Chapter 37 4T The more composed one is, the more naive one's personality becomes.
Less than a day later, the men's singles free skate began.
Feng Simai squeezed into the last group and was warming up backstage. The other athletes training in the same room as him were all from the same group.
Xia Yuezi had her ice skate bag at her feet. Looking at the boy pulling the elastic rope by the wall, she turned her face away with a look of utter despair, her thoughts drifting back to last night's conversation.
As soon as we got back to the hotel yesterday, Feng Simai told her he wanted to skate the 4T in his free skate, which scared Xia Yuezi so much that she dragged him into her room and gave him a good scolding.
As it turned out, this person was incredibly shameless. He took advantage of the situation, showed her the training data to analyze, lured Xia Yuezi to the side of the pit, and even covered the pit with a cloth, just waiting for her to jump in.
Now that she thinks about it, Xia Yuezi wishes she could go back in time and slap herself.
In a residential building in Beijing, Li Tan skillfully turned on his computer, waiting for the contestants to take the stage.
Generally speaking, only large-scale figure skating events held in China, such as the China Cup, are likely to be broadcast by CCTV. Other competitions, unless they feature popular skaters, can only be watched by using a VPN.
The screen was showing the contestants' sixth practice session. Li Tan picked up a cup of tea from beside him and took a sip. When he heard Feng Simai's name being called over the loudspeaker, he glanced at the computer screen and almost spat out his tea.
Is Feng Simai crazy or Xia Yuezi crazy? Why didn't they stop them?!
He tried the quadruple twist in the sixth practice session of the short program, and he was still trying it in the free skate! Doesn't that mean he's going to do a quadruple twist in the free skate?
The camera panned to the coach's bench, where Coach Xia, whom the head coach unilaterally considered insane, appeared before everyone with a face full of unspeakable suffering.
Xia Yuezi frowned, staring intently at the people on the ice rink. Her fingers tapped unconsciously on the barrier. Even as Feng Simai landed a 4T, her expression remained highly tense.
The ice rink was a battle of the gods, with four out of the six skaters practicing quadruple jumps, and the remaining two, not to be outdone, performing triple Axel combinations.
That's how it is in the men's singles competition. Several athletes are making crazy attempts at high-difficulty jumps, pushing the atmosphere of the competition to a fever pitch even before the actual competition begins.
As the first competitor to take the stage, Feng Simai was slightly out of breath when he slid back to the barrier, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
"Coach, I feel like I'm in really good shape right now."
Xia Yuezi kept a straight face, her expression showing no sign of relaxation: "Don't relax. If you make a mistake in 4T, lower the difficulty of the rest."
After Feng Simai switched groups, Xia Yuezi kept helping him build muscle. He was either eating or training every day. His body fat percentage is now maintained at 15%, and he has enough muscle and physical strength to support his jumps. Even the initial axis problem has been weakened as his body fat percentage has decreased.
It's fair to say that with his current physical abilities, he could easily land a quadruple jump in the free skate, but he could only manage one.
His free skate program was "Oogway Ascends," which is also the background music for Master Oogway's death scene in the animated film "Kung Fu Panda."
As the familiar opening piano music began, Zhao Shuhua sat behind the partition, watching Feng Simai slowly raise his arms and slide to the right.
His first set of movements was a set of rotations, accompanied by melodious and slow piano music. His body leaned slightly backward, forming a side swallow. After spinning eight times at high speed, he turned into a front swallow and pulled his free leg up.
Xia Yuezi paced back and forth behind the barrier; his next move was a 4T.
Feng Simai took a large step back, looked ahead, took a deep breath, and touched the ice with his ice skate.
Not only Xia Yuezi, but also Zhao Shuhua on the judges' table, Li Tan behind the screen, other national athletes behind the barriers, and all the ice skating fans watching the competition, all had their eyes on him.
The ice skates ripped a long arc across the flat surface, scattering a pile of ice shards. Feng Simai's upper body was almost level with the ice surface as he stretched out his arms to try to maintain his balance, his neck turning red.
Wayne whistled, put his hand on the shoulder of another Canadian player, and his usual smile disappeared: "Looks like this player is coming on strong."
Another Canadian athlete's breathing quickened, and he turned around to do a few high knees to relax. He was the next athlete to go on stage, and watching him continue would affect his performance.
Seeing 4T land, Xia Yuezi breathed a sigh of relief. Feng Simai then landed 3L on the ice.
This was agreed upon between the two: if the legs went numb after the 4T, they would move the original 3A to the back and change the second configuration.
The cello music paused for about two seconds after a series of triple jumps, then resumed, gradually becoming more passionate from a mournful tone.
Feng Simai's footwork became faster and faster, and his edge changes were very clear. He spread his arms wide and slid backward in a large "I" shape, then quickly jumped, landed with a 3LZ, and immediately followed with a 3T.
The price of going up to 4T is that one of the two consecutive jumps that were originally placed in the second half is moved to the front to ensure stamina for the later part.
However, Feng Simai used 4T to improve his technical score, so he couldn't leave the configuration unrepaired. He put 3A on the first jump in the second half.
The ice blade grazed the ice surface again, leaving a triangular mark near the ice track underfoot.
As 3A landed, Xia Yuezi clearly saw Feng Simai's right leg sway, and the arc it traced was quite short.
Xia Yuezi finally loosened her fist hidden under her coat, leaving a clear crescent-shaped mark on her palm.
After completing all the difficult maneuvers, Feng Simai's skating speed increased, with each move perfectly synchronized with the music.
On Zhao Shuhua's screen, the final jump was playing in slow motion. She tapped a few times, finished most of her work, and slowly leaned back in her chair, appreciating the final movement.
At the end of the movie, Master Oogway disappears into light amidst a shower of flowers, elevating his image. In this scene, Feng Simai not only displays Chinese elegance but also chivalrous spirit. The final ending is a traditional Chinese martial arts bow.
Looking at the young man on the field, Zhao Shuhua recalled a quote from Master Oogway: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift."
Perhaps Feng Simai is yet another gift bestowed upon Chinese men's singles by heaven.
Feng Simai's knees were soaked with sweat. He stood on the ice rink, watching the plush toys thrown by the audience, and his smile was brighter than ever.
He picked up a large plush toy that a nearby skater couldn't lift, waved to the fans as he left the rink, and gave the remaining time on the ice to the next skater.
Xia Yuezi stood at the exit, saw Feng Simai, rushed up to him and gave him a hug. Her voice trembled, but she couldn't hide her pride at the moment: "You little rascal, well done."
Feng Simai hugged his coach tightly, his voice full of pride and smugness: "Coach, you have to believe me. I told you I could do it. Look, ouch—"
The startled breath attracted the attention of nearby coaches, who turned around to see the Chinese coach once again violently attacking her student.
"I just gave you a compliment, and you're already ready to take advantage of it, aren't you?"
"Coach, I was wrong, I was wrong."
As Feng Simai offered a half-hearted apology, he twisted his body, trying to escape Xia Yuezi's grasp. The coach, seeing through his intentions, pulled him back, slapped him on the head, and said irritably, "You always say that."
On the way to the waiting area, Feng Simai kept saying nice things to Xia Yuezi, but the smile on his face made him seem insincere.
Fortunately, Xia Yuezi wasn't really angry. When they arrived at the waiting area, she even handed him a sports drink.
It took a long time to get the score; Xia Yuezi lost count of how many times she looked at the big screen before she heard the broadcast announcement.
She scored 142.18 in the free skate and 222.61 in the total score, currently ranking first.
After the results were announced, red flags in the stands quickly began to flutter, and cheers surged like a tidal wave.
Feng Simai's childish nature could no longer be hidden. He raised his hand and shouted "Woohoo!" but Xia Yuezi slapped him down, and he immediately lowered his raised arm and sat up straight.
The two skaters who came on next only performed a 3A in their free skate, which was less difficult than Feng Simai's, and they were ranked lower than him.
This also means that Feng Simai will at least finish fourth.
Xia Yuezi leaned against the billboard, her mind racing.
In the past three years, Feng Simai has made it into the men's singles final with a score of 24 points. If he can beat Lin Ye at the China Open, he might be able to advance to the finals with a ranking of "1+4".
The lineup of the top players who came on later was the same as last season, and there were basically no surprises. Only Davil stumbled a bit during his 3A and lost some GOE, but it did not affect the final ranking.
Feng Simai looked enviously at the podium on the ice rink from the sidelines. Daville stood at the highest point, his medal gleaming around his neck.
His pocket trembled as he pulled out his newly replaced touchscreen phone; the latest news came from Lin Ye.
You're a guy who works quietly and efficiently; I was terrified while watching the game.
Feng Simai couldn't help but chuckle, his fingers clicking rapidly across the screen.
【This is terrifying! I was really looking forward to facing you in the China Cup.】
A picture followed, showing exactly the finishing move he had just made, and ice skating fans quickly created memes from it.
When Xia Yuezi finished packing and found Feng Simai, the two high school students hadn't finished their fight yet. She coughed lightly to the side, and Feng Simai understood. As he walked to the coach's side, he typed out the last line of text.
The coach is here to arrest him, we'll talk later.
After sending the message, Feng Simai put his phone back in his pocket and gave the coach a fawning smile: "Shall we go back to the hotel now?"
Xia Yuezi nodded: "I've confirmed with the organizers, and you're on the list for the performance skating. Go back and get some rest; you have rehearsal tomorrow afternoon."
The young man looked very excited, muttering to himself as he walked outside.
She carried her ice skate bag and glanced silently behind her.
The organizers just told her that Davil and Anthony will be withdrawing from the exhibition due to injuries.
It wasn't surprising that Davey slipped while not participating in the performance, but Anthony didn't seem to be injured at all.
In her memory, this French star had always been the reserved and composed type, and they weren't particularly close.
However, according to the rules of skating, the more honest and steady a person seems, the more likely they are to be a simpleton at heart.
Thinking of this, Xia Yuezi turned her gaze forward. A certain simpleton was walking with his head down, holding his phone. Just by looking at his back, you could tell how good his mood was.
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