Chapter 97 The December winds will bring training to the capital...
The December wind rattled the windows of the training base in Beijing. On the ice rink, the chill was still biting. The hustle and bustle and warmth of Jiangling seemed like yesterday, but once he stepped onto this familiar ice surface again, all those romantic thoughts were quickly compressed and sealed away, leaving only the ultimate pursuit of speed and skill.
2016 is drawing to a close. With the 2013 Winter Games and the Asian Winter Games approaching, training intensity has reached a new peak. Originally, players were supposed to return to their respective clubs to prepare for the 2013 Winter Games, but this year, with preparations also for the Asian Winter Games, the national team hasn't released any players yet. They will only be released for a short period of preparation after the last day of training on New Year's Day. Everything is still in preparation for the Asian Winter Games.
The coach's whistle, the hissing of the skates cutting through the ice, and the rapid breathing of her teammates formed the entire background noise of her life at that moment. She controlled her skating path, feeling the burning of her muscles and the searing pain in her lungs. Sweat slid down her forehead, dripping onto the ice and instantly freezing into tiny ice beads.
Occasionally, during breaks, she would subconsciously reach out and touch the small protrusion on her chest. The white jade safety buckle and the key pressed against her skin, carrying her body heat, like a silent coordinate, reminding her that beyond the ice rink lay another, completely different world, and the people in that world. She changed out of the ice skate necklace. Lin Shan sometimes complained that being with a fashionista was really different. He had so many accessories he could barely hold them all. But that was actually an exaggeration. Someone like him wouldn't repeatedly give similar gifts.
It's been a long time since they parted ways in Gangneung. Kwon Ji-yong returned to Seoul and immediately threw himself into a packed year-end schedule and preparations for his solo album next year. Their contact remained sporadic, mostly late at night or early in the morning, during her training breaks or his work gaps. Their busy schedules acted like two invisible walls.
She knew he was currently filming a very important group variety show. He didn't elaborate, only occasionally complaining on the phone about his teammates' "unreliability" and the "inhuman" schedule. As she listened, she knew in her heart that behind the glamorous image on camera was immense pressure that he never stopped under.
Ren Xiyao's skates traced a sharp arc on the ice, splashing ice shards that stuck to her skates. The coach's whistle rang out from the sidelines: "That's enough for today! You can go back to your respective clubs to prepare for the 2013 Winter Games."
"Okay, GDxi, please begin."
He cleared his throat and looked down at the letter:
To Kwon Ji-yong five years from now:
"You should be married by now, five years from now."
The staff at the recording site held their breath.
Kwon Ji-yong's lips curled up slightly, his fingers unconsciously stroking the dark jade ring on his left hand: "My wife and child must be very cute."
"By then you will have completed your military service. I hope you have found a balance between life and music, and are no longer bothered by those pointless struggles. Remember to spend more time with your family and try to write songs less late into the night..."
The word "family" was slightly smudged by the ink, as if he had paused for a long time before writing it. He smiled at the letter, then suddenly folded it in half: "That's about it."
The PD quickly called for a halt: "GDxi, this is the part that's going to be released..."
"What did I say?" He smiled and stuffed the letter into the envelope. "Just some hopes. Making wishes, you know."
As Ren Xiyao was packing her luggage to return to Harbin, Lin Shan waved his phone at her and said, "Your boyfriend is trending again."
The phone screen displayed: #Kwon Ji-yong will get married in five years#
The video showed Kwon Ji-yong reading a letter, and the comments section was flooded with messages.
[Does anyone understand his little habit of touching his ring?!]
[Wife and children ???]
[Brother Long, when did you get a girlfriend?!]
[Seriously, after all this digging, is there any concrete information? Who gave this ring?]
Ren Xiyao returned the phone, unscrewed the bottle of mineral water and took a sip: "Isn't this the same old emotional segment? Aren't all variety shows like this?"
"Keep pretending." Lin Shan hooked the rope around her neck, revealing the jade pendant hidden inside her down jacket, pressed against her collarbone: "I'm telling you, you two are really at the point of discussing marriage now."
Ren Xiyao pulled up her collar: "Mind your own business. If you ask, it'll just be something that's not suitable for children."
In the dressing room after the recording, Taeyang held his phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other: "Are you crazy? The CEO will be furious if he sees this."
Kwon Ji-yong sprawled on the sofa scrolling through his phone: "They didn't name names. Isn't that subtle enough?!"
"They practically have 'I have a boyfriend' tattooed on their foreheads!"
"Didn't they arrange so many rumored lovers for me? Let them guess one by one. If they're left idle, our CEO Yang won't be." Kwon Ji-yong casually crossed his legs and looked at his phone.
Sun looked speechless and snatched his phone: "Stop looking, the first snow forecast says it will fall tonight."
Kwon Ji-yong suddenly sat up straight: "What time is it?"
"The weather forecast said around eight or nine o'clock." The sun squinted: "...What are you going to do?"
“Video call.” He pulled out his earphones. “It’s always the wrong time. I haven’t even spent Seoul’s first snow with her yet.”
Ren Xiyao's phone vibrated under her pillow. When the video call connected, Kwon Ji-yong's face filled the screen, with the night view of the Han River Bridge in the background, and a few snowflakes could already be seen in the halo of the streetlights.
Ren Xiyao propped her phone up on the bedside table and continued packing her luggage: "Have you finished recording the show?"
"Hmm." Kwon Ji-yong leaned closer to the screen: "Did you see the trending topics?"
"Yes. I saw it."
Kwon Ji-yong's breath condensed in the cold air. The first snow of the season in Seoul fell in fine, scattered flakes, like willow catkins blown by the wind, quickly melting into watermarks on his black coat. He held up his phone, the camera pointed at the night sky, snowflakes dancing in the halo of the streetlights: "Can you see it? It's just started falling." He said with a smile, his voice slightly muffled by the wind.
On the other end of the screen, Ren Xiyao neatly closed her luggage. Leaning against the headboard, a towel draped over her shoulder, she glanced at the screen and said calmly, "It snowed in Harbin today, and it snowed in Beijing too."
"No romance at all." Kwon Ji-yong turned the camera to himself, snowflakes landing on his eyelashes and quickly melting into tiny water droplets. He reached up and wiped his face, his nose red from the cold: "I heard that making a wish upon the first snow is especially effective."
"Feudal superstition".
"Don't say it out loud," Ren Xiyao suddenly interrupted. "Wishes won't come true if you say them out loud."
Kwon Ji-yong was stunned, then smiled so wide his eyes curved into crescents: "Ren Xiyao, you actually believe this?"
She didn't answer, but just looked at his frostbitten cheeks and shining eyes on the screen.
After hanging up the video call, Ren Xiyao sat on the edge of the bed. Outside the window, the night was pitch black and the snow was falling softly. This year, the snow in Beijing was much heavier than in Seoul. The wind whipped up snowflakes and pounded against the window, like some kind of silent urging.
She reached into the bedside table drawer and pulled out a leather-bound training diary. The notebook was quite old, with worn edges, and filled with daily training data, match recaps, and occasional snippets of her thoughts. She'd replaced this diary almost every six months. From its inception in 2013 to today, it seemed she'd gone through four or five diaries already. But Kwon Ji-yong's appearances in it were becoming increasingly frequent.
Turning to today's date, she picked up her pen and wrote on the page for December 30th:
"The first snow in Seoul. They all say that wishes made through snow will come true... but I'm a materialist."
She paused for a moment, then added:
"But I wavered the moment he was about to say it."
She seemed to know what he wished for, just as she knew Kwon Ji-yong's true feelings hidden in the details.
Meanwhile, Kwon Ji-yong did not return immediately.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, and the number of pedestrians on the bridge gradually dwindled, leaving only a few scattered figures wrapped tightly in their coats and hurrying past. He leaned against the railing, watching the river shimmer in the night, snowflakes falling onto the water's surface and disappearing in an instant.
My phone vibrated; it was a message from Ren Xiyao:
"What did you wish for?"
He stared at the screen for a few seconds, his fingers hovering over the keyboard for a moment, before finally typing: "I hope we can watch the snow together next year."
Before sending, he deleted it and re-entered it:
"May your skates always be sharp, and your turns always decisive."
After pressing the send button, he exhaled, and the white mist dissipated before his eyes.
Ren Xiyao looked at the message on her phone screen and clicked her tongue softly.
She knows him too well.
At times like these, his wishes are never about these things, but about them.
She looked down at the handwriting in the diary and added another sentence:
"My wish is that he can tell the truth." After writing it down, Ren Xiyao gently stroked the paper with her fingers. The sentence on the paper meant not only that she hoped he could tell the truth today, but also that he could always be honest in the future.
When Kwon Ji-yong returned to the studio, Taeyang was still inside organizing sheet music. Seeing him push open the door, Taeyang asked without looking up, "Did your wish come true?"
"Um."
"What is the promise?"
Kwon Ji-yong hung his coat on the hanger, walked to the computer, and sat down: "World peace."
The sun scoffed, "You're kidding me."
Kwon Ji-yong didn't reply, but instead opened Ren Xiyao's race video. On the screen, she was wearing a red racing suit, speeding across the ice, overtaking on the outside of the last corner, and crossing the finish line first.
He gently touched the screen, as if he could touch her image.
Ren Xiyao lay in bed, the snow outside the window still falling relentlessly. She had to get up early tomorrow to catch a flight to Harbin. She hoped it wouldn't be delayed.
Her phone screen lit up; Kwon Ji-yong had sent a voice message. She opened it, and his voice sounded slightly tired: "Are you asleep?"
"Soon."
"I just finished watching your game video from last week."
"Um."
"That outsider's overtake was beautiful."
"Um."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Kwon Ji-yong suddenly said, "Actually, my wish was that we could watch the first snow together next year."
Ren Xiyao closed her eyes, a slight smile playing on her lips: "I know."
"And what about you?"
I hope you can tell the truth.
Kwon Ji-yong laughed: "Didn't we just say that?"
"Um."
So... will my wish come true?
Ren Xiyao turned over, buried her face in the pillow, and said in a muffled voice, "Let's give it a try."
The New Year's bells rang from afar; despite the one-hour time difference, Seoul had already welcomed the new year. Kwon Ji-yong stood on the balcony, watching the snowflakes fall silently into the night.
With the phone pressed against her ear, Ren Xiyao's soft breathing could be heard, as if separated by thousands of miles, yet so close at hand.
"Happy New Year," he said softly.
"Happy New Year," she replied, as if she were borrowing time in advance.
Kwon Ji-yong looked down at the melting snow in his palm and suddenly laughed: "Does this count as cheating?"
"Um?"
"You stole my New Year, and I borrowed your time in advance."
“No,” she said softly. “The time difference is just a number, the snow is real.”
Lanhai Club has deep roots in winter sports. A towering figure in China's short track speed skating scene, it extends its reach across the country with its abundant resources. The nation's vigorous development of winter sports aims to stimulate youth training in various provinces, especially in the south, where there's an old saying: "Winter sports don't leave the Shanhaiguan Pass." This is well-intentioned, but the concentration of resources means that promising athletes nurtured by smaller clubs often don't stay. This has led to a peculiar phenomenon: often on a track, among five or six athletes, aside from one or two "outsiders," the rest may all be from the same training program or have numerous connections.
In this context, "teamwork" has been taken to its extreme, sometimes even exceeding the boundaries of sportsmanship. What's even more frustrating is that the refereeing rules for the Winter Games always seem to carry a certain degree of ambiguity and "flexibility," especially when it comes to athletes from the Lanhai Club. Everyone is well aware of this, especially since the club's equity restructuring has deepened its cooperation with the South Korean sports university faction, and two years ago they even replaced their coach with a South Korean one; since then, their behavior on the field has become increasingly unruly.
Their center's women's team had six members, and the Mingfei Club, which they jointly supported, only had four. They had just assembled a relay team, as it was a newly established team. As for the rest, apart from the Zhanqing Club, which had almost always remained neutral, the other newly established clubs all had some connection with Lan Hai. Half of the total participants were from their group. Although Lan Hai couldn't gain any advantage on the women's team, on the men's team, except for the 2014-15 season when they failed, they consistently had more than half of the spots. At the starting line of the 500m semi-finals, Ren Xiyao took a deep breath, her gaze sharp as a knife. Among the five opponents around her, at least three were familiar faces from the "Lan Hai faction."
The starting gun fired! Ren Xiyao had an excellent start, bursting forward like a red lightning bolt and instantly seizing second place, closely following Wang Lu from the Lan Hai Club who was leading. At the first corner, just as she entered the turn, Ren Xiyao attempted to overtake from the inside. Her speed was high, and her angle of entry was perfect. However, just as she was about to complete the overtake, Lan Hai on the outside seemed to simultaneously merge into the inside lane, and their skates collided slightly!
A muffled thud followed, accompanied by a spray of ice shards.
Ren Xiyao managed to maintain her balance during the collision, losing some speed but not falling. Wang Lu also swayed slightly but quickly recovered.
However, just as the two regained their rhythm and prepared to continue their sprint, the referee blew his whistle!
The match was paused. The referees huddled together, whispering amongst themselves, their eyes occasionally glancing at the replay on the big screen.
Ren Xiyao's heart sank. The collision happened in an instant, falling into a rather ambiguous and controversial ruling during the race. Strictly speaking, it should be considered Wang Lu's dangerous lane change at the end of the straight. But more often than not, it's on the first curve, and no fall occurred. In such cases, a penalty is unlikely.
But she knew that here, the interpretation of the rules was often not so "objective".
An uproar erupted at the scene. The slow-motion replay on television was shown repeatedly, and the commentator cautiously remarked, "This ruling...is indeed somewhat controversial. Judging from the replay, it seems difficult to clearly determine whose primary responsibility it was..."
Ren Xiyao stood there, her lips tightly pressed together, a fire burning within her chest. She slowly raised her head, looked at the referee's table with icy eyes, then silently slid to the sidelines, removed her helmet, and remained silent. Beside her sat Lin Shan and Xu Xin, who were about to play in the next match. Their expressions were also not good.
Ren Xiyao took a breath, patted the two of them, and said, "Win it back."
In the stands, some knowledgeable ice skating fans booed in dissatisfaction. However, the area where the Lan Hai Club was located remained calm, as if everything was perfectly normal.
Ren Xiyao sat on a bench in the rest area, head down. No one knew the surging anger and resentment beneath her calm exterior. It wasn't until Lin Shan and Xu Xin's competition began, watching them struggle but ultimately Xu Xin and Lin Shan both making it to the A-group finals, that she felt a little better.
When the group assignments for the 1000m semifinals were announced, her brow furrowed again.
She and her teammate Xu Xin were placed in the same group. The other three players in the group, without exception, all came from the Lanhai Club system!
The coach's expression turned serious: "This group... will be difficult. They'll definitely team up. You two be careful."
Ren Xiyao nodded, her eyes sharp.
The race began. After the starting gun fired, Ren Xiyao started aggressively, trying to gain a favorable position. However, the three Lan Hai athletes immediately formed a typical counter-strategy. One skated ahead to control the speed, one swam on the outside lane to block the overtaking route, and the other stayed close behind or to the side of Ren Xiyao, constantly interfering with her with small movements, or quickly blocking her position when she tried to change lanes.
Ren Xiyao felt trapped in an invisible, mobile cage made up of three people. She tried to accelerate again and again, attempting to break through from the inside or outside lanes, but each time her attempts were thwarted by the other skater's coordinated movements. The lead skater deliberately kept their speed low, preventing her from gaining momentum; the outside skater had an extremely wide range, leaving almost no room for overtaking; and the skater behind her followed like a shadow, closing in the moment she showed the slightest intention to change lanes. As she skated, Ren Xiyao almost laughed. The three people were wearing two different colored shirts, representing two different teams, yet they were coordinating like a single team. The Korean coach next to her shouted loudly, "Outside lane! Outside lane! Control! Control!" One person, the head coach of one club, was directing members of two different clubs.
Time ticked by, and Ren Xiyao's stamina was being rapidly depleted by the constant attempts and struggles. Her breathing grew heavier, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She could certainly sense her opponents' intentions, but she didn't want to give in to them so easily.
Two laps left! She tried to overtake from the outside lane!
However, the rider on the outside lane was prepared and immediately widened her lane, almost pushing her to the edge. At the same time, the rider behind her accelerated to catch up, blocking any possibility of her changing lanes inward.
At that critical moment, Ren Xiyao caught a glimpse of Xu Xin out of the corner of her eye! She made a decision in an instant!
At the next bend, Ren Xiyao chose to further widen her entry angle. She wanted to give her opponents the illusion that she intended to force an outside overtake using a right-angle change of direction. She wanted to see if anyone would fall for it, and sure enough, all three of them were watching her, so the moment she moved, someone immediately followed her, widening their own gliding line, not wanting to give her a sufficient entry angle. However, this momentary opening of the inside lane gave Xu Xin an opportunity.
"Great job! Xu Xin! Inside lane overtake!" the commentator exclaimed in delight!
Xu Xin understood immediately and accelerated without hesitation, rushing past two Lan Hai competitors to take second place!
As for Ren Xiyao, the two players were too close to her when entering the turn, and they couldn't pull themselves back, which interfered with Ren Xiyao's finishing. So, the incomplete right-angle turn became a big mistake, costing her the chance to compete.
Before the finish line, Xu Xin followed closely behind Lan Hai, who was leading the way, and crossed the finish line second, successfully advancing to the A group final!
She skated to the sidelines, her chest heaving, her racing suit soaked with sweat. Xu Xin skated over and gave her a high five.
There were no complaints, no frustrations, and no need for thanks. The two shared only a tacit understanding.
As for Ren Xiyao, her innate, fierce determination to never give up was fully unleashed. The 1500-meter final was her absolute advantage. She was fed up with those underhanded tactics and so-called "teamwork." This time, she would win the race in the simplest, most brutal, and most undisputed way.
The starting gun fired!
Unlike her usual 1500-meter run where she often came from behind to take the lead, this time Ren Xiyao went all out from the very first step! She was like a cannonball, charging forward with incredible speed! After the first bend, she firmly established herself in the lead!
Everyone was stunned! Including her opponents and the coach on the sidelines!
She aims to use absolute speed and strength to win the undisputed gold medal. Perhaps she wouldn't dare say she has absolute confidence in other events, but in the 1500m event, she dares to say she is at least number one in China.
Ren Xiyao gave no one a chance to get close. She maintained an extremely high speed, one lap, two laps, three laps... Her skating was like a fully wound-up precision machine, full of power and pressure. Every push off the ice was powerful and heavy, every turn was smooth and swift.
The other Lan Hai athletes behind her tried to keep up with her pace, but quickly found it to be an ordeal. Ren Xiyao was too fast, so fast that they couldn't organize any effective teamwork. Trying to keep up with her was extremely exhausting; trying to slow down and regroup meant they would fall further and further behind.
Halfway through the race, Ren Xiyao was already leading by the distance of one bend.
"Incredible! Ren Xiyao's performance today is terrifying!" the commentator exclaimed excitedly. "She gave her opponent absolutely no chance! This is a true display of absolute strength!"
In the stands, the audience erupted in thunderous applause and cheers. They were completely captivated by Ren Xiyao's unstoppable and powerful skating!
In the final laps, the race was no longer in doubt. Ren Xiyao was far ahead, and after the last corner, she even had time to look back, confirm her advantage, and then immediately slowed down and straightened up. Then, under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, she was the first to cross the finish line!
Gold medal! A gold medal won in the toughest and most uncontroversial way!
She slid slowly to the sidelines, her chest still heaving, but the anger in her eyes had transformed into a calm after the fire. As she left the court, she gave a brief hug to her coach and teammates.
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