Misty Fog (Part 4)

"No problem with storage" my ass.

Waking up at 2 a.m. to Fang Xiaocan's deadly midnight calls, Zhou Zeyu reached for his phone with a dark expression. After seeing the name that popped up on the screen, he decisively rolled his eyes and cursed inwardly that Coach Xu was indeed a big liar and could not be trusted.

"Are you trying to kill me, sister?" she said through gritted teeth as she flopped back onto her pillow. "Have you forgotten about the time difference again? It's the middle of the night here."

Fang Xiaocan paused for a moment, seemingly calculating the time in Belgrade, but then put the matter aside and asked her with interest.

"Isn't it said that old trees bloom? What, are there actually male creatures in this world that can catch your eye? Let's see what they're made of."

Zhou Zeyu was only thinking about going back to sleep, and he mumbled some random answers for a long time without even knowing what he was saying. It was probably just some vague "uh-huhs" and "yeahs".

"Oh my, are you really that sleepy?"

The other party was very self-righteous, "I can't wait any longer. Zoos are common, but it's not so common to find an animal you like. What are you really thinking? Are you really just going to let it go like this?"

"Forget it? What's the big deal?" Zhou Zeyu patted his face resignedly, reached out and turned on the bedside lamp. "So you're going to have a long talk tonight, huh?"

“Yes,” Fang Xiaocan replied excitedly, “You used to analyze my relationship problems late at night, but now it’s finally my turn to be the relationship guru. I’m so excited.”

Thinking of her messy and unsavory romantic relationships, Zhou Zeyu recalled those nights when he had dark circles under his eyes and tirelessly hypnotized Fang Xiaocan. He felt a dull ache in his head and cried out for mercy.

"You relationship guru, please leave me alone. Don't turn me into a love-struck fool after analyzing me all night. I can't take that."

The lovestruck person, who was being subtly implied, didn't seem to think anything of it. She quickly changed the subject, saying, "Why aren't you in a hurry at all? Isn't your flight tomorrow? Are you going to have a long-distance relationship? That's so difficult!"

Zhou Zeyu corrected: "It's today's flight."

Zhou Zeyu sat leaning against the headboard. The dim light from the bedside lamp only made her more drowsy. She swallowed several yawns, wiped away the physiological tears from the corners of her eyes, and mumbled, "This is abroad. Even if the God of Love came, it wouldn't help. Can you send Cupid instead?"

"If it really works, I'll bring the Jade Emperor to you."

Does the Jade Emperor's arrival guarantee success? Zhou Zeyu didn't think so. If praying to gods and Buddhas were truly effective, she would have ruled the world long ago.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?" Fang Xiaocan persisted, undeterred, determined to get to the bottom of it, and continued to ask.

What else could happen? It's just the same old story.

In fact, Zhou Zeyu herself couldn't quite explain how she felt about Sorkov. The more successful Coach Xu's policy of preventing early romance was, the more bewildered Zhou Zeyu became in matters of the heart. All her understanding of love existed only in movies and novels, so when these things actually happened to her, she simply didn't know how to face them.

Coach Xu's ramblings were not entirely meaningless. At least he was right about one thing: Zhou Zeyu would leave today no matter what, and ninety-nine percent of the time, the parting was accompanied by relief, indifference, and forgetting.

This is actually quite cruel, especially for two equally indecisive people. Taking that step becomes an extremely difficult thing. Everyone is thinking deeply and repeatedly speculating and hesitating, so honesty becomes a scarce commodity.

"He's a really nice person. He's helped me a lot, and I'm very grateful for everything he's done for me. I might have feelings for him, but I'm not sure how much."

She pondered for a moment, carefully considering her words, "Fang Xiaocan, I don't think all relationships need a conclusion, and I don't necessarily need to dig to the bottom of things to get an answer. Sometimes, it's enough to just touch on the subject."

The words were quite clear, and Fang Xiaocan undoubtedly understood their meaning. However, for a moment, she didn't know how to respond, so she could only sigh deeply.

"Have you made up your mind?"

The desk lamp emitted a dim and quiet warm light, gently enveloping Zhou Zeyu. She stared blankly in the direction of the lamp, noticing the tiny dust particles floating slowly and clearly under the light.

Her heart was in turmoil, just like these chaotic impurities. But she couldn't say much. What could she say? That she was actually in a state of utter confusion, but had to force herself to maintain this facade of calm? That she desperately wanted to be honest, but ultimately chose to keep it a secret?

How can I possibly say this?

Relationship issues are a sensitive topic that can't be discussed too much. Fang Xiaocan was like that back then, and Zhou Zeyu is like that now. It's hard to talk about, but once you do, you feel speechless. Sometimes, the more you talk about it, the more heartbroken you become, and in the end, you're even more reluctant to let go.

From this perspective, letting things run wild has become the optimal solution.

She seemed somewhat powerless, and chuckled softly, "Yes, it's decided."

They continued to chat for a few more minutes, but even though Fang Xiaocan was trying to comfort him, Zhou Zeyu was uncooperative. In the end, after only a few words, the two of them started yawning at the same time.

After hanging up the phone, she reached out and pressed the switch to turn on the desk lamp, plunging the room into darkness once more. She blinked, pulled up the covers, and lay back down.

Zhou Zeyu closed her eyes, but quickly opened them again. She stared into the darkness, and finally sighed resignedly, threw off the covers and got up.

The corridor was pitch black in the dead of night. She squinted and walked slowly along the wall. Suddenly, she couldn't help but think of the agile secret agents in American movies. At least in this journey, she successfully avoided flower pots and decorations of all sizes without hurting any of her toes.

When she finally reached the end and proudly raised her head, she was suddenly struck by an unidentified object that appeared out of the darkness.

The unidentified creature quickly covered her mouth, silencing her scream that hadn't even escaped her throat, and whispered, "Don't shout, it's me."

Zhou Zeyu broke free from his hand and took a step back, clearly shaken. "You? Why are you standing here so late at night instead of sleeping?"

The other person seemed to really want to laugh; at least Zhou Zeyu swore that the corners of his mouth were turned up right now. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? What do you want?"

Zhou Zeyu was afraid he would misunderstand, so she quickly waved her hand and said, "Don't overthink it, I'm not a bad person."

She realized how strange it was after she finished speaking; she had been trying too hard to cover it up. No wonder Sorkov was suspicious. Who would be so suspicious if a guest got up in the middle of the night to do something in the dark? A more vigilant person would probably call the police immediately.

"Although bad people won't admit they're bad, I really am not!" she offered a completely unconvincing excuse.

“No,” Sorkov suddenly interrupted her, “unless you want us to be caught.”

She said "oh," but then belatedly realized something was wrong: "So what if we get caught? We're not having an affair."

The moment those two words left his mouth, even Zhou Zeyu himself felt that it was inappropriate. He scratched the back of his head, thinking about how to cover up his slip of the tongue, but Solkov didn't seem to care about it.

"Isn't that right? I thought it was."

Zhou Zeyu's brow twitched, and his chest, including his heart, began to stiffen.

"What?"

"Elope?" Zhou Zeyu asked.

Sorkov paused, then remained noncommittal to her answer, "Really? You're planning to elope with me?"

Zhou Zeyu shrugged. She felt her breath slipping away too quickly, and she was helpless to stop it.

"Sorkov, you've been acting a bit strange lately."

What's strange about it?

"Everything is strange."

She was struggling to find the right words, her brows furrowed, and her hands unconsciously clasped together.

"It's like... a completely different person."

In the darkness, she heard Solkov seem to sigh slightly, and then the next second, Zhou Zeyu felt him take another step closer to her.

"How long have you known me, and how can you be sure that I wasn't originally this kind of person?"

This question left her speechless. Indeed, six months was far too short a time; there was no time to lose anything or gain anything. She dared not claim that she had fully understood Sorkov; that was far too difficult to achieve.

In other words, why was Zhou Zeyu so confident that she understood him, and why did she dare to casually say that he had changed, even sounding arrogant to the point of being conceited, when she clearly didn't understand him at all?

"Okay, maybe I was wrong." She readily admitted her mistake, lowered her head, and suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. Just as she turned to leave, she suddenly heard Sorkov speak again.

"Zhou Zeyu".

She turned around, hummed in agreement, and waited for him to continue.

"I won't see you off tomorrow. Have a safe trip."

He was silent for a moment, then spoke again.

"Remember to take good care of yourself when you go back. Many things are in the past, so don't worry too much about them."

His tone was gentler than ever before, like a soft breeze blowing past Zhou Zeyu's ear from the end of the corridor. Zhou Zeyu stood there, even feeling a little dazed, trying hard to see his current appearance clearly through the darkness, but no matter what, Sorkov existed as a hazy outline in her vision.

Zhou Zeyu suddenly felt very flustered. She was used to judging a person's thoughts by their expression and demeanor, so the pitch-black environment caught her off guard. She even wanted to find the light switch in the corridor without thinking, and accept being caught.

She just wanted to know how Sorkov was doing, whether he was sad or happy, and whether he was feeling down and in pain because of it. She had so many questions troubling her, yet she couldn't even understand the most basic ones.

“Over the years, you have actually done a great job. Everyone is proud of you. You have not let anyone down, and you have not let yourself down.”

After saying this, Sorkov seemed to be trying his best to hold back something, and finally let out a deep sigh.

“Zhou Zeyu, don’t dwell on the past. Your future will be bright,” he said, reaching out to give her one last hug. “No matter what happens, there will always be people who love you standing behind you, always by your side.”

Zhou Zeyu was taken aback. She seemed to be silent for a moment before speaking, "Does that include you?"

"It has always included me."