The JGP selection competition actually lasted three days in total. The men’s short program and free skate were scheduled for the afternoon of the second and third days respectively, so on the first day, Xi Ming and the others only had the draw for the order of appearance.
After the draw ended, since they couldn’t train on the ice yet, Xi Ming and Yu Jinghui prepared to do some off-ice training together, joined by Song Yili from the Jilin provincial team. Then halfway there, they were caught by Qi Yu, who had been running over to the senior group’s side these past few days. Qi Yu suddenly appeared and pounced onto Xi Ming’s back, pressing him forward with a stumble.
At Xi Ming’s displeased look as he turned around, Qi Yu grinned and poked his face, “Little junior~ I heard you got a pretty good draw.”
“You’re a grown adult in your twenties, and you’re still bullying me, a kid.” Xi Ming complained to Qi Yu, who had straightened himself up, then asked him, “We just finished the draw, and you already know the results. That’s fast.”
“Because I care about you guys a lot. After all, I was sort of your assistant coach for this past month.” Qi Yu then casually reached out with both hands and ruffled Xi Ming’s and Yu Jinghui’s heads. “Even if you don’t consider me a coach, I’m at least your senior fellow apprentice.”
“So, you really drew ninth, going on last?”
“Yes, Brother Qi, Xiao Xi is the last one.” Xi Ming didn’t say anything, but Song Yili beside him answered for him, adding a worried note, “Not a very good position.”
Although Qi Yu had asked about a good draw, in Song Yili’s view, his own fifth-place order was the better kind. Being too early made it easy to get underscored, while someone like Xi Ming, going last, could easily have his mentality affected by the strong performances of those before him.
Especially since Yu Jinghui was placed right before Xi Ming. Yes, Yu Jinghui’s order was eighth.
Song Yili considered himself a player with a fairly strong heart; his coach had even said he might be missing the nerve for nervousness. If he could, Song Yili would be willing to swap orders with Xi Ming, because he knew his good friend was the type to be easily affected mentally during competition. Unfortunately, the position was decided the moment the number was drawn in hand.
“Don’t worry, your Xiao Xi is no longer the person he used to be.”
Although Song Yili hadn’t voiced his thoughts, his face said it all. Qi Yu smiled and ruffled his head too, comforting him, then turned to look at Xi Ming for confirmation, “Right, Xiao Xi?”
What else could Xi Ming say? Of course, he followed Qi Yu’s words to comfort Yu Jinghui and Song Yili, who were both equally worried, “That’s right, actually I think going last is pretty good too. There’s just one downside the waiting time is a bit long.”
The two kids who had been waiting for Xi Ming to say something bad were amused by his joke, and the three happily went off to practice, leaving Qi Yu standing there smiling.
“So, Brother Qi just came to ask about the draw order?” From afar, it was Song Yili’s quiet question.
“Probably.” Then came Xi Ming’s casual response.
“Hey, didn’t they say Brother Qi is really busy? Seems like he’s not that busy today.”
Qi Yu stood there helplessly. These little rascals he hadn’t even left yet, and they were already gossiping that he had too much free time. Though he was complaining inwardly, his face wore a very gentle smile. If Jiang Jun saw it, he’d probably tease him again for being like a mother hen looking after her chicks.
The next day, Qi Yu only rushed over when Xi Ming’s competition had progressed to the latter half. He sat down beside Jiang Jun, looked at the rink, and it seemed the previous skater’s program had just ended, with no new performance started yet.
“Whose turn is it? I’m not late, am I?”
“You should say the timing is just right the next one is Li Zhao.” Jiang Jun said, then couldn’t help teasing him, “Since you’re so busy, it’s just a junior selection competition. Couldn’t you just watch the replay later?”
“Watching it live is different, you know that.” Qi Yu looked at Li Zhao, who was now taking the ice. “Looks like I’m lucky I can catch the matches of the ones everyone has high hopes for.”
Qi Yu had to see Aleksei off back to his country today, but he really wanted to watch Xi Ming’s competition, so he rushed back. Fortunately, Xi Ming had drawn the last position; if he had been first to skate, Qi Yu would have only been able to watch the replay.
But he really did want to see Xi Ming’s performance live once more.
As the music began, Qi Yu and the others also started to seriously watch Li Zhao’s short program on the ice.
The reason Jiang Jun said Qi Yu had arrived at a convenient time was also because the competition had now reached its final stretch Li Zhao was the third from last to skate. After Li Zhao, only Yu Jinghui and Xi Ming had yet to perform.
Seventeen-year-old Li Zhao was considered one of the older competitors in this event. After finishing this season, he could move up to the senior group. And before moving up, he had finally increased his difficulty, with his 3A success rate improving significantly during the training camp.
“That 3A execution score of his might end up positive,” Jiang Jun commented, watching Li Zhao, who had landed without much issue.
“Too bad his F jump takeoff edge wasn’t very clear it’s up to the judges to decide,” Qi Yu said. In his eyes, Li Zhao’s performance was full of flaws. Still, in this type of competition, as long as it didn’t affect fairness, the judges would usually give their own skaters a decent score. Besides, Li Zhao’s skill level was fairly high among the current junior ranks.
As Qi Yu had said, Li Zhao’s 3F+3T combination jump was flagged with an unclear edge symbol, and his program component scores came in slightly lower than Song Yili’s. In the end, Li Zhao’s short program earned a total of 67.38, still slightly below Song Yili, who currently ranked first with 67.82.
The narrow gap between the two was briefly remarked upon, then quickly forgotten. Because next up was Yu Jinghui the only junior skater in the country to have achieved results on the international stage.
No one doubted that Yu Jinghui’s appearance would change the current rankings.
In fact, before the selection competition was finalized, the coaches had considered having Yu Jinghui directly lock in two Grand Prix assignments without needing to compete in the selection. In the end, for the sake of getting Yu Jinghui into competition form before the season, he was added to the selection as well.
But everyone knew the first place would be Yu Jinghui.
Not just the spectators in the stands Xi Ming was also at the rink side watching Yu Jinghui’s performance.
This wasn’t Xi Ming’s first time watching Yu Jinghui compete, of course. Not counting the videos he’d watched, he had also skated in the same event as Yu Jinghui back in April this year. But back then, he’d been more focused on keeping his own unstable condition from falling apart, and he hadn’t had any thought of beating Yu Jinghui.
This was the first time he was seriously watching Yu Jinghui’s performance as an opponent.
Yu Jinghui’s short program, “Masquerade,” used music from one of composer Khachaturian’s representative works the waltz from the Masquerade Suite. Unlike the elegant lightness of a Viennese waltz, this waltz had a somber style, revealing passion within mystery, like the chaotic emotions hidden behind masks at a masquerade ball.
For a fifteen-year-old like Yu Jinghui, this wasn’t an easy style to convey, but as one of the top-ranked junior skaters from last season, his expressiveness was hardly a weakness.
Spinning in the center of the rink, Yu Jinghui even in simple practice attire seemed to transport everyone to that chaotic, splendid, mysterious masquerade.
The 3A solo jump, the 3F+3T combination both were above the standard shown so far in the competition. His smooth footwork not only earned solid levels but also held the audience’s emotions firmly within that masquerade.
The final jump, the 3Lz, was as clean and steady as ever.
The two flying camel spins near the end of the program were like an unceasing dance at the ball, drawing people in with the music, making them want to uncover what lay behind the mystery.
When the music ended, everyone applauded for Yu Jinghui.
In this selection competition, Yu Jinghui was the first to achieve a clean skate, and with a total score of 74.16, he leaped to first place in the short program, leading the second-place skater by more than six points. At this point, the only one who hadn’t skated yet was Xi Ming.
“Xi-ge, what do we do, ah!”
Backstage had also become lively because of Yu Jinghui’s high score. Han Wen, the only one who wasn’t yet old enough to compete but had come backstage to join the fun, dramatically grabbed his hair and wailed, “If it were me, my mentality would have exploded by now.”
“But maybe, seeing that he can’t surpass Jinghui’s score, Xiao Xi will relax his mindset and actually skate brilliantly,” Song Yili offered another possibility. However, most people looked at him with complicated expressions.
What Song Yili described was indeed a kind of relaxed mindset, but usually it came with not an outburst of brilliance, but a total collapse.
Still, the noisy chatter of the young skaters backstage didn’t reach Xi Ming’s ears. For one thing, he had already gone to the rink side to watch Yu Jinghui’s program. And now, as Yu Jinghui’s score was announced, Xi Ming also took off his jacket and glided to the center of the rink to prepare.
As Zhao Zhengchang pushed him toward the ice, Xi Ming heard his words: “Don’t be nervous.”
Xi Ming lifted his eyes briefly toward Yu Jinghui’s direction, then lowered his gaze and assumed a ready position. Perhaps to others, Yu Jinghui’s performance would become pressure on him, making him nervous.
But only Xi Ming knew what he was feeling right now it wasn’t nervousness, but anticipation, irrepressibly so.
When Yu Jinghui came to a stop, Xi Ming’s hand pressed against the boards was trembling slightly. That was the excitement of witnessing an opponent’s performance and wanting to get out there immediately to challenge him.
But, as always, that intense emotion was concealed beneath his lowered gaze in an instant.
Because his short program, “The Nutcracker,” was a light and joyful performance set to the melody of the Waltz of the Flowers.
The Nutcracker, a classical ballet composed by Tchaikovsky, tells the story of a girl named Marie who, on Christmas Eve, embarks on a wondrous adventure to the Land of Sweets with the prince transformed from a nutcracker. Among its iconic pieces, the Waltz of the Flowers evokes images of joyous feasts, the dances of fairies light, graceful, and cheerful.
Amid the dreamy, melodious music, everyone’s gaze is fixed on Xi Ming at center stage. Moving in time with the music, Xi Ming dances with effortless grace. The Nutcracker Prince is unveiling the grand opening of the Land of Sweets’ celebration.
The first jump a triple Axel lands lightly, followed by a smooth transition into footwork.
Toe steps, chassé, three turns, counter steps.
Like a signal heralding the start of a magnificent banquet, the prince transformed from the nutcracker seems to take the hand of young Marie, dancing together with the music. Or perhaps it is the fairies of the Land of Sweets, joyfully dancing in welcome. As two sets of spirals in different positions transition into a donut spin, even his slightly curled, flowing hair seems to transport the audience into that jubilant kingdom.
Then comes the second jump a 3F+3T a fluid combination that elevates the festive atmosphere to its peak.
After the 3Lz, the final change-foot combination spin begins, and as the upright spin gradually accelerates, this joyful celebration draws to its close.
When Xi Ming straightens up, it is as if everyone has awakened from a dream of the Land of Sweets.