Year-end (Part 3)

Zhou Zeyu opened his eyes again, staring at the pitch-black ceiling. He took a deep breath during a familiar pause in the contractions, resignedly closed his eyes, then opened them again, and got up to find painkillers.

In this kind of weather, even room temperature water feels icy cold, but Zhou Zeyu didn't care. He swallowed it whole, let out a long sigh, and collapsed back onto the bed.

She glanced at her phone; it was 6:13, and it wasn't even dawn yet.

For some reason, her knees have been hurting more frequently these days. She has been taking the medicine as prescribed by the doctor, but the effect is minimal. At its worst, she can only grit her teeth and endure the pain by taking painkillers.

This is very unusual, because since the surgery, her knee has been in relatively stable condition, except for one or two times when she might experience unbearable pain for some reason, but those were only temporary and not like now, where the pain occurs every day or two.

It's probably because of the weather; it's been so damp and cold lately. There's nothing that can be done about it, Zhou Zeyu could only think.

Unable to sleep, she simply got up and started preparing. She turned over and quickly began to dress, her mind still racing, anticipating what might happen that day.

However, she really couldn't imagine what might happen; it would most likely go smoothly, and she habitually omitted the other possibilities.

She stared blankly with her eyes open until after eight o'clock when there was finally a knock on her door. Zhou Zeyu quickly got up, but because she moved too fast, she aggravated her right knee again. She let out a low groan of complaint, but ignored it and walked over to open the door with some difficulty, maintaining a normal walking posture.

"How did you sleep?"

Zhou Zeyu couldn't utter a single word, still struggling against the pain, only nodding haphazardly, trying to appear nonchalant.

Her mother didn't notice anything wrong. She handed her steamed buns and fried dough sticks, glanced at her watch, and gestured for her to eat them after getting in the car.

Are you nervous?

Zhou Zeyu opened the car door and got in. He was looking down at his seatbelt when he heard this and paused for a moment. "Ah... I'm alright."

She wasn't deceiving herself, nor was she thinking that much; she was simply preoccupied with other things and had no time to worry about what was to come.

"Why do you look so unhappy?"

"Really?" Zhou Zeyu stopped biting into her steamed bun and subconsciously touched her face. Perhaps it was just that she had been unhappy for a long time, so even though there was no expression on her face, she looked like she was sullen, but she wasn't.

She shook her head, said nothing, and focused on eating her breakfast.

"Don't be afraid. They say even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. You'll definitely be fine."

"What kind of nonsensical adjectives are these?" Zhou Zeyu smiled wryly. "Mom, I'm not a camel."

Her mother turned her head and quickly looked her over. "You've gotten so thin, you're almost as thin as a camel. How did you lose so much weight after going abroad? I really need to give you some nourishment sometime. You have to eat bird's nest, ginseng, and old hen soup."

Zhou Zeyu scratched her head. She actually felt that it was unnecessary. After all, she was eating six cans of supplements a day during her recuperation period. It would be a blessing if she didn't have excessive nutrition, let alone malnutrition.

She shook her head and didn't say anything. She finally finished her breakfast, which consisted of steamed buns and boiled eggs. Now she was choking like a camel, her face turning red. She finally managed to swallow the stuff stuck in her throat, almost failing.

"Eat slowly, what's the rush?"

There was no way she couldn't be anxious, because five minutes earlier, Zhou Zeyu had seen the navigation system indicating that she was about to arrive at her destination. This scared her so much that she didn't dare to waste a single second. So it was impossible for her not to be nervous. Who could remain calm in this situation? She certainly couldn't.

Numbly, Zhou Zeyu got out of the car, numbly followed her mother into the simple building, and numbly greeted and exchanged pleasantries with a group of strangers. Throughout the entire process, Zhou Zeyu was lost in thought, her mind wandering to some obscure corner.

It wasn't until she was led to a dimly lit room in a daze, and then all the lights suddenly turned on the moment she entered, that Zhou Zeyu belatedly realized what was happening when she opened her eyes wide and saw the room full of equipment. She blinked and looked at the staff member in the white coat next to her.

The staff member was very polite and nodded gently at her: "It's okay, it's just a simple physical examination, don't be nervous."

At the same time, a smiling middle-aged woman walked up behind her and patted her shoulder reassuringly, "We all know your abilities. This is just a formality. You won't fail. Relax and don't be nervous."

Why is everyone telling her not to be nervous? Does she have "I'm so nervous, I can't take it, I'm going to faint" written all over her face?

Zhou Zeyu remained expressionless, but she had tried to make herself appear to be smiling. Like a toy puppet, she was led to one different machine after another, stiffly raising her hands, stiffly squatting down, stiffly bowing her head, jumping, and spinning like a top.

She couldn't help but feel resentful, almost gritting her teeth as she thought about which bastard had devised these actions.

Everything went smoothly. The painkillers had taken effect, so she couldn't feel anything in her right knee at all. It was as if that damn artificial bone had suddenly lost contact with her. But Zhou Zeyu thought it might be better if it lost contact, so it wouldn't keep bothering her.

Zhou Zeyu hated the feeling of being spied on, especially after she realized that there were no fewer than five people standing behind the glass in the room, all of them with their arms crossed and looking at her. This aversion intensified to the point that she had to try her best to control herself so that she wouldn't look so irritable.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the man in the white coat nodded to her, then looked down and scribbled something on the whiteboard before handing it to the middle-aged woman.

Zhou Zeyu's gaze remained fixed on the woman, watching her glance at the medical report, then walk out of the room and nod slightly to the people behind the glass. The people exchanged glances, smiled, and suddenly all turned their attention to her, seemingly without prior agreement.

Zhou Zeyi suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, but she couldn't think about it anymore, because when she came to her senses, she was already sitting in the slightly uncomfortable chair in the conference room, with a brand new contract in front of her.

Everything seemed too smooth and too wonderful, so much so that when it actually happened, Zhou Zeyu couldn't help but doubt its authenticity.

But seemingly sensing her hesitation, the middle-aged woman looked at her kindly, her tone almost affectionate.

"What's wrong? Do you have any questions about this contract?"

Zhou Zeyu's gaze fell on the large characters "Southern Group Table Tennis Club" above the contract, and she paused, stunned. "I didn't have a trial period or evaluation period? Just like that..." She tried to think of a tactful way to begin, "...that simple?"

As if she hadn't expected this concern, the middle-aged woman was also somewhat surprised, but quickly replied gently, "Other players might have, but you don't need to."

But you don't need to.

It seemed that at that very moment, the kneecap began to throb with pain again. Zhou Zeyu froze, his pen nib hovering hesitantly over the contract.

Aren't you worried?

"What's there to worry about?" the middle-aged woman said with a smile. "It should be our honor that such an outstanding player like you is willing to join us."

Zhou Zeyu remained frowning, not answering for a long time.

Zhou Zeyu didn't hear what she said next; in fact, he hadn't been listening at all and had no interest in the advantages of those facilities and equipment.

To be fair, this club was the best she could choose from, as it was excellent in both environment and ability, but that wasn't what Zhou Zeyu was considering.

She recalled last night, when the two of them sat in the pitch-black car, and her mother turned around and told her that she could try one last time.

Given the current situation, returning to the national team is no longer realistic, so finding a table tennis club becomes a good option. Just like her mother said, even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse. Of course, she is no longer at her peak, but playing in a club is still no problem.

As a former World Junior Championships champion, World Table Tennis Championships champion, and National Games champion, she certainly has the confidence to say these things and deserves such preferential treatment. "But you don't have to," such confidence seems perfectly natural, given her past fame.

But, but...

Zhou Zeyu remained hesitant.

Her gaze fell on the contract, as if trying to see something more clearly through the black and white words, but she shook her head and gave up on the idea of ​​delaying any further.

Her indecisiveness was already severe, and she couldn't let herself sink any further. In any case, there's more than one path in the world, so what's wrong with giving it a try?

The pen fell onto the paper.

It seemed that the moment she signed her name, everything before her eyes was changing rapidly. The middle-aged woman laughed heartily, stood up and shook hands with her. A huge camera was placed in front of her, and with a click, ribbons fell, and everyone gathered around cheered.

Zhou Zeyu stood there, feeling that the expression on her face was too strange, at least out of place with this seemingly happy scene. She was stiff all over, reached out and slapped off a ribbon that had fallen on her shoulder, and then gave the camera the most formal smile she had ever given in her life.

However, just as she was lost in her inexplicable thoughts, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her. She thought she had misheard, blinked, and ignored it.

But it was obvious that her action was wrong, because the voice was getting louder and clearer. By the time Zhou Zeyu's eyes widened and she finally realized that it was someone calling her name indistinctly, her shoulder had already been maliciously slapped down hard.

She clutched her shoulder, whirled around, unsure whether she was more surprised or terrified. "Ah! You?"

Upon seeing Zhou Zeyu's shocked expression, the man's initial anger seemed to subside considerably. He smiled, crossed his arms, and gave a greeting that was by no means entirely friendly, in a bizarre tone.

"What, Zhou Zeyi, you absolutely don't know it's me, do you?"

Of course he didn't know. Even if Zhou Zeyu smashed his head, he would never have imagined seeing her here.

Zhou Zeyu blinked. "What's going on? Tell me quickly, are you here for tourism?"

“No,” the man said confidently, his expression even bordering on arrogant, his perfectly styled curly hair shimmering with a strange, alluring luster. “Of course I’m the same as you. How about that? You can’t believe we’d become teammates one day, can you?”

Just like her... just like her?!

Zhou Zeyu heard herself gasp. The established fact that she and Li Shanxi would become teammates in the club swirled in her mind again and again. She swallowed hard and suddenly felt a lump in her throat, like the egg she ate in the morning was still stuck there.

She knew that her hesitation before signing the contract was justified.

Why didn't you hesitate a little longer back then! Zhou Zeyu twitched the corner of his mouth, feeling as if a million wild beasts were roaring inside him.

Let's at least wait until this guy shows up before considering whether to sign or not!