Blade of Glory [Figure Skating]

As if worried about disturbing Qingyue's rest before the game, and as if wanting to give Qingyue more time to think, Ye Da didn't stay in Qingyue's dormitory long before leaving.However, the words he said kept reappearing in Qing Yue's mind, and they continued, making Qing Yue, who had just made up his mind, waver again.

He huddled himself on the sofa, put his arms around his knees, frowned, and his breathing became heavier.

[We all love the long program you've been using this season.Moreover, this long program also allowed you to win the championship of the division in the pre-season grand prix.In other words, this is a program recognized by the referee team. 】【We have also heard about the long program you plan to use in the Olympic Games, and we know that you put a lot of effort into that program.But, that might not be right for you. 】【We... all hope that you can reconsider which long program to use in the competition. 】【If you can change your mind, we Xishu in the International Ice Federation can still have people who can talk to you, and can let you temporarily replace the 'Three Hundred Warriors of Sparta' before the game...】When those words When Qing Yue was talking faster and faster in his mind, he stood up abruptly, left a note for Chu Xuan, put on his coat, put on a scarf and gloves, and went out the door.

The corridors are brightly lit.However, the window at the end of the corridor reflected the heavy snow outside the building.In the twilight before the competition, the corridors of the dormitory building in the Olympic Village seemed very quiet, which made Qingyue's footsteps very clear, and even... had a little echo.

His footsteps became faster and faster, and he rushed to the room where Naxiu lived, but stopped abruptly when he arrived.

Qing Yue panted slightly, the hand that was about to knock on the door froze there, raised it and then lowered it, lowered it and raised it again.He even wanted to turn around and leave, but in the end he knocked on the door...

"Naxiu, you said...you think I can go further than you in figure skating and do what you wanted to do but failed to do, don't you?"

When Naxiu opened the door, he heard Qing Yue who came in a hurry ask this sentence.At this moment, there was a pleading in Qing Yue's eyes that even he himself hadn't noticed.

Seeing Qing Yue like this, Na Xiu gave an affirmative answer before thinking too much: "Yes, I believe that if it were you, you would definitely be able to do it."

Because of this sentence, all the voices entrenched in Qingyue's mind disappeared.The haze dissipated in an instant.He knew what kind of cold reception a top player who lost in the quadrennial Olympic Games would receive. He also knew that at his age, Naxiu had become a myth standing at the top of the world ice circle.

But at this moment...he seemed to be not afraid of anything.

Seeing the expectation in Naxiu's eyes, Qing Echihou smiled knowingly, took a step forward, and gave Naxiu a hug.He hugged Na Xiu vigorously, with a smile soaked in joy on his face.

"Thank you...thank you...thank you...thank you for everything..."

Qing Yue buried himself in Na Xiu's shoulder, murmuring that sentence incessantly.After a long time, he raised his head and looked at Naxiu with a smile.Reluctantly let go of the person who brought him into this ice world.

After asking this nonsensical question, Qing Yue took two easy steps back and said, "Then I'll go back first! Naxiu should also pay attention to rest! Tomorrow... I will definitely work hard!"

As he said that, Qing Yue ran away without a trace, which made Na Xiu quite confused about the situation.However, after thinking for a while, he seemed to understand the answer to the question, smiled lightly, and closed the door.

When Qing Yue returned to the dormitory, Chu Xuan who had gone out had already returned.At this moment, he was holding the landline in the dormitory as if he was facing an enemy. When he saw Qing Yue entering the door, he immediately handed the phone to Qing Yue with a sigh of relief.

"Looking for you."

Seeing this scene, Qing Yue answered the phone in doubt.

"Hello, hello."

"Excuse me, is this Mr. Qingyue?" A middle-aged man's voice came out from the phone.

"Yes, are you...?"

"I'm a staff member of the International Ice Federation. I want to confirm with you whether you want to replace your long program "Three Hundred Warriors of Sparta" with "Blue Jays" that has been skating this season."

"No, I'm sorry, I don't plan to change the game program."

……

In the end, Qingyue still failed to replace the "Three Hundred Warriors of Sparta" that made everyone feel uncertain before the game.That day, he went to bed early, wrapped himself in a warm quilt, stared blankly at the ceiling, thinking about how he would be skating on the ice rink tomorrow.

Thinking, thinking, and then slowly closed his eyes like this, and entered a dark and sweet dream.

It's just that this time he never dreamed of falling in the long program.

Chu Xuan, who shared the dormitory with Qing Yue, woke up once at four o'clock in the morning, and again at six o'clock in the morning.Lying on the bed, unable to fall asleep, he tossed and turned a few times, only to find that Qing Yue was just like him.So they laughed at each other.

I don't know if it was because of excitement or nervousness, but the two of them became drowsy after four o'clock and couldn't sleep anymore, so they were thinking about the past together like an old man, while waiting for the dawn.

Chu Xuan: "I said, when I met you kid, you were only 14 years old, right?"

Qing Yue: "If I remember correctly, you should be only one year older than me."

Hearing Qing Yue's answer with almost no ups and downs in tone, Chu Xuan, who was lying on the bed next door, could almost imagine how Qing Yue was frowning and didn't want to talk to him at the moment, so he smiled and said: "So, the two of us Have we known each other for four years? Why do I feel that we have known each other for a long time? How can I say... There must be eight years instead of ten years? Otherwise, how could my dances be so bad at that time? You laughed at me in front of so many people."

Talking about the embarrassing noise in the ice rink when they first met, both Qing Yue and Chu Xuan couldn't help laughing.Only then did I recall how badly my skating was five years ago, and I felt emotional.

"Do you know why I came to your school to find you with a shameless face?"

This time, Qing Yue didn't respond, he was waiting for Chu Xuan's answer.

"Because at that time, I felt that...the only ones who could carry the hope of the Xishu Ice World in the future were the two of us. Until now, I also feel the same way. Even after five years, I will still I think so."

After muttering this sentence, Chu Xuan rolled up the quilt, turned over and fell asleep again, leaving Qing Yue, who could no longer sleep, quietly looking out the window, waiting for the first ray of sunshine in the morning.

……

The competition of the long program arrived as scheduled.In the venue, ice fans shouted desperately for their favorite figure skaters.There are many athletes who arrive at the venue long in advance.There are also some like Qingyue, because they are ranked in the top six after the short program and played in the last group, so they arrive at the venue when they are about to sign in.

After the short program competition the day before, the final ranking of the men's single skating event in this Olympic Games seems to have cleared the clouds.It can be said that the first place in the short program may fall out of the top three, but the last place will not be able to enter the top three anyway.

Many contestants already understood this truth in their hearts, but they still hummed and prepared to go on stage with a smile for the final fight.

Admittedly, the athletic life of a singles figure skater is short.It is not easy to participate in one Olympic Games.No one can guarantee whether their first Olympic journey will be the only Olympic journey in this life.In this way, it is natural to do your best without leaving regrets.

Frere is like this, Alek is like this, Cornes is like this, Qing Yue and Chu Xuan are like this... the same is true.

Among Qingyue's acquaintances, the first to appear was Chu Xuan who ranked seventh after the short program, so after the lottery, he was arranged to appear fourth in the third group.

After ranking seventh in the short program, the Xishu Ice Association seems to have given up hope on the former Xishu number one men's singles player.At this time, they no longer have the hope that Chu Xuan will win a medal in this Olympic Games, but just hope that he can get the highest possible ranking, so that Xishu can keep the three players in the next year's World Championships The number of entries.Even... Except for Qing Yue and Chu Xuan, today's Xi Shu has no figure skating men's singles players who can win the rankings in international competitions.

Indeed, with the rankings of Qing Yue and Chu Xuan, two outstanding figure skaters in the world, Xishu can still be regarded as a figure skating powerhouse that can rival the figure skating powerhouse Jiaguo.Even, the ranking of the No. [-] player in Jia Country except Alek in the world is far from being comparable to that of Chu Xuan.

But... an embarrassing situation that has not been paid enough attention by the Xishu Ice Association at this time... is slowly emerging.

Chu Xuan is right, only he and Qingyue can carry the hope of Xishu figure skating in the future.It was like this five years ago, it is like this now, and it will still be like this five years from now.It has to be said that it was an almost terrifying and prophetic vision.

Seeing that the current Jia country has almost cultivated several excellent young figure skaters who can replace Alek as the backbone of Jia country's men's singles at any time after he retires, Xi Shu has always only had Qing Yue and Chu Xuan.Although there is one more person than Plandon who is in a delicate position in the world ice circle, there is not much difference.

Qing Yue is 19 years old this year, and Chu Xuan is 20 years old this year.

Although the two of them have just entered the best golden age of a figure skater's sports life, everyone knows that figure skaters, especially men's singles, have extremely short sports lives.There are plenty of people who have retired before the age of 25.So, how old can Qing Yue and Chu Xuan be?