The arm wrestling incident delayed us for a few minutes.
After Kurosawa Hikaru walked out of the locker room, he soon met Miki Shiraha.
The two looked at each other, without saying anything, and walked towards the ice rink together with a tacit understanding.
There are still 80 minutes until the game starts.
During this period, they also need to do warm-up exercises, put on skates, and practice before the game starts.
The scoring method for pair skating is very similar to that for single skating, except that the consistency of the two people must be taken into consideration.
The first day is the short program. Each set includes 8 movements. The whole set of movements must not exceed 2 minutes and 40 seconds. The music is of your own choice. Each movement is only allowed to be performed once. Additional movements will result in deduction of points.
The second day is free skating, where students choose their own music and compose their own routines, which must be completed within 4 minutes and 30 seconds, including solo and double movements.
The ranking of the competition is determined comprehensively, that is, the results of the two days are added together.
The choice of music for the competition is very free and is not limited to pure music. Vocals can also be selected. The only requirement is that the track selection must be of high quality and meet certain standards.
When choosing songs, contestants should avoid singing the same songs as other contestants in the same competition... whoever sings worse will be embarrassed.
Even if they are not performing on the same show, many popular songs can be easily compared and the differences can be seen because they have been performed by many professional players.
If you are confident enough in your own abilities, you can also choose popular songs or classic songs.
Passing through the backstage player passage, Kurosawa Hikaru and Miki Shiraha arrived in front of the ice rink.
“Ouch!”
With their arrival, the ice rink suddenly became lively and there were even screams.
"It's really the princess. She's back."
"Princess, welcome back!"
“The princess is competing again… Is she going to make a comeback? But why is it pairs skating?”
"Who is the contestant competing with her?"
While she was changing clothes, the audience who had entered the venue earlier had already heard the news that the figure skating princess would appear. Now they saw her with their own eyes and were extremely surprised.
Some people are destined to be the protagonists in a certain field.
Miki Shiraha has been away from the arena for many years and gradually faded out of the public's sight, but when she appeared again, the memories and admiration she once had were instantly awakened.
In just a moment, she seemed to be the focus of the whole audience, as if she was wearing stars and the moon.
"Didn't the princess say that she was seriously injured and would miss the competition?"
"How is her injury?"
Many eyes were focused on one person, and many people wanted to find out how her injuries were recovering.
Not only the audience, but also the contestants, everyone is curious.
"The injury was so serious that I couldn't continue skating in singles, so I was forced to retire due to injury. Then I disappeared for a few years and switched to pair skating. What does this mean?"
"She may feel that because of an old injury, she can't skate in singles, but can skate in pairs."
"Are you kidding me? Is she looking down on pair skating?"
“Does anyone really think that singles skating is harder than pairs skating?”
On the ice rink, the female player who had been practicing for a long time found that everyone's attention was attracted, even the fans were affected, and she suddenly felt unbalanced.
Girls are jealous by nature. No one can remain calm when they see other girls are more successful than themselves.
What's more, Miki Shiraha was once a single skater. This stance made the athletes who were just staring at each other on the ice rink all united against the common enemy.
There is a chain of contempt among the four major events of figure skating.
Pairs skating stands at the top of the contempt chain, looking down on other events.
Because many moves in pair skating are more dangerous than those in single skating, it is common to get broken bones if you are not careful.
Danger equals high difficulty, this is an undeniable fact.
In addition, the expressiveness, artistic points, and performance elements of pair skating are much higher than those of single skating.
This is obviously the case, but a single skater suddenly switched to pair skating, and it was not a normal career change, but a sudden comeback after retiring for many years due to injury. What does this mean
"I always feel like everyone's eyes are so fierce."
Miki Shiraha has long been accustomed to being the center of attention, but this time is different from before. He can clearly feel that the atmosphere on the ice rink has changed.
All the players who were practicing before the game were looking at her. Their eyes were not just curious, but full of anger, disdain, and annoyance.
What's more, some male contestants looked at her unfriendlyly... as if she had incurred public wrath.
She could vaguely guess the truth...
"I can't help it. You're too beautiful."
Kurosawa Hikaru had very good hearing and heard what some of the contestants said, but he didn't point it out and just smiled.
He did not comment on which is more difficult, single skating or pair skating... because to him, both are easy.
As for everyone's opinion, whether Bai Yu is looking down on pair skating, this is a completely fabricated accusation and is groundless.
As a figure skater, Bai Yu is well aware that each of the four events in figure skating has its own difficulties.
"Let's warm up."
Miki Baiyu realized that he didn't care about everyone's hostility, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, so he suggested.
"good."
This was Kurosawa Hikaru's first time participating in a figure skating competition, so it was natural for him to respect her, a veteran on the field.
After that, they found an empty space under the ice rink, spread out the yoga mats, and started doing warm-up exercises.
Not long after, a female reporter and a photographer arrived at the scene.
"It's really Miki. He actually participated in the competition."
In the audience, the female reporter followed everyone's gaze and found Miki Baiyu. She was very surprised.
"I should have guessed it when I saw her practicing pair skating with others at the Gaien Skating Rink. They skate so well, it's impossible for them to just be playing around. They definitely plan to participate in a competition."
The photographer noticed this and said the same thing.
"What a missed opportunity..."
The female reporter felt very sorry.
In fact, she had heard the news before and had been to the Gaien Skating Rink, where she did see skater Miki, but she did not go for an interview.
"We can't help it. Coach Miki has said that she hopes everyone won't disturb her daughter's life... She hasn't come back yet, so we can't force an interview."
As a man, the photographer was more open-minded and didn't feel it was a pity.
In the figure skating world, Miki is indeed very famous, but for those working in the industry, her mother is more famous.
Because Miki's mother is a well-known top coach in the industry and has trained many well-known figure skaters.
If they offend Coach Miki, it will be difficult for them to survive in the industry... If they offend her, it will be difficult for them, the reporter duo, to interview those famous players.
This situation applies to any combination of reporters.
"After she goes on stage, we will go to the contestant entrance and interview her as soon as possible."
The female reporter nodded slightly and quickly made a decision.
Player Miki has not returned to the competition yet, and is just skating and practicing alone in private, so it is really not appropriate for them to disturb you.
But now that you are a contestant, participating in the competition, there should be no problem in interviewing you, right
She knew very well that even if Miki's participation in this competition was in the Kanto region rather than a well-known competition, it would definitely bring considerable attention to the competition.
In fact, there are very few first-tier professional players participating in such small competitions. Most of them are third-tier and fourth-tier professional players, as well as amateur players.
For this kind of competition, the organizers invite top professional players to perform, which is already the maximum publicity.
It is basically impossible for the audience to expect to see a strong confrontation in this kind of game. It is purely for the entertainment of ice fans.
That's exactly the case. No matter whether Miki Shiraha performs well or poorly today, everything he does will be reported.
Not long after, Shiroha Miki and Hikaru Kurosawa finished their warm-up exercises together, put on their skates, and officially stepped onto the ice rink.
Even though Miki Baiyu had incurred public anger, there were many eyes watching him on and off the ice rink at this moment, and no one would be stupid enough to trip someone up in such a fair and open situation.
During the practice phase, Kurosawa Hikaru and Miki Shiraha were both practicing some basic movements to further warm up.
After practicing for an hour, all the contestants left the field because the organizer's staff needed to clear and replenish the ice.
"I thought they were very powerful, is that the extent of it?"
"I am better than her even at my amateur level."
They left the ice rink one after another. The other players were a little nervous at first, but when they saw it end like this without any eye-catching moves throughout the whole process, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and some even found it funny.
However, not everyone holds this idea.
For example, there are judges who have not yet officially appeared on stage, and reporters.
"What a master... Where did Miki find his partner? He's so amazing."
The female reporter watched the couple's fate in amazement.
Maybe this practice is very basic and does not include any difficult moves.
But even so, as a sports reporter, she could still see that Miki's posture and dance steps were picturesque, flowing, silky, and graceful.
What surprised her was that Kurosawa Hikaru's movements... were clean, neat, graceful and natural, like a nobleman on ice.
“This male player is also worth paying attention to.”
The photographer also saw the trick and gave a reminder.
Based on basic practice alone, no one can tell how strong Miki Baiyu and Kurosawa Hikaru are, but what is certain is that their lower limit is not low and they are definitely not ordinary people.
Because the proficiency of novices and veterans is easy to distinguish.
When I returned to the backstage, a staff member came up with a tablet computer and explained the situation:
"Miki, the draw has come out. You will be in the fourth group. There are 20 minutes left before the game starts. Please be ready."
In fact, the draw results are automatically sent to the players' mobile phones.
But you can’t carry anything with you in your skating uniform, and your cell phone is likely to be left in the locker room, so we need to notify everyone one by one.
"Thanks."
Miki Baiyu nodded slightly and responded politely.
After the matter was settled, the staff member turned around and left, taking the tablet to look for other contestants.
"The fourth group?"
When Kurosawa Hikaru learned the result, he couldn't help but talk to himself.
"What's wrong? Do you think it's too early to go on stage?"
Seeing his reaction, Miki Baiyu couldn't help but feel curious.
"We're on the field so soon, isn't it pitiful for the group behind us?"
Kurosawa Hikaru shook his head and smiled.
"Pitiful?"
Miki Baiyu was stunned when he heard this.
"Seeing how great our performance was, their mentality collapsed."
Realizing that she still didn't understand, Kurosawa Hikaru continued the conversation.
Although it was his first time participating in the competition, he firmly believed that with his own strength, he would win the championship of such a small competition without any suspense.
"That's too much... It's not a good habit to underestimate your opponent."
Miki Baiyu understood what he meant and rolled his eyes at him.
"I never underestimate my opponent, but I am better at seeing my own strength."
Kurosawa Mitsuru shrugged. He also knew that underestimating the enemy was not a good habit, but he was very confident.
This is true whether it is for himself, Bai Yu, or their combination.
20 minutes is a very short time. After a long period of warm-up practice before the game, the athletes need to change shoes, wipe sweat, drink water, go to the toilet and adjust their condition before going off the court to rest.
In the busy time, everyone finished their various tasks, put on their skates, sat on the benches at the entrance, waiting for the game to begin.
The ice blades of their skates were covered with hard plastic protective covers so that they could walk on land for the last stretch before going on stage.
Because this was a small competition, although many people knew Miki Baiyu, no one had ever dealt with her before, so no one came over to talk to her.
As for Kurosawa Hikaru... Because of the little incident in the locker room, many people know his name is Kurosawa Hikaru, but few people know much about him.
Finally, 20 minutes had passed and loud noises began to be heard from the open exit for the contestants.
Through the one-way glass, a woman can be seen holding a microphone and giving a pre-game speech.
Pre-match speeches are usually not very informative and mainly convey some positive words.
After a while, the competition began and the host called out the name and combination of the first group of contestants.
However, the contestants who come to participate in this kind of competition do not have too much resume, and they mainly introduce which city they are from.
As pleasant instrumental music sounded, the first group of contestants began their performance.
The contestants who are still backstage can see the performance of the players on the field through the one-way transparent glass.
Because he was unfamiliar with the place and had never seen these people before, Kurosawa Hikaru's viewing experience was quite ordinary and he didn't have much reaction.
Although the strength of this pair of players is quite good, they cooperate well and do not make many mistakes.
But seeing this kind of performance, he only had one thought in his mind, which was "If I can't win a game of this level, I'll tear my head off and let people kick it like a ball."
The first group's performance was over very quickly because they were not famous contestants. The appearance, introduction, 2 minute 40 second short program, plus the exit ceremony at the end of the performance, all took no more than 6 minutes.
Kurosawa Mitsuru found this very boring. In his opinion, the performance of the two players on the field was full of loopholes and a complete mess.
Fortunately, he was the fourth group to appear, so he didn't have to wait too long.
After waiting for a while, Kurosawa Hikaru suddenly saw an acquaintance standing up.
This acquaintance, with a strong and tall build, was none other than Sora Tsushima who had just lost to him in the arm wrestling match.
Next to him was a beautiful woman in her 20s with a slim figure and pretty face.
"Are you the third group to appear?"
As they walked past, Kurosawa Hikaru suddenly said.
"So what?"
Tsushima Sora's skates were covered with hard plastic protective covers and he walked very slowly. He was particularly concerned about Kurosawa Hikaru and was very unhappy to hear him speak.
"You have bad luck."
After confirming that it was really him, Kurosawa Mitsuru couldn't help but sigh.
"What's the meaning?"
Tsushima Sora didn't understand what he meant.
"come on."
Kurosawa Mitsuru didn't say it too bluntly, he just smiled.
The players ranked before and after him were definitely the most unlucky in today's game.
Being ranked ahead of him would make people feel that the difference is obvious.
Being ranked behind him makes people feel that there are more pearls and jades ahead.
The performance of these two positions is more easily compared.
"baffling."
Tsushima Sora looked at him and glared at him, then continued walking forward.
The second group was already performing and it would soon be their turn.
"Do you know any other contestants?"
Seeing them leave, Miki Baiyu, who was sitting next to them, was very surprised.
"I just met him in the locker room. He provoked me and said I was skinny and vulnerable. I arm-wrestled with him and I crushed him."
The opportunity was right, and Kurosawa Mitsuru told her what had just happened.
"Senior, your figure is so deceptive..."
Miki Baiyu couldn't help but sigh when he learned about the situation.
Senior Kurosawa's figure is really such that he looks thin when he is dressed, but muscular when he is undressed... His well-refined muscles are really super sexy.
Soon, the host's voice came into the contestant channel:
"The third group's contestants are Takemi Ayako and Tsushima Sora."