A Starry Night (Part 7)
The pub played slow jazz music, and the air was filled with the aroma of alcohol and fried food. The voices of people talking were just right, neither too close nor too far. Zhou Zeyu was sound asleep at a table by the window.
She was a light sleeper, and in her hazy state, she seemed to dream of something, but when she opened her eyes, she found that there seemed to be nothing at all.
Only Sorkov, who appeared out of nowhere, sat quietly opposite her with his arms crossed, tilting his head slightly to look out the window. He showed no expression when he saw her wake up, and did not intend to explain why he was there.
Zhou Zeyu rubbed his eyes, stared at him for a few seconds to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and didn't ask him why he suddenly appeared. The two of them remained silent in a tacit yet strange way, neither of them saying a word.
Have you checked your phone today?
Zhou Zeyu gave him a strange look and reached for her phone. "Not yet. Did you call me?"
However, before she could even touch the phone, Solkov had already snatched it away with lightning speed, tossed it into his bag without any room for argument, and calmly said, "Then don't look at it."
"Why?"
Sorkov didn't speak, but shrugged. "Where are you planning to go this afternoon?"
“Because you didn’t answer my call,” he said. “Also, Angelica is in the arena, and you probably don’t want to see her.”
Zhou Zeyu frowned. "No way, didn't she leave right after the event?"
Sorkov raised an eyebrow and then quickly said, "But the arena will be packed today, which could cause a lot of unnecessary trouble. I think you should go another day."
"What's wrong with you today?" Zhou Zeyi finally asked, unable to contain himself any longer. "What happened?"
"Nothing's wrong."
Zhou Zeyi gave a short laugh, as if she had reluctantly given in, and watched him leisurely with her arms crossed, waiting for his next move. "Alright then, what do you want to do?"
Zhou Zeyu exclaimed, "Is this what you wanted to say?"
“This is it,” he said.
It was clearly not that, but Zhou Zeyu didn't expose him.
Just as Sorkov turned around, she swiftly snatched her phone, entered the password before he could react, and opened a long-dormant news website, quickly skimming through it.
"What!" she shouted angrily, unable to contain herself any longer. "What utter nonsense is he spouting?!"
Sorkov's hesitation quickly turned into helplessness. He spread his hands, as if he had expected her to fly into a rage. "God is my witness, I definitely tried to stop you."
“I don’t know him at all! In fact, I don’t even know Angelica at all,” she said, getting angrier and angrier. She even started pacing back and forth in frustration. “Has the Sports Daily gone mad for sales?! They just take a few pictures of us together and make up all sorts of stories. Today they’re saying Angelica and I are fighting over one man, tomorrow they’ll say we fought over Radets!”
"This report probably won't get back to China, right? Please! Please don't!" She looked up at the sky, on the verge of tears, pacing anxiously. "How can just anyone become a reporter?! I'll be condemned to death!"
In a flash, Solkov snatched the phone again, pressed the power button, and decisively tossed it into his bag, zipping it up without a hint of doubt. "That guy always talks nonsense; nobody believes him."
She was burying her face in her hands in despair when she heard this, and then peeked out with one eye through her fingers, half-believing, "Really?"
“Really,” he said firmly, his lips twitching almost imperceptibly.
That's bullshit.
With the idea of avoiding the limelight, Zhou Zeyu did not reappear in the gymnasium until a week later. During this week, she kept a low profile, reading the report countless times, and was so angry that she wanted to slap that guy a few times to prove her innocence.
However, this is impossible.
She entered the gymnasium hesitantly, probably because she felt guilty, as if she was being watched from all directions, making her feel uneasy. She slipped away quickly into the table tennis hall.
Erik and Anna were both there, whispering to each other. As soon as they saw her, they turned their heads away, pretending nothing was wrong.
Zhou Zeyu was stunned. "What are you talking about?"
Eric shook his head with a grin, his eyes darting around nervously. "It's nothing."
His expression and explanation were utterly unconvincing. Zhou Zeyi pursed his lips, and with barely suppressed anger, he forced out a few words, "Erik, get to the point."
Sorkov clicked his tongue, exclaimed "Oh dear!", and nudged Anna, who was staring blankly to the side, with his elbow. "Actually, I don't think it's a big deal, right? What's the big deal?"
Zhou Zeyu was completely confused. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
“Well… if you need it, I can help you make connections or something,” Eric scratched his head, even a little embarrassed, “though I didn’t bet on you, sorry.”
The more Zhou Zeyu listened, the more confused he became. He slapped his forehead and pulled Anna over. "What is he trying to say?"
Anna was much more honest. She stammered for a while, then sighed as if in despair, "He made a bet with the others, betting on whether you or Angelica would win over Radetz."
Zhou Zeyu was furious and sneered three times, which scared Eric F. so much that he turned and ran away. However, he was pulled back by Anna after only a few steps and hid behind her in fear without saying a word.
Zhou Zeyu exclaimed, "Wow! Can I ask what the odds are?"
Erik smiled. "Nine to one."
Seemingly realizing he had made a mistake, he quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "But don't be sad! Although, based on Radetz's previous girlfriends, your chances are indeed much smaller than Angelica's, so what!"
Anna chuckled twice. "A man with absolutely no taste."
Zhou Zeyu also gave an awkward laugh, but suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. She glanced around and saw that everyone in the table tennis hall, whether familiar or unfamiliar, was looking at her with strange eyes. Her face quickly went from burning hot to cold.
That's absolutely insane.
She glared at Eric and emphasized fiercely, "I don't like him!"
Anna casually mentioned, "Anyway, it didn't work."
Zhou Zeyu forced out a low growl, "I don't like it! I said I don't like Radetz!"
Erik and Anna exchanged glances, seemingly conveying some unspoken message. Then, Anna gave a knowing smile and, with her hands behind her back, accepted the coin from the dejected Erik.
Zhou Zeyu's face darkened. "What are you betting on..."
Anna tossed the coin up into the air with a mischievous grin, caught it firmly, and glanced at Ericf dismissively. "It's nothing, he lost anyway. Ericf, I can't believe you can't even see something so obvious."
Erikf wailed.
"Wait a minute," Zhou Zeyi said, his suspicions growing. "What exactly is it?"
The two of them exchanged another smile, their unspoken understanding making Zhou Zeyu's heart itch. However, they seemed determined not to say anything, keeping their mouths tightly shut and displaying only a tacit silence.
Zhou Zeyu chuckled and tempted Eric, "A racket personally signed by Fang Xiaocan."
"Deal." As expected, Erikev agreed without any backbone, but then he hesitated, as if he was considering how to start the conversation.
Zhou Zeyu felt his veins throbbing wildly, "If I play riddle rackets again, I won't have any left."
Anna glanced triumphantly at the defeated Eric, then carefully counted on her fingers for Zhou Zeyi, "He has such a bad temper. That time you kicked him so hard his nose bled, and in the end he didn't say a word of complaint. If Radetz had done that, the two of them would have been fighting so badly they'd end up in the police station."
"What's the big deal? Maybe he just doesn't want to make a fuss about it."
Anna hummed twice, clearly not taking her rebuttal seriously, and continued talking to herself, "He's so busy with training, yet he's always running around with you, teaching you swimming one minute and drinking with you the next. He's not like that kind of warm-hearted person."
Zhou Zeyu's brow twitched. "This can't be over-interpreted, can it? After all, I'm his father's client, and besides, I'm his research material!"
Anna snorted twice to show her disdain for the excuse. "Fine, thesis topic. I've never seen anyone so concerned about their topic."
"These are all just your guesses," Zhou Zeyi said, patting her shoulder knowingly. "There is no evidence at the moment, so neither you nor Eric won. The bet is void."
The two women let out a few weak groans. Anna frowned in anguish and patted her shoulder, mimicking her gesture. "But why do you keep arguing with me? Don't you want him to like you?"
Zhou Zeyu was stunned for a moment, then stammered for a while, but finally found himself unable to say anything. He waved his hand dismissively and said, "This is not a matter of whether I want it or not, Anna, it's a matter of whether I can do it or not."
Seeing the other person's confused look, she shook her head without explaining, and held up a finger fiercely in front of Erikf's eyes, threatening him menacingly, "Don't spread rumors that I like Radetz anymore! I don't like him! I don't like anyone!" After thinking for a moment, she added, "And stop with those messy betting schemes!"
Continuing to stare at the faint gazes and murmurs around him, Zhou Zeyu sighed heavily, slung his bag over his shoulder, and ran out as if fleeing.
However, she paused, turned around in confusion, and saw the culprit who had caused all this looking at her with a smile, bowing politely and holding up his press pass, indicating whether she wanted to go to the coffee shop next door for a drink.
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