The atmosphere now was probably a repeat of yesterday’s short program. Xi Ming and Zhao Zhengchang sat together, no longer surprised by the feeling of suppressed emotions about to erupt beneath the silence.
This time, even Zhao Zhengchang was somewhat nervous, probably because he too felt that Xi Ming had a chance of defeating Yu Jinghui.
If Yu Jinghui’s free skate performance was anything like his short program, no one would think Xi Ming could surpass him his base score alone was already 6 points higher than Xi Ming’s.
However, Yu Jinghui happened to make mistakes in the free skate, with his execution score going directly negative, while Xi Ming’s performance was visibly excellent. As long as Xi Ming’s execution score added a few points, the gap between him and Yu Jinghui would become very small.
But everything was still just an “if.”
Xi Ming looked at his revealed score, and the ranking after adding his short program score second place, right behind Yu Jinghui.
It was no surprise to Xi Ming, and just like in the short program, the judges had given him a very high P-score again: 66.01, nearly matching Yu Jinghui.
Xi Ming turned to Zhao Zhengchang, who had remained silent since the scores came out, and tried to comfort him. “I didn’t get first place, but my score is very close to Yu Jinghui’s. Also, my P-score was quite high, which means my performance was well received.”
His total score and Yu Jinghui’s could no longer be called merely close they were nearly tied. One was 216.56, the other 216.37, a difference of mere decimals.
Zhao Zhengchang was currently carrying Xi Ming’s jacket and water bottle as they walked toward the backstage area. After hearing Xi Ming’s words, he gave him a surprised look. “What? You thought you could beat Yu Jinghui? So you actually had thoughts of taking first place?”
The master and apprentice exchanged a glance.
Xi Ming immediately understood his coach had never held such high expectations for him. The nervousness he had sensed earlier was probably just anticipation that Xi Ming would perform well and achieve a relatively good score.
Meanwhile, Zhao Zhengchang belatedly realized that Xi Ming’s comment was likely because he thought his coach expected him to take first place, and was trying to comfort him when he didn’t. Then he had inadvertently revealed that his expectations weren’t as high as Xi Ming had assumed. Ahem, that was a bit awkward.
The two tacitly averted their gazes. Zhao Zhengchang squeezed the water bottle in his hand and said, “Anyway, you’ve secured two Grand Prix spots now. Make sure you perform well there.”
“Mm.” Xi Ming responded, though Zhao Zhengchang couldn’t quite tell if it was a dissatisfied grunt.
“Your P-score is very high, almost approaching Yu Jinghui’s, which shows everyone has high hopes for your Grand Prix performance,” Zhao Zhengchang added.
“Shhh” In response, came the sound of Xi Ming zipping up his jacket.
Alright, now Zhao Zhengchang knew his student was indeed somewhat dissatisfied with his coach, because he hadn’t expected Xi Ming to beat Yu Jinghui.
To be honest, this was a bit unreasonable. Setting aside the fact that if Zhao Zhengchang were a strict coach, Xi Ming’s behavior would have earned him a few scoldings his opponent was Yu Jinghui, the undisputed top of the junior division. No one in their right mind would have thought Xi Ming could rise up and take first place.
But what could he do? Zhao Zhengchang was a good-tempered coach, and Xi Ming had been under his wing since age seven. He knew Xi Ming was the most spoiled child in his family, occasionally throwing small tantrums with those close to him and Zhao Zhengchang, who saw him almost every day, naturally fell into that category.
“Alright, I admit it when I saw the final score, I did think that if only you had performed a bit better in the free skate and scored a few tenths more to beat Yu Jinghui, that would have been great.” Zhao Zhengchang could only look around furtively like a thief and admit the fleeting thought he’d had upon seeing the results.
For Xi Ming, Yu Jinghui was not invincible.
Xi Ming’s little temper came and went quickly. Just moments ago, he had been upset that Zhao Zhengchang didn’t believe in his abilities enough, but now he felt that he had been somewhat childish, even unreasonable.
After all, he wasn’t the figure skating prodigy that everyone had their eyes on in his previous life.
It must be because he was being influenced by his current fifteen-year-old self. Definitely.
But before Xi Ming could say anything to make up with Zhao Zhengchang, he was interrupted by footsteps from the end of the corridor, accompanied by Qi Yu’s cheerful voice, “Little junior, guess what”
Having just finished his free skate, Xi Ming was actually quite tired now. The fact that he wasn’t knocked over by the charging Qi Yu was entirely thanks to Zhao Zhengchang’s outstretched arm blocking him.
So now Qi Yu was standing obediently at Xi Ming’s side.
“Congratulations on securing two spots, little junior~” However, as someone Xi Ming had always described as overly familiar, thick-skinned, and a sly old fox, Qi Yu naturally spoke to Xi Ming with a beaming smile and no hint of embarrassment. “I’m looking forward to your performance at the Grand Prix. With the way you are now, you might even make it to the finals.”
“That remains to be seen after the competition,” Xi Ming said, glancing at Qi Yu.
He certainly didn’t think that just because he’d scored nearly the same as Yu Jinghui in a qualifying round and earned a score that would hold up well on the international stage he was now standing at the forefront of the junior division worldwide.
Even Yu Jinghui, who at thirteen had mastered all six triple jumps and could land high-level triple-triple combinations, and at fourteen had landed a 4T in a major competition a skater who had been showered with praise domestically his entire career had only managed seventh place at the Grand Prix and fourth at the World Junior Championships last year on the international stage.
Those were certainly respectable results, but looking at the entire world, among the age-eligible junior skaters right now, there were already two holding Junior Grand Prix titles and one World Junior Champion. If you listed all the Grand Prix top-six finishers and World Junior top-six finishers, there would be more than ten skaters.
“So you’re not denying it, then that you can push for the final and all that.” Qi Yu suddenly looked at Xi Ming seriously.
They stared at each other, and Xi Ming felt that Qi Yu’s gaze at this moment seemed to want to see right through him past his calm exterior, to the heart that had never truly settled since the competition, still thrilled by the contest.
Xi Ming looked away first. “Every skater who enters a competition is striving for the final and the title I’m no exception. But right now, my skills aren’t at that level yet. I know my limits.”
Right now, huh. Qi Yu chuckled inwardly, then resumed his usual smiling demeanor. “True enough. But I’ve got high hopes for you, little junior.”
“Oh? Then should I take that as a vote of confidence from a senior who won silver at the World Junior Championships and took the Grand Prix title during his junior years?” Xi Ming curled the corner of his mouth.
“Don’t say it like that it’s oddly embarrassing.” Qi Yu covered his face with his hand. Even though those were indeed his achievements, having Xi Ming tease him about it like that made even someone who prided himself on being a man who’d seen it all feel a bit sheepish.
Qi Yu steadied himself, then returned to a normal demeanor to speak with Xi Ming.
“Little junior, how about this if you make it to the Grand Prix final, I’ll teach you the quadruple jump. What do you say?”
Xi Ming looked up at Qi Yu, but didn’t react with the anticipation Qi Yu had expected. “Not interested.”
Why? Shouldn’t the quadruple jump be incredibly appealing to these kids? And wasn’t the gap between Xi Ming and Yu Jinghui precisely the quadruple jump?
Just as Qi Yu was about to have an existential crisis, Xi Ming suddenly smiled and extended his hand. “But then again, it’s a lesson from an Olympic silver medalist, so of course I’d be willing to learn. To make sure he doesn’t back out, let’s seal the deal with a high-five.”
“You…” Qi Yu snapped out of it, shook his head with a helpless smile, and ruffled Xi Ming’s curly hair before raising his hand to meet Xi Ming’s in a crisp high-five. “Deal.”
“Alright, I’ve taken up enough of your time with your friends go celebrate.” Qi Yu, as if he’d accomplished something he’d been longing to do, waved and walked away.
Zhao Zhengchang, who had witnessed the entire exchange, looked at Qi Yu’s retreating figure with confusion. “So he just came to say he’d teach you the quad? But his quad was originally taught by me, you know.”
This is where the relationship between Qi Yu and Zhao Zhengchang needs some introduction. Zhao Zhengchang was actually Qi Yu’s first coach. Later, when Zhao went to Russia as an assistant coach to improve his teaching skills, Qi Yu followed the provincial team coach Yang Wu, a recently retired figure skating coach. By the time Qi Yu made it to the national team, Zhao Zhengchang, having completed his studies abroad, was also recruited to the national team as a coach, and he remained one of Qi Yu’s coaches through his junior years.
It was only later that Zhao Zhengchang left the national team to coach at a club, and because he hadn’t produced any notable professional skaters, his reputation gradually faded. By now, the coach most widely associated with Qi Yu was Yang Wu.
This was also why Qi Yu always called Xi Ming “little junior” until Qi Yu turned seventeen, he had technically been Zhao Zhengchang’s student.
As for Xi Ming, he was the first student Zhao Zhengchang took on after leaving the national team. Xi Ming’s first coach, recognizing his talent, had recommended him to Zhao. And he’d been teaching him ever since.
Zhao Zhengchang’s comment made Xi Ming laugh. After chuckling for a moment, he explained to his coach, “Don’t worry about Brother Qi. He’s just going through some adult-onset anxiety.”
So when he saw a promising junior, he always wanted to nurture them, or see if there was any chance of accelerating their growth. How did Xi Ming know this? Of course, it was from the occasional glances Qi Yu cast his way the same feeling he’d gotten from the national team coaches or the senior men’s skaters in his previous life.
It was that feeling of seeing a sprout full of promise, something bright and shining but sighing at how young and small it still was.
Watching Zhao Zhengchang begin to worry about his former disciple’s mental state, Xi Ming clapped his hands reassuringly. “It’s fine, Coach. Next time I’ll make Qi-ge act normal again.”
Having just won an Olympic silver medal and reached the pinnacle of his career, Qi Yu still had plenty of passion left to burn he wasn’t suited for overthinking right now.
He currently had no intention of carrying everyone’s expectations for figure skating on his shoulders. Being the second-best in the junior group suited him just fine, even if he couldn’t help but harbor ambitions to surpass the top dog from time to time.
“Alright, Qi-ge being a bit odd isn’t a real problem we can worry about that later.” Xi Ming nudged Zhao Zhengchang. “If we don’t head back soon, the people rushing to congratulate us will come swarming over. My phone is about to explode with messages.”