Misty Fog (Part 5)

"I've said before that I hate goodbyes."

"I know, I know, but no one will stay with anyone forever, Sophia. You have to be strong, at least don't cry, right?"

Zhou Zeyu took another deep breath, propped his head up with his hand in a drowsy manner, and stared idly at the dirty window of the plane.

Behind her sat a mother and daughter. The girl, named Sofia, had been crying since she boarded the plane, and her mother had been tirelessly comforting her. It was a heartwarming scene, but also very noisy.

She propped up her head, which hadn't slept all night, and began to roll her eyes in a daze. However, the next second the plane started to taxi, and she almost bumped her head on the seat in front of her. She had no choice but to straighten up again in a very embarrassing manner.

Coach Xu was a million miles away from her, so of course he couldn't see her current listless and dejected state. Zhou Zeyu was very glad that, otherwise, given his character, he would definitely have dug deep to find out the truth, and he would have been in big trouble.

She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep to ignore her chaotic thoughts, but what was worse was not only her restless mind, but also the little girl crying behind her, which made her even more upset and unable to fall asleep.

In this respect, she seems to have made some progress compared to that little girl; at least Zhou Zeyu didn't cry this time.

Sticky notes.

She paused, then took out the note, certain that she had never owned such paper before, and certain that the handwriting on it was not hers. The note was neatly folded and placed in her pocket, as if it had been planned for a long time.

A string of war movies, suspense movies, disaster movies, and horror movies flashed through Zhou Zeyu's mind. He frowned, thinking that there was some important secret written on it. But when he opened it, there were only three lonely phone numbers.

She examined the note under the light with suspicion, making sure there were no hidden messages written in a mysterious way. She racked her brains trying to arrange the three strings of numbers, and after confirming that it was just a simple phone number, Zhou Zeyu fell silent.

What does this mean?

She even wondered if someone had a crush on her and slipped their number into her pocket before she left, but that didn't make sense either. No one would write down three numbers and give them to someone they liked, unless that person was a secret agent with three different identities.

Zhou Zeyu shook his head, put the note back into his pocket, and continued to close his eyes to rest.

However, in a flash, something seemed to suddenly rush into her mind, and she abruptly opened her eyes and took out the crumpled piece of paper again.

Her gaze lingered on the top row of numbers, staring at it intently. Suddenly, she felt a sense of familiarity; she was certain she had seen this number somewhere before.

"4910?" She frowned, trying hard to recall, "4910..."

The plane suddenly experienced some unexpected turbulence, and the note in Zhou Zeyu's hand fell to the ground. He bent down with some difficulty to pick it up, and accidentally bumped into the seat in front of him.

The phone fell out of the other pocket and hit the ground with a loud thud. Zhou Zeyu gasped and quickly reached out to pick it up. As he picked it up, a sudden idea struck him, and he opened his contacts.

After searching for a long time, there was definitely nothing there.

It's really not her fault. Zhou Zeyu's phone numbers were all in the phone she regrettably lost last year. Now, this backup phone has practically no one in it, just a few lonely numbers. Even if she wore the screen out, she wouldn't be able to figure anything out.

Therefore, of course, this mysterious 4910 could not be identified.

Not only is 4910 nowhere to be found, but 7819 and 1865 are even more mysterious and unpredictable, so strange that they are completely incomprehensible.

Zhou Zeyu had no tricks up her sleeve and had no idea how to find a needle in a haystack among billions of people. She couldn't very well take this note to the police station for help, could she? She was lucky not to be kicked out. Could it be that the person who slipped her the note just wanted to mess with her?

After pondering for a long time, looking troubled and still having no ideas, Zhou Zeyu tucked the note behind his phone case, then sighed seriously and decisively gave up thinking.

If you can't figure it out, then stop thinking about it and give yourself a break.

She's not some cop movie heroine, and there shouldn't be any informant risking their life to obtain intelligence, then slipping a note into her pocket while barely alive before they leave. This isn't Hollywood; it's too far-fetched.

The scenery outside the plane changed rapidly. She leaned her head against the window, staring blankly out the window. The scenery flashed by again and again before finally being completely obscured by clouds.

As he closed his eyes and was once again enveloped in darkness, Zhou Zeyu inevitably recalled the events of the early hours of the morning.

In the end, how she ended that kiss in a daze, and how she staggered back to the room, all of this became very blurry. Zhou Zeyu only felt a headache, and all that seemed to remain in her memory was the fresh scent of laundry detergent on him and his tightly closed and stiff lips during the kiss.

It's hard to say who fled in panic. After the initial impulse and surprise, both of them felt embarrassed. One turned around and staggered back in the dark, while the other pushed open the door and rushed in. Three seconds later, the world fell silent again, and the corridor remained pitch black.

In short, it means "failed elopement".

Zhou Zeyi never expected things to develop this way. He took it for granted that his heart had become extremely cold over the years and that he had almost given up all emotions and desires. Little did he know that when he got impulsive, he still liked to do whatever he wanted.

For the first time, Zhou Zeyu, who had always acted as he pleased, felt emotionally defeated. At the age of twenty-six, in the dark corridor on the second floor of the Elberlint family home in Belgrade.

She hadn't expected Solkov to react so strongly, as if it weren't a kiss to him, but an axe or a sickle. His reaction seemed to be nothing but bewilderment and fear. When he ran away, he even bumped into a shoulder in a rather embarrassing way, with a loud bang that almost scared Zhou Zeyu out of her wits.

To be honest, Zhou Zeyu herself was certainly not an innocent little rabbit who had never held hands, but she didn't know that Sorkov was the kind of pure-hearted young man who would blush even when kissing.

This shouldn't be happening.

Because his behavior in the early hours of the morning was so shocking, Zhou Zeyu even began to frown and wonder if she had gone too far, to the point that even Sorkov, who should be much more open-minded than her, could not accept it.

But she didn't really think too much at the time. When emotions got the better of her, she acted out of control. The kiss didn't actually have any extra meaning. She didn't want to confirm anything, and of course, she didn't intend for anything to happen. If she could, it could even be interpreted as a farewell.

Anyway, Europeans aren't always used to cheek kisses, so it's perfectly normal for their lips to touch each other's cheeks.

But you touched the mouth.

Zhou Zeyu shook her head, suppressing the voice that suddenly popped into her head. She pursed her lips in annoyance, recalling the way Sorkov looked at her with that hesitant expression, saying that she was simply like a hooligan.

It's pure slander... although there is some truth to it.

She was already troubled enough, and now it's gotten to the point where it's impossible to untangle the mess. Even if she tries not to think about it, she can't completely forget it. It's all her own fault.

Fang Xiaocan was still nagging her all day, telling her to do something before she left. Zhou Zeyu understood that her intentions were good, probably to encourage her to confess her feelings. However, Fang Xiaocan probably didn't realize that her intentions had been distorted and misunderstood. She was really doing something bad with bad intentions.

As for Sorkov, Zhou Zeyu really had nothing more to say. Just like she said to Fang Xiaocan, not all feelings need an answer, nor does it necessarily need a response.

She was grateful to have met him in that unfamiliar land in a way that was absolutely unexpected, even a bit of a farce. It was hard to say whether their meeting was fate or a sudden stroke of bad luck, but in any case, they had gotten to know each other.

Moreover, it seems that it's not just about getting to know each other.

His name was on her contact list, her phone calendar still showed "meet with Sorkov at 7:30," the bicycle key lay alone in her backpack, and the faint warmth of his body still lingered on her lips.

Everything seemed to happen too fast. In just six months, two completely unrelated people were connected so closely. When Zhou Zeyu first met Sorkov, who was reading a book in the park, did he ever think that he would become so reluctant to part with him six months later?

She didn't have the ability to foresee things, so of course she couldn't have guessed it.

He and she seemed to be like dew before sunrise, huddled together when they were at their wettest, and slowly disappearing as dawn broke.

So this is what a fleeting romance truly means.

Lost in her random thoughts, Zhou Zeyu didn't even realize when the plane arrived. By the time she came to her senses, Coach Xu's large hand had already pulled her up from her seat.

The middle-aged man patted her on the shoulder, signaling her to cheer up, and then said happily in an indescribably cheerful tone, "Alright, alright, now we're really back!"

For Coach Xu, who has never seen much hardship in his life, his experience in Belgrade was a true ordeal, so his current joy is understandable. However, Zhou Zeyu had not yet fully woken up from his drowsy state and did not react much when he heard the word "come back".

They're really back.

Although we had crossed thousands of kilometers and several time zones, these enormous barriers were only a blink of an eye in the airplane. The boundaries of time and space were compressed in the cramped cabin, and when we woke up again, we were in another world.

She's back. She's really back.

As a loser fleeing this place of sorrow, the feeling of running away from justice is certainly unpleasant, especially when one is forced to admit that their talent is gone and they have become an ordinary person who is nothing more than mediocre.

When she first returned from Belgrade, it seemed to be a dusty day like this. With her first gleaming gold medal around her neck, she stepped off the plane smiling, expecting a bright future to await her.

However, when he returned the second time, everything was gone. Zhou Zeyu carried an empty bag and followed Coach Xu step by step. He looked up and stared blankly at the blurry horizon, wondering what he was facing.

However, no one can be an ostrich forever. Burying your head in the sand may seem to cover something up, but when the wind blows, it will be exposed. So, raise your head and keep trying to move forward.

Keep going.