Chapter 23 The Curse: After returning home, she planned to visit a temple to pray and get rid of the bad luck...
After the show ended, many figure skating fans threw plush toys onto the ice. Yang Yiyan noticed some plush toys with a slightly gothic style, probably thrown by fans who had watched her performance.
Although Gothic culture has gradually entered the public eye in various forms, it is still a niche culture overall.
Yang Yiyan picked up the plush rabbit dressed in a long black dress. The black lace ribbons on its ears swayed gently as it glided, looking from a distance like a black scarf hanging around its neck.
After finishing their performance, the skaters cannot stay on the ice for too long, so as not to affect the next skater's turn. Yang Yiyan, holding a bunch of dolls, waved to the audience and slowly skated toward the exit.
Xia Yuezi and Li Tan stood by the barrier, each giving Yang Yiyan a hug. They then took the doll from Yang Yiyan's arms, handed her the knife sheath, and told her to wait for her to get dressed before going to the designated area.
Xia Yuezi took out a bottle of water mixed with supplements from her bag and handed it to Yang Yiyan. Seeing that Yang Yiyan was holding the rabbit in her arms while the other dolls were on the chair, she couldn't help but ask, "Do you really like the gothic style? You've been holding it the whole time."
“I like this doll; it was a gift from a fan of ice hockey,” Yang Yiyan shook her head, paused, and continued, “As for the gothic style, I can’t say I particularly like it. I just like gothic dresses and their cool attitude, but I don’t really appreciate overly dark styles.”
Coach Xia understood that Yang Yiyan had never said what she liked in public. After seeing the performance, the fans subconsciously assumed that she liked the movie, but since there was little merchandise for "Corpse Bride," they used a doll with a similar style as a substitute.
She put her arm around the little girl's shoulder and looked at her kindly: "It's okay. If any reporters or fans ask later, you can clarify."
A string of numbers appeared on the electronic screen, and at the same time, an announcement came over the loudspeaker, with a female voice in French reading out Yang Yiyan's score.
Technical score: 38.84; Program content score: 27.17; Total score: 66.01.
This score is 0.4 points higher than Sofia's.
From the stands where the Chinese athletes were gathered, shouts of "Holy crap!" rang out. Pairs skater Cao Jinhui peeked out and silently looked at Zhang Mengyi, who was sitting on the far side.
If she remembered correctly, this score had already surpassed Zhang Mengyi's highest score in the short program during her youth group years.
Whether it was the light or something else, Zhang Mengyi's eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, revealing an undeniable determination.
She watched the jubilant figure in the waiting area, a smile unconsciously creeping onto her lips as she murmured, "Looks like I need to work even harder."
Otherwise, we'll really be swept away by the next generation and left stranded on the beach.
Xia Yuezi was stunned for a second when she saw the score. She was already mentally prepared to be pressured to the death by the referee. After all, Yang Yiyan had only entered the finals and her nationality was not an advantage. If all the contestants made no mistakes, it would not be surprising if the referee pressured her to the last place.
She glanced down at the girl who was still grinning foolishly, then looked back at the four contestants who hadn't yet appeared, and suddenly realized something—her own child wasn't even taken seriously by the judges from various countries.
Those old men didn't think that a competitor who hadn't won a gold medal in a regional competition would be a contender for the podium in the finals, so they treated her the usual way.
A feeling of resentment, long absent, of being looked down upon, welled up again. Xia Yuezi's gaze gradually darkened as she stood on the sidelines watching the other contestants' performances.
Next up was Alisa, and as the host country's player, she undoubtedly received the loudest cheers.
Alisa's triple jump still relied on ankle twisting, but with the home advantage and the referee's deliberate leniency, she didn't get a single mark, ranking behind Yang Yiyan with 65.87.
Like Alisa, Polina advanced to the finals with one gold and one bronze medal, but she secured a triple A in the second leg, achieving a better best result than Alisa, so she was naturally placed in a later ranking.
With a foundation in 3A, her jumps had a stronger sense of hang time than the previous three competitors, and she even used a raised hand gesture when jumping 3LZ+3T.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, she will have a place on the podium for the smaller medals.
As the only American contestant to qualify for the finals, Nina will undoubtedly receive full support from the American judges, while their old rivals, the Russian judges, will try their best to lower her score.
In the stands, the American players pointed to the score displayed on the big screen and chanted the name of their American sweetheart.
Dave rolled his eyes as he listened to Albert's shouts beside him, wondering if there was really no one on the American team who could handle this old guy.
Yumikawa Ria's short program setup was 2A, 3F, 3LZ + 3LO, which is the highest difficulty setup under the restrictions in the junior women's singles short program. However, the judges still adhered to the principle of "uniting against outsiders" and kept this yellow-skinned athlete firmly below 70 points.
Xia Yuezi stared at the technical score on the screen, which had surpassed 40 points, and secretly marveled.
If Yumekawa Ria had changed her nationality, given the difficulty of her work, she would probably have broken the junior world record long ago and been hailed as a legend by the European and American ice skating associations.
Although the Japanese media's promotional efforts are not bad now, Japanese ice show brands have already made her their second most invited guest after Shirai Nanako.
The short program scores of the six contestants differed by less than five points. Yang Yiyan was actually only one point away from the podium for the small medal. In Li Tan's words, if the judges had been a little more lenient, Yang Yiyan could have made it to the podium.
Xia Yuezi's face remained expressionless. She hadn't used the 3A yet, so her final score would depend on the free skate.
As soon as Yang Yiyan returned to the hotel, her coach grabbed her and gave her a massage, and even brought in the physiotherapist from the Heilongjiang provincial team.
The physiotherapist had a strong grip, and the little girl was pressed down so hard she could barely speak. On the verge of tears, she reached out to the coach for help, but Xia Yuezi and Lin Ye were sitting to the side chatting and didn't even glance at her.
"This is your first time winning a medal in the finals. How does it feel?"
Lin Ye smiled and said, "It's great. Coach Song even made an international call to me, telling me to focus on the competition later."
He looked at Yang Yiyan, who was screaming in pain under the physiotherapist's hands, and smiled: "Aunt Li learned her skills from Aunt Yu. I also suffered a lot under her at first, but the training on the second day was much easier."
Yang Yiyan's voice trembled as she asked, "Why didn't Aunt Yu come?"
Lin Ye exclaimed "Ah!" and turned to look at Xia Yuezi in surprise: "Aunt Yu's arthritis flared up, and Coach Song approved her for half a month's leave. Didn't you know, Sister Xia?"
After Xia Yuezi confronted Yu Qian, they rarely contacted each other anymore. How could she know what Yu Qian's situation was now?
Before she could even think of an excuse, Lin Ye had already thoughtfully provided one for her.
"Aunt Yu must be afraid that Sister Xia will worry. When I was injured during training, I also told the coach that I would try to keep it from my parents, even though they would eventually find out."
Xia Yuezi responded awkwardly, not daring to look the two children in the eye, and only said that she would go home after returning to China.
Back home, Feng Simai turned on his computer, calculating the time. The two free skate events for the junior group were at relatively convenient times and wouldn't affect his sleep, but he really couldn't keep up with the senior group.
Feng's mother came in carrying sliced fruit and sat down beside her son to watch.
The men's singles free skate started first, and seemingly in an attempt to make up for the points lost due to mistakes in the short program, the first two skaters announced two triple Aces in their program configurations.
Feng Simai picked up the orange slices, but before she could even swallow the first bite, Kevin fell flat on his back on the ice once again.
Soon after hearing the word "China," Feng Simai stopped eating his oranges and focused intently on the performance of the number one player.
Having learned from the mistakes of the previous skaters, Lin Ye was also wary of Ice Heart France and only managed to land a triple A on his first jump. Unexpectedly, he became one of only two male skaters to achieve a clean in the free skate and won a medal with this program.
Lin Ye himself was completely bewildered by the result. It wasn't until his two coaches lifted him up that he truly felt like he was on the podium, his shouts mingling with the cheers from the audience.
Looking at the final rankings displayed on the screen, the contestant, who was just one step away from a ticket to the finals, pursed his lips and said slowly, "I think the coach's advice not to blindly pursue difficulty is reasonable."
The ice machine only stays on the ice for about twenty minutes before the next women's singles match begins six training sessions.
The ice in France is softer than the ice in China. Yang Yiyan tried to do a 3T+3T jump, but she slipped and fell off on the first jump and didn't dare to continue.
As the only two skaters who can jump the 3A, Yumikawa Ria and Polina are repeatedly practicing this jump on the ice.
Looking at the success rate on the field, Xia Yuezi felt a bad premonition gradually spreading.
Sofia was once again the first to perform. When she attempted the 3LZ toe loop, she fell heavily onto the ice before she could even get up. Xia Yuezi's expression gradually turned serious.
On the ice, skaters either don't fall at all, or they fall in a series of falls. Even Alisa, who is very familiar with her home country's ice rink, couldn't escape this rule.
Xia Yuezi held Yang Yiyan's hand, her forehead pressed against hers: "Just let go and slide. If things don't go well, just follow the plan we discussed."
Yang Yiyan hugged her coach back, then took a deep breath and rushed to the ice rink. She knelt on the ice, stroking the surface, hoping it would bring her good luck.
To prevent a repeat of the men's short program situation in the free skate, Xia Yuezi temporarily modified a new setup for her.
Figure skating is about the overall completeness of the program, not just the difficulty. And if we're really talking about difficulty, there are skaters who can beat you with their triple Aces.
Yang Yiyan's first jump was 3lz+3lo, which was also the most difficult jump in her program.
As she was jumping 3LZ, she came close to a small patch of water. Yang Yiyan mustered all her strength and jumped up, trying to cross that spot.
As she hooked her hand onto the ice, she seemed to hear a cracking sound from her bones. Yang Yiyan didn't have the extra energy to discern the sound; her attention was focused on her own axis. After deeming it safe, she still followed up with a 3lo.
Xia Yuezi didn't dare to relax at all and continued to watch the girls on the field.
The second jump was a 3F, still light and graceful. However, as the music entered the second half, Yang Yiyan felt a slight pain in her right calf, which caused her rotation to shift.
This rotation is marked with a "V" in real-time and is not included in the basic pose.
Yang Yiyan gritted her teeth and continued sliding down. The next jump was 3S+3lo.
Xia Yuezi was not far from her and noticed that Yang Yiyan's jumping posture was not quite right.
Blade jump is the jump Yang Yiyan does the most. Generally speaking, her upper body doesn't lower down so much when she takes off, but now not only her upper body, but even her leg movements are somewhat deformed.
A bad feeling grew stronger, and Xia Yuezi's hands, clutching her coat, trembled slightly.
Yang Yiyan made her first mistake and fell on the iron plate jump. She didn't have time to reflect or regret. She immediately got up and completed the subsequent jumps according to the newly set configuration, which reduced the difficulty.
Several Chinese athletes jumped up from the stands, watching the girl on the ice with bated breath.
As soon as Yang Yiyan left the stage, Bing Xia Yuezi went up to her and asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"
The girl took a breath, supporting her right leg, and recounted what had just happened on the ice. Li Tan's expression changed, and he immediately called the team doctor over.
Xia Yuezi wasn't thinking about the results at all. After going through the motions, she took Yang Yiyan backstage. Yang Yiyan took off her ice skates, revealing that her calves were swollen.
The team doctor diagnosed it as a problem with the tibia, but an X-ray is needed to determine the specifics.
The girl was stunned when she heard the result. She thought it was just a simple sprain or strain. She turned to look at the coach and found that Xia Yuezi's face was even more gloomy than the dark clouds outside.
Tibial injuries are difficult to heal. There is almost no soft tissue nearby, and even a minor fracture requires at least a month to heal. If not healed properly, it can become a potential time bomb.
Xia Yuezi sighed and decided that she would go to a temple to pray after returning to China to get rid of the bad luck. Otherwise, how could both of her students have developed leg problems within just one month?
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