17 years on ice [figure skating]

◎Liu Xinyu's retirement battle◎

I don't know much about Liu Xinyu, the player Lu Xi, because the relationship was not very good before, and Liu Xinyu is not strong, so there is no reason to know.

But when he returned to the hotel at night, he flipped through Liu Xinyu's personal information and looked at it.

He is 26 years old this year, from Jicheng. He won the youth championship of the National Championships at the age of 15, was selected into the national team candidate group, and entered the national team at the age of 16.

I have participated in the Four Continents several times, and my ranking is around 12 to 15. I have no record of participating in other competitions. This is the first time this year.

This season is over and I am going to retire.

-

When the free skating competition started the next day, Liu Xinyu warmed up in the training room. His habit of warming up is that he likes to wear very little clothes, just a pair of shorts, so he usually finds a private room to practice by himself.

Suddenly someone knocked on the door, Liu Xinyu hadn't finished saying "who" when the person had already opened the door and walked in.

Surprised, Liu Xinyu jumped up on the spot and took a towel to cover his sensitive parts, covered his chest with both hands, crossed his legs in a very girlish way, and stared at Lu Xi dumbfounded.

Lucy:"……"

Liu Xinyu: "..."

Lucy said in surprise, "Your taste is quite special."

Liu Xinyu was furious: "Come in without asking! Shouldn't you criticize yourself!"

Lucy froze for a moment, "Oh, you're right. I'm sorry."

Liu Xinyu was about to continue his fury, but Lu Xi suddenly gave in, and now he stood there in a daze.

Lu Xi came with a small crossbody bag on his back. He was cool. He took out a bottle of peach-flavored sports drink from the crossbody bag and handed it to Liu Xinyu: "Do you want to drink?"

Liu Xinyu was stunned for a while, as if he finally understood Mandarin, he took the drink that Lu Xi handed over: "Thank you, thank you."

Lu Xi was actually a little uncomfortable, he and Liu Xinyu should be enemies no matter what, but now they are so friendly, he even gave Liu Xinyu his highest standard of treatment "bring you a bottle of peach-flavored drink", Liu Xinyu also told him Said thank you.

This is simply the degree to which a person is about to die, and his words are kind.

Ah bah bah bah, that's too unlucky.

When Lu Xi was in a daze, Liu Xinyu quietly found a vest and shorts and put them on. Now he seemed much more comfortable. He sat on the exercise ball, stretched his arms and asked him, "What do you want from me?"

Lu Xi was a little surprised by what he said. Liu Xinyu, who was wearing only a pair of shorts all over his body, was not so surprised just now.

"I'm here to cheer you on." Lucy said.

"Oh." Liu Xinyu looked very uncomfortable, "Don't cheer me up, I'm so good."

Lucy leaned over with a smile and patted him on the shoulder.

-

In the afternoon, the free skating competition began.

Liu Xinyu played second in the penultimate group.

The position of the penultimate group gathers the first- and second-tier top players, and sometimes the top players who perform abnormally in the short program will also fall into this position.

In terms of Liu Xinyu's level, appearing here is actually an extraordinary performance.

Liu Xinyu's free skating program this year is a very classic figure skating selection: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

For many ice fans, especially overseas ice fans, Liu Xinyu is a very strange face, so Liu Xinyu received less applause than other star players.But if you don't pay attention to it deliberately, you won't be able to hear it.

Lu Xi specially checked the configuration of Liu Xinyu's program yesterday. Maybe because it was the last battle of retirement, Liu Xinyu set the difficulty to the fullest, and he couldn't even do this difficulty in training.

But it's actually not a very difficult move. If Lu Xi is in good condition, he can easily do clean.

For Liu Xinyu, there are two main difficulties, 4Lo single jump, and 4Lo+3T double jump.

The opening 3A was completed smoothly. This movement is a basic operation for the national team, and then when the first small climax came up, it was the first difficult movement 4Lo.

The back and outer quadrant is the most entry-level one in the advanced single jump, but many athletes can't complete it throughout their careers. Liu Xinyu practiced skating from the age of 4 to the age of 25, and finally got it done with Lucy's little suggestion.

For the quadruple jump at the Mingshan World Championships, Liu Xinyu chose the same jumping method as Deng Chang and Lu Xi, with a small hesitation and a spin when taking off.

If Gao Zhuoxiao also jumped this way after the suspension was over, their team could have a special "Deng's spinning 4Lo jumping method".

Liu Xinyu's 4Lo, in terms of completion, does have a gap with the world's top players, and the height and distance are not enough.

But still managed to fall off the ice.

The following 4T and 4S single jumps were also successfully completed. This was the first time Liu Xinyu completed all three single jumps for four weeks.

As the music crescendos, the performance enters the second half.

From here on, the jump score will have a 1.1 coefficient bonus, and the contestants will try their best to put the difficult movements in the second half within the allowable range of physical strength.

The two consecutive jumps were 4T+3T and 4Lo+3T, both of which were successful. Although the 4Lo jump and landing on the ice was not very neat, the degree of completion was good.

The drumbeat on the ice rink became more and more exciting, and Lu Xi clenched his fists on his knees. This was the best free skating performance he had seen Liu Xinyu perform this season, and now he was short of the last triple jump. Look at Liu Xinyu's performance.

The final triple jump is 3Lz+3Lo+3T, and Liu Xinyu mastered the triple jump with the highest score in the difficulty.At this point, his physical strength was almost exhausted. Liu Xinyu had a sullen face. When he was gliding, he could see in the camera, under the black sequined collar, his neck undulated violently due to breathing.

Step backwards to go around the field, edge the inner edge of the rear outer edge, press down the center of gravity, lean the body forward, straighten the right leg backward, and take off!

Lucy stood up nervously, but he knew something was wrong the moment he took off, and the take-off was obviously not smooth.

On the ice rink, Liu Xinyu jumped up, but his body failed to complete the triple jump as fast as expected. His arms were retracted but his legs were not fully retracted, so the speed could not reach. After scribbling in the air for a circle, it fell to the ice in frustration.

Missed.

There is a difference of more than 1 points between 3Lz and 10Lz. After Liu Xinyu fell off the ice, he tried his best to do the 3Lo move, because if he can do the next two jumps well, the score can still be saved a little.

As a result, 3Lo fell down, and the judgment of continuous jump directly failed.

After getting up from the ground, Liu Xinyu simply gave up the last 3T, took a small jump, and directly entered the final rotation.

Lucy bit her lip.

In the end, this jump is a continuous jump of 1Lz and 3Lo, and the execution points are deducted, which is equal to more than 30 points for the big jump. He basically didn't get any points.

The final score of this set of free skating was 142 points, missing a whole big jump score, and the total score of 242 was estimated to fall out of the top 10 again. When the score came out, there was a round of polite applause.

Liu Xinyu pursed his lips, raised the corners of his mouth quickly when the camera turned around, smiled at the audience and waved his hands, then pursed his lips quickly again.

Lucy chased him out and watched him walk quickly through the mixed mining area, ignoring all the reporters, and rushed straight back to the team rest area, where each country's team area is separated, but there are no compartments inside.

Liu Xinyu turned around, saw Lu Xi, and said hoarsely, "I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now."

At this moment, Lu Xi noticed that Liu Xinyu's eyes were red.

Liu Xinyu definitely doesn't want to see him at such a time, especially he is the one he doesn't want to see the most among so many people, Lu Xi hesitated, nodded, but couldn't bear to go out, so he stepped back a few steps and stood by the door, thinking Accompany him quietly.

Liu Xinyu was sitting alone on the sofa with his back to the door, his shoulders were shaking and he was crying silently.

At this time, someone knocked on the door, and Lu Xi cautiously opened the door a crack, thinking that if it was a mess, he would refuse, but it turned out that it was Zhou Yuanxi.

Reporter Zhou was in the mixed mining area just now, and he is still carrying the equipment on his back.

Lu Xi hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Brother Zhou, Liu Xinyu is not accepting interviews right now."

"I know." Zhou Yuanxi looked at Lu Xi and said, "Let me in, please, don't worry, I am in sports, and I have the ethics of a sportsman."

It stands to reason that he is a reporter, so he should also be stopped outside the door, but in Lu Xi's heart, Zhou Yuanxi is his own.

Moreover, there is an inexplicable sincerity in his eyes, which is like the focus every time he pointed the video camera at Lu Xi, and also like the eyes he looked at Lu Xi and Deng Chang on that stormy night.

Lu Xi didn't make another sound, and opened the door for Zhou Yuanxi.

Liu Xinyu turned his head when the door opened. He knew Zhou Yuanxi, wiped his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "I don't accept interviews."

Lu Xi glanced at Zhou Yuanxi nervously. Zhou Yuanxi made a comforting gesture at him, put down all the equipment, and walked towards Liu Xinyu who was sitting alone on the sofa with his back to the door.

There was actually a distance between the door and the sofa, and Lucy couldn't hear them clearly here.I only knew that Liu Xinyu's resistance was very strong at first, but he didn't know what Zhou Yuanxi said, so he calmed down slowly.

After a while, Zhou Yuanxi sat a little closer to Liu Xinyu, like a close friend. He looked at Liu Xinyu with concern and patted Liu Xinyu on the shoulder.

Liu Xinyu, who had been stretched for a long time, burst into tears at this moment.

"Stop sitting here, really! Wouldn't it be good to interview the one behind me?" Liu Xinyu almost yelled these words, but he was not angry with Lucy, but more dissatisfied with himself.

"My total score in free skating plus short program is equal to other people's free skating points. I am not suitable for skating at all. Why do I have to overestimate my abilities! Why should I come here to be cannon fodder! How could I think that the short program is extraordinary? If you play free skating, you can also perform supernormally!"

Liu Xinyu has been ice skating for 21 years. From being a high-spirited championship champion to seeing the cruelty of competitions, not to mention the world competitions, even in China, he has never been the first in the senior group.

He once dreamed that he could be the protagonist on the podium, but the process of chasing his dream was a process of heartbreak. He saw that Big Brother was stronger than himself, and then the new genius, Younger, easily stepped on his head.

The answer given by time is that hard work is useless, he is so mediocre.

The World Championships are over, the career is over, and the dream has woken up.

Maybe he was born a bitch and shouldn't have this dream.

The more he thought about it, the more painful Liu Xinyu cried, but the more he suffered, the more he hated himself.

What right do you have to cry? A loser, a loser who has never won, is only worthy of appearing in obscurity and exiting in obscurity, even tears will not be remembered.

Zhou Yuanxi, who was sitting opposite Liu Xinyu, stretched out his hand to support Liu Xinyu's knee at this moment.This is a gesture of comfort and intimacy, Liu Xinyu wiped his tears and put down his hands.

"Don't say that." Zhou Yuanxi said, "Listen to me."

Perhaps Liu Xinyu saw Zhou Yuanxi's eyes at the moment, sucked his nose hard, and nodded.

"I am the same age as you this year. I am just a sports reporter. There are thousands of people like me all over the world. You are the 8th in the short program of the World Championships, and the worst overall score is also the 12th. There are only eleventh in the world. I am better than you personally." Zhou Yuanxi said.

Liu Xinyu was stunned for a moment.

Perhaps it was because he felt Liu Xinyu's pain, or maybe it was because he hoped that he would not suffer so much again. Reporter Zhou's eyes are red now, and his voice is trembling.

"I understand that all athletes want to win, and who doesn't want to win, but you also need to know that at the World Championships this time, you jumped into the back and outer quadrants. You are the fourth person in the country who can do this move. If you retire in the future, if you continue In figure skating, there will be many clubs vying for you, and your family will be very proud to introduce you to others.”

"Others are really good, but it doesn't mean you are not good. Don't let yourself regret because of a little mistake. You are not a loser. There is no loser who can sit here with an athlete number. The 8th is already great, and you are already very good. , shouldn't be so sad, okay?"