Farewell (Part 1)

It was a tightly closed door.

As Sorkov rode his bicycle past Zhou Zeyu's house once again, he deliberately slowed down, looked at the door, and sighed almost imperceptibly.

She sounded perfectly normal on the phone, and the neighbors didn't hear any crying or cursing. Occasionally, the sounds of a vacuum cleaner and soap operas could be heard from inside the room. She would also hang and collect clothes on the balcony, seemingly just living her life peacefully.

Except for one thing, she completely stayed indoors.

The mailbox was overflowing with letters and newspapers, the flowers were withering rapidly without care, and even the wind chimes hanging on the door had dimmed. Sorkov counted silently; it was the thirteenth day.

On the fourteenth day, as usual, Solkov passed by her house, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the mailbox had been completely emptied. He was a little surprised, got out of the car to take a look, and the mailbox was indeed empty.

He knocked on the door, but there was still no answer. He guessed that Zhou Zeyu might have gone out, so he waited patiently. But he didn't see her. What he received was a simple text message on his phone.

She left. No one knows when, maybe last night, maybe this morning, but it must have been at a time when no one knew, quietly taking her few belongings and leaving this place without saying goodbye.

Solkov stared at the screen, momentarily stunned and unable to process what had happened. After a long while, he finally came to his senses and replied to the message expressionlessly.

He had no idea what he had sent; he just randomly pressed a few keys and sent it without even thinking about it.

Just like this separation, it was too sudden, too unexpected, and at one moment it even felt like a dream, appearing when he was least prepared and leaving him completely at a loss.

He opened the phone book, his fingertip hovering a centimeter above her name, but before he could make a decision, the phone rang abruptly.

A long string of unfamiliar numbers appeared on the screen. He paused for a moment, then reflexively answered the call. The call was answered, but the other end remained silent. He suddenly felt as if he had been choked and could not speak. However, just as he was considering how to start the conversation, a cough clearing its throat came from the phone.

"Uh...Sorkov?"

Sorkov hummed in agreement. After receiving an affirmative reply, the other person gave an awkward laugh, stammered for a while as if he were having some difficulty speaking, and then suddenly blurted out, "Could you lend me some money?"

Seemingly sensing the other person's confusion, she explained, "I'm at the airport, but my bag and luggage have been stolen, so could you lend me some money to take a taxi home?"

Sorkov remained silent for a long time, then, for reasons unknown, let out a long and subtle sigh.

...

When Sorkov rushed over, Zhou Zeyu was fast asleep on a bench, covered with his coat.

He carefully lifted his coat. Zhou Zeyu was covering his mouth and yawning. When he saw him, he was obviously stunned, laughed awkwardly twice, and immediately pulled his coat open and sat up straight.

She touched her nose and looked around for a while. "I've already called the police, but the airport staff said they can't find the person for a while, so they told me to wait. But it's too cold here, so I'd better go home first."

Sorkov handed over his wallet. "When? How was it stolen?"

Zhou Zeyu shrugged, "I planned to go to the restroom before boarding, and I handed my luggage to the front desk staff to look after before leaving. When I came back, I found that he was asleep and my luggage was gone."

Sorkov was utterly speechless. "Asleep? You should file a complaint against him."

Zhou Zeyu shrugged, somewhat resignedly saying, "I'll file a complaint if the luggage can't be recovered."

“Then you should be prepared that you might not be able to get it back,” Sorkov pointed out incisively. “The police in Belgrade are basically useless, especially when it comes to tracking down lost items.”

She thought for a few seconds, then said, "I'll go home and get some sleep. I left home in the early hours of last night, and I'm really tired now."

She looked really tired; she had heavy dark circles under her eyes, and her eyelids seemed like they were about to droop. Her entire weight was on the bench, and she didn't even have the strength to move.

"It seems I might not be able to go back for the time being," she said sadly. "I also owe you a lot of money to buy my new phone, computer, and a whole bunch of winter clothes."

Solkov licked his lips, observing her expression with a hint of nervousness. He breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she was merely tired and a little sad. "Are you in a hurry to go back?"

"In a hurry?" Zhou Zeyu gave a pale laugh. "What's the rush? I was just thinking of going back to take care of some things, but now it seems that I don't even have that chance anymore. Maybe even God thinks it's right for me to stay here."

"Sorkov, I'm starting to get used to my bad luck. But no one can be unlucky forever, right? When will my luck finally change?"

Sorkov didn't respond. He sat next to her, hesitating about what to say. He was still unsure about Zhou Zeyi's current mental state.

As if sensing his cautiousness, Zhou Zeyu shook her head and patted his shoulder with relief. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not fragile porcelain. I won't kill myself because of one slip of the tongue you said. Actually, I've been thinking a lot these past few days. Although I haven't figured anything out, I'm not feeling so bad anymore."

“I’m not going to think about those questions that I’ve been struggling with and pondering over and over again anymore.” She closed her eyes, sighed, and said softly, “Now that things have come to this, let it be. Whether I go back or stay, life still goes on and on.”

Sorkov crossed his arms and looked at her thoughtfully. "But you still care a lot. You haven't let go. You probably haven't even felt a little bit relieved. You're lying to yourself."

Zhou Zeyu seemed surprised for a moment, but it was quickly overshadowed by a heavy bitterness. She smiled bitterly and raised the corners of her mouth, "Really? Maybe, I can't say. Sometimes I'm very open-minded and think that all of this is just a dream, and once I wake up, I'll let it go. But most of the time I'm in pain. Why does this dream have to torment me like this? Has it even woken up yet?"

"These past few days, the question that has been on my mind the most is: what should I do with the rest of my life?"

“My life plan used to be very clear: to be an excellent athlete, retire in style, and then stay with the team as a coach, passing on my experience to the kids, just like Coach Xu did. But this plan is destined to never come true.”

"What you're saying is just your plan. Is this what you really want to do?"

"Want to do it?" Zhou Zeyu thought for a few seconds. "Maybe. My life since I was five years old has been almost entirely about ping-pong. My choices and my world are all about it. I don't know what I really want to do, just like I didn't know what I liked to drink besides vegetable juice."

“Think about it again,” Sorkov said. “Why do you always compress your time so much? Deciding your life isn’t something that can be done in a few days. You won’t find the answer by locking yourself in your room all the time. Of course you can do whatever you want. It has nothing to do with ping-pong.”

Zhou Zeyu's gaze was distant, as if she were thinking of a very far place. After a long while, she seemed to suddenly realize that she was still in the quiet airport hall. She blinked as if waking from a dream, turned to Sorkov and said, "I think I understand what you mean. Thank you for coming here today, and thank you for lending me money. I think I should go back now."

As he watched her departing figure, Sorkov stared for a long time, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

Did he really understand? How much did he understand? Or was it just a polite remark to comfort him? In any case, he had said all he could, and there was no point in saying more. Many things cannot be resolved by relying on others alone; in the end, you still have to rely on yourself.

Zhou Zeyi is a good person. She shouldn't have to endure all those hardships. She should have lived a carefree and successful life, just as he had envisioned, instead of wandering aimlessly in a desolate foreign land like this.

But who can predict how life will unfold? After all, no one can.

As Sorkov stepped out of the airport, the blinding sunlight momentarily disoriented him, causing his pupils to shrink sharply. He instinctively shielded his eyes from the sun with the back of his hand, squinting and lowering his head.

He took out his phone and scrolled through his old chat history with Coach Xu. He wanted to send something, whether it was out of concern or confusion, but in the end he said nothing. Frustrated, he simply turned off his phone and threw it into his pocket.

Yes, he has no time to care about other people's business. Zhou Zeyu has to get through this setback on her own. He is just an ordinary passerby in her long life. What right or power does he have to help her get through all this?

Besides, he knew he was never one to meddle in other people's business.

But... he couldn't completely ignore her.

He pictured her struggling to hold back her tears, her eyes red and swollen, her lips tightly pressed together. She was clearly in so much pain that she couldn't even speak, yet she still waved to him to show that she was alright.

What a foolish person he is, so foolish that it's worrying and makes you feel the same way.

Sorkov lowered his head and sighed heavily.

He couldn't just leave her alone. And he didn't even know when he had realized this.

At least he thought he should help her get that lost suitcase back.