The Road Back (Part 3)

Fortunately, it was a weekday, so there weren't many people in the hospital. Zhou Zeyu walked alone in the somewhat deserted corridor, looking up to see the signs, and finally managed to find Dr. Wang's office after many twists and turns.

She knocked and went in. Dr. Wang seemed no different from before, his head down, typing rapidly on the keyboard. Without looking up, he asked her to sit down in the chair.

Zhou Zeyu did as instructed, taking out the previously taken films and test results, placing a thick stack on the table.

Just then, Dr. Wang finally looked up, as if he hadn't expected to see her here. His face showed obvious surprise, but he quickly hid it and greeted her with a smile.

"You're back? How have you been lately?"

Zhou Zeyu was somewhat surprised, not knowing that he knew about his trip abroad. As usual, he exchanged a few pleasantries, nothing more than polite greetings and nothing much to say.

She briefly described her recent situation. There was nothing to hide from the doctor, so she honestly recounted the pain she had experienced during the previous flood.

Dr. Wang nodded, indicating that he understood. He glanced down at her knee, looked at the previous X-ray, and quickly typed on the computer, "Did you not take good care of it?"

That really resonated with her. Saying she was taking good care of herself didn't seem quite right. She continued to climb mountains and swim in the water, and ride her bicycle all over the city without a care in the world. But it wouldn't be right to say she didn't care at all. The most precious thing on Zhou Zeyu's body was her right knee.

She touched her head and hesitated before speaking, "Actually, I usually pay attention to it, but maybe it's because of the weather, but it always seems to hurt a little when it rains."

"No, it won't." Dr. Wang didn't say much, but simply said, "I see you're recovering quite well, and daily life shouldn't be a problem. I'll prescribe some more medicine for you."

Zhou Zeyi was a little confused. He glanced at the X-ray from six months ago and tentatively said, "Should we get another X-ray taken? I haven't had a follow-up check in a long time."

“There’s no need for that,” he said. “You’re worrying too much about it. You don’t need to take it to heart at all. Just rest and recuperate.”

She paused, opened her mouth as if to say something but then hesitated, but in the end she didn't say anything, took the pharmacy's prescription and left.

The medicine she was given was the same as what she had taken years ago. Carrying a large bag of medicine, she walked somewhat blankly down the empty hospital corridor and suddenly felt something was off.

But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange about it.

It seems that ever since she returned to China, she has always felt as if a thin layer of fog has been veiled in her eyes, and she can't see anything clearly through that fog. She feels an itch in her heart, like a cat scratching at her, wanting to know what is outside, but she can never find out.

Zhou Zeyi disliked this feeling. Such ignorance was merciful to her in the past, but not now. She could accept anything anymore, so she only loathed the feeling of being deceived.

But what could she do? She didn't know where that feeling of confusion came from, nor did she know what that number meant. Everything was unknown.

Zhou Zeyu listlessly tossed the medicine onto the sofa, plopped down on the floor, and took out his phone to idly browse through it.

Eric and Anna video-called her the day before yesterday. The two chattered about what had happened these past few days and eagerly showed off the gifts she had mailed. Eric was trying to find his idol, Fang Xiaocan, in the background, but Zhou Zeyu ruthlessly shattered his fantasy.

Zhou Zeyu really hated being alone, so he cherished this hard-won time. It was just a pity that the three of them might have fewer and fewer opportunities to meet like this in the future.

Eriks is busy with his college entrance exams and is extremely worried about his grades, while Anna is flattered by a local table tennis club in Belgrade and practices her skills day and night without stopping, only able to rest for a while between drinks.

She had also vaguely heard Professor Elberlint mention that Sorkov had finally finished his dissertation defense a few days ago, but immediately rushed to the training base in Germany to prepare for the national competition at the end of the year. He was only sleeping four hours a day and had been out of contact for a long time.

From this perspective, it seems that Zhou Zeyu is the only one with truly free time.

It seems that Chinese people are inherently restless. The laziness she developed in Belgrade had already caused Zhou Zeyi a lot of pain, and the fact that she was still idle all day after returning to China was unacceptable to her.

Zhou Zeyu took a deep breath, walked to the sink and washed his face with cold water, forcing himself to calm down. Then he turned on his computer, took another deep breath, and opened his emails.

Her eyes widened, and she leaned forward unconsciously, pressing her face against the screen. The computer light made her face appear somewhat pale, but she remained glued to the screen.

She scrolled down the screen rapidly, but the email she wanted to see still didn't appear. Zhou Zeyu sighed in frustration, threw down the mouse, covered her face, and collapsed weakly onto the sofa.

However, the very next second after she collapsed, the computer beeped, and she jolted awake, her body jolting as she flew to the screen and opened the email.

Alright, no need to read any further. Zhou Zeyu immediately deflated, like a balloon that had been punctured. He glanced at the remaining content out of the corner of his eye, then turned off the computer in a sullen mood.

Her phone suddenly rang, startling her. She thought she was being watched, otherwise why would the call come so late, right when she was feeling the lowest?

However, after seeing the caller's name, Zhou Zeyu felt relieved and answered the phone, trying to raise his voice a few octaves, "Hi, Lao Xu."

Coach Xu paused suspiciously, "What's wrong? Your voice is so shrill, like a soprano. Are you in a bad mood?"

Zhou Zeyu, having been exposed, was too lazy to continue the act and retorted with a pout: "Wouldn't it be more obvious if it was as low as a bass? How come you can hear it when the pitch is higher?"

"Do you think I don't know your own worth?" Coach Xu scoffed. "What's wrong? Having trouble finding a job?"

She chuckled dryly. "Smoothly? How could it not be smooth? At least they all replied to my emails, though their opening remarks were all expressions of regret."

Perhaps her self-deprecation was so unconvincing, even carrying a hint of self-abandonment, that even Coach Xu couldn't bear to listen and sighed.

"How could this be? They rejected everyone?"

Zhou Zeyu was silent for a moment, then hummed in agreement.

Coach Xu remained silent on the other end, probably considering whether to comfort or encourage her. However, he likely knew that Zhou Zeyu wouldn't listen to anything right now, so he simply said nothing.

After a while, even Zhou Zeyu himself couldn't stand the strange atmosphere. He slapped his thigh and said in frustration, "You know, I've won a world championship, I'm not that bad, how come I can't even get a job as a table tennis coach at the Youth Palace?"

"This..." Coach Xu hesitated, "It can't be that bad, can it? Is there some misunderstanding?"

Zhou Zeyi pondered this possibility seriously, then shook his head, "What misunderstanding could there be..."

Coach Xu, fearing she would continue to overthink, quickly retorted, "That's nonsense. Don't let your imagination run wild. If world champions are all so-so, then where in the world are there any exceptional people?"

"But why is this happening?" she couldn't understand. "Has the job market in Beijing really gotten this bad?"

"The overall environment may be a bit bad lately, but don't be discouraged. If you keep looking, you'll still find something."

Zhou Zeyu propped his head up and began to wonder if he had been trapped in an ivory tower for too long. He had been playing basketball all his life and knew nothing about anything else. He also lacked basic knowledge of society and thought that things were the same as before, and that as long as he was willing, he could find a job.

But sometimes she couldn't help but doubt herself, wondering if she was really that bad that it was unbearable. Otherwise, how could she not even be able to go to the Youth Palace? They say a phoenix without feathers is no better than a chicken, but no matter what, she, a world champion, should be more than capable of teaching children.

Unable to figure it out, and knowing that thinking about it would only make him more upset, Zhou Zeyu shook his head, forcing himself to get those thoughts out of his head, and perked up to continue talking to Coach Xu.

"How have you been lately? Have you tried Nanjing's salted duck and Meiling porridge?"

Coach Xu chuckled twice, but there was no joy in his laughter, only exhaustion. "With so much work to do, I don't have time to go out and enjoy a good meal. I'll order some takeout later."

Are you that busy?

"Busy, so much work," Coach Xu seemed to be typing away on the other end of the phone, his voice ethereal, mixed with the loud clatter of the keyboard. "It's only been three or four days, but it feels like I've been accumulating three or four years' worth of work."

Zhou Zeyu felt increasingly uneasy. Although she addressed Coach Xu respectfully as "Coach," everyone knew that his position in the team was not high. At best, he was just a lowly laborer. It is said that you should do as much work as you are paid for, and there is no reason for someone to work overtime on a monthly salary of two thousand.

"Where did all this work come from?" she frowned. "Did that Huang guy dump all the work on you again? How can that old man be so shameless?"

"Hey, keep it down! I'm playing music out loud here."

Zhou Zeyu didn't care about being publicly announced or not. Coach Huang was a forgetful person and probably had long forgotten that she existed in some corner of the world. So what if she offended him a few times?

If it weren't for the fact that Coach Xu was still working under her, Zhou Zeyu would have already started criticizing him, but now she had no choice but to hold back, and she snorted a few times.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more. I just wonder how much of the work you're doing was assigned to you by him on his own initiative. He's probably so bored that he's probably just sitting at home picking his toes all day."

A suppressed laugh came through the phone, but it was quickly masked by a loud cough. "Did you go see Fang Xiaocan? Your mouth sounds like it's poisoned."

Zhou Zeyi remained noncommittal. As expected, Fang Xiaocan's sharp tongue was notorious. It seemed that Coach Xu had suffered quite a bit while she was away.

“I feel sorry for you, Lao Xu. You don’t need to clean up his messes. If he’s so capable, why doesn’t he do those things himself? All he does all day is put on airs. Does he really want to make himself a male celebrity?”

"Alright, let's stop talking about male celebrities," Coach Xu gently interrupted her grumbling. "What else can I do? I need to make money, you know. I can't just fall out with him, can I?"

Zhou Zeyu tapped his knee casually and said, "Then quit your job. I'll take care of you in your old age."

Coach Xu laughed heartily: "You think you're rich just because you've saved a few cents in your pocket? All your bonuses over the years are hard-earned money, you should keep them for yourself."

It would have been fine if he hadn't brought it up, but now that he suddenly mentioned the bonus, Zhou Zeyu became alert and realized that something seemed amiss, so he asked.

"Wait a minute, speaking of prize money, where is all the prize money I won from the competition the year before last?"

Coach Xu laughed: "Don't you know it's your own money?"

Zhou Zeyu couldn't manage a smile and was stunned: "Coach Huang said he kept it for you."

The two were stunned. In a flash, based on their deep understanding of Coach Huang's character, they both gasped and exclaimed in unison.

"This is bad!"