Cold weapons are a man's romance

Roman took off his fencing mask, hot tears had already wet his cheeks, and the boiling fencing hall was blurred by the tears pouring out of his eyes.His opponent spread his arms out to show he was convinced, and gave him a friendly bear hug.

There were thunderous cheers from the audience.Witnessing such a wonderful game, the audience, regardless of their nationality, were deeply impressed by the winner and shouted Roman's name in unison. The name "romainluo" shook the entire fencing hall like a thunderbolt.What's more, flowers were thrown into the arena.When Roman exited, he seemed to be walking on a road paved with flower petals.

Although the coach asked him to smile a little, Roman still couldn't hold back his tears when accepting the award, so that the runner-up and third runner-up handed him tissues with a smile on their faces, which may be the first time in an award ceremony.

At the post-match press conference, he was, as expected, mobbed by flashing lights and microphones.After thanking the coach for his guidance and parents’ support as usual, he shouted to the camera: “Finally, I have to thank Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings! It was reading your novel that made me develop a love for swords.” Interested, embarked on the road of fencing! Without you, I would not be where I am today! Thank you, Tolkien!"

The reporters roared with laughter.Within a few minutes, Roman's shocking speech spread all over the Internet at the speed of viral spread, and became a very popular meme.

"...Then, the individual events of this World Fencing Championships have all come to an end. Congratulations to our country's player Roman for winning the men's individual championship!" TV commentator Alisa couldn't hide her joy, even if she couldn't see her true face, The listener can also feel her excitement and pride from the voice.

"Miss Alisa is Roman's friend, right?" The male commentator interrupted her with a smile, "What do you think of the result of this match?"

"A well-deserved victory! Roman's years of hard work finally bear fruit, and I am honored to be a friend!"

"At this moment, does Miss Alisa have anything to share with Roman?"

"Of course! I just want to say: Roman, wake up!"

Roman snapped his eyes open.

It took him several seconds to get out of the trance and dizziness of the dream.The grotesque scenes faded away, and he found himself in an SUV with the endless road in front of him.The warm sun was shining on the side of his face, making him drowsy.The driver next to her was Alisa.She looked at Roman worriedly, and pushed his shoulder: "Hey, wake up!"

Roman sighed.That glorious match, that glorious victory, was all a dream...

"You were laughing and crying just now, what dream did you have?" Alisa asked.

Roman said dryly: "I dreamed that I won the world championship."

"Hey, shouldn't most people dream of their failures repeatedly? How thick-skinned are you!"

"You also appeared in the dream." Roman squinted at Alisa, "You are the narrator, and you keep saying 'I am honored to be Roman's friend'. Your skin is no worse than mine thin!"

"You seem to have a lot of water in your brain, come on, let me squeeze your brain out for you!"

"Don't, don't hit me! Watch the road! Drive hard!"

The suv twisted in a serpentine shape for a while, and finally resumed traveling in a straight line.

The spring fields on both sides of the road are reflected on the car window, dyeing the pale face of the black-haired young man with bright colors.

Roman also didn't understand why he dreamed something completely opposite to reality.Doesn't losing a game, in general, become a lingering nightmare for athletes?Not to mention that he doesn't even count as a "lose" - he "surrenders without a fight".

During the last World Championships, unfortunately, he suffered from an old injury.Before the game, I had a shot of closure that was not very successful. Enduring the discomfort, I finally made it to the quarter-finals, and finally couldn't go on.Due to serious injuries, he had to forfeit the game.The opponent picked up a victory inexplicably for nothing, and he is still a little confused.

The defeat without a fight caused an uproar online.Some expressed understanding and sympathy, and wished Roman a speedy recovery.Others cursed, calling Roman shameful and deserving of death, wasting precious places in the competition.

Of course, Roman has a few fans anyway.They organized a massive solidarity, while fighting back against the opponents: "I didn't eat your rice again, you can do it!" while comforting Roman: "Take a good rest, we look forward to your return to the game!"

Seeing the support of so many people, Roman should be happy.But he only has endless sadness.

This time he let them down, because he never had another chance to avenge his shame.

He was admitted to the hospital for surgery.The operation was successful, but even so, he could not return to his previous state.The doctor advised him to give up fencing, based on his current physical condition, not to mention participating in competitions, even daily training would bring a great burden, and even risk lifelong disability.

After discussing with the family, Roman chose to withdraw.Not just quitting the game, but retiring forever.

During the hospitalization, the lawyer completed all the procedures for him, terminated the contract with the club, and got the insurance compensation.After months of treatment and rehabilitation, Roman was finally discharged from the hospital.He was now a free man.

Since Roman picked up the epee for the first time in high school, ten full winters and summers have passed.Since then, fencing has been his one and only.In this arena of swords, lights and swords, he has received bitter tears and also gained unparalleled glory.All the joys and sorrows in his life are bestowed by the God of Fencing.

But suddenly, he lost everything he needed to survive.The world of fencing closed its doors on him.When interviewed by reporters, he can talk and laugh freely: "Retirement? Yes, I am also very sorry. Future plans? I plan to develop in the direction of coaches or referees." But to be honest, he has no idea what to do in the future. No.

Relatives and friends persuaded him to watch less news, especially online comments, for fear that the hostility would affect his mood.But Roman couldn't control his hand, so he liked to search his name secretly.He was a little angry when he saw the abusive comments, but after getting angry, his mood subtly calmed down.He felt that he might be born to be a bitch.

A few days ago, Alyssa accidentally saw his search records, and slapped his mobile phone screen: "Enough! How long are you going to blame yourself? Seeing that you have been scolded bloody, you The feeling of guilt in your heart is relieved? How many times do I have to say it before you understand: You are not wrong at all! There is no need to torture yourself!...You fucking watch it! If you watch it again, I will gouge out your eyeballs !"

Roman felt that she might do what she said, so she never dared to be mean again.

Early this morning, Alisa broke into his house without saying hello and dragged him into the car. "There is no way for you to be so depressed! I will take you to a good place to let you relax!"

"I'm not depressed..."

Alicia gave him a murderous look.Roman immediately faltered, huddled in the passenger seat, and obeyed the resolute Her Majesty the Queen.

"Are we going to a strip club?" Roman trembled.

"Hi! I'm a married man!"

"That's not what you said the last time we were in Las Vegas... Ugh!" Roman was punched by Alisa and dared not speak.

"You'll know when you get there." After beating Roman, Alisa brushed her long hair gracefully, "You'll feel like your dream has come true! Wait and kneel down to be grateful, brat!"

***

There's a weirdo in armor on the subway.

Wearing cosplay clothes to take the subway is nothing new these days. People living in metropolises have learned to tolerate these niche cultures with a lenient attitude.Having said that, this strange person still caused the passengers in the same carriage to look sideways.

He was wearing heavy knight's armor and a red-striped smock on a white background, which looked like it had been modified from the Union Jack.He was holding the helmet in his arms, and the light from the car was reflected on his polished arm armor, causing the passengers directly opposite to turn their heads away uncomfortably to prevent the reflection from hurting their eyes.Judging by the clanking noise he made when he occasionally changed his sitting position, the armor was solid iron, not plastic and spray-painted.

The male passengers secretly thought about how heavy the armor was, and whether they could move freely while wearing such a heavy iron sheet.The female passengers secretly looked at the face of the armor monster, exchanging tacit admiration.

Different from this armor that looked like an antique in a museum, the owner of the armor was a handsome and tall man, with eyes the color of a gray-blue ocean on a cloudy day, and slightly curly silver hair tied in a bunch behind his head.He looked dignified and serious, like a medieval monarch receiving courtiers in a royal court.Such a man sitting upright should be sitting on the Iron Throne, not on the plastic bench of the subway.

dong dong dong.

The boy sitting next to the armored monster tapped his gauntlets. "Wow! Dude, is this real?"

The Armored Man turned his head to stare at him.Stared at by those frosty eyes, the boy flinched immediately, and moved to the other side of the seat tremblingly. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't touch it casually, I'm just curious..."

"It's the real thing," said the Armored Oddity.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't want to provoke the tin woodman.In case of a real move, the opponent can crush him to death with the weight of the armor.

"Are you interested in swords and armor?" the Armored Monster asked suddenly.

"Uh, I didn't actually…"

Before he could finish speaking, the armor monster took out a backpack from behind, took out a leaflet and handed it to the boy.Seeing this antique knight paired with such a modern and fashionable backpack, all the people in the carriage showed indescribably complicated expressions.

"Come to the Aurora Fighting Club and fight like a real medieval knight?" The young man whispered the text on the flyer, "European historical martial arts teaching: long sword, swift sword, saber, wrestling... Wow, what is this, look Looks so handsome!"

It wasn't until the boy finished speaking that he realized that this strange man in armor might be a salesman, who specially wore strange clothes to carry out new promotional activities.If he showed the slightest interest, the promoters would stick to him like chewing gum.

So he immediately changed his words: "I'm very busy, so I don't have time to go to any clubs!"

It happened that a piece of news was broadcast on the subway TV, which gave the boy an excellent opportunity to change the subject.

"...The 25-year-old fencer Roman announced his retirement. This Asian athlete had abstained due to injury in the last World Championships, and lost to his old opponent - Sweden's Axel Thomson..."

"Wow, he's retired!" The boy pointed at the TV, successfully diverting the armor monster's attention, "I really like him!" In fact, he wasn't interested in fencing at all, and he didn't know who Roman was.

"You like Roman?" The armor monster's calm voice was suddenly mixed with a hint of excitement.He looked at the boy with the same eyes as a hero, stretched out his hand and said, "Then we are good friends!"