Stringy Wind in the Ear - Chap 78
The crimson arrow feathers spun rapidly, the arrow drew an arc in the air, and fell steadily into the yellow circle. Li Xun lowered his arms, looked over, and confirmed the result.
“Ten.” The referee’s mechanical voice was heard on the field, and the applause and whistles from all around pierced the clouds and rocks.
“Ten rings!——Li Xun hit a ten ring again!”
At the World Championships men’s recurve team competition, the ecstatic voice of the Chinese team commentator was recorded by the equipment, and the guest commentator sitting next to him also showed a long-lost smile on his face: “This is Li Xun’s second ten rings today. He performed very well.”
The competition was held abroad, and the temperature was very high for several days in a row. There was no shade on the outdoor venue, and the sun was scorching overhead. The wide and long archery range was surrounded by spectator seats, and most of the people sitting there were foreign spectators.
The current results of the two participating teams are displayed on the huge screen.
CHINA: Set pts 2
UKRAINE: Set pts 0
In the men’s team competition, the Chinese team played against the Ukrainian team. At the end of the first round, the Chinese athletes narrowly defeated the Ukrainian team with a score of 58 in six arrows and won two points.
The commentator took advantage of the short break of the athletes to introduce them: “Viewers who often follow archery must know that this is a veteran of our Chinese team. He is 32 years old, very tall and handsome. He retired four years ago for some personal reasons and officially returned last year. This is his first time participating in the World Championships.”
The guest commentator said “hmm”, and then said: “It can be seen that his competitive level is still at its peak. Compared with the two young players this year, his condition is still the most stable.”
“Yes, as the team’s third player, we are under the heaviest pressure and must have the ability to turn the tide. We won these two crucial points and made a good start. Our young players will have a more stable mentality in the next round.”
Team triple-header, as the name suggests, is the third athlete to shoot the arrow in a team competition.
In the team event, each team has six arrows in each round, with two arrows for each of the three athletes. To make the competition more entertaining, athletes from the two countries take turns shooting arrows, and each arrow directly affects the mentality of the next athlete.
Therefore, the positioning in archery team competitions is very particular. The first arrow is crucial, and a player with strong overall abilities in the team will be chosen to achieve good results and show momentum. The last arrow often determines the outcome at the critical moment, and the pressure is like Mount Tai, so experienced competitive players are needed to make a beautiful ending.
The Chinese team’s order of appearance is Song Yang, Yu Shenwei, and Li Xun.
There are four rounds in the team competition. The winning team can get two points, and the tie will get one point each. The team that first wins five points will directly advance to the semi-finals.
The screen in the distance switched images, and Li Xun, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, appeared in the center. He stretched out his arms, and Song Yang and Yu Shenwei pressed their palms up one after another, shouting with great momentum: “Come on!”
In the second round, the Ukrainian team took the lead.
Song Yang leaned against Li Xun’s back, resting his chin on his shoulder: “It’s so hot, I’m dying of the sun, I feel like I’m going to have a heat stroke…”
Li Xun took off his baseball cap and put it on his head: “I’ll go downstairs and buy you an ice cream later.”
Song Yang adjusted the brim of his hat and thought: “Actually, I’d rather drink some old Beijing sour plum juice, preferably iced, with some chicken noodles. It’s so refreshing!”
Li Xun’s eyebrows curved, and he lowered his voice: “Behave well, and I will get it for you when I get back.”
Song Yang leaned close to his ear and said, “What if the performance is not good?”
Li Xun raised his eyebrows and asked back: “What do you think?”
Song Yang: “I accept the punishment.”
While observing his opponent, Wang Nanfeng accidentally caught a glimpse of the two people who looked like conjoined twins and coughed dryly.
There was no reaction from either of them, so he cleared his throat again.
Li Xun finally turned around and gave him a look that asked, “What’s wrong?”
Wang Nanfeng waved his hand: “Stand closer.”
Li Xun took a step towards him. Although Song Yang didn’t understand why, he also took a step forward immediately. He was like a newborn animal that lacked milk and could only feel at ease by feeling the warm body temperature of an adult animal.
Wang Nanfeng couldn’t do anything to them, so he gave up struggling. Anyway, the media asked him about it, and that was a beautiful brotherhood.
The Ukrainian team finished shooting three arrows, and the commentator announced: “26 rings. It seems that their second shot is not very stable. They made mistakes twice in a row.”
The guest commentator said: “The Ukrainian team is ranked behind our Chinese team in the international rankings. In addition, they were overtaken by our team in the first round. The pressure must be great. The key lies in how the athletes digest it themselves.”
“Then can you predict how our Chinese team will perform in this round?”
“Based on the current state, I think our team has a great chance of winning these two points. It all depends on whether the two 20-year-old players can perform stably. They are both very young, and this is the first time I’ve seen them in a major tournament.”
“Then let’s look forward to their performance together.”
The countdown started, and Song Yang stood in front of the beam. Thousands of eyes were staring at him.
Yu Shenwei shouted behind him: “Relax and play again, it’s just 26 points, no big deal.”
Li Xun stared at the small tuft of hair on the back of Song Yang’s head that was blown up by the wind, and whispered to encourage him: “Come on, we are here, don’t worry.”
The camera turned to the audience, and many audience members wearing red “cheering uniforms” held up flags and banners high.
Song Yang withdrew his gaze from the words “Go Chinese Team”, took a deep breath, hooked the arrow and pulled the bow smoothly, squinting his eyes to aim at the target.
The scene became miraculously quiet, with the only sound being the slight movement of the staff walking around.
The clicker landed as expected, and Song Yang loosened his fingertips.
“Ten rings!——” The commentator’s voice was sonorous and powerful, “This is Song Yang’s first ten rings today! It seems that our athlete has found the feeling of the competition.”
Guest commentator: “Yes, I can feel the wind at the scene now, but I am relieved that the wind did not affect the performance of our players.”
“This has something to do with their usual training, right?”
“Yes, during the selection and preparation period, our athletes will undergo special training to adapt to different weather conditions, venues, and temperatures. I think they will be able to respond positively no matter how bad the situation is.”
Song Yang’s ten rings stabilized the army’s morale. He turned around and faced Li Xun’s hot and wet palm, holding it for a few seconds before letting go.
It’s Yu Shenwei’s turn.
Li Xun leaned close to Song Yang’s ear and praised him in a low voice: “Your performance just now was great. The coach next door was praising your moves.”
“Really?” Song Yang glanced at the team next to him. The coach was mumbling something to the athletes. Even through his sunglasses, one could feel that his expression was a little serious, but it didn’t seem like an accusation, perhaps an encouragement.
“You still understand Ukrainian?”
“I just spoke English.”
Yu Shenwei scored a good nine rings, and Li Xun finished beautifully with a ten rings.
The total score of the three arrows was 29, which was three full rings ahead of Ukraine. Such an excellent advantage is rare in major competitions.
The camera panned to the audience, where several national team leaders were sitting cross-legged and drinking tea calmly.
The commentator was so excited that his eyebrows danced: “I think it will be difficult for the Ukrainian team to overtake with the last three arrows. The Chinese team has a good chance to advance to the semi-finals and compete for medals.”
“Yes, our athletes can be said to have a sure win in this round. In fact, every arrow shot by an athlete from the beginning lays the foundation for the subsequent performance. Those who shoot well will become more and more aggressive and exciting. Those who fall behind at the beginning will have strong psychological fluctuations. You can even feel the nervousness of several athletes from the Ukrainian team…they are slower at the beginning.”
In the game against Ukraine, China won without any suspense. As soon as they came off the court, the players were surrounded by reporters and photographers.
Faced with these unfamiliar things, Song Yang moved closer to Li Xun out of insecurity.
However, when asked to pose for a photo, he happily bent his fingers and made a half heart shape.
Li Xun’s peripheral vision caught sight of it, and it met his.
Song Yang smiled, and in the camera, his ears were burned red.
Yu Shenwei said unhappily: “You make me seem redundant.”
Song Yang and Li Xun looked at each other, and almost at the same time raised their arms above their heads and made a big heart shape with their hands.
Yu Shenwei was stuck in the middle and inexplicably felt like a dog.
Back in the rest area, Song Yang put away his bow and arrow, got some water and ate something.
They also had their lunch here. The food was prepared by the organizers and was either hamburgers, noodles, or mashed potatoes. Foreign food was not to his liking and the weather was hot, so he took a few bites of the salad and put down his knife and fork.
Li Xun put two small pieces of steak in front of his mouth and said, “Eat two more bites, or you will be too weak in the afternoon.”
Song Yang raised his arm and poked his muscles: “Don’t worry, I have strength.”
Li Xun did not retract his hand. Song Yang could not resist him and opened his mouth to take a bite. The beef was fried dry, so he swallowed it like swallowing medicine, taking a big sip of juice before swallowing it.
There was a burst of laughter coming from the table next to them. They turned around and saw that it was the Koreans they met in Qinghai last time.
An Zhiyu teased him in Chinese without hesitation: “Haven’t you graduated from kindergarten? Do you still need someone to feed you?”
The best way to deal with idiots is to ignore them. Song Yang finished reciting this in his mind and felt much better.
An Zhiyu smiled, wiped his mouth, stood up and walked to Li Xun: “Hey, let me tell you something.”
Li Xun frowned and said nothing.
An Zhiyu bent down with a wicked smile, approached Li Xun, and said in an almost inaudible voice: “Do you think you look alike to my dad?”
Although Song Yang couldn’t hear anything, he could sense from his smile that it wasn’t a good thing.
Li Xun was stunned for two seconds, clicked on the voice memo, and handed the phone over: “I didn’t hear it clearly, please say it again.”
An Zhiyu lowered his eyes, glanced at him, then turned away reluctantly.
Yu Shenwei asked curiously, “What did he just say to you?”
Li Xun avoided the topic and reminded: “If we have a chance to play against South Korea in the afternoon, we must be careful. These people may make a fuss to provoke us. Everyone must stay calm and don’t be fooled by them.”
Song Yang: “Yeah.”
In the first semifinal in the afternoon, China played against India and South Korea played against the United States. The Chinese team continued to perform well, beating India with a score of 5:3 and becoming the champion and runner-up who advanced to the group finals.
When they were leaving the court, a foreign reporter stopped Yu Shenwei and asked, “You surprised the audience with your performance today, do you have confidence in the next final?”
Yu Shenwei was confused. The translator was not there. He pointed at Li Xun and stammered, “I don’t know what you say. This is our…our captain.” He whispered to Song Yang, “What did the captain say?”
Li Xun was almost frightened to his knees by his plastic English. He bent down slightly and said into the microphone: “We will try our best.”
“Are you worried about being defeated by the Korean team again?
In order to attract attention, media people always like to take advantage of the opportunity to speak out. His “again” was like a needle, piercing Li Xun’s heart.
However, the accumulation of these years is enough to make a person invulnerable.
Facing the foreign media cameras, Li Xun said calmly: “They’re the ones who should be worried about being defeated.”
The next time we met the South Korean team was in the final, and the two teams played one after another.
The atmosphere of the final was even more lively than that of the morning. The venue, with more than 5,000 seats in total, was packed.
The atmosphere in the stadium was high. In the live broadcast room, the commentator fluently announced: “The first team to play is the Korean team. Their team’s first player is An Zhiyu, a 19-year-old young player. He is the youngest in the entire team, but his performance is amazing.”
“The player who is playing now is Liu Zhengming, the second player. He is 26 years old and is also a famous veteran. He is currently ranked 19th in the world.”
“Park Jae-yong, the team’s three-man archer, is the same age as our team’s three-man archer Lee Xun. He is 32 years old this year and is also a very outstanding veteran of the Korean team. He is often active in the World Championships and the Olympics. He won the individual recurve archery championship in the last World Championships and won the individual and team gold medals in the Olympics.”
Guest commentator: “The Korean team is as dominant as our Chinese table tennis team in international competitions. So far, they have not lost a gold medal in the World Championships. This year, our Chinese men’s team is only one step away from the championship, but this step is also the most difficult to cross. With a heavy responsibility on our shoulders, I hope our players can stay calm, stay sober, withstand the pressure, and perform at their best.”
Seeing Park Jae-yong, Li Xun remembered the injuries he suffered in Qinghai.
The referee signaled the players from both teams to shake hands. Li Xun shook Park Jae-yong’s hand. He could feel that the other party was using hidden strength, so he also exerted force. The two players were quite different in size, and Park Jae-yong had a ring on his ring finger, so when he exerted force, the ring hit his knuckle and it hurt.
After letting go, he frowned and shook his arms, staring at Li Xun, and said something in Korean with gritted teeth. Judging from his expression, it was probably not a good thing.
Li Xun raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders, imitating what he did in Qinghai, to indicate that he didn’t understand.
As a member of the team, Song Yang was the first to stand on the beam. When he looked up, he saw a sea of heads.
The organizers cleverly divided the audience seats by country. The number of cheering teams from China and South Korea was almost the same, holding different flags and banners, one red and one white, forming a clearly defined and iconic scene in the audience seats.
“Chinese team! Come on! –” No one knew who started it, but the audience suddenly became agitated, holding up banners and cheering.
In the live broadcast room, the commentator held the script tightly in his hand: “Now it is our Chinese team’s young player Song Yang’s turn to shoot the first arrow. For the team competition, his arrow is crucial…”
Amid the enthusiastic shouting, Song Yang took a deep breath, raised his arms, and aimed at the target seemingly calmly, but in fact his heart rate had soared over 100.
His nervousness will be directly reflected in his aiming speed. Song Yang himself is also aware of this, but it is difficult to control. He cannot let go until the signal piece falls.
It’s been fifteen seconds.
Li Xun stood behind Song Yang, holding the bow and arrow rack with one hand and said, “Take your time, don’t rush, there is plenty of time.”
The six arrows in the team competition take a total of 120 seconds. Logically, each arrow takes 20 seconds, but it doesn’t matter if a dozen takes more than 20 seconds. It will not be considered an overtime if the team members behind can release the arrow within the specified time. This is one of the reasons why Wang Nanfeng put Song Yang in the dozen at that time.
Their team has Yu Shenwei, the man who only needs 11 seconds to aim at the target.
So when it comes to time, Li Xun is still quite relaxed.
As Song Yang let go, the commentator said, “It seems to be a nine-ring shot that’s on the line. You can tell he’s a little nervous. The referee is using a magnifying glass to confirm… OK, the referee has confirmed it’s a nine-ring shot. It’s a good result.”
Guest commentator: “But we are facing the world’s strongest team. Nine rings is definitely not enough. I hope the next two players can perform better.”
The clear and melodious voice is transmitted to thousands of households through receivers.
The sofa in Song Yang’s living room was crowded with relatives and friends, and nuts and drinks were piled on the coffee table, as if they had regarded their home as their base.
Li Chuzhi pointed at the TV and shouted, “It’s my brother and uncle!”
Pee-pee was lying on the coffee table. When he saw a familiar face, he tilted his neck and woofed, which made everyone laugh.
The aunt next door peeled an orange and stuffed it into her mouth: “Huiying, your Xiaoyang is really photogenic. Compared with those foreigners, he looks particularly handsome.”
“Of course. Don’t you see who gave birth to the child? The genes are there.”
Song Jingshan smiled and turned up the TV volume to maximum.
The commentator’s rather regretful voice came from the speakers: “The Chinese team made a mistake in their second attempt and only scored an eight-ring, which put a lot of pressure on Li Xun.”
The guest commentator said: “We can feel that the wind has started to blow on the field. The error in the arrow just now may have something to do with the wind speed. I hope he can adjust as soon as possible.”
Li Chuzhi’s eyes lit up: “It’s uncle’s turn!”
The afternoon sun was very strong, facing the field. Li Xun wore sunglasses and a fisherman’s hat, holding a red and black recurve bow. The camera moved forward and captured his nose bridge and tightly pursed lips.
The arrow flew out, and the commentator’s heart tightened: “Nine rings, Li Xun is also a nine ring, and the current score of the Chinese team is 26 rings. It can be seen that the state of everyone when playing against the South Korean team is very different from that when playing against the Ukrainian team.”
The guest commentator said: “Yes, I was nervous in the audience, not to mention the athletes on stage.”
It was the turn of the Korean team. Wang Nanfeng held the telescope and said, “Everyone, adjust your state and don’t be so tense, especially Yu Shenwei. Don’t think too much. They are not perfect to the point of being unbreakable.”
Li Xun walked around the telescope and glanced at the three arrows on the target, frowning slightly. The score of 26 rings was somewhat different from what he expected. He could even foresee that the South Korean team would win the crucial two points at the beginning. Unless all three of them got full rings in the next three arrows, they might even end up in a tie.
Wang Nanfeng patted him on the shoulder and said, “The arrow you shot just now was about one millimeter off to the right. It’s not a big problem. Just keep steady.”
Li Xun nodded: “Yes”
An Zhiyu of the South Korean team scored a ten-ring goal. The audience holding the white flags went wild with excitement. They stood up and shouted at the top of their lungs: “The Republic of Korea stands for support!”
After three arrows, the South Korean team got 28 rings. The three people clapped their hands and looked at the Chinese team with provocative eyes.
You can lose the fight but not the momentum. When it was Song Yang’s turn to play, someone in the back seat of the audience waved the national flag: “China team! Come on!”
After this guy shouted, the emotions of many audiences were aroused again, and they raised their arms, shouted, and whistled loudly.
Song Yang’s blood boiled when he heard this and he took a deep breath.
He thought, if for no other reason today, just for this voice, he must get a ten-ring.
Guest commentator: “We can see that Song Yang’s movements are much smoother than before.”
“Ten rings!” The commentator raised his voice excitedly, “This is the first ten rings for the Chinese team!”
“Our second player also performed very well! Although it was a nine-ring shot, the impact point was very, very close to the ten-ring! It seems that he has regained his form.”
“It’s Li Xun’s turn to play. The wind is a bit strong right now. I wonder if it will affect him…”
“Ten rings! Beautiful! A ten ring on the line!” The commentator slapped his thigh excitedly, “The current total score for the Chinese team is 55 points!”
But the next second after he reported his score, the screen showed a score of 54 rings. He uttered an “uh” in disbelief and said helplessly: “The referee changed Li Xun’s score to 9 rings after confirming it with a magnifying glass.”
The guy who was shouting just now couldn’t sit still any longer: “Fuck, will the referee make a decision? It’s clearly over the line!”
——In the archery event, it is stipulated that if the arrow hits the black line, it will be judged according to the high score ring number. Li Xun’s arrow should be judged as ten rings.
However, the judgment of whether the line has been crossed or not is somewhat subjective.
To put it bluntly, whatever the referee says is what happens.
Li Xun walked around behind the telescope and saw clearly the arrow he had just shot, his brows furrowed.
This is not the case that the Chinese team suffered a loss in international competitions.
Several national team leaders sitting in the audience couldn’t stand it anymore. They were so angry that they didn’t care about their image and shouted: “What the hell is this judgment!”
However, what was unexpected was that the South Korean team also made a small mistake afterwards. Their fifth and sixth arrows were 9 and 8 rings respectively, and the screen showed a total of 45 rings. In other words, unless the South Korean team could hit a 10 ring with their three shots, they would tie with the Chinese team and each would get one point.
This was a crucial shot. The Korean audience waved their flags and shouted: “Huai Ting! Huai Ting!”
The Chinese audience on the other side also shouted rhythmically: “Eight rings, eight rings, eight rings——”
The scene was exciting but also a little funny. Song Yang tried hard to hold back his laughter. He turned his head and glanced at the front row of the audience. Several national team leaders who were usually serious and rigorous were actually silently chanting: Eight rings, eight rings, eight rings…
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, and Park Jae-yong’s last arrow hit the dividing line between the ninth and tenth rings.
Wang Nanfeng saw through the telescope that the arrow head had pressed a black line, which was very similar to Li Xun’s arrow. If according to what the referee had just said, this arrow should be a nine-ring, with one point for each side.
A few seconds later, the screen showed the total score of the South Korean team – 55 rings.
CHINA: Set pts 0
KOREA: Set pts 2
“What the hell?” All the Chinese audience were stunned. “What happened to that arrow just now?”
“Shouldn’t it be the Nine Rings?”
“Is the referee an idiot?”
Song Yang and Li Xun exchanged shocked and speechless looks.
It felt like eating a fly – especially when the opposing coach gave him a contemptuous look, the feeling of being insulted reached its peak.
The national team staff could no longer sit still, and together with the translator, they filed a complaint to the referee team, and the game was forced to be suspended.
Even from a distance, Song Yang could still hear the sound of the argument. The national team staff in red uniforms were arguing with them until their faces were red for that tiny point, for that tiny possibility of victory.
However, those who made mistakes would not easily admit it. They would only make cunning excuses or even blame the Chinese team for their unreasonable behavior.
A few minutes later, the appeal result came out, upholding the original decision, and the South Korean team won two points in the first round.
