Chapter 13 Section 13

Sweat trickled down, first on the temples and cheeks, then on the neck.Body temperature is rising.Although he was skating desperately, he didn't feel that he was moving forward at all.There is a world of difference between roller skating and real skiing.The front end of the ski poles constantly pierced the snow surface, making a "click, click, click" sound.The sound disturbed him. He felt short of breath and exhausted.Despite skating on snow, it was terribly hot. The blinding snow made him very unhappy, and the sunglasses didn't help at all.But he knew that if he took it off, he wouldn't even be able to open his eyes.

How interesting is this sport?Shingo Torikoshi cursed in his heart as he kicked the snow.He also wants to practice alpine skiing.After coming here, Shingo witnessed the skiing of Alpine skiers such as Hita Fumi for the first time.Of course, all Shingo saw was their smooth skiing, and he thought the project was cool. "The moves are so cool." Shingo couldn't help looking forward to it. If he also practiced alpine skiing, his friends would definitely envy him, and he might even get a girlfriend. However, Shingo's project is long-distance skiing, which does not attract much attention.The sport lacks a sense of speed, and most of the time you have to push forward under your own strength, and there is almost no coasting to speak of.Even if he gets downhill, he can't use the edge of the board as smoothly as alpine skiing.The only thing to do is to take small steps and rub down bit by bit.

The coach said to Shingo: "After you get used to it, you will know how to appreciate the surrounding scenery." But Shingo couldn't feel that kind of emotion at all.No matter where you go, the surrounding scenery is the same, there is no difference at all.The surroundings are always white, only the direction of the birch forests has changed somewhat. On this competition route, there is a steep slope that can affect the competition results.Downhill is okay, but it's all uphill here.That coach was nothing short of a sadist. Shingo climbed up the steep slope panting heavily, and a man in a blue winter coat came into view.

He is the coach who seems to be sadistic - Kaizuka.Shingo thought to himself, he was still clocking at the entrance of the hotel just now, so he must have taken a shortcut.But this slope is really steep, even with snowshoes it is difficult to climb.Shingo really wanted to say "Thank you for your hard work" to him. "Very good, very good, this is the rhythm. Increase the swing! Before crossing the finish line, don't relax, push hard!" Kaizuka roared loudly holding the loudspeaker in both hands. "I can hear it even without that thing." Shingo was too tired to complain.

After passing in front of Kaizuka, Shingo continued to slide forward.It's more like climbing than skating.When I first came across this slope, Shingo almost gave up halfway. He thought to himself, where is the end of the slide. A thick, familiar birch tree appeared in front of him.Shingo couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief, he knew that sliding past the tree would be a gentle downhill. Shingo thought to himself, no matter what, let's try to slide there first. He had just started running when he suddenly heard the sound of stepping on the snow behind him, mixed with a slight gasp.Shingo looked back and saw an athlete in a crimson ski suit following behind him.He was a big man, and silently chased him up from behind.No, the other party probably didn't mean to chase him, but Shingo experienced the feeling of being chased for the first time.

Although he knows that there are other players practicing on this route, so far, he has never met a player who trains with him. He knew where this athlete came from.Before training today, Shingo saw a group of people doing warm-up exercises not far from him.Kaizuka told him that it was a member of the ski club of a local high school. "Many national team players came out of that high school. It's not a big school, but it's very famous in the cross-country skiing world." "Oh, that's it." Shingo simply replied, he was not interested in it. Shingo didn't care, and proceeded at his own pace.The sound of stepping on the snow mixed with the sound from behind.The snow on the nearby birch trees fell with a plop.

The sound of chasing behind gradually grew louder.The opponent's rhythm is obviously faster than Shingo. Shingo glanced at the snowy surface from the corner of his left eye, only to see a shadow appearing on it.The top of the shadow has surpassed itself.Immediately afterwards, the owner of the shadow—a player in a crimson ski suit slid over, riding alongside Shingo.The way the opponent holds the ski pole is powerful and steady, and the pace of kicking the snow is even more professional.Shingo looked sideways, and saw that the man's face was covered with pimples.Judging from the other party's expression, he didn't seem to care much about Shingo.

Shingo thought to himself, let's fight him a little bit.As a result, Shingo's legs and arms were strengthened at the same time, and the propulsion speed immediately increased. Although he was overtaken by the opponent just now, he cheered up instead.Shingo slid in front of the opponent again. ——What, it's surprisingly simple...but, Shingo's sense of superiority ends here.Although he kept his speed at a very high level, he could hardly keep the distance from the opponent.The other party kept a small distance from him, almost like Shingo's partner. They gradually approached the birch tree at the top of the slope.Shingo breathed a sigh of relief.At this moment, the athletes of the ski club wearing crimson ski suits suddenly "squeaked" and left Shingo behind.Shingo didn't react. Before that, he had already exhausted his strength, and his muscles had no response.

In an instant, the athletes of the ski club who overtook Shingo climbed to the top of the slope and slid down the slope briskly.His back was getting smaller and smaller, and he distanced himself from Shingo. Shingo also started to go downhill.He used the squat skating technique Kaizuka had taught him. ——Where did that guy slide... While thinking about this, Shingo came across a corner.He froze.When going downhill at high speed, the sudden turn is called "ghost gate" by skiers.Shingo knew he had to be more careful. Shingo was a little flustered, constantly adjusting the skis.Centrifugal force tilted his body outward.He knew that this corner had to be turned well, but he didn't want to slow down because of it.

Shingo thought to himself, skiing is really a troublesome sport, it is too difficult to move on the snow.Hmm, what will happen if you do that—Shingo forcibly twisted the skis. By the time Shingo felt himself off balance, it was too late for him to adjust.Shingo fell at the most prominent corner, his legs were thrown off the track, and his back was hit hard. Although he felt little pain, Shingo was surrounded by an inexplicable sense of humiliation and self-loathing.He didn't stand up immediately, but continued to lie there in a big character.In the blue sky, there are countless strips of white clouds floating.From nowhere came the chirping of birds.

"Do you want to see Peter Franton tonight?" Shingo thought blankly.Kaizuka, who lives with her, returns to her room very late.Until then, he can watch his favorite DVDs. This has become his recent habit.While watching the performance of the guitar master, Shingo played the "air guitar" that did not exist.At that moment, he felt as if he, too, had become part of the band.Shingo thought that if someone saw him like this, he would think he was out of his mind. A sound of skiing brought him back to his senses.Several people slid down the slope.They were all wearing crimson ski suits, and they seemed to be the fellows of the guy just now. What a bunch of boring guys, Shingo thought.Since I'm participating in a high school club activity, I should choose something more fun, such as the light music department. "Are you okay?" At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded in Shingo's ear.It's a young voice. Shingo sat up.A boy slides down, who also appears to be from the ski department.He is not tall and has a thin body. "You, are you not injured?" the boy asked while panting. "It's okay, it's okay, I just lie down and rest for a while." Shingo stood up hastily. "Ah, that's right." The other party smiled. "I'm sorry, I caused you to detour because of me. The others have already passed by." The thin athlete nodded and slid down the slope.Due to his low weight, he could hardly pick up the speed.His arms holding the ski poles were also very thin, and he looked extremely tired. Shingo kicked up again, and it didn't take long for him to slide down the slope.The track behind is almost flat. Shingo didn't think about anything, just kept sliding forward.Unknowingly, he slowly approached the thin athlete just now.The man slid awkwardly, almost like a broken robot puppet.Shingo immediately caught up with him, slid to his side, and watched him.However, the other party didn't seem to be in the mood to pay attention to Shingo.He had a serious expression, panting heavily. Shingo thought, in your own state, you still have time to care about others.Of course, Shingo was not offended.He shouted "come on" in his heart and continued to slide forward. Shingo slid to the finish line in front of the hotel, and Kaizuka greeted him with a sad face.He didn't have a stopwatch in his hand.He was so slow that he gave up timing altogether. Shingo crossed the finish line and unloaded the skis.He saw Kaizuka walking towards him.Shingo knew what he was going to say to himself, so he said first: "When I went down the last slope, I fell. I fell outside the track, and it took a long time to climb back." "You still can't go downhill. You didn't get hurt?" "I'm not hurt, I'm fine." "That's good." Kaizuka nodded, "After putting the equipment in the drying room, do a good stretching exercise, and then come to have lunch." "Yes." Shingo replied. Just then, two men came over.One was wearing a down jacket, the other was wearing a coat with a scarf around his neck.Both put their hands in their pockets. "Sorry to bother you a little bit," said the man in the down jacket first, "I want to ask you a few questions. I don't know if it's okay. I'll finish it in a while, and it won't take up too much of your time." He put a He took his hand out of his pocket, holding his police ID.Of course, this was the first time Shingo had seen a police ID. "What's the matter?" Kaizuka asked. "Judging from the attire, the two of you should be members of the Xinshi Development Ski Department, right?" "Yes, we belong to the Junior Club." "I see. Do you two often train near here?" "Well, sort of." "What time does the training run from?" "Well, every day is different." "What about between three and four o'clock yesterday afternoon?" "Yesterday?" Kaizuka looked at Shingo, and then turned his gaze back to the detective, "I remember yesterday's practice ended at three o'clock in the afternoon." "So, the two of you were around here around three o'clock yesterday afternoon, right?" "Let's just say I had a little stuff to sort out." "What about you?" the detective asked Shingo. "I said it's not very good. Dou tilted his head and replied, "I might have gone back to the hotel." " "Then, please answer according to your own memories. At that time, did you see any suspicious people around here?" The detective looked at Kaizuka, and then at Shingo. "Suspicious person... what is a suspicious person?" Kaizuka showed a confused look on his face. "It's people who behave suspiciously and look strange. For example, they don't seem to be suitable for this place. I don't know what they do. Especially, the situation of the parking lot can be seen very clearly from here..." Looking in the direction of the policeman's finger, the hotel's parking lot is ahead.If guests are just using the ski resort, they will park their cars in another parking lot not far away. "Have you two seen any suspicious people appearing near that parking lot, or have you seen other suspicious things?" "I really didn't notice it." Kaizuka said indifferently, "We never paid attention to that place. I really don't have any impression." The detective turned his head to Shingo, as if asking "what about you".Shingo shrugged his shoulders, as if to say "I didn't pay much attention". "That's it, thank you very much. I'm really sorry to disturb you two during training." The two detectives saluted and walked towards the group of high school ski club athletes.The ski department is all gathered together, listening to a man who looks like a consultant.The two detectives seemed to ask them the same question, but it was probably still in vain.After all, those athletes only started training today. "What are they investigating?" Shingo muttered, looking at the back of the detective. "Maybe it was the bus accident yesterday. Last night, the police were in and out of the hotel, busy until late." Kaizuka said. "But it was just a traffic accident, right?" "I think so too." Shingo bid farewell to Kaizuka who was going straight to the hotel gate, and went to the drying room.In the drying room, the skis of the Alpine ski team are lined up.The Alpine ski team does not appear to be training today due to the impact of the accident. Shingo was dissatisfied seeing this - why can't I take a break? There is a space the size of three tatami mats at the door of the drying room.Shingo did some simple stretching exercises there, then walked up the stairs. Shingo walked down the corridor leading to the hotel lobby.At this time, a door next to him suddenly opened, and several people came out one after another from inside.Among them are Takakura and Fumi Hita of the Alpine ski team, and Yuki, whom Shingo doesn't really want to see. Yuki was the first to discover Shingo.He put on a greeting expression and walked towards Shingo. "Is the morning training over?" "Probably." Shingo replied, he didn't look at the other party. "Are you used to skiing? The feeling on the snow is not the same as before, right?" "Almost." Shingo muttered, thinking, shouldn't he be a little more kind to this man? "I've heard that there was an accident here. Although the surrounding environment may become a little noisy, you don't have to worry at all. Just do what you should do." "Then can I watch a DVD about guitar?" Shingo grumbled inwardly. "As long as you can follow Coach Kaizuka's instructions, there will be no problem. Then, let's meet on the training ground in the afternoon, and I may visit you then." Yuki patted Shingo on the shoulder, and immediately Turn around and leave. Shingo looked at Yuki's back, and muttered in a low voice, "You don't need to see me."