As Hiroto Nakazaki said, this year's Four Continents Championships will be held on the largest tropical island with the largest number of flowers.
In response to the policy of moving ice from the north to the south and snow from the north to the south, an ice and snow sports center was built on the tropical island at the southern end of Zhonghua, which combines an ice skating rink and a ski hall.
Thanks to the construction of the free trade port, this tropical island has become a new first-tier provincial capital city. The four-continent figure skating competition was held here, reportedly to promote the development of sports in the island city.
Yuto Nakazaki, who had just flown in from Sendai, Japan, felt the hospitality of the island as soon as he got off the plane. He took out his mobile phone, checked the temperature, and decisively began to take off his clothes.
The coach at the side yelled, "Youren-kun, even if it's hot, don't take off all your clothes except for your thermal underwear!"
Nakazaki Yuto grabbed his collar and said, "Eh? But American players can wear autumn clothes to compete, why can't I wear autumn clothes to go out on the street?"
Coach: “…” Of course it’s because their costumes are just minimalist in style, not real autumn clothes!
The teenager from Japan was forced to wear a team uniform. Feeling the heat of the island, he was very worried: "It's so hot here, will the ice in the Four Continents Arena really not soften?"
Yuto Nakazaki thought about the tragic experience of the French station where he was assigned not long ago and fell hard on the toxic ice surface five, six, seven or eight times within two days. He said that he really didn't want to skate on such an ice rink again.
"No, even though this is a tropical area, the ice rink uses air membrane technology to keep the temperature. Our country's figure skaters are auditioned here."
A sweet and crisp voice unique to a young girl came from behind. Nakazaki Yuto turned around and saw Lu You walking towards him with Xie Yunjun's arm and dragging his ice skate box.
The Japanese boy waved in surprise: "Tori-san, Kimi-kun! Long time no see!"
Yuto Nakazaki, like Lu You and Xie Yunjun, was promoted to a higher group this season. He declared at the beginning of the season that he would go to the Grand Prix Final, but his performance points fell apart in France, and were suppressed by his predecessors. It was not until the middle of the season that his GOE and performance points gradually recovered.
Several top Japanese athletes will not participate in the Four Continents Games, and Hiroto Nakazaki also came here with the mission of winning gold.
Next to him, Yumi Koe, a Japanese female singles player who was participating in the 4CC for the first time, looked at the two curiously: "Ah, are these the legendary twin stars of the Empire?"
Lu You: “…Huh?”
Xue Chengze, who was standing by, had a calm expression and took a sip of water from his thermos cup.
Regarding the Japanese media giving the Rabbit Village athletes middle school nicknames, Xue Chengze said he has long been accustomed to it.
At least compared to Jiang Ran and Yu Botao's "the strongest man and woman on earth" and Lin Yinian's "handsome boy on ice", Lu You and Xie Yunjun's story is not so shameful.
In this Four Continents Games, the flower-growing team has all twelve places in four events. Excluding the national team members and the two non-national team players Lu You and Xie Yunjun, there are also some players selected from the provincial teams. Together with the team coaches and team doctors, there are nearly thirty people in total.
The situation of the Japanese team was similar. When two buses took the athletes to the hotel prepared by the organizer, the lobby was instantly packed.
The team leader Xue Chengze went to get the room cards and distributed them to each team member according to the list that had been prepared in advance. Compared to the flower-growing team who obeyed the arrangements and were in an orderly manner, the Japanese team split into three small groups when checking in.
They even had a quarrel over who would live with whom.
Lu Tingsong explained: "Japanese figure skating has always had factional disputes, and the internal fighting is particularly fierce. The two largest factions are the Kansai faction and the Nagoya faction. Many veterans and active athletes come from these two places."
"Factions fight against each other, and referees often deliberately step on players from other factions in order to promote their own players."
"Those selected for the national team are fine. Everyone put aside their differences and worked towards a common goal. However, there are some players from major clubs in the Four Continents this time, and the relationship between them is not very harmonious."
At this moment, Yuto Nakazaki was sandwiched between a contestant from Kansai and another contestant from Nagoya. He was patted on the shoulder by one side and calmed down by the other side, and was forced to act as a peacemaker to mediate the fight.
Jiang Yang also said, "Nakazaki Yuto was born in Sendai. Like Yoshimaru Hinata, he belongs to a minority group from northeastern Japan. Moreover, they spend most of their time training abroad at their own expense, so they do not belong to any faction."
During domestic competitions in Japan, Yuto Nakazaki was severely suppressed as he was caught between a rock and a hard place. The tragic thing was that as an Asian player, he was also suppressed in international competitions. It was even more miserable. His P score has never been higher. The only reason he could make it to where he is today was because of his excellent strength.
Lu You sat next to Xie Yunjun, holding a coconut bigger than his head, drinking coconut water and listening to gossip with relish.
Apart from other things, there is plenty of coconut on the island. This thing is pure natural, with no additives, and low in calories. For female players who have not touched desserts for a long time, it is simply too attractive.
Therefore, almost every female player present had one.
Lu You and Jiang Shi drank to the end, and their stomachs rumbled when they ran.
By the way, due to the scarcity of women's singles athletes, in this era of quadruple jumps, Jiang Shi, who has one foot halfway into the 3A threshold, has once again become the leading player in the women's singles and has completely emerged from the bottom of Tianchi Lake in Changbai Mountain.
Jiang Shi's comeback gave hope to many retired players, and they all went to work under Lu Tingsong, the salvor. However, not every player can keep training after retiring like Jiang Shi. Many people haven't practiced for too long, and their basic skills have long been wasted.
Even if Lu Tingsong wanted to, he couldn't make any money.
It is not as easy as it sounds for a retired player to make a comeback.
Before returning to the room, Xu Yangbing asked Lu You: "Does your arm still hurt from stretching it last time?"
Lu You handed the coconut to Xie Yunjun, raised his shoulder to feel it, and then raised his thumb: "It doesn't hurt anymore, the first shot of planting flowers, great!"
Xu Yangbing made a knife-hand gesture, swiped his hair, and said coolly: "That's right, Uncle Xu, I studied for nine years in a 985 medical university for a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree. Is that a joke?"
Jiang Yang exposed him: "Well, it's just that the hair is a little thin."
Xu Yangbing: “…”Medicine is scalding hot, scalding human ideals.
Although Lu You said he was fine, for some reason, Xu Yangbing still insisted on giving Lu You and Xie Yunjun a roll of elastic band each, and told them to wrap them up before going on stage tomorrow.
Lu You tried to struggle: "Should I wrap myself around it too? It's so ugly showing through the stockings and coat!"
The result, of course, was ruthlessly rejected.
After all the contestants returned to their rooms, Xu Yangbing knocked on the doors of Jiang Yang and Xue Chengze.
Xue Chengze didn't seem surprised at all that Xu Yangbing was here. He brought a stool and placed it beside the bed: "Sit down."
When Xu Yangbing walked in, he found Lu Tingsong was there too. He sat down on a stool and said straight to the point, "Did you guys see that too?"
Jiang Yang sighed, "How can I not see it? In the past, Lu You had to rest for ten days or half a month if he sprained a ligament or twisted an ankle. This time, he said he stretched his hand, but the symptoms were muscle soreness and weakness. He recovered quickly but also relapsed quickly. It looks like..."
Jiang Yang paused and said, "It's like the growing pains that come with development."
——The situation they feared most finally came.
"So, should we tell the two children about this now?" Xu Yangbing pondered, "Lu You only has arm pain now, but it will soon develop into knees, calves and thighs. When the bones start to grow, the height and weight will change accordingly."
The reason why growing pains occur is essentially that muscles develop before bones, and the rate of muscle growth is greater than the rate of bone support, which causes pain.
When Lu You said her wrists and arms hurt a while ago, Lu Tingsong thought she had simply pulled a muscle.
But Xue Chengze and Jiang Yang are both experienced coaches and are very familiar with the characteristics that players will exhibit during their growth period.
Xu Yangbing: "There is a transition period from the onset of growing pains to the start of real growth. It should be no problem to survive the Olympics, but injuries are very taboo during the growth period. I don't recommend continuing the four-point twist, it's too easy to get injured."
Lu Tingsong was silent for a while.
Jiang Yang and Xue Chengze both agreed that keeping it a secret was not a solution, but the Four Continents Competition would officially start the day after tomorrow. In order not to affect their condition, everyone decided to wait until the 4CC was over before making a decision.
Unexpectedly, this decision was strongly opposed by Lu Tingsong.
"Youyou and Xiaojun are planning to compete in the 4th round of the Four Continents this time," Lu Tingsong stood up. "We all know how much strain the 4th round puts on a female partner's body. Their current 4th round is already very difficult. Top players all know that in order to extend their athletic life, they should try to reduce the practice time of the 4th round as much as possible. What's more, Lu You is still in the growth stage, and if he gets injured, it may affect his future."
"I do not accept that when we know that there is a risk of physical damage, we conceal the truth from athletes and allow them to continue to perform difficult moves."
Lu Tingsong's words were very decisive.
Xue Chengze looked at him and sighed.
Lu Tingsong was once a member of the national team. As the head coach, how could Xue Chengze not know his stubborn temper?
Even if Lu Tingsong is not the uncle of Lu You and Xie Yunjun, he would choose to do so as a coach who always puts the athletes first.
Xue Chengze pressed his forehead and said, "There is no quad twist in the short program. Let's finish the short program first and then tell them."
After the pre-match public practice, the Four Continents officially started the short program competition on the third day.
The first to appear was the men's singles skating. Yuto Nakazaki from Japan won the short program championship with a configuration of 4T, 4S+3T and 3A. At the same time, the gold medal in women's singles skating was also won by Japan.
Without competition from top players, Lu You and Xie Yunjun, a combination with the world's top difficulty configuration, won first place in the short program without any trouble.
After the small medal award ceremony, everyone present saw the Empire's Gemini being called away by Lu Tingsong with a serious face.
Yumi Koe couldn't help but ask Nakazaki Yuto: "Are all the coaches of flower gardens so strict? The twins obviously won the gold medal, why does their coach look unhappy at all?"
Yuto Nakazaki shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.
He only knew that Tori-chan and Kimi-san's first coach was their uncle. In the past, this young coach would have happily lifted Tori-chan up and spun her around in circles.
On the other side, Lu You and Xie Yunjun followed Lu Tingsong and climbed onto the flower-planting team’s exclusive bus.
Xue Chengze, Jiang Yang and Xu Yangbing sat in a row with their arms agape.
Lu You tugged at Xie Yunjun's sleeve and hid behind him, his expression horrified: "I, I just slipped a little when I was taking the next step. Although I lost a grade, I still got first place. It's not necessary to have a criticism meeting, right?"
Coaches: “…”
With this interruption, the coaches suddenly became less nervous.
They spent ten minutes laying the groundwork, another ten minutes preparing them mentally, and then explained things clearly.
After hearing all this, Lu You fell silent.
Looking at Lu You who was lowering his head, Jiang Yang scratched his head anxiously: "It's not a big deal. It's not like you gain ten pounds and grow ten centimeters overnight. The Olympics won't be affected too much. The most important thing for us is to keep a calm mind..."
Hearing this, Lu You finally raised his head.
She had a small gold medal hanging around her neck and pulled Xie Yunjun with a sad face: "Is my acting so bad? I thought I was pretending to be so genuine, but everyone saw through it?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
