After the sudden rain (Part 1)

In the early hours of the morning, before dawn, the torrential rain continued outside the window.

Zhou Zeyu lay on the bed, listening to the monotonous mechanical voice of the empty chatter ringing in her ears intermittently, mixed with the sounds of wind and rain. She glanced at the clock on the wall in the dim light; it was just past four o'clock, and it was still dark.

The soreness in her body was still intense, which was inevitable. Since the end of her recovery, she immediately picked up the training that she had missed due to the surgery. She was still in the adaptation period and would probably have to persevere for a while longer.

Having reached this point, she felt much less conflicted and hesitant. In the past, she would subconsciously doubt whether the choices she made were correct, but now she no longer does that.

Occasionally, Zhou Zeyu would think that there are always many options in life. If one path doesn't work, then try another. If that still doesn't work, then try yet another. But for her, she didn't want to give up so quickly.

Unlike the disheartened Fang Xiaocan, she hadn't completely lost faith and even still harbored some unrealistic fantasies, which was understandable; everyone has their own choices.

After the new leader took office, he asked Coach Xu to inquire about her intentions. His meaning was very clear: he wanted her to take over the currently fragmented team as a coach.

But Zhou Zeyi wasn't stupid. Since Coach Huang's downfall, the team's situation had been a complete mess. All the members who had been selected through bribery or cheating had been dismissed, and the few remaining veteran players had all left to protect themselves. In the current situation, even if she were a god descending to earth, it wouldn't make a difference.

So she resolutely refused.

Her meaning was clear: since the team was in chaos, even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse, so why not let her give it one last try?

"Is your injury alright?" the new coach asked her.

"Of course, no problem," Zhou Zeyu answered decisively.

Is everything really okay?

This is indeed a difficult question to answer. Zhou Zeyu herself couldn't say for sure whether it was true or not. Sometimes when she and Fang Xiaocan sparred casually, she would still feel physical discomfort from time to time. However, the good news is that she had long since gotten used to dealing with this discomfort.

Perhaps it could be said that she has been able to coexist harmoniously with her injuries; at least, she no longer rejects them so severely.

A sudden clap of thunder rang out, and Zhou Zeyu yawned, drowsily stopping his daydreaming. He rested his head on his arm and stared blankly out the window.

She had finally managed to pull herself together and join the club to start over, but before she could even get started, she encountered an even bigger setback, and the condition of her knee worsened. Now it seems that perhaps her bad luck is not so serious as to be irreversible. At least after going through so much, she still has one last chance.

"You're really crazy."

Zhou Zeyu was startled and sat up abruptly in bed. Looking at Fang Xiaocan, who was still sleeping peacefully with her eyes closed, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Are you kidding me? I thought you were fast asleep."

Fang Xiaocan kept her eyes closed, looking peaceful, but her voice was very clear, without any trace of grogginess from just waking up. If Zhou Zeyu hadn't heard her snoring earlier, he would have almost suspected that she had been suffering from insomnia all along.

"I've only been awake for a short time, and the rain is getting heavier and heavier."

Zhou Zeyu shook his head, pulled the covers back up, and lay down. "Who knows? Maybe even God is having a mental breakdown."

"You're much more composed than it is now."

"I'm finding it increasingly difficult to tell whether you're being sincere or just using this as an opportunity for sarcasm."

Fang Xiaocan rolled over to face her. "Don't you really understand your own body at all? Are you still trying to be brave?"

"Hey, didn't you say you'd support me before?" Zhou Zeyu reached out and gave her a light punch. "You changed your mind way too fast, Fang Xiaocan."

"How was I supposed to know you were serious!" She opened her eyes and shook her head, feigning emotion.

"I thought you were in better shape, but it turns out you've been holding back a lot of trouble. What normal person would continue playing after such a major surgery? Do you really think you're Iron Man? Even Iron Man isn't as resilient as you."

"It's not that exaggerated. Can't you just think of me as pursuing my dreams?"

Fang Xiaocan gave a rather blunt laugh, stretched, and said objectively, "Pursuing dreams is something only physically strong young people are qualified to do. What if you fail? Can you accept it without any reaction? Won't it really aggravate your negative emotions? Please, Zhou Zeyu, you can't fall on the field again."

Zhou Zeyu hummed in agreement, then pondered for a long time, so long that even she herself found it a bit noisy. So she suddenly stopped talking and began to speak.

"So many years have passed. If I were still as fragile as before, then I would have lived this long for nothing. Don't worry, I can accept it."

She could indeed accept it; in fact, one could say that from the moment she made up her mind, she was prepared to fail.

Fang Xiaocan wasn't just trying to undermine her confidence. In fact, her analysis was completely accurate. Zhou Zeyu had long passed her peak, and coupled with the lack of professional and systematic training for a long time, as well as the effects of her injuries, she had been out of touch with the professional arena for far too long.

In the new Olympic cycle, the situation in China is chaotic. However, in stark contrast, there is a large influx of foreign talent who have mastered new technologies and strategies, which are what Zhou Zeyu lacks, and even the entire team lacks.

If it were to be a real international competition, given the current situation, even the top domestic players might not be able to win, let alone her.

So, she can actually accept it.

"I was a little too competitive before."

"Just a little? It's very impressive."

Zhou Zeyu lowered his head and smiled, reluctantly admitting, "Okay, I am extremely powerful. Now that I think about it, winning or losing isn't that important anymore. I've already reached this point, so what is there that I can't afford to lose?"

She used to be afraid of failure because she had hardly ever failed and had been elevated to an excessively high position by too many victories. As a result, she would subconsciously worry that she would fall one day. Over time, this naturally led to fear. But she doesn't feel that way anymore.

Whether in terms of status, strength, or mindset, she is indeed different from what she was back then.

Fang Xiaocan listened to her silently, not in a hurry to reply. Zhou Zeyu felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, cleared his throat, and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“I suddenly feel like…” She put her hand on her chin, dramatically pretending to be deep in thought, her voice slow and leisurely, “Your image is so magnificent.”

"Although I'm not very willing to admit it, what you just said really had a bit of a gentlemanly feel to it. Zhou Zeyi, a few years have passed, you've learned from your mistakes, and you've really changed a lot."

Zhou Zeyu pursed his lips, rolled his eyes at her nonchalant attitude, and dramatically tapped his forehead with his finger, blinking, "Wisdom, this is wisdom."

"Smart my ass." Fang Xiaocan's previously sincere expression instantly turned speechless. He scoffed, "Let me make this clear: your goal right now isn't to boast, but to quickly prepare for next month's warm-up match. If you lose even this match, your revenge plan will be completely ruined."

Reminded by her words, Zhou Zeyu suddenly remembered the matter again, sighed deeply a few times, and suddenly felt that his future was bleak.

"Yes, yes... We can't let this be the last step before we even get started." She murmured sadly to herself, "Next month... This is too much to bear, and to make matters worse, I run into Feng Yifan. What kind of mess is this?"

Fang Xiaocan gave a mysterious hum, "You'll never get past three women in your life: Cen Zheng and Feng Yifan."

"And there's one more, you?"

"Of course it's me!"

The man laughed shamelessly, patting the bed beneath him with smug satisfaction. "We're sharing the same bed, aren't we? You think you can escape me?"

"You pervert." Zhou Zeyu rolled his eyes and gave a very objective assessment.

"oops!"

Zhou Zeyi suddenly let out a strange cry and punched her on the shoulder in a panic. "Still talking! Take this secret to your grave. If that doesn't work, I'll send you to your grave right now!"

"Your violent tendencies are getting worse and worse. You weren't like this back then." Fang Xiaocan cried out in pain, clutching her shoulder, and quickly distanced herself from her, staring at her with a resentful look. "Can your little lover stand you?"

"You have to endure it even if you can't stand it."

"You haven't been in contact with him recently?"

“Yes,” Zhou Zeyi thought for a moment, “I spoke to him on the phone three weeks ago.”

"Wow," Fang Xiaocan said expressionlessly, "What did you say to him, 'Sorry, I'm going to disappear for the next three weeks'? Old Iron Tree, do you even know how to date?"

Zhou Zeyu turned to look at her speechlessly, and deliberately remained silent for a while. "Do you think I look like someone who would do that?"

Fang Xiaocan met her gaze and awkwardly scratched his head. "Although you don't have much practical experience, I have a vague feeling that you're quite good at it... Never mind, you should at least give him a proper greeting now."

Zhou Zeyu gave an "oh," roughly calculated the time in Belgrade, then decisively jumped off the bed and onto the floor. She glanced warily at Fang Xiaocan's amused expression, silently distanced herself from her, and then took out her phone to make a call.

The phone rang for a while before being answered. Zhou Zeyu cleared his throat and took a deep breath:

"It's been a long time since we last contacted each other. So, my plan succeeded. That bastard Huang went down, hahaha. Aren't I amazing? Now I'm planning to start preparing for the competition again. Yeah, that's my current situation. I'm done talking. I'm about to run out of breath."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then what sounded like a very soft laugh.

"Okay, I support your decision, but is something chasing you?"

Zhou Zeyu quickly turned around and glanced at Fang Xiaocan, then nodded decisively at her gossipy gaze. "Yes."

"Are you done talking?"

"More or less, I've given a precise summary."

"Is that all?"

Zhou Zeyi raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to hear?"

Sorkov paused, a hint of helplessness in his voice, "You know what I want to hear."

I don't miss you.

The other person took a deep breath, and Zhou Zeyi could practically picture his expression as he held his breath. "Not this one."

I miss you so much.

"That's it now."

Zhou Zeyi scoffed, turned around and used his eyes to stop Fang Xiaocan's increasingly uncontrollable laughter, and made a fierce cut on his neck as a threat, but Fang Xiaocan was not intimidated at all, and simply buried his face in the pillow, suppressing his laughter until his whole body was trembling.

She gritted her teeth, walked over, and punched her hard in the butt without any mercy. Then she pushed open the door and walked out, asking again, somewhat annoyed, "What did you just say?"

"nothing."

"I was just kidding, I heard you."

"Then listen."

"Don't you have anything to say to me?"

"Yes." He seemed to be in a good mood, with a hint of a smile in his voice. "Would you like to hear the details or just a brief summary?"

"To put it simply," Zhou Zeyu walked into the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, raised his head slightly, and said with feigned smugness, "As you know, I'm a very busy person now, and my time is extremely tight."

I miss you so much.

She almost spat out the water in her mouth when she wasn't paying attention. She awkwardly held her phone between her shoulder and hurriedly grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth. "Oh my god...you scared me to death."

"You're the one who told me to get straight to the point."

Zhou Zeyu retorted angrily, "You can't just spout nonsense when you're getting to the point! Why didn't you contact me for the past three weeks? I don't believe you."

"I was afraid of bothering you, you busy person."

Whether it was her imagination or not, there seemed to be a hint of helplessness in the other person's voice, making it sound less like a casual remark. Zhou Zeyu secretly assessed the situation and felt that although the words were suspicious, they were not entirely unbelievable. She snorted.

"It's barely considered disturbing."

He laughed, his soft laughter slightly distorted through the phone. "I applied to FINA for neutral athlete status."

"Oh." Zhou Zeyi was still savoring his laughter when he spoke instinctively, but quickly realized, "Wait, what?"

“I said, I’ve already made my plan C,” he said calmly. “You’re right, there’s nothing to miss about A and B.”

Zhou Zeyu remained silent and did not respond to him for a moment.

His hesitant words were abruptly interrupted by Zhou Zeyi. She seemed to finally come to her senses and couldn't help but smile, eventually even laughing out loud.

“That’s wonderful, Sorkov.” She smiled broadly. “Whatever decision you make, I will support you.”

Just like what he did after she announced her decision.