Beijing in mid-August was still scorching hot. Even after just a short walk outdoors, Zhao Zhengchang and the two people following behind him were already drenched in sweat not to mention that one of them was carrying a camera on his back.
As they stepped into the arena, the sudden drop in temperature and the blast of cold air made them unconsciously relax their expressions.
It was only then, beyond their initial greetings, that they finally felt in the mood for small talk.
“This should be the team’s on-ice training time right now,” Song Xiaoqiu said as he walked.
“Yeah, with the new season starting, they’ve been training a bit more than before.” Zhao Zhengchang nodded, also bringing up the purpose of today’s visit. “Xi Ming is on the ice too. We’ll just head over there.”
The two people following Zhao Zhengchang were there precisely for Xi Ming.
Song Xiaoqiu was a sports journalist for a news agency, primarily covering ice and snow sports, with figure skating being his main focus within the team. With the Junior Grand Prix about to begin, Song Xiaoqiu had come today to check on Xi Ming’s competition preparation and write a report on China’s junior figure skaters gearing up for the Grand Prix.
Xi Ming, who had secured two spots at the Grand Prix this year, was naturally one of the key focuses of the report.
“I watched the footage from the selection trials. Xi Ming’s level has improved tremendously compared to before he skated beautifully. I think he should be able to earn a decent placement at the qualifying rounds.”
As for whether it would be a placement good enough to advance to the finals, Song Xiaoqiu didn’t dare to predict. In fact, everyone currently keeping an eye on Xi Ming had a question mark hanging over that very point.
Song Xiaoqiu was an old friend of Zhao Zhengchang or rather, of the Beijing provincial team. He had covered them with reports when the team was first established and had even helped with recruitment publicity.
He naturally knew Xi Ming fairly well, which was why the impact had been so great when he’d watched the selection trials.
After all, his previous impression of Xi Ming had always been someone who performed well in training but always seemed to lack that spark in competition and was prone to falling apart and bombing out.
That was also the general consensus about Xi Ming within the domestic figure skating fandom. There were only so many figure skaters in the country to begin with, and Xi Ming was at least at the level to compete in the National Figure Skating Championships he wasn’t completely unknown.
In fact, he even had some fans, though those people would be wringing their hands in anguish at every single competition.
But now, whether they were Xi Ming’s fans or not, everyone was quietly paying attention to him. Xi Ming’s fans, in particular, were barely containing their excitement that their favorite had finally pulled himself together, sneakily replying things like “Xi Ming is really good now” under posts listing which junior skaters were worth watching.
Although it had been a selection trial held only within the national training team, it had received no small amount of attention because it signaled the start of the new season.
As a result, Xi Ming, who had shone brilliantly at the selection trials, had actually drawn significant attention within the domestic figure skating fandom. It was just that all this attention was still hidden beneath the surface, not yet breaking through the calm of the lake.
“We’re here.”
Song Xiaoqiu, who was actually a hardcore figure skating fan in secret and had recently been repeatedly rewatching Xi Ming’s two programs from the selection trials, which was why he’d unconsciously drifted back into thoughts about Xi Ming only realized they had entered the ice rink when Zhao Zhengchang spoke up.
The venue, which was usually filled with the lively sounds of training especially the sound of skate blades cutting across the ice was surprisingly quiet at the moment.
It wasn’t until the sound of a jump landing echoed through the rink that Song Xiaoqiu, drawing closer, realized it was Xi Ming performing in the center of the ice, with many people lined up along the boards watching his program.
The cameraman behind him immediately found a good spot to take photos, while Song Xiaoqiu stood at the boards with Zhao Zhengchang, watching Xi Ming.
Having seen Xi Ming’s selection trial performances before, Song Xiaoqiu naturally recognized that what Xi Ming was currently skating was his new season’s free skate. By now, the program was already nearing its end a spread eagle glide swept across more than half the rink in the blink of an eye.
As he slightly raised both hands into a closing step sequence, it was the rose spirit performing its final dance together.
The last spin a layback spin was like the spirit that had danced in a dream quietly disguising itself once more as a rose in the garden, leaving behind only a fantastical, beautiful dream.
Before Song Xiaoqiu even realized it, he was already applauding for Xi Ming along with everyone else.
As the young skaters crowded around Xi Ming to talk to him, Song Xiaoqiu overheard the cameraman muttering quietly, “That spin shot is really beautiful. It would probably look even better in a costume.”
Indeed by the time the actual competition came around, Xi Ming’s program should be even more stunning. Song Xiaoqiu looked at the photos on the camera, unconsciously beginning to look forward to it.
Song Xiaoqiu’s visit was called an interview, but in reality, it was mostly just collecting material on Xi Ming’s daily training. Accidentally catching Xi Ming’s internal free skate practice had already completed most of their progress.
After taking a few more photos of Xi Ming’s routine training and some shots of him standing with Zhao Zhengchang talking, Song Xiaoqiu and his team’s work was done.
Yes, Xi Ming didn’t need to speak just a few words from provincial team coach Zhao Zhengchang would suffice.
However, after the official work was done, Song Xiaoqiu had plenty to say to Xi Ming.
“Everyone is looking forward to you achieving results at the upcoming JGP.” After expressing her admiration for his two new programs for the season, Song Xiaoqiu said.
She didn’t say “making progress,” because starting this season, every competition Xi Ming competed in internationally would be an improvement over his previous outings.
“I’ll do my best.”
To those who believed in him, Xi Ming naturally assured them he would work hard.
Of course, Xi Ming also knew that their expectations for him were simply to perform well at the Grand Prix events reaching the final was beyond their imagination. Oh, and also to score high enough at the Junior Grand Prix to meet the Minimum Technical Score (MTS) required to qualify for the World Junior Championships next March.
At least, given his performance at the selection trials, everyone was quite confident he could achieve the latter.
However, Xi Ming knew this was the impression he had built up over years of consistent effort. It was impossible to make everyone believe he would dominate from now on based on just one competition Xi Ming himself wouldn’t dare claim that.
But he would prove through competition after competition that he was a figure skater worthy of everyone’s expectations.
“Yesterday I also interviewed the national team athletes competing this time, and I saw Yu Jinghui as well.” Song Xiaoqiu was chatting with Zhao Zhengchang, and when Yu Jinghui was mentioned, Xi Ming, who was drinking water, looked over.
“Yu Jinghui is in good shape. I heard his landing rate on the 4T has improved a lot recently. And his coach decided to have him increase the difficulty early in the season to build up his competitive form.”
Song Xiaoqiu recalled the Yu Jinghui she had seen yesterday. “Yu Jinghui has always given off a calm impression you can’t tell he’s competitive. But this time, he seemed in high spirits, clearly intending to really go head-to-head with those foreign skaters this season.”
Song Xiaoqiu’s words made Xi Ming, who was nearby, instinctively touch his nose.
Because Yu Jinghui’s state was probably, possibly, because of Xi Ming yes, that competition at the selection trials.
Actually, since that selection trial, Xi Ming hadn’t seen Yu Jinghui. Although they were at the same school, it was summer break now, and the two of them didn’t really keep in touch privately.
Many people thought that Xi Ming nearly overtaking Yu Jinghui at the selection trials must have made their relationship awkward. But Xi Ming, as the person involved, could naturally sense that Yu Jinghui still treated him the same as before. Rather, the selection trial results had inexplicably boosted Yu Jinghui’s spirits.
Yes, after the competition, Xi Ming had actually sensed it the look in Yu Jinghui’s eyes, both happy for Xi Ming’s achievements and excited about the competition.
It was like looking at an opponent he acknowledged.
If Yu Jinghui’s feelings were indeed as Xi Ming understood them, then Xi Ming wasn’t surprised at all that Yu Jinghui was now in such high spirits.
It’s just that there was one thing Xi Ming could never figure out: did Yu Jinghui really keep viewing him as a rival, and why?
Xi Ming had once asked Yu Jinghui why he seemed to like him so much and believe in his abilities, but Yu Jinghui had just smiled without answering. Xi Ming had searched through his memories of the past but couldn’t find anything related to Yu Jinghui.
Though he had plenty of memories of crying after losing competitions, and in those memories, there would usually be a fleeting glimpse of Yu Jinghui holding a medal in the background.
This was probably one of the unsolved mysteries of Xi Ming’s rebirth. Even Qi Yu’s interest in and regard for him, Xi Ming could roughly guess.
And on the second day after Song Xiaoqiu’s report was published, the 2014/2015 season Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating kicked off, with the first event held in Courchevel, France.
Chinese skater Yu Jinghui competed at this event.
Three days later, when the French event concluded, Yu Jinghui took home the gold medal from the French stop.
Xi Ming wasn’t surprised by this result. With the 4T in his arsenal, Yu Jinghui was indeed among the top tier of junior skaters right now.
Perhaps a quad jump was just an entry ticket to medal contention in the senior ranks, but for junior skaters, quads weren’t common they were actually quite rare, with only a few junior skaters possessing one.
So when Yu Jinghui landed another 4T in the free skate and earned positive GOE, the medal was practically within reach.
And with his short program ranking second, defeating last year’s fifth-place finisher at the World Junior Championships to claim the title wasn’t something worth being surprised about.
But it was definitely something worth celebrating.
Xi Ming took out his phone, found Yu Jinghui’s contact, and sent him a congratulatory message. Yu Jinghui hadn’t replied yet—he was probably exhausted after just finishing his competition. Besides, winning a Grand Prix gold at the start of the season was a good beginning for them, a country where figure skating wasn’t particularly strong.
The results of Yu Jinghui’s performance at the first stop of the Youth Grand Prix were still spreading through the figure skating community, but for Xi Ming, after feeling happy for his friend, he temporarily stopped paying attention.
Because the competition at the Slovenia stop that Xi Ming had chosen for himself was about to begin.
Two days later, after a flight of nearly eight hours, the plane landed at Ljubljana Airport in Slovenia. Xi Ming, along with his coach Zhao Zhengchang and the pairs skaters who were also participating in this stop, arrived at the place where they would soon compete.
Xi Ming stepped onto the international competition stage his first stop had finally arrived.