Chapter 85: The Interview 02

Chapter 85

August 20, Tuesday.

After a day of rest, the gymnasium should have been thoroughly cleaned. The plaque at the entrance was shinier than usual.

It was probably because the leaders from the city would also come to watch the competition today.

Coach Wu was also called in to clean yesterday.

Just like at school, there would often be general cleaning where every corner had to be wiped spotless and lights that normally weren't bright would be re-installed and lit up.

Xiaoqi was feeling a little nervous, though she had initially entered for the bonus prize money.

The first prize was 15,000 yuan which would directly solve her tuition fees. Even if she didn't get first place, second prize was 8,000 yuan which she could scrape together to pay for school. Third prize of 5,000 yuan was still a lot.

However, after practicing swimming for so long, she instead felt that she was ignorant back then to dare think that way.

First place was not that easy to obtain. She had been soaking in the water every day that her skin had turned white. Now, she didn't dare to confirm that she could win a prize.

Moreover, her opponent in this competition, Li Enya who got first place in the preliminaries, was already a reserve member of the national team. She was surrounded by a professional coaching team which was completely different from an amateur like herself. Although Coach Wu taught very well, Xiaoqi didn't dare to say that she was stronger than Li Enya's coach.

It felt a bit like an unrealistic ambition.

Usually, Wu Peirong was very casual and had high hopes for Xiaoqi. But here at the competition venue today, she also felt a little unsure. However, when she turned around and saw Xiaoqi in the corner doing warm-up stretches with the same calm expression as usual, she felt a sense of pride inside. This was the student she had picked and who would definitely succeed. Xiaoqi was still young at 17 years old, the same age as Li Enya, and had unlimited potential.

In fact, an athlete's career was very short. At 26 years old, Wu Peirong already belonged to the category of veteran athletes.

Zeng Tingting of the Three Flowers Team was 19 years old and ranked fifth in the preliminaries, so she was also seen as a top contender for the championship. The Three Flowers Team still had quite a reputation in Lvshan City as a local team.

The girl who ranked second in the preliminaries was very tall, Wang Songli. She had broad shoulders, the standard body shape of a swimming athlete, very strong and powerful and also a veteran athlete with explosive strength.

Ranking third was Li Si from Meng City. She was tall with good looks and dressed very fashionably. She also had a whole entourage of people waiting on her. Meng City was the most developed city in Jingnan Province and was quite highly ranked nationally with good conditions as a coastal city.

Having learned from past experience, she made sure to bring a towel for outerwear, wearing a longer T-shirt over her swimsuit until the start of the race.

There were many cameras set up around the venue today, people with media passes and cameras hanging around their necks walking everywhere taking photos.

Xiaoqi saw reporters specifically interviewing Li Enya and Li Si from Meng City. Zeng Tingting also accepted a short interview but it was quite brief.

Xiaoqi wondered if they would try to interview her as well and soon a reporter came over shoving a microphone in her direction.

They were probably doing pre-race interviews to compare against post-race reactions from the eventual champion.

When the microphone suddenly appeared, Xiaoqi was a little stunned.

But the girl looked young with fair skin and hair tied in a little ponytail. After swimming training for so long, she had become thin and tall, still appearing pretty even on camera. The cameraman seemed quite satisfied with the footage, at least she photographed well.

And her attitude was very calm and composed, but somehow also a little stern, oddly feeling like she was being interviewed as some leader.

Yet a pretty, serious looking young girl also had an endearing gap moe.

Her responses were also one-by-one, seemingly not nervous at all.

Reporter: How do you feel your current form is? Are you confident about the race?

Su Xiaoqi: I think my condition is very good, I'm confident.

Reporter: Who do you think has the best chance to be champion?

Su Xiaoqi: Don't know.

Reporter: What plans do you have for your future development?

Su Xiaoqi: Go to university.

Reporter: ......