What was the most important thing about going to high altitude?

Sunscreen.

This was what Zhang Jue’s former agent, Bai Xiaozhen, said. After graduating from college, Bai went on a high-altitude trip with classmates and ended up with severe sunburns, having to wrap himself up like a rice dumpling.

So, when Zhang Jue arrived in Chongqing, the first thing he did was look for a mall to buy sunscreen products. When he returned to the hotel, he saw Zhang Junbao happily chatting in the hotel lobby with a well-known veteran speed skater.

The two were the same age and had fought once in their younger years. Afterward, they became friends. However, Zhang Jue’s uncle had been sidelined by injuries early on, while the veteran was still active, preparing for his fourth Winter Olympics.

In figure skating, especially men’s singles, the injury rate is high. After all, progress in solo jumps, particularly quadruple jumps, comes from pushing oneself, and quadruple jumps are notorious for causing injuries. Zhang Jue’s contemporaries, Illya and Hayato Teraoka, both two years older, had suffered injuries and endured cortisone shots due to quadruple jumps.

Last year, Zhang Jue didn’t see any top male singles skaters over the age of 28 in the senior international competitions. In other sports, athletes around 30 still had a chance to keep competing.

Sigh. Zhang Jue himself was a men’s singles skater. Though he competed in his first Winter Olympics at 16, he had already received three cortisone injections. He wondered if he could make it to the 2022 Olympics.

Zhang Jue had fully adopted an athlete’s mindset. He couldn’t help but think about the next Olympics in his hometown. If his body could hold up, he was keen to compete in his third Winter Games.

After all, until 2022, the number of male skaters in China who could master two types of quadruple jumps was still fewer than three. If he wasn’t worn down by injuries, Zhang Jue believed he would remain highly competitive by then.

Hmm, being able to maintain competitiveness for so long should be a good thing. So why did he feel so sad when he thought about how few good men’s singles skaters they had?

As the lone top skater, his shoulders felt heavy.

Fortunately, quite a few athletes were joining this high-altitude training session. Even kids like Cha Hanbuhua and Min Shan, who had just won the national junior group competition and were preparing for the World Junior Championships, had come along.

The future of men’s singles looked bleak, and the future of women’s singles looked even bleaker. They hadn’t had a breakout star since Chen Zhu.

Zhang Jue discreetly cast an expectant glance at the two kids.

When senior skaters like me can’t skate anymore, it’ll be your turn.

Oh, wait, girls usually peak at around 15 and retire even earlier. Min Shan was three years younger than Zhang Jue, but if she had more injuries in the future, she might retire even earlier than him.

If Zhang Jue were going on a trip, he’d first check where the good food was. But as an athlete, he had to watch his diet. So Tibetan-style white sausages and dried beef and lamb were off the table. He could only hope the coaches would be kind enough to let him try some butter tea and tsampa.

It seemed that the national team had long wanted Zhang Jue’s uncle and Coach Shen to come along, and since Coach Lu was a key figure in adjusting Zhang Jue’s technique, once it was confirmed that Coach Lu was healthy, the coaching team decided to come with Zhang Jue.

Side note: Zhang Jue had only just learned that Coach Lu was a photography enthusiast who often traveled with his wife. So, it was likely that Coach Lu was the most familiar with the Tibetan region, having traveled there many times after retirement.

The only puzzling thing was why the cafeteria lady had come along too, but that wasn’t important. Zhang Jue had always been satisfied with her cooking. While the nutritional meals weren’t particularly tasty, they filled him up without making him gain weight—ideal for an athlete.

Of course, they traveled to Tibet by plane. When Zhang Jue boarded the plane, he found it filled with people from the sports system. Many young people were seated in the middle. As soon as Zhang Jue sat down, Mi Yuan Yuan from the row in front greeted him, and a group of girls handed him posters, asking for his autograph.

Even though they were all athletes in the same discipline, Zhang Jue, being the top star, was still top-tier in popularity. For the first time, he clearly felt just how popular he was in China’s figure skating circle.

When he participated in talent shows in the past, he had a fair number of fans, but when signing autographs, most of the fans were from Yun Si camp. Zhang Jue’s fanbase had always been unstable, partly because he had a lot of haters, including some professional trolls who were paid to attack him.

But by this point, Zhang Jue had fully committed himself to figure skating.

He had once wanted to be an idol because, after losing all his family, he felt too lonely, and the love and attention from fans had made him cling to that stage. But now, he realized he still preferred being an athlete. Even if every industry had its own issues, the sports world was a place where strong performance was the surest way to succeed.

Zhang Jue loved the feeling of flying on the ice, loved the passionate fans, the environment, and the time spent working hard with everyone.

Just then, he heard a loud crash. Turning his head, he saw someone had fallen, cup and all, and Coach Lu was standing in front of him.

Cha Hanbuhua also turned around, asking: “What happened?”

Min Shan asked with concern: “Is everything okay?”

Since it involved Coach Lu, Zhang Jue got up: “I’ll go check.”

When Zhang Jue approached, he saw a young man still on the ground. His face was gentle and handsome, but his eyes were wide with shock.

Wait, why did that face look so familiar?

Zhang Jue stared at the face for two seconds, and a flash of surprise lit up his strikingly handsome features.

He clapped his hands and excitedly exclaimed: “Second Fatty, is that you?”

The girl sitting nearby was stunned: “How do you know Second Fatty’s nickname?”

Wasn’t Zhang Jue a top figure skater from H Province? How did he know their youth pairs skater from J Province?

As soon as she spoke, Jiang Xiuling knew he couldn’t avoid it any longer. His face turned even paler, but he still shook Zhang Jue’s outstretched hand and let him help him up.

Zhang Jue was known as “Second Fatty” and Jiang Xiuling “Second Fatty,” but the difference had nothing to do with their ages. Zhang Jue had simply been chubbier as a kid, like a walking ball of meat, so Jiang Xiuling ended up being “Second Fatty.”

But Jiang Xiuling was actually a year older than Zhang Jue, and now he realized that his childhood “bully” was about 5 cm taller than him, even though Jiang Xiuling was a pairs skater. He couldn’t help but sigh.

No wonder this guy, who had once been round as a ball, had become a prodigy, landing a 2A on the ground at such a young age. Even though he’d shot up in height, he’d managed to make it.

Thanks to his childhood experiences, Jiang Xiuling was mentally tough. He forced a smile and greeted them.

“Coach Lu, Zhang Jue, long time no see.”

Coach Lu acknowledged him with a grunt: “Where’s Young Ma? I’ll go catch up with him.”

Jiang Xiuling pointed in a direction, and Coach Lu left immediately. Jiang Xiuling looked at Zhang Jue, who showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he asked the ice dance skater, Hua Taishi, sitting next to Jiang Xiuling, if they could switch seats, clearly planning to have a proper chat with him.

Jiang Xiuling sighed inwardly, watching as Hua Taishi quickly packed his things and left. Zhang Jue happily sat down, patting Jiang Xiuling on the leg.

“You’ve lost so much weight! I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Luo Mi curiously looked at her partner and Zhang Yige, puzzled, and asked: “You two… know each other?”

Jiang Xiuling’s face looked lifeless, while Zhang Jue beamed with joy, and they answered in unison: “Yes, we know each other.”

Zhang Jue said: “We started playing together when we were 2 years old. Later, we skated together in Coach Lu’s beginner class. We were the best of friends back then!”

It was well known that Zhang Jue had many friends, but very few were ever called his “best friends.” Bai Ye’s disciple Masako was one of them, and now this seemingly average, not-so-famous pairs skating partner was suddenly given that title. Naturally, many people were curious.

Ladies’ singles top skater Mi Yuan Yuan and pairs champions Guan Lin and Huang Ying all gathered around. Men’s singles skaters Jin Zixuan, Dong Xiaolong, and Liu Yeming, who were sitting in the front row, along with Zhang Jue’s juniors and other figure skaters nearby, also focused their attention on the conversation.

Suddenly, Jiang Xiuling found himself in the center of attention.

Jin Zixuan leaned over the seatback and asked curiously: “How did you two become friends?”

Zhang Jue replied: “Huh? That was when we were 2 years old. How could I possibly remember?”

Jiang Xiuling, in a sorrowful tone, said: “I was 3 at the time, and I remember… I was sitting at the door eating winter melon candy, and then this fat little girl in a crocodile onesie stood in front of me sucking her thumb, as if it were a crime not to give her some candy. So, I gave her a piece of winter melon candy. Later, I found out that the sweet little girl wasn’t a girl at all.”

It was a mischievous little brother.

That beginning seemed to foreshadow the years of pranks and trouble Jiang Xiuling would endure from this sweet, cute-looking little ball of mischief, though he didn’t know it at the time.

Zhang Jue boasted: “Even though I ate your candy, I was good to you afterward! I always thought of you when I did anything. After you, I never cared as much about any other friend.”

As Zhang Jue’s cheerful tone and Jiang Xiuling’s lifeless voice intertwined, a ridiculous childhood story began to unfold.

Zhang Jue reminisced with a smile: “I still remember the first time I got into a fight at age 4. I used a stool to take on Er Ya from the neighboring Cherry Class and his buddies, and Second Fatty was my only ally.”

Jiang Xiuling added: “At that time, he suddenly shoved a slipper into my hand and told me we were going to war. When the battle between the Corn Class and the Cherry Class ended, the principal showed up, wearing only one shoe.”

Zhang Jue was embarrassed for a second: “Wait? That was the principal’s slipper? I thought it was Teacher Mi’s!”

Their class was the Corn Class, and the main teacher’s last name was Mi.

Forget it, whose slipper it was didn’t matter anymore. Zhang Jue continued recalling.

“Around 2004, there was a near outbreak of SARS again. Our homeroom teacher was called to a meeting about epidemic prevention. After I finished my homework and got bored, I led the whole class into a chalk fight. Second Fatty was the main attacker, and I was the strategist and commander. I even drew a piggy hero on the blackboard as our team’s emblem.”

Jiang Xiuling’s tone was dead: “Then the principal caught us, and we got in trouble. His mom beat him with a clothes hanger in the hallway, and my mom didn’t expect me to get in trouble at the principal’s office, so she didn’t have anything on hand and had to borrow a ruler from the teacher.”

Zhang Jue hesitated for a moment: “Well… getting spanked together is also a rare childhood memory, right?”

He cleared his throat: “Besides, when you had your first loose tooth, you kept complaining about how uncomfortable it was, but you were too scared to go to the dentist. In the end, I was the one who came up with a way to give you the courage.”

Jiang Xiuling closed his eyes in despair: “And your way was to convince Coach Lu to take me on a bus to the dentist. On the way, you tricked me, saying I’d see something amazing.”

Zhang Jue awkwardly replied: “Well, dentists are pretty amazing!”

Second Fatty angrily retorted: “Dentists aren’t a thing!”

The others, now drenched in sweat from hearing these ridiculous stories, said: “Wait, that’s your takeaway from all this?”

Huang Ying, a sensitive girl and Second Fatty’s senior, felt especially sorry for him at that moment. She held Jiang Xiuling’s hand and said: “My dear Second Fatty, I’ll never steal your milk candies again!”

Guan Lin agreed: “Having Zhang Jue as a childhood friend must’ve been tough.”

Zhang Jue protested: “Hey, hey, I was really good to him back then, okay? Don’t act like I was some kind of childhood nightmare!”

Everyone else replied: “Weren’t you?”

 

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