Chapter 24 Getting up from injuries is an indispensable part of being an athlete...
After explaining the situation to the staff, they immediately communicated with the medical staff outside the venue. Xia Yuezi didn't even wait for the final ranking results before carrying the little girl and running towards the ambulance.
Xia Yuezi couldn't understand French, and she could only half understand and half guess at the French-English spoken by the reporter during the interview. Li Tan called a more experienced team translator to go with her, while he stayed backstage to guard Yang Yiyan's ice skate bag.
Children have an inherent aversion to hospitals, especially in unfamiliar places.
Behind the curtain, Yang Yiyan sat on the nursing bed, occasionally shifting her position, only to be held still by the coach standing beside her with a cold face: "Your leg is injured like this, where do you think you're going!"
Shortly after, a white doctor wearing a mask, with half of his hair turned white, walked towards her against the light, holding a small wooden mallet in one hand and the newly taken X-ray film in the other.
Yang Yiyan swallowed hard and moved back a few centimeters. If she were a small animal with fur, she would probably be covered in bristles right now.
The French doctor spoke at length to the three of them, while the translator relayed his words: "She has a fracture in her tibia and needs a brace for fixation. After returning home, she will need to rest in bed for two months and take large amounts of calcium supplements, otherwise she will suffer serious long-term consequences. Of course, the specific situation will depend on the athlete's subsequent recovery."
When the two heard that they should "rest in bed for two months," they looked at each other in bewilderment, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes.
With only three months left to live, he had to stay in bed for two months, which meant completing muscle rehabilitation within a month and regaining all his strength—an almost impossible task for an athlete.
Xia Yuezi and the translator took the prescription to the pharmacy to get the medicine. They also borrowed a wheelchair from a nurse. When they returned, they saw Yang Yiyan, whose feet were tied up like dumplings, leaning against a bench in the corridor with her head turned to the other side of the wall. She could be heard sniffling from time to time.
Xia Yuezi gave the translator a wink, and the translator understood, pushing the wheelchair a little further away, leaving space for the master and apprentice.
The hospital wasn't crowded; only a few nurses were busy in the corridors, and carts loaded with various medicine bottles rolled on the floor with a rustling sound, while the smell of disinfectant permeated the air.
Yang Yiyan's shoulders trembled slightly, and she let out soft sobs. Xia Yuezi gently sat down beside her, reached out, and patted her back tenderly.
Feeling the warmth on her back, Yang Yiyan couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She awkwardly reached out to wipe them away, not wanting to appear so vulnerable in front of the coach, but the coach pulled her into his arms.
Xia Yuezi said softly, "Don't take all the blame on yourself. Nobody wants this to happen."
Figure skating is an extremely unpredictable sport; every jump is a gamble with one's life. It's not uncommon for skaters to sprain or fracture bones during competitions, or even fall unconscious and go into shock during training, requiring a stretcher to carry them off the ice.
Yang Yiyan stubbornly turned her face away, trying to calm herself down, but Xia Yuezi could still hear her slightly rapid breathing.
Children of this age have an even stronger sense of self-esteem than the next. Xia Yuezi recalled her younger self, who was so proud that she refused to bow her head and wanted to do everything perfectly.
She took out a pack of tissues from her pocket, unfolded one, and wanted to wipe Yang Yiyan's tears, but the little girl refused to look up and kept burrowing to the other side, so Xia Yuezi could only stuff the tissue into her hand.
“I once fractured my leg during training, just before the national team selection. You know, every time the national team selection is held, there are very important competitions to be held.”
Like soothing a baby in swaddling clothes, Xia Yuezi patted her back slowly and repeatedly, slightly altering her own experiences to better fit the original owner's career.
"At that time, I was just as unwilling as you were. I felt like the sky was falling because I didn't even have a chance to try. I could only watch it slip away and watch the athletes around me get selected. I will remember that feeling of helplessness for the rest of my life."
"And then?" Yang Yiyan finally raised her head, her eyes red and watery, her voice hoarse and nasal.
“And then…” Xia Yuezi looked at the light on the ceiling, her eyes filled with nostalgia for the past, “I became very depressed and even considered giving up the sport. I even wrote my retirement application behind everyone’s back.”
Thinking about all the things she had done before, Xia Yuezi couldn't help but laugh. She looked down at the girl in her arms who had stopped crying, her eyes filled with curiosity about what would happen next.
"But the coach definitely didn't give up, because you later stood on the podium at the National Championships."
Yang Yiyan has a certain understanding of her coach's career. At this moment, her eyes not only show bitterness, but also some expectations for the future.
Xia Yuezi looked at her firmly, her eyes full of encouragement.
"Yes, so our little geese should not give up either, but bravely get up from where they fell."
What she didn't say was that the competition she missed was the Olympics held during the best period of her career—the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a time filled with regrets that nearly brought her to rock bottom.
Xia Yuezi was so devastated that she wanted to throw away everything related to figure skating. But when she recovered from her injury and stopped training, she started to miss the ice rink. After crying all night at home, she returned to training with red eyes and worked even harder than before, just to make up for herself at the Winter Olympics held in her hometown.
Perhaps it's true that top athletes are all crazy, because they all willingly love someone whose feelings can never be warmed up.
Seeing that Yang Yiyan's mood had improved, Xia Yuezi took the empty wheelchair from the translator and pushed it, smiling at her, "Come on, we should go back to the hotel, otherwise Coach Li will be so anxious that he'll have to run over from the stadium."
As soon as they entered the hotel lobby, they saw Li Tan and his Beijing team sitting to the side.
After the women's singles competition in the youth group, the competition for the adult group began. No Chinese players participated, and the reporters who had been gathered at the hotel were all waiting at the venue.
Li Tan looked at the little girl in the wheelchair, squatted down, and touched her head, his voice much gentler than usual: "Does it hurt?"
Yang Yiyan shook her head. She was no longer as afraid of the head coach as before, and even smiled at the usually strict head coach.
Xia Yuezi stood behind her and explained, "The doctor said it was fortunate that it was discovered in time, and it's not serious enough to require hospitalization. She still needs to take good care of herself when she gets home."
Upon hearing this news, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They had just returned from the competition and knew the final results of the junior women's singles competition.
Many people feel only regret when they think back to that match.
Although Yang Yiyan fell during a series of jumps, she successfully completed the 3LZ+3LO jump, which helped her regain a lot of points, and she ultimately ranked fourth with 177.38 points.
However, when it comes to falling, all six athletes fell, with the two 3A athletes falling particularly badly. Yumekawa Ria also lost the youth group championship for the first time.
Upon learning her results, Yang Yiyan showed no particular emotion. The moment her free skate ended, she knew she had no chance of standing on the podium.
As Xia Yuezi was talking to Li Tan and pushing her upstairs in the elevator to rest, she ran into Wang Can and Zhang Mengyi, who were wearing Chinese national team uniforms and carrying bags as they came downstairs.
The senior women's singles free skate is the third event tomorrow, so going out at this time can only mean going to training.
Xia Yuezi pushed the wheelchair back a few steps to make room for them, but neither of them made any move to leave.
Wang Can squatted down, placed his hand on the support above Yang Yiyan's calf, but did not actually put it down, and said a few more words of concern to her.
Xia Yuezi looked at the man's expression, which seemed to want to touch her but dare not, and wanted to roll her eyes and leave. If it weren't for the fact that she and Wang Can didn't get along, she would have thought that this man was genuinely concerned about Yang Yiyan.
She glanced at the head coach, who was still laughing at the scene, and suppressed her impatience, mentally adding a few more grievances to Coach Wang's record for putting on a good show.
Because of her previous training experience, Yang Yiyan really didn't like this coach, but her senior sister Mengyi was a very nice person. When the coach wasn't around, she would explain a lot of things to her and introduce her to many foreign players.
Despite the disregard for the monk's feelings, Yang Yiyan still wore a smile and obediently responded with a few words.
Wang Can gave a few more instructions, such as "take good care of your injury," nodded to Li Tan, and then left with his student. Zhang Mengyi turned around and waved goodbye to the three of them.
Xia Yuezi waved to her, but when she turned to enter the elevator, the smile on her face had already faded somewhat.
Due to a leg injury, Yang Yiyan was naturally unable to attend the exhibition skate at the Grand Prix Finals. According to Zhang Mengyi, the veteran pairs skaters from our country have announced their retirement at the end of this season, and athletes from various countries are also willing to let them showcase their talents during the exhibition skate.
Hearing these things, Yang Yiyan once again questioned God why He had to let her get hurt at this time.
On the day of her return to China, Yang's mother was already waiting at the airport. Seeing her daughter leaning on crutches, she felt heartbroken and took Xia Yuezi's place to support her.
Xia Yuezi led them onto the bus back to the team, and on the bus, she repeated the doctor's instructions to her, and also picked up an order for the team's canteen.
At the airport, ice skating fans spontaneously organized a welcome party for Yang Yiyan, and photos of her circulated widely on online forums.
Some people are optimistic, believing that Xiaoyan can catch up with the World Youth Championships; others are very pessimistic, believing that Xiaoyan's professional career has been affected; and there is a neutral group watching the two sides argue fiercely.
In fact, every year the National Championships or the National Youth Championships will produce a few promising talents, and the popularity of these players on the forum will also increase accordingly. They will become the "stars" in the mouths of many people, which will arouse the resentment of a group of adult group players' fans and cause a lot of flame wars. But in the end, the number of those who really make it and go far can be counted on one hand.
Therefore, even though the forum users felt that the domestic women's singles situation was about to undergo another dramatic change, no one took it seriously and waited for a response from the officials or the players themselves.
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