Life at the training camp wasn’t particularly interesting every day was filled with training sessions arranged by the coaches, and only the weekly rest day offered these athletes any real relaxation. But most of them were still students, so they had to use their days off to catch up on homework.
Today was no different. After finishing the off-ice physical conditioning, everyone hit the ice for free practice like monkeys released from their cages, and jumps were popping off all over the rink in quick succession.
This wasn’t because the camp members only focused on jumps, but rather because Coach Alakh, the foreign instructor invited to the camp this time, was genuinely excellent at jump coaching. Many people had improved their technique under his guidance, and in their excitement, they couldn’t help but bounce around a bit.
Qi Yu and Alexei Alakh had forged a deep friendship during their time in Russia. The fact that Coach Alakh, who had only recently started independently coaching students, accepted the invitation to instruct here was largely thanks to Qi Yu.
At that moment, the two of them stood at one corner of the rink, where Qi Yu was practicing his short program for the new season. When he skated to a stop beside Alakh, he heard Alakh say in heavily accented Chinese, looking in one direction, “He’s starting Xi Ming’s jump.”
One thing that moved many people about Alexei Alakh was his remarkable talent for languages. And because of Qi Yu, his Chinese was now quite good aside from the common foreign accent, he had no trouble with everyday conversation.
Qi Yu knew that Alexei had been very impressed with Xi Ming throughout the camp, so he simply stood beside him and followed his gaze toward Xi Ming.
Like everyone else, Xi Ming was doing jump training. Just as Qi Yu looked over, Xi Ming completed a triple flip (3F). Xi Ming was a fairly well-rounded skater, when it came to jumps, aside from his triple Axel, which still had a less-than-ideal landing success rate, he had no particular weaknesses among the other five jump types.
But the quality of that flip jump looked noticeably better than it had at the start of the camp.
“If there’s one person the coaches feel most accomplished about since the camp began, it’s our junior,” Qi Yu remarked.
“Yes,” Alakh, one of the coaches, naturally understood what Qi Yu meant. “He’s very smart, and he works very hard.”
Alakh thought for a moment, then added, “There’s a selection competition coming up. I believe he’ll earn a spot.”
“The junior disciple will be happy to know you think so highly of him,” Qi Yu said with a smile. “Of course, I share your opinion.”
“Hey, the coaches all think that highly of me?”
Xi Ming looked up at Zhao Zhengchang, then was patted on the back and obediently lay back down. Zhao Zhengchang was giving him his daily post-training massage to help relax his muscles, so he wouldn’t be too sore the next day from the intense workouts.
Usually, he would chat with Xi Ming during this time not just about training, but also about life, and he would check in on Xi Ming’s mental well-being.
Today, what he told Xi Ming was that the camp coaches were very confident Xi Ming would secure a spot in the selection competition.
“Everyone can see your progress of course they believe in you,” Zhao Zhengchang said, pressing down with his hands as he watched Xi Ming grimace and slap the massage table, chuckling silently. “You kid, you act all lazy on the surface, but when it comes to training, you’re more competitive than anyone. You think people can’t tell?”
“I’m just following the training plan and giving it my all, how is that being overly competitive?” Xi Ming bantered back idly. “And I just don’t join in on everyone else’s antics, how is that lazy?”
“Fine, fine, the model student who follows the training plan. It’d be even better if you didn’t sneak off to the training room to dance in the middle of the night,” Zhao Zhengchang patted Xi Ming to signal he was done, letting him sit up, then watched as the guy stared at the ceiling, then the floor anywhere but at him. Half exasperated, half amused, he said, “What am I supposed to do with you? You promised not to do extra training, and the moment you got to camp, you fell back into your old habits.”
Zhao Zhengchang had never been able to be a strict coach, and before Xi Ming could even explain himself, he’d already softened. “Tell me you’ve been in such a relaxed mindset since the start of this year, and your form has been coming back. Why the sudden anxiety again?”
“And don’t tell me it’s because the selection competition is coming up and Yu Jinghui is putting pressure on you,” Zhao Zhengchang cut him off before Xi Ming could make an excuse.
Others might not know, but Zhao Zhengchang could see clearly that Yu Jinghui wasn’t the kind of rival who could pressure him.
This wasn’t to say Xi Ming looked down on Yu Jinghui it was just that Xi Ming wasn’t the type to feel pressured by someone else’s excellence. He was indeed competitive, but in the sense that he knew his own limits and strove to do his best to surpass others. At the same time, he wasn’t arrogant he acknowledged his own shortcomings and appreciated others’ strengths.
Just as he occasionally said himself: if Yu Jinghui was the number one, he’d gladly fight to be number two.
He craved success, but he also accepted the results of every effort with equanimity.
At least for the past six months, Xi Ming’s mindset had been like this. With his condition steadily improving, Zhao Zhengchang hadn’t been nearly as worried about Xi Ming as he had been last year.
So when Qi Yu told him that he’d seen Xi Ming heading to the ice rink or dancing in the dance studio in the middle of the night on several occasions, Zhao Zhengchang’s first reaction was disbelief, followed by utter confusion.
Xi Ming could see the conflict written all over Zhao Zhengchang’s face, and knowing his coach was hesitant to ask, he took the initiative to speak up. “Coach, don’t worry. I really haven’t been doing extra training. I just couldn’t sleep at night and went to burn off some excess energy.”
In truth, Xi Ming hadn’t expected that his few bouts of insomnia, sneaking onto the ice or dancing in the dead of night, would be caught by Qi Yu.
Xi Ming also knew exactly what Zhao Zhengchang was worried about. “When I was on the ice, I promise I didn’t do any jumps at all—I only practiced compulsory figures. You know how practicing compulsory figures helps calm my mind.”
“Besides, going on the ice at night wasn’t because of anxiety, as you might think. It was more. excitement?”
“Excitement?” Zhao Zhengchang was even more confused.
Xi Ming looked a little embarrassed and rubbed his nose. “I don’t know how to explain it. Just think of it this way because the qualifiers are coming up, I can’t wait to compete against Yu Jinghui and the others. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep, so I went out to burn off the extra energy.”
“Ah.” This time, Zhao Zhengchang believed Xi Ming’s explanation, but his expression shifted to one of fond pity. He gently patted Xi Ming’s shoulder and reassured him, “You’ll show everyone what you’re capable of, and you’ll earn that spot, Xiao Xi.”
“Ha.” After seeing Zhao Zhengchang off and walking back to the dormitory, Xi Ming let out a weary sigh.
He knew that once he gave that excuse, Coach Zhao would definitely misunderstand. Misunderstand that he was still troubled by his past competition failures and, now that his form had returned, was desperate to prove himself.
That was exactly why, after being caught by Qi Yu, he’d waited until Zhao Zhengchang couldn’t hold back his questions before offering that explanation.
The real reason, after all, was something he couldn’t tell anyone. To say he’d dreamed of his past life bidding farewell to figure skating, and had woken up in a panic fearing that the present was just a dream, rushing to the rink regardless of the hour that kind of reason would genuinely make Zhao Zhengchang worry that his mind had cracked under pressure.
Waking from a dream as if reborn with memories of a past life this was a secret Xi Ming couldn’t share with anyone. After all, even Xi Ming himself couldn’t tell whether he was Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi.
But the one thing he could be certain of was
Xi Ming’s gaze shifted suddenly, and he turned and ran toward the ice rink.
Standing at the edge of the rink, Xi Ming could feel the cold air rushing to meet him, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. This familiar chill of the ice rink that was the reality he could be sure of.
He was truly standing on the ice again, and every jump was a real, tangible vibration. So whether he was one Xi Ming or another, it didn’t matter all that much anymore.
In fact, what he’d told Coach Zhao wasn’t entirely a fabricated excuse. He did carry a buried excitement within him. Ever since he’d returned here, to the familiar ice of the national team, it felt as though an irrepressible emotion was stirring back to life in his heart, in his very blood.
He could only suppress it during regular training. Otherwise, the intensity of the emotions he’d release would seem far too profound for his fifteen-year-old self, and there was no way to explain it to anyone else.
How could he explain that a Xi Ming who had only ever faced training setbacks carried the aura of someone who had lost everything and miraculously gotten it back?
But deep down, Xi Ming was yearning yearning for the competition to come quickly, so he could finally unleash himself fully on the ice, as someone even more at ease than he’d been since the championship.
“BANG”
During the routine testing in the next day’s training, everyone was frozen in place by the shockingly powerful jump Xi Ming executed. Throughout the training camp, Xi Ming apart from the jumps he’d fumble and fall on had always been light and agile in style. A jump carrying such formidable, resolute energy as today’s was a rare sight.
And when that jump was an Axel triple, the awe-inspiring presence became even more pronounced.
Xi Ming himself, however, in the midst of the sudden silence, spun to a stop and rubbed his hair sheepishly. “Sorry, did I land too heavily? My 3A is still unstable my landing does feel a bit like I’m slamming down.”
“Ah, yes, indeed.” Yang Wu, the team’s head coach, nodded. “You need to work on correcting that. Otherwise, it’ll be hard on your knees.”
With that, Yang Wu gestured for the next person to step up for testing, but his gaze couldn’t help trailing back to Xi Ming as he returned to the group. Xi Ming now looked no different from usual, as if the intensity of that jump had truly just been an illusion created by the sound of the landing.
And yet, Yang Wu couldn’t shake the feeling that Xi Ming wasn’t as calm as he appeared on the surface.
So it was the upcoming selection competition that was stirring up competitive drive in these kids, after all. Xi Ming’s performance during this training camp had indeed caught many people’s attention.
Yang Wu thought to himself while calmly continuing to record the test data. After writing down the last person’s numbers, instead of announcing free practice as usual, he made an announcement.
“Although most of you already know about this, I still want to officially announce it today.”
“Two days from now, the Youth Grand Prix selection competition officially begins. Except for Han Wen, all nine male singles skaters in the youth group of this training camp are eligible to compete. The order of competition will be decided by drawing lots tomorrow.” Yang Wu looked at the team, which was visibly starting to stir, but didn’t stop them from talking. “The competition consists of a short program and a free skate, which is perfect for you to test out your new season programs.”
“Of course, regarding the quota issue you’re all most concerned about: the top two in total score from the selection competition can enter two Grand Prix events, and those ranked third through fifth can register for one event.”
“Give it your all and compete with your best form.”