Chapter 20 20th Year Finals
The second week of December.
He Hui's parents kept their promise, took leave in advance and brought Lu Xing with them, and the whole family flew to Quebec, Canada. This is the venue for the Grand Prix Finals. The adult and youth groups of this competition were arranged together, and the six players with the highest points in each event throughout the year competed here.
In addition to He Hui, who represented the women's singles in the Chinese youth group, there were two pairs skaters, each of whom won two championships and advanced. Pairs skating is not set up in every station, which means that they completely won all four pairs championships.
As for the adult group, Tan Ling was stuck in development and could not come, and the men's singles was in a period of transition. Only the doubles performed as steadily as before and advanced to two groups.
The hotel we stayed in held a small welcome ceremony for all the athletes before the competition officially started and prepared a simple buffet, which was simple and warm.
Unfortunately, Coach Ma, who came again to promote pair skating, broke the peaceful atmosphere before the game.
"He Hui, do you still remember me?" Coach Ma found a very "clever" time. Lin Xiaoman happened to be busy and left the hall, and he forced a greeting right after she left.
He Hui pondered for a moment, digging out scattered fragments from the depths of her memory. She had some impression, but it was obviously not a good one.
"What can I do for you?" He Hui asked.
Coach Ma said earnestly, "Although you are skating very well now, women's singles will probably encounter difficulties in development. Look at Tan Ling, her competitive state is declining so fast that she even missed the triple triple jump. But the life cycle of pair skating is longer, and with a partner, we can overcome difficulties together."
He talked a lot, but He Hui was not attracted at all and remained silent. If she was not polite, she might have turned around and left.
"In fact, we invited Tan Ling before, but she refused. Now, sigh." Coach Ma's words were ambiguous. He probably felt that Tan Ling was ungrateful and hoped that He Hui could learn from her mistakes. "We really think that you will have a bright future in pairs skating."
"I'm sorry, I refuse your invitation." He Hui didn't want to listen to Coach Ma's comments on Tan Ling anymore. "Coach Ma, I think everyone has ups and downs. The most important thing is to stick to your original intention. I also believe that the players on your team who can skate well must all be very passionate about the event of pair skating."
"You really no longer..."
"I really don't consider it." He Hui interrupted Coach Ma.
The result was as expected, Coach Ma returned empty-handed.
"Don't pay attention to Coach Ma. He's just like that. He's always thinking about how to poach ready-made skaters." A girl quietly came up to He Hui and said, "I'm a pair skater. My name is Shang Yuqing."
"I am He Hui."
Shang Yuqing whispered seriously, "I think you have a bright future in single skating. People should do what they like. To be honest, I also switched from single skating back then, and I found that my jumping was too weak."
It was a very realistic answer, but He Hui looked into her eyes and the passion for figure skating in them did not seem fake.
He Hui asked back: "So do you like pair skating now?"
"Of course!" Shang Yuqing grinned, "If you don't like it, it will be hard to stick to it."
"That's good."
He Hui smiled. She applauded from the bottom of her heart for everyone who could pursue their dreams and persisted in running on the road to pursuing their dreams.
There were several adult contestants at the welcome ceremony, but He Hui was spoiled by Coach Ma, so he ate a few bites and went back to his room to rest.
She lay on the big bed, feeling depressed.
During the conversation with Coach Ma today, what made He Hui most uncomfortable was that even though she had won two championships in the youth group, it was still not enough for Coach Ma to think that she was dazzling enough and that he could not steal her away.
There is a saying that goes, those who are slightly worse will give people the illusion that they can catch up, but those who are much worse will only make people look up to them.
She thought about it and made up her mind again.
——In any case, the debut of 3A is imminent!
*
There was no adult competition on the first day of competition, and the junior women's short program started after the pairs skating.
As a candidate for the championship, He Hui has raised the expectations of many Chinese netizens. Even with a half-day time difference, they are still excited.
After all, He Hui was a genius who had emerged out of nowhere. In his first year of international competition, He Hui secured the top spot in the points table with two first-place finishes.
The Russian player Anna Victoria also won the first place in two stations. The American player Hardy Irene and the Japanese player Eriko Sanada were shortlisted with the results of one championship and one runner-up. The four of them are strong contenders for the podium.
The Grand Prix Final was broadcast live on TV, and the live broadcast building on the Internet was built at a rapid pace.
1L: "Which one is He Hui going to play? I feel like this Ana's jump is pretty strong, bv's set is similar to He Hui's."
2L: "Fifth up! To be honest, He Hui's skating is really outstanding, but it's a pity that the referee has no taste for appreciation!!"
3L: "Finally the finals. Hardy Irene is a typical sweet girl, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is so pretty! But her jumps are too unstable. There are three in total. I fell in one and shook in another. Sigh."
The next person to come on stage was Eriko Sanada, which meant that the controversy over the same song was happening again, and the two people who appeared before and after were inevitably compared.
4L: "Sanada played pretty well today. He had stable output in all three jumps."
5L: "Moonlight will be played again on the field soon. If you don't know, you might think the music player is stuck, hahaha."
The first time is unfamiliar, the second time is familiar. When faced with the same song again, He Hui was more calm.
He Hui's family sat in the front row of the audience.
Lu Yanfeng, who is usually intellectual and elegant in class, is holding a banner of her eldest daughter He Hui. The picture used is He Hui's beautiful swallow-style, and the detailed art design is the work of her youngest daughter Lu Xing. When the host announced He Hui's name, she immediately opened the banner unskillfully and shook it slightly left and right.
He Jianmu placed his hands stiffly on his thighs, clapping half a beat late, and his rhythm was totally out of sync with the people around him.
As for Lu Xing, she was holding the sketchbook for recording her inspirations in her left hand, and tightly grasping a pencil in her right hand, wanting to capture He Hui's appearance on the frozen white paper.
He Hui saw the three people at a glance and smiled at them.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, stood in the center of the field, and the song she had performed countless times quickly emerged in her mind.
This is the third time He Hui skated Moonlight in the competition this season. As the music started, her emotions spread to her fingertips, and she did not hesitate for a moment. The full arc, smart rotation, and elegant jumps composed this classic piece.
In that crazy marching section, He Hui was even more devoted than in her first appearance. Her superficial use of the blade and stumbling gliding in her previous life had already undergone a comprehensive transformation, becoming a brilliant movement that made the audience applaud throughout the whole process.
42L: "Although I don't know much about figure skating, I can see with my naked eyes that He Hui's program is cleaner and more beautiful! And He Hui's jump has a sense of delay, which makes her look particularly effortless."
43L: "As expected! The saying goes that the same song is not a big deal, whoever is not good will be embarrassed, and the small bench is divided equally."
He Hui used up almost all of his remaining energy to complete the last spin, and bowed out with the audience amid applause.
Snap, snap—
Dolls were hit onto the ice one after another, causing He Hui to pause as he walked off the ice rink.
She blinked and looked at the dozen or so dolls, turned around and slid over in disbelief, picked up a white doll in the area where the little ice boy had not had time to work, and slid down again.
"Look! I have a lot of dolls this time!" He Hui pointed to the ice rink proudly.
Lin Xiaoman put her coat on and said with a smile, "I'm not trying to discourage you, but compared to your coach when he was young, he's still a lot worse."
? Whose good coach praises himself every day? ! She reasonably suspected that Lin Xiaoman also wanted a doll.
He Hui: "Then this is for you?"
Lin Xiaoman waved her hand and said, "These are all for you. You must cherish everyone's kindness."
He Hui was stunned. Yes, although it was just an ordinary doll, it represented the recognition of her by the fans, and its commemorative value far exceeded that of the doll pendants of luxury brands.
She thought that she would have to find a special room to store the ice-fan dolls when she got home.
During the conversation, He Hui's short program score came out - 61.01 points, which was less than one point higher than the score in Italy.
"She scored 0.4 points higher than Eriko Sanada." Lin Xiaoman said, "Let's take a look at Anna's performance."
Just as he finished speaking, the host announced that the blonde Anna Victoria came on stage. She is one year older than He Hui and this is her second season in the youth category.
67L: "Anna and He Hui both advanced as first place in two stations. I feel like we are finally going to compete against each other. I am so excited."
68L: "If it was last year's Anna, her score would probably be on par with He Hui's. Unfortunately, she has become more familiar this year."
Anna was wearing a black top and red bottom, with a circle of small rhinestones on the joints, shining under the light, looking sexy and charming, which was also in line with her short program song "Carmen". Carmen is a classic song that contestants often sing every year.
Anna's set of configuration is higher than He Hui's. She adopted the Russian players' unique 3-Lo instead of 3-T in the continuous jump. This small change earned her a considerable score difference.
Lin Xiaoman was sitting side by side with He Hui at the moment, holding her head up and watching the performance on the screen carefully. Whether He Hui could keep the first place after the short program depended mainly on Anna's performance.
"3F+3Lo, 3Lz, 2A, all of them are pretty good." Lin Xiaoman changed the direction of the hand supporting her head, "It's just that this step should not be graded as level four, her skating speed is pretty average."
"But her art score must be higher than mine." He Hui laughed at himself.
Lin Xiaoman stared at the screen without comment.
As Anna's short program on the screen was about to finish, Lin Xiaoman continued, "I think her score will be higher than yours."
Two minutes later, the result was as expected.
Anna Victoria's final score was 62.50 points, 1.49 points higher than He Hui.
Lin Xiaoman patted He Hui on the shoulder and said, "It's okay. Everything is possible in the free skating."
He Hui nodded, his eyes filled with an incomparable desire for victory, "Of course!!"
*
The fact that He Hui finished second after the short program by more than one point was not the worst. What was worse was that public opinion was developing in a weird direction. The cause of the incident was the silent release of a group of competition photos on the Internet.
As an event held simultaneously with the adult Grand Prix Finals, the number of media and spectators at this event more than tripled compared to the junior Grand Prix finals.
Gu Lei is an internationally renowned photo news agency, known for its complete lack of photo editing. Its raw photos are what terrify celebrities, and its main focus is newsworthiness, timeliness, and authenticity. In its photo gallery, there are many photos related to the finals, and there are six photos with He Hui's name on them.
One is her entrance pose, two are her Biellmann spin and swallow spin, and the remaining three are jumps.
In the photo, He Hui's face looked ferocious when he jumped, with his eyebrows raised at a weird angle. It would not be an exaggeration to say that his eyes and mouth were crooked.
Late in the evening, the live broadcast building, which had originally been quiet, became lively again.
90L: "This jumping face is so cruel..."
91L: "God damn it, Gu Lei, give me back my beautiful girl, woooooo!"
92L: "So ugly! I wanted to get into He Hui's shoes, but now I want to back out..."
Soon, several new pictures appeared in the building, igniting a second round of controversy over He Hui's appearance.
Those were a few close-up photos from an anonymous user, who deliberately enlarged He Hui's face to an almost blurred level to show the ugly, jumping face of this new talented girl.
122L: "It's really scary. I'm going to have a nightmare."
123L: "It's so funny. If you look at any athlete, they are basically in this state, right? Figure skating should focus more on strength and performance, right? It's not like you're really a star..."
Among the numerous complaints, there were occasional silent rebuttals from fans, but they were quickly drowned out by the lively carnival. Moreover, this topic once spread from the live broadcast room to various platforms.
Lin Xiaoman noticed the change in public opinion at the first moment. She knocked on He Hui's door, fearing that her mentality would be affected before the crucial free skating.
"You didn't check your phone, did you?" Lin Xiaoman asked tentatively.
"Unfortunately, I just saw it." He Hui shook his phone.
Lin Xiaoman's face changed, and her tone was filled with anxiety. "Don't listen to their nonsense. The most important thing for an athlete is to get a good result. What does that have to do with all that mess!"
He Hui smiled easily and replied calmly: "Then I'll be more ferocious in the free skating."
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