Before the short program was about to start, Han Lu checked the skates on her feet.

They were ranked fourth, with the accordion version of Italian composer Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Winter, which Han Lu used during her women's singles days and won her first gold medal at the World Championships.

"Now—"

In the simultaneous live broadcast of the TV station, the narrator said this.

Now, after four years, Han Lu, who has successfully switched to pairs skating, will reinterpret this song "Winter" in a new identity. Let's wait and see what kind of performance she will present. ”

As of now, Duhamel and Eric still occupy the first place in the short program with their song "Paris Walk", followed by Zhang Lei and Zijun's "Masquerade", which is the best result of their entire careers, and the score has already broken their personal record.

However, she can't care about other people's grades.

They made preparations in the center of the rink, and the first note of the music sounded, which in an instant brought Han Lu back to the World Championships that had carried her alone years ago, the bellows of the accordion vibrated and the bitter winter wind began to sweep across the land, and she stood in the middle of the cold wind.

This time, her choreography is completely different from the past, not only the change in footwork, but all the emotions expressed through the music are completely different from the past. She began to really understand that figure skating, in fact, is also telling a story, and that the contestants are expressing what they want to convey through each movement, and that for many years, she has never really understood what she is trying to convey, but now she finally does.

They made a jump, and the action on the ice was perfect. Next, she was pulled into her partner's arms, and he carried her forward, and there was still a long snowfield in front of her, but the heat and heartbeat of the people behind her were very real, as if it was the warm sun that would never fade overhead, and it was also like the gentlest piece of water in the whole continent.

Their next move was a spiral, and the completion of this action was also excellent, which made the commentator of the live broadcast excitedly raise the volume, and even called Han Lu a miracle in the ice world, she perfectly realized an impossible challenge, and successfully made the leap from a single player to a double player.

As the short program enters the second half, the jumps begin to concentrate. After completing a triple jump of the back and outside of the ice, it was followed by a triple jump of the back and inside loop. This action may be a challenge for Han Lu now, but it is impossible for her not to do it. And, if there is a problem, it's not just the action, she says, any movement can be problematic.

Then, the toss and jump landed smoothly, with a slight flaw in the movement, but there was no big problem. However, in the first jump of the following back-point ice jump, Han Lu's toes touched the ice only to feel that her ankles were weak, and she fell to the ground unexpectedly, she quickly got up and wanted to continue the movement, but a sharp pain hit her heel suddenly, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on her back. But...... She gritted her teeth and tried to slide a step forward, at least she could move.

However, after she fell, the two remaining jumps were done very badly, and after the last action of the show, the inner loop triple toss fell again, and the audience and the narrator realized something together.

After falling again, it took Han Lu a little time to get up smoothly, she barely completed the end of the greeting action, and then was helped out of the ice rink by her partner. She closed her eyes tightly and breathed hard, almost pressing the weight of her whole body on Xu Haoyang.

"What's going on?"

As soon as they arrived at the rest area, everyone rushed up. This scene was also captured by the camera and is now being broadcast live on TV.

"It seems," the commentator said, "that Han Lu was injured when he just threw and jumped to the ground. Now, we don't know if it's a recurrence of her old injury from four years ago, or if there's something else. Her coach and team doctor are already asking about her condition......"

Zhao Zhixin didn't wait for Han Lu to answer, and had already taken off the skates on her feet by himself. Her entire right foot and ankle were already swollen, Zhao Zhixin took a breath, and before she could speak, she only saw Han Lu open her eyes and point to her left foot.

"Left. ”

The skates on her left foot were also taken off, and the ankle of her left foot was also partially red and swollen, which was caused by the sprain not being treated in time. Moreover, during this period of practice, in order to reduce the burden on her right foot, she consciously put more weight on her left foot, which finally led to the current result.

This is not unexpected.

Despite the big mistakes, they finished fourth in the short program because of their excellent performance in the first half. This score means that if they play their best in the free skate on the second day, they still have a chance to finish on the final podium.

However, looking at Han Lu's current situation, not to mention playing his best, whether he can participate in the free skating tomorrow may be a serious question.

This incident has caused a wide range of discussions on the Internet, some people lamented that Han Lu is finished, some people ridicule her for falling into the same river twice, and some people say that she just didn't participate in the Olympics.

In the hotel where the team members stayed, Eric swiped the web page with a calm face, and Duhamel tried to contact Xu Haoyang and Han Lu, but no matter who he sent a message, he did not get any response. She almost wanted to run straight to their hotel room to find out, but was stopped by her partner.

"Don't. Eric shook his head, "LU...... She wouldn't like that. ”

On the same day, Zhao Zhixin did a careful and thorough examination of Han Lu, and the result was that although the Achilles tendon was not ruptured like last time, if he did not receive treatment and continued to exercise vigorously, then the rupture again was just a matter of one or two actions that landed on the ice. In other words, this time the Winter Olympics, the results have been decided.

"It's not a question of persistence. Zhao Zhixin said, "There is no way for you to stick to your state." Even if you barely play, these footwork ......"

There is no way to complete the footwork either.

An outdated figure skating star stumbles around on the stage of the Winter Olympics, not to mention a whole program, and he can't even complete a complete move. It would be too miserable to use such a performance as the end of a whole career.

However, if you choose to withdraw from the competition again due to injury, it seems to be even worse than the former.

Han Lu felt very ironic for a moment, and she suddenly felt that all the efforts she had made to fight against injuries during this time seemed to be deceiving herself, which in the eyes of outsiders, it might even be a very ridiculous practice. Especially in the end, she still has to face all of this.

It was as if something was telling her that what she needed to face could never escape, and there was never such a fluke.

She didn't know what to do.

However, according to her usual character, no matter what she thinks in her heart, she will never let go of her mouth, she resolutely rejects Zhao Zhixin's hint in her words to let her "give up the game", no matter what, she has to play first, and whatever is there, she will talk about it after the appearance.

"I'm not quitting. Han Lu said categorically, "Never quit." ”

Before Zhao Zhixin tried to find a reason to convince her again, Xu Haoyang, who had been silent since he just sat down, spoke: "I know." ”

Everyone in the room looked at Xu Haoyang at the same time.

"We don't quit. Xu Haoyang said, "Tomorrow's game will be played as usual." ”

On this night, Xu Haoyang and Han Lu arrived at the nearest ice rink overnight, which they were allowed to use all night. The practice hall was plain, and the lights were dim, reminiscent of the streets they walked on as children, and of the countless silent nights of the past, when the moonlight coming in through the windows was so quiet that no one knew what they were doing inside.

Until they walk into the ice rink for free skating.

In the free skate, Han Lu chose to appear after yesterday's short program failure, which was a huge surprise to the spectators who had been worried about her injury, but soon, she fell hard shortly after her pre-competition practice time, which made everyone's hearts rise again. In the preparation area, she reconfirmed that the wound had been temporarily bandaged and immobilized, and walked out without hesitation.

Music rang out in the room.

Choosing to compose your own music in an official competition is actually a very risky act. Because it means that no one has a concept of your song, there is no presupposition, and all emotions are completely dependent on the expressiveness of the contestant.

"The title of this piece is 'Unparalleled', and it's unparalleled. On live TV, the narrator said this. "We were surprised to find out that this is Xu Haoyang's self-composition, self-composition, and self-choreography. The young player has shown his immeasurable talent and promise in the arts. We don't know what they're trying to say with this piece yet, but soon, they're going to show us. ”

"Han Lu was injured in the short program yesterday, which made everyone worry about whether she would be able to play as usual today, and we are very happy to see her standing here today in great shape. Okay, let's see how they're going to present this piece. ”

The music starts very slowly, with a lot of hesitation and struggle. Then the sound of the violins began to light up, and they opened with a jump, landing slightly unsteadily, but generally fine. Normally, a toss should follow, but instead, they opted for a sliding around the field, and then the two of them skated separately in two directions.

Han Lu slid in front first, Xu Haoyang chased after her, and the two of them opened up a distance, after that, Han Lu's speed began to slow down, Xu Haoyang chased after him, and the hands of the two people were held together, and a spiral line was continued.

"The difficulty of this spiral is not high, let's ......" The narrator did not finish his words, and fell to the ground lightly because of doubt.

This is the language between them.

Even if no one else understands, she will understand.

"You want to change the choreography?" asked Liu Bofei incredulously.

The day before, just after Xu Haoyang decisively said that he would not quit, he proposed the idea of changing the choreography.

"If there is no way to land on the ice," Xu Haoyang said, "replace these movements and replace them with other ones." ”

"Tomorrow is the free skate. Liu Bofei said, "This is ...... in time."

"Swap out these moves, then what's left?" Han Lu asked, "Slipping around on the ice like a fool?"

"No, it won't. Xu Haoyang said firmly.

"Only one night ......"

"It's not. Xu Haoyang shook his head, "I had already thought of this possibility before. ”

"Have you prepared?" Liu Bofei asked, "Have you thought about what your show will do if Han Lu is injured?"

"I can quit. Xu Haoyang didn't look at Han Lu, "But I don't want to." We've come to this place, and I want to tell the world what we want to convey on this stage. And the form used is not the most important thing. It doesn't have to be in the rules, you have to get the score. ”

His words were clear and powerful at the same time.

At this time, he did not sympathize with her, did not comfort her.

He is her partner, an athlete in the national team uniform, and he sees her as his only lover and as a player who will always deserve respect.

He knew that at such a time, what Han Lu needed was not sympathy and comfort, which was a humiliation for her and did not help her in any way.

What she needs is respect and support.

It was when she couldn't fly and was about to fall, someone could take her with her to where she wanted to go.

"So," he finally looked at Han Lu, "you ......"

"I see. Han Lu said the words before him, "I believe in you." ”

In the short, quiet night that had just passed, Han Lu sat beside the ice rink, watching Xu Haoyang alone in the ice rink, interpreting the movements of the two of them.

Unexpectedly, even Han Lu herself felt surprised, her mood was very calm, and she could even be called a slight sense of happiness. At this moment, in this strange, fresh long night, she truly realized that she needed Xu Haoyang. She trusts him, loves him, and wants to be with him. She had a lot to convey to him, telling him that it was hard for her to truly trust someone, but that she was willing to take risks for him.

She was willing to put everything in his hands.

Yes, she can put everything in his hands.

"LU's Foot ......"

Eric couldn't help but say.

The audience may still be puzzled, but the professional players present understand it.

"Han Lu probably has relapsed from his old injury. Kim Koil said this to her coach.

"But ......," Duhamel looked intently at his rivals dancing on the rink, "the show was beautiful. They're telling their stories. ”

"YANG IS REALLY AN AMAZING PERSON. Eric said.

"It's really remarkable. Duhamel silently repeated, "I don't have such courage." ”

Eric didn't speak, silently clenching her hand.

"Ahh Duhamel grabbed her hair - her show was over anyway, and she didn't need to maintain this tiring look anymore, while the volume was familiarly raised. "People can't do it...... I don't have the courage to show myself as the show itself. ”

In this whole program, except for the opening jumps and a two-week jump near the end, there are no other difficult jumps. The whole program is connected by a series of glides and culminates in a twist and lift. Xu Haoyang caught his partner as always, put her on the ice, and then, as the music came to an end, they made an ending move.

The show is so fluid that the narrator doesn't even know how to organize the language for a moment, yes, any group of figure skaters with a basic skill can do it, however, he doesn't know how to describe it, this show seems to be something that no one can imitate, even if they memorize all the movements, even if they imitate them together with the position of the ice and the angle of the raised hand, it is impossible to replicate their performance.

Or even if they were asked to recreate the performance six months – a year later, they might not be able to do it.

Soon, the audience stood up and applauded.

This is the highest tribute to a figure skater.

They knew in their hearts that they could already say that they could live up to the trip by being able to watch such a performance.

“——unparalleled。 On live TV, the narrator finally found his language, "Unbelievable." I think all the people who watched this performance should understand that this piece is about the story between them. This is Han Lu and Xu Haoyang. It's like a star falling into orbit, no, or like ...... We can see the expressions on their faces now, they look very happy, and yes, they can be very proud of this show, and this piece will surely go down in the history of figure skating, unparalleled, unparalleled. ”

In the midst of this applause, Han Lu gently hooked the corners of her mouth, she and her partner glanced at each other, and the two bowed to the audience before leaving the ice rink. The applause lasted for a long time, which made their results seem very unimportant.

Because the technical score is extremely low, the prescribed actions are not done, and even if there is a high artistic expression bonus point, it will not help the overall score. However, Han Lu looked at this score, which set a new low in her history, and her heart was actually calm.

It's not important anymore.

She held her partner's hand, calm in her heart. Those bitter, bad past have become memories, and she has been shaped into a new her by the time they spent together, by his tenderness and firmness.

For her now, there is something more important than the result of the match.

They were the last to play, which means that the results of the Winter Olympics have been decided after their free skate scores are out. Because everyone was paying attention to Han Lu and Xu Haoyang's performance that was too special, and ignored the scores of the other contestants for a while, including the two parties.

Zhang Lei and Zijun finished in third place.

Liu Bofei woke up like a dream and slapped Zhang Lei's back fiercely.

"Hey?" Zhang Lei was shocked, "Wait, wait, wait, wait

"What is wrong, what is wrong!" Liu Bofei was angry and laughed, "Can you fight for some anger?"

"No, I'm ...... Oops, I'm a little unlucky, so I'm used to ......."

But the reporters on the scene wouldn't give him extra time to confirm if what was in front of them was real — no, or they quickly changed their minds when they saw Han Lu, giving up on interviewing the new Olympic bronze medalist first, and instead handed the microphone to the two men who had just put on a one-of-a-kind performance.

"This performance changed my perception of figure skating. The female reporter said excitedly, "What do you think of this performance?"

Han Lu faced the microphone and the camera, she knew that at this time, probably the whole world was waiting for what she would say. Her fingers clasped together with her partner's, and the reporter could clearly see the clear and dazzling light in her eyes.

"I think," she smiled, "that's great." ”

- End -