Baileys (Part 4)
With one hand supporting Zhou Zeyu's waist, Sorkov awkwardly reached into his pocket for his keys with the other. After a click, he gently pushed the door open with his knee, and his shoulder also knocked the door open.
Fortunately, Zhou Zeyu had the good habit of keeping his keys in his pocket; otherwise, Sorkov wouldn't have been able to get in so easily, and might have been kicked out by the front desk staff as a pervert.
He chuckled, turned around, and very gently placed the sleeping Zhou Zeyu on the bed. She seemed to wake up a little, and groggily looked up at him. After seeing him clearly, she quickly closed her eyes again, skillfully rolled up the blanket, and wrapped herself in it.
With a fluid motion, Sorkov stood there, trying hard to suppress a smile, reached out to smooth her loose hair, and then gently touched her cheek.
"I'll call the police if you move around again..."
Sorkov finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, no longer bothering to argue with this sleepy idiot. Obviously, her threat was less than nothing in this half-awake state, so he ignored it and reached out to tap her other cheek.
However, no one continued to refute him this time. It was simple: the suspect had fallen asleep quickly in that short second, breathing evenly and gently, and was soundly asleep.
How can someone fall asleep so quickly?
Sorkov shook his head. He sat on the edge of the bed, gazing silently at her as she slept.
To some extent, Zhou Zeyi might be right, since his current actions really do seem a bit like those of a pervert. Fortunately, no one else knows, because she fell asleep so quickly.
He wanted to shamelessly kiss her a few more times before leaving, but she had already fallen asleep. What does that mean? Is it an attempted crime?
Sorkov hesitated for a while between "turning away" and "secretly kissing," and finally sighed, feeling that he would regret choosing either A or B. So after much deliberation, he chose the third option.
Zhou Zeyu is temporarily staying at a hotel in the suburbs of Belgrade. Although it is called a hotel, it is actually just an uninhabited residential building with barely adequate facilities, certainly not as good as the lakeside villa she stayed in before.
The old wooden bed had faint cracks, the ceiling was gray and the walls were stained with some kind of dirt, and there was even some garbage in the corner that hadn't been cleaned up. Sorkov didn't know how Zhou Zeyu could live in such an environment without complaining, but that was indeed the case. Zhou Zeyu had lived here for almost a week and seemed to have never mentioned any of this.
She seemed completely unconcerned.
But Sorkov couldn't be indifferent. He had lived in houses like this before; the place he lived as a child was even worse than this. But that didn't mean he could just stand by and watch Zhou Zeyu live here.
He rolled up his sleeves, looked around, and immediately began cleaning without saying a word.
Zhou Zeyi's personality has always been like this. She may not complain about the dust and trash, but that doesn't mean she will clean it up. She doesn't feel guilty or indebted, so she won't put in any extra effort. Sorkov was the same way before. He might have raised the issue with the hotel staff instead of just starting to clean it up without complaint.
He couldn't wait any longer. Judging from the efficiency of the Belgrade hotel, if Zhou Zeyi wanted to stay in a clean and comfortable room, she might have to wait until after Christmas, but the problem was that it was still summer.
Sorkov didn't want her to live in that environment any longer, not even for a second.
By the time he finally finished cleaning inside and out, it was already 11 p.m. He had cleaned up every nook and cranny, replaced the trash bags, and made the floors and walls look brand new. Except for the ceiling, which he was powerless to clean, he had cleaned the entire room.
It was clear that during her stay, she seemed to have occupied only this one table in the room. Sticky notes and notebooks were piled up haphazardly, and striking black and red handwriting was everywhere. The message board was filled with densely packed phone numbers, and there were even several thick books that he couldn't understand.
Solkov stood in front of the table and glanced at it casually, but the handwriting was too messy for him to make out the mixed Chinese characters, so he quickly looked away and left the table.
After a brief moment of thought, he still didn't dare touch anything on it, leaving everything in its original position. He only washed the mug that was placed to the side, dried it, and put it back in its original place.
After finishing all this, he breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the bags of trash placed at the door, half-closed the door, and wanted to take one last look at Zhou Zeyu before leaving, but suddenly met a pair of eyes that were blinking at him.
The culprit seemed completely oblivious to how terrifying this was. After startling Solkov, he still wore that innocent smile, sat up in bed, and touched his messy head, as if trying to tame his tangled hair with his bare hands.
However, this was obviously in vain. Sorkov put down the garbage bag again, took a comb from his open suitcase, and handed it to her.
Zhou Zeyu took it and said while combing her hair, "How do you know where I put my comb so well? You didn't secretly go through my suitcase, did you?"
Sorkov was speechless: "You can put it on top of the list, unless I'm blind I won't be able to see it."
He paused for a moment, then asked, "When did you wake up?"
Zhou Zeyi remained suspiciously silent, a malicious smile playing on his lips, which made Sorkov's hair stand on end. He quickly asked, "Just now?"
She smiled without saying a word.
"Five minutes ago? Ten minutes ago?" he persisted, "when I took out the mop?"
Her tone suddenly became very sarcastic, and the end of her sentences was deliberately drawn out. Coupled with her almost teasing gaze, Sorkov almost ran away in panic, but fortunately Zhou Zeyu was quick enough to pull him back.
"The important thing is that I've discovered you have the potential to be a fairy godmother."
With a sudden burst of strength, Sorkov stumbled and lost his balance, falling awkwardly onto the bed. She held him tightly, and the two of them were embracing in a completely strange position. Zhou Zeyu was sitting, while he was lying in her arms, held firmly by her arms.
Sorkov blushed, but not from embarrassment. In fact, because it happened so fast, he didn't feel embarrassed at all. The only thought left in his mind was that Zhou Zeyu was going to strangle him.
What's even more terrifying is that Zhou Zeyi didn't notice this at all. She still pursed her lips and looked at him with a smile, and then there was another kiss without warning. This time it was even quite forceful, at least Solkov's lips actually hit his teeth.
He couldn't hold back any longer, closed his eyes, and reflexively let out a victim's groan. Only then did Zhou Zeyu belatedly cry out in pain and release his hand from his neck.
Are you alright?
Sorkov covered his mouth, trying to suppress his cough, but in his haste to answer her question, he choked and sat up abruptly in bed, coughing with a flushed face.
Zhou Zeyu was stunned for a moment, her face showing a mixture of embarrassment and shame. She reached out and patted his back heavily. "Uh, I, I didn't mean to, Sorkov, are you alright?"
Poor Sorkov quickly grabbed her hand, signaling her not to continue patting his back. He was fine, but if she kept patting him, something might happen.
Not knowing how long this chaotic situation lasted, Zhou Zeyu frantically poured water and grabbed tissues. He finally calmed down, but the blush of relief still lingered on his face as he looked at Zhou Zeyu with a complex expression.
Zhou Zeyu's face was also filled with mixed emotions, and he seemed to have a hint of guilt: "Yes, I'm sorry."
"I thought you were going to strangle me."
Her eyes darted around, and she chuckled twice: "How could that be? How could I bear to strangle you, right?"
Sorkov stared at her face for a long time, then suddenly let out a dejected sigh; he was truly at his wit's end.
To prevent the atmosphere between the two from spiraling into something strange, Solkov racked his brains for a long time before finally figuring out what to say to change the subject, and he felt a great sense of relief.
Zhou Zeyu seemed to wake from a dream, remembering that he seemed to have said those words just now. But after a brief moment of thought, the expression on his face began to change rapidly, from innocent after causing trouble to malicious intent.
God knows how much Sorkov regretted mentioning it.
“This is a folk tale,” she cleared her throat and said with an air of seriousness, “It’s about a person who picked up a snail and took it home. To her surprise, every time she came home, there was a delicious meal and a clean house. Later, she found out that there was another person living inside the snail, and that person had done all this for her. Then they lived happily ever after.”
After she finished speaking, she nodded seriously, and then realized that she hadn't heard Sorkov speak for a long time. She looked over in confusion and saw him staring blankly into space.
"are you hungry?"
Zhou Zeyu was clearly surprised that he would think of this, and was stunned for a moment. "I'm not hungry, why do you ask?"
"Didn't you say that to become a qualified snail fairy, one must prepare delicious food and a clean house? I'm still missing one."
She was clearly shocked by his wildly imaginative ideas, but after thinking about it, she found them strangely reasonable and nodded in agreement, giving him an admiring look. "Young man, you're quite perceptive. You've already avoided many detours at such a young age."
Sorkov didn't react at first and just gave a soft "hmm." It wasn't until he saw Zhou Zeyu laughing heartily that he belatedly joined in the laughter.
Because she was sleeping, the room lights were kept dim. When Sorkov was cleaning, he only turned on the small lamp near the door. The light source was too far away to illuminate their faces clearly, but it inexplicably made them feel at ease.
At least in this dim light, he could ignore many things and then legitimately and justifiably fix his gaze on her.
They should always be this happy.
Zhou Zeyu was tired of laughing, and then suddenly leaned close to him, pursing her lips to suppress her laughter, and then asked with a grin, "Do you want to kiss me again?"
Sorkov was silent for a moment, then spoke in a tone he himself had never heard before, a tone that was hard to tell whether it was smugness or感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection): "Are you really Zhou Zeyi?"
"Hmm, if you don't believe me, then check it out?"
That bastard Zhou Zeyu, what can he do to examine her? He can only stare at her like this.
Aren't you worried that I might actually be a pervert?
"Oh?" Zhou Zeyu said sarcastically, "Aren't you one too?"
That bastard Zhou Zeyi, she only dared to do this because she knew he wasn't him.
Sorkov tried to make his voice sound more like he was gritting his teeth than like an innocent teenager being teased, but a cold expression alone didn't seem to be enough, since it was so dark that she couldn't see his face at all.
“You’re the pervert, Zhou Zeyu,” he snorted. “You always have been.”
It seems that Zhou Zeyu has always been this shameless when it comes to him. She kisses him when she wants to, teases him when she wants to, and hides away or just leaves when she doesn't want to do it anymore. But the most despicable thing is that Sorkov really can't do anything about her. It was like this before, and it is still like this now.
Bastard, bastard, bastard.
However, given the complicated situation, and the fact that the jerk was staring intently at him in the dim light, even showing signs of wanting to kiss him shamelessly, Sorkov decided to let it go. Let her be a jerk, she wasn't like that with everyone.
In a sense, special treatment can be considered a form of favoritism, even though it's not exactly something that can be done openly and honestly.
So he could only sigh and quickly kiss her on the lips. "Yes."
However, the other person still shook their head, staring at him with a look of utter disdain, as if nitpicking. "You're very unwilling, aren't you? Did I force you?"
Sorkov scoffed, "Come on, what exactly do you want?"
Seeing her tactics foiled, she remained calm and composed, without a hint of embarrassment. She sighed softly, "What am I supposed to do? Can't I just really, really like you?"
Here we go again, you bastard.
Sorkov could clearly feel the burning sensation on his skin as her breath brushed against him, then he quickly lost consciousness as if he had been given anesthesia, until it became a large, tingling, numb patch, and he was almost unable to move.
It's all your fault, Zhou Zeyu.
“You…” He took a deep breath, “What are you doing?”
"Just looking at you, that's all."
"Stop looking..."
"Is there a charge?" she said with a grin, even moving closer.
The already sparse distance between them was closed again, their noses almost touching. He wanted to keep looking at her, but he could barely focus.
"I'm willing to pay a fee. Just name your price, and I'll pay it."
"Four billion."
Zhou Zeyi scoffed: "How greedy are you? I'll just kiss you to make up for it."
Then she really did what she said she would do, and gave him a hard kiss on the lips, even making a crisp sound with a rather malicious grin.
Sorkov was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He leaned back slightly, quickly widening the distance between them. His head was buzzing. Who knew if there was a bomb inside? If it exploded, so be it. He could just be blown up.
"Are you..." He hesitated, wondering if he should be more tactful, but after thinking about it, he felt it wasn't necessary. After all, Zhou Zeyu seemed to be in a good mood right now, and it was unlikely that she would switch to her raging personality in the next second and detonate the bomb in his brain on the spot. "It's ovulation period."
However, to his surprise, after hearing his words, the other party neither got angry nor continued to joke around to brush it off. Strangely, Zhou Zeyu actually frowned slightly, then silently widened the distance between the two of them, and was seriously considering this possibility.
"I knew it... that's why I was so eager to see you during my layover."
Sorkov paused, "What turning point?"
Zhou Zeyu's expression quickly turned guilty, and he chuckled, trying to brush the matter off, "I didn't say anything about a turning point, you misheard me."
Sorkov didn't speak, his face full of speechless disbelief, as if to say, "Are you treating me like a fool?" He stared at him for a while, perhaps feeling a little guilty, and Zhou Zeyu scratched his head, then began to speak evasively again.
"Oh, actually, well... just remember that I came to see you. Actually, I wasn't planning on coming to Belgrade."
Solkov was certain he had heard the bomb countdown. "What do you mean by 'not originally planning to come'? Where were you originally going?"
"Hmm... perhaps, London? Paris? Or maybe Lanvelpur, Guingil Gogri, Huier, Endroble, Landi, Sillio, Gogogohe?"
A hint of despair crept onto Sorkov's face: "Say it again."
“No,” the other person refused decisively. “Oh, don’t overthink it. Anyway, I’m in Belgrade now, aren’t I?”
"to be honest."
What will happen if I don't tell?
"Ignite the bomb and we'll both perish together."
"Is it that exaggerated?" Zhou Zeyu met his gaze and immediately changed her words, "I mean, it's that serious."
"Then you promise me you won't get angry after listening."
"good."
That's a lie, there's no guarantee at all. Solkov wants to bite her right now.
Zhou Zeyu took a deep breath and spoke so fast it sounded like some wild beast was chasing after him.
"Actually, it's like this: I had some business to take care of in London, but wouldn't you know it, I really wanted to see you while I was transiting in Belgrade, so I came to find you. I even missed my flight because of this, but it's okay, because I like you, right?"
Sorkov declared that this was the cruelest string of rhymes he had ever heard in his twenty-odd years of life.
Zhou Zeyu quickly interrupted him, "Hey, hey, don't say that. Are you out of your mind?"
I'm so angry I'm losing my mind.
He wondered why Zhou Zeyu was acting so strangely this time. When she was being affectionate, she would cling to him like an octopus and wouldn't let go, but when she was being indifferent, she would become silent and withdrawn. It turned out that this was simply a hormonal issue. As for why she had been reluctant to tell the truth, it was simply because she knew she wouldn't be staying here for long, so she was too lazy to explain it to him.
"Don't overthink it. I've told you the truth, haven't I? I even told you about my knee surgery. I've tried my best to be honest, haven't I?"
"That's bullshit, Zhou Zeyi." Without a doubt, Sorkov wouldn't believe a single word of it.
He took a deep breath, but the effect was almost negligible. It not only failed to cool him down, but also added more pent-up anger to his already irritated stomach.
"And then what? After this period is over, you'll just pack your bags and leave? Like you did before, disappearing without a word?"
"first."
"Oh right." Zhou Zeyu suddenly came to her senses and remembered that time she rushed to the airport in the middle of the night, only to have her luggage stolen and had to leave without saying goodbye. Because the incident was so absurd, she had almost forgotten about it.
Seeing the expression on her face as she slowly came to her senses, Sorkov became even angrier: "Aren't you very skilled? It's not like it's your first time doing this. What do you take me for? A male model you can just pick up in Belgrade? Someone you can kiss a few times and then walk away?"
Zhou Zeyu blinked, seemingly unsure how to respond.
The two looked at each other, one furious, the other stunned. And looking at that face that even seemed to have a hint of grievance, Solkov really couldn't say anything harsh. After thinking it over, he reached out and pinched her face hard through gritted teeth.
"Don't look at me like that, Zhou Zeyu. I'm the one who should be feeling wronged."
“No, no,” Zhou Zeyu finally said, “that’s not what I meant, Sorkov. I think even after ovulation, I will still like you.”
That's not the point at all!
Solkov was completely out of options. He showed a helpless expression, let go of her hand, and even had the urge to force a bitter smile. "Is this your explanation?"
Sorkov hummed in agreement, raised an eyebrow, and waited for her to continue. "So what?"
He knew, of course, that Zhou Zeyi couldn't continue, because she hadn't seriously considered their future at all. Let alone the future, she probably didn't even have a plan for the next second. After all, these four days were just a product of her whims, so how could she possibly think about things so far into the future?
“Let me answer for you, Zhou Zeyi,” Sorkov said coldly, pulling away from her and crossing his arms. “You’ll go back to your country, then do whatever you want, treating these few days as a romantic dream, forgetting me when you’re busy, and thinking of me occasionally when you’re free, right?”
She didn't speak, but reached out and tugged at his sleeve, shaking her head very gently.
But Sorkov already knew her and knew that she would only remain silent and shake her head when there was absolutely nothing left to say. This usually meant that Sorkov had indeed spoken to her, and she subconsciously wanted to refute him, but couldn't find the right words.
Sorkov stared at her for a moment, then sneered, reached out and took the hem of her clothes that she was clutching tightly, and turned to walk towards the door.
"Hey! Sorkov!"
However, just as his hand touched the doorknob, a loud noise came from behind him. It wasn't Zhou Zeyu calling him.
Worse still, in her haste to get out of bed, her knees buckled, and she crashed onto the solid wood floor with a loud thud.
With a deafening bang, in the instant that Sorkov turned around at lightning speed and rushed towards her, he finally realized that the damned bomb in his head had triggered a series of explosions. Who knew if he was still alive?
I don't know, he might be dying soon.
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