Forever Swimming Away

At the swimming poolside of the National Championship finals, when the new Asian record popped up on the screen, the star fixed the arc of Ning Ye's Adam's apple as he raised his head to breathe—a perfect overlap with when he said "I may never be able to swim again" two years ago. As a station sister who has followed him for ten years, her hard drive is full of his tracks: the high spirits of the world champion at the age of 21, the long recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon at the age of 23, and the knee wrapped in protective gear in the mirror of the training hall when he returned at the age of 25. But after the peak battle, he announced his retirement in an understatement, causing an uproar in the audience. She quietly closed the website she had run for many years, locked her camera in the bottom of the cabinet, and never touched the blue of the swimming pool again. Three years later, backstage at the party, the voice sounded after I became familiar with it. The moment she turned back, she ran into his smiling eyes. He was wearing a suit and tie, and still wore the small fish bracelet given by the cheering club on his wrist. He stared at her work badge and asked softly: "Photographer Ying, have we met before?" "Your shots are special, like people I know." After ten years of camera chasing, he exited when he was at his most dazzling. She has seen his naive manner on the podium while biting the gold medal, her forbearance in applying medicine in the corner, and she is even more aware of the old injuries and countless mental breakdowns behind his back that rely on medicine to relieve pain. Now we are reunited in a small area without a swimming pool. She is holding the camera in her hand, not knowing whether to focus or escape - after all, she knows better than anyone else the shadow behind the legend that needs to be seen, and her lens has long been more than just a record of glory. Ning Ye stared at the side of her face as she operated the camera, and suddenly remembered the last game before retiring. Through the car window, he saw the girl holding the camera standing in the rain for a long time. At that time, I thought it was obsession, but now I vaguely understand that it may be the most silent companionship that he missed. Concept: The novel focuses on the ten-year bond between athletes and photographers, and explores the symbiotic relationship between glory and shadow - there are unknown pains and struggles hidden behind legends, and true companionship is often silent outside the spotlight. Through sister Ying Xing's lens, she recorded Ning Ye's complete trajectory from peak to trough to retirement, as well as the two people's look back on the past after their reunion, conveying that what is seen is not only the glory, but also the persistence and forbearance under the glory.