Beneath the Ashes (Part Two)

After hearing the answer, Zhou Zeyu seemed to fall into deep thought, keeping his head down and remaining silent for a long time.

She had guessed that Mr. Elberlint might have mentioned her name by chance, which was why he learned it, but she didn't know it was so early on.

That was a long time ago, so long ago that even her memory has become hazy. It took her a long time to recall before she belatedly realized that her first championship was right here, in Belgrade.

It seems she even has a deep connection with this place, having started and ended in this city, which could be considered a complete beginning and end, Zhou Zeyu thought with a touch of self-deprecation.

But there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that.

When Sorkov asked her what her plans were, she didn't know how to answer. She had originally planned to just leave, but now she had to reconsider the rationality of that action. Some things you can't escape, and you can't solve them by simply leaving without saying goodbye.

Zhou Zeyu suddenly felt like crying. The world was so big, where else could she go?

No matter how good Belgrade is, it's just a foreign land where she stays temporarily. She doesn't belong here, and she won't stay here forever. Her connection with it may not be enough to support her staying here. She will eventually have to leave.

Let's go, but where are we going?

She couldn't go back to Beijing; there was no place for her there anymore. Going back would only cause more trouble, and probably not many people would even want to see her. Getting entangled in this ambiguous situation would only make her appear more humble, and she wouldn't do such a thing.

Should we go home then? But which home should we go to?

After her parents divorced, they both remarried and settled in new houses in different cities. Of course, there was no room for her there. Occasionally, she would go back for a meal, but she would only sleep on the creaky cot in the study.

It's understandable that they didn't include her in their new plan; who could have imagined she would end up like this, wandering aimlessly, homeless, and unsure of what to do next?

The old house had been vacant for a long time because of its location, but it had lost its vitality and could no longer be called a home. The old furniture was riddled with holes from years of neglect, and it was no longer habitable.

Zhou Zeyu sighed, feeling somewhat at a loss. However, as she thought about it, she found it funny, though her laughter was completely devoid of any joy, as she only felt heartache.

She waved her hand to block Sorkov's worried gaze, briefly summarized her current situation, and after speaking, as if she had lost all her strength, she plopped down on the stone bench next to her.

She didn't want to hear words of sympathy, and of course Zhou Zeyu knew he wouldn't say those things. Sorkov wasn't the type to offer kind words of comfort. In fact, she didn't want any answer at all; she just wanted to get these words out.

Talking about it makes me feel a lot better, but the degree of relief seems to be extremely limited.

But for Zhou Zeyu, that was enough. She only needed enough strength to walk back to her bedside, then collapse into the covers without a care in the world, praying that everything would be alright when she woke up tomorrow.

She buried her head in her arms, bending over to try and hide herself completely. The evening breeze was a little chilly on her back. Before she could shrink herself any tighter, a heavy coat was thrown over her.

Sorkov didn't sit down with her; he stood in front of her with his arms crossed. She had to strain to look up and see him clearly, but he was backlit and she couldn't see his face.

Zhou Zeyu only knew that he seemed to be waiting for something, standing quietly in place, neither speaking nor moving.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he asked her, "Can you still walk?"

"Of course." Zhou Zeyu scoffed. Back in the day, he used to run five kilometers every day. No matter how lazy he was, he shouldn't be unable to walk even a few steps. It would be incredibly embarrassing to say that out loud.

So she looked up at him and said honestly, "I can't walk anymore."

As for whether it's shameful or not, that's no longer on her mind. She's already lost everything, and what's left is pretty much useless, so there's no need to care so much.

Now that things had come to this, she no longer cared whether Solkov would laugh at her. She threw up her hands in a defiant manner, indicating that she really didn't want to take another step.

A sound like a sigh or a laugh came from above. Zhou Zeyu looked up angrily and protested with some dissatisfaction.

“Don’t laugh at me,” she complained softly, “you’re even younger than me.”

"So, are you planning to assume the role of an elder?"

He deliberately emphasized the word "elders," so although his tone was flat, it always gave people a subtle sense of irony.

Zhou Zeyu couldn't help but glare at him.

“If I were your elder, you wouldn’t be standing here in the middle of the world right now.”

As if imagining this scene, Solkov squinted and said nonchalantly, "How harsh. It seems I should be grateful."

She snorted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"So what should I do now? Go find a wheelchair and push you back?"

Zhou Zeyu lowered his head again, assuming he was talking nonsense and not intending to pay any attention. He gave a few perfunctory hums as a response.

However, when she looked up again, she saw that Sorkov had only left her with a dashing back view, resolutely walking back while saying, "Then wait for me for a while."

Zhou Zeyu stood there, stunned, forgetting even to refute him. He frowned and stared at his back in disbelief. Where did he conjure up a wheelchair in this desolate place?

Besides, even if he really is Doraemon, this scene is still too bizarre. A fully grown adult being pushed around for several kilometers to go home—the last time something like this happened was when she was wearing diapers. She couldn't believe that this could happen to her.

In fact, Zhou Zeyi was still agonizing over this pointless question until the brand-new wheelchair actually appeared, but her doubts and shyness were quickly dispelled because it was just so damn comfortable to sit in.

So, after several feigned refusals, Zhou Zeyi reluctantly accepted Solkov's offer and decided never to ask where the wheelchair came from again. She believed Solkov must be Doraemon.

What a muscular Serbian A-Dream!

Because he was wearing his coat, Sorkov was only wearing a loose long-sleeved shirt, and his arms were exposed because the cuffs were deliberately rolled up.

His muscles were perfectly defined, with barely visible blue veins, and Zhou Zeyu could even smell the jasmine hand sanitizer on his hands when he turned his head.

Is this what they mean by a tough guy with a soft heart?

Zhou Zeyu shook her head vigorously, trying to banish these bizarre thoughts from her mind, but since the two remained silent, she could only let her mind wander aimlessly out of boredom.

That won't do; she has to say something to ease the tension.

"You...you've finished your thesis?"

Sorkov's movements seemed to freeze for a moment, as if his wheelchair had suddenly been jammed by something. Zhou Zeyu even looked down at the ground and only realized that he was the one who caused it after finding nothing there.

She caught a glimpse of Solkov's half-awkward, half-hesitant expression out of the corner of her eye, and secretly regretted asking such a terrifying question. How was this any different from being asked about exam results at the New Year's Eve dinner?

"Is that the truth?"

"Are you still not going to tell the truth?" Zhou Zeyu asked, feigning seriousness.

“I certainly wouldn’t dare say that to you, but I can say that to the professor,” he cleared his throat. “Progress is going well, the thinking is diverse, the logic is rigorous, and it is expected to be finished soon.”

Zhou Zeyu laughed, "Speak like a human being."

"Not a single word was written."

"What a miserable college student," Zhou Zeyu sighed, then, remembering something, casually asked, "With such a busy academic schedule, and still having to keep up with training, don't you feel overwhelmed?"

Yes, even though her eye bags were so heavy they looked like they were about to fall off, she still had to go fight with the thugs for her early in the morning, and now she was even kindly pushing her home. Thinking of this, Zhou Zeyu suddenly felt a little guilty and ashamed.

It seems I still need to treat him better. She scratched her head.

"I'll treat you to a meal sometime when I have time," she said.

Sorkov raised an eyebrow, highly skeptical of the truth behind her words. "What's your purpose?"

Since he couldn't see her anyway, Zhou Zeyu rolled her eyes without restraint: "Don't judge a gentleman by your own petty standards. Isn't putting poison in your wine glass a kind of purpose?"

"Then we'll have to go back the way we came."

With a wave of his hand, he easily turned the wheelchair around, and it looked like he was about to push her back to the police station. Zhou Zeyu was so frightened that she almost jumped out of the car and quickly shouted to stop him.

Solkov burst into laughter, then quickly changed direction a split second before she was about to run away. "Why don't you dare say that to the officer again?"

"Then why don't you repeat what you said to your mentor again?" Zhou Zeyu retorted, and this move was immediately effective. The person behind him immediately stopped talking and never mentioned going to the police station again.

He's still too inexperienced. She smiled smugly to herself, trying her best to suppress the urge to laugh at him. She pursed her lips tightly and looked down, peeling the dead skin off her fingers.

"But if you don't like psychology, why did you study it in college?"

She didn't take the issue to heart at all, treating it purely as a pastime. She guessed that Sorkov's words were pretty standard, something like family influence, favorable work conditions, or easy academic studies—things she could easily come up with on her own.

However, to her surprise, Sorkov seemed stunned and remained silent for a long time, even exuding an aura that hinted at a bit of guilt.

There's a ghost.

Zhou Zeyu hadn't paid any attention at first, but now his curiosity was suddenly piqued, and he turned around and asked again with great curiosity. Unsurprisingly, Sorkov chose to talk nonsense to evade the question, but unfortunately, she was a very difficult person to deal with.

"What's wrong? You're not hiding something from me, are you?" She turned around and stared suspiciously at Solkov's face, which he had turned away from.

However, Sorkov's face didn't show any signs of trouble, and after looking at him for a while, Zhou Zeyu couldn't figure out what was going on. Since the issue wasn't serious, he simply stopped worrying about it. He secretly gloated over his current troubled expression for a while, then turned back and casually guessed.

"You can't possibly not have studied psychology at all, can you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, accompanied by an unexpected gasp from Sorkov, Zhou Zeyu's alarm bells rang. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief and grabbed Sorkov's left hand.

"You don't study psychology?!"

Solkov forced out a short, weak sound from his throat, which was hardly a laugh. "I don't think I ever said I studied psychology."

Seeing that he was about to use his power to alter her memories, Zhou Zeyu quickly covered her ears, "Don't talk nonsense, I remember you mentioned it."

Her voice stopped abruptly.

"Oh, so you lied to me about the materials too."

Looking into those sinister eyes, Sorkov could even feel sweat beading on his back, almost soaking his thin clothes.

"So, what exactly do you want?" Zhou Zeyu frowned, crossed her arms, and looked at him leisurely. "You can't be planning to sell me off, can you?"

"How could that be?"

Zhou Zeyu nodded, seemingly unsurprised by the answer. Then, as if he had anticipated something, he raised a finger and, with a sudden realization, dragged out the syllable "ah".

"What do you want to say?" Sorkov asked warily.

Zhou Zeyu gave a very direct and malicious smile.

"I mean, you don't actually like me, do you?"

Why would you think that?

He suddenly leaned down and whispered in her ear, his voice so low it was almost imperceptible. The warm breath he exhaled as he spoke slowly brushed against her hair and tickled Zhou Zeyu's cheek.

Zhou Zeyu reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, but the back of her hand brushed against his warm face. She turned her head and looked at him, meeting Solkov's thoughtful eyes.

They were so close, almost too close, so close that it felt as if their breaths were mingling together. The two turbulent currents of heat merged into one without any order, and the atmosphere was more like a comfort than ambiguity.

They gazed silently into each other's eyes, like stubborn young children, eager to know the answer to their questions.

"What is liking?" Sorkov asked softly, then straightened up.

This is a good question, because Zhou Zeyu's words were ambiguous to begin with. The scope of "like" is so broad that Solkov didn't ask clearly what it meant, and she intentionally didn't make it clear either.

"You'll leave eventually." His tone was flat, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Zhou Zeyi knew, of course, that she was just joking. She hadn't expected her playful joke to be answered so seriously, just as she hadn't guessed that Solkov's reply would be like this.

To be honest, she sometimes felt that Sorkov was too perceptive, even overly perceptive.

For example, even though she appeared so hesitant, almost to the point of indecisiveness, he could always see through her pretense and point out that her struggle was only temporary and that she would eventually leave.

They'll eventually leave.

Sigh, things always come to an end...