Chapter 38 Clash of Clans Civil War
Before returning to China, Wayne proactively exchanged contact information with von der Slim and also tried to build a good relationship with him during the skating troupe dance performance, seemingly very interested in this rising star from China.
Figure skating is a sport with a high prevalence of homosexuality, especially in Europe and America. Whether it's gay, lesbian, or bisexual, there are plenty of them. Furthermore, judges seem to have a bias against gay skaters. Whenever a skater comes out, their performance score usually drops by one level in the new season.
To ensure their treatment, keeping it a secret has become a consensus among many players.
Therefore, when Feng Simai first felt this goodwill, he immediately thought of some rumors about this Chinese-American player on the Internet, and intentionally kept some distance from him while maintaining politeness.
On the way back to the hotel, Xia Yuezi noticed that Feng Simai seemed to be in a bad mood. Before, after the skating or ice show, the two children were considered well-behaved as they didn't make a fuss in the hotel until after midnight.
With a heart full of care for her students, Xia Yuezi tentatively asked a question, only to find that it nearly gave her a stroke. Could this child's imagination be any more vivid?
And what about all those rumors? Who exactly hates Wayne so much?
Looking at the conflicted child in front of her, Xia Yuezi almost gritted her teeth to defend Wayne: "Don't listen to the rumors on the internet. He's straight and has a girlfriend."
Not only did he have a girlfriend, but he also got married in the future, has a son and a daughter, and lives a happy life. He also took on a lot of choreography work.
Besides, Feng Simai is only sixteen years old this year. Even if he met a gay man, how depraved would that person have to be to do that to him?
Feng Simai still looked uncertain: "But the information from the skating community is quite accurate."
Xia Yuezi snorted and flicked his head: "When has the skating community ever been accurate when it comes to shipping couples?"
The news about group transfers, training, and pairings was increasingly accurate and consistent, but the gossip about relationships and scandals became more varied and outrageous.
To some extent, the ice hockey fans who spread these messages can be considered top-tier career enthusiasts.
Remembering how he had previously mistaken an ice dance duo for someone else, Feng Simai immediately fell silent. Xia Yuezi sighed, angrily poked his head, and sent him back to his room to sleep.
The Huaguo Cup was held in Beijing as its fifth stop.
A week ago, the Chinese Ice Skating Association released the officially confirmed list, and domestic ice skating fans were surprised to find that there were only two "CHN" entries on it.
Then, another shocking piece of bad news broke on the forum—the veteran's post-operative recovery was not going well, a new cyst had grown on his Achilles tendon, and his old injury had recurred, so he announced an indefinite hiatus from competition at this crucial juncture of the Olympic season.
Although it's called a break, everyone knows that there's probably no chance for him to come out again.
The coaches kept this news from them, only saying that the veteran's injury had recurred. Therefore, the atmosphere was relatively harmonious when the two athletes, who were suspended from tennis before the match, met.
When Lin Ye saw Feng Simai at the hotel, he was shocked: "Damn, you've got some muscles! I didn't see them this big on the computer."
Feng Simai slapped his hand away expressionlessly: "Thank you for the compliment."
Feng Simai didn't want to say a word about her painful experience after returning from Canada.
This match will be broadcast live on Channel 5. In addition to the regular commentators, former top female commentator Lu Ying has also been invited.
Many ice skating fans had just turned on their TVs when they heard a female voice coming from inside.
"Hello everyone, welcome to the Grand Prix of Figure Skating in China. We are now watching the men's singles short program competition. Our young skaters Lin Ye and Feng Simai will be the last to skate."
The filming moved backstage, where Feng Simai was doing squats, and Lin Ye was practicing quadrupedal squats in the open space of the room. He slammed to the ground with a "bang," with several coaches beside them.
If the Canadian Open men's singles tournament is a fierce battle between players from different countries, then the Huaguo Cup is an internal struggle among local players.
Lin Ye was invited to the French Grand Prix. The ice in France was excellent this time, allowing him to maintain his form from the BT level competition and win a bronze medal.
After the French Grand Prix, Xia Yuezi specifically checked the latest points rankings on the official website.
Davey and Albert are tied for first place with 30 points each, followed closely by Wayne with 26 points from two silver medals. This is the list of players who have finished the tournament and are guaranteed to advance to the finals.
The subsequent points standings showed one player with 24 points and three players with 22 points. Based on this situation, both of China's men's singles players have a chance to advance to the finals. However, there is only one gold medal in the China Cup, which is only enough to send one player in.
The two children put aside their usual friendship and gave it their all on the field, creating a silent tension backstage.
Kevin and Kim Do-woo, who were also training backstage, seemed a bit out of place. One of them ranked eighth in the previous stop, and the other only had one spot and was directly eliminated from the finals. They were able to be more relaxed on the court.
Meng Xin leaned against the corridor wall and chatted with Xia Yuezi about the latest news in the skating world: "Do you think Cheng Yuanjie will be able to recover before Sochi? He's really unlucky."
Cheng Yuanjie was that unlucky veteran.
Xia Yuezi's expression was equally unpleasant, and she stood with Meng Xin at a distance from the two children.
In her timeline, this veteran's talent is considered high in China. Coupled with being the only male athlete in the country, she received a lot of resources and was able to dominate on the ice in the last Olympic season, ranking in the top fifteen at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
For some reason, Sochi suddenly changed coaches at the beginning of the season and sent him to train abroad, forcing him to practice quadruple jumps. Then he suffered a series of injuries, and his performance in matches collapsed, continuing until his retirement.
This is perhaps the bitterness of a veteran player remaining as the sole survivor.
Meng Xin continued to mutter, "No matter what, I hope he can get better. There are fewer and fewer men's singles players with good performance skills these days."
Xia Yuezi nodded in agreement, then turned her gaze back to the training room.
A considerable number of spectators had gathered in the stands of the Capital Indoor Stadium. Yang Yiyan, who was on holiday, was sitting in the stands with her mother with an internal ticket when she inadvertently spotted Feng's mother holding a support sign.
The support sign was quite exquisite. Judging from the photo printed on it, the material should be from last season's short program "Por Una Cabeza," and it is very similar to the materials distributed to fans at the entrance, so it was probably taken from them.
The three sat together, each holding a support item, as if they had returned to the time when they were at the Austrian Grand Prix.
"Now it's time for South Korean athlete Kim Do-woo, whose personal best score is 211.79."
Kim Do-woo comes from a modest family and stayed with another coach in Korea after the World Junior Championships. However, it is said that Park Young-rye, who was in the same group as him, chose to switch groups and go abroad, finding a coach in the same group as Sung Eun-hee.
His highest difficulty level is 3LZ+3T, which might be competitive in the youth group, but it's not good enough in the adult group, and his short program ranking is not high.
Next up was American Kevin, who landed a triple A in the short program. His thigh muscles exploded instantly, much thicker than last season, showing that his coach had probably pushed him to build muscle.
The judges probably hoped he could disrupt the situation at this stop, so they gave him a high score, bringing his total score to 80.92.
Although European and American skaters consistently achieve high P scores, Kevin's performance is above average. His edge changes during skating are very clear, and he handles the details of his movements very well.
Therefore, after the scores were released, the Chinese coaches were able to maintain a good-looking expression. Even Meng Xin, who is straightforward, only said, "The Americans are probably grooming him to be the next Albert."
Whether he can take over Albert's job is still undecided, but Chinese coaches have already turned their attention to their own children on the ice.
Feng Simai looked around at the familiar venue and faces, trying to calm himself down and wait for the music to start.
In the stands, Ms. Feng unconsciously gripped her support sign tightly; every jump on the ice rink tugged at her heartstrings.
After the 3lz+3T landed, Lu Ying's calm commentary rang out: "The height and distance of this consecutive jump are very impressive, and the rhythm of the jump is also good, almost in sync with the music."
This series of jumps was also one of Lu Ying's strengths. She counted the beats of the music in her mind and judged Feng Simai's jumping trajectory.
Yang Yiyan placed the support sign on her lap, and when she looked down, she could see the people on the referee's table writing something on paper, and several referees quietly discussing something.
She silently grabbed the doll that was prepared for Feng Simai next to her, thinking that if you dare to bet too outrageously, I will throw this doll on your heads.
Xia Yuezi's eyes followed Feng Simai closely. After seeing him land a 3A, he was able to slide out in a wide arc. She couldn't help but say to Meng Xin, "This kid's 3A technique is getting more and more mature."
Coach Meng nodded, silently wiping away his bitter tears: "He's been forced to practice in the equipment room for half a month. It would be unreasonable if his technique wasn't more mature."
The coach from Heilongjiang next door, overhearing this, came over and asked, "So what do you guys usually feed him? I think his muscles are better developed than Xiao Ye's."
Xia Yuezi glanced back at him and didn't hide anything: "It's just beef cooked in the cafeteria, with some protein powder. This kid hasn't fully passed his growth spurt yet, so he digests very quickly and gets hungry again in no time. Therefore, his muscles are easy to build up before he reaches his limit."
Hearing Xia Yuezi make muscle gain sound so easy, the coach from Heilongjiang Province was quite embarrassed. It seems that this is due to the difference in physical qualities between the two athletes.
As the music reached its climax, Feng Simai's sorrowful gaze swept across the nearby audience seats, captivating some viewers and drawing them into their own memories.
His gliding gradually quickened, intensely conveying his emotions and telling everyone that he longed to be seen.
It wasn't until he knelt on the ice to finish his performance that the entire audience seemed to wake from a dream and rose to applaud.
Lin Ye stood at the entrance, twisting his neck with a smile in his eyes, waiting to go on stage; Feng Simai stood on the ice rink, clenching his fist to encourage himself, very satisfied with today's performance, and left the ice rink with a smile on his face.
When the two met, they both saw a clear fighting spirit and a determination to win in each other's eyes.
The announcement on the radio covered the entire venue: "Feng Simai's short program score is 80.52, currently ranking second."
The cheers from the stands grew louder, and Feng's mother stood up from her chair, holding up her support sign high.
Feng Simai sat in the waiting area with a slight smile, and said in a voice that only those around him could hear, "Don't worry, I'll definitely win in the free skate."
Meng Xin reacted even faster than Xia Yuezi at this moment: "As long as you behave well, we will always trust you."
Xia Yuezi burst out laughing, showing him no respect whatsoever.
Seeing Feng Simai's increasingly slumped expression, she put her hand on his shoulder and patted his slightly hunched back: "Let's go see Xiao Ye's performance."
Lin Ye's determination to win the gold medal was evident even before the competition. When announcing his program, he changed one of his single jumps to a quadruple jump, which was the only quadruple jump in the short program among all the male singles athletes in the China Cup.
At his current level, it's clear he can't handle both at the same time. If he increases the difficulty, the level he's been working on will drop again.
Xia Yuezi watched the spinning screen, which seemed to have gone completely off course, and without even looking up at the real-time display on the big screen, she could guess the technical expert's score.
She secretly glanced at the Heilongjiang Province coach's face and found that he looked numb, his hand holding the knife sheath lightly tapping the inner wall of the barrier, probably regretting letting him go to 4T.
The poor ranking boosted 4T's score but dragged down his technical score. Lin Ye ultimately ranked first with 81.23, and the top three scores were almost identical.
Xia Yuezi turned to look at her child and found him picking at his hands, his eyes fixed on the ice rink, with an unquenched fighting spirit still burning in his eyes.
A reporter was interviewing Lin Ye nearby. She slapped his hand away and led him backstage: "Alright, calm down. We'll see what happens tomorrow."
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