My Mr. Mermaid

Untitled Part 8

Chapter 8: Long Legs Are Also a Problem by ryuxenji

In the subsequent days of the competition, Yun Duo gradually found her groove and did not make any more mistakes. She produced quite a few decent manuscripts which were accepted by the news agency, while several more of her manuscripts were published on the website of Sports Weekly.

Besides that, that candid photo she had snapped, which included Qi Rui-Feng, Tang Yi-Bai, and Ming Tian in the frame, had also been selected for use by the agency, becoming the final picture in the series of photos illustrating the summary of the tournament.

In this competition, Qi Rui-Feng was as dominant as ever. He had signed up for 4 solo events and 2 group events, and had netted 4 golds and 2 silvers, perpetuating his legend as the King of Swimming in China.

Coincidentally, both of his silvers had been gained through losses to Tang Yi-Bai.

As for Tang Yi-Bai himself, he had signed up for 2 solo events and 2 group events in total. These were, respectively, the men's 50-metre freestyle, the men's 100-metre freestyle, the men's 4x100 metre freestyle relay, and the men's 4x100 medley relay. He achieved gold for the first three, but lost in the fourth event to Qi Rui-Feng's team, earning a silver.

Based solely in terms of the number of medals, Tang Yi-Bai was no match for Qi Rui-Feng, but judging by their actual encounters, it was really hard to tell who was better or worse.

In fact, in Yun Duo's opinion, this comparison was untenable because their strengths laid in different areas. Tang Yi-Bai had great explosive power and so was good at short-distance events, while Qi Rui-Feng had great stamina more suited for long-distance events. The two were not at all comparable.

However, some media outlets were doing so with relish. A possible reason for this was that their lives were really too empty and lonely, so they constantly needed to find something to talk about ...

Then there was another small group of media — mainly those represented by Yun Duo's 'enemy' — who criticised the aforementioned comparison with a great deal of malice. They believed that Tang Yi-Bai and Qi Rui-Feng were completely incomparable, but not because of their differing specializations, but because these two people were not of the same level. Qi Rui-Feng was an Olympics champion, and as for Tang Yi-Bai? He had never even participated in a world championship before.

This was not without logic, but what was infuriating was how they used it as a springboard to overextend their points and make vague inferences. Although they did not clearly state anything outright, reading between the lines would bring readers to a specific understanding: Tang Yi-Bai was stepping on Qi Rui-Feng to promote himself.

Tang Yi-Bai himself happened to read this report, and he was left unsure whether to laugh or cry. "."

Qi Rui-Feng consoled him by saying, "There aren't many who are compared to me in discussion. Be content!"

These words were rather aggravating, but they were also true.

Aside from those discussions, more of the media focused on some manner of objective analysis. Quite a number of people thought that Tang Yi-Bai started quick, had very powerful explosive power in the water, performed even better during team events ... and so on. As for shortcomings, he was not quick enough during turns. This was his most obvious weakness.

When Yun Duo once again interviewed Tang Yi-Bai, she managed to ask a properly professional question. "What do you think is the reason for your mediocre speed when executing turns in the water?"

Tang Yi-Bai pressed his lips together briefly, and then, in a mildly embarrassed tone, he said something that would incite envy among the average people. "My legs are a little long."