Chapter 80: ultimate moment
With the last strike, He Yun lowered her head and looked at her toes. Her mood that had been constantly ups and downs because of Jiang Nuan's pursuit was sinking, and she gradually returned to calm. This calm was gradually pulled into a whole line by her. When she looked up again, she knew what her goal was
Jiang Nuan closed her eyes, and in her mind was every sword that He Yun had hit her before, the pace she took, the speed at which she moved forward and backward, the angle at which she swung, like a frame by frame of pictures, He Yun. The shape of Yun's body is outlined as a complete whole.
Jiang Nuan raised her toes and pressed it down again, she was about to land, and she would not let herself fall again!
He Yun came very fast, the tip of the sword swayed rapidly, and in that very short moment Jiang Nuan sketched its trend in his mind, holding up the sword to block He Yun's unreal attack, but in an instant he took a leap. Stab at He Yun!
Jian Ming straightened his back, and Zhuang Yun's eyes widened. They saw He Yun deflect Jiang Nuan's sword upwards, and the slashing and slashing downwards were unstoppable.
Jiang Nuan was about to be hit, but He Yun's light was on.
"Yes... Did Jiang Nuan hit He Yun? How did you do it?" Zhuang Yun was stunned.
Jian Bing turned sideways, borrowed a DV from the audience next to him, and slowed down the playback speed.
It turned out that before Jiang Nuan was countered by He Yun, she already felt that the distance of her sword was not enough to leave room for He Yun. He fought back, and the tendency of his feet to move forward and the speed of his shots made Jian Ming and Zhuang Yun, who were watching the slow-motion replay, show surprised expressions.
Jiang Nuan and He Yun looked at each other, recalling what happened at that time.
When He Yun saw the referee signal for Jiang Nuan to score, she kept decomposing Jiang Nuan's actions at that moment in her mind, swiftly and without hesitation, she went to death.
As for Jiang Nuan, the sword she hit He Yun... Even now, she felt that she couldn't do it.
She only knew that at that moment, it was like a force that rushed into her blood vessels frantically from her mind and was about to burst out of her fingertips, driving her legs, her waist, and her wrists, and pressed them down. cut off everything.
Bowing his head, Jiang Nuan realized... that was the feeling of Lu Ran lifting her up from the bottom of the water.
He used the buoyancy of the water to lift her onto his shoulders, clasped her waist and pushed her up, she went up, but he fell.
"You won. The last sword, I am convinced." He Yun walked in front of her.
Jiang Nuan shook hands with her, and He Yun smiled: "Don't be controlled by Qiao Yuling, don't be overwhelmed by her, don't be afraid of her, and most importantly, don't lose to her. Otherwise, I will be unwilling to lose to you."
After speaking, He Yun turned around, untied her long hair, and walked towards her coach smartly.
Jiang Nuan remained standing until Jiang Huai came over and took her hand away.
My father's palms were sweaty, his fingers were shaking, and they were shaking badly.
"You're in the finals, Xiaonuan...you're in the finals..."
Jiang Nuan's mind was dazed, still thinking about his last sword.
"Ah? I'm in the finals?" As soon as Jiang Nuan looked up, she saw Director Zhang and Teacher Nie waving banners with great excitement.
It was as if she had won the Olympic championship.
But for the father, and for all who cared about her, even the tiniest improvement was a great honor.
At this time, He Yun maintained her demeanor and accepted the comfort of her teammates with a smile. She raised her head and glanced at Zhuang Yun, who was watching DV intently.
She pulled the corners of her mouth and smiled helplessly.
Back in the locker room, He Yun sat on the bench with her head lowered.
Whenever she stepped onto the arena to face her opponent, she would have a hunch for every sword attack from her opponent.
She had a hunch that she would win that sword, and she really had this hunch, but Jiang Nuan destroyed such a winning trend in an instant.
"Aren't you crying?" Qiao Yuling's voice sounded.
"You won the little sun?" He Yun raised her head.
"Well, it's hard to win - 15 to 13. What about you?" Qiao Yuling sat down beside He Yun.
"When you come here, it means that someone should tell you the result of my game. Why do you want to ask me again?"
"Because what you said yourself is definitely different from what others told me."
"Yu Ling, have you ever watched a horror movie called "Surface"?" He Yun turned her face to look at her.
"I don't watch horror movies, because I'm on the field, I just want to make my opponents fear because of me." Qiao Yuling's voice was calm but with a certain strength.
"A woman woke up and found herself lying on a curved surface with a blue sky above her head and a screaming abyss beneath her feet. She wanted to struggle, but she could only keep sliding down the curved surface. No normal person could climb at that angle. Go up, but the woman is struggling."
"He Yun, to put it simply, does this have anything to do with today's game?"
"I thought I had pushed her onto that surface, but the moment I turned around, she climbed up and ripped me off."
He Yun propped her chin and looked at Qiao Yuling.
"I understand what you mean." The small smile on Qiao Yuling's lips gradually disappeared.
He Yun changed her clothes and walked out, standing where the audience had retreated, waiting for Zhuang Yun.
When Zhuang Yun met her, he said, "You played very well today, even better than last year's final."
"But I lost. Based on the bet we made, I can't ask you to be my boyfriend."
Although He Yun smiled, her eyes were already red.
Zhuang Yun's hand reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head.
"Then you can also be my girlfriend in reverse, if you pass the Shanghai test."
When Zhuang Yun left, He Yun turned her face to the side, her eyes widened as if she couldn't believe what Zhuang Yun said.
At this time, Jiang Nuan didn't have time to change his clothes, so he excitedly rushed to Lu Ran's kendo competition.
He had just decided the winner and the opponent, and pressed the face shield and saber to Mu Sheng, and when he turned around, Jiang Nuan slammed into his arms.
"I won! I won! I won He Yun!"
Lu Ran was slightly startled.
He raised his hand, but didn't hug Jiang Nuan, until Jiang Nuan's hands became harder and harder, Lu Ran lowered his arm and hugged her tightly.
He didn't say a word, save for his arms that were getting tighter and tighter.
It was this kind of power that held her up in the water that was cold enough to make people cramp to the bone.
Jiang Nuan listened to Lu Ran's breathing and the ups and downs of his chest, which was a more real feeling than winning.
A few seconds later, Jiang Nuan slapped Lu Ran on the back, but Lu Ran didn't respond at all.
Until Jiang Nuan stepped directly on Lu Ran's instep, Mu Sheng, who was behind him, couldn't help shouting: "Lu Ran! Are you strangling Xiao Nuan! Her face turned red!"
Only then did Lu Ran let go, Jiang Nuan breathed vigorously, stared at each other with round eyes, and after a long time he said, "Why are you angry again for no reason?"
Lu Ran reached out and poked Jiang Nuan's forehead: "Because I'm happy."
"Of course, I won He Yun! That's He Yun!"
"I mean, I'm glad you came by my side."
"Okay, okay, show love to another place and be caught by the camera. Be careful with the national broadcast!" Mu Sheng couldn't help reminding.
Jiang Nuan quickly pulled Lu Ran away.
"Don't be too proud. Since you entered the finals, your opponent is Qiao Yuling. She always has the ability to make opponents doubt life."
Jiang Nuan's originally smiling expression also turned cold.
"Then I will stand firm in my own life."
At noon, Jiang Huai paid, Jiang Nuan was the host, and invited the classmates and teachers who came to cheer for him to eat.
Director Zhang, who rarely praised students, said that he had refreshed his understanding of Jiang Nuan and showed their elite spirit of the High School Affiliated to Nanshi Normal University.
Jiang Nuan couldn't help laughing: "Director Zhang, how you encourage students is like a speech!"
Director Zhang waved his hand, rarely bothering with Jiang Nuan.
After eating and drinking, Jiang Nuan returned to the hotel, holding DV in the room and studying the game between Qiao Yuling and Zhang Jinyang this morning.
Qiao Yuling's calm atmosphere and surprise made Jiang Nuan breathless. It is precisely because of Qiao Yuling's strength that Zhang Jinyang was more determined than he was in the match against him.
Once Qiao Yuling's sword strikes, it has an extremely icy sharpness and an aura that doesn't seal the throat or scabbard. She is the king who holds the power of life and death in the arena. Zhang Jinyang tried to challenge her, but in the end he failed to say that she took down the throne.
Jiang Nuan exhaled, every scene was replayed in slow motion, Zhang Jinyang's resistance and counterattack, her sense of distance, her timing, and the angle of her attack. What seemed like a slight gap made her lose to Qiao Yuling.
The more he analyzed, the more bottomless Jiang Nuan's heart became.
My eyes were so tired that I could hardly open them, my eyes were about to cry, but I couldn't help but keep looking.
At this time, the phone rang, and Jiang Nuan saw that it was Lu Ran's name.
"Let's practice with you, come out."
Lu Ran did not use "I", but "we".
As soon as Jiang Nuan opened the door, she saw Lu Ran and Jian Ming in sweatshirts standing at the door waiting for her.
"Just one afternoon, we can only accompany you to find feelings." Jian Ming said with a smile.
I feel like I've opened a plug-in.
Whenever her heart is full of confusion and uncertainty, there is always someone to help her.
Jian Ming walked in front and Lu Ran in the back. Jiang Nuan couldn't help tugging at Lu Ran's sleeve, lowered his voice and said, "Did Jian Ming call you?"
Lu Ran stopped and looked at Jiang Nuan: "I called Jian Bing."
"How is this possible?" Jiang Nuan thought to himself that every time he said a few more words to Jian Ming, Lu Ran's brows would soon wrinkle into the Mariana Trench!
"Why is it impossible? The one who knows Qiao Yuling best is simplicity." Lu Ran was very serious when he said this.
Although he was stubborn, he was never selfish.
"Time is very tight. I can't help you analyze Qiao Yuling's technical characteristics while accompany you to adapt. Before this, you have never played against Qiao Yuling, and all I can do is to help you adapt to Qiao Yuling's speed."
Yes, her speed is too fast, and the duel with her is only instinct.
Jian Ming was standing opposite her. When he struck with a sword, Jiang Nuan was just about to raise his hand and was already hit.
There was a chill in the air, just like Jiang Nuan's feeling when watching Qiao Yuling's sword in DV.
As if there were no human emotions, only one's own goals.
"Come again." The concise voice sank, without the usual gentleness.
Jiang Nuan put on a prepared posture again, telling herself to react faster, but when Jian Ming hit her from the same angle or even the same pace, she still didn't have time to resist.
"Come again."
Without any consolation, without any comment, Jian Ming turned around and assumed a posture of preparation, Jiang Nuan gritted his teeth.
The third sword, still the same stride, the same angle, Jiang Nuan quickly took up the sword to defend, just touched the sword, and was immediately attacked concisely.
The strength of being stabbed in the chest made Jiang Nuan doubt his own abilities for the first time.
She had seen the confrontation between Lu Ran and Jianming with her own eyes, and she knew the speed of Jianming very well in her heart, but when he fully showed this speed, Jiang Nuan felt like she was back when she was a child, very helpless, as if she worked hard , a child can't beat an adult.
As if feeling her doubts about herself, Jian Jian's sword tip was raised upwards: "I am Jian Jian, not your opponent in the final. You can't even be suppressed by me. When Qiao Yuling suppressed you unilaterally, Do you still have a chance to counterattack?"
Jiang Nuan suddenly woke up.
Jian Ming is now mentally preparing for her.
Maybe it will be like He Yun suppressing her from the beginning, and even the score gap and feeling of powerlessness will be more serious.
"Continue, or do you want me to be merciful?" Jian Ming turned his face sideways.
"continue."
Jiang Nuan turned his wrist, the sword tips of the two were facing each other, and Jian Ming still shot as quickly as before.
This is very similar to Qiao Yuling's style, there are no unnecessary temptations, both offense and defense are neat enough to split the world in two.
Calmness, speed and precision are synonymous with Qiao Yuling.
Jiang Nuan's sword was pressed down by Jian Ming. When she tried to turn her wrist to counterattack along Jian Ming's sword, the opponent suddenly left and then pressed down quickly. Her nerves were tense and she was about to fight back. Jian Ming's sword was already thrown away. Come over, she leaned back, but the force of the hit on the shoulder was very clear.
Jian Ming stepped back again, Jiang Nuan panted, she never thought that she would be so tired after only a few swords.
Jian Ming did not rush to continue, but looked at Lu Ran who was sitting next to him.
"Lu Ran, what do you want to do with me when you fight against me?"
"No. The simulation in my mind is something before the game. When standing opposite you, I don't think about anything in my head." Lu Ran replied.
"So Jiang Nuan, your technique, the pace you are good at, your control of rhythm, and your perception of distance have all been formed before this moment. You can't change it, and you can't improve it in a short time. However, your attitude towards Qiao Yuling can be changed. If you don't fear her speed, don't evade her approach, and don't hesitate to pursue her when she retreats, you will have hope of victory."
The concise sword tip pointed to Jiang Nuan.
Yes, when I watched the DV, I became timid because I sensed Qiao Yuling's speed and decisiveness.
On the field, Qiao Yuling's speed is bound to be faster and more oppressive than what he saw in DV.
She had to endure it, even surpass it.
Jian Ming is a sword from the same angle, but even if the start is similar, a master like Jian Ming can make any attack or defense according to Jiang Nuan's reaction.
Her defensive counterattack was in the blink of an eye, as if she had made up her mind, she was so surprised that she swung out the sword on the side of Jane's chest, and she herself did not understand what happened.
This state is like the last sword to defeat He Yun.
"Fine, that's it. Remember this state, stay this way."
There was finally a hint of warmth in Jian Ming's originally cold voice.
From three o'clock to five o'clock, the confrontation between the two did not stop.
Jiang Nuan was brought into a state of simplicity, calm in his heart, and what was waiting under the calm abyss, throbbing, and ready to go.
"Very good. Let's go here. Remember this feeling." Jian Ming patted Jiang Nuan's head lightly.
Jiang Nuan raised her face and said to Jian Ming seriously, "Thank you."
"I'll be watching you at the game tomorrow too."
Jian Ming took off his face shield. The previous momentum that seemed to stop Jiang Nuan from being pushed into the abyss was gone. He smiled lightly, still her eldest brother.
"Let's go, go back." Lu Ran stood up.
As the sun sets, orange rays fill the streets and alleys.
Pedestrians on the side of the road, as well as the shade of trees, are shrouded in the same halo.
Jiang Nuan sat in the taxi and looked out the window, probably because she was rarely silent, but Lu Ran spoke first.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking, if I lose, will I cry?" She tapped her fingers on the glass lightly, "I will try my best to fight Qiao Yuling. The more I try and fail to win, the more Will you be sad?"
"I still remember what your father said."
"what?"
"Life is not a game field, don't be greedy for winning. In fact, I think you shouldn't be greedy for winning on the field."
"If you are not obsessed with victory, why are you desperate?"
"I remember saying to you that I was already very tired of fencing and had no love at all."
"Now, you still have no love at all?"
"When you get close to me, get close to me, and then get away from me, so I have to try my best to get close to you, don't you think it's like a confrontation? You approach, I counterattack, you retreat from my attacking distance, And I can only keep closing. What I'm looking forward to is not to push you out of the touchline, but..."
"But what?"
"It's... longing to be hit by you. That's why I fell in love with fencing because of you. I'd rather face the moment of confrontation gorgeously than wander without hesitation. This is the most perfect state that you and I are striving for. ."
Lu Ran's voice was very calm, as if it had existed in the depths of his soul for a long time, but these things originated from her.
"I finally understand." Jiang Nuan smiled softly.
"Understand what?"
"I understand why I like you so much."
For a long time, Lu Ran didn't make a sound, and the silence made Jiang Nuan unhappy.
It's rare for me to express my appreciation for you so frankly, why is there no reaction at all?
Just as Jiang Nuan was about to turn around, Lu Ran reached out and pushed her head into his arms.
After dinner, Jiang Nuan continued to lean on the bed to watch the video of Qiao Yuling's game against Zhang Jinyang.
It's just that at this moment, she no longer pays attention to how fast Qiao Yuling is and how quick her reaction is, but pays attention to the trend of her every sword, closes her eyes and uses a peaceful mind to imagine what she would be like if she were Zhang Jinyang. response.
When she went downstairs to buy yogurt as usual, she found that her father had come to see her with a bag of yogurt.
"Go down with Daddy for a walk."
"OK."
This is what her father rarely asks of her as a "father" since she entered the national competition.
The father and daughter were walking in the shade behind the hotel, mosquitoes buzzed around them, and suddenly they bit a bag on Jiang Nuan's calf.
"Tomorrow's game, Dad didn't ask you to win. I want you to understand your opponent. Remember when I told you why I didn't want you to be an athlete? Besides this road is very hard, If you regard winning as the goal of fencing, you will gradually dislike this sport." Jiang Huai's voice was calm, not like the father who sullen because Jiang Nuan was a few places behind in his grades.
"I know, Dad. Actually, in my heart, I don't think you're an ordinary athlete."
"Of course, your dad went to the Olympics."
"No, I mean... I've heard people tell me since I was a child that saber is a sport of instant victory and defeat, but every sword you make, Dad, engraves the so-called instant there. Even if time passes, that mark It's still there. I want to be like you, not chasing victory or defeat, but the ultimate moment. Until one day, I reach the sword that I think is the most perfect."
Jiang Huai's eyes seemed to be hot, he hugged his daughter and smiled.
"Are you my little warm?"
"What's the matter, Dad?"
"My little warm... Why does it seem to have grown up suddenly?"
"Growing up is not about becoming sensible and complicated, but understanding how to realize the innocence in your heart."
When she is no longer anxious and hesitant because of the unknown, she sleeps well.
The next day, unlike Zhao Nannan, who touched the toothpaste on the ground and couldn't find her shoes for a while, Jiang Nuan brushed her teeth, washed her face, and put on sports clothes as always.
"Jiang Nuan, aren't you nervous?" Zhao Nannan asked.
"You're nervous. You can be serious when you're nervous."
Jiang Nuan put his bag on his back and walked out.