Chapter 125 Getting Back on the Ice
During the off-season following the 2016-2017 season, everyone in the Chinese Figure Skating Association's department was busy, worrying about how to allocate the three Olympic spots they had secured for other events besides ice dance.
Since June, Xia Yuezi hasn't had a proper rest. Besides planning for the next season, she also has to worry about ice shows.
Since the rise of the figure skating market in China, the figure skating association and clubs have organized their own ice shows and invited athletes from other countries to perform, giving their young children a platform to showcase their talents.
Originally, this matter had nothing to do with Xia Yuezi. Ice fans were there for the athletes, and she could have stayed out of the show. However, the first stop of this year's ice show was in Beijing.
When the ice show was being prepared, Li Tan and the other coaches discussed that they would promote the summer group athletes as the face of the singles event.
Unexpectedly, Yang Yiyan received two injections of nerve block at the last minute, and the effects of the treatment haven't completely subsided. She's still in the hospital and didn't participate in the World Team Championships. She's even been taking online classes in college. Yan Rui had a heavy workload in high school and didn't have time to participate in ice shows before the summer vacation.
This has resulted in only Zhang Mengyi, a Chinese women's singles player, having some international fame. However, among the invited athletes at this event, there are many players of her caliber, as well as a retired Italian women's singles player who won a European Championship gold medal during her active career.
During this time, someone mentioned that foreign ice shows had also invited well-known coaches, so Li Tan and his group set their sights on Xia Yuezi.
Who among figure skating fans doesn't know the summer team coach who has contributed so much to China's women's singles? Last season, in the junior Grand Prix, although the summer team players didn't make it to the finals, some of their children were ranked as substitutes in positions one and three, and they still managed to bring back medals from the preliminary rounds.
There aren't many coaches in the summer group that are familiar to ice skating fans. Apart from those who come from ice dance and men's singles, there are only three coaches, including Xia Yuezi.
When Li Tan went to discuss it with them, he was worried that after retiring for many years, their physical functions had deteriorated and they might not be able to do more than two jumps in a program.
As soon as he got near the ice rink, he saw Xia Yuezi demonstrating 3lz to the students, which left Li Tan speechless.
If he wasn't seeing things, this should be a 3LZ who's missing about 100 degrees of accuracy, the kind that would get a "<" in the scoreboard. If this happened on the ice, not only the referees, but even the fans wouldn't be able to argue with it.
But even if the jumper, who was a coach who had retired many years ago, had flaws, he was still a 3LZ (a player who was recognized as a top scorer) and his score was written on the score sheet.
Li Tan stood at the corner, some distance from Xia Yuezi, rubbing his hands together in front of him, momentarily forgetting his purpose.
Seeing that Xia Yuezi had finished her lesson for the day, Li Tan finally walked up to her and cleared his throat: "Coach Xia."
Xia Yuezi turned around when she heard the sound, whispered a few words of advice to the students, and then skated off the ice rink.
Li Tan got straight to the point, and Xia Yuezi was stunned for a long time, completely unexpected. However, she didn't agree immediately, and kept her head down, seemingly thinking about something.
Seeing this, Li Tan added a few more words: "You've been retired for seven or eight years, but I saw that your jumps were still pretty good. This ice show is a good opportunity for you to return to the ice rink."
He's been in that position for years. Even if he disdains the hypocrisy of officialdom, he's not stupid. He knows that the reason people maintain their good form is because they don't want to give up figure skating.
Xia Yuezi hesitated for a moment: "Going is no problem, but I don't have time to prepare the program now."
"That's not a problem. Ice shows are all about the atmosphere. Just get the atmosphere going. If all else fails, you can talk to the ice dance team. Their rhythm dance theme last season was Latin, wasn't it?"
Xia Yuezi responded sullenly, placing her right hand on her thigh, a complex look flashing in her eyes.
Having been a coach for so many years, she's gotten used to being behind the scenes, and now, she has to briefly return to the forefront, which is a bit of a shock.
Back in her office, Xia Yuezi heard familiar music as soon as she opened the door. She glanced to the side and asked, "Do you want to choose the song we played before?"
Meng Xin nodded: "Yes, I also contacted my previous male companion, but his wife's due date is approaching, so I can only skate alone."
Her voice rose slightly, and everyone around her could tell that she was really looking forward to the ice show.
"However, this is the first time I've ever completed a program on the ice by myself. Although I only have a double jump at this level, I still have no problem completing this program."
Xia Yuezi tidied up the documents on her desk, not forgetting to remind her: "Did you think about how to explain the last meeting where the leaders wanted to finalize the Olympic program with Chinese style?"
Meng Xin paused for a moment, then silently walked to her side, rested her hand on the desk, and resumed her usual unreliable behavior.
"The program has already been written and finalized, and it fits their personal style very well. Even if it hasn't been performed on the field yet, it can't be changed."
Xia Yuezi shook the documents on the table, looked up at her slightly, and said with a hint of helplessness, "It's not Xiaoyan and the others, it's Yan Rui. Her program hasn't been finalized yet."
Yang Yiyan and Feng Simai's Chinese-style music selections are both set for short programs. After a season of refinement and adaptation, it has become a program quite suitable for the Olympics.
Even if the leaders were to find fault with them at this time, Xia Yuezi would not allow it.
For such an important occasion as the Winter Olympics, the music must be chosen to best suit the athletes' own style. If you just blindly follow the leaders' opinions and choose the music, you'll be lucky if the program content isn't squeezed to death.
Hearing this topic, Meng Xin felt the veins on her forehead throbbing: "I spent the whole weekend with Teacher Mi listening to music, at least a hundred songs, but we still couldn't pick a single one."
Yan Rui is young and her own style has not been fully formed yet, so we can only choose a direction that is more suitable for her based on her previous performance.
Xia Yuezi had previously set two directions and experimented with them last season. In the end, she chose to cultivate the grand and majestic direction. However, the problem is that there are already few Chinese-style songs that are recognized internationally. Now, with the addition of a qualifier, there are even fewer songs that can be selected.
Following this approach to music selection, the most famous piece is "Turandot," but it has been skated by a legendary Chinese pairs skating team before, and recently, Ria Yumikawa has also skated it in her free skate.
Even if the best approach to choose an Olympic theme is to be conservative, this opera is far too conservative. To put it bluntly, once the music is played, both the ice skating fans and the judges will feel disgusted.
But Xia Yuezi was also worried.
In the past few days, the leaders have paid special attention to her during meetings, especially regarding the women's singles event, and their conversations have been full of talk about the players' injuries.
However, she also understood that there was a high possibility that three Olympic athletes would appear in her team, and Yang Yiyan had won an Olympic bronze medal, so she was definitely a medal contender. If she was even bolder, the leaders might want to take the team event a step further and stand on the podium.
After all, China still maintains a top level in three of the four figure skating disciplines, and even ice dance, which is the weakest, is catching up. However, Yang Yiyan's performance has been fluctuating this cycle, and there is a fear that she may not perform well at the Olympics.
Xia Yuezi sighed: "Well then, I'm also looking for music for the Ice Show recently, so I'll look through the Chinese style section. I remember you were looking for musicals and operas, so I'll look for instrumental music."
Meng Xin leaned against her desk and silently replied, "Okay, anyway, there are still more than half a month until Xiao Rui's final exams, which will give her some peace and quiet. Let's look for some songs first, and then we'll give her the playlist after her exams."
On the day the ice show started, Yang Yiyan, who had been discharged from the hospital long ago, went backstage with an internal ticket. She went straight to the dressing room and happened to see Xia Yuezi doing makeup for a young female singles member of the group.
Yang Yiyan leaned against the door frame, watching the coach, who was already dressed up in the corner, skillfully pick up a makeup brush and lightly sweep it across the young girl's face. The girl was probably a little nervous, as she twisted her hands together in front of her.
She puffed out her cheeks and watched the two of them with great interest, remembering how her coach had done her makeup in the same way during her previous competitions. When she grew up, he would start teaching her how to do makeup.
Why don't you go in?
Meng Xin, who had just finished her performance, interrupted Yang Yiyan's reminiscence, and also drew the attention of Xia Yuezi, who was looking for setting spray.
She shook the jar in her hand and joked, "They're here to inspect the work, aren't they? Director Zhang likes to do that, always giving last-minute notices."
Coach Yang sat down very naturally in the empty chair next to Xia Yuezi and continued, following her lead: "Yes, and by the way, let's see if any of our team's coaches are slacking off."
Xia Yuezi put down her work, glanced at her sideways, and began to tidy up her messy makeup bag: "How could that be? But Director Yang, how is your leg recovery going?"
"Same as always, the doctor said I can return to my previous training intensity next week." Yang Yiyan shrugged, her tone relaxed.
Seeing that Xia Yuezi wanted to ask more questions, Meng Xin interrupted them, saying, "We can talk about these things later. Your Coach Xia is about to go on stage, so let's give her time to warm up."
Yang Yiyan immediately replied, "I'll go to the audience seats to find Lao Feng and the others."
Xia Yuezi watched Yang Yiyan's retreating figure, turned around and checked herself in the mirror one last time before slowly walking out on her ice skates.
She stood behind the entrance curtain, listening to the host's explanation, exhaled, and stepped into the ice rink, whereupon the overhead lights immediately enveloped her.
Amidst bursts of applause from the stands, a staff member promptly handed her an oil-paper umbrella. She slid to the side of the barrier, gently opened it, placed it on her shoulder, and turned to face the camera.
This was Xia Yuezi's previous performance skate, and it was also her last performance skate program before her time travel.
Coincidentally, this was the program she performed at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and now it is being presented in Beijing in a different form.
However, the original piece has not yet been released, so Xia Yuezi replaced it with a guzheng piece of a similar style.
As soon as the music started, Xia Yuezi turned to the camera with a slight smile, raised the oil-paper umbrella in her hand and twirled it gently. There was a row of photographers standing behind the barrier. She stretched out her left hand and gradually moved away from them.
While her skating skills may not be comparable to those of active athletes, they are sufficient for ice performances, and she also possesses the intellectual elegance unique to mature women.
The lights on the ice followed her. Xia Yuezi took a step, placed the oil-paper umbrella on the ice, and then did a 2A. After landing on the ice, her eyes sparkled, like a classical beauty in a Chinese ink painting.
The guzheng music gradually became melodious, and Xia Yuezi increased her speed, entering a bent-over turn. She did not do a behrman turn, but simply bent over, like the girl on a music box, quietly spinning with the music.
Gradually, everyone was drawn in. She slid back to where the umbrellas were, bent down to pick up the oil-paper umbrella on the ice, and raised it above her head with both hands. Due to the cushioning provided by the umbrella's brim, the entire jump had a noticeable feeling of being suspended in the air.
She maintained this posture, silently aiding her glide, assuming a swallow pose, spreading her arms, and briefly immersing herself in the program.
At this moment, there is no pressure, and she doesn't need to think about anything else; she can simply enjoy the joy that skating brings.
As the music drew to a close, Xia Yuezi slowly folded her oil-paper umbrella and placed it in front of her chest. Standing in the center of the ice rink, she faced the long-absent ice skating fans and revealed a sincere smile from the bottom of her heart.
But that smile revealed an indescribable sense of loneliness and nostalgia to the ice skating fans present.
This program wasn't particularly difficult; most of the moves involved gliding and spinning. However, the emotions conveyed through her body language allowed many people, including her students, to rediscover the coach.
Feng Simai was stunned in the darkness: "Wait, is this the same coach who usually chases us around and beats us up?"
Yang Yiyan pursed her lips and silently looked at the big, goofy guy next to her: "Every time we chose a song before, the coach would guide us to understand it from various angles. Do you think someone like that wouldn't be good at performing?"
Feng Simai's lips moved slightly. As a skater known for his performance, he couldn't deny Yang Yiyan's words and could only silently look at Xia Yuezi, who was enjoying applause on the ice rink.
The coach was still the same coach, but at this moment, she seemed to be radiating the brilliance that had been buried within her.
He didn't know what Xia Yuezi, who was younger, had experienced, but he thought that the coach must have a wonderful life that was no less impressive than any of them.
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