When he heard the result, Ji Heyu’s expression didn’t change, but Lin Anran, who was standing beside him, was incredulous 1 and said, “How is that possible? They gave you zero bonus points?”
Everyone knew how important those 10 bonus points were in a competition where the score for difficulty wasn’t very high.
Ji Heyu didn’t say anything; he simply lowered his eyes quietly, lost in thought. The light fell on the boy’s long eyelashes, casting a hazy glow that made him look exceptionally quiet. Ji Heyu said dimly, “Don’t feel sorry for me.”
Although Ji Yuansong was messing with him, in the end, it was still because he hadn’t scored enough on the difficulty. The technical score is graded strictly according to international regulations and is indeed influenced by the judges’ subjective judgement, but it’s relatively fair. If he could score very high on difficulty, then even if others got the full 10 points, they wouldn’t be able to shake his position. But it was clear that he hadn’t done enough.
For a moment, Lin Anran didn’t know why this 15-year-old boy could remain so calm in the face of such unfair treatment. But he quickly sensed something was off.
“Is it possible that you and this Mr. Ji Yuansong have some sort of grudge?” The identical 2 surnames seemed to hint at something, so Lin Anran hesitantly asked.
Ji Heyu lightly pursed his lips together and replied in a neutral 3 tone, “Who knows?”
His relationship with the Ji family was too complicated, and there was no need to involve more people.
Lin Anran also realised that he had asked too much, so he quickly changed the subject with a cheerful smile and said comfortingly: “Don’t worry, the level of competition in this qualifying round isn’t that great. Even if others add 10 points, they still won’t be able to beat you.”
Ji Heyu nodded and sat silently in the stands, recalling the smooth movements of the boy who had skated earlier. He added a sentence in his heart, “That may not be certain.”
The lactic acid that had accumulated during the competition was now wreaking havoc in his body. Ji Heyu should have gone back to rest, but he wanted to stay until that boy, who might be his competitor, finished his routine. He politely refused Lin Anran’s offer to drive him back and temporarily used the ice packs provided by the rink to soothe his swollen and painful joints and muscles.
Of the dozen or more athletes after Ji Heyu some performed pretty well, but with Ji Heyu’s brilliant performance ahead, ultimately the others seemed to lack by quite a lot. As a result, the judges didn’t give very high scores. Even without the 10-point bonus, Ji Heyu still firmly held first place on the rankings, with 2 points higher than the current second place.
Finally, Ji Heyu saw the person he was waiting for. “Contestant No. 23, Meng Xun, 14 years old, short program ‘Canon’!”
“Canon?”
Currently, the international figure skating circle generally favoured Western classical music among which “Canon,”4 “Swan Lake,” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, etc, are simply disaster areas. It’s common for many contestants to choose the same piece of music, and sometimes it can even appear in a single competition and clash.
“Canon” has a simple rhythm, a light and lively melody, and a relaxed atmosphere, which is very suitable for boys of this age. It’s also a popular piece in the international figure skating circle, so in terms of music choice, it’s hard to say how much more professional this Meng Xun is compared to others.
Ji Heyu had seen countless versions of “Canon.” Even though they were adapted from the same piano song, different athletes have their own distinct arrangements and interpretation styles. He wondered what kind of arrangement Meng Xun would bring.
As the music played, the boy on the ice, dressed in a bright-coloured costume, resembled a warm, flowing flame, presenting a version of “Canon” full of youthful energy to the audience and judges.
Twenty years of experience on the ice rink had honed Ji Heyu’s vision to asses people and had become incredibly accurate.
This Meng Xun’s fundamentals were solid. He didn’t have the serious faults that were common in the current international figure skating circle. He could execute beautiful jumps and also didn’t neglect his skating skills. Especially in that large one pattern, although the opening wasn’t as great as his own and the leg line wasn’t as straight, the edge work was deep, and the effect was already impressive.
Ji Heyu instinctively put himself in the persona of a senior big brother to analyse the performance, and for a moment he forgot that he was just a boy, who was only one year older than him and had less experience in figure skating than him.
On the ice, Meng Xun seemed at ease 5, handling difficult footwork and spins effortlessly, and his timing was fairly accurate. Several jumps landed perfectly on the beat without any close calls.6
Although “Canon” has a distinct rhythm, achieving this level of performance at Meng Xun’s age is already quite impressive.
So far, Meng Xun has displayed a beautiful 2A, a 3T+2T combination jump, and a clean 3S. Apart from slightly underrotating on some jumps, there were no major technical issues.
His edge work was a bit indistinct, but after all, he was only this age and had not received professional training, it was normal to have these issues. With more professional coaching, these problems would likely be resolved with time.
“This kid’s talent isn’t bad,” Ji Heyu couldn’t help but say.
Seeing that Ji Heyu’s mood seemed okay, Lin Anran joked, “Kid? (my) Little friend Ji, he’s 14 this year, you’re only 15 years old! Plus, he looks taller than you.”
Ji Heyu’s face heated up, clearly realising that his words were inappropriate, so he shifted the subject: “That’s not the point. The point is, he is very talented.”
Lin Anran silently swallowed back his unfinished remarks into his stomach
It seemed Ji Heyu still didn’t realise that his tone wasn’t like that of a young figure skater contestant, but rather like a big brother in the circle wanting to see the young people grow up quickly.
Lin Anran subconsciously associated him with his friend Jiang Yiqing.
The young boy beside him watched the ice with a serious and focused expression, with a flame of infatuation burning in his eyes.
He loved this piece of ice.
He was also very talented.
Jiang Yiqing had complained to him several times about not finding anyone to take over the heavy burden.
…So, could the young man by his side be that person?
This thought only appeared for a moment before Lin Anran dismissed it.
Ji Heyu is just a 15-year-old kid, and his skill level was far from being a top contestant. Why was he thinking so much about this?
This isn’t even his event.
He should concentrate on watching the competition seriously.
The arrangement of Meng Xun’s short program was pretty good, and the arrangement of difficulty was also very suitable for him. Except for a moment where he touched the ice on his 3F, the other jumps didn’t have any obvious mistakes. During the final combination spin, his speed was a little out of control, but fortunately, he found his rhythm again at the end, finishing his short programme with a relatively perfect ending.
Ji Heyu had developed a bad habit that came from being the “big brother” 7 for so long.
He has a sharp eye and is quite picky when watching figure skaters of the same seniority and level as him. This is why, even when watching Yevgeni’s competition videos, he found many issues despite his admiration.
But when he watches the younger generation of athletes, he unconsciously feels fondness, encouragement, as well as hope.
The generation change in figure skating is extremely fast. Years of training and competitions put a tremendous burden on the skater’s body, and this sport itself has extremely high physical demands on the athletes. No matter how formidable an athlete is, their professional careers will at most only last these few years; skating until 25 years isn’t that easy.
Therefore, even if an athlete is just one or two years younger than him, in Ji Heyu’s eyes, they are considered hope for the future, his potential “successors.”
Previously when he was on the national team, everyone knew that even knew Ji Heyu, as the “big brother,” although he always kept a cold face, he was very kind to the younger people and was lenient and never hesitated to give them tips on their movements. As a result, later on, when someone was harshly criticised by the coach, they would go to Ji Heyu for “comfort,” because Ji Heyu would encourage them by pointing out their strengths and teaching them how to correct their weaknesses.
Just like now.
Even though he doesn’t know Meng Xun at all, Ji Heyu has already subconsciously planned how to help him improve.
Ji Heyu could see that Meng Xun, like himself, genuinely loved this project. Since he’s willing to focus on practising the basic techniques, getting rid of these flaws will definitely not be an issue.
As long as he properly polishes (his skills), in the future, Meng Xun might have a place 8 on the stage of future World Junior Championships.
But whether the other person surpasses Ji Heyu?
Sorry, Ji Heyu hasn’t even thought about this question.
However, Ji Heyu somewhat had a vague expectation.
He won’t get first place in this division this time in the sectional competition. 9
For Ji Heyu, who had once stood at the top of the figure skating circle, it was quite embarrassing that he not only was he unable to get first place in such a small competition but even unable to produce a perfect programme.
But compared to being the only “outstanding” 10 one in this level relying on an imperfect performance, Ji Heyu still preferred for someone else to receive first place, even if it’s due to the 10 inflated points given by Ji Yuansong, contestants that the younger generation of figure skating circle is full of hope.
After the next contestant short programme concluded, the host called out Meng Xun’s score.
“Contestant No. 23, Meng Xun, judge’s technical score 34.27, programme score 38.71, overall score 72.98—”
Compared to the many people in fronts, this score is already pretty good, especially with Ji Heyu’s “upper bound” of 45.60 for program scores. Menwereun’s 38.71 is considered not easy to get.
After all, Ji Heyu’s programme arrangement and appeal was very good, and his performance had almost set a ceiling 11 for programme scores in this competition.
And the overall score of 72.98 means that with just 10 bonus points, Meng Xun could surpass Ji Heyu’s total of 82.74 and become the first-place winner!
Sure enough, the announcer’s next sentence was: “Programme bonus points 10 points.”
Meng Xun got 82.98, although it was only a decimal point higher than Ji Heyu’s 82.74 , but the result was clear.
The position on the ranking list moved slightly, and the name that is ranked first is ‘Meng Xun.’
The subtle difference of 0.24 points stung Meng Xun’s eyes fiercely, but his coach, who had accompanied him, was so happy, his face was flushed with joy as he warmly patted Meng Xun on the back and said with a smile, “See, I told you, he’s not as good as you!”
In the club coach’s eyes, what was important wasn’t how well he skated, but rather the trophy awarded by the league. As long as they have the trophy, their club can publicize it externally.
Meng Xun avoided his movement and faintly glanced at him, turning round to leave the waiting area.
He didn’t return to his seat but instead squeezed through the crowd with difficulty, heading toward where Ji Heyu was.
—
The author has something to say:
I won’t go into detail about the supporting role’s competition. We only need to lick 12 Ji Baobei, Slurp~.
[PS: Meng Xun is set to be an athlete with average talent but above average effort, but still can’t beat or roll over our Ji Baobei, QAQ]
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Ji Baobei is super charismatic!!! I’m screaming!!!
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(sxhbyc ᥫ᭡ footnotes:)
(guys I’m just pre-warning you, If I don’t post for a while it’s probably because my laptop’s broke. I dropped it and now it’s glitching)
