Chapter 19 The piercing whistle came from the playground outside...
A piercing whistle blew from the training field outside. The two-week break was over. The notice of summer training shattered the last vestiges of tranquility. This morning, Ren Xiyao officially returned to the team and was currently packing her luggage in the dormitory. This year, all the teams' holidays ended early, and summer training started early.
Ren Xiyao bent down to tie her shoelaces, her knees and lumbar spine making a slight clicking sound: "Who knows? It's not up to us. The Olympic bid is nearing its end, and I heard that investment in winter sports will be increased. So there have been quite a few changes in various clubs this year."
Lin Shan shrugged, neither confirming nor denying: "I heard that the national team will also be introducing some new training methods this year."
"Alright, we'll know everything after the meeting." Lin Shan tossed the fruit pit into the trash can, hitting the bullseye.
The team's meeting room was at 2:30 PM. All the athletes were waiting at the back, on high alert. An old-fashioned ceiling fan stirred up the coaches' cigarette smoke.
Two junior players in the back row were whispering to each other: "I heard that those who aren't going to train outside this summer are all going to Hainan for training?"
"Yeah, I heard they also hired a strength and conditioning coach from South Korea. That Coach Choi from South Korea is really fierce when he swears..."
Lin Shan poked Ren Xiyao's hand with her pen cap: "I bet five cents, they've probably had another argument with the Lan Hai Club during this ice break." She glanced at Ren Xiyao and nodded in the direction of the head coach.
Ren Xiyao glanced at her and asked, "What news do you have?"
Lin Shan lowered his voice further and further, whispering in Ren Xiyao's ear, "The investment is limited, and it's divided among various events. Especially since many events are starting from scratch, you can imagine what will happen to the short track speed skating teams. We also need to support the newly established local teams. Lanhai Club is a well-established ice sports training base. They've been collecting athlete contracts lately, signing as many as possible to them. I guess those winter sports teams that are planning to use the 'human wave' tactic again have fewer athletes, relying on their money. When they try to use the 'surround and intercept' tactic at the 'Universal Games,' these clubs won't even bother to put on a show. They don't care at all about the criticism from the 12th National Winter Games."
The term "Universe Games" is a nickname among ice hockey fans. It's actually called the National Winter Games. The reason it's called "Universe Games" is because it's arguably the most important sporting event in the entire universe for domestic athletes and coaches. It determines the athletes' post-retirement treatment. Most athletes, even if they don't achieve high international results, can still enjoy good treatment after retirement if they achieve a decent ranking in the National Games.
As for athletes who achieve good results internationally, they must also participate wholeheartedly because it is closely related to their retirement arrangements. Even if they don't compete for domestic positions, they need strong support from their home country to have a chance to join the International Skating Union. Moreover, this is crucial not only for athletes but also for coaches and leaders, because it represents achievements and accomplishments in the sport. These clubs are skirting the rules to achieve results. Judging from what they are doing now, one can already imagine how lively the 13th National Winter Games will be.
Ren Xiyao let out a long sigh of relief but still couldn't help but sneer, "Wow, money can make the devil turn the millstone!"
Lin Shan snorted coldly: "You don't know, do you? Lanhai Club directly hired him. Kim Soo-bin from the South Korean sports university faction. Who among us short track athletes hasn't heard of this coach? When he coached the South Korean team, those South Korean athletes he trained were all incredibly dirty. They didn't distinguish between friend and foe on the field. They would seize any opportunity to smear each other. The fact that the two short track teams still have such a deep-seated rivalry after all these years is largely due to this coach. Now he has signed a contract with them."
"Ha! Hehe! Really..." Ren Xiyao couldn't help but shake her head, unsure of what to say. She wanted to curse, but felt utterly powerless; this wasn't something that could be changed with a few words. She just felt a bit uncomfortable. Slightly annoyed, she closed her notebook. The coach was emphasizing training discipline: "Especially, no unauthorized outings; keep your cell phone on 24/7..."
On the other side, Coach Wang, who was in charge of external training, continued: "This time, we are also responding to the call to help other places with the conditions to build winter sports actively carry out youth training. Everyone should cooperate actively. We need to have a sense of urgency now. By 2022, we will be the host, and your group will have all grown up and become the backbone of the team. Take on the responsibility and don't slack off. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" the six people answered in unison.
After that, arrangements for the external training began to be made in an orderly manner.
Ren Xiyao and her group of six, including their head coach—a total of nine people—arrived at the athletes' apartment in Seongbuk, South Korea, after a long journey. They would rest there for a day before immediately starting training.
Ren Xiyao had just unpacked her clothes when the doorbell rang. Opening the door, she bumped into Li Enjing holding two boxes of fried chicken. Rita peeked out from behind her: "Welcome party!"
"I brought Tsingtao beer." Lin Shan squeezed in, shaking a plastic bag, her athletic socks slipping on the floor. "South Korean soju..." she trailed off.
After a few rounds of drinks, Li Enjing sat cross-legged on the floor mat, distributing chopsticks. Suddenly, she leaned close to Ren Xiyao and asked, "Are you... are you still in contact?" Rita, who was gnawing on a chicken leg, saw this and quickly said, "What are you whispering about?"
Ren Xiyao replied dismissively, "It's nothing, just chatting."
Rita rolled her eyes and said, "Come on, you're definitely up to something."
Lin Shan seemed to remember something and became excited as well: "Yeah, I suddenly remembered that you haven't turned off your phone during training lately. What's going on with you? And last time, when we went back to China for the competition, you kept smiling at your phone. I felt something was off about you then." Then she grabbed Li Enjing: "You said? If you know, you're South Korean, right? What's going on? Which team are you on?"
Lee Eun-jung frantically waved her hands beside her, shouting, "No, no, no, I don't know anything! Don't ask me!"
Rita came over from the side and locked Lee Eun-jung in her arms: "If we can't get anything out of her, can't we get anything out of you? Talk it out properly, who will confess honestly?"
Li Enjing frantically dodged, then grabbed Ren Xiyao like a lifeline: "Save me! Otherwise I'll confess everything!!"
Ren Xiyao, watching from the side, couldn't help but chuckle: "Want to know? Sure, you're buying me a meal!"
The pork belly sizzled on the baking tray, and Rita poked at the charred edges with tongs: "So what's your relationship now?" Ren Xiyao took the burnt meat out: "I said it needs some time."
Lin Shan suddenly held up Ren Xiyao's phone: "Should we call him now?" The screen showed the call interface, with the contact name "G-Long". Ren Xiyao's movement to grab the phone caused a water glass to overturn, and ice cubes rolled onto Rita's lap, eliciting a series of screams.
Li Enjing stuffed a few slices of chili into the lettuce: "Why don't you just ask the person involved?" Three pairs of eyes stared at Ren Xiyao.
Amidst the rising white smoke from the oven, Ren Xiyao's phone vibrated on the corner of the table. Before she could even see what it said, Ren Xiyao flipped the phone over: "We really don't have anything right now. Because I haven't really figured things out yet. Last year was a complete mess, and I've been feeling inexplicably irritable lately. Relationships should be approached with caution; I don't like starting things haphazardly. Besides, there are a ton of rules to follow during this training camp. What right do I have to say anything now?"
"How many eyes are watching? Not to mention South Korea and other places, even the coach accompanying our team from Lanhai Club who came here for training this time, none of them are easy to fool."
Lin Shan fell silent; the topic itself was irritating her. Li Enjing and Rita didn't need to ask further; they could sense the strange atmosphere between the two teams that had been dispatched. Hearing Ren Xiyao's words, they could roughly guess what was going on.
Ren Xiyao added from the side, "Don't go around spreading rumors. It's still nothing. It won't have a good impact if word gets out."
Li Enjing nodded beside her, "I definitely won't say anything. They have a lot of influence here. If any rumors get out, we'll all be in trouble." Lin Shan also waved her hand and quickly said, "I definitely won't say anything." After saying that, they both looked at Rita.
Rita was still caught up in Ren Xiyao's earlier words and hadn't reacted until she saw everyone looking at her. She quickly said, "I won't say anything either. Although I have many friends, I'm not the kind of person who spreads rumors."
Then they slowly started a new topic. After the dinner, the group walked slowly towards the athletes' dormitory. Rita and Lin Shan started their banter again, while Li Enjing and Ren Xiyao walked behind, watching Rita and Lin Shan's playful antics.
Ren Xiyao seemed to remember something and asked, "Has the conflict between Chengbei and the Sports University been raging for the past two years?"
Lin Enjing's smile faded: "Pretty impressive. The Sports University considers itself orthodox and has always looked down on people from other factions. Most of the resources of the Ice Hockey Association are in the hands of the Sports University. Nobody dares to disrespect them."
Ren Xiyao asked, "Why did Kim Soo-bin suddenly leave the university?"
Li Enjing said, "You mean the matter of signing with Lanhai, right? It seems that Lanhai has some kind of technical cooperation with the Sports University, and I vaguely heard that there are economic exchanges as well? They're keeping the specifics very secret. But it's because of this that Chengbei is strengthening cooperation this year. The proportion of internationalization has increased a lot, and they want to use the athletes' performance to speak for themselves, but the resources and discourse power are all there. It's not easy to do."
Ren Xiyao nodded and fell silent. As those caught in the middle, they could see a lot, but also very little. They could only put it aside for the time being. But Ren Xiyao felt as if she were standing in a vast, bewildering darkness, not knowing what awaited her ahead. In such turbulent waters, who could remain unscathed?
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