The frantic blaring of car horns, the chaotic scene, the body gradually losing warmth, someone calling his name by his ear. When everything fell silent, it seemed like a long time passed before he could hear someone speaking in hushed tones by the bedside, his name seemingly mentioned frequently.
“Xi Ming ” It seemed someone noticed his consciousness returning and called out softly by his ear.
“Xi Ming, wake up.”
But deep down, Xi Ming was somewhat resistant to waking. He knew what those chaotic sounds were. If he opened his eyes, he would lose what he currently possessed the beautiful, the fervent, which would shatter and vanish like bubbles in the sunlight. That was something he didn’t want to face.
“Junior Brother!” A force pushed through the void, and everything before him seemed to shatter into pieces. Xi Ming abruptly opened his eyes.
The quiet hum of the airplane was mixed with hushed conversations, and the sound of a movie playing could be heard nearby. Xi Ming found himself tightly wrapped in a blanket. He struggled briefly but couldn’t free himself, so he simply let himself lean back against the seat and stare blankly ahead.
Xi Ming gazed blankly at the screen in front of him. It seemed the movie hadn’t been turned off while he was asleep, so it was still playing. The dialogue from the characters in his earphones seemed to be shrouded in a membrane, not quite entering his mind.
“Hiss” Xi Ming pressed his forehead uncomfortably. The restless sleep had started to give him a headache, and he somewhat regretted falling asleep.
“Junior Brother, what’s wrong?” Qi Yu waved his hand in front of Xi Ming, forcibly turning Xi Ming’s head toward him. Then Qi Yu’s face appeared very close to Xi Ming’s, and he could see the worry in his eyes. “Had a nightmare?”
Earlier, he had wanted to cover Xi Ming with a blanket after he’d taken off his jacket. When he leaned in, he saw Xi Ming’s face twisted in pain, seemingly trying to wake up but unable to. So Qi Yu called out to him a few times, and finally gave Xi Ming a push.
Xi Ming extended a finger and pressed it against Qi Yu’s forehead, pushing him back. “Too close.”
After Qi Yu moved away, still looking at him with a hint of concern, Xi Ming replied, “It’s nothing. Just had a not-so-pleasant dream.”
Anyone who dreamed of their past car accident, and clearly knew the aftermath was that they could never walk again, wouldn’t consider it a good dream. The fact that Xi Ming could still speak with Qi Yu with a composed expression was already a sign of remarkable mental stability.
Xi Ming turned to look out the window and continued to stare blankly. The emotions from the dream were still affecting him, dampening his spirits.
Moreover, dreaming about that on today of all days wasn’t a good omen. Although Xi Ming didn’t put much stock in omens and superstitions, he still felt it wasn’t a good sign.
“We’re almost there Barcelona, Spain.” Qi Yu’s voice sounded by Xi Ming’s ear.
Yes, Barcelona, Spain the venue for this year’s Grand Prix Final. And their group was on a plane heading to Barcelona, Spain. In mid-December, the Grand Prix Final was finally about to begin.
“I told you something was off with you.” In the crowd getting off the plane, their group stopped midway. Qi Yu bent his knees slightly and looked up at Xi Ming from below, wearing an “I told you so” expression, then patted his own shoulder. “Want your senior brother to carry you?”
Xi Ming stared at Qi Yu steadily, and just as Qi Yu’s expression began to turn expectant, he decisively refused. “No.”
“Exactly. Qi Yu isn’t steady enough,what if he drops you?” Yang Wu said from the side, then nudged Zhao Zhengchang. “Better let Coach Zhao or me carry you.”
Xi Ming pressed his forehead, feeling the ache that had been bothering him all along grow more pronounced. He waved his hand helplessly. “Thanks, but I don’t need anyone to carry me. I just have a cold, not a broken leg. I can walk on my own.”
Under Xi Ming’s firm gaze, everyone had to compromise. However, Qi Yu insisted on helping Xi Ming with his luggage, and Xi Ming agreed. After all, athletes were full of energy not to mention pulling luggage, even having Qi Yu carry two suitcases on his back for a while wouldn’t be a problem. It would even be good exercise.
By the time their group arrived at the hotel by car, Xi Ming was directly shoved into a room by Zhao Zhengchang. Originally, it had been agreed that Qi Yu and Xi Ming would share a room, but to prevent Xi Ming’s cold from affecting Qi Yu’s condition, Zhao Zhengchang ended up rooming with Xi Ming instead.
Yes, a cold.
The culprit behind Xi Ming’s messy nightmares and the jumbled thoughts upon waking was the cold.
“Maybe there really is some kind of Grand Prix curse for our men’s singles.” While Zhao Zhengchang was looking at the thermometer, Xi Ming curled up under the blanket and said.
The “Grand Prix curse” wasn’t something Xi Ming had come up with. He’d come across the term while browsing a figure skating forum once, and after reading it, he felt it seemed to make some sense.
The thread starter had used the examples of Qi Yu and Yu Jinghui the two who had come closest to the Grand Prix Final.
Qi Yu had collected quite a few medals of various sizes throughout his career, but his best result at the Grand Prix was fourth place. He had won medals at the World Junior Championships and the World Championships, even taking gold at the latter. As for Yu Jinghui, there was no need to even mention him last year, due to tied points and a poor ranking, he hadn’t squeezed into the sixth spot, and this year he hadn’t even come close to the finals.
So Xi Ming felt that his heavy cold right before the finals, leaving him light-headed and weak, could only be chalked up to the Grand Prix curse. He’d rarely been sick since childhood, and even when he did catch a cold, he’d been bouncing around full of energy, unlike now, with his limbs feeling like jelly.
Just now, after getting off the plane, he’d felt weak and nearly stumbled on flat ground. It was Qi Yu who’d noticed and pointed out that he wasn’t feeling well.
“37.6 degrees yep, a low-grade fever.” Zhao Zhengchang finished reading the thermometer, then turned around and pressed a cooling patch onto Xi Ming’s forehead. Watching Xi Ming flinch, he responded with a mix of exasperation and amusement, “What ‘Grand Prix curse’? It’s just that you were too cocky about your health a few days ago, didn’t dress properly, and went running around like a maniac with Qi Yu and the others. You caught a cold, that’s all.”
Honestly an athlete, and a figure skater at that, afraid of the cold? Xi Ming’s eyes darted away, refusing to meet Zhao Zhengchang’s gaze.
Zhao Zhengchang knew that when Xi Ming was well-behaved, he was truly well-behaved, but as the youngest in his family and now the most spoiled on the team, he had his fair share of willful little quirks. Zhao Zhengchang was used to it. So he just told Xi Ming to drink more water and tucked the blanket around him after he lay down.
“Alright, with this temperature you don’t even need medicine. Drink plenty of water, get some sleep, and you’ll be back to your lively monkey self in no time.” Zhao Zhengchang knew exactly what Xi Ming cared about most, so he reassured him, “We arrived early. There’s no problem getting you back to peak condition by the time you compete.”
“Mm.” Xi Ming mumbled a vague response and drifted off into a hazy sleep.
Zhao Zhengchang didn’t leave. He sat at the desk, pulled out his tablet to work, and glanced at Xi Ming from time to time.
As it turned out, things really did go as Zhao Zhengchang had said by the next day, Xi Ming was bouncing around again.
They’d arrived yesterday morning, and by the afternoon Xi Ming already felt refreshed and clear-headed. After taking a shower, he felt like he could get on the ice and crank out a few quadruple jumps in a row. Of course, Zhao Zhengchang wouldn’t allow that, and besides, with the finals coming up, Xi Ming needed to conserve his energy, so he’d stayed put obediently until the next day.
But today, Xi Ming couldn’t hold back any longer. It was like a rebound after being suppressed he felt like he had a surge of energy with nowhere to let it out. Plus, the other competitors were arriving one by one. He’d seen Lanzik’s tweet; Lanzik had already arrived yesterday afternoon.
“I’m going to find Qi-ge and the others~”
Before Zhao Zhengchang could say anything, Xi Ming had already dashed out of sight. Zhao Zhengchang knew Qi Yu was on the first floor chatting with Oleg, so he didn’t bother to stop him.
Xi Ming said he was going to find Qi Yu, but really he wanted to find Lanzik. Lanzik had just messaged him saying he was at the rink, but Xi Ming got caught by Qi Yu in the first-floor lobby. Standing beside Qi Yu was someone who looked at Xi Ming with curiosity.
“Oleg, this is my little junior, Xi Ming.” Qi Yu slung an arm around Xi Ming’s shoulder, introducing him to the person beside him. Then he pointed at the other man and told Xi Ming, “This is Oleg Mozalev, a Russian skater and a good friend of mine.”
During the off-season, Qi Yu often trained under Russian coach Igor Ivanov, who happened to be Oleg’s coach. Oleg had also been Qi Yu’s rival from the same era they’d competed together frequently in the junior ranks so Qi Yu and Oleg had always had a close relationship.
Though, really, he didn’t need to introduce Oleg to Xi Ming, because no one wouldn’t recognize the world champion with the top season points. Oleg had also entered the Grand Prix Finals with the points from winning both of his assigned events.
Xi Ming shook hands with Oleg. This senior world champion was very friendly and seemed to know who Xi Ming was. “Misha often mentions you to me. He really likes you.”
Xi Ming was momentarily stunned before realizing that Misha was Mikhail. Mikhail was indeed also a student of Coach Igor. But thinking of how Mikhail always looked at him with that cold, icy expression, he figured Oleg was just being polite.
Oleg could see what Xi Ming was thinking and curved his eyes into a smile. “Misha’s just that kind of person he doesn’t know how to express that he likes something. But he genuinely enjoys your performances. He says they make people happy and warm.”
“I hope you two can become friends.”
Since Mikhail’s own senior training mate had said so, Xi Ming naturally believed it. Thinking about it, Mikhail did often look at him, and if you ignored the frosty face that came standard, maybe there was a hint of liking him after all.
Then next time their eyes met, he’d take the initiative to greet Mikhail. Xi Ming made that decision cheerfully.
The three of them stood in the first-floor lobby, and with Oleg there, just a few words exchanged drew a lot of attention. People who knew Oleg and Qi Yu began walking over to them.
“Hey~” For instance, this one exuding a playboy vibe all over is French skater Léo Martin, and the quieter one who came in with him is Japanese skater Makoto Ito.
Xi Ming looked at the four of them and finally felt the real sense that the Grand Prix Final was about to begin.
Counting the Spanish skater Rafael García and the American skater Adrian Miller, whom Xi Ming hadn’t met yet, that made up the six men in the senior division. Canadian skater Ethan Lee, who had been highly anticipated before the competition, unfortunately didn’t make it to the final due to lingering injury issues.
As for the six in the junior division, aside from Canadian skater Lucas Ozer, whom Xi Ming hadn’t crossed paths with, the other four had all competed against him at some point that’s right, Chris, Lancik, Takahashi Shohei, and Mikhail, another newcomer like Xi Ming.
Both Lancik and Ozer had won two Grand Prix events, tying for first place in points. Chris and Mikhail, like Xi Ming, had each claimed victories at other events, while Takahashi Shohei secured his spot in the final in sixth place with points from a third-place and a second-place finish.
Xi Ming glanced toward the door. Chris, who had just walked in, spotted him and waved excitedly. Walking behind him was Ozer, who seemed to know the opponent before him was not to be underestimated, his gaze cutting through the crowd to land on Xi Ming.
Xi Ming nodded and smiled at him, then hugged Chris, who had already rushed over.
Seeing Chris’s usual bright smile, Xi Ming felt in high spirits, filled with eager anticipation as well.
Skaters from around the world gathered in one place, and the Grand Prix Final was about to begin, what a thrilling prospect.