Due to a live broadcast from celebrities during the National Championships, Zhang Jue accidentally appeared in the livestream camera and inexplicably gained a group of new fans. Afterward, these fangirls from the fan circles started collecting information about Zhang Jue, learning more about this breathtakingly handsome ice skater.

Soon, an article about Zhang Jue climbed to the trending list.

Zhang Jue, male, 19 years old, the youngest and strongest fighter among the top three in men’s figure skating, also holds another title — the highest-earning athlete in the history of figure skating.

Before him, the title was held by retired Italian former world champion Helena, who had connections in the fashion industry through her mother and was a beautiful, stunning woman. She earned $7.7 million annually, ranking 10th among the world’s top female sports stars, a record from the Sochi cycle’s early years.

In women’s figure skating, one of the four figure skating disciplines, the most popular event, five out of every four top-earning figure skaters historically were from women’s singles.

In 2015, Zhang Jue broke Helena’s annual income record and continued to earn more year after year. He regularly made it into the Forbes annual list of top 100 highest-paid athletes, even though last season, due to injuries, he didn’t win the World Championship gold medal. Nevertheless, advertisers still waved more cash to boost Zhang Jue’s income.

Before even reaching adulthood, Zhang Jue had already reached the highest popularity in the figure skating field, earning him the most advertising resources. Although figure skating isn’t as popular as other sports, Zhang Jue had already become the most prominent figure in winter sports in the eyes of fans.

In the past off-season, Zhang Jue received a perfume advertisement deal from a top luxury brand, then became the spokesperson for a luxury sports car, and finally landed a contract with an expensive watch brand. Along with an ongoing mobile phone endorsement, Zhang Jue’s income reached $29 million, placing him in the top 50 of Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes.

Zhang Jue became the highest-ranked winter sports athlete on this list. Unlike athletes from ball sports whose salary and competition bonuses make up half of their income, Zhang Jue’s earnings were supported primarily by commercial performances and advertising endorsements.

These days, people might not pay attention to an athlete in a niche sport, but they certainly take notice of someone who is wealthy.

At 19, Zhang Jue’s fortune made him a center of attention, especially considering that he earned more quietly than many fans’ older brothers!

Zhang Jue: “Well, even the taxes I paid could’ve bought me a new apartment in Beijing.”

The most surprising thing was that Zhang Jue had donated more than half of his income.

Actually, Zhang Jue didn’t seem passionate about charity in the eyes of many. Aside from training and attending university to serve the corn (a reference to his studies), he had little public exposure. He kept a low profile, rarely posting on his public accounts, and even his event schedules were enough to excite his fans.

However, Zhang Jue’s private account was a highly active pet blogger with 300,000 followers.

He didn’t publicly talk about charity work, so to most people, it seemed like he hadn’t done anything notable. Zhang Jue didn’t speak about his charitable acts, didn’t participate in any public charity events, and only donated money quietly, which meant no one knew about his good deeds.

Since he didn’t like driving, Zhang Jue was mostly chauffeured by Dr. Qin or his coaches. He mostly wore sportswear and ate in the cafeteria. Except for buying the occasional high-end costume for competitions, he didn’t have any extravagant spending habits. People didn’t really sense how wealthy he was.

So when he went to training, Huang Ying ran over and patted his shoulder on tiptoe, saying: “I used to think the income gap between us wasn’t that big, but I just realized I make one zero less than you. Impressive, as expected of the captain.”

Huang Ying, the same age as Zhang Jue, earned an eight-digit income, which was already at the level of a small rich lady. Among female figure skaters, her income was second only to Qingzi, Min Shan, Katerina, Serena, and Yoon Meijing.

Zhang Jue scratched his head: “I guess my looks have something to do with my income. Let’s not talk about money. How’s your foot?”

The young girl paused and sighed: “I talked it over with Brother Lin, and we decided not to go to the Four Continents. We’ll let little Pang and Luo Mi go and focus on preparing for the World Championships.”

Guan Lin slid over and said with a wry smile: “Ying Ying’s foot injury has healed enough for competition, but my right shoulder is the problem. Yesterday, I almost dropped her.”

Huang Ying stood with her hands on her hips, grinning and comforting her partner: “It’s okay, the rest now is just to better prepare for the gold medal in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.”

This year’s Four Continents Championship was in Seoul, South Korea, with no significant time difference. Zhang Jue, surprisingly, didn’t feel jet-lagged and was in good spirits when he got off the plane.

Someone shouted: “Juexi, long time no see.”

Only Koreans add the sound “xi” after names. Zhang Jue turned around and saw a small and handsome young man looking at him.

“Zheng Juexi!”

Zhang Jue jogged to him: “Is your body okay now? We haven’t seen each other since you retired. How’s everything?”

Choi Jeong-su, with a flushed face and relaxed demeanor, replied: “I’m doing great now. I’m coaching with Salen at the Keten Club and planning to form a North American coaching duo to challenge Coach Zhang and Coach Shen for the top coach position in men’s figure skating.”

“It won’t be easy to beat them.”

Zhang Jue tilted his head: “Also, as a coach, the most important thing is to have good material. Among North American men’s singles, Carlson’s coach has been with his first coach since he started skating. Arthur Cohn’s coach is a distinguished U.S. figure skating coach, and there was a huge battle over who would take him. Where are you going to find someone better than them?”

“Well—guess we’ll see. Anyway, I’ve graduated from college, and I’ll stay in Canada unless something unexpected happens.”

Choi Jeong-su smiled: “I won’t change my nationality, but I might return to Korea as I get older. All my insurances are domestic, but I think the skating environment in North America is better. Plus, if I stay there, I won’t have to worry about the Korean Ice Skating Federation getting in my way when I go out with Meijing and Meng Cheng.”

This time, Zhang Jue, Cha Hanbuhua, Jin Zixuan, Min Shan, Xu Chuo, Jiang Xiuling Luo Mi, and other small pairs and Thai ice skaters came to the Four Continents, with Choi Jeong-su personally taking them to the hotel.

Kazakhstan is also an Asian country, so the “Dreams Come True” team will compete in the Four Continents instead of the European Championships, though many understood that they preferred to go to the European Championships instead.

When Zhang Jue parted ways with Choi Jeong-su, he quietly asked: “How’s Meijing and Meng Cheng doing over there?”

Choi Jeong-su shook his head, glanced around, and sighed: “Meijing’s family came to visit. They let her change nationality because things got too messy. Her parents were embarrassed by her, so they disowned her. But after her income reached the top 100 female athletes, they’ve been constantly harassing her.”

“But Meng Cheng is taking good care of her. They’re currently living in an apartment in Seoul, where the lawyer who helped them is letting them stay. They only eat the instant noodles they bring, and except for competitions and joint performances, they stay at home.”

Even Yoon Meijing, who was crowned “The Best Ice Dance Partner of All Time” and is a top figure in Asian ice dance, must have felt powerless when facing such situations.

Zhang Jue: “I brought kimchi that my roommate made. Do you think Meijing and the others will eat it?”

Cui Zhengshu: “Roommate? Didn’t you live with your family? Wait, since you’ve moved out, you probably want to live alone, right? With your financial status, you don’t need to share a place with anyone. Is the kimchi your roommate made the northeastern kind?”

Zhang Jue answered each of his questions: “My roommate is the grandson of a doctor I’ve known since I was little. He’s an orthopedic doctor and offers high-quality massage services. He’s excellent at housework and takes care of my pets when I’m away for competitions, and he tends to the vegetables I grow on the balcony. Plus, he’s really good at driving and takes me out for drives when I’m feeling down. I really enjoy living with him. He’s of Russian descent, so the kimchi he made is the Russian kind.”

Cui Zhengshu suddenly understood. It seemed that Zhang Jue wasn’t just living with a roommate but with an all-round housekeeper who also acted as a chef, cleaner, and chauffeur.

That evening, Qin Xuejun’s Russian-style kimchi won over the top Asian ice dance duo and the former South Korean male singles champion.

The three of them unanimously agreed: it was delicious, and Zhang Jue was lucky to have such a housekeeper.

Soon, Zhang Jue realized that this year’s Four Continents Championship was particularly chaotic. Not only did it clash with his own performance, but it also led to Huang Ying and Guan Lin being eliminated before the competition, which caused Meijing and Mengcheng a lot of frustration. Other athletes had constant problems as well.

Aside from Mengcheng’s team, North American ice dancers weren’t doing great either. The top Canadian ice dance duo got food poisoning from yogurt at the hotel’s restaurant, causing them to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea. During their performance, they were so weak that they could barely move.

A male singles athlete from the Philippines fell during warm-up on the wet ice, and an ambulance was called. He was later diagnosed with a bone fracture and had to return home for rest.

As for Hayato Teraoka, he had a performance similar to Zhang Jue’s earlier in the season — zero clean attempts during his routine.

After all, Zhang Jue, despite having suffered from stress fractures and knee ligament surgeries, was considered in good physical shape

compared to other athletes at his level. Teraoka was two years older than him, and with his injuries, he had even more difficulties.

After the short program, Zhang Jue was packing his things while subtly glancing over at the Japanese team.

Chiba Takashi, who was only 1.65 meters tall, carried his senior’s bag and supported his coach with one hand. That bald, chubby old man seemed to be in poor health too.

Zhang Jue couldn’t help but sigh: “That old man must be 66 years old, right? He’s really aged, but it’s not easy to have brought out two amazing male singles skaters for Japan. And now he’s personally accompanying his students to international competitions, that’s no easy feat.”

Shen Liu responded: “Yeah, that old man was once known as the most handsome male singles skater in Asia, but now he’s been worn down by the years into a chubby grandpa.”

They glanced at Coach Lu once, then twice.

At 75 years old, Coach Lu was still full of energy. He didn’t use his cane for support, instead, he used it to smack his students’ backsides. He glared at them with a loud voice.

“What’s going on?”

Yang Zhiyuan casually replied: “Nothing much, just that ever since you lost weight, you’ve gotten much healthier. It’s true, life is about exercise. Getting thinner in old age is a blessing.”

That night, Hayato Teraoka announced his withdrawal from the competition due to his coach suffering a heart attack. It was said that if it hadn’t been for Cui Zhengshu passing by and performing CPR on the old man, there could have been a fatal outcome.

Zhang Jue thus won the easiest Four Continents gold medal of his career, but he wasn’t happy about it.

It’s worth mentioning that Chiba Takashi didn’t withdraw. This young athlete stuck with the competition despite the unexpected circumstances. Before his performance, he was accompanied by Keiko’s coach, Mori Shumi. After his free skate, he sat alone on the kiss and cry, and he won his first-ever senior-level A-class competition medal.

A Four Continents bronze.

With his high, soaring 4T and 4S, silky skating typical of Japanese skaters, excellent spin speed and stability, superb musicality, and newly strengthened mental toughness, he outperformed more experienced athletes like Arthur Cohen, Jin Zixuan, and the still inconsistent 4S skaters like Cha Hanbuhua and Jiang Yihong.

 

 

The author notes: Although Coach Lu lost three sizes when he coached Zhang Jue, it seems like it was a good thing after all.

While a 65-year-old coach in a neighboring country suffered from hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes due to obesity, Coach Lu at 75 could still walk six kilometers and run 800 meters faster than many middle school students who weren’t good at sports. He slept well, ate well, and if Zhang Junbao hadn’t been forced to quit drinking, he might not have survived.

 

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