Chapter 97 The Leader Goes Back for a Chocolate
As soon as the competition ends, the staff will deliver a paper copy of the individual score sheet to the coach.
Looking at the less than sign and one of the three rotations above, Xia Yuezi immediately found the video that the official website uploaded to YouTube and watched it frame by frame at the slowest speed.
Judging from the blurry and distant "perfect" angle in the video, Yan Rui's 3LZ+3T indeed lost about 90 degrees in the second half.
There's nothing wrong with the sign for this jump, but Xia Yuezi is curious about what angle the judges had to be to catch a less than sign. Or is the International Skating Union so poor that they don't have the money to upgrade the replay equipment for the judges, making it even blurry and double-image when zoomed in?
As for the third rotation, the shoulders weren't completely level during the first rotation when changing positions, probably because there weren't enough rotations, which is why the posture wasn't recognized.
Xia Yue sighed deeply. This was the treatment Chinese athletes received. The same move was handled with ease by European and American athletes, but Chinese athletes had to execute it flawlessly to get a similar score. Any mistake would be magnified infinitely.
Although the total number of Chinese referees counted by the Skating Association this year has increased compared to the previous cycle, the number of international-level referees and ISU-level referees remains the same.
All things considered, China has only been promoting referee certification for domestic athletes for two years, and there is still a long way to go before it can gain a voice in the field.
She turned to look at the audience above. Yan Rui was already sitting with her mother, watching the other contestants' performances. However, her expression was as calm as usual, making it impossible to tell what she was feeling.
Xia Yuezi glanced around, but decided to put aside these upsetting matters for the time being.
Akina Koike's short program setup was the same as Yan Rui's; she performed in the fourth group, which wasn't particularly late. That group also included Russian and Canadian skaters, so even with a clean score, her score wasn't particularly high.
Looking at the final overall rankings, Xia Yuezi became even more convinced that sports competitions need a leader to spur them on, especially in the youth group.
The group of European and American competitors, including Yumekawa Ria, felt threatened and started setting increasingly difficult challenges. In another timeline, Xia Yuezi was competing with them in the youth group and had even mastered 3A. Other competitors, even if they didn't have the same level of difficulty as her, were at least able to seize the opportunity to rise in the rankings when she made a small mistake.
But now, even if there aren't any strong players in this tournament, there shouldn't be only two players scoring above 60 points.
Xia Yuezi suppressed her complaints and watched the men's singles competition with the Chinese team. Watching the young men's singles players explode one after another, she suddenly felt that she could praise Yan Rui when she got back.
She looked at the men's singles coach, who seemed utterly despondent in front of the camera. She was probably completely indifferent to his condition. Backstage, she didn't say a harsh word to the boy, only telling him to work hard in the free skate.
As a result, the young men's singles skater seemed to be under even more pressure. He didn't say a word on the way back to the hotel, making it hard not to wonder if he would explode again in the free skate.
On the opening day of the women's singles free skate, the organizers would set aside the morning for the skaters to rehearse before the competition. Watching Yan Rui make three consecutive mistakes on landing at 3lo, Xia Yuezi felt that she had found the reason why her right eye had been twitching since the morning.
After the first two groups of contestants took the stage, this ominous feeling seemed to intensify—the referees appeared to be intentionally controlling the scores of the contestants.
Regardless of how well the previous contestants performed, the program content score was determined directly based on the order of appearance, with contestants having a nationality advantage receiving an extra fraction of a point.
Xia Yuezi's brows furrowed more and more. Based on her experience, it was obvious that the referee was trying to protect the podium position.
The top three in the short program are Russia, Japan, and the United States, with Chinese and Australian skaters close behind. Each of these five skaters has their own inconsistencies, and none of them have a C. It remains to be seen who can stabilize and turn things around in the free skate.
As the last set of six practice sessions began, Xia Yuezi stared at the children on the field with a heavy heart. Yan Rui tried the 3lo again, but she didn't finish it. She only tried the beginning to confirm that she had entered the correct node.
This approach also made Xia Yuezi anxious again. Most of the children in the group would have problems in the main competition if they tried to do jumps they were not good at during the sixth practice session. Yan Rui's lack of confidence would only increase the probability of this happening in the main competition.
Just like in previous domestic competitions, Yan Rui missed the jump during her 3lo in the free skate because she hesitated at the take-off.
Xia Yuezi considered whether to have her change her equipment to ensure a cleaner result and strive for a higher ranking, but after thinking about it, she decided not to bring it up.
Despite her lack of confidence, Yan Rui also has the ambition of an athlete and wants to climb higher; otherwise, she wouldn't spend her time practicing new and difficult techniques.
Before going on stage, Yan Rui turned her head and looked at a spot in the audience where her mother was holding a camera and pointing it at the ice rink. When she saw her daughter looking at her, she waved back.
Xia Yuezi patted her back rhythmically, as if helping the contestant adjust her breathing rhythm: "Go, just do your best."
As soon as the music started, Ms. Chishima, who was standing nearby, raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't expected that the Chinese athlete would be skating to music from their Japanese anime.
"The Carousel of Life" is taken from the Japanese animated film "Howl's Moving Castle". Many people think of love as soon as they hear this piece, but Xia Yuezi thinks of courage and growth in life after hearing this piece.
This melody depicts the protagonist Sophie's state of mind from beginning to end, running through the entire film. She grows step by step to the same melody until she breaks out of the ruins.
The piano sounds at the beginning are soft and pure, based on a waltz rhythm.
Xia Yuezi applied a light and sheer base makeup to Yan Rui, decorated the eyes with silver glitter, and highlighted the surrounding area.
She tilted her head to look at the audience. Even though her face was still expressionless, the music and makeup, along with the childlike innocence, made her seem lively.
Yan Rui's first jump was the 3lo, which she was least comfortable with. Before the jump, Xia Yuezi felt that it wouldn't work out. Unlike the domestic competition, she jumped a bit too hastily this time.
As expected, the axis of the jump in the air tilted completely backward. She tried to steady herself on the ice with her hand, but still couldn't stand up. Yan Rui's face immediately turned red. Following her muscle memory, she stood up and continued skating immediately.
For a moment, Xia Yuezi almost stopped breathing, even worried that Yan Rui was stunned by the fall and wouldn't be able to recover.
The skaters on the ice gritted their teeth, their gliding becoming visibly tense. The height of the 3F+3T made Xia Yuezi feel a bit dangerous, but she landed smoothly due to Xia Yuezi's high spin. Whether she could catch the ice or not depended on the referee.
The music gradually becomes shorter and shorter, with some harmony added to the background. If you listen carefully, you can also faintly hear the heartbeat embedded in the melody.
This heartbeat sound is taken directly from the witch's explanation in the movie, which not only takes away Sophie's confusion but also gradually makes her certain of her feelings for Howl.
Xia Yuezi transformed this part into Sophie's growth, showing her gradual transformation from an insecure girl. She also wanted to use this song to help Yan Rui grow up as soon as possible, just like Sophie.
The melody repeats itself like a carousel, yet it also progresses layer by layer with the development of the characters and plot.
As Yan Rui skated into the latter half and entered a new footwork phase, his body gradually opened up, and his emotions found an outlet, unfolding together. However, compared to his contemporaries, his infectiousness was still slightly less.
After completing 3F+2T+2lo, Xia Yuezi relaxed her clenched fist slightly. After that, only one last single jump remained.
After a brief period of sadness, the music eventually returned to a warm and bright tone, just like Yan Rui's performance.
Her final move was a bent-over spin with noticeable acceleration, which sharp-eyed Chinese figure skating fans spotted in the top left corner, almost a minute's worth of 'goe'.
After the show ended, applause erupted like a tidal wave. Yan Rui's chest rose and fell slightly. The camera gave the contestant a close-up, clearly showing her frowning, her eyes filled with frustration and resentment, as well as a sense of relief after finishing the show.
Xia Yuezi, carrying her coat and knife sheath, walked quickly to the entrance. She noticed that after Yan Rui bowed, his gaze fell on a certain spot in the audience, and then a faint smile appeared on his face, tinged with bitterness.
In the waiting area, Yan Rui sat on the sofa facing the camera. Remembering his mother's instructions before leaving the hotel, he gave a fake smile and made a heart shape with his hands. He only held the pose for about two seconds before returning to his previous state.
When Yan's mother saw this, she almost couldn't keep her smile. She thought to herself that she would have to teach her slowly when she got back.
Xia Yuezi turned her head and saw that the girl's hand was on her leg, slowly twisting the hem of her team uniform. Her expression looked normal, but if you sat closer, you could tell that the girl was daydreaming again.
She took a breath and placed her hand on the back of her hand: "You played very well today, especially the footwork and spins in the second half, which kept up with the music."
Yan Rui bit her lip: "But..."
“It’s over now,” Xia Yuezi knew what she was going to say as soon as she opened her mouth, and quickly stopped her. “The important thing is that you’ve adjusted and prevented more mistakes from happening in the program. That’s what an athlete is indispensable.”
The broadcast interrupted Yan Rui's next words, and the two of them looked at the large screen.
Technical score 64.75, program component score 53.18, one point deducted for each fall, free skate score 116.93, total score 176.86.
This score puts Yan Rui in first place, but there are still three contestants who haven't played yet. Based on the judges' scoring style, if the others don't make mistakes, this score is unlikely to be enough to get him on stage.
If we want to reach the finals, we must win the gold medal in the second leg unless a miracle happens in this leg.
But there are also many strong contenders at the next stop. Take, for example, Russia's number one young player, Carolina. With the same setup, she would definitely be superior, not to mention that Yan Rui is not even at that level.
Backstage, Xia Yuezi patted the little girl's head and decided to give her a consolation prize: "Want some chocolate? I can give you a piece when we get back."
Yan Rui sniffed, his eyes welling up with tears, and his answer was as expected.
"I'll eat it, but I want to eat two. I'll use the extra calories to do extra workouts."
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Author's Note: Regarding the issue of sub-table symbols, this article tentatively assumes that before the 2014-2015 season, the ISU meeting revised the rules, resulting in the appearance of q.
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