The Road Back (Part Two)
Zhou Zeyu didn't intend to offer any opinion on this. She didn't like to meddle in other people's business, even if it was something that was closely related to her in the past. But now that they were going their separate ways, there was nothing more to say.
She nodded, and commented succinctly, "It's a complete mess."
"Yes, those who know will recognize this as a prestigious national team, but those who don't might mistake it for a bustling market in the west of the city."
"How long has it been since you received your salary?"
"Three to five months? I've forgotten."
"You really have no one to resist?"
Fang Xiaocan blinked, seemingly pondering, "Does being poached by the US with a hefty sum count as resistance? If it does, then it does; if it doesn't, then it doesn't."
Zhou Zeyi felt completely overwhelmed. "How many have been poached?"
“I’ve heard of three, oh, but a few others went to Europe,” Fang Xiaocan said. “That’s understandable, we have neither money nor technology now, anyone with common sense would know to look for other ways.”
Zhou Zeyu knew that she was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. In previous years, there had been people who tried to poach Fang Xiaocan's girlfriends, offering prices that were enough to make both of them swallow three eggs. However, she did not leave in the end. She looked at the check a few times and then handed it back.
She said at the time that if she really left, and the national anthem wasn't played when they won the game, it would be too painful and unacceptable.
I couldn't accept it, so I had no choice but to obediently stay in jail. There was really nothing I could do about it.
Fang Xiaocan had known this all along, but couldn't find a way to break the deadlock. So he could only lie on the cramped hospital bed, cynically cursing those lunatics at the same time every day, and then listlessly spend the rest of the day.
Actually, everyone is the same. Zhou Zeyu was like that in Belgrade, and Fang Xiaocan was like that in Beijing. After staying in such an environment for so long, who can escape internal strife? Nobody can.
Zhou Zeyi still remembers Fang Xiaocan's first day of work. Her loud laughter was deafening. She approached her carefree and shameless, boasting that she was the "Backhand Queen".
So she didn't know back then that Fang Xiaocan would become such a sighing, sarcastic, and abusive angry young man. In the end, the problem lies in this: it has turned a perfectly good person into someone who is no longer himself, someone who devours others without spitting out the bones.
When do you plan to retire?
The question was so direct that it startled Fang Xiaocan, who was speechless for a long time.
"Retire?" She silently repeated the word, lowered her head, and looked somewhat dejected. "I'm not that old, my injuries will heal quickly, my playing style has no significant weaknesses, I still actively participate in training, and I'm in good condition. I actually don't want to retire."
However, both of them knew perfectly well that the least important thing in the team was your thoughts; whether you thought about it or not was irrelevant because no one would care.
"You know that given the current situation, opportunities and resources will only become fewer and fewer, right?"
"Yes, of course I know," she replied sullenly, trying her best to make her tone sound nonchalant, even carefree.
Zhou Zeyu sighed and patted her shoulder heavily. All the words he wanted to say were contained in that pat. There was no need to say anything else. After so many years, the two of them should have developed some tacit understanding. They both understood what that meant.
Just as they both fell silent, trying to change the subject, a deadly silence seemed to fill the ward once again. The two chattering people rarely seemed to be quiet, which only made the atmosphere seem more eerie.
"This is fucking awful," Fang Xiaocan suddenly blurted out.
"This is fucking awful." Zhou Zeyu reached out and bumped fists with her.
"So what about you? What are your plans for the future?"
Zhou Zeyu shrugged. "I've heard countless people say this to me. Please spare me. If I knew what I was going to do next, I wouldn't be so idle right now."
"Oh, so you know you have a Beijing hukou (household registration) than me? That's good, isn't it?" Zhou Zeyu quickly interrupted her to prevent her from saying anything more shocking. "This kind of thing isn't something you can just ask for."
Fang Xiaocan snorted coldly, as if recalling something, her brows furrowing even more tightly, "Let Huang continue like this, I want to see how badly he can ruin this team. He wants a Beijing hukou, fine, if he's so capable, then he shouldn't recruit any talents from other places, let all those pampered princes and princesses play in the competition, let's see if he can still laugh then."
Zhou Zeyu laughed, but it was clearly only because of helplessness and powerlessness.
People laugh when they're speechless, and they do when they're powerless. When faced with something that's completely beyond their control, what else can they do? A bitter smile is better than tears.
This might be considered progress.
"Is your knee injury any better?" Fang Xiaocan lowered his head and gently touched her right knee.
Zhou Zeyu had completely forgotten about it, but after hearing her words, he belatedly remembered it. He forced a dry laugh and patted his knee, saying, "It's great."
"real?"
Zhou Zeyu avoided her gaze. She knew how perceptive Fang Xiaocan was, and she knew that her acting skills were no match for her, but putting on a brave front was still essential.
She hadn't paid much attention to her knee for a long time. The artificial material lay quietly inside her body, without the strong rejection reaction she had right after the surgery. After neglecting it for so long, she even felt it slowly merging with her flesh and blood, silently.
Only during strenuous exercise or when experiencing strong emotional fluctuations would she feel a faint pain in that area, but this was commonplace for Zhou Zeyu. As long as it wasn't unbearable, she could habitually ignore the discomfort.
The last time she felt pain seemed to be on that rainy night in Belgrade, when she and Coach Xu were stranded at the airport. The humidity in the air was so high, and the water level had unfortunately reached above her calves.
The dampness and coldness made the wound ache again, but she didn't tell anyone. After so many years of struggle, Zhou Zeyu realized once again that talking was sometimes the most useless thing. The moment the words came out of her mouth, she felt relieved, but it was useless, and even less effective than ibuprofen.
She pulled herself out of her reverie, her face somewhat dazed. "It was alright, nothing special..."
Fang Xiaocan stared at her face for a while, then sighed heavily, "You really should check again, do you still have the contact information for that attending physician?"
Zhou Zeyi thought for a moment, "Didn't Dr. Wang switch to another hospital last year? I haven't been in contact with him for a long time, so it should be about the same if I change doctors."
Fang Xiaocan shook her head, but did not explain why. "He has been in charge of you for so many years, so of course he knows you better than other doctors. I still think you should go see him."
She didn't really care whether she watched it or not, but she couldn't resist Fang Xiaocan's insistence, so she had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
In fact, Zhou Zeyu was not enthusiastic about this at all; in fact, she was rather passive. She was no longer a professional athlete, so her injuries were the least important thing. Moreover, if she were to encounter the doctor from back then again, many memories that she had deliberately forgotten would inevitably flood back, and she was not sure she could handle it.
But on the surface, she still had to feign concern and try to brush it off with sobs. However, Fang Xiaocan seemed to see through her disguise, sneered, and said without any mercy.
"Don't think you can get away with this. I'm watching you call him right now and schedule a follow-up appointment for tomorrow."
Seeing that he had been exposed, Zhou Zeyu protested reluctantly: "What's the point of reviewing this? It's been so long."
"So much time has passed, is there no need to check again?" Fang Xiaocan glared at her angrily, then suddenly remembered that her new phone probably didn't have any phone numbers saved, so she took out her own, quickly searched through the contacts, dialed, and neatly tossed it into her arms.
Suddenly, her phone went dead. She was stunned, clearly not expecting this, and exchanged a confused glance with Fang Xiaocan: "He hung up."
"What's going on? Are you still busy? Call me back later, or save my number."
Zhou Zeyu said "Oh," took out his phone, opened his contacts, and entered the numbers one by one.
“15…79,” she turned her head and muttered to herself, “4910.”
4910……
When Zhou Zeyu realized what he had seen, his brain froze for a moment, then his eyes widened rapidly. He pointed at the number with immense excitement, almost slurring his words, "Found it! Fang Xiaocan! I found it!"
Fang Xiaocan stared at her like she was a monkey, and asked strangely, "Found what? Is he your half-brother?"
Zhou Zeyu glared at her, then suddenly pulled out the note hidden behind his phone case and slapped it onto the bed.
"What is this now, your kill list?"
Although Fang Xiaocan might be more interested in this statement given her personality, Zhou Zeyu would never say it.
So she cleared her throat seriously, "It's nothing, but I just have a feeling that these three sets of numbers are not simple. You know what I mean, trust my intuition."
"Oh, so you've given up ping-pong to become a secret agent, right?" Fang Xiaocan nodded in agreement after hearing what she said, and came to this conclusion with a satisfied nod.
Zhou Zeyu was too lazy to argue with her anymore. He quickly saved the number in his phone and then urged her without looking up, "Hey, can you check if you have these other two numbers in your phone?"
Fang Xiaocan suddenly raised her hands, "Hey, hey, hey, I'm a law-abiding citizen, not some foreign spy. How could I possibly have this number in my phone?"
Are you going to look for it or not?
Seeing that Zhou Zeyu was getting serious, Fang Xiaocan quickly conceded defeat, picked up her phone and started typing. Half a minute later, she shrugged at her as if to stir up trouble, "Unfortunately, Agent, the information you need is not in my hands."
Zhou Zeyu lowered his head and traced a line on the top string of numbers with his fingernail. "It's alright, I've already found one."
She wanted to see what the hidden meaning was behind these three mysteriously appearing numbers, who the person who handed her the note was, what they wanted, and what they were thinking. She would find out all of this.
Suddenly, a hand reached out in front of her. Fang Xiaocan waved it in front of her and said, "Hey, what are you thinking about, all mysterious?"
Zhou Zeyu slapped her hand away and said righteously, "Who's talking nonsense? I wasn't thinking anything."
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