Chapter 29: Toffee can write fewer words in her self-criticism after returning home...
Police officers were still guarding the hotel entrance, and the hotel staff were more serious than before.
In order not to affect the mentality of their own players, the Chinese coach confiscated the players' mobile phones immediately after the incident, putting them on a ban from the internet.
When Xia Yuezi returned from the hotel kitchen, she saw Meng Xin sitting on a chair, laughing so hard she was doubled over, holding her newly acquired touchscreen phone.
It's obvious that Meng Xin was probably scrolling through Twitter for news about the recent match-fixing scandal.
If you were to use an animal to describe this "women's army," then her partner would definitely be a badger, as she's always the first to know any gossip.
Meng Xin looked up and greeted Xia Yuezi, took the lunchbox from her, and put her phone on the table to amplify the sound.
A burst of Korean chatter filled the room. Xia Yuezi looked down and saw that it was an interview video of Choi Yoon-seo.
She was wearing her team uniform and had exquisite makeup on, and remained calm and composed in the face of reporters' questions.
Xia Yuezi couldn't understand Korean, and the camera was far away, so she asked, "Why did you take a liking to her?"
Meng Xin picked up a piece of boiled cabbage with her chopsticks, glanced at the subtitles at the bottom of the screen, then rewound the video and pushed the phone in front of Xia Yuezi.
The video was labeled in English as a post-match interview for the All-Korea Championships. Only after Choi Yoon-seo spoke did she shift her gaze to the bottom of the screen.
"I am very satisfied with my performance today. I did not make any mistakes on the court. My goal is to carry this form into the World Junior Championships and perform even better."
Xia Yuezi pursed her lips, silently exited the video, and scrolled through the various English comments below. Although she couldn't see their IP addresses, judging from their English grammar and word choice, Xia Yuezi determined that the most vocal critics were likely from countries that use American English.
Most of the comments were saying she was shameless, with a lot of insulting English words popping up one after another. A few Korean netizens tried to defend her and shift the blame to the coaching staff, but they were also heavily criticized by netizens.
The evidence presented by the media includes bribery from the coaching staff and involvement of Choi Yoon-seo's parents.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, both of them will be banned for life.
She handed the phone back to Meng Xin and silently ate the cabbage on her plate. Meng Xin clicked her tongue, turned off the phone, and stopped looking at it: "This girl's technique is quite good, but her mind is not right. She's going down a path that's getting narrower and narrower."
With less than two years until the Sochi Winter Olympics, South Korea has brought back its retired top female athlete in preparation, demonstrating just how scarce talent is in the senior division.
There are far more competitions for the adult group than for the youth group. Even if Choi Yoon-seo's difficulty level isn't that high, as long as she reaches the age to move up a group, South Korea definitely won't hold her back. Even if she can't get into the A-level competition, she can still make a name for herself in the B-level competition.
Xia Yuezi remained silent, her expression grave.
What's the use of feeling sorry? She doesn't believe that Choi Yoon-seo was completely unaware of what her coach and parents did before. Since she has become a beneficiary, she has to bear the risks as well.
Choi Yoon-seo was released before the start of the women's singles free skate and arrived at the venue accompanied by officials from the Skating Federation.
Before the matter was fully investigated, the Korean Skating Federation did not suspend Choi Yoon-seo, and the International Skating Union did not disqualify her from the competition.
Upon seeing her, many athletes instinctively avoided her, and during backstage training, it was obvious that everyone was distant from her; even the audience rarely applauded.
Before going on stage, Xia Yuezi noticed that her fingers were trembling slightly. During the sixth practice session, her jumps almost completely failed.
Xia Yuezi had seen many athletes whose mental state collapsed before the competition, but she had never seen anyone like Cui Yunshu who was condemned by everyone and forced to stand on the ice rink despite being suppressed.
Meng Xin also noticed that something was wrong with her, but she only glanced at her before looking away.
Choi Yoon-seo's free skate was a disaster. Halfway through, even the skater herself began to give up. Originally the home favorite, she now walked off the ice with her head down in silence.
Unlike in a sports stadium, figure skating competitions don't see boos or jeers, so the current silence speaks volumes.
No toys were left on the ice rink; instead, a lot of candy fell as Choi Yoon-seo passed through the stands. Xia Yuezi, standing far away, could only see Choi Yoon-seo's steps becoming more disordered.
Meng Xin craned her neck curiously: "What did they lose?"
Xia Yuezi shook her head; she didn't know either.
"It should be toffee, as this candy carries a humiliating connotation in South Korea."
Ms. Chishima appeared behind them without them noticing. She spoke a little Chinese, but not very well. Having overheard their conversation, she could only explain it to them in Japanese.
The reason why toffee has this meaning is because a question on a South Korean college entrance exam was related to toffee, which aroused dissatisfaction and protests from students' parents.
That incident caused quite a stir, ultimately giving toffee a particular negative connotation in Korean culture.
Xia Yuezi translated the words to Meng Xin. She also remembered that once when she went home, her father told her that a team in the World Cup performed poorly and was pelted with toffee by fans, probably by the Koreans.
Most of the children at the World Junior Championships had limited skill levels, and their jumps were mostly triple jumps. Coupled with Choi Yoon-seo's performance, the atmosphere in the arena remained quiet until the last group of athletes took the stage, when things gradually improved.
Yang Yiyan pounded her muscles, reviewed her footwork in her mind, then knelt on the ice, clasped her hands together, and prayed devoutly.
Music filled the entire venue, and amidst the scraping of the skates against the ice, Yang Yiyan completed a women's singles ceiling jump of 3lz+3lo.
Even though she stumbled a bit when landing on the ice, and her upper body almost slid down, it couldn't hide the fact that she completed the set of jumps.
The once quiet venue was finally brought to life, bursting into applause. Yang Yiyan remained undisturbed, continuing to immerse herself in the emotions.
Polina watched the girl on the ice rink. Of the first four jumps, only one was a combination jump, which meant she would have to save the remaining two combination jumps for later.
After competing in so many matches, Polina has come to know this Chinese skater quite well. She knows that her talent in edge jumps and toe jumps is at two extremes, but within the same rotation range, edge jumps usually require more physical exertion than toe jumps.
Whether she can hold her own against two players who are both LO in the second half remains to be seen, but Polina's concerns are clearly premature.
Yang Yiyan did not attempt two consecutive lo jumps; her first jump in the second half was a 3T+3T, which had been a persistent problem for her.
Yumikawa Ria pulled her coach along, her tone carrying a hint of inexplicable pride: "See, I told you her coach wouldn't fix this loophole."
Ms. Chishima looked at her student's "just as I expected" expression and a sense of crisis crept into her heart.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere among the Chinese coaches was also quite tense.
Xia Yuezi put one hand on her hip and said expressionlessly, "Get ready, that girl needs to be taught a lesson again."
Meng Xin, standing to the side, let out a long sigh, her hands making short "click" sounds as she moved her joints.
They did consider exchanging 3T+3T for one of the consecutive jumps in the program, but considering the distribution of physical strength and familiarity with the jumps, they ultimately did not finalize it.
But after Yang Yiyan went on stage a few times, she became bolder and bolder. Not only did she change the configuration without permission, but she also dared to put this group of consecutive jumps in the second half of the program.
This is because she hasn't had enough time to lie in bed yet.
When Yang Yiyan returned with Kuromi in her arms, she noticed that her two coaches looked rather strange.
Xia Yuezi and Meng Xin stood on either side of her, one holding a knife sheath and the other a coat. The girl timidly put on her coat and was then escorted to the waiting area by her coach.
Feng Simai had been scolded by the two coaches quite a bit, and seeing this situation, he knew what Yang Yiyan had done. He silently mourned for her and hoped that she would write fewer words in her self-criticism when she got back.
While waiting in the waiting area, Xia Yuezi left the child with a pair of underwear and didn't scold anyone in front of the camera. However, the sight of a trembling little hamster sitting between the two stern-faced ladies was enough for Chinese ice hockey fans watching on screen to guess what was going on.
Just as Yang Yiyan was racking her brains trying to persuade the coach to change his mind, her score appeared on the big screen.
With a technical score of 70.65, a program component score of 54.41, a free skate score of 125.06, and a total score of 190.97, he achieved a total score of 190.97.
This is a result that would have earned a place on the podium in previous World Junior Championships, and even in the absence of a top-tier player, it would have been a contender for gold.
The four contestants who came on stage afterward felt immense pressure upon seeing this score.
Xia Yuezi suddenly put her hand on Yang Yiyan's shoulder, startling the little girl so much that she immediately sat up straight.
"It seems this self-criticism can be waived."
Before Yang Yiyan could even breathe a sigh of relief, she heard the coach say, "But if this happens again and you make the same mistake, you'll have to write double the number of words."
The audience couldn't hear the coaches and contestants; all they could see was the contestant who had just scored a high score, looking utterly devastated, as he pushed the previous contestant, who was temporarily in first place, off the stage.
The order of the last group was not much different from that of the final. Neither Alisa nor Nina had a super C in hand, nor did they have the stamina to save more than two combination jumps for the second half of the program. In addition, due to the mistakes in the short program, even though the judges intentionally raised their scores, they still failed to surpass Yang Yiyan.
Before Polina went on the field, Dosirov called her over, and the two whispered to each other by the barrier. Xia Yuezi saw the Slavic beauty frown slightly, but finally nodded.
Then, after a whole free skate routine, Xia Yuezi didn't manage a single 3A, but only two consecutive jumps that followed.
This season, Polina has made it clear that she is determined to stick with the 3A jump, and she starts every free skate with this jump.
Of course, the results were also very obvious.
If a jump is successful, almost all subsequent jumps will be easy; if a jump is unsuccessful, the athlete's mentality will be greatly affected, and their performance will depend entirely on luck.
With a clean free skate, Polina dethroned Yang Yiyan from first place.
Seeing that her opponent chose to play it safe, Yumikawa Ria also opted for 3A.
She's not a European or American athlete, so she can't enjoy the benefits of nationality. If she lowers the difficulty level like them at this time, wouldn't that be tantamount to handing the gold medal to Russia?
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