Chapter 81 2016 Chinese New Year and World Championships
◎There must be no slackness◎
On the ice, Ji Tiantian wore a shiny silver flowing long dress, shiny gloves of the same color, and earrings and hair accessories of the same color.
Now that Ji Tiantian is an adult, she can dress freely. Tang Yi is wearing a silver suit that matches her.
They waved to the audience together. Against the backdrop of the jewels, Ji Tiantian showed an exceptionally dazzling smile.
The coats and accessories that Ji Tang wore this season are more advanced than those they used in the past. This is jointly sponsored by several clients who like them. The clients also hope to see Ji Tang achieve better results on the field and then have more cooperation.
As the music started, two silver figures began to intertwine on the ice. The music for Ji Tang's free dance this season comes from the movie "Love in a Fallen Kingdom".
The film mainly tells the story of King Edward VIII of England and his lover Wallis. The young and handsome king wanted to marry the beautiful Wallis, but Wallis had been married before, and marrying a divorced woman violated the relevant regulations of the state religion, and the church did not agree to this marriage. In the UK, the power of the church is unshakable. So Edward VIII took the initiative to abdicate, changed his title to the Duke of Windsor, and gave the throne to his younger brother. The film mainly starts from Wallis's perspective to explain the love story of the Duke of Windsor who loves beauty but not the country.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi use their understanding and performance to interpret this love story that shocked the world in the 20th century.
With Tang Yi's arms around her, Ji Tiantian lifted her feet into the air, stretched her arms, and then turned from upright to inverted in a clockwise direction.
Tang Yi slowly lowered his center of gravity, spread his legs and squatted, and began to do the big one-line slide that he was good at. Although the trouser-style Costumes were not tight, they were slim enough to outline the slender and powerful curves of his calves.
After Ji Tiantian lightly rotated in Tang Yi's arms for a circle, she entered the arc lift in a difficult posture.
Ji Tiantian used one leg as support, hooking it around Tang Yi's thigh that was bent parallel to the ice surface, while the other leg was stretched back straight. Tang Yi skated along the arc, and she straightened her upper body, sitting on one of Tang Yi's legs in a difficult and elegant posture.
She raised one hand lightly, and Tang Yi put one arm around her waist. Their eyes met and they smiled from the bottom of their hearts. There were screams from the field.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi changed their movements in the middle of the lift, Tang Yi completely let go and stopped holding Ji Tiantian. Ji Tiantian raised one hand and gently supported Tang Yi's chest with the other hand, relying only on the leg that was hooked on Tang Yi to stabilize her center of gravity.
They were facing each other, Ji Tiantian's long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. Tang Yi lowered his eyes slightly and turned his cheek to reveal his angular jawline.
Their breaths touched, and they seemed to be close yet distant. Although they were competing, they seemed to be completely absorbed in the game, with only each other in their eyes.
“Ahhhhh, who can resist this! Who can resist this!” A scream rang out from the audience, “Ahhhhh, I’m going to die!”
"Ahhhh sweetie! sweetie!"
"Siya, I've never seen them so flirty before!"
"After all, Tiantian can't do this kind of action of hooking legs and supporting chest before she reaches adulthood!"
"Look so good! They must be real!"
"Together! Together!"
Even the audience who had said that few ice dance couples stayed together and advised people not to be too emotional joined the team screaming "stay together" after seeing Ji Tang's very atmospheric lift. The audience was filled with a large-scale "really good" scene.
Xu Chi and Jiang Lin looked at each other at the edge of the ice, both with complicated expressions on their faces. When the first few groups of players performed difficult moves, the audience mostly shouted "good job" or the names of the players. Only when the Ji Tang pair successfully completed the lift, the audience shouted together.
Xu Chi silently watched Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi perform their moves naturally on the ice, with all kinds of emotions in his eyes. Ever since the explosion of a lift, no matter what Ji Tang did, the audience screamed.
Xu Chi was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Jiang Lin, hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Do you think... is there really something going on between them?"
"If you're not sure, just ask them." Jiang Lin glanced at Xu Chi.
"It's impossible to get an accurate answer to this kind of thing just by asking." Xu Chi said with emotion, "The two kids are getting older and smarter, and their performance skills are getting more and more sophisticated. I really can't guess."
In fact, Xu Chi, like the audience, couldn't figure out the current relationship between Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi. It seemed like there was something, but it also seemed like there wasn't anything.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi always burst out with superb acting skills that make people shine in the arena, which makes people "crazy". The previous "Daming Palace" is a good example. It is hard to say whether their performance that makes ice fans crazy at this time is intentional or true.
I can’t guess it. I can’t guess it at all.
"If they don't tell us, we won't ask." Jiang Lin said to Xu Chi, "We'll find out eventually. What's fake won't be real, and what's real won't be fake either."
Xu Chi responded helplessly.
On the ice, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi bowed out calmly amid applause that expressed reluctance and excitement.
In this National Winter Games, Ji Tang and his team performed stably and without any mistakes, and still won first place in the country.
After going on stage to receive the award, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi came to the interview area to be interviewed by various local TV stations.
"I heard that you missed the last season to prepare for the college entrance examination. This Winter Games should be the biggest competition you have participated in in the past two years." A reporter from a local station said to the two with a smile, "The audience and I are very happy to see you perform so well in today's competition. You are in very good shape, with good technical moves and good performances. It's reassuring. Tiantian, is your injury from the Winter Olympics completely healed?"
"Yes, I also feel very lucky. I had a good rest that year when I was preparing for the university entrance examination." Ji Tiantian nodded and smiled happily. "Tang Yi and I are in good shape now. We will use this season's World Championships as a starting point to return to the world stage."
"That's great. I and many ice fans are looking forward to your return to the international stage and achieving outstanding results! Becoming the brightest Asian star!" The reporter's voice was filled with unconcealed joy. "I know that the music and theme of your free dance are from the movie "The Fallen Kingdom". This is a movie about the legendary love of Edward VIII. I'm a little curious, how did you come up with the idea of performing the greatest love story of the 20th century this season? It seems like this is the first time I've seen you perform such a clear and classic love story on the field. Does this mean that your relationship has made progress?"
After the reporter asked, she looked at Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi with a sweet smile. Reporters who came to interview Ji Tang, if they did their homework before work, would easily become fans of the Tiantang CP.
"In the first half of this year, I celebrated my 18th birthday." Ji Tiantian said with a smile, "My dance partner, my coach and I all feel that since we are adults, we should try some more mature themes. We want to use our works to tell ice fans that we have entered a world that is completely different from the past. We will continue to explore and make progress in this world."
Ji Tiantian glanced at the coach standing not far away, and then continued to speak to the reporter: "As for the relationship between me and Tang Yi, well... we have always been a good partner."
"Hey, I also heard that your team doesn't allow players to date each other." The reporter was a little frustrated, but soon she straightened up and continued to ask, "So, suppose, suppose you are not national team athletes, or not athletes at all, would you consider dating each other?"
"If we weren't athletes, we probably wouldn't have met." Ji Tiantian smiled bitterly. If Tang Yi wasn't an ice dancer, all their entanglements wouldn't have started.
"We will meet again." Tang Yi, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke, his eyes dark and bright, "We are very compatible and have a lot in common. If we don't do ice skating and dancing, we will definitely meet in other fields and then cooperate successfully. Sooner or later, we will definitely meet."
Ji Tiantian and the reporter stared at Tang Yi in a daze for a moment without saying a word. However, the ice fans who were watching the interview screamed excitedly.
Ji Tiantian thought about it carefully and felt that what Tang Yi said was correct. After finishing the interview and leaving the interview area, Ji Tang signed autographs and took photos with enthusiastic ice fans one by one.
Then, they greeted Qian Xiyue who had been waiting for them. As a ski athlete, Qian Xiyue would not miss the Winter Games, and she also watched Ji Tang's competition just now.
Qian Xiyue's recent activities remain the same as in the past, mainly training bases in Canada and ski competitions around the world.
Through communication, Ji Tiantian learned that Qian Xiyue was also admitted to the University of Montreal that year.
"Lucas helped me a lot when I was preparing for the exam. It's incredible to say that Lucas is a very good student and can even do the five-three puzzle!" Qian Xiyue said with a look of surprise.
When Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi heard Qian Xiyue's words, they couldn't help but smile meaningfully.
"By the way, are you really in love?" Qian Xiyue approached Ji Tiantian and whispered, "Come on, tell me quietly, I won't tell anyone else."
"Why do you ask?" Ji Tiantian was slightly startled, but she maintained her composure.
"Well, it's the athlete's intuition, right? The game is such an important thing. If it were me, I would definitely not notice my dance partner's hair." Qian Xiyue glanced at Tang Yi and said this.
Ji Tiantian didn't say anything for a moment.
“You are the group that won the bronze medal in the Winter Olympics, so you must be under a lot of pressure. If I were you, I wouldn’t have the energy to fall in love.” Qian Xiyue didn’t force Ji Tiantian to answer. Finally, he said “come on” to her and left.
Ji Tiantian watched Qian Xiyue leave, then turned around and told Tang Yi seriously: "Don't pull my hair in the future. If you continue like this, people around us will come to ask what's going on with us."
"I just can't help myself." Tang Yi stared deeply into Ji Tiantian's eyes.
Not long ago, their relationship had made substantial progress. However, after that, Ji Tiantian consciously kept her distance from him. It was as if nothing had ever happened between them. That night was just a dream.
Intellectually, he knew that they shouldn't fall in love right away, and at least they had to show results after their comeback. He had to restrain himself.
But from an emotional point of view, he felt that the current situation was really a test of his determination.
He could wait for a long time without a response. But now that he got a response, the greed in his heart grew wildly and uncontrollably. Every cell in his body was longing for her.
"In short, you should be more restrained and don't let the coach worry." Ji Tiantian said seriously.
"Okay." Tang Yi suppressed the strong desire in his heart and responded softly.
Ji Tiantian looked at Tang Yi's forbearing look and felt a little reluctant. Although in the eyes of the coach, he was a hot-blooded young man who needed to be controlled and restrained. But she knew that he had already become a mature man. In two lifetimes, he had waited for her for so many years with paranoia and madness.
She had an idea, and seeing that the coach and the people around them were not paying attention to them for the time being, she stood on tiptoe and pecked Tang Yi's cheek quickly.
Tang Yi opened his eyes slightly and forgot to breathe for a moment.
It took him a few seconds to come back to his senses, and he found that Ji Tiantian had already run to take photos with another wave of ice fans who had gathered around him. After a while, Ji Tiantian came over and pulled Tang Yi into the crowd.
Tang Yi looked at Ji Tiantian, who was smiling brightly beside him, with a deep gaze. He was like a very thirsty traveler, and then she gave him a handful of water.
She thought she was helping him by doing this, but she didn't know that this small handful of water was far from enough to quench his thirst, and even made him more thirsty.
Surrounded by fans, he showed a faint smile on his face, but his hands were clenched into fists. In a corner that no one noticed, he silently endured the ultimate torture called endurance.
The Winter Games ended with laughter and joy, and then it was New Year's Eve.
Around the Chinese New Year, when adults receive bonuses and children receive lucky money, everyone is more generous and willing to spend money. This period is the prime time for performances.
Busy Dancing The troupe is still performing on land and ice, and due to their popularity several more shows have been added.
The last performance on the eve of the Chinese New Year was unprecedentedly popular. Ji Tiantian and a group of performers stood on the ice and said "Happy New Year" to the audience together.
"Happy New Year! See you next year!" The audience threw flowers and dolls onto the ice and cheered continuously.
On New Year's Eve, Ji Tiantian returned to South City to reunite with her parents, and then soon returned to the capital to perform.
Ji Tiantian did not stop her other work. After the Chinese New Year, she and Tang Yi accepted an invitation from the foreign high-end fashion magazine "ELLE" to take insert photos and be interviewed. Of course, the interview was allowed by the figure skating team.
Fashion magazines usually focus on celebrities and models. It is rare for them to invite athletes because they feel that Ji Tang meets the magazine's requirements in terms of both his ability and international attention.
On the day of the photoshoot, Ji Tiantian wore a long pink gauze dress, held a bouquet of flowers, and stood in the indoor garden with Tang Yi, who was wearing a white suit. As requested by the photographer, Tang Yi and Ji Tiantian stared at each other with warm smiles.
"Isn't this a bit exaggerated?" After the photoshoot, Ji Tiantian held back and continued to talk to the photographer, "This looks like a wedding photo..."
"That's the feeling we want!" the photographer replied immediately. "We want to satisfy our readers' fantasies! Come on, strike a few more poses! Make them more intimate!"
So Ji Tiantian sat on Tang Yi's legs and shoulders and completed several lifts.
"We are very honored that the group that created miracles in the Winter Olympics can accept our interview." After the shooting, the French reporter in charge of the magazine interview asked Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi, "I heard that you mostly stayed in China this season to prepare ice dance dramas. But as far as I know, your dance drama performances are currently only performed in a relatively small ice rink. Have you considered performing in a larger performance venue?"
"Of course we have thought about it. But going to a bigger place also means paying more costs." Ji Tiantian answered softly in English, "In addition to rent, there are also labor costs to consider. In a smaller place, it doesn't matter if there are fewer performers. But if it is a bigger place, we will have to consider the performance effect, add more performers, and arrange more people to skate. The choreography needs to be more complex, and the costumes and props also require a lot of investment. But now we have received support from people from all walks of life, and we have begun to prepare to expand the scale of the performers."
"That's great! I really hope you can go on a world tour! If you come to France, I will definitely buy a ticket to watch!" The French reporter was full of admiration. After a while, she continued with an envious tone, "Ji, Tang, you are good partners on the field, and good business partners in performances. You rely on each other and achieve each other. Your relationship is really enviable."
"Yes, I also think that our current cooperative relationship is very good." Ji Tiantian nodded and smiled.
"You are not in any emotional relationship at the moment, right? I'm a little curious, if one of you finds someone else as an emotional partner, will your partnership still be so stable?" the French reporter asked again.
Ji Tiantian was silent for a moment, and Tang Yi took over the conversation.
"Since 2010, Ji and I have been working together for six years, but I often feel that we have been working together for much longer than six years. During this long period of time, our relationship has been very solid." Tang Yi curled up the corners of his mouth and showed a faint smile, "There are many things that Ji wants to accomplish, and only I can help her complete them. I believe that our relationship will not be disturbed by anyone or anything."
ELLE magazine has two versions, one in China and one in China. Soon after Ji Tang was interviewed, their interview transcript was made into two versions, Chinese and English, and their photos appeared in both versions of the magazine for sale worldwide.
Shortly after the magazine was released, Ji Tiantian found that her Weibo posts were filled with screams.
"Sisters, have you seen the magazine interview? Start bouncing!"
"Wedding photos, ah ah who died and came back to life! Ah it's me!"
"This interview is so good! Tang Yi's words are worth taking a screenshot and revisiting over and over again!"
"I believe that our relationship will not be disturbed by anyone or anything...hiss, hiss, the more you think about it, the truer it becomes!"
"Tang Yi, when are you going to take down Tiantian? Are you incapable of doing this?"
"Friends, I'm here to inform you about Tiantang's schedule. Their last match of the season, the World Championships, is about to begin. Hurry up and buy your tickets if you want to watch it live! Their free dance performance is the greatest love of the 20th century!"
In March, Ji Tang gradually stopped his work and performances and concentrated on preparing for this season's World Championships.
They stopped playing in the 2014-2015 season, and in the 2015-2016 season, they mainly played domestic games. The World Championships at the end of this season was their first return to the international stage after the break. Many people are paying attention to them.
In mid-March, the World Youth Championships began. The mixed-race brother and sister and the second ice dancer performed stably, winning the 11th and 16th places, securing two places for the country in the World Youth Championships.
After that, it was the World Championships at the end of March. This time, the team that competed in the World Championships was Ji Tang and Lin Aili. Because of the excellent performance of Lin Aili's team last season, China had two places in the World Championships this time.
The venue for this World Championships is Boston, USA. Ji Tang and all the contestants of the four figure skating events flew to the venue and checked into the designated hotel.
In the hotel, Ji Tang meets Mia Lucas again and they hug each other.
"Tiantian, I haven't seen you for nearly two seasons. I miss you so much!" Mia was a little excited. Lucas was also happy to see Ji Tiantian and wanted to hug her, but Tang Yi stopped him in time.
"I wonder if Leloana will come." Ji Tiantian said.
"Probably not." Mia shook her head somewhat disappointedly. "I heard that their performance in the domestic competition this time was not ideal either."
Ji Tiantian fell silent for a moment. The childhood sweethearts from Spain were old friends and rivals of Ji Tang and his partner. But after being promoted to the next group, the pair seemed to have been performing poorly. They were unable to rank high in domestic competitions, and thus were unable to qualify for international competitions and represent their country.
Being promoted to a higher group is a difficult hurdle for many players. If they cannot overcome it, they can only quietly disappear from everyone's sight.
"Ceramic doll, long time no see." After a while, Ji Tiantian heard an enthusiastic voice. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw her old friend Katerin walking towards her with cheerful steps.
"Let me introduce you to my new partner, Ivanov." Katerin brought her dance partner over as well.
Ji Tiantian looked at the strange combination in front of her and was a little surprised for a moment. In the Winter Olympics season, Ivanov was Aurora's partner.
As if she understood the surprise in Ji Tiantian's eyes, Katerin smiled and continued, "Aurora and Ivanov separated last season, and then we teamed up together. In the national competition, Aurora and her new partner did not perform well, so they are not eligible to come this time."
Ji Tiantian recalled the quarrel between Aurora and Ivanov during the Winter Olympics season, and felt that it was reasonable for the two of them to break up.
At this time, Katerina hugged Ivanov's neck, and the two of them were talking and laughing, looking very sweet.
"Are you... a couple?" Ji Tiantian couldn't help but ask.
She originally thought that Katerin would be more cautious after her experience of having a failed relationship with her dance partner that affected her career.
"I didn't intend to fall in love with my dance partner, but I just couldn't control myself." Katerin smiled at Ji Tiantian, "Ivanov and I often complain about Aurora together, and then our relationship... I don't know how it developed to this point."
"Then, wish you all the best." That was all Ji Tiantian could say.
After the draw, the short dance competition began.
The main rhythm of the short dance this season is the waltz. The contestants must use the waltz rhythm, and can also use foxtrot, march, and polka. The pattern dance is the Ravensburg Waltz, which is a waltz with faster footwork changes, but the overall difficulty is not as high as the Finnish quickstep in the Sochi Winter Olympics season.
This time, the Ravensburg Waltz is still divided into two parts, just like the previous pattern dances. There are 41 steps in total. Steps 1-19 are the first part, and steps 20-41 are the second part. The two parts are two technical movements, each with three key points. If you miss a key point, you will be downgraded and deducted points.
Ji Tang has already experienced the Finnish quickstep and has experience in waltzing in international competitions, so this season's short dance is not a difficult test for them.
Katerin and Ivanov of the Goose Group started the competition quickly. They made a mistake in a key point of the pattern dance, so part of the pattern dance was downgraded to level 3, the connecting steps were level 3, and the other difficult movements were level 4. In the end, the technical score was 34.01, the program content score was 33.81, and the total score was 67.82.
Next up was Canada's third team, Lucas and Mia. They also made a mistake in a key point, and their technical action was graded the same as the Goose team. Their technical score was 34.23, and their program content score was 33.82, for a total of 68.05.
Then Canada's second pair Judy Jayne completed the competition. Their technical movement grading was the same as the previous group, but they also made a mistake in a key point. The connecting step was level three, the technical score was 34.21, the program content score was 36.60, and the final score was 70.81.
Then, it was Ji Tang's turn. Ji Tang performed the short dance to their song "Magic Waltz". After that, they waited for their results in the waiting area. The technical score was 34.32, the program content score was 34.11, and the total score was 68.43.
"Ah... isn't Tiantang's score a bit low?" A Chinese ice fan in the audience exclaimed, "It's lower than Judy Jayne's group! During the Winter Olympics, Judy Jayne ranked sixth!"
After Ji Tiantian got her score, she immediately went to the information desk to get her own score sheet.
This time, Ji Tiantian failed to keep the beat when performing the choctah at the last key point of the second part of the pattern dance, which was steps 36-38 of the female partner, and received a "T" mark.
If the beat is wrong, you will get a "T" mark, if the blade is wrong, you will get an "N", and if it is correct, you will get a "Y". If you get a T or N, the pattern dance will be downgraded. Except for some pattern dances at level 3 and the step sequence at level 3, all other difficult movements are level 4.
"Tiantian skated like this in the Winter Games and the National Championships, and the referee didn't call any mistakes at the key points." Jiang Lin seemed thoughtful.
"It's very difficult to get the last point right. The previous groups made mistakes here as well. I think Tiantian is stuck between right and wrong. The domestic referees were more lenient and judged her right, while the World Championships referees were more strict and judged her wrong." said Xu Chi.
"But the GOE for this pattern dance is also low." Jiang Lin sighed softly, "Compared with Judy Jane's group, the content score is also a bit low."
"Well, let's see how the other players compete next." After Xu Chi said this, he and Ji Tiantian continued to look at the ice surface.
Next, the American team Rita Thompson, who ranked fourth in the Sochi Winter Olympics, finished the competition. They also made a mistake in a key point, which was the same as Ji Tang's technical difficulty level. Their technical score was 35.39, the program content score was 36.84, and the short dance score was 72.23.
"No way, with just one crucial point missed, the score is still that high!" A veteran ice fan in the audience expressed disbelief.
Afterwards, Dariya Nikolay, the second-ranked Goose Combination in the Sochi Winter Olympics, completed the short dance, with no mistakes in the key points of the pattern dance, and all the difficult movements were rated as level 4, which is the full rating. They scored 38.21 points for technique, 37.65 points for program content, and 75.86 points for short dance.
Finally, Victoria and William, the Canadian team ranked first in the Sochi Winter Olympics, completed the short dance and also achieved full rating, with a technical score of 39.54, a program content score of 38.51, and a short dance score of 78.05.
The short dance competition is over and the short dance rankings of all contestants are displayed on the display screen.
1st place Victoria Williams of Canada 78.05
2nd place Darya Nikolay of Russia 75.86
3rd place: Rita Thompson of the United States 72.23
4th place: Judy Jayne of Canada 70.81
5th place: China Ji Tiantian Tang Yi 68.43
6th place: Mia Lucas of Canada, 68.05
7th place: Katerin Ivanov of Russia: 67.82
Lin Aili made two mistakes in the second level of the connecting step, and scored 57.48, ranking 14th.
“Ahhh, how could this happen! Tiantang is only ranked fifth!” The Chinese ice fans in the audience started discussing anxiously.
"The gap between them and the American team is quite big! They weren't that big of a gap in the Winter Olympics! Did the American team really improve, or is it the advantage of playing at home?"
"The score is a bit low. It's the same as the Sweet Candy move, but the score is nearly 4 points higher... This is simply..."
"Is it the advantage of playing at home?"
"Not only that. Recently, there have been changes in the ice dance referee camp. The referee camp has always been divided into two major camps: Big Goose and North America. In the Winter Olympics, the number of referees in the two camps is about the same, and they check and balance each other, so the scoring is relatively fair... But this season, the proportion of referees in the North American camp has increased. They will be more lenient in scoring the players from the United States and Canada, two North American countries. The scoring for the Big Goose and our players is more strict."
"Ah... no wonder, the scores of the Sweetie and Goose groups are a bit low. Generally speaking, Katerin and the others won't lose to Lucas' group, right?"
"But isn't it said that ice dancing is easier to defend than to attack? Once you're in third place, you generally won't come down, right?"
"Tian Tang doesn't have the nationality protection of ice and snow superpowers like Russia and the United States, and without the referee's protection, this rule may not apply. Looking at this situation... the North American referee really wants to pull Tian Tang down and hand the world's third place to the American team..."
Ji Tiantian stood silently at the edge of the ice and clenched her fists gently.
After being away from the international arena for two years, she almost forgot that she must do her best to make her technical movements flawless.
Otherwise, they can easily be surpassed by European and American players with high P scores or higher GOE bonus points.
If you want to maintain your position or achieve better results, you must not relax at all.
The author has something to say:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
