Misty Fog (Part 3)
The terrifying thing was that even by dinner time, the red mark on Zhou Zeyi's face hadn't disappeared. She had originally tried to use the lame excuse of "accidentally hitting herself" to get away with it, but as soon as everyone saw her and Sorkov's strange reactions, they pretty much understood the situation, and she didn't need to explain anymore.
Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing was hard to say, but the dinner was quite terrifying. In order to prevent everyone from thinking that Sorkov had beaten her, Zhou Zeyu had no choice but to sit down next to him and pretend to be calm and talk and laugh.
After all, if she hadn't done that, it looked like Coach Xu and Professor Elberlint were already ready to grab weapons and start a fight.
As for who was attacked, that's hard to say.
The professor guessed that he was hitting Sorkov, but Coach Xu knew exactly what kind of person she was. He might have even heard something outrageous like "Kiss me too" outside the door. His gaze was like a sword, and he was just short of stabbing her to death.
Having barely survived the meal, Zhou Zeyu originally wanted to run away, but was dragged to stay and listen to Coach Xu and Professor Elberlint chat. Sorkov was also forced to stay, and the two sat close together, both with expressions of utter despair.
As suggested by the professor, Coach Xu and Zhou Zeyi could stay here for a while until all the airport facilities were back to normal before leaving. However, Coach Xu was already extremely busy, and according to him, he would be killed by Coach Huang as soon as he returned to China, so it was absolutely impossible for him to stay for too long.
After much deliberation, Coach Xu decided to buy a ticket for another airport that hadn't been affected by the floods. Coincidentally, there was a direct flight from there to Beijing the next day, an opportunity he couldn't miss.
Professor Elberlint was the most disappointed when he learned that the two would be leaving soon. He had originally planned to chat with Coach Xu for a few more days, but he had to say goodbye to his old friend again, shaking his head and sighing repeatedly.
Zhou Zeyu glanced at Sorkov, who had been silent ever since, both during the meal and now, as if lost in thought, his head bowed expressionlessly.
She asked him in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
He didn't speak, but shook his head slightly.
Zhou Zeyi did not choose to continue asking. She knew his personality too well. When he encountered something he didn't want to talk about, even if she pressed him for details, she wouldn't get more than a few words out of him. She also hated this attitude of reading but not replying, so she simply remained silent.
She slightly raised her head, admiring the ornately decorated wall next to the dining table. The colorful wallpaper was covered with photos of various sizes arranged by year, most of which were photos of the Elberlint couple together, while Sorkov only appeared in family photos from recent years.
He looked no different in his youth than he does now, with the same buzz cut and dark face, only slightly shorter. At first glance, he looked like a good-for-nothing delinquent playing with will-o'-the-wisps on the street.
Compared to the sullen-faced Solkov, the Elberlint couple looked much more approachable. In every photo, they were smiling kindly, one holding Solkov's arm. The three of them together in one photo looked like a crossover of a gangster cop movie and a family comedy.
In fact, Zhou Zeyi always felt that the three of them did not look like a family, even though the atmosphere between them was harmonious and their interactions were similar to those of an ordinary family. However, she always seemed to vaguely sense something.
For example, Mrs. Elberlint seemed not to know much about Sorkov, and deliberately didn't put much sugar in his hot cocoa, even though Sorkov was a complete sugar addict.
For example, Sorkov was overly respectful to the couple, rarely saying a word, and could be described as obedient, compliant, and sensible. Such a Sorkov was obviously unfamiliar to others; he would never act like that.
Zhou Zeyu was lost in her own imagination when she suddenly felt her hand being secretly grasped. Startled, she looked down and saw that familiar, large hand covering hers, warm and dry.
She gave him a puzzled look, but Solkov didn't look at her. He stared straight ahead expressionlessly, not even sparing her a glance. Yet, he was holding her hand tightly under the table, where no one could see.
He didn't seem inclined to speak, and Zhou Zeyu didn't intend to ask him what he was up to. She seemed to be able to sense his unease through this subtle approach, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where that unease came from.
Is he worried about the upcoming competition, or anxious about whether he can finish his thesis smoothly, or perhaps he feels lost about the inevitable separation that is coming soon?
Looking at their hands clasped together, Zhou Zeyu felt a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.
"Don't you really have anything to say?"
He suddenly spoke up: "I have it, but it's not the right time yet. You'll find out soon enough."
Zhou Zeyi tried to appear less anxious, but there was no doubt that such ambiguous words greatly piqued her curiosity. Sorkov must have something to tell her, and although she didn't know if it would be good or bad, nothing was more torturous than the unknown.
So they continued to maintain a tacit silence, leaving only Professor Elberlint and Coach Xu chatting enthusiastically at the table. The conversation between the two middle-aged men always revolved around national affairs or family matters, and eventually, it returned to the two young men.
After a few rounds of drinks, Coach Xu got excited and laughed as he talked about Zhou Zeyu's embarrassing childhood. He said that because she was so small when she was a child, she was not even as tall as other people's shoulders when she went to compete. When she stood on the podium, she was half a head shorter than her opponents, and she looked like a little bean sprout who had wandered into the land of giants.
Zhou Zeyu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Coach Xu wasn't completely drunk and still kept his mouth shut, choosing a relatively less stupid anecdote. To be honest, the stupid things she had done back then were much more ridiculous than this.
The most memorable time was when she was competing in an Arab country. Because she couldn't understand the local language and really needed to use the restroom, she followed the principle of men on the left and women on the right and rushed to the right-hand restroom. As a result, a wealthy Middle Eastern businessman mistook her for a terrorist and called over guards to arrest her. In the end, Coach Xu rescued her from the armed men with a smile.
This incident even somehow got out, causing Zhou Zeyu to be teased by his teammates for a long time. Whenever he appeared, they would jeer and shout "Terrorists are coming!" It even terrified Li Shanxi, who had very poor Chinese at the time, and made him run towards the emergency exit.
"Can't we talk about this?" Coach Xu laughed. "That's right, that's right. You're all grown up now. You can't talk about these embarrassing things too often, lest you become too ashamed."
She pursed her lips awkwardly, saying nothing more.
In return, Professor Elberlint tactfully spoke of Sorkov, saying that when he first arrived in Belgrade, he actually had long hair and looked too much like a girl, which led to him being assigned to the school's girls' swimming team. Wearing only swimming trunks, he was almost mistaken for a mental patient, and only then did he steel himself and shave his head. However, this experience left him with psychological trauma, and he has never grown his hair long since.
Zhou Zeyu nodded thoughtfully, then turned to look at him: "Ah, it seems that keeping a buzz cut is to show off a tough guy image."
Solkov replied expressionlessly, "Actually, I was thinking of growing a beard."
Imagining Sorkov with a full beard, Zhou Zeyu broke out in a cold sweat with lingering fear, and even looked at him with a strange expression.
"Then you should be glad you didn't do that."
If that really happened, Zhou Zeyu was certain that he would look more like a terrorist than he did, and might even be locked up by the guards.
"Actually, I've always wanted to try a different style."
Zhou Zeyi sternly stopped her, "No."
As if realizing that her attitude was a bit too harsh, she blinked and quickly tried to smooth things over: "Um, what I mean is, sometimes following the rules isn't a bad thing. At least, a new style means new risks."
"Oh? You think so?" He suddenly started bringing up old grievances. "I seem to remember that you had a side-parted hairstyle when you first debuted."
Zhou Zeyu was speechless. "I was just trying to give you some advice. You didn't have to retaliate like this."
He finally smiled slightly. "Do you think this is retaliation?"
“That’s not fair,” Zhou Zeyu protested. “You’ve seen me with my hair parted in a 3/7 split, but I’ve never seen you with long hair. Either way, I’m the one who’s at a disadvantage.”
"Oh, then give up. I won't let you see it."
Zhou Zeyu glared at him, furious. "If you've got the guts, let go of my hand."
Sorkov raised an eyebrow and obediently removed his hand from hers. To prove his innocence, he even solemnly raised his hands in front of his chest.
In fact, Zhou Zeyu did not expect him to be so obedient this time. He looked him up and down incredulously out of the corner of his eye, as if trying to figure out if he still had any bad ideas. However, after looking for a long time, he did not notice anything wrong, so he had no choice but to withdraw his gaze without making a sound. But he suddenly met the gazes of Coach Xu and Professor Elberlint.
"What are you doing?" the two elders asked.
Zhou Zeyu steeled his heart, and imitating Sorkov, raised his hands to his chest and shook his head innocently: "I didn't do anything."
Professor Elberlint didn't say anything, but Coach Xu still squinted at her suspiciously for a while before waving his hand, signaling her to sit down next to him.
Zhou Zeyu shrank back and walked over fearfully. Before leaving, he glanced at the upright Sorkov out of the corner of his eye. The two looked at each other for half a second before looking away again.
Coach Xu watched her sit down next to him, cleared his throat, and suddenly switched to standard Beijing dialect in a very affected manner, "What's going on between you two?"
Zhou Zeyu feigned ignorance: "What? There's nothing wrong, everything's normal."
"Do you think I'm blind? Can't I see you two exchanging glances and flirting?" Coach Xu sneered. "Trying to fool me? I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice."
She instinctively protested, "Oh dear, how was I supposed to know? You've been single for so many years, I thought you knew absolutely nothing about this kind of thing."
Coach Xu, his scars reopened, didn't care about anything else for a moment. He covered his head and glared at her with exasperation: "You're still bringing this up?"
Knowing she was in the wrong, Zhou Zeyu didn't dare to continue her banter. She chuckled and wisely lowered her head, remaining silent. However, Coach Xu was not about to let her off so easily.
Although Coach Xu has been single for half his life, it doesn't seem quite right to say that he is a clueless straight man who doesn't understand relationships at all. At least when he caught Zhou Zeyu in a relationship, he was definitely a sharp-eyed super agent.
Zhou Zeyu herself had no recollection of her vague first love. She only remembered that she didn't seem to care much about dating at the time. It was indifferent to her. Then, someone confessed to her and invited her to eat the big chicken leg in his bowl. Zhou Zeyu agreed without thinking.
In fact, even now, many years later, she herself can't explain why she agreed back then, and who knows how much of that chicken leg was involved.
That brief romance was nothing to reminisce about. After a long day of training, Zhou Zeyu was so exhausted that she was practically banging her head on the ground, but she was still dragged to go for a walk in the park late at night. She was so sleepy that she could barely walk straight. When she opened her eyes, she found that the person next to her had turned into Coach Xu, who had a murderous look on his face. She was so scared that her soul almost left her body.
After that, of course, she was forced to break up. At that time, Zhou Zeyu couldn't understand how Coach Xu could have discovered her disguise when she had done it so well. Unexpectedly, Coach Xu just sneered and then pointed to his eyes in a mysterious way.
"Still want to date? Ask me first, you little brat."
However, the brat eventually became more obedient, remaining a solitary figure for many years like a meditating monk, and later even almost turning into a heartless and ruthless killer, only knowing how to play ball as soon as he opened his eyes, and not even remembering many men's faces.
Until now, I've been tempted.
Seeing her pathetic expression, Coach Xu seemed to be suppressing the urge to say something. He looked at her hesitantly for a long time, making Zhou Zeyu impatient, before finally speaking slowly.
"You really like it?"
Zhou Zeyu exclaimed, "What are you saying? Don't be so formal with things like liking or disliking."
"Your little hands are clasped so tightly under the table, don't tell me you two have a revolutionary friendship, or I'll faint."
"What do you mean by fainting? I'm almost halfway to the grave, and you're still nagging me about puppy love?"
After receiving a light tap on the head, Zhou Zeyu obediently shut his mouth, no longer daring to utter any more arrogant words.
"Halfway down to the ground?" Coach Xu said angrily. "How come you still can't keep your mouth shut? You're no different from a young girl in a relationship. Did I send you to Belgrade to find a boyfriend?"
"You didn't say it wasn't allowed."
Zhou Zeyu quickly dodged another blow. "It's illegal to assault someone in Belgrade. I'm calling the police."
"Then just arrest me, so I don't have to watch you two being all lovey-dovey, it's driving me crazy."
Zhou Zeyu bickered with him for a while before finally remembering to explain, "How are we all lovey-dovey? We're not even together yet!"
This was unexpected. Coach Xu raised an eyebrow, crossed his legs, and adopted an attitude of listening attentively.
Although he knew that the two people left in the restaurant couldn't understand Chinese, it was still inappropriate to talk about these things in public. Zhou Zeyu hesitated for a while between being honest and telling the truth and hiding it, but finally he honestly and quietly told them.
"You're talking nonsense," Coach Xu interrupted her mercilessly. "So what do you think? You've got that young man's eyes glued to you, and you're just going to pack up and leave tomorrow? What do you think this is, some fleeting affair?"
Zhou Zeyu scratched his head, puzzled. "What do you mean by 'fleeting romance'? You know quite a few words. You can't just use them randomly. Besides, why don't you just say he seduced me?"
Coach Xu said matter-of-factly, "What's so great about that kid? What do you see in him? My daughter is as beautiful as an angel. It would be more reasonable for him to like you."
She was almost scared to death by Coach Xu's unbridled filter, blinked, and chuckled twice: "Yeah, yeah..."
Coach Xu nodded smugly, a hint of nonchalance on his face. "See? You can't hide your little schemes from me, can you?"
"He's practically a god reincarnated." Zhou Zeyu didn't know what to say, so he could only give a thumbs up and exclaim in admiration, "Master, oh Master, you must keep this secret for me. You can't tell a single person, okay?"
Coach Xu patted his chest: "No problem storing it."
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