Chapter 85 Sliding towards Beijing and Zhangjiakou
End of July, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The high temperature in summer causes visible air currents to rise from the asphalt road mixed with the smell of gasoline, and the scorched road exudes the smell of asphalt.
The Beijing Olympic bid delegation came to this tropical city, waiting for the final decision of the 128th International Olympic Committee Session on the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
In addition to the leaders of the host city and officials from the Chinese Olympic Committee, there were five Olympic champions in the group.
China does not have much advantage in winter events, so three of the five are Summer Olympic champions.
He Hui, the pride of the Chinese figure skating team who has broken world records continuously, was also specially invited to join the final presentation team.
Basically, the medals of each Winter Olympics come from a few fixed strong events, such as short track speed skating, speed skating, freestyle skiing and so on.
For example, another Winter Olympic champion in the team is Qiao Zhen, a short track speed skater who has retired for many years and has won the title for three consecutive years.
In contrast, in figure skating, it is often difficult to even get two places.
But since He Hui came out of nowhere, the momentum of figure skating has been very obvious. The team bronze medal and women's singles gold medal in Sochi are not only an honor, but also an encouragement. He Hui has made more Chinese audiences understand figure skating and even directly participate in it.
The delegation's schedule was a bit tight. They came with a mission, and every day before the exhibition was full.
As a result, Li Chumiao's original plan to invite He Hui to dinner to fulfill her role as host was postponed to after the result was announced.
When they arrived at the meeting, the Chinese delegation and the Kazakhstan delegation met each other, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
This time there are two finalist cities - Beijing-Zhangjiakou in China and Almaty in Kazakhstan.
He Hui looked around the exhibition hall calmly, observing the busy people with curiosity.
Qiao Zhen is thirty-six years old this year. She has short hair and wears a full suit. She looks like a big sister with a strong aura.
Qiao Zhen thought He Hui was nervous, so she patted He Hui on the shoulder.
"Relax for a while." Qiao Zhen said.
He Hui nodded: "Okay, but I'm not really nervous."
In her previous life, as the president of the He Group, she also spoke at various conferences or events. Although she didn't like it, she had a lot of experience. What's more, the delegation had rehearsed the whole set more than a dozen times, and knew the process by heart.
The most important thing is that He Hui has the memories of his previous life and knows that Beijing will be elected without any surprise.
Qiao Zhen smiled: "That's good."
*
The formal presentation began and the Chinese delegation made their presentations one by one in the order previously arranged.
After Qiao Zhen made an impassioned and powerful statement, she handed the microphone to He Hui.
The microphone handle carries the residual warmth of Qiao Zhen's palm. The microphone seems to have become a baton, conveying the past, present and future of China's Winter Olympics.
He Hui is one of the new generation of young people in the team, but he is not afraid at all.
Dressed in a smart suit, she walked onto the stage with ease and began her impromptu speech.
At the end of the manuscript, He Hui said: "I hope that more young people can take advantage of the opportunity of the Winter Olympics to join the cause of ice and snow sports, and I hope that the construction of venues and supporting facilities can become an Olympic legacy to benefit society."
"Ultimately, I hope to have the opportunity to attend a Winter Olympics close to home."
He Hui talked about something very big, but it turned out to be very small.
There was thunderous applause.
"Thank you for the wonderful speeches by the Chinese and Kazakh delegations," the host said. "Now, IOC members, please vote by secret ballot."
The waiting time always seems so long that even He Hui, who can predict the future, can't help but feel his heart beating faster.
She sat in the dark, looking at the brightly lit stage, and could clearly hear the footsteps of the host stepping onto the stage.
The person sitting next to He Hui happened to be Qiao Zhen.
Her face was serious. Despite being a three-time Winter Olympic gold medalist and having experienced too many critical moments of cardiac arrest, Qiao Zhen quietly clenched her fists.
Every second before the host announced the result became more and more unbearable, and the drawn-out tone was like the teeth of a saw, repeatedly cutting holes in one's heart.
Finally, there was a crackling sound from the microphone, and the final result was finally announced.
"Congratulations Beijing-Zhangjiakou!"
Beijing-Zhangjiakou eventually received 46 votes and won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics by a margin of 6 votes.
He Hui inexplicably remembered the numbers from his previous life very clearly: Beijing-Zhangjiakou defeated Almaty by a margin of 4 votes. Now, it is 6 votes.
He Hui was lost in thought when he was suddenly pulled up by the person next to him.
Everyone raised their arms and cheered. There was jubilation all around and the screams seemed to blow the roof off.
“Success!”
“We did it!!”
Everyone hugged and congratulated each other. Those present were people who had been fighting for the Olympics all their lives. Some of them came here since 2008 and were still very excited to experience the experience of being successfully elected again in their lives.
But in just a moment, many people were already in tears.
For example, Qiao Zhen, who had never cried on the field, now choked with sobs as she held He Hui in her arms.
"I actually... saw this moment with my own eyes... with my own eyes." Qiao Zhen's words were intermittent.
He Hui gently stroked Senior Qiao Zhen's back, again and again.
In fact, He Hui also felt like crying. She was infected by the atmosphere around her and was proud that she could participate in this historic moment.
This moment made her more determined to move forward towards her idealistic career.
She looked at the cheering people and made a secret decision in her heart.
——She wanted to talk to her stubborn father again.
*
The next day, at the cafe.
The first thing Li Chumiao said when she saw He Hui was "Congratulations", and the second thing she said was "I have officially changed my coach."
"Congratulations on your first day! It's time to start a new chapter in your life."
This time it was He Hui's turn to congratulate her.
"So, in the end, did you choose Simon or Vanessa?" He Hui asked, "How did you decide?"
"To be honest, I struggled for a while. It was not an easy decision to make." Li Chumiao said, "I went to the United States specially to conduct an on-site investigation."
He Hui rested her elbows on the table, supporting her head and ready to listen to the story. There was even a cup of hot cocoa in front of her, everything was ready.
"I went to Simon's club first. It was very luxurious, and the hardware conditions were basically the best in the world." Li Chumiao glanced out the transparent French window and fell into reminiscence. "In fact, the staff team is also very good, and the supporting personnel such as physical trainers and nutritionists are also very complete. I went to a few trial classes, and to be honest, everything is pretty good."
"The price seems very good, too." He Hui took a sip of hot cocoa and almost got scalded, so she stuck out her tongue to cool down.
"That's right." Li Chumiao said, "But this is not the most important thing. The key is that during the three days of the trial, I met Simon for no more than an hour."
"There are several top players that he really coached, right? If I remember correctly, there are both men's and women's singles."
"Yes. So for mid-level players like us, he basically gives us some guidance every day, looking for problems with our jumps and steps, and giving us some pointers."
He Hui nodded: "Not surprising."
“But during the few days of trying out with Vanessa, I felt that I was taken care of 100%.” Li Chumiao continued, “Although she seems to have only coached one other American female singles player, she knows very well the difficulties of an ordinary player like me.”
"So, you finally chose Vanessa." He Hui concluded.
"Yes, I will go to Boston, USA for training later." Li Chumiao explained where she was going. "I hope I can make a breakthrough."
"Of course, this is a new beginning!" He Hui nodded solemnly, "It must be the beginning of a beautiful story."
Li Chumiao smiled: "I hope so."
*
After returning from Malaysia, He Hui once again organized a family meeting to celebrate the honor of Beijing's successful application for the Winter Olympics.
"In August, I want to organize an ice show." He Hui dropped a bombshell at the family meeting, "This is the direction I hope to try in the future."
The three people on the opposite side fell silent at the same time.
Lu Xing looked at his mother on the left, then at his father on the right, and then he felt that he was being stared at by his sister.
She cleared her throat and raised her voice: "Wow, what a great idea!"
The sisters who usually don't get along with each other suddenly support each other. Lu Yanfeng and He Jianmu immediately saw the clues.
He Jianmu snorted coldly, "If you want to do it, do it yourself."
He Hui frowned. Did Dad agree? Wasn't this agreement too easy?
When something is abnormal, there must be something wrong!
Sure enough, He Jianmu continued: "It's your own business, you earn your own money and run it yourself."
He Hui understood. This meant that he would not donate a penny and would not help in any way.
After hearing this, Lu Yanfeng knew that the father and daughter were arguing again, and he held his forehead helplessly.
He Jianmu took advantage of Lu Yanfeng's opening to continue provoking He Hui: "Don't you regard money as dirt and pursue the supreme idealism in your heart?"
Well, this is a typical case of adding fuel to the fire.
The anger in He Hui's heart burned even more fiercely, and he confronted He Jianmu head-on.
"Okay, do it yourself." He Hui sneered, and her temper came up. "Do you really think that I can't accomplish anything without you?"
He Hui thought, didn't she start from the department in her previous life? Organizing an ice show is ultimately a large-scale public event. Doesn't she know the process?
"Okay, I'll wait and see." He Jianmu agreed immediately, then turned to look at Lu Yanfeng, "She has already said that she will do it herself, so don't deny her this opportunity and lend a helping hand."
The last time the father and daughter had a direct quarrel, this time they started to be sarcastic to each other.
Lu Yanfeng felt a little tired.
To be honest, she really hoped that He Hui could get some help to make this matter go more smoothly.
"If you need help, tell me."
He Hui was very angry at the moment. He Jianmu had said so. If he really accepted Lu Yanfeng's funding, wouldn't he be even more willing to accept his thoughts that he was not good enough?
"Mom, no need." Miss He said, "I can earn my own money."
"Let her earn it herself." He Jianmu followed immediately.
Lu Yanfeng: “…”
Lu Xing was watching the game silently. She felt like she had just watched a big battle, and the battlefield was in a mess.
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