[Short track speed skating] From academic master to Winter Olympic champion

Cheng Sen sent the red envelope back to Gu Ran, and at his father's request, the amount inside was doubled several times.

Gu Ran accepted the red envelope while typing: "I'm so sorry, Director Cheng."

Cheng Sen said: "Others can have [-] words, but you must have [-] words, and you can't miss a single word!"

"..."

Gu Ran sighed, in order for his teammates to have a good year, he could only bear everything silently by himself.

He was about to put down his phone and go back to his room to do his winter vacation homework. Xu Mei brought a plate of fruit and put it in front of him: "Go in after eating."

Gu Ran had no choice but to sit down again, throwing cherries into her mouth one by one.At this time, his mobile phone received another WeChat message, not from his teammate, but from Wei Yuening, the same tablemate who was a top student in the past: "How did you do in the final exam?"

Gu Ran made a helpless expression: "I said I got the first place in the whole grade, but I'm not satisfied, do you believe me?"

Wei Yuening was a little curious: "If this is not Versailles..."

Gu Ran made a sighing expression: "The score is not as high as last semester, but it is considered very good among classmates."

"That's not your problem, it's the school's problem."

Speaking of which, Wei Yuening sent him a few documents: "This is a mock question we did last semester, and the difficulty is similar to this final exam. You can try it."

As soon as Gu Ran heard about making papers, she became energetic, and hurriedly finished the cherries on the plate in two or three bites, and ran to the room: "Mom, I'm going back to the room."

It took him more than an hour to go in, and he came out of the room after finishing a set of math problems.

He was holding a water glass to fetch water, when he heard voices coming from his father's study room, he leaned lightly by the door and listened, overcoming difficulties, perfecting technology, and preparing for bidding.It should be about work, but he doesn't understand.

This Spring Festival, Gu Ran was in a hurry, that is, on the night of New Year's Eve, he went to his grandparents' house for a group meal, and on the first day of the new year, he went to his grandparents' house to pay New Year's greetings. He has to go back to Beijing.

Gu Changfeng and Xu Mei were naturally worried about their son going alone, so they bought a high-speed rail ticket to send him there, so the family of three could get together more.

They set off in the afternoon and arrived in Beijing after seven o'clock in the evening.During the Chinese New Year, there was no one on the high-speed rail, a family of three sat in a row, Gu Ran was caught in the middle, and his mother kept pulling his hand, gently stroking the calluses at the base of his fingers worn out by the barbell.

His father has been chatting with him, revealing a meaning inside and outside the words: "Dad is rich, and it will be no problem to support you for the rest of your life. You can do whatever you want, and you don't have to do what you don't want to do."

"Nothing is as important as your health. You should protect yourself when you are alone outside. Don't worry your parents."

"If you want to pursue your dream, go after it boldly, and your parents will always support you behind you."

Gu Ran sent Gao Ziyi a WeChat message on the way: "When will senior brother arrive?"

Gao Ziyi quickly replied: "About 08:30."

Gu Ran said, "Then I'll wait for you."

Gu Changfeng and Xu Mei had met Gao Ziyi, and they had also heard from Gu Ran that Brother Xiao Gao had always taken good care of him.

The couple had a very good impression of this young man who looked energetic, dressed in plain clothes, and looked calm at first sight.

When Gu Ran and Gao Ziyi walked together, one could tell at a glance that the former was a flower growing in a greenhouse, with an innocent and bright smile on his brows and eyes.Although the latter always had a soft smile on his face, it was not difficult to see that he was carrying a heavy burden.

The first time Gu Changfeng sent Gu Ran to the ice training base in J Province, he could tell that among the few people in their dormitory, only Gao Ziyi seemed to be in poorer conditions at home.

He has been Gu Ran's father for more than ten years, and he knows that he is a kid who can be liked wherever he goes.Unexpectedly, he and Gao Ziyi had the best relationship, and the two were selected into the national team together.

He thinks that his son is very good. Although his family is well-off, he never has a sense of superiority when getting along with others.

Sending the two children to the training base, Xu Mei was even more reluctant to bear her son when she saw the conditions. She pulled Gu Ran and asked him if he could stay in the hotel with his parents tonight.

"Tomorrow is the official training, and we have morning exercises at 06:30, so it's too late." Gu Ran pointed to the next door, "Look, our two coaches also live in the athlete's apartment."

Xu Mei didn't want him to violate discipline, so she sat for a while, until Gu Ran was about to take a bath and go to bed, and then she turned her head and left.

Three days later, Gu Changfeng and Xu Mei had to go back.The husband and wife were reluctant to part with their son, and Gu Ran was also a little reluctant to part with his parents. After all, the next time they meet, they will have to celebrate the New Year next year.

Gu Ran watched them leave by taxi, stood at the gate for a long time, and then went upstairs.

Chi Lang poked his head out from the opposite side: "Gu Xiaoran, come on, let's form a team and fight."

Gu Ran went back to the room and closed the door: "Don't call, I have to do my homework."

Chi Lang: "..."

Can't delay his son's admission to a prestigious school, Chi Lang can only go back to his solo queue.

At the end of the training that day, Cheng Sen deliberately left the players for 5 minutes and asked them about their registration.If there is no modification, it will be reported according to the previous competition items of each person.

At this moment, Gu Ran stepped forward: "Director Cheng."

Cheng Sen looked at the notebook without looking up: "You report 500 meters and 1000 meters, plus two relay events."

Gu Ran bit her lower lip and said, "I want to add another 1500 meters."

Cheng Sen raised his head to look at him, and couldn't help but answer him with four words: "Not this time."

Gu Ran asked: "Why?"

Cheng Sen was taken aback, but he didn't expect him to ask why.Only then did he look up at him: "I don't think it's the time yet."

Gu Ran asked: "Then when is the time?"

"That depends on your performance during training."

Gu Ran said: "When I was in the championship, my 1500-meter score was not bad."

Cheng Sen closed the notebook, put his hands behind his back, and looked at him sharply: "What can the championship show? The four events are enough for you, and we will talk about it after 1500 meters."

"..."

There are two World Cup matches in February, one in Montreal, Canada, and one in Salt Lake City, USA, with only four days of rest in between.Therefore, they don't have to go back to China halfway, and they will fly directly to Salt Lake City as soon as the Montreal game is over.

This season, Montreal is much colder than Beijing.When they came out of the airport, it was still snowing outside.Even Gao Ziyi said that the weather caught up with his house.

When Gu Ran came to Canada, she suddenly thought of the very familiar kid she met at the last World Youth Championship, named Lin Jiaxi, and wondered if she could meet him again this time.

This is the fifth round of the World Cup this season. Gu Ran has no results because he has not participated in the previous games.In this competition, his helmet number assigned by the International Skating Federation is also very low.

Gu Ran is now 15 years and 8 months old. Two years ago, he was still participating in the U-series youth competitions. Two years later, he has represented the national team and stood in the international arena.

This is not a youth competition, this is an adult competition hosted by the International Skating Federation, and he will face the best short track speed skaters from various countries.

Short track speed skating originated in Canada. At that time, some speed skating enthusiasts in Canada often practiced on indoor ice rinks, and then indoor speed skating competitions emerged.

In Canada, short-track speed skating also has a very good national foundation. People of all ages like this ice racing sport in the skating hall. The competition in Montreal this time attracted a lot of attention.The first day was just the preliminaries for all events, and the stands were packed.

As soon as he arrived at the scene, Gu Ran felt a completely different atmosphere from previous games.

In Gu Ran's mind, compared to football, basketball, swimming and track and field, short track speed skating is an unpopular winter sport. Many people can't even tell the difference between short track and avenue. It's good to be able to pay attention to the Winter Olympics. Who will pay attention to things like the World Cup? race.

However, at this moment, standing in the skating hall, the competition on the field has not yet started, and the live DJ has already set off the atmosphere, giving people the illusion of being in a football field with tens of thousands of people.

Gu Ran rubbed her hands and joked to the teammates next to her: "For the first time, I was a little nervous with so many people watching my game."

Chi Lang looked around: "It's okay, I think there are more people in Shanghai Station."

The Shanghai race was the third race in December last year, and Gu Ran didn't go.

Chi Lang made an expression of sudden realization, "Oh, I almost forgot, you didn't go, no wonder you haven't seen the world so much."

Gu Ran kicked his ass: "Get lost!"

As soon as he turned his head, Gu Ran saw the host team Canada on the other side of the field.It can be seen that they are playing at home and are full of confidence.

Gao Ziyi pointed to one of the male athletes who was not tall but looked very strong and had a beard and said to Gu Ran: "During the Italian race, this No. 6 won the 500-meter gold medal, and his score seems to be more than 40." a little."

Gu Ran half-closed her eyes and looked over: "Curtis Johnson, 24 years old, scored 40 seconds in the Italian Grand Prix, quite strong."

Chi Lang was surprised and said, "You knew even if you didn't go?"

Gu Ranbai glanced at him: "Won't I check on the ISU website?"

Chi Lang scratched his head: "Why didn't I think of it?"

"Besides games and cooking, what else can you hold in your mind?"

"..."

On the other side, Meng Yuqiao said: "In Italy, I didn't even make it to the final. This Curtis Johnson beat two Korean players to win the gold medal. One can imagine his strength."

Gu Ran said: "Last year, he ranked second in the world in the 500 meters, second only to Hwang Jae-hyun, and he is really strong."

Liu Fei poked his head over from behind them: "Are you confident to beat him?"

Gu Ran just hooked the corners of her lips, showing a faint smile with unknown meaning: "Let me try."

Putting a hand on his shoulder next to him, Gao Ziyi said softly: "It's okay, it's the first match, don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Indeed, he participated in the competition for the first time, and his helmet number was already two hundred. He was a childish Chinese kid, and no one took him seriously.

However, many of his opponents in the World Youth Championship last year also appeared in the World Cup. There are quite a few people who know him.

At this time, Gu Ran finally saw Lin Jiaxi. He was standing alone on the edge of the team. He was blocked by a tall athlete just now. Now that person walked away, Gu Ran saw him.

The moment she saw him, Gu Ran was a little startled.Although I haven't seen him for almost a year, he still has a very deep impression on Lin Jiaxin.

He remembered that he was a very cheerful and outgoing boy with big eyes, and his speech and smile were particularly contagious.

But when he saw Lin Jiaxi for the first time just now, the child lowered his head and kept staring at the floor, with an indescribable sadness covering his face.The teammates on the side talked and laughed, but he just stood quietly.There is like a wall between them, invisible and intangible, but it really exists.

Lin Jiaxi raised her head inadvertently, met Gu Ran's gaze, and immediately smiled with wide eyes, wishing to raise her hand to greet Gu Ran.

Gu Ran also smiled and nodded at him, and found that the teammates beside Lin Jiaxi were also looking at him, and said something to Lin Jiaxi, so the child immediately lowered his head again.

At this time, the competition officially begins. The first race is the 500-meter preliminaries, first for women and then for men.Gu Ran wanted to go to the inspection with his teammates, but during the inspection, he found that Lin Jiaxi did not participate in the 500-meter race.

Gu Ran hadn't participated in the competition before and had no results, so she was drawn to the last group in the preliminaries.

I watched seven groups of matches earlier, including Meng Yuqiao and Liu Fei, both of whom entered the next round smoothly.

When it was time for Gu Ran to play, he walked towards the ice rink while shaking his arms, warming up and standing for so long now, he felt his body was already cold.

Among the four players in his group, there is a Japanese, a Russian, and an Italian. He doesn't know any of them, and he doesn't know the strength of their opponents.Anyway, when you are on the court, you can skate as you want.

Gu Ran, who started the race, felt that his three opponents were limited in strength.He rushed out, and the three people still reflected on the spot before rushing out.

Gu Ran grabbed the first place with almost no effort, and the whole game slid very smoothly. Even if he saved his strength, the three opponents behind him did not pose any threat to him.

At the end of the game, Gu Ran looked up at the score. He was almost 42 seconds away, and he could still be the first in the group.

By the time of the quarter-finals, his opponents were still not competitive, and he easily entered the final.

In addition to the 500 meters, Gu Ran also went well in the preliminaries and quarter-finals of the 1000 meters. Both events successfully advanced to the semi-finals.

On the first day, there were still two preliminaries for the relay race. Gu Ran didn't participate in either, but his teammates still made it to the semi-finals.

Apart from the game, Gu Ran just sat behind the coach's bench to watch the game.He holds a notebook in his hand, and when he sees a strong opponent, he will write it down, and when he sees an interesting opponent, he will also make a note, and he will also add two stick figures beside it.

Because the position of the Canadian coaching bench was diagonally opposite to them, he would occasionally look at Lin Jiaxi.Sometimes, Lin Jiaxi would look at him, but she quickly lowered her head.

Gu Ran found out that there was something wrong with this kid.

The two of them added WeChat, and Lin Jiaxi sent him blessings on his birthday last year.During the Spring Festival this year, he also received a message from Lin Jiaxi.Although the frequency of chatting is not high, the two chatted happily online.

Why did I feel that the atmosphere was not right after we met.

Back at the hotel at night, Cheng Sen called the team members over as usual and had a short meeting together.

"I don't need to tell you about the strength of the South Korean team. In the first four competitions, the men's team only lost one or two gold medals, and the Korean and German competitions won all the gold medals."

"Our goal for this competition is still the same. Whether it's an individual event or a relay race, as long as the men's team can win a gold medal, I will consider you to have completed the task."

When he said this, his eyes couldn't help but focus on Gu Ran.Although he is the youngest player in the team with the most senior qualifications and the least game experience.But he is also the strongest one, the only variable in the World Cup team.

Not only Cheng Sen, but other team members also cast their gazes over.Gu Ran shrugged and said with a smile: "Don't do this, I'm under a lot of pressure."

Xu Qing rubbed the top of his head: "What kind of pressure do you have? You are a fledgling kid, just let go of the skating. Those who are under pressure should be those veterans who have been famous for a long time."

In the semi-finals, Meng Yuqiao and Liu Fei were in the first group, Huang Zaixian was also in that group, and there were also an American player and a German player.

Gu Ran was in the second group.This group happened to include Lee In-hyuk, the strong rough guy he had met in the World Youth Championship, the Canadian player Curtis Johnson, and a Russian player.

Before their match, Gu Ran, Meng Yuqiao, and Liu Fei watched the semi-finals of the women's team in the inspection area.

Among them was the girl Cui Zhien, Cui Zhien. As soon as Gu Ran saw her, she remembered the scene of him crying silently outside the dressing room, which was so beautiful.

This girl is really strong, and she is in the same group as her senior. This time, she did not give in to the other party at all, and she led the way to win the first place in the group.

Her teammates and the Italian players in the same group did not skate, and No.3 was directly out.

Gu Ran clicked her tongue twice: "This girl is probably going to be educated again."

Liu Fei looked at him suspiciously: "How do you know?"

"Last World Youth Championship, when I went to the locker room to change clothes, I heard someone arguing, and when I came out, I saw her crying."

Liu Fei smiled and said, "Then why don't you have a hero to save the beauty?"

Gu Ran looked at him in surprise: "What do I care? I just like to watch them fight among themselves."

Meng Yuqiao couldn't help but shook her head with a smile: "You are quite beautiful, you don't need to save others."

The first group competition is over, and the second group has Liang Kexin, who also entered the final in second place.

At this time, Meng Yuqiao and Gu Ran talked about the Canadian Curtis Johnson: "You don't think he is tall, but his chassis is very stable. Anyone who has a physical confrontation with him will suffer a lot. So, if He took the lead in the race and it was almost impossible to pass him."

"Ah???" Gu Ran turned her head to look at him, "But he is in the first place, isn't that the first place in the group?"

Meng Yuqiao shrugged: "It depends on your ability."

At this time, the men's 500m semi-finals began, and Meng Yuqiao and Liu Fei were ready to play.He bent his fingers and tapped Gu Ran's forehead: "Good luck."

"..."