ice emperor

At 1999:3 am on March 16, 23, in downtown Edmonton, Canada, in the Maple Park Ice and Snow Arena. In the 98-99 season, the World Youth Figure Skating Championships and the women's singles event were in full swing. The 36 players participating in the men's singles short program at [-]:[-] pm were also busy deciding their order of appearance in the competition, drawing lots.

In the meeting room where the ceremony was held, apart from officials from the ISU International Skating Federation and the organizing committee of this World Youth Championship, there were contestants and staff members wearing uniforms of various national teams, as well as a dozen or twenty Sports media from Canada, the United States, Europe, Russia, and other countries.

According to common sense, at this tense moment when the lottery ceremony is about to start, there should be no noise at the scene except for the sound of media reporters taking pictures.

But there are some people who stand out from others. Not only do they not sit with their partners who wear the same style as the Canadian team, but they also have a voice that seems small but loud. Athletes, chatting in full swing.Moreover, the topic of the chat changed from east to west for a while, making the surroundings very interested in their relationship, and wanting to hear what they were talking about, the Canadian media went crazy.

I can't wait to stand up from my seat and grab the handsome boy with golden brown hair to warn him.If you want to chat, speak clearly, don't just say things that people don't understand!

"Oh, Louis, this is definitely not my exaggeration. The smell on Horn's feet is indeed... well, well, you obviously don't want to hear this smelly topic, so I'll change it."

I haven't seen him for more than half a year, and I miss my good friend very much. Johnny Watsonburg, who just became the Canadian National Figure Skating Championship last year and the junior champion, after meeting his dear brother, first explained his recent situation and asked After the friend's life after returning to China, he immediately began to pour out bitter water, constantly talking about the bad things he couldn't bear with the new young friends he met.

Sitting next to him, An Yi listened quietly.Happy for good friends, worried for good friends.

Especially when he heard that a few months ago, a good friend sprained his ankle while practicing quadrupeds, his heart suddenly changed, his expression changed instantly, and he almost took off his friend's shoes on the spot to check the condition of his injury. recovery situation.

Johnny Wassenberg, of course, was touched by the reaction of his best friend, who cared so much about him.Without waiting for his friend to do anything, he took off the sneakers on his right foot, pulled up his trousers and took off his socks, and stretched out his feet in front of his good brother for him to check.

The corners of the mouths of the various Canadian media outlets watching around twitched, holding cameras and video cameras in their hands, wondering whether they should film this scene or not.

You know, the crazy blonde boy in front of him is the star of hope for the young generation in Canada.How many boys and girls all over the country are obsessed with him and become crazy. If they see this scene, they will go crazy.

"Is it really not hurting, Johnny? Why do I feel that the Achilles tendon of the heel is still a little blue?"

Not too dirty at all, An Yi directly held up his good friend's right foot, stretched out his hand, pointed at the place that he thought was inappropriate, and pressed it lightly twice. Not sure about his judgment, he asked his friend for confirmation with words.

Hearing this question, Johnny Wassenberg responded quite simply.

He directly pulled his foot out of An Yi's hand, held it in the air, and kept spinning left and right.It went on for three to 40 seconds in a row, during which time, there was no expression on his face, and any expression of unwillingness to adapt finally made An Yi truly relieved.

Heaving a sigh of relief, watching him put on his socks and put on his shoes, An Yi changed the subject and began to care about the recent situation of Joyce and another friend, Cindy Celaya.

One of the two was focused on asking, the other was talking happily, not caring at all about where this place is or whether there are team officials present behind the athletes.During the period, you came and went, and I don’t know how many precious materials were captured by the surrounding media reporters. They kept chatting until the staff who presided over the lottery ceremony opened the microphone, and then they stopped, who obviously hadn’t talked enough. Move your attention and sight to the direction of the rostrum directly in front of the athletes.

"Now the lottery ceremony has officially begun. Please keep quiet."

The blond-haired, fair-skinned, plump female competition organizing committee official explained the specific process of the lottery and the rules for grouping the 36 athletes after a brief opening remark.

Off the court, An Yi was a little absent-minded, because he knew that it was impossible for him to rank very high.The best order of appearance is the highest, that is, the third group of players is the last to play.Even thinking about one or two more people in the future is an extravagant wish.

The draw order of the World Youth Championships and World Championships is also particular. Before the official competition, look at the results of the participating athletes last season, the world points ranking, all the way down, and there is no row at the end, and it will be the turn of a fledgling like him. A freshman who took the lead in the qualifiers.

Even good friend Johnny Watsonburg's pick is not as good. He is also the champion of the Canadian youth group, holds one of the three places in Canada, and directly enters the official competition.Compared with his muddy legs who came out of "struggle" in the countryside, I don't know where he is so noble.

"The first draw is the Canadian player, Timo Horn."

The lottery ceremony officially began. The staff arranged the six names in groups from back to front, from high to low, and put the 36 number plates from big to small in batches in the order of 6 rounds. A black velvet cloth bag for contestants to draw.

Five or six minutes later, when the name of the second contestant in the third group who stepped forward to draw lots was read out by the staff, An Yigang turned his attention to his good friend.

A white camera flash flashed in front of my eyes. It is no exaggeration to say that I absolutely lost my vision for more than ten seconds. I couldn't help but close my eyes to try to relieve it. I immediately heard Johnny Wasenberg from Canada, twitching. Won the penultimate place in the third group, the number is the 23rd lottery.

Regarding this result, An Yi sighed that his good friend's position and luck are really good.

Let's hope he's as lucky when he draws the lottery himself.

Ranked No.1 in the qualifiers, among the rookies who have no points and no world rankings, they can be regarded as chicken heads.Of course it would be best to be the last player in the third group, and it is not unacceptable for him to move two places forward.

"Let's start the fourth group."

"The first one is, from China... well, Louis Watts."

It seemed that he was surprised for two or three seconds after seeing his English name. After the official who presided over the drawing ceremony read An Yi's name, he deliberately moved his gaze to the athletes. After seeing him stand up from his seat, his eyes were calm. She looked him over without showing any emotion.

An Yi didn't know anything about it. He stood up after hearing the official pronounce his name, gave a high-five to Johnny who was sitting next to him, and went straight to the velvet bag. Put the new number plate in front of the staff.Seeing the man carrying the bag shaking evenly, the eager expression on his eyes did not know why he was a little happy, and he successfully made many people around him who were observing him laugh.

The reason why this happens is simple.

Because of his typical mixed-race appearance, he has half-length black hair, but it is matched with a pair of deep facial features and clear blue eyes.

Coupled with his slender and well-proportioned figure, the unique temperament produced by the fusion of the two races of the East and the West naturally attracted the curiosity and natural favor of many media.Especially the local media in Canada are particularly familiar with the surname Woz.It seems that vaguely, I have already seen some familiar and unforgettable figures from the face of this young Chinese mixed-race boy...

"Come on boy, good luck."

"Thank you, ma'am."

With a smile on his face, thanking the staff in front of him for their blessings, An Yi stretched his hand into the velvet bag in front of his eyes, which was about to decide his order of appearance.

The next moment, his fingertips felt a coolness and touched something.

Without hesitation, he pinched his fingers and quickly withdrew his palm from the cloth bag. He handed the coin-sized number plate to the staff and glanced at it at the same time. He saw the number '18' in his eyes and heard the number '[-]' in his ears. Settle down the heart hanging in the throat.

That's it.

This is the best lottery he can draw at this stage, and the last player in the third group is already in the middle.

At that time, as long as he works hard, skates out of the level, and performs normally, when he enters the free skating stage, it is not impossible to get a better lottery.

In the short program competition in the afternoon, although the program moves were stipulated, he did not believe that the competitors ahead of him could complete according to the highest standard.The reason why he said this was not to underestimate those opponents on purpose, but to combine the information that Johnny told him when he was chatting with his friend Johnny just now.

For those players who directly entered the main match, which ones can jump out of 3a, and which ones still stay in 2a, he already probably knows.Although it does not rule out the possibility that other athletes hide their strength, at least it can be used as a reference.

The third group, the second group, the first group.

After 15 minutes, all the 36 players participating in the men's singles short program competition were drawn by lots.

At [-]:[-], when the staff on the rostrum finished counting, and finally wished all athletes a smooth competition and good results.In an instant, An Yi noticed a sharp gaze stabbing from his side. He turned his head and saw his good brother. Johnny Wasenberg was burning with strong fighting spirit. He was focused, serious, and eager to fight him. eyes.

Facing this situation, what can An Yi say and do?

Without him!

Respond to him, accept it, beat him!

The arena is like a battlefield, the winner is king, and the winner has everything.Since he himself doesn't like losing, and doesn't like the sense of loss and powerlessness, he can only say sorry to his best friend.

……