Chapter 67: The End of the Second Stop of the World Cup...
At the end of the second leg of the World Cup, apart from reaching the final of Group A in the 1500m(a) and finishing fifth, the other events, although not reaching the finals, were still a good start. Her performance was much better than in the first leg. Ren Xiyao truly breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she didn't want to admit it, the deep-seated worry about her season performance constantly weighed on her.
The Americas season has come to an end, and now it's time to prepare for the Asian Games, with a two-week rest and adjustment period in between. This year's World Cup will be held in Beijing, China, and Nagoya, Japan.
The national team rested for a day and returned to Beijing to continue their preparations. Ren Xiyao and her teammates were waiting for the bus outside, pushing their luggage; it was already evening. Lin Shan leaned against Ren Xiyao, playing on her phone, and nudged her when she saw a fan-taken photo: "You look alive again! Look at this fan-taken photo, it's rare to see you smile!"
"Hmm." Ren Xiyao pulled her backpack up a bit: "It's better than the first stop."
Lin Shan adjusted his posture and continued, "That's right, during the debriefing, the coaching staff all breathed a sigh of relief."
"At least we've made it to the finals. We just need to adjust our tactics."
Ren Xiyao shot Lin Shan a glare, and Lin Shan immediately shut up, making a zipping motion.
When the bus arrived, everyone put their luggage away. Ren Xiyao's phone vibrated as soon as she boarded. Kwon Ji-yong had sent a photo; his hand, adorned with the jadeite ring, was resting on the engineering key, with the YG recording studio's mixing console in the background.
"I'm done writing."
Ren Xiyao's lips curled up slightly as she replied, "It sounds nice?"
"I'll play it for you when you come back."
Just as she was about to reply, Lin Shan leaned over and said, "Tsk tsk, checking up on me?"
Ren Xiyao locked the screen, closed her eyes, and said, "Go to sleep and adjust to the time difference."
On the first night of closed training, Ren Xiyao sat in the dormitory corridor talking to Quan Zhilong on the phone. It was still a bit chilly outside, so she wrapped her team uniform jacket tighter around herself.
"Really can't we meet?" Kwon Ji-yong's voice came through, mixed with static: "I can free up some time next week."
"We're in closed training and can't go out. Even if you come, you won't be able to see us."
The sound of papers turning over came from the other end of the phone; Kwon Ji-yong seemed to be checking his schedule: "Then after you finish the third competition?"
"Let's talk after the competition."
"......"
Ren Xiyao could imagine his expression: a slight frown, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table. She softened her tone: "Isn't it the end of the year? You still have the tour and Fashion Week afterwards. Focus on your work."
“I watched your Salt Lake City game video,” he suddenly said.
"Was this filmed by the authorities?"
“Everything we could find.” Kwon Ji-yong’s tone became more relaxed: “Including photos taken by fans of you smiling as you left the field.”
"Yes, form comes from competition," she said softly.
Kwon Ji-yong was silent for a few seconds: "That's good."
Those three simple words suddenly brought tears to Ren Xiyao's eyes. She knew he had been worried for over a month, even though she had been avoiding the topic.
"You've been wearing the ring all this time?" she changed the subject.
"Hmm." He paused. "During today's shoot, the stylist wanted me to take it off, but I didn't agree."
Ren Xiyao laughed out loud: "The fans will be guessing again."
"Guess," he said with a laugh. "You'll never guess it was a gift from a short track speed skater."
Ren Xiyao was a little dazed and couldn't help but recall that at noon today in the cafeteria, she was eating her rice with her head down while the young members of the national youth team around her were whispering among themselves.
"That ring Long Ge has been wearing lately, he's definitely in love!" The youngest female member of the team whispered, holding her phone. "Korean websites and online forums are going crazy over it!"
"It's black jadeite, I heard it's incredibly hard to buy." The young girl continued gossiping, "Some fans discovered it's a custom-made piece, with engravings on the inner ring..."
At that moment, Lin Shan kicked Ren Xiyao and mouthed, "You gave it to me!" Ren Xiyao pretended not to hear, but she was secretly happy inside.
Kwon Ji-yong's voice on the other end of the phone interrupted her thoughts: "What are you thinking about?"
Ren Xiyao chuckled softly, "I'm sure you're incredibly popular."
As expected, Kwon Ji-yong started smug again on the other end of the phone, and the two chatted back and forth for a long time. It wasn't until their phone alarms rang that they hung up. It was time to rest.
After hanging up the phone, Kwon Ji-yong put down his tablet and rubbed his sore eyes. The screen displayed the webpages he had just closed: "Short Track Speed Skating Psychological Barriers," "Post-Sports Trauma Recovery Period," and so on.
Beside the table sat the dark jade ring, its surface gleaming softly under the lamp. He picked it up and turned it around; the engraving on the inner band was worn, marks left by his unconscious rubbing over the past two months. Now, when he was anxious, he didn't bite his nails as much anymore, but he would unconsciously turn the ring.
My phone lit up; it was a message from my agent: "Tomorrow morning at six at the beauty salon, don't be late."
After replying, he subconsciously opened the latest saved video in his album: the Salt Lake City 1500m semi-final. Ren Xiyao took a step without hesitation on the last bend. Although she did not end up on the podium, her eyes were sharp as knives at that moment.
He was completely different from the person in Montreal. Kwon Ji-yong let out a soft breath, turned off the light, and turned to leave the recording studio.
The third stop of the World Cup, Beijing. Familiar ice rink, familiar language, familiar faces. Playing at home is an advantage, but also a pressure. Ren Xiyao put on her skates and sat on the sidelines waiting to compete. In this leg of the World Cup, Ren Xiyao participated in three individual events: the 1500m, 1000m, and 500m(b). She hasn't yet participated in the relay.
In the first two races, her performance was slowly improving. Although she was still affected by the psychological shadow, the instinctive hesitation was not as severe as in the first race. Especially in the moment she fell in the second race, despite the pain, the thought of "not dodging" was a significant step forward for her mentally. She knew that she was gradually rediscovering her fearless self.
Although she's currently focusing on long distances, her 500m is still quite good. However, the competition in this event was extremely fierce. A slight hesitation led to a mistake, causing her to miss an opportunity to overtake. Having just finished the semi-finals, she didn't advance to the Group I final but instead entered the Group B final.
This is the women's 1500m semifinal, and Ren Xiyao has been placed in a highly competitive group. Besides several European and American skaters, there's also South Korea's young star, Kim Suk-yeon. Kim Suk-yeon is a rising star in recent years, possessing well-rounded technique and an extremely aggressive skating style. She excels at lying low and following in the early laps, almost forgotten at the back of the pack, until the final sprint where she begins overtaking one skater after another on the outside. Her stamina is exceptional; she can maintain a 3-4-lap outside position, overtaking four or five skaters and still have energy left for the final sprint.
The 1500m is already a physically demanding event. Her aggressive overtaking, especially in the later laps, made it incredibly difficult to stop her when everyone was exhausted. While her inside overtaking had some minor flaws, her outside overtaking was masterful. Competing against her required absolute precision in both route planning and energy management.
When the starting gun fired, Ren Xiyao took a deep breath and looked ahead with a determined gaze. The starting gun fired, and she quickly pushed off the ice and surged forward. At the start of the race, everyone skated cautiously, looking for opportunities. Ren Xiyao skated in the middle of the pack, maintaining her own rhythm while closely observing her opponents. Until the seventh lap, she glanced at Jin Shuyan out of the corner of her eye. Still second to last, she decided to move first. Controlling her exit from the corner, she made a slightly larger angle and pulled onto the outside lane to take second place. On the seventh lap, entering the eighth, she seized upon a mistake by the German skater ahead and overtook her on the inside lane to take first place.
As the race entered its final 10 laps, Kim Suk-yeon suddenly accelerated, overtaking four times in two consecutive laps from the outside to take second place. Meanwhile, on lap 13, Ren Xiyao was in first position.
Jin Shuyan quickly added a sharp cut before entering the turn, attempting to force her way over the defender from the inside. This was an extremely risky move, requiring incredibly fast reflexes and precise control, but also carrying a significant risk of fouling. In a split second, Ren Xiyao's brain seemed to anticipate her intention half a second in advance. It wasn't an instinctive fear or retreat, but rather an almost cold-blooded analysis and response.
Almost at the same moment Kim Suk-yeon added her blade, Ren Xiyao's right skate drew a beautiful half-arc outward, releasing the inside line she had been controlling and entering the turn at a larger angle. This entry was almost a right angle, a smooth and precise movement that perfectly avoided Kim Suk-yeon's cutting line.
"Beautiful!" A chorus of exclamations erupted from the stands.
The commentators in the stadium got excited: "Look! South Korean youngster Kim Suk-yeon suddenly attacked, but Ren Xiyao reacted even faster! She anticipated it and made a beautiful change of direction! She wasn't overtaken!"
"This evasive maneuver is a perfect example of technique!" another commentator added. "To be able to execute such a precise move at such high speeds demonstrates Ren Xiyao's exceptional ice feel and control!"
Ren Xiyao herself felt that her reaction at that moment was so natural, without the slightest hesitation. She avoided any potential clash with Jin Yanshu and held her position.
The last bend. Jin Shuyan was clearly unwilling to give up, and she once again tried to overtake Ren Xiyao by force from the outside, pressing her body against her.
The ice skates sliced across the ice at high speed, kicking up fine mist that shimmered under the lights, beautiful yet dangerous like diamonds. This time, Ren Xiyao didn't back down. She steadied herself, her body tense, and as she exited the turn, she withstood Jin Shuyan's pressure. Their shoulders collided, but she held fast to her gliding line. That head-on confrontation between bodies made her feel a power, a power that belonged to her alone.
"A collision occurred while exiting the corner!" The commentator's voice cracked from shouting. "A fierce battle at the corner! Ren Xiyao and Jin Shuyan! Neither of them would back down!"
"Ren Xiyao held the line! She withstood Jin Shuyan's onslaught! She didn't back down!" The commentator's voice was filled with unbelievable excitement: "Beautiful! Ren Xiyao has shown a long-lost toughness!"
Thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the stands. The audience stood up, waving their arms, thrilled by Ren Xiyao's performance.
In the end, Ren Xiyao narrowly led Jin Shuyan and was the first to cross the finish line, successfully advancing to the Group A final!
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