Silence. Stillness. A strange, subtle thrill hidden beneath the calm surface. That was the atmosphere at the rink as Xi Ming finished his short program and waited for his scores.
The JGP selection competition was closed to the public aside from team insiders, there were no figure skating fans in the stands. But the gazes fixed on Xi Ming, along with the air that seemed to have thickened, made him feel as though he were surrounded from all directions.
“Pretty good performance today, right?” Fortunately, Xi Ming didn’t care much about such things, so as he came off the ice, he spoke casually to Zhao Zhengchang.
“Yeah, aside from your combination jump’s rhythm being slightly off, everything else was solid. Your step sequence might even get a Level 4.” Zhao Zhengchang had barely finished his assessment when Xi Ming’s short program scores appeared.
Xi Ming’s final short program score: technical score 41.67, program component score 33.46, total 75.13.
Ranked first.
“Oh.” Xi Ming blinked, somewhat surprised.
He’d thought his performance was good, but he knew his scoring treatment wouldn’t match that of Yu Jinghui, who had results from the previous season. He hadn’t expected the judges to give him such high PCS even a few tenths higher than Yu Jinghui’s.
Still, Xi Ming was naturally happy to get a high score; it meant his performance was recognized. But now, the gazes focused on him truly felt tangible enough that he couldn’t ignore them.
Xi Ming’s hand holding the chopsticks felt inexplicably heavy. He finally set them down and said helplessly to the two people sitting across from him, “Do you two really have to keep staring at me like that? It’s not like I did anything more than rank ahead of Yu Jinghui in the short program I haven’t won the overall title yet.”
Song Yili’s mouth twitched. He felt that Xi Ming’s expression was practically begging for resentment. “What do you mean ‘just ranked ahead of Jinghui’? That’s Jinghui we’re talking about he’s been sweeping domestic competition awards since the juvenile division, and he’s even been called the second Qi Yu.”
“So Yu Jinghui has a title like that? Does he even know about it?” Xi Ming found Song Yili’s tone a bit exaggerated kids these days. “I don’t think Yu Jinghui would like that nickname.”
“Xi-ge, that’s not the point.”
Han Wen, who had been merely spectating throughout this selection competition, lay sprawled on the table looking at Xi Ming. “Maybe you’ll beat Jinghui-ge and take first place in the selection.”
If that happened, it would be a major upset, since Yu Jinghui had always been everyone’s presumed champion. But thinking about Xi Ming’s performance at the training camp, Han Wen felt that maybe Xi-ge really could beat Jinghui-ge because Xi-ge looked really cool and impressive during practice.
Though Han Wen didn’t say it aloud, Xi Ming could naturally tell what he was thinking. He reached out and tapped Han Wen’s forehead, then explained.
“Do you think beating Jinghui is easy? Everyone’s difficulty levels are similar in the short program Jinghui and I are only one point apart.” Xi Ming looked at Han Wen, who was listening intently. “Have you forgotten why Jinghui was first hyped up by everyone?”
“Ah, the quad jump.” Han Wen naturally remembered. Last season, fourteen-year-old Yu Jinghui successfully landed a 4T for the first time at the World Junior Championships, with positive GOE.
Unlike the senior division, where quads are the ticket to entry, in the junior division a quad jump carries enormous weight. Landing one with positive GOE in official competition could easily challenge for medals at the Grand Prix and World Junior Championships.
“Exactly. Jinghui hasn’t even pulled out his trump card yet, so the real focus is tomorrow’s free skate.” Xi Ming stood up, holding his tray. “I’m done eating. I’m going to the training room to practice my choreography. You two coming?”
“Ah!” Two overlapping shouts. Han Wen and Song Yili only then noticed that while they’d been busy staring at Xi Ming, he’d already finished his dinner before them.
“Xi-ge, wait for us”
“I’ll head over first. You two can come later.” Xi Ming waved at them with an amused look, turning away without any sense of team camaraderie.
The two left behind continued their earlier conversation.
“So, Yili, is it really like Xi-ge said tomorrow in the free skate, Jinghui-ge will pull out his quad, and Xi-ge still can’t beat Jinghui-ge?” Han Wen wasn’t biased toward either Xi Ming or Yu Jinghui; he was just curious.
However, Han Wen didn’t hear Song Yili’s answer. He turned his head to see Song Yili staring in the direction Xi Ming had left, lost in thought. “Yili?”
“I don’t know.” Song Yili withdrew his gaze and answered Han Wen. “And call me ge.”
Han Wen stuck out his tongue, automatically ignoring the latter half of Song Yili’s sentence. Song Yili glanced at Han Wen, then returned to his own thoughts about Xi Ming and Yu Jinghui.
In fact, the results of the short program had already essentially determined that the top two would be Xi Ming and Yu Jinghui, as long as neither of them completely collapsed in tomorrow’s free skate. Song Yili was third, but he knew that he was somewhat lacking in difficulty compared to those two, and Li Zhao’s technique in competition was also relatively rough his score couldn’t actually catch up to Xi Ming’s or Yu Jinghui’s.
Then Song Yili thought again of Xi Ming, the undisputed dark horse of this competition.
Since Yu Jinghui began competing as a child, he had achieved many results. He landed a 3A at thirteen and a 4T at fourteen. Yu Jinghui had always been seen as a prodigy in everyone’s eyes. As someone only one year younger than him, Song Yili naturally knew how difficult it was to catch up to Yu Jinghui.
As for Xi Ming, he had always been somewhat unlucky in competitions. People knew there was this young skater who seemed to have some talent for figure skating, but he could never quite meet everyone’s expectations in competition.
But now, looking back, Song Yili realized that at some point his impression of Xi Ming had been reduced to only the recent past. The Xi Ming who had been unremarkable on the ice before had become blurry, and the Xi Ming he had spent daily time with over the past month truly gave him a sense of strength.
Could Xi Ming really defeat Yu Jinghui? Song Yili couldn’t suppress the thought.
Han Wen didn’t know, but Song Yili did Yu Jinghui’s coach hadn’t planned for him to do a quad jump in the selection competition.
“Quad toe loop unfortunate, he touched the ice with his hand, but for a junior skater, it’s still not bad.”
On the second day of the selection competition, during the men’s free skate, Qi Yu arrived on time this time and sat in the stands with Jiang Jun as spectators. When he saw Yu Jinghui land a 4T on his first jump of the free skate, his eyes lit up.
“I heard that originally, Yu Jinghui’s free skate for this competition didn’t include a quad,” Qi Yu said, squinting at Yu Jinghui on the ice. “It seems his little junior brought him some pressure, so he upped the difficulty.”
Yu Jinghui had placed fourth at the World Junior Championships, and his technical details and performance were, in most cases, quite different from many other young male skaters in China. Just on execution scores and component scores alone, Yu Jinghui could pull ahead of everyone else. In that situation, temporarily lowering the difficulty and not adding an unreliable quad was actually a safe strategy.
That is, if there hadn’t been an unexpected standout like Xi Ming.
The music on the ice continued. After a jump into a sit spin, Yu Jinghui entered the jumps in the second half of his program.
Watching Yu Jinghui’s combination jump, where he stumbled in the transition between jumps, Qi Yu sighed helplessly. “Too bad he’s too impatient.”
Yu Jinghui had changed his jump layout to include a quad, perhaps out of genuine seriousness toward the selection competition, but clearly it was more because of Xi Ming.
However, by now, both Qi Yu and Jiang Jun could see that Yu Jinghui’s execution scores for this free skate probably wouldn’t look good. Compared to yesterday’s clean short program, today’s jumps starting from the hand touch on the quad toe loop landing all had flaws to varying degrees. He would likely end up eating a lot of negative GOE.
Moreover, his free skate, The Rose, was based on the musical The Little Prince, originally meant to express loneliness, attachment, and longing. But clearly, the jumps had also affected his body language to some extent, making it seem a bit rushed.
Still, when the music ended, Jiang Jun gave his approval. “Compared to last season, he’s improved. After all, it’s a new program that’s still being polished.”
Qi Yu agreed with Jiang Jun, but he had indeed started paying attention to Xi Ming, who was up next, and then smiled at something amusing. “Speaking of which, there’s quite a coincidence between those two this season both short programs are waltzes, and both free skates are about roses.”
“It does seem that way,” Jiang Jun recalled. Xi Ming’s free skate was The Spirit of the Rose, sharing its name with the ballet, which was also the source of his program.
“Though Yu Jinghui’s is more about the Little Prince, just titled ‘The Rose.’ Xi Ming’s is truly the embodiment of the rose.”
Even though Jiang Jun had only started paying attention to Xi Ming since the Championships, he knew Xi Ming’s expressiveness was excellent, so he was more concerned about Xi Ming’s technical score.
“He doesn’t have a quad, and he just learned the 3A. It’ll still be hard for him to surpass Yu Jinghui in the free skate.”
What Jiang Jun was concerned about was also what others cared about and, of course, what Xi Ming himself had considered. But when he stood on the ice, those thoughts temporarily left him.
At the end of last season, Zhao Zhengchang had asked Xi Ming what kind of program he wanted to choreograph for the new season. At the time, with his attention on the ice, Xi Ming thought for a moment and replied, “Let’s go with a theme of joy and beauty.”
Having returned to the ice, he was extremely happy, and he wanted to convey that happiness and joy to everyone. And so, his new season’s short program, The Nutcracker, and free skate, The Spirit of the Rose, were born.
Under the melody of the Waltz of the Flowers, the Nutcracker presents a grand celebration where everyone dances together.
The Rose Spirit, in contrast to his shorter, more lively program “The Nutcracker,” is a dance of the rose fairy and a maiden dancing in a dream more ethereal and elegant.
As the music begins, Xi Ming raises his arms in a ballet pose, hopping and gliding across the ice. His face relaxes into a joyful smile, as if the rose fairy has slipped in through the window, curiously playing about.
With the cheerful music, Xi Ming leaps high a 3A!
He lands, turns, and glides out, executing a waltz jump, a spread eagle, and a twizzle, his upper body maintaining an elegant posture while his arms shift gracefully. Then, another jump 2A+3T!
Like all figure skaters, Xi Ming keeps up with dance training alongside his on-ice practice, and just as with his skating, he has studied ballet for quite some time. However, compared to his figure skating, he can’t claim to have a natural talent for ballet; this dance is merely a means to maintain his flexibility and enhance his on-ice expressiveness.
But when he performs ballet on the ice, everyone’s gaze is irresistibly drawn to him.
The joyful rose fairy spins and leaps, and as he enters a long step sequence, the rose fairy and the maiden dance together in their dream. When Xi Ming lifts his hands outward on both sides, one can almost see the white hem of the maiden’s skirt flying as she dances with him.
The program concludes with the fairy leaping joyfully once more 3Lo, 3S, 2A…
With the final upright spin, the rose fairy, who has quietly slipped into a dream, seems to dance away happily as the music ends.
As the last note fades, a gentle, delightful dream awakens.