Turning Point (Part Two)
The aura of bad luck is still in effect, and it seems to be heading in an irreversible direction.
When Zhou Zeyi realized what she was seeing, it was too late. She tried to convince herself that she was seeing things, but then Coach Xu's exclamation came at an inopportune moment, and she could no longer deceive herself.
"What's going on... Oh my god."
The master and apprentice looked at each other, speechless with shock at the sudden turn of events.
There was hardly any rain in Beijing, but there were plenty of sandstorms, not to mention the flooding caused by this torrential rain. Neither of them had ever seen anything like it before, and they stood there dumbfounded, trying to scare each other to death with their shocked expressions.
Zhou Zeyu was slightly better off, since the situation was similar to that of a typhoon. However, her family's drainage system was known for being excellent, and she had never seen such flooding that even cars were submerged.
"Could it be... a major flood?"
Actually, this situation wasn't entirely unforeseen. Anna had mentioned this to her during a casual chat before, saying that the drainage pipes in Belgrade's main urban area were in disrepair for years, and the repairmen were too lazy to do anything about it. Their only function was to exist, just to let the citizens know that the city still had a sewer system, but who knows if it was even still usable.
However, the answer is probably quite obvious now. If a day and a night of torrential rain can cause such flooding, then these drainage pipes are probably more useless than decorations.
Zhou Zeyu nodded and sighed in deep agreement.
Okay, she accepted her fate.
She previously thought her Mercury retrograde only affected her career, but now it may be expanding to all aspects of her daily life.
This includes, but is not limited to, kicking the bed leg hard when getting up, choking on porridge while eating breakfast, having your clothes inexplicably attacked with ketchup when going out, and this damn, utterly insulting downpour.
She estimated that the plane would not be able to take off, and there was no way to go back now, so she could only stay at the airport for the time being. But judging from the fact that the rain was getting heavier and heavier, she probably couldn't stay here for long.
While she was lost in thought, Coach Xu had already put on his reading glasses, started checking his phone, and said with great seriousness that this should be the biggest rain in Belgrade in nearly ten years, and conservatively estimated that it would rain for several days and nights.
Zhou Zeyu felt a sudden darkness before her eyes. How many days and nights would it take? Would she be able to only squat on the roof of the waiting hall and scroll through her phone then?
She looked at Coach Xu in despair and said, "Tell me, is it just bad luck or am I unlucky that we both ran into this once-in-a-decade rainstorm?"
Coach Xu, engrossed in his phone, said without looking up, "What does this have to do with me? I've only been here for less than a day. It must be because of you, kid."
Zhou Zeyi immediately retorted: "No way, I've been here for half a year and I'm perfectly fine. It was only when you arrived that it started raining heavily. It must be your fault, old man."
The two continued rambling on about this topic for a while until they both felt it was incredibly childish, so they temporarily called a truce and looked down at their phones.
Fang Xiaocan messaged her to ask what time she would arrive at the Capital International Airport, as she wanted to prepare a grand welcoming ceremony. Zhou Zeyu gave a helpless chuckle and suggested that she hire dozens of fully armed paparazzi to surround the airport and create the impression of an international superstar returning home.
Fang Xiaocan said, "You're dreaming."
Zhou Zeyu said, "You're dreaming. I can't come back at all now."
She took a picture of the airport and sent it to Fang Xiaocan, who was also rendered silent, and then quietly replied with a cheering emoji.
"Don't worry, maybe they just don't want you to leave."
"It's so hard to see her go!" Zhou Zeyu sighed. Whether she could leave or not wasn't the most important thing. He just didn't know how many families' cars and houses had been damaged. He hoped the situation wouldn't get too bad and that there wouldn't be any casualties.
"Oh dear," suddenly Coach Xu slapped his thigh and said in frustration, "Now we're in big trouble. The flight has been canceled, and we can't go back even if we want to."
Zhou Zeyu checked her phone; her next flight wouldn't be for another five days. It didn't bother her, being unemployed, but it might have a bigger impact on Coach Xu.
He originally came over during his day off, intending to pick her up and leave, and that it wouldn't take more than three days. Who would have thought that due to this unexpected turn of events, he would be stuck here, and that his work would be delayed by the time he returned to China.
Zhou Zeyi suddenly remembered this and casually asked, "What kind of work have you been busy with lately?"
"Me?" As if she hadn't expected her to ask such a question, Coach Xu was also a bit taken aback. She lowered her head and said, trying to cover up her misunderstanding, "It's nothing, just those things that were assigned by that guy surnamed Huang."
Zhou Zeyu let out a short laugh from her throat; she knew, of course, that it was just a white lie.
Are you busy?
"No matter how busy I am, I have to come and pick you up."
This is not a lie, and she knows it too.
But she also knew that there was no point in pursuing the truth of things too much, especially in such a dire situation, thinking too much was not a good thing, especially for her.
Since Coach Xu was unwilling to talk about it, he must have his reasons. For her sake and for his own, Zhou Zeyu had no desire to delve any further.
The rain was still pouring down outside the window, blurring everything in front of her. The raindrops distorted into strange shapes on the windowpane. She stared at it for a while, and then her phone rang.
Are you still at the airport?
When Zhou Zeyu heard Solkov's voice, he paused for a moment, glanced at the caller ID again, and confirmed that the name on it was "Merlik Erikev" instead of "Andrei Solkov".
“Uh, Sorkov?” she replied. “I’m still here, what’s up?”
There was a brief half-minute silence on the other end, followed only by heavy breathing. Just as Zhou Zeyu was wondering why Solkov would use Erikev's phone to call her, the other person spoke again.
"Go to the second floor."
His tone was serious, even solemn. She keenly sensed the hidden meaning in it, and reflexively stood up. She glanced at her feet in a panic, then ran to the window and tried to look outside.
As if guessing what she was doing, Solkov quickly continued, "Not yet, but it should be soon."
The background noise was very loud, with the sound of rain and rushing water constantly filling the air. Zhou Zeyu even had to strain her ears to hear what he was saying. He seemed to be vaguely mixing in words like "safety" and "chaos," but she couldn't make it out very clearly.
Later, his voice grew louder and louder, and even when Zhou Zeyu ran to a corner to play it on speakerphone, she couldn't hear him clearly. She could only helplessly shout at him to be careful, although she couldn't guarantee that Sorkov would be able to hear her.
Coach Xu, who was sitting there calmly watching videos, frowned after hearing her words and said, "I thought this matter would be resolved quickly, but it seems that it won't be resolved anytime soon. We'll have to stay here for quite a while."
His words were rather vague. As for how long "staying for a while" meant, whether it was half an hour or half a month, neither of them had a clear idea. All they could do was start packing their things and then rush upstairs before there were too many people around.
Unbeknownst to her, the water had slowly spread to the airport's first-floor lobby. Zhou Zeyu was struggling to carry her suitcase through the water, feeling the water level rising incredibly rapidly, soon reaching her ankles.
The escalator had already stopped working due to a short circuit, and airport staff had urgently cut off the power. They were loudly broadcasting instructions to residents to seek refuge in higher places and not to wade through the water unless absolutely necessary.
So the master and apprentice had no choice but to carry their bags and packages in a rather disheveled manner, dragging them up several winding staircases. When they finally reached the second floor, they found that it was already overcrowded. Everyone was waiting there in fear and helplessness with their luggage, and there wasn't even a place to stand.
Zhou Zeyu was already soaked with sweat, but unfortunately, her trouser legs and socks were completely wet. Her shoes, soaked with rainwater, were cold and heavy, so she had no choice but to take them off in a very awkward manner and pour out all the water, which flowed onto the ground.
Belgrade was already quite chilly at this time of year, not to mention the heavy rain that brought a drop in temperature. Even though the staff had tried their best to provide everyone with hot cocoa and towels, it was clearly not enough to get rid of the damp chill. Zhou Zeyu didn't know what the others were doing, but as for herself, she was indeed freezing to death.
But what was even more deadly was not the cold, but Zhou Zeyu's kneecap, which had inopportunely begun to ache.
The faint pain intensified, becoming so intense that it was almost unbearable. Zhou Zeyu had no choice but to find a place to sit down and, enduring the pain, began searching for painkillers among her bags.
It wasn't until now that she realized how right Coach Xu was to choose Belgrade as her convalescent location. For at least six months before the rainstorm, the weather here was warm and dry, and the pleasant climate even greatly alleviated the discomfort in her knees. Zhou Zeyu almost forgot that she was practically disabled.
However, things were different now. Along with the heavy rain came a biting, damp air that was almost everywhere. Zhou Zeyu soon realized how ridiculous his optimism had been these past few days.
It wasn't better at all, not even improved. It was like a nightmare that followed her in her life. Whenever Zhou Zeyu thought she could escape completely, she couldn't in fact. One cannot overcome physical pain by wishful thinking alone.
As his fingers touched the edge of the medicine box, Zhou Zeyu breathed a sigh of relief almost imperceptibly, swallowed the rare painkiller, closed his eyes, and quietly waited for the pain to slowly subside.
No matter what, we can't afford to give up at this critical juncture.
Coach Xu took out the clothes from the suitcase and wrapped her up tightly like a rice dumpling. This unusual look was certainly bizarre, but she really couldn't care less.
Despite being in an extremely difficult situation, Zhou Zeyi had to admit that the residents of Belgrade were indeed very optimistic. She had expected the atmosphere here to be as cold and desperate as in a disaster movie after suddenly encountering such an unpredictable natural disaster, but it wasn't at all.
After their initial surprise and bewilderment, they quickly returned to normal. Everyone gathered together, wrapped in blankets, holding disposable water cups, and chatted enthusiastically. Among them was a retired comedian who even started telling jokes, eliciting bursts of laughter from everyone from time to time.
When the comedians got tired of talking, a speaker suddenly appeared and started to speak passionately. Unfortunately, she spoke loudly and fluently in Serbian the whole time, and Zhou Zeyu couldn't understand a single word. All she knew was that the audience was quickly swept up in her emotions and started cheering wildly.
Zhou Zeyi was initially quite upset, but she unconsciously relaxed, thinking that things weren't so bad after all. Since the locals didn't seem to care, what did she have to be afraid of?
"Hello, when will our rescue arrive?" she asked a passerby with a smile.
The passerby shrugged: "Honey, I don't know either, but it's highly unlikely they'll come."
Zhou Zeyi thought she had misheard because of her poor English, and her smile became somewhat awkward. "Huh? You mean, no rescue team will come? You must be joking..."
The man suddenly burst into laughter and patted her shoulder affectionately: "Don't be afraid. Although the rescuers definitely won't be able to come, we can still rely on ourselves, right? Honey, you'll get used to it."
"Also, I'm not joking."
She was deeply shocked and devastated, unable to accept the reality that she was trapped here. If there was no rescue team, would she really have to stay here for ten days or half a month? By then, she would be half-crippled if she didn't die, and might even perish here.
After much agonizing reflection, she walked heavily to the window, away from the bustling crowd. Her mind was buzzing, and she could no longer bear the noise.
Then her gaze slowly focused, and after realizing what she had seen clearly, her eyes widened in horror.
Outside, the water had long since become a vast expanse of water stretching to the horizon, with only a few houses barely showing half their roofs. A few toy boats floated on the water, with several tall, muscular adults, clearly not children, sitting inside, paddling happily. Nearby, many other people were swimming rapidly in the water.
Although she had lived abroad for more than half a year, Zhou Zeyu sometimes still couldn't understand what these people were thinking. Before, Sorkov had mentioned it intentionally or unintentionally, saying that most people in Belgrade were indifferent to life and death. At that time, she couldn't understand what he meant, but now she understood.
So, what "disregarding everything" means is simply being unafraid of death...
Zhou Zeyu closed his eyes in frustration, deciding not to stay by the window any longer. Just as he was about to leave, his phone rang again.
She quickly picked it up and glanced at it. It was an unfamiliar number, but she could roughly guess that it was a new text message from Sorkov. It simply said a few words: Wait for me to come.
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