Chapter 51
Ma Ruofan clenched his fists tightly on the handles on the starting block, his toes pushing against the walls of pool, nerves taut . Right beside him was the world-famous Hideya Takatani . Being by the side of the backstroke king, Ma Ruofan's gaze had never been so determined .
Even though big brother Yi-Bai had not requested anything of him, Ma Ruofan had still set a goal for himself — for his leg of the relay, he wanted to keep the gap between him and Hideya Takatani to within 0 . 4 seconds . This was a mission of unprecedented difficulty, but he must achieve it .
I may not be a match for you, but we will definitely defeat you as a team .
When the starting bell rang, he dived backwards into the water like an agile dolphin .
According to the live digital timer, Ma Ruofan's starting speed was 0 . 58 seconds, quicker than even Hideya Takatani by 0 . 03 seconds .
'This young junior was doing very well', many people thought .
Ma Ruofan's condition was indeed pretty good — he even managed to maintain a lead for a while after entering the water, only being overtaken later by the more skilful Hideya Takatani . Ma Ruofan put all his strength into it, and when he arrived at the end point, he looked up to check the time difference .
A perfect 0 . 40 seconds .
He felt slightly regretful that he did not manage to do better . Still, this time was already a passing mark .
It should not disappoint big brother Yi-Bai and the others .
Yun Duo could not help but shout "bravo" when Ma Ruofan arrived at the end point . As a reporter, she naturally knew the standards of the respective athletes . Ma Ruofan had performed above his usual standards today .
The second swimmer was Ming Tian . The Chinese fans had high hopes for Ming Tian — after all, he had just beaten the great Japanese swimmer Tarou Okamoto the day before .
However, after his part of the relay, Ming Tian had lost another 0 . 36 seconds . The gap between China and Japan had widened to 0 . 76 seconds!
Ming Tian really could not be blamed though — an athlete's peak condition was not something that could be summoned at will; Ming Tian could not be expected to perform beyond his usual limits every single race .
Still . . . 0 . 76 seconds!
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Yun Duo's heart was bleeding . Only 2 swimmers had swum and the difference was already at 0 . 76 seconds, then what about the third swimmer Zheng Ling-Ye? No one dared hope for Zheng Ling-Ye to outswim the Japanese swimmer, so it could be said that this gap would just continue to expand .
Zheng Ling-Ye, Zheng Ling-Ye, Zheng Ling-Ye . . . Yun Duo recited his name again and again silently in her heart . She really, really wished that Zheng Ling-Ye could suddenly explode with power and outswim the Japanese swimmer .
Zheng Ling-Ye's time fully embodied the phrase 'stable and consistent' — his performance was not great but not bad either, losing to his Japanese opponent by 0 . 22 seconds . In other words, by the time he was done, Tang Yi-Bai entered the water 0 . 98 seconds after Yuda Matsushima .
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah! Yun Duo was in despair . 0 . 98 seconds! Almost a full minute! There was no room at all for Tang Yi-Bai to overtake his opponent!
She was so anxious her eyes were blazing as she clenched down fiercely on Lin Zi's arm . Lin Zi gritted his teeth against the pain . "Are you trying to squeeze me to death?!"
Yun Duo ignored him, her eyes deadlocked on Tang Yi-Bai's figure in the pool .
No one doubted that Tang Yi-Bai was swimming faster than Yuda Matsushima, but almost no one believed he could overtake the other anyway .
The gap had truly been pulled too far .
Yun Duo's heart ached and she felt like crying . This was a collective event — the 0 . 98-second gap could not be blamed on his teammates; their opponents were just too strong . However, leaving such a huge gap for him, the fastest swimmer, to cover, Yun Duo could not help but feel really, really sorry for Tang Yi-Bai .
And yet, watching that body that never stopped, flying through the waves like a tireless motor, she knew that if there was only one person left who had not given up hope at this moment, it would definitely be Tang Yi-Bai within the pool .
He was swimming as quickly as usual, inching ever closer to his opponent . However, his progress seemed just a little too fast . . . This was just the first 50 metres — Yun Duo was truly worried that he would lose steam for the final 50 metres .
Turn, return lap . Tang Yi-Bai suddenly accelerated again — even though Yuda Matsushima quickly followed suit and kicked up his own speed as well, the distance between the two of them was narrowing even faster than before!
The audience waved their flags, blew their horns, and screamed for all their might, but the heroes within the pool naturally heard none of this .
At this moment, Tang Yi-Bai's world was a quiet one, so quiet that only water remained .
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The water is my friend and also my enemy . It is my playmate and also my mentor . It is my beginning and also my end .
I only ever have one opponent, and that is the water .
I will conquer you, my opponent, my friend .
I am the true king within the water .
The unilateral breathing method could allow someone to better maintain a straight forward motion, and after reducing the number of breaths, it could also directly increase swimming speed . The price to pay was lowered intake of air, increasing the physical exertion by a staggering amount .
Tang Yi-Bai's head was always tilting towards the left, breathing unilaterally, not at all looking at Yuda Matsushima on his right . Due to the excessive physical exertion, he felt as if his lungs were on fire .
He had never felt such agony .
But so what?
Since breathing would affect speed, then he would just stop breathing .
He held his breath .
In the final 25 metres, after his previous burst of speed, Tang Yi-Bai abruptly accelerated again! Other than disbelief, the audience was only left with further disbelief . The Chinese audience area was already roiling like a pot of boiling water — all sorts of frenzied shouts and cries poured out like waves from a sonic weapon, practically about to rupture one's eardrums . In the pool, Tang Yi-Bai was like a shark in a feeding frenzy, cutting through waves like an unstoppable force, catching up in a flash to his opponent .
They touched the wall!
Almost everyone in the venue turned as one towards the electronic display .
China, overall time 3 minutes and 31 . 42 seconds .
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Japan, overall time 3 minutes and 31 . 55 seconds .
"Wow, wow, wow! We're the champions! Champions!" Almost all the China audience members leapt to their feet, waving their red flags and cheering .
Yun Duo's red-rimmed eyes finally became wet as tears fell from them . She covered her mouth, her lashes trembling with emotion . He had done it! He had really done it! The final swimmer being faster than Yuda Matsushima by 1 . 11 seconds — this was a truly shocking upset!
Qian Xu-Dong was snapping pictures of the instant Tang Yi-Bai was getting out of the water . As he snapped, he muttered to himself, "Is this fellow trying to go against the heavens?"
When he was done, he saw Yun Duo's face covered in tears . Qian Xu-Dong rolled his eyes, "You're overreacting!"
But Yun Duo could not hold back her tears and so she could only let them flow .
Lin Zi sighed and handed her a pack of tissues .
When Tang Yi-Bai came over, he saw that Yun Duo's eyes were red . It was obvious that she had just been crying . In that instant, his joy at winning the race receded and a surge of rage rose up within his chest . Scowling, he looked at her and asked, "Who bullied you?" As he had just come out of the water, his heart rate was still unstable and harsh pants punctuated his speech . Thus, his tone sounded rather domineering, even having a feral edge .
The television reporter in front of him holding up a microphone was stunned in place . Young man, you're here to be interviewed by me, alright?!
As soon as Yun Duo opened her mouth, her tears began falling once again . She wiped them away as she smiled, "I'm just too happy, Tang Yi-Bai . I'm so proud of you . "
She looked very beautiful accentuated by tears — Tang Yi-Bai was dazed for a moment at the sight . Then, immediately after, his brows evened out and he smiled .
The television reporter moved on to interview Ma Ruofan and the others first . The reporter had initially planned to interview them all anyway — Tang Yi-Bai had just performed too well and he had been walking right in front, so she had jumped the gun a little .
Tang Yi-Bai moved to stand on one side . His hand moved past Lin Zi to pull Yun Duo to stand before him .
He gently tilted his head and looked her over carefully . And then he smiled and said, "Don't cry anymore . You look even more like a rabbit now . " As he said this, he could not help but raise his hand, thinking to help her wipe her tears, but as he moved to do so, he suddenly realised that there were a lot of people around them . Looking around, he found that many people were looking at him and Yun Duo with intrigued faces, eager for gossip .
Yun Duo was embarrassed . She roughly wiped away her tears and said with a nasal voice, "You swam so well today!"
"You like it?" His voice was very low, so it almost seemed like only the two of them could hear it .
Yun Duo nodded emphatically . "Yes!"
"Who do you like?"
She opened her mouth, almost about to blurt "you", but luckily she caught herself in time to swallow the word before it could come out . She raised her head and stared at him with wide eyes, her expression a little dazed .
Tang Yi-Bai smirked cheekily .
In the meantime, the television reporter had finished interviewing the other three team members . When she turned to look at Tang Yi-Bai, she saw him teasing a female reporter . . . this fellow really did not let any opportunity to flirt with a lady go by . The television reporter warmly called him over .
The reporter asked, "How do you feel about your performance today?"
Tang Yi-Bai replied, "My teammates and I all performed really well today . Swimming at our usual standards or even going beyond that . . . I think we did amazing . Besides, other than myself, the other three members of the team are not yet 20 years old . They are the future of team China . "
"Before you set off in the pool, did you ever think that you could become the champion?"
"I didn't think that much, but we were all very confident before the race . We felt that we had the strength to beat team Japan . "
The reporter asked another couple of questions and then after Tang Yi-Bai was done answering them, she suddenly really felt like asking "what is your relationship with that reporter Yun Duo? Are there any hidden feelings?" Of course, she managed to maintain her professionalism in the end . Are you kidding? If she pried into an athlete's relationship history in front of an international audience, she can just forget about making a living in this industry any further .
Just like that, the interview was over . As Tang Yi-Bai left, he threw a wink at Yun Duo .
With this, she should have received his signal this time, right?