, and the matter began to unfold.
After waiting for a while, several more shooting teams got on the bus to sign in, and soon the bus was full.
The driver checked the list and when he saw that everyone was there, he closed the car door, started the engine, and started heading towards the Linhai City training base.
The drive takes about an hour.
Chu Xi leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.
At this moment, Jiang Wannan, who was sitting next to her, curiously leaned over and asked quietly, "Sister, I heard that you registered for the competition as an individual?"
Chu Xi slowly opened her eyes. The girl's black hair was tied into a high ponytail, with a cartoon rabbit hairpin stuck in her ear. She looked to be in her early twenties.
Chu Xi nodded, "Yeah."
Jiang Wannan's eyes flashed with surprise. "I've participated in so many competitions, but this is the first time I've seen someone sign up for one. Did you prepare your own gun for the competition?"
"No, I used the one provided by the organizer." Chu Xi continued to answer.
Jiang Wannan was even more surprised.
She has been practicing for so many years and knows too well how much impact the gun used in the competition will have on the players.
Especially in the field of shooting, everyone's skills are basically not much different, and what matters in the end is mentality.
One is the gun I use for practice all year round, and the other is the gun I use for temporary competitions.
This brings a world of difference in the sense of security to the players.
After thinking about it, Jiang Wannan had no choice but to encourage: "Then let's work hard together."
The two of them didn't speak again during the rest of the car ride.
Chu Xi leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. The scenery kept rapidly receding, and his mind recalled the various experiences he had when he participated in the competition.
After the bus arrived at the training base, the players got off one after another to get their luggage.
Chu Xi lined up at the end without any haste.
After the others picked up their luggage, they all went to gather in their respective teams.
Only Chu Xi is still alone.
She quietly pulled her suitcase and walked towards the training center alone.
Jiang Wannan, standing in the team, looked up at Chu Xi's back and said, "Coach, what kind of person is mentally strong enough to sign up for the competition alone?"
Wang Xingwen also looked in the direction where Chu Xi was leaving. "This girl does seem to have a stable personality. But I've never seen her in a competition before, so I don't know how good she is."
The two were chatting when the female team member who had previously said Chu Xi looked like a celebrity came over with her cell phone.
"Coach, Sister Nan, I found it. Look at this photo, doesn't it look like the girl just now?"
Jiang Wannan withdrew her gaze and glanced down at the screen.
This is a close-up photo of Chu Xi drawing the bow and shooting the arrow during the Super Star Games finals.
Jiang Wannan's eyes lit up. "You know what, it really does look like her. But that girl just now was wearing a mask, so I wasn't sure if it was her."
Wang Xingwen had no interest in any of this. "Alright, stop gossiping about other people. Remember the purpose of your participation in this competition and focus on preparing for it."
When Wang Xingwen went to the base to sign in, he suddenly received a call from Wang Ruiguo.
He frowned and answered the phone, "Hello?"
Wang Ruiguo's hearty laughter came from the other side: "By now, we should be at the training base, right?"
"If you have something to say, just say it." Wang Xingwen urged.
Wang Ruiguo: "Have you seen a contestant who registered as an individual? She's a promising talent I'm very optimistic about recently. You should pay close attention to her in this competition."
Wang Xingwen was stunned, then realized that the person he was talking about should be Chu Xi from before.
"No, you asked her to sign up for the competition on her own? Are you crazy? If she has potential, you should recruit her into the team first, train her for a while, and then let her compete. Letting her come to the competition on her own is just asking for trouble."
There are many masters in this kind of large-scale competition.
No matter how promising or talented a new player is, he or she may suffer a crushing defeat here.
This kind of blow is definitely not something a new player can withstand.
"I didn't ask her to participate on her own. She signed up for it herself." Wang Ruiguo continued, "Besides, this Chu Xi is not ordinary. I think this kind of competition is not a pressure for her, but rather a kind of training."
"Nonsense." Wang Xingwen hung up the phone speechlessly.
It would be fine if he didn't know, but now that he knows that the girl might join their shooting team in the future, he has to take care of her.
Chu Xi had already signed in and arrived at the dormitory to check in.
Because she didn't have a team, the staff at the training base arranged a single room for her.
Chu Xi put away his luggage, took off his mask, and changed into a lighter sports T-shirt.
The women's 10-meter air pistol qualifying round is scheduled for tomorrow morning, and she still has time to go to the training base today to familiarize herself with the gun.
Just as I was about to go out, my cell phone rang.
Chu Xi took out his cell phone and glanced at the screen. The caller ID showed that it was Wang Yang.
She frowned, too lazy to bother with this person anymore, so she hung up the phone and blacklisted him.
…
At this time, Wang Yang in the office heard the hang-up tone and slapped his thigh in anger.
He didn't believe it and called Chu Xi again.
This time, as soon as I called, I heard a prompt tone, which obviously meant I was blocked.
"Okay, okay." Wang Yang's head was buzzing with anger. "You hung up on me and blocked me. Chu Xi, Chu Xi, you really can't make it in the entertainment industry anymore!"
He thought that the negative online information would make Chu Xi a little nervous, but after waiting for a whole day, he saw no response from Chu Xi, so he took the initiative to call her.
In the end, spending so much money to bribe marketing accounts to post messages had no effect on Chu Xi at all.
What does he want!
I spent so much money, but it was all useless, and in the end I was blocked by Chu Xi!
Wang Yang's face turned dark with anger.
…
When Chu Xi arrived at the training ground, Wang Xingwen was already leading the team in training.
Time is running out and no one wants to waste a minute.
Without disturbing others, she went to an empty shooting position alone and began to prepare for training.
"Girl, your name is Chu Xi?" Wang Xingwen came behind Chu Xi without knowing when.
Chu Xi turned around, a little confused, "Yes. How did you know?"
"You know Wang Ruiguo, right? We are both in the Kyoto Provincial Shooting Team. He called me today and told me about your situation." Wang Xingwen explained quickly.
Chu Xi finally reacted, with a questioning look in her eyes, "So... is there something wrong?"
Wang Xingwen glanced at the air pistol in her hand. This should be the unified competition gun provided by the organizer.
He doesn't even have his own gun. It seems he is really a newbie.
He cleared his throat, his usually serious tone now a bit gentler. "I didn't expect Wang Ruiguo to be so unreliable as to let you sign up for the competition on your own. I want to tell you, even if you lose this competition, it's nothing. No athlete is always victorious. The most important thing is to adjust your mindset immediately after losing, and then prepare to win again next time."
He was worried that losing the game might affect Chu Xi's mentality and be detrimental to her future training.
Chu Xi smiled and said, "Thank you. I will adjust my mindset."
"Well, treat this game as a training session, you will make more and more progress in the future." Wang Xingwen continued to comfort him.
"Okay." Chu Xi nodded in agreement.
Wang Xingwen nodded, then turned around and returned to the team with peace of mind.
Jiang Wannan was also curiously looking at Chu Xi. When she saw the coach come back, she casually asked, "Coach, so, is there a chance she can join our shooting team in the future?"
"Well, you should take part in the tryout first and pass the assessment before you can enter." Their shooting team has always spoken based on results and will not be vague about such matters.
Jiang Wannan nodded, feeling a sudden surge of anticipation. It had been ages since their team had had any new players, so it was a rare sight to see some fresh blood.
"Coach, look, that's her. She really is the star who was very popular some time ago." The female team member who recognized Chu Xi before came over with her mobile phone.
At this time, Chu Xi had taken off her mask, and her facial features and appearance were clearly visible to everyone.
Wang Xingwen and Jiang Wannan compared the photos and found that they were exactly the same.
etc?
She is actually an artist? ?
Everyone was stunned.
An artist who was very popular some time ago suddenly comes to participate in a shooting competition?
Wang Xingwen frowned instantly.
In the evening, night falls.
After Wang Xingwen finished training with the team, he returned to the dormitory and called Wang Ruiguo.
"Wang Ruiguo, are you kidding me? Isn't Chu Xi a celebrity? Don't recruit just anyone into our shooting team. If anything goes wrong, you'll be held responsible."
Wang Xingwen is also quite knowledgeable about the entertainment industry. He is amazed every time he hears about things like hyping up couples, pulling down rivals, and marketing personalities, which sound abstract.
But the shooting team is not a place for artists to have fun.
"Don't worry, the tryout hasn't happened yet. Once she comes for the tryout, we'll know if she's serious about shooting."
Wang Xingwen sighed and said, "It's up to you. You'd better be cautious."
Wang Ruiguo: "I know, don't worry."
…
After Chu Xi finished training, he returned to his room alone, took a shower, lay on the bed, closed his eyes and rested, his mind still thinking about the mistakes he made in today's training.
Some of the shots didn't even reach the tenth ring, which is a pity.
But the overall results are still stable, and there should be no problem in qualifying tomorrow.
Thinking of this, Chu Xi closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep.
The next morning, the women's 10-meter air pistol qualifying round began.
When Chu Xi arrived at the competition venue, the other contestants were already waiting.
Many of them had heard that Chu Xi had registered for the competition in her own capacity. When they saw Chu Xi coming, they began to look at her curiously.
Chu Xi didn't pay attention to these looks and continued to concentrate on warming up and stretching exercises.
Time passes by second by second.
Before the qualifying round was about to begin, the referees arrived at the scene and began to organize the players to gather.
Chu Xi looked at the contestants around him.
The girl who chatted with her in the car yesterday did not appear at the competition venue.
She probably isn't a 10-meter air pistol competitor.
The referee read out the blank expression, "Women's 10-meter air pistol qualifying rules: Each competitor has a total of sixty shooting opportunities, divided into six groups. There is no time limit. The top fifteen competitors will qualify for the finals."
After reading the rules and assigning the contestants their shooting positions, the referee announced:
"The game begins."
The qualifying competition venue is over a thousand square meters, with as many as seventy shooting positions. All the contestants stand in front of their shooting positions, pick up their air pistols and prepare to shoot.
Chu Xi stood at position 18.
She put on her shooting glasses expressionlessly, and after getting ready, she held the gun in one hand, raised her arm, and aimed at the target paper in front of her.
When the center dot of the target in front almost overlapped with the aiming center, Chu Xi's slender fingers decisively pulled the trigger.
The gunshot rang out, and the result of the first shot was: ten rings.
In the qualifying rounds, the scores for air pistol shots are not calculated with decimal points and are collectively referred to as bare rings.
Gunshots rang out all around and the contestants began shooting.
Chu Xi blocked out all the noise around him, aimed without distraction, put his left hand in his pocket, and continued shooting with a calm expression.
Nine rings, ten rings, ten rings...
When the first group of ten shots was finished, the results of each contestant were announced one after another.
On the large screen in the center, the names and ring scores of the top ten players appeared one after another.
The first place was taken by individual contestant Chu Xi, whose score of 97 rings was clearly displayed on the screen.
The contestants put down their guns and glanced sideways at the results.
When these players compete, they usually have some understanding of each other's strengths and roughly know who has better results and who has average results.
But they never expected that in this first round of shooting, a newcomer who had never been heard of before would appear.
Who is Chu Xi? ?
For a moment, the contestants' mentality changed slightly.
Until the referee announces the start of the second set of shooting.
Everyone withdrew their gaze, adjusted their mindset, and continued with the second set of shooting.
Chu Xi stared straight ahead with a penetrating gaze, raising her gun and firing again. A gentle breeze occasionally blew past, caressing her cheeks, and her calm eyes remained calm.
Gunshots rang out one after another.
A few minutes later, Chu Xi finished the second set of shooting, slowly put down the gun, placed it on the table, and lowered his head to calm his emotions.
After a while, the other contestants finished shooting one after another.
After the second group, the ranking of results on the electronic screen changed again.
In this round, Chu Xi once again scored 97 rings.
After adding up the results, she still ranks first.
The contestant below her was only three rings away from her.
The gap between each player is not big, only two or three rings. It can be seen that the competition for the final spots is still very fierce.
Lu Meng, who was in second place, frowned and glanced in Chu Xi's direction.
The athletes see each other every day, and after participating in so many competitions, they all know each other.
But Chu Xi, who suddenly rushed to the first place, seemed to be appearing in a competition of this level for the first time.
Who is this person?
It wasn't just Lu Meng who was confused. The other athletes were also thinking about this question after seeing Chu Xi finish the second set of shooting and still rank first.
Unfortunately, the referee did not give everyone too much time to think about it and quickly announced the start of the third group of shooting.
It was a new round again. Chu Xi let out a light breath and looked forward.
During the third set of shooting, Chu Xi's condition was obviously not as good as the first two sets.
The long period of high concentration made her body and attention fall into a state of fatigue.
In order to ensure shooting accuracy, Chu Xi had to reduce the shooting speed.
After each shot, she lowered her eyes to adjust her state, then raised the gun again for the next shot.
Most of the other players were in the same situation. Some of them were too nervous and scored eight rings in this group's shooting.
After the third group of shooting, the gap in the ring rankings among the contestants began to widen.
The players in the front had a relatively stable number of rings, but the players behind them made more or less mistakes, and the gap widened to seven or eight rings.
At this time, twenty minutes had passed since the promotion match.
Next, not only the contestants’ mentality will be tested, but also their physical fitness and stability.
"The fourth group of shooting begins." The referee announced in an emotionless tone.
Maintaining a posture for a long time caused Chu Xi's physical strength to be consumed very quickly.
She raised the gun slowly, keeping her arm and her eyes parallel.
This time, the aiming time was exceptionally long. She stared at the bull's eye and noticed a slight tremor in her arm.
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. After her body was in the most stable state, she pulled the trigger with her finger.
A gunshot rang out, and the shot hit the ninth ring.
The accuracy has indeed decreased.
After finishing the shooting, Chu Xi withdrew his gaze, put down the gun, lowered his head and closed his eyes, blocking out everything around him and keeping his breathing steady.
After a few seconds, Chu Xi opened his eyes again, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he continued shooting.
After the fourth set of shooting, Chu Xi's total score became 391 rings.
Lu Meng, who ranked behind her, scored 389 rings.
There is only a difference of two rings, and the fierce competition is astonishing.
While waiting for other players to finish the fourth set of shooting, Lu Meng and Chu Xi were taking the time to rest and had no time to care about their rankings.
Not long after, the fifth group of shooting began.
At this time, forty minutes had passed.
The further back in the race, the more the contestants dare not relax, because if they make a mistake, the people behind them may catch up directly, and all their previous efforts will be wasted.
Chu Xi pursed her lips, and the arm holding the gun trembled even more.
At this time, she was shooting entirely based on her sense of the gun, and the only thing she could do was to stay stable.
Stay focused, block out everything, maintain your convictions, and keep shooting.
Lu Meng on the other side suddenly made a mistake and only hit the eighth ring with one shot.
She frowned, a hint of annoyance flashing in her eyes.
But she did not let the mistake affect her mentality too much. She quickly closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing.
When the next shot was fired, the score returned to ten rings.
In addition to these two people, the mistakes made by the group of players behind them also began to increase, and the gap in rankings became larger and larger.
Coming to the sixth group shooting, this is the key to the sprint finals.
At this moment, Chu Xi is still ranked first with 486 rings.
The second place Lu Meng scored 483 rings.
The gap is still not big, it’s just three rings.
The other contestants looked up one after another to see the current rankings. They were even more surprised when they saw that the unfamiliar name Chu Xi was still ranked first.
If you rank first after the first few groups of shooting, it might be luck.
Now, after five groups, we are still ranked first, which is definitely due to our strength.
"The sixth group of shooting begins." The referee continued to announce expressionlessly.
Beads of sweat gradually appeared on Chu Xi's forehead, and his body began to feel extremely tired.
But we can't relax yet.
In the last set, she had to concentrate highly and prepare for the sprint.
Steady shooting is key.
Be steady, more steady, and even more steady.
Her breathing became extremely weak, her body seemed to be still, and as she slowly exhaled, her finger decisively pulled the trigger.
Another shot that hit the ten rings.
The referee's eyes also fell on Chu Xi.
In the first three groups, the referees didn't have any feelings towards Chu Xi.
After all, in the previous groups, the athletes were in their best condition, so nothing could be seen.
But later on, the referee began to notice something different about Chu Xi.
Chu Xi's stability is currently the best in the game.
Because so far, she has not made a single mistake in her shooting, and has maintained a score of around nine or ten rings throughout the whole process.
However, what made him even more curious was that this Chu Xi seemed to be participating in the National Shooting Championship for the first time, because he had never heard of this name before.
Chu Xi finished his last shot and scored nine rings.
After completing all the shooting, she breathed a sigh of relief, put down the gun, and raised her hand to gently rub her right arm.
At this moment, her total score appeared on the electronic screen: [582 rings]
Lu Meng also finished shooting with a score of 578 rings.
A few minutes later, the women's 10-meter air pistol qualifying round ended.
The referee announced the qualifying spots: "Congratulations to individual contestant Chu Xi for advancing to the finals with first place in the qualifying round. The other contestants ranked in the top fifteen have also qualified for the finals. I hope everyone will continue to work hard and strive to perform at their best in the finals."
"In addition, tomorrow's women's 10m air pistol final will be open, and there will be spectators in attendance. There may be noise disturbances, so please prepare in advance."
Shooting sports require athletes to maintain a calm state of mind at all times, and once there are spectators on site, all kinds of noise are bound to occur.
This puts a greater test on the mentality of shooting athletes.
After the referee left the field, the contestants began to talk to each other.
The eliminated contestants all looked a little depressed, especially those who were only one or two places away from advancing. They kept shaking their heads and saying it was a pity.
"Hello, I heard that you registered for the competition in your personal capacity?" Lu Meng walked straight to Chu Xi and took the initiative to talk.
Chu Xi put away the gun, looked up at her, and replied lightly: "Yeah."
"I've never seen you before. Did you train by yourself?" Lu Meng asked curiously.
At this time, the other players around also pricked up their ears and cast their eyes over.
During the competition just now, they definitely couldn't talk, but now that it's over, they naturally want to get to know this dark horse player who suddenly broke through the siege.
"Yes, I am training on my own now." Chu Xi picked up the towel provided by the organizer and wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck.
"You have achieved such results in your own training. Have you ever considered joining the shooting team?" Lu Meng asked tentatively.
Just as Chu Xi was about to answer, a voice rang out, "Chu Xi, the coach asked me to ask you to go eat together!"
Jiang Wannan appeared outside the competition venue at some point. She waved to Chu Xi as she walked, with a smile on her face.
Lu Meng turned around and frowned slightly when she saw Jiang Wannan. "Is she from your shooting team?"
Jiang Wannan walked over to Chu Xi, smiled and hugged Chu Xi's arm, pulling her towards her, "Yes, our coach had reserved her a long time ago, but due to some special circumstances, she hasn't been able to participate in the tryout, so she hasn't joined the team yet."
Lu Meng was a little suspicious.
Logically speaking, a talent with such great potential as Chu Xi basically doesn't need to participate in tryouts and can be directly recruited into the team.
This is the first place in the qualifying round. As long as she performs as usual in the final, she will most likely be in the top three or even the championship.
Does this kind of talent really need a trial?
Lu Meng thought for a moment and looked at Chu Xi. "Our team still has special recruitment spots this year. You can get in without a tryout. Are you interested?"
Upon hearing this, the smile on Jiang Wannan's face immediately disappeared.
She came over because the coach asked her to invite Chu Xi to have dinner together.
Everyone thought that after the qualifying round, Chu Xi might not be able to enter the finals. The coach meant to send Jiang Wannan to comfort her.
As soon as she entered the venue, she heard the referee announce that Chu Xi advanced to the finals with the first place.
Jiang Wannan was dumbfounded at that time.
It was only after hearing that Lu Meng seemed to want to recruit Chu Xi that he hurried over.
Jiang Wannan quickly turned her head and looked at Chu Xi's expression nervously.
Fortunately, Chu Xi didn't show too much interest. After putting down the towel to wipe his sweat, he declined: "No, I've already filled out the application materials for the tryout."
Lu Meng felt a little sorry and shook her head. "Oh, it seems I have to work harder in the future."
She originally thought she would definitely take first place this time.
I didn’t expect that there are always people better than you.
Jiang Wannan greeted her, then quickly pulled Chu Xi out of the competition venue and walked towards the cafeteria.
"No, you're too low-key." Jiang Wannan's tone was filled with shock. "First place in the qualifying round! If the coach knew about this, he would jump two meters in excitement."
Jiang Wannan's performance is not bad, but she mainly focuses on Qibu｜Gun.
It has been a long time since their team had an outstanding air pistol player.
But now Chu Xi suddenly appeared.
"Come on, let's hurry up and give the coach a shock." Jiang Wannan pulled Chu Xi and quickened her pace.
Chu Xi originally wanted to take a break, but she rubbed her eyebrows helplessly and could only continue to be dragged by Jiang Wannan to the cafeteria.
…
At this time, Wang Xingwen was having lunch with other team members who were not competing.
"The women's Qibu and Gun competition will be held this afternoon. When you compete, adjust your mindset and don't make those low-level mistakes. Basically, you will have no problem advancing." Wang Xingwen patiently reminded them.
The team members nodded one by one.
After Wang Xingwen finished eating, he put down his chopsticks and looked down at the time.
The women's air pistol qualifying round is probably over, and I don't know how Chu Xi performed.
However, the pressure of this kind of large-scale competition is indeed very high, and the other players are also very strong.
He estimated that if Chu Xi could get around 20th place, it would be considered pretty good.
"Coach, Chu Xi has advanced to the finals. Moreover, she is very good and directly entered the finals with the first place in the qualifying round!" Jiang Wannan pulled Chu Xi and quickly walked into the cafeteria.
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