Chapter 9 Section 9

Not long after she left, she knew that she had been cheated by Zeguchi. He said that "raising the edge of the ski a little bit would help the ride," but it didn't help at all.This slide was no different from the previous one. "Be sure to keep the blade in tip-top shape." Sawaguchi was a veteran of snowboarding when Hiroshi Hida was still an athlete.Fumi has been under the tutelage of Sawaguchi since childhood. Sawaguchi is a capable person.He thinks Banken is in top shape right now, but he doesn't tell Fumi.As for whether it is necessary to tilt the edge of the board, you can only know by sliding it once.

It didn't take long for Fengmei to realize that she had been tricked by Zeguchi.The state of the snow surface is different from just now, subtle changes have taken place.The rise in temperature and the sliding of other players have had an impact on the snow. The skis stick firmly to the snow.Gliding is very smooth, the edge does not eat too deep into the snow surface. This time the results may be good - Fengmei is confident in her own time.Gao Cang should be pinching the stopwatch at the finish line.Although it was just training, the results were not ambiguous at all. Fumi passed the flag gates one by one with zero mistakes.The skis are in really good condition.And, more importantly, Fengmei's physical condition is quite good today.Her intuition is very sharp, and her reaction is faster than usual.

Let's sprint next——just as she was thinking this way, Fengmei suddenly felt as if she had stepped on a bump on the sole of her foot.Of course, it was impossible for her to step on something directly, but the front end of the right snowboard made her feel unnatural. It's a small foreign body.Icicles?This feeling occurs on the outside of the right ski, twenty centimeters from the front end.Immediately afterwards, the foreign object penetrated the entire snowboard, and it only took a few hundredths of a second.But no top alpine skier is used to this strange bluntness. The foreign object passed under Fengmei's boot, and disappeared obliquely inside the tail of the right snowboard.There may be some damage to the inside of the board.

Fengmei returned to her own rhythm and continued to slide.Ahead, the last flag gate is approaching.She tried her best to slide past. As soon as Fumi took off the snowboard, Sawaguchi walked over.The black knit hat on his head had turned white.Having said that, even with the hat off, his head is still white. Zeguchi twisted his snow-tanned face, with deep wrinkles engraved on the corners of his eyes. "What's the state of the board?" he asked. "Do you want me to submit?" Fengmei stared at the man who was almost thirty years older than herself. "That's not the case. Didn't I tell you to keep the edge of the blade in top condition?"

"You are still the same, and your heart is still so bad." As soon as Fengmei straightened her face, Gao Cang walked over slowly with a serious face. "She seems a little dissatisfied. Before we get involved, let's go back quickly." Zeguchi shrank his head and walked in the opposite direction. "When you passed the sixth flag gate, you seemed to lift your body. What's going on?" That's when a foreign object is stepped on.Sure enough, he couldn't hide it from Gao Cang's eyes. "I'm sorry, I lost my concentration on the way..." She didn't say anything about the foreign body.Firstly, the other party will not accept excuses, and secondly, even talking about such things is meaningless.

Gao Cang sighed. "If you can't keep your focus on this level of track, then you should stop skating. Also, the outward lean problem is a little better, and the way you use your knees has changed?" "I paid special attention to it." "Hmm..." Gao Cang thought for a while and asked, "Is it your father's suggestion?" "No, I figured it out on my own. Dad hasn't given me much advice lately." Although she knew that there was no need to say this kind of thing, she accidentally slipped it out.As long as his skating method is slightly adjusted, Gao Cang will immediately think whether this is Hongchang's suggestion.Fengmei just wants to tell others that she has already left her father and is self-reliant.

"Really? But you have changed a bit too much. It is your characteristic to be aggressive. Once you are honest, your explosive power will also come down." "I see. I'll keep an eye out." Takakura nodded and glanced at his watch. "Come here today. Call me on your cell phone after you change your clothes. I have something to tell you." "What's the matter?" "Let's talk later." Gao Cang turned and left. Fengmei thought, it must have nothing to do with skiing.Maybe the company issued another troublesome order.At such times, Gao Cang would always become extremely unhappy.

Fumi returned to the hotel where the training camp was held.As soon as she reached the drying room, she heard voices.One of them appears to be Shingo Togoshi.He is a young athlete in cross-country skiing and has just come to the training camp recently. The voices died away.The other party may have discovered Fengmei.A man in a winter suit came out.His face was tanned by the snow.The man nodded to Fengmei and walked out of the hotel. In the drying room, Shingo was repairing his skis.After seeing Fengmei, he quickly lowered his head. On the bench sits a music magazine with the title "Guitar Special."

"Can you play the guitar?" Fumi asked. Shingo hurriedly put the magazine into his school bag. "No need to hide. Do you like guitars?" "Ok." Shingo nodded. "It's amazing, play it to me next time." "...I can't play." "what?" "I don't know how to play the guitar. Although I like the guitar, I have never touched it." "That's right." "If you really want to play the guitar, you have to practice more seriously. You have to practice more than this thing." He said, picking up his ski poles and posing for playing the guitar.

Feng Mei frowned. "Could it be that you hate skiing?" Shingo scratched his head, showing a slightly pained expression. "It's not really annoying. There are other things I want to do, but I have to endure it. I just can't agree with this kind of thing." Fumi looked at Shingo, who put on his casual shoes and stood up. "Then it's fine if you give up skiing. Don't force yourself to do anything. Your mentality is disrespectful to other athletes." Shingo scowled, and rubbed the underside of his nose with his fingers. "If I can give up, I don't have to work so hard."

"What do you mean by that?" "I mean I have to practice this thing now. Excuse me, can you stop asking so much. If I get asked too much, I will complain." "Isn't it just to complain? No matter how much you post, I will still ask." "Okay okay, I've had enough." Shingo packed the utensils in his bag, picked up the bag, and was about to leave the drying room.When he reached the door, he stopped, turned around and said: "Sister, your dad is a famous skier, isn't he?" Fengmei put her hands on her hips, stared at him and said, "I'm not your sister." "Ah... you, that..." "My name is Hita Fumi. I belong to the same club as you, so I can be regarded as your senior anyway." "I know that. I heard Mr. Kaizuka say that you are the player that Xinshi Development puts high hopes on." "Forget about compliments. By the way, what did you just say? What happened to my dad?" "Your father was a great skier, wasn't he?" "Oh, it's just in Japan." Fengmei folded her arms and nodded, "He has participated in the Olympics and the World Cup. In the slalom event of the World Cup, he is considered a seed player. But then again, these things are almost Not many Japanese know it, not even you. If you don’t get a medal, fans won’t remember your name.” "But, sister...uh, Ms. Feitian, the reason why you also want to become a skier, isn't it because of your father's brilliant sports career?" Shingo's question made Fumi a little puzzled. "Dad hasn't been an athlete for as long as I can remember. All I can do is listen to other people tell me about his glorious past. The oldest skiing memory in my head is of my retired dad teaching me Skiing. So, I think my dad may have pinned his dreams on me." "Dream... Oh, by the way, don't you feel depressed? Being pinned by others on yourself..." "Depression or something, I didn't think about it from the beginning. At first, I just wanted to play in the snow with my dad and slide together. Thanks to this mentality, I was able to get along with skiing. Plus, I was always in the competition. It was the thrill that kept me going. So, that’s how I became a skier. Simply put, that’s the whole process.” "Hmm..." Shingo showed confusion. "Your talent was discovered by Teak, right?" Shingo's face suddenly became clouded with sadness. "Although it seems to be like this, I don't really know it myself." Shingo stared at Fumi and said, "Miss Fei Tian inherited her talent from her father, right?" "I don't know, who knows." "If you don't have talent, what would you do? Will you continue to slide?" "Who knows. Speaking of which, I don't even know whether I have talent or not. You should have been recognized by authority figures. Mr. Teak's talent mining plan has scientific basis. Actually, I envy you, you Everything is clear, so there is no need to be confused.” "You really think so? But I don't realize my talent at all. If only I had a talent for music. No, it doesn't matter if I don't have that kind of thing. It doesn't matter if I'm no different from ordinary people." Shingo scratched his head through the knitted hat, "I'm sorry I said some strange things to you. Can you keep these things a secret for me?" "Who do you think I'm going to talk to?" Hearing Fumi's answer, Shingo nodded slightly, and then walked out of the drying room. —Has he never realized his talent... Fengmei thought to herself, what exactly is talent?Do gifted people have to suffer because they are gifted?She never thought about this question.However, looking back now, if the answer is exactly the opposite, she has a lot of feelings.No matter how much you love skiing, if you don't have talent, you can't win. Fengmei returned to the room with her head full of complicated thoughts.After changing clothes, she called Gao Cang.Gao Cang only said "Come to the hotel lobby". After Fengmei came to the lobby, she found Gao Cang sitting opposite another man, drinking coffee.After seeing that man, Fengmei couldn't help feeling a little depressed.That person was none other than Teak Wood. Feng Mei did not hide her displeasure.She put on a nonchalant expression and walked up to them.Seeing her, Yuki smiled wryly, as if he knew that he was not very popular.His attitude made Fengmei even more anxious. "What's the matter?" Fengmei said to Gao Cang. "Well, you sit down first." The orders of the coach cannot be disobeyed.Feng Mei silently sat next to Gao Cang.The waiter came over and asked her what to order, and Fengmei said she didn't need anything. "I heard from Mr. Gao Cang that you are doing well recently, and this is the best news." Teak said with a smile on his face. "Mr. Yuki, I'm very sorry. Please go and negotiate with my father about the incident last time." Fengmei said provocatively.Fengmei thought, he must have asked us to assist him in his DNA research when he came here this time.It's unforgivable that this guy actually pulled Gao Cang in. "I didn't come here today for this matter. I came for something else. Mr. Gao Cang already knew, and I talked with your father." Fengmei looked at the coach. "whats the matter?" "Mr. Teak was appointed by the company as your publicity officer." "The person in charge of propaganda?" "The business card isn't ready yet, but it's an order from the head office. If you don't believe it, you can confirm it with Minister Kotani of the Sports Department." "Shouldn't the publicity work of the Alpine ski team be done by the people in the publicity department?" "I'm not in charge of the team's publicity. I'm just your personal publicity manager. If you want to ask why, please ask the head office. Even I don't know why. Maybe it's just a lack of manpower." Unexpected things make Fengmei very confused.At this time, Gao Cang, who had been silent all the time, said, "From now until the end of the World Cup, Mr. Yuki will basically act with us. During this time, Mr. Yuki will be solely responsible for all promotional activities related to you .” "My promotional activities...basically no promotional activities at all." "It's been like this so far. But it will be different from now on." Yuki said solemnly, "Some media have already submitted interview applications. Of course we can't respond to all of them, but we will eventually accept one or two applications. .Of course, I will be in charge of all coordination work, so you don't have to worry about anything." Fengmei let out a long sigh. "I still have to train." "I know that. The publicity work will not hinder the training. However, there are some things I hope you don't forget. Although you are a skier, you are also an employee of the company. You are a subordinate of the Xinshi Development and Welfare Department Staff. In reality, you can hardly do any work for the company. Why? Because you can use your excellent performance on the field to promote the company and bring praise to the company. Therefore, if you do not cooperate with the company's publicity , is a betrayal of the company." The teak tone is calm and penetrating.Feng Mei can not refute, because what he said is the truth. "Did my dad agree?" To be cautious, Fengmei still asked.She couldn't understand why Dad would agree to this.Athletes should win the recognition of the society with real achievements - this should be my father's idea. "Of course. I hope you take a positive look at this matter. If you have any doubts, you can ask yourself." Teak replied confidently.Apparently, he wasn't lying. "What should I do..." "You don't have to do anything. We'll give you directions from here. But, first of all, I hope you don't see me as a nuisance from now on." "I didn't think of you as a trouble..." "Okay. I understand." Yuki nodded and stood up, "Let's stop here. Coach Gao Cang, I took up your time, thank you very much. Starting tomorrow, please take care of me." "Okay." Gao Cang nodded. After watching Teak leave, Gao Cang put on a straight face. "You are a social person now. It's not the time to just ski well and everything will be fine. It's okay, just bear with it. Your father was not the same back then. When he was an athlete, he didn't dare to disobey the sponsor's wishes." .” "I know, it's fine." After saying that, Fengmei stood up, "I'm going to Sapporo later." "Sapporo? Ah, yes. You told me they made you a new pair of boots that fit you." The boots are provided by Fengmei's contracted ski boot manufacturer.Fumi wants to meet the technicians of that company in Sapporo.They will provide Fengmei with the latest ski boots free of charge every time.From this point of view, the sponsor is indeed a thankful existence. "It's exciting to hear that the new boots are a lot lighter." "When will you come back?" "Should be back around eight tomorrow. I've filled out my schedule." Xinshi Development has created a dedicated mobile website for the ski department, on which athletes can fill in their schedules.Of course, only those who know the password can view the athletes' schedules. "I see, be careful on the road." After saying goodbye to Takakura, Fengmei went straight to the entrance of the hotel.The shuttle bus bound for Sapporo came head-on.Although it is called a "bus", it is actually just a medium-sized van that can seat up to a dozen people. Fengmei glanced at the bus timetable posted on the wall, and had to wait more than ten minutes before driving.Since it was cold outside, Fengmei decided to wait behind the glass door of the hotel. She took out a folder from her bag, which contained pictures of her gliding breakdown.When Fengmei was looking at these pictures, a voice suddenly said: "That, I'm sorry..." Fengmei raised her head and saw a middle-aged man in a dark blue coat standing in front of her. "Are you Miss Hita Fumi?" the man said. "I'm……" After hearing her answer, the man's expression was lifted, as if he saw something dazzling. "It really is you. In fact, I am your loyal fan. It is my great honor to meet you." "No, where." Fengmei was a little confused.This is the first time she has encountered such a situation outside the competition field. "I'm still far behind, and I can only be regarded as third-rate in terms of strength." "No, no, never. I'm looking forward to you. Well, if you can, can you shake my hand?" "Ah...Okay." Fengmei stretched out her right hand. The man looked at her hand and held it slowly as if treating something valuable.This is a warm and soft hand.He held Fengmei's hand, closed his eyes, and then let go of his hand. "Thank you so much. Today's experience will be a great memory." "Where is it, you are too much." Fengmei shook her head, thinking, this sentence is too exaggerated. "Are you going to Sapporo?" he asked. "I do have that plan." "That's right. Actually I'm going to Sapporo too, can you let me go with you?" "of course." After hearing her answer, the man's eyes were filled with joy."That's great," he murmured under his breath. Fengmei couldn't help being a little surprised to meet such an enthusiastic fan.She thought to herself, although I have stepped into the society, I have never participated in a major competition.Could it be that he had already started to support me when I was a student? The bus stops in front of the hotel.Fengmei walked out of the hotel, and the man followed her out. There were no other guests in the car.Fengmei found a middle seat, and the man sat down diagonally behind her. The driver who was out for a short time returned to the driver's seat and started the engine. At this time, Fengmei remembered that she left her mobile phone in the room.Although only gone for a day or so, she was still a little uneasy. "I'm sorry." Fengmei said to the driver, "I left something in the hotel, I have to get off." "Shall I wait for you?" the driver asked. "No, I'll take the next one." Fengmei got off the bus and looked back at the man sitting in the bus.Although there was some regret on his face, he still smiled and waved to her.Fengmei also nodded to him in return. Fengmei walked into the hotel and returned to the room.The phone is still in the bathroom.She picked up her phone and saw an email.It was from a friend from her high school days.Although the content of the email is very boring, for Fengmei, this kind of communication is the best way to relax.She emailed him back right away. When she regained her senses, Fengmei unexpectedly found that a long time had passed.If we continue to dawdle like this, we will miss the next bus.Fengmei put her phone in her schoolbag and returned to the first floor of the hotel. As soon as she walked to the hall, she saw Gao Cang.Other athletes stood there too. "Ah, Fengmei!" A male contestant saw her. Everyone's eyes immediately focused on Fengmei's body, and everyone let out a long breath. Gao Cang ran over, his eyes were bloodshot. "Great, so you didn't take that bus." "I left something in the room. But, what's too good..." "There was an accident, a traffic accident." "Traffic accident? Where?" "It's not far from here. I heard that the bus from here had an accident and the whole car was on fire."