Restart button (Part 1)
"Could you stop smiling so sinisterly? It's really scary."
After meeting Lee Sun-hee's malicious smile for the thousand and first time, Zhou Zeyu finally couldn't take it anymore and released his racket, returning the smile with an absolutely unfriendly one.
"Oh my, it's so funny to see you so surprised," the other person said, still smiling at her without any reaction. "And don't you think this is funny?"
What's interesting about it? Zhou Zeyu felt his head begin to ache uncontrollably.
Half a month has passed. For a full half month, whenever the two of them appeared in the same space, Li Shanxi seemed to be programmed to always hold up his racket and stare at her with a wicked smile. If Zhou Zeyu didn't know this guy's character, she might have suspected that he was a pervert.
No, she's a pervert to begin with.
Zhou Zeyi was completely speechless: "Why didn't you give me a heads-up beforehand? You were just secretly planning to sign the contract and then gave me a big shock, weren't you?"
That's clearly what the other party is thinking.
“Actually, it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision,” Lee Sun-hee shrugged innocently. “When they came to Seoul to invite me, they specifically mentioned your name. I thought you wanted me to come.”
Zhou Zeyu suddenly had the illusion that she had been tricked. She looked up at the ceiling of the training ground in a daze and suddenly didn't know what to say. She was so helpless that she was speechless.
"What kind of sudden urge is this? Haven't you been retired for years? Do you even know how to hold a racket?"
Although the words were clearly malicious, fortunately, Lee Sun-hee was no pushover either, and retorted swiftly, "And what about you? The wounded have been out of commission for so long, you should be even more rusty than me."
Good heavens, her skills haven't diminished after all these years! Zhou Zeyu raised an eyebrow, looking at her incredulously.
"How come your Chinese is so fluent when you're swearing?"
This is inevitable, because it seems that some people have a natural talent for languages. For example, Zhou Zeyu studied Korean with this guy for a long time, but now he can only fluently swear.
Lee Sun-hee shrugged, not answering the question, and patted his training uniform: "But it's too late for you to back out now. We'll still be teammates for a long time."
Zhou Zeyu gave an "oh," turned around expressionlessly, picked up his racket, and began preparing for training again. "You should be the one who's happy, since the person who has defeated you the most in the world will never be your opponent again."
While that's true, Zhou Zeyu wasn't really sure himself. After all, these two had been away from the mainstream arena for far too long, to the point that they seemed somewhat outdated. Who knew how much they still had to offer together?
However, time waits for no one. While the two elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people are still actively preparing for the competition, the first stage of the new season is just around the corner. No matter how much she and Li Shanxi dislike each other, they should both pull themselves together and train seriously.
However, the most dangerous thing is not the mysterious and unknown competitive level of the two, but the fact that this so-called "best local" club is really too terrifying.
Objectively speaking, this new club is absolutely top-notch. The salaries they offer are astonishing, the stadium is almost lavishly built, and all the equipment and facilities are top-notch in the industry. Not to mention that they have recently recruited a large number of semi-retired former national team players. Their strength on paper is indeed not to be underestimated; they are simply a formidable force.
But the problem is also obvious: such a large and luxurious club has no coach.
For a rising club, this situation was obviously strange, because no one would turn down money, and there was no shortage of teams and coaches in the country. After a few days, Zhou Zeyu gradually realized that the lack of a coach was the club's smallest weakness.
Because it was only recently established, the entire club seemed to be in a state of superficial stability but actual chaos. The management had no idea how to run the club and just blindly poured money into it. As for training policies, financial arrangements, player placement, and other messy details, they all fell into the category of "whoever wants to manage can manage, anyway, we can get by in a muddle."
Completely...in chaos.
Fortunately, Zhou Zeyu had seen his share of ups and downs and knew that the world was a chaotic place. He didn't have any objections to these things. After all, it was just a local club. So what if it was a bit amateur? The national team was still in arrears with salaries.
Despite being plagued by numerous problems, the club is still operating quite normally, and can even be described as thriving.
In general, shock therapy is the most effective treatment in such situations. As the saying goes, as long as the program can run, there's no need to rack your brains to fix bugs. As long as there are no major problems, just make do with it.
Zhou Zeyu remained calm, Zhou Zeyu was numb, Zhou Zeyu accepted reality.
She casually wiped the sweat from her hands on her clothes, picked up her water glass and took a sip. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lee Sun-hee practicing receiving serves, standing behind her and watching while drinking water.
Years have passed, and even she can see that Lee Sun-hee's movements have become somewhat rusty, even stiff. But this is inevitable, after all, she has been retired for so long and has lived in a world far removed from table tennis for a long time. It would be abnormal for her to be exactly the same as she was back then.
However, Zhou Zeyu didn't understand why she chose to pick up the racket again.
She didn't know much about Lee Sun-hee, only that she was a very independent person who did whatever she wanted without any plans, but she was very proactive. She retired on a whim back then and is making a comeback on a whim now, making her completely unpredictable.
But in any case, making such a choice requires courage.
Especially the sudden departure from the life of a wealthy housewife, leaving behind the comforts of a life of luxury, and facing the harsh realities of competitive sports once again—not everyone can do that.
Zhou Zeyi didn't understand her, and of course, he didn't think about it any further. He finished his water, wiped his mouth casually, and began to prepare for the next round of training.
Yes, there was no training instructor at the entire huge training base. The players could do whatever they wanted, as free as if they had accidentally wandered into a luxury hotel with nothing but high-end buffets.
After four days of shock, Zhou Zeyu was completely speechless and decided to stick to the training plan he had taken with the national team back then.
However, copying it exactly is not very realistic. After all, things are different now, and she is no longer the young woman who could run and jump. Many intense elements have to be removed. Zhou Zeyu feels like an old-fashioned machine that is creaking and making noise. She can only pick and choose the less strenuous training programs, otherwise she really can't stand it.
There's no way around it; after all, I'm getting older, and I have so many injuries, big and small, so it's inevitable.
There's a saying that goes, "The principal contradiction is the key to solving the problem." So almost everyone focused on her most serious injury, her right knee, and easily overlooked the injuries on other parts of her body. In fact, to be honest, Zhou Zeyu had a bad back, a bad cervical spine, and had her right hand dislocated and fractured once. There really weren't many places on her body that were in good condition.
So she was quite nervous during the physical exam, worried that if she really had to undergo a detailed full-body examination, she might be kicked out by the staff on the spot.
How should I put it? Was she lucky or unlucky? Due to blind trust in her, the club didn't even bother to check her carefully. Otherwise, who knows if they would have given her this contract.
Thinking of this, Zhou Zeyi suddenly felt a heartfelt sense of gratitude. He could even tolerate all the club's messy problems, after all, it was a timely help in his time of need!
Upon hearing her idea, a burst of laughter came from the phone. Zhou Zeyu had to cover her buzzing ears and disgustedly move the phone away.
After finally getting through the training session (which was actually unsupervised), Zhou Zeyu was wiping his sweat and sitting to the side in the breeze. He took out his phone to ask Fang Xiaocan about his recent situation, but he didn't expect that this guy would be so merciless and laugh for a full three minutes straight.
"Ancestor, have you laughed enough?"
“I really can’t take it anymore, Zhou Zeyu. You and Li Shanxi have become teammates. This world has really gone mad,” she laughed wildly. “Since it’s already this absurd, can I dream that Angelica has a crush on you? It’s all ridiculous anyway.”
Just as Zhou Zeyu was about to start cursing, Fang Xiaocan, as if she had planned it all along, quickly interrupted her before she could finish speaking.
"You and this club are a perfect match. You both feel like you've gotten a great deal. One is smug, and the other is still feeling uneasy. You really are a good match."
Zhou Zeyu waved his hand, brushing his sweat-dampened bangs aside, his face flushed as he tried to cool himself down: "Don't talk about me, I really don't have anything to say. How have you been lately?"
"No way, your story is much more interesting than mine. Mine is the real boring one."
Fang Xiaocan sighed softly, but it was impossible to discern the tone of her voice.
"The same as always, just like you remember me. I really miss you, Zhou Zeyi. Now that you're gone, there's no one to keep me company while I slack off."
“I’m not slacking off now,” Zhou Zeyu said honestly. “I’ve been training really hard lately. Coach Xu should come and see for himself. He’d be moved to tears.”
Wait, Coach Xu... Coach Xu?
In a split second, the two of them suddenly fell silent. Zhou Zeyu was certain that Fang Xiaocan and he were thinking the same thing.
After a while, Fang Xiaocan suddenly spoke slowly, "What do you think about luring him here to be your coach?"
As expected, it was exactly what she was thinking.
A malicious smile crept onto Zhou Zeyi's lips. "Great minds think alike."
"Great!" Fang Xiaocan shouted excitedly, "How about this, you trick Lao Xu into going there, and then after I retire, I'll come and join you guys. How about we, master and apprentice, create another glorious chapter together!"
Zhou Zeyi clicked his tongue: "Wow, it's not even dark yet and you're already daydreaming. What glory are we going to create? Win the championship of the Old, Weak, Sick and Disabled Friendship Association?"
"Oh, you can't say that. At least your club has money, so it's good for me to come here and make some extra money."
"What, your salary hasn't arrived yet?"
“We haven’t seen a trace of him,” Fang Xiaocan chuckled twice, her voice laced with sarcasm, “Even Coach Huang hasn’t been seen these past few days. I heard he was taken to a meeting at the higher-ups. I wonder if he can get more money back.”
"Would it make any more difference? How much more would it take to fill this hole?" Zhou Zeyu said worriedly.
Fang Xiaocan noticed the worry in her tone and immediately interrupted her muttering, "You shouldn't think about it anymore. Just stay there and prepare for the competition. If you get beaten too badly later, I won't be able to come and support you."
Zhou Zeyu knew she meant it as a joke, but unfortunately, the phrase "being beaten too badly" was exactly what Zhou Zeyu feared most, and it hit a sore spot right away.
"It can't be that bad..."
Fang Xiaocan was stunned for a moment, "Girl, don't take it seriously. I'll forgive my loose tongue, I'll never say such nonsense again."
"Give me a break, can you really stand it?"
Another chuckle came from the phone. Zhou Zeyu slapped his forehead. "Thank goodness it wasn't you and Li Shanxi as teammates. You two would definitely have made this place collapse from all that noise."
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly heard another call coming in. She exchanged a few words with Fang Xiaocan and then hung up. The number that called looked somewhat familiar, ending in 4910. She answered it with some confusion.
The other person was a man, and his voice sounded familiar. "Zhou Zeyu, how have you been feeling lately?"
Zhou Zeyu was taken aback, realizing that this seemed to be Dr. Wang. Although she didn't understand why he had suddenly called, she still braced herself and continued, "Ah, it's alright. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Dr. Wang seemed to pause for a moment, then asked, "Are you in Beijing now?"
Zhou Zeyu was even more confused. When she went to see him for a follow-up appointment before, he was indifferent. Why was he now taking the initiative to ask if she was in Beijing? Did the hospital also have to meet its KPIs at the end of the month? That didn't make sense.
"I'm not here, is there something you need?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the other person immediately followed up, almost as if they couldn't wait: "Come back to Beijing when you have time, and have another thorough check-up."
Zhou Zeyu pursed her lips, somewhat speechless. She had previously suggested having her knees checked carefully, but he had brushed her off. Why did he have to wait until she was no longer in Beijing to suggest a follow-up check? Was he just being nosy?
Zhou Zeyu has been extremely busy lately, so he certainly doesn't have the time to make a special trip to Beijing. He replied politely, "Ah, I might not be able to come back recently. If it's really not possible, I'll get a check-up at a hospital here."
The other person paused for a moment: "Professionally speaking, I still suggest you come back for a check-up. After all, your previous files and information are here with me, and I probably know your injury better than anyone else."
That makes sense, Zhou Zeyu sighed, thinking of his kneecap that had been getting increasingly out of control lately. He felt he couldn't let it get any worse, so going back for a checkup wouldn't hurt. It would only take three to five days at most, so he could just consider it a shot in the arm.
She opened her memo and looked at her schedule for the next few days. This guy's call was really timely, right at the most intense period of the schedule. Unless Zhou Zeyu cultivated the Shadow Clone Technique, he really wouldn't have time to rush back.
"Let's wait until my competition is over." She made up her mind and didn't intend to waste any more words with him. She hung up the phone after only a few sentences.
After doing all this, Zhou Zeyu still felt confused. She didn't know where this strange feeling came from, but it lingered in her mind, as if she had accidentally overlooked something.
What was ignored...?
But what exactly did she overlook? Zhou Zeyu's gaze suddenly fell on a corner peeking out from behind the phone case. She pulled it out and found it was the sticky note she had forgotten on the back of the phone case, with three phone numbers neatly written on it.
One of the numbers has been confirmed as Dr. Wang's, while the other two remain unclaimed.
So much time has passed that even Zhou Zeyu had almost forgotten about it. Her initial intense curiosity had almost completely faded, but she was still puzzled as to who had slipped her this note and what their purpose was.
Fang Xiaocan's words suddenly echoed in her ears: she suggested that she simply fight back, which was indeed a possible solution.
Zhou Zeyu pursed his lips and dialed the second number ending in 7819.
The number is invalid.
Zhou Zeyu refused to believe it and dialed a third number ending in 1865.
No one answered.
Well, that's it. Zhou Zeyu shook her head and put the note back where it was. She really wasn't cut out to be a detective. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding, and she was just overthinking things.
As things stand, what she should be most worried about isn't these random numbers, but the intense schedule that's about to begin. As a disabled player who's been away from the domestic competition scene for so long, she's almost feeling unfamiliar with the game, and along with that unfamiliarity comes an indescribable sense of unease.
Zhou Zeyu sat there silently, looking up at the pitch-black night sky outside the stadium's skylight. There were no stars, not even the moon, but thankfully it wasn't raining.
This was the only consolation.
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