Adding Fuel to Break the Record

Moscow was exceptionally quiet in the early morning. There was no noise, no clamor. The snow had stopped, and a rare ray of bright sunlight appeared on the horizon, casting its light on the snowy ground. However, this light seemed as weak and delicate as a newborn baby, incapable of melting even a speck of the snow, merely making the snowy landscape appear even brighter.

Zhang Guan slowly opened his eyes and realized it was already daytime. He then remembered some things that had happened last night.

"She didn't leave again, did she?" Zhang Guan immediately turned his head, only to find Sharapova lying next to him, looking at him. There was a faint trace of tears at the corner of her eyes, and her golden hair was scattered on the white pillow. Her wheat-colored, healthy skin gave her an exotic charm. For a moment, Zhang Guan was mesmerized.

"The ancients said, 'A beauty is like a painting.' Uh, no, wait, she's a Western girl, so let's say she's like an oil painting!" Zhang Guan thought to himself.

"You're awake?" Sharapova said and then added, "I just woke up too."

"I'm sorry..." Zhang Guan said instinctively.

"Why apologize?" Sharapova asked.

"You cried," Zhang Guan felt it might be because of something he had done.

"It wasn't because of you," Sharapova took a deep breath and continued, "It's just that when I woke up, I felt a bit wronged and confused."

Zhang Guan was slightly taken aback and then suddenly realized that, after all, she was still a girl under eighteen. Perhaps all the sudden events in recent days had been a bit too much for her to handle, or maybe she had been under immense pressure.

"I started playing tennis when I was five years old..." Sharapova began to tell her story. She started learning tennis at five, and when she was nine, her father sold everything and took her across the ocean to America. At that time, they had no money. Her father worked several odd jobs to support her tennis, and Sharapova focused all her attention on tennis because she knew it was the only thing that could change her life. They lived like this for five years until 2000, when Sharapova won her first championship, though it was only in the junior division, it attracted a lot of attention. After that, she got sponsorships, which, though not much, significantly improved their lives. In 2001, Sharapova participated in her first professional tournament. In 2002, at just 15, she entered the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) events and reached the finals in junior competitions at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. In 2003, she won her first WTA Tour title, and then, in 2004, she won the Grand Slam at Wimbledon.

Zhang Guan listened quietly, imagining how a nine-year-old girl must have gone through many hardships in a place like America, possibly facing discrimination, unfair treatment, or even school bullying. Yet, she persevered through immense pressure and rose to the pinnacle of the world.

Zhang Guan suddenly felt that compared to Sharapova, he was nothing but a weakling. She was strong, persistent, and hardworking; she had achieved so much, while he was just a cheater relying on a system.

"And what about you? Zhang, tell me about yourself..." Sharapova said.

"Alright, Sharapova." Zhang Guan suddenly changed the subject and asked, "What should I call you now? Maria?"

"Just call me Masha," Sharapova replied.

"Okay, Masha." Zhang Guan held Sharapova tightly and began, "My family is ordinary, not rich but not poor. I was also quite average as a child, going to kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school just like everyone else. Then I took part in an athlete test, was spotted by my coach, and became an athlete. After that, I broke the national record, the Asian record, and then the world record at the Olympics... You should know the rest."

"That's it?" Sharapova asked, wide-eyed.

"That's it." Zhang Guan nodded, thinking about his past life, and said, "Before I was seventeen, I was just an ordinary person leading an ordinary life. If I hadn't become an athlete, I might have ended up going to a third-rate university, finding a regular job, marrying a not-so-pretty but kind wife, and living a mundane life with one or two kids."

"A mundane life, that might be good too," Sharapova nodded thoughtfully, then got out of bed, picked up a towel that had fallen on the floor to cover herself, and walked toward the bathroom, saying, "I need a shower."

"Want some company?" Zhang Guan asked with a mischievous smile. Seeing that Sharapova didn't object, he immediately jumped out of bed and followed her like an eager puppy.

...

The staff member assigned by the center spent a restless night. In principle, athletes are not allowed to act alone, but Zhang Guan had directly gotten into someone else's car yesterday. He was tasked with accompanying and supervising Zhang Guan, and if anything happened to him, he would be held responsible.

Fortunately, he learned from the front desk that Zhang Guan had returned, which made him heave a sigh of relief. But early the next morning, he still went to Zhang Guan's room to find out what had happened.

A waiter pushing a cart came out of Zhang Guan's room, smiling, holding a hundred-dollar tip in his hand. Receiving such a tip so early in the day put him in a good mood.

Seeing the waiter, the staff member asked, "Are the guests inside awake?"

The waiter, knowing that the Asian man in front of him was with the one who had given him the tip, nodded, "Yes, I believe they are having breakfast. I suggest you wait a bit before disturbing them!"

Despite the waiter's kind reminder, the staff member didn't pay attention to it or the fact that he used the word "they."

He walked to Zhang Guan's door and knocked gently. Soon, Zhang Guan opened the door. He stepped inside while saying, "Zhang Guan, about yesterday..."

Before he could finish, he saw a blonde woman in a bathrobe sitting at the table having breakfast. Though he didn't recognize Sharapova, he understood the situation perfectly!

"Uh, it seems I'm here at the wrong time. Let's talk later, talk later!" He gave Zhang Guan a meaningful look and quickly exited the room, closing the door behind him.

"Young people today, they're quite open-minded! Should I report this or not?" He hesitated and then muttered to himself, "Athletes have a lot of training and competition pressure; they should relax occasionally. No wonder he left in such a hurry yesterday; he had a date with a beauty! But I should remind Zhang Guan to be careful."

...

Inside the room, Sharapova asked Zhang Guan, "Is there a problem?"

"No problem," Zhang Guan shook his head but pondered whether he should buy something for the staff member at the airport duty-free shop to keep him quiet.

Zhang Guan sat beside Sharapova, casually picked up a piece of vegetable, and put it in his mouth.

"Don't want anything else?" Sharapova asked.

"I'm heading to Germany for an indoor competition next Thursday. According to regulations, I can't eat random food now, especially not meat. Vegetables should be fine," Zhang Guan explained.

"But you can't just eat vegetables these days! Athletes need to eat meat," Sharapova said.

"It's fine. I've ordered a steak. The person I brought along will watch the chef cook it, so there won't be a problem eating it." Zhang Guan paused and then asked, "What about you? What are your plans?"

"I'm going to Japan. I thought if you were going back to your country, we could be on the same flight, but it turns out you're staying in Europe," Sharapova said. "The Pan Pacific Open in Japan is at the end of the month and offers a big prize, so it's worth going."

"Yeah, the Japanese do like to spend money." Zhang Guan recalled the appearance fee for the Yokohama All-Star Game and agreed.

...

A relationship between two athletes from different fields is bound to have more time apart than together. Whether it was Zhang Guan or Sharapova, they both had endless competitions, so they couldn't be together like ordinary couples every day.

After a short, sweet time together, Zhang Guan had to part with Sharapova and board a plane to Germany, while Sharapova was headed to Tokyo.

The Sparkassen Cup indoor track and field competition was held in Stuttgart, Germany. Compared to the cold Moscow, Stuttgart, located in a basin, was much warmer. Due to the extensive forests surrounding the city, it had no ice or snow in winter, very little cold wind, and not much rainfall, making the climate quite dry.

Most track and field athletes prefer dry climates because the lower moisture content in the air allows the electrolytes in muscle cells to provide better explosiveness.

Upon arriving in Stuttgart, Zhang Guan had just checked into his hotel when he received a call from He Yiming.

"Zhang Guan, your new world record came at just the right time. I have some interesting news. There's a growing divide within the association about our agent team issue. Some voices are now saying we shouldn't disrupt your competition, and the agent team issue should be postponed," He Yiming said with a sigh. "Sports really are about winners. I didn't expect a world record to have such a big impact."

"Should I add more fuel to the fire?" Zhang Guan asked.

"Add more fuel? How, break another world record?" He Yiming laughed.

"Well, I'll try my best. I think I can break another world record," Zhang Guan replied.