One second, two seconds…
Everyone held their breath, including Ji He Yu himself.
He eagerly wanted to know where the current limits of this body were.
The weak and thin body was unable to sustain such intense movement. Ji He Yu had only just maintained this movement for a short while when he noticeably felt his vision darken—it was already an oxygen-deprived state.
Lactic acid was accumulating crazily in his waist and abdomen. Ji He Yu could even feel every tense muscle screaming, longing for more oxygen and energy.
Sure enough, he had the same problem as in his “previous life.”
Chinese people don’t excel much in ice and snow sports. In fact, it’s partly due to certain physical factors.
This was especially true for figure skaters like Ji He Yu.
Ji He Yu’s flexibility, rhythm, footwork, rotations, and jumps were always highly praised in the industry. However, no matter how hard he trained, his stamina couldn’t keep up.
His slender frame did make his movements more beautiful, but even if he spent the entire day at the ice rink or in the gym, he could only barely develop a thin layer of muscle, and his lung capacity struggled to keep up. Despite having beautiful lines, he would always start to tire halfway through his repertoire (performance), and in the later stages, he relied solely on willpower to support himself.
The reason why his injuries were so severe was due to years of pushing himself too hard.
This current body had the same issue.
The slender waist outlined by the training suit began to tremble under the mist on the ice as if someone was pinching his waist and shaking it.
Was this the limit? It wasn’t even as good as his former self at this age.
Ji He Yu couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
But considering the original owner of this body was a teenager who had grown up alone, lost from home, and didn’t have enough nutrition to keep up with him. Ji He Yu could understand the root of these problems.
Competitive sports never achieve success overnight; some of them take many years1 of soaking in and shedding sweat on the training ground.
Ji He Yu had understood this truth since twenty years ago.
Starting over again wasn’t a problem!
God had given him a chance to stand on the field again, and he had to seize it!
Ji He Yu was thinking these thoughts more to distract himself, forcing himself to ignore the intense stretching sensation in his waist and abdomen, hoping to maintain this position a bit longer.
But the hardware issue was a significant drawback; even if he tried to divert his mind, it only helped him persist for another two or three seconds.
In the fourth second of maintaining this position while sliding forward, with a “pop” sound, Ji He Yu fell heavily to the ground.
And this time, due to complete exhaustion of his stamina, he didn’t even have the chance to adjust his landing posture to minimize the pain.
Fortunately, he only fell on his back, avoiding injury to his knees and ankles, with only his shoulder taking a heavy hit.
Unlike the previous fall, this time the onlookers on the side didn’t express regret but instead spontaneously started clapping!
Even though he only held the position for a short time, many figure skating fans could see that this little handsome guy performed a move worthy of a major competition—a crab step!2
In just a few seconds, the boy’s waist bent to an incredible degree, in the shape of a wide-open angle, making one almost wonder whether he had any bones.
But the waist and abdomen that were almost parallel to the ice proved that his not-so-tough bones supported his body and completed a beautiful movement.
Even if his waist and limbs wobbled slightly on the ice.
Even if he barely skated a few meters while holding on.
Even if he was only wearing the simplest training suit and had even fallen while practising the Swallow glide just now—
Still, the enthusiastic applause was unending!
The spotlight on the skating rink happened to shine on the boy, the warm white halo of light outlining the boy’s waist to be extraordinarily slender, but no one would doubt the incredible strength contained within.
Ji He Yu collapsed on the ice, listening to the kind applause from the figure skating enthusiasts around, somewhat distracted.
Since he had entered the adult division in his previous life, it had been a long time since anyone had cheered for his “mistakes.”
Every inch of Ji He Yu’s body, especially his tightly stretched waist, abdomen, and thighs, spasmed and burned from the earlier exertion. The cold touch of the ice surface greatly relieved Ji He Yu’s discomfort, and he didn’t want to get up for a while.
This was the ice surface he loved.
It was also the belief he pursued passionately all his life.
The solid and cold touch of the ice surface told him— You are back!
After a long while, Ji He Yu reluctantly got up.
After these few minutes of rest, his stamina had slightly recovered. So, Ji Heyu decided to test the jumping ability of this body.
Once upon a time jumping used to be his strongest event.
For no other reason, Ji He Yu could confidently claim he had the most precise edge usage in the entire figure skating world.
To Ji He Yu, the ice blades were not external objects.
The ice blades were his other pair of feet!
He knew exactly how to use his strength to find the right angle to complete the most standard edge use and jump. It was with this skill that he won his first gold medal in his previous life.
Back then, even though the judges from M Country tried their best to suppress his programme score, they couldn’t deny that Ji He Yu was beyond reproach when it came to the completion of his jumps.
Ji He Yu chose to practice jumps last, not without a sense of “the closer to home, the more timid.”
Ji He Yu could feel many people around him focusing their gaze on him.
After all, in an amateur skating rink, a handsome young man who could barely complete a competition-level step sequence was already eye-catching.
Ji He Yu quite enjoyed this feeling of “ten thousand eyes on you.” 3
Figure skating showcased beauty and strength, and Ji He Yu never hesitated to share his insights. He knew that if more people were falling in love with figure skating or developing a deeper understanding of the sport because of him, the sport would flourish in China.
Ji He Yu was planning to attempt an A jump.
The Axel jump4 (1A) was the only figure skating jump that took off facing forward and landed backwards Because the takeoff and landing directions were different, the Axel had an extra half rotation compared to other jumps; the so-called 1A was one-and-a-half rotations.①
A jumps are one of the most challenging of the six types of jumps, requiring more rotations. Ji He Yu was unsure whether his body, which had been skating for less than a morning, could succeed. He did not have the slightest certainty. But if he could perform the A jump, it would mean that this body had potential in jumping, not much inferior to his former self.
Ji He Yu was preparing his stance. He wasn’t greedy, so he decided to try 1A and was making thorough preparations for the pre- (advance rotations). Some knowledgeable enthusiasts had already guessed what the handsome young man was planning to try as he began his pre-rotation.
A rare silence was falling around Ji He Yu. He glanced back slightly and focused on the blades under his feet, carefully feeling their position.
The left front outer blade was sliding forward.
The left front outer blade suddenly rose and jumped.
The right leg swung forward!
In the air! Rotation!
After “challenging the limits of his body”, Ji He Yu was now at his breaking point.
Even a single Axel was a significant physical challenge.
If the requirements were relaxed, from the perspective of a beginner or even a veteran enthusiast, this A jump could already be called stunning. But Ji He Yu was holding himself to his old standards.
The takeoff was supposed to be light, the rotations complete, the height sufficient, the landing graceful, and the airtime substantial…
On the ice, a once lively and elegant butterfly spread its wings, stubbornly soaring through the rising mist.
Even if the butterfly’s physical strength had long been exhausted as soon as it crossed the bump of a road.5
Even though the butterfly’s wings were trembling in the air, seemingly on the verge of faltering any moment—
The butterfly remained graceful, still soaring high, even momentarily managing to stay in the air!
Applause was erupting once more!
Ji He Yu had already blocked out the sounds from the outside world. As the jump was reaching its crucial moment, the lack of oxygen to his brain, rather than discomforting him, was bringing a strange burst of inexplicable calm.
It was time to land!
The moment his right back outer blade touched the ice, it was raising barely visible ice shavings.
Ji He Yu knew fully well that he was about to fail.
His axis was off, and no matter how perfect the landing pose, he wouldn’t be able to stabilize it.
In the next instant, he was toppling to the right.
Twenty years of experience immersed on the ice were telling Ji He Yu— Don’t fall; even touching the ice is better than falling!
The butterfly’s wings suddenly snapped, and it looked as if it was about to plummet from the sky, but its delicate antennae were bending cleverly, supporting the butterfly’s weight!
Ji He Yu’s delicate and fragile wrist was lightly touching the ice’s surface, absorbing most of the impact from his body, but his wrist, being thin and weak, was going numb from bearing the body’s weight.
Ji He Yu stood up using the force of the ice to support himself.
After all, although it was an A jump, it was ultimately only 1A, and even a failed landing 1A.
However, he understood that this body was already in the best condition to be able to reach this level now and only needed some more time practising □ □ □6 to return to the former level he once had.
Ji He Yu reluctantly skated towards the locker room, realizing belatedly that his back was drenched in a cold sweat not just from the heat of exercise, but from the excessiveness of it.
Ji He Yu subconsciously rubbed his sore legs. Thin without any bulges. This body’s fitness was still too weak ah.
Although fitness was the easiest thing to train back if one was willing to put in the hard work, at this moment what Ji He Yu lacked the most was time.
He was already fifteen; in two years, he would reach the age to enter the adult group. But if he couldn’t achieve something at the junior level this year, how could he join the national team?
Figure skating required years of foundational training. Someone of his age starting anew was practically unheard of.
Ji He Yu rubbed his numb wrist, temporarily suppressing the complex thoughts in his mind.
Don’t think about whether you can succeed since I have chosen this path, I must forge ahead since I have chosen a distant place, I will just keep going regardless of wind and rain.!②
Note – The author has something to say:
①An explanation of Axel, from Baidu’s Encyclopedia.
②From Wang Guozhen’s ” Love of Life “
—
In figure skating, falls during jumps deduct points. Touching the ice with your hand without a full fall results in fewer points being deducted than a real fall, so Ji Baobei instinctively tries not to fully fall.
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(sxhbyc ᥫ᭡ footnotes:)
- Year in year out (积年累月) – means over many years (idiom). ↩︎
- Crab step/walk by Alexandra Trusova (2:43-2:46). ↩︎
- Ten thousand eyes on you (万 众 瞩目) – being the centre of attention/ capturing the eyes of many. ↩︎
- Axel jump is characterised by its forward take-off. It’s renowned for the challenging extra half rotation it requires. If I’ve not explained it well here is a demonstration (time stamp 17:05-17:10). ↩︎
- [5]. bump of a road (坎坷) – to be down on one’s luck; to be full of frustrations and dashed hopes; facing an obstacle. ↩︎
- [6] In the original text to avoid censorship. ↩︎
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(sxhbyc ᥫ᭡ note: I’m not an expert at some of these figure skating terms – so if there’s any mistake please tell me ᯓᡣ𐭩)
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