Chapter 25

Parents, coaches, social media...

Ji Yue, who was alone in China, seemed to be trapped in an alley with no corners, surrounded by closed dead ends.

Ji Yue's words gradually became less and less, and her desire for help gradually became weaker.

Compared with the difficulties in eating and sleeping, some collisions on the ice during practice became inconspicuous trivial matters.

But Ji Yue found a little way to make her life easier.

He found that as long as he showed weakness to them or lowered his posture and apologized, he would get a rare quiet time.

"I'm sorry" unknowingly became Ji Yue's mantra.

But Ji Yue has never felt inferior in figure skating. This is the only thing that has made him proud and happy since returning to China.

——Until Yang Feining came to ask him for advice on moves during free training time that day.

When Yang Feining slid over, Ji Yue subconsciously took a few steps back.

But the expected impact didn't come. Ji Yue heard Yang Feining say: "Ji Yue, can you teach me how to do the F jump?"

Ji Yue was stunned at first, but after she realized what she was doing, her dim eyes slowly became vivid.

"Of course!"

Ji Yue thought this was a friendly signal from Yang Feining that she wanted to make peace with him and make friends.

He spared no effort to demonstrate to Yang Feining over and over again, but the connection of Yang Feining's movements was always not smooth enough.

Ji Yue was sweating, and the energy bar in her stomach was almost exhausted. He was panting heavily and patiently explaining: "You should relax your head when you take off, and don't think about the subsequent movements when you take off and land. Otherwise, the movements will be inconsistent."

Yang Feining was a little impatient: "You teach like that Who understands this? What's going on in my mind? Shouldn't you teach me when and where to use force?"

After being yelled at, Ji Yue stayed there for a few seconds and was a little flustered when she spoke again. : "B-But that's what I look like when I dance..."

Ji Yue is a figure skating genius who became famous at a young age and has been in a high position for a long time. He never has to think about which part of the body should be used specifically for any movement.

As long as he takes off, his body will move at the right time.

But Yang Feining, who was far from Ji Yue's talent, could not understand his instructions. Yang Feining only thought Ji Yue was fooling him.

"Which figure skating practitioner doesn't have something in his mind? If you don't want to teach, just say so!"

Yang Feining snorted from his nose after venting: "I didn't expect that even a world champion can't teach an F jump."

The coach heard this The movement slipped over, and he frowned with a serious expression: "Feining, why did you and Xiao Ji have a quarrel?"

Yang Feining could no longer control his expression at this moment, with an expression of reluctance to bow his head.

"Speak!"

Yang Feining lowered his head after being reprimanded, and then apologized reluctantly: "I'm sorry, coach, I didn't control my temper just now."

Looking at Yang Feining, who had always been taking care of the team members as the big brother in the team, he was embarrassed at the moment. Yue, the coach became a little angry: "Why are you attacking Xiao Ji?!"

Yang Feining lowered his head and his voice gradually became quieter: "...I just asked Ji Yue how to jump F, and Ji Yue said she didn't want to jump in her head. Just get up...I don't understand, and I can't practice...so I couldn't hold back my temper and yelled at Ji Yue."

The coach paused after hearing this.

As someone who single-handedly won China's first Olympic medal in figure skating, he knows better than anyone how important an athlete's "talent" is, and he knows better than anyone how unreasonable the talent gap between athletes can be.

The coach glanced at Ji Yue, who was world-famous at the age of seventeen, and then at Yang Feining, who had just entered the international arena at the age of twenty.

Suddenly I felt sad.

His tone softened unconsciously: "Then no matter what, you can't yell at Xiao Ji. Apologize to Xiao Ji."

Yang Feining shook his body back and forth towards Ji Yue and said in a voice like a mosquito: "...I'm sorry."

Coach . Like a father who apologizes to his children for doing something wrong. He smiled at Ji Yue and said something for Yang Feining: "Xiao Ji, your understanding of figure skating may be different. Feining may not understand your practice method and is a little anxious. Don't I care too much."

From the beginning to the end of the whole thing, Ji Yue remained silent.

No one seemed to care about his opinion, and he began to question himself.

...Is the way he practices wrong?

When the brain and body burn calories together, people always get hungry very quickly.

Ever since Ji Yue discovered that going to the cafeteria would always be targeted, she began to stock up on energy bars to replace three meals a day.

But he could avoid it while eating, but not while sleeping.

Ji Yue's nerves became more and more sensitive and weak, and the slightest sound around him could scare him and make his heart beat faster.

Maybe there was something wrong with her body, Ji Yue felt that her movements were becoming more and more incompetent.

On this day, Ji Yue hid outside the venue and stared at her mobile phone. After hesitating for a long time, she dialed Ji's mother.

But it kept showing busy.

Ji Yue put down her phone and suddenly heard the coach's voice not far away.

"...Don't worry, Xiao Ji is fine with us."

After hearing her name, Ji Yue was stunned for two seconds and then pressed her back against the wall.

The voice on the other end sounded like a mother, worried and nagging: "Really? As long as everything is fine, let's be good... Ji Yue is alone in the country and he is young. I am always afraid that he will be bullied."

The coach laughed. He said twice: "Don't worry, I'm watching over you."

Hearing the reliable tone, Ji Yue raised her head.

The scene in his vision became blurred and distorted, and the frames of his eyes became moist.

After an unknown amount of time, Ji Yue's cell phone rang.

It was Ji's mother who called back.

Ji's mother's voice was a little anxious: "My dear, I was calling your coach just now but I didn't receive the call. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

Ji Yue suppressed the swollen smell of blood in her throat.

"...I just don't want to live in the dormitory anymore."

Ji's mother contacted the apartment again. Ji Yue had very few things with her and moved in that night.

Had a good sleep for the first time in a long time.

During training the next day, Ji Yue felt that her condition had returned to that before returning to China.

Destiny seems to be determined. As soon as Ji Yue's condition recovered, the coach announced that he would participate in domestic competitions.

"Xiao Ji, this is a competition organized by our country. The purpose is to let the audience get to know our domestic figure skaters before the Olympics. You don't have to bear too much burden, just treat it as a friendly competition."

Ji Yue nodded.

Racing is now the least burdensome activity for him.

The coach seemed to have remembered something and added: "By the way, Hanying will send two people to participate in the competition this time, besides you and Feining."

Ji Yue was stunned, but after regaining consciousness, her heartbeat never stabilized.

The game started on time a month later.

The coach brought Ji Yue and Yang Feining to the competition venue one day early, and the staff arranged them in the same room.

Perhaps because he would be playing tomorrow, Yang Feining didn't act like a monster anymore and went to bed early at night.

Ji Yue breathed a sigh of relief and took a rest after washing.

But fate seems to be on the opposite side of Ji Yue at this moment.

It may be that I ate too many energy bars, and the quantitative change unfortunately completed the qualitative change at this time.

Ji Yue was suddenly awakened by the pain in his stomach in the middle of the night. His body was curled up, covered in sweat, and he could only make a small sound despite all his strength.

Ji Yue, who was sweating profusely, called Yang Feining in the dark night, but he seemed to be asleep and didn't respond.

Yang Feining notified the coach only after he woke up the next day and saw Ji Yue, who was pale and dying.

The coach rushed over with the team doctor, and it took Ji Yue a whole morning to regain consciousness.

"Xiaoji, why do you suddenly have indigestion?" The coach frowned, looking very worried about his health. "I see that you don't even have the strength to stand. The afternoon game..."

"I'll go."

The coach was interrupted by Ji Yue before he finished speaking.

Ji Yue's lips were like a dry and cracked river bed, but her eyes were as bright as stars: "Coach, I want to participate in the competition."

This is the only thing that can make him feel confident.

The coach stared at Ji Yue for a long time, and finally sighed: "Xiao Ji, don't force yourself, your body is the most important thing."

But with Ji Yue's strong insistence, the coach finally allowed him to play.

It's just that blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come alone.

Ji Yue happened to be the first to play.

With less than three hours of rest time, Ji Yue's legs were still shaking while waiting.

Ji Yue could hear the audience shouting his name excitedly, but he didn't expect that the cheers would turn into applause three minutes later.

From on-site abuse to the Internet.

Just because Ji Yue, the perfect figure skating genius, made a mistake for the first time in her first game back in China.

Mistakenly.

"Huh? How is it possible that Ji Yue can't even do an ordinary S jump?"

"What kind of skating is this? The retired man downstairs skates smoother than him!"

"Damn it, this guy named Ji Do you think it’s a small competition in China and you don’t care?”

“It’s a big deal, but maybe he went back to China just to make money and didn’t practice well at all.”

The

public opinion became more and more intense.

The coach remained silent on the way back to Hanying. Ji Yue's head went blank, and every cell was vibrating.

Yang Feining was the only one who spoke to adjust the atmosphere.

"Coach, you don't have to worry too much. Mistakes will happen in sports. Besides, Ji Yue's body has not recovered yet. She will definitely not be able to show her true strength on the court."

"Ji Yue, you don't have to be too sad. The fans will still protect you. "But I think you should still wear a hat and a mask these two days. Maybe people all over the country know you now."

There was a deathly silence in the car.

After getting off the bus, the coach suddenly received a phone call.

After hanging up the phone, his expression seemed a little gloomier: "...Xiao Ji, come with me."

Ji Yue followed him reluctantly, like a child who had done something wrong.

"Xiaoji, the figure skateboard section in the domestic Olympics promotional video originally included clips of your competition, but you also know that what happened today...the authorities want to avoid any harmful influence on the appearance of sports, so I want you to The game video was replaced by Feining's F jump."

Ji Yue said nothing, but her tears fell to the ground drop by drop.

It was as raging as the heavy snow that hit him on the day he was born.

Ji Yue didn't know how he finally got home. Every time he heard someone talking about today's game on the road, he wrapped himself up tightly.

When he just walked into the community, he suddenly received a call from Ji Yue's mother. Ji Yue's heart suddenly trembled, thinking that his mother also knew the domestic news.

Ji Yue hesitated for a long time before pressing the answer button. The worry, anxiety, and blame she imagined did not appear. There was only joy and excitement in her tone:

"My dear, I wish you a happy eighteenth birthday!"

Ji Yue paused: "... ...Eighteenth birthday?"

Ji's mother laughed twice when she heard Ji Yue's words as if she was talking in her sleep: "You have been so busy with training recently, why did you forget your birthday today? Dad originally wanted to fly over to surprise you and hold a grand coming-of-age ceremony for you, but your dad suddenly had a job, so he didn't rush back."

"I'm sorry, dear,"

Ji Yue said with a sore nose and the stone tiles on the soles of her feet were wet . He took a small piece: "...Mom, what are you apologizing to?"

"This day of adulthood is supposed to be a very important and unforgettable day. Your father and I should both be present. I have already thought about giving it to you. What to cook. By the way, you must also buy a cake to celebrate your eighteenth birthday! You can forget about anything on your birthday, but a birthday cake is essential..."

Ji's mother on the other end of the phone babbled. But Yue kept suppressing her trembling voice.

After hanging up the phone, Ji Yue walked to the elevator with red eyes.

Ji Yue raised her eyes and glanced into the elevator and saw a woman leaning against the wall in a daze.

Ji Yue hesitated for a few seconds and walked in the elevator one second before it closed.

He was wearing a hat and a mask... shouldn't she be able to recognize him?

When Ji Yue reached out and pressed the elevator button, the woman seemed to be shocked and exclaimed: "I was shocked."

When Ji Yue heard this, she immediately panicked: "...Did I scare you? Hug, I'm sorry. "

But the woman seemed more panicked than him: "No, I was either scared by you, or I didn't say those words to you, I'm sorry."

Ji Yue felt that she was not qualified to accept anyone's apology at this moment.

He lowered his head and responded with a guilty conscience: "No, it's okay."

The elevator instantly became quiet, and there was only a smell of alcohol floating in the air.

When Ji Yue was identifying the source of the smell, she suddenly heard the woman say: "You live on the 17th floor too? Then we are neighbors."

Ji Yue looked up at the elevator button and found that only the number "17" was on.

He bowed to the woman and said hello in a panic: "I, I just moved here in the past few days. If I disturb you in any way, please forgive me."

"It's okay, it's okay, I just moved here not long ago . "Don't be so polite."

The elevator suddenly reached its destination, and Ji Yue paid attention to the movements of the woman's feet.

This was his habit when he was in Hanying - he must let others go ahead of him so as not to be embarrassed.

After the woman got off the elevator, Ji Yue was hesitating whether to say hello to her politely before leaving, when a square box was suddenly stuffed into her arms.

"I'm sorry for scaring you just now. This is a cake I bought from outside the community. Just treat it as my apology. Please don't dislike it."

Ji Yue reacted and was about to say no, but the woman stopped him a second before he could say anything. She stopped him and said, "I have carefully selected it for a long time. It must be delicious. Please accept it!"

Before Ji Yue had time to speak, the woman had already opened the door and went home.

"Good night, have a sweet dream."

Ji Yue was stunned for a few seconds before coming back to her senses.

He saw clearly what the cake looked like from outside the transparent square packaging box.

It was a strawberry snow-topped cake with the words

- Happy Birthday on it.