Truth 1
The hospital's lounge was so quiet that Cen Zheng could almost hear his heart twisting in agony, like tangled branches creaking and groaning.
She never imagined that one day she would become such a tormented person, sitting here silently, feeling the pain in her heart repeatedly torturing herself. Was she really sick?
No, of course she's not sick. Someone else is sick, and that person is currently lying motionless in the ward on a ventilator.
Cen Zheng slowly exhaled. She had been waiting for so long that she could hardly bear it any longer. She raised her head slightly, sorted out her thoughts, and looked at Coach Huang.
Coach Huang seemed to smile, interrupting her slightly impatient words, "Cen Zheng, you can't interfere in this matter."
She seemed stunned, a look of disbelief and astonishment on her face. "What?"
The middle-aged man's answer remained concise and to the point: "You're not being rational right now."
Cen Zheng could feel himself smiling; the muscles at the corners of his mouth were stiffly pulled upwards, but the rest of his face remained expressionless as he struggled to suppress the impatience and anger in his heart. "Am I not being rational enough?"
"Haven't you noticed it yourself?" Coach Huang glanced coldly at her current incongruous expression, then suddenly grinned. "When it comes to Zhou Zeyu, you always become indecisive, Xiao Zheng."
That face, that expression, it's practically mocking.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been doing behind the scenes,” he said, his smile still kind, but his tone was anything but friendly, full of sarcasm. “When did you become so soft-hearted? I didn’t know you were such a sentimental person.”
He deliberately emphasized the word "friendship," undoubtedly speaking to her, which was also an undisguised mockery, since there was no friendship between them to begin with.
Cen Zheng took a deep breath. Perhaps, in a sense, Coach Huang was right. She had completely lost her mind. But when exactly it started, probably no one would know. She might have already gone mad and was just forcing herself to keep living.
However, in an unexpected moment, Zhou Zeyu's image suddenly flashed into her mind. She was stunned, and it seemed that she could see Zhou Zeyu's pale face clearly, looking into her eyes with a pleading expression, reaching out her hand, and then fainting in front of her.
A sudden, sharp pain shot through her heart, almost making Cen Zheng cry out, but she quickly gritted her teeth and endured it.
“No matter what,” she said, her voice dry and hoarse, strained with a forced composure, “you can’t do that this time.”
Coach Huang's smile faded, replaced by his usual nonchalant expression, and he glanced at her briefly.
"Really? I don't think you have the right to tell people what to do now."
Having said all that, Cen Zheng knew exactly what awaited her. Coach Huang's distrust of her was already evident, and of course, he would never agree to her request. She was about to be kicked out of the decision-making circle, which was almost a foregone conclusion.
But of course she couldn't accept this outcome. Her own fate, and even Zhou Zeyu's fate, were all in the hands of these people. She couldn't just stand by and watch her be destroyed.
“Don’t overthink it,” he suddenly said. “This is also your father’s intention.”
"What?" She opened her eyes abruptly, her brows furrowing slightly.
“You’ve done too many foolish things lately. He already told me. If you’re still stubborn, then I’ll take away your decision-making power.”
Cen Zheng stood frozen in place. "Are you guys crazy?"
“You’re the one who’s gone mad.” He said without hesitation. “You’ve disrupted the plan time and time again. It’s like you’ve forgotten that you were also the one who devised this plan. Didn’t you benefit from it? If you continue like this, you’ll destroy yourself sooner or later.”
Cen Zheng let out a short snort, rubbed his temples, and quickly returned to his usual calm demeanor when he put his hand down again.
“You have no idea why I did this.”
She tried her best to suppress her gritted teeth and forced a slight smile, but her throat still felt a burning pain. "What good will it do you to completely ruin Zhou Zeyi? Only by keeping her healthy and gaining her trust can her value be maximized. Do you even understand this? What good does it do to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?"
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” he said casually, waving his hand as if shooing away some annoying flying insect. “Without her, I have other alternatives, more obedient and more useful. Why should I continue to waste my time on her?”
Yes, why is that?
Cen Zheng paused slightly. It seemed she had been mistaken all along. Zhou Zeyu's importance and irreplaceability were only true to her, not to everyone. In their eyes, anyone who could be used was the same.
The person who was unconscious at that moment was unaware of the fate that awaited them, and was about to be abandoned.
He stood up, seemingly tired of sitting, and slowly did some stretching exercises. Then he swayed over to her and patted her shoulder with a smile.
"Also, don't think I'll continue to believe your story. You've used this line too many times; it's become useless."
Cen Zheng's eyes sharpened, but she quickly looked away.
"You spoke so many good words for her, both openly and secretly, about her suspension before, which is understandable. At worst, you and I can just play the good cop and the bad cop."
Coach Huang stood with his hands behind his back, head slightly tilted back, seemingly lost in thought and reminiscing. He chuckled softly and slowly walked out of her sight.
“She had contacted people in the disciplinary inspection department in private before. I thought it was strange that this matter hadn’t reached me. But then I realized that you were probably just trying to help her keep it from me for a while.”
He paused briefly, turned around, and slowly changed direction to start walking.
"You revised those clauses in the contract she signed before, right?" He suddenly stopped, standing right in front of her and blocking all the light in front of her. "What, do you think this contract is too exploitative, and you can't stand it anymore?"
He burst into laughter, as if he had just heard a joke.
"Cen Zheng, have you suddenly become fascinated with the feeling of pretending to be a good person?"
His laughter was loud, the smugness and arrogance unique to those in power, even with a strong sense of contempt, echoing clearly in the empty room, so jarring it felt like it was slowly torturing her nerves.
Cen Zheng did not respond and sat there indifferently.
He was convinced she was "pretending to be a good person," because she wasn't a good person to begin with, nor was he. They were both accomplices in crime. The word "good person" seemed to be associated only with cowardice, and only good people would be endlessly exploited.
Just like Zhou Zeyu.
She is a good person in the traditional sense, so it is obvious that she is currently powerless. Only the person who feels at ease deciding her fate in this room would reluctantly pretend to be a good person for a short time in the face of worldly opinions.
Because everyone knows that the idea that good people are rewarded is the most hypocritical lie, and that good people never have a perfect ending.
In fact, Cen Zheng did not like the feeling of pretending to be a good person. Unlike Coach Huang, he enjoyed the effect of that hypocritical kindness and liked to wear that mask of hypocrisy in front of everyone. It was as if he was determined to make himself be praised by the whole society. This was the goal he pursued throughout his life.
But she wasn't like that. Although she had that caring smile and had been a trusted senior in the team for so many years, she didn't actually like doing it. She didn't even like smiling.
But she had no choice but to do it.
When dealing with Zhou Zeyu, Cen Zheng felt that her hypocrisy had reached its peak. She was caring and attentive, and even showed a rare bit of genuine emotion in exchange. But her face was still fake. She was still pretending to be a good person, just like Coach Huang said.
The problem is that if you've been pretending to be a good person for too long and have fooled everyone, won't you also start to deceive yourself intermittently?
Cen Zheng didn't know the answer to the question, but this seemed to explain her unusual behavior.
She and Coach Huang had planned all of this, defining the rules and regulations that surrounded Zhou Zeyu within their control. But in the end, it was she who broke the rules.
People seem to be very prone to going back on their word, but Cen Zheng wasn't such an emotional person before. She could clearly recognize her own hypocrisy and easily distinguish it from her true self. However, in just a few months, she suddenly realized that she couldn't see clearly anymore.
It was unclear whether the smile on her face when facing Zhou Zeyu was a result of rational and meticulous calculation or an involuntary subconscious reaction.
Then, in the midst of the chaos, she unsurprisingly did those stupid things.
"Pretending to be a good person?" She heard herself speak, but her voice seemed to drift far away. "How interesting. Who isn't pretending to be a good person? After she wakes up, won't you, as usual, offer a few words of feigned concern?"
"Yes, it is necessary, but what you did was completely unnecessary."
Coach Huang finally walked away from her, and the light that had been completely blocked out finally poured pale light onto her face, illuminating her numb expression.
"If it was to lower her guard, I could barely understand it. But no one but me knows what you've done. What are you doing it for? Just to feel good about yourself?"
He shook his head, seemingly amused by his own words, and continued slowly, "You should have come to terms with reality long ago. Zhou Zeyu has never been an honest person. Are you going to just watch her grow up and then betray us? The world will keep turning even if someone is missing, and it will be the same without her. Getting rid of her before she completely loses control is a worthwhile deal."
Cen Zheng spoke up, "The situation in the team hasn't been good lately, you're being a bit too optimistic."
She phrased it delicately, but the reality was far more serious. With the major competition fast approaching, the veteran was already disheartened by the chaos within the team, and none of the newly selected players who came through connections were any good. Yet, he remained stubbornly confident and optimistic to the point of being almost beyond redemption.
"This is not your concern."
When this matter was mentioned, his expression clearly showed impatience for a moment, and he let out a heavy sigh, "There are seedlings all over the country. If this batch is not good, then we'll replace it with another batch. With over a billion people, why worry about not having a single usable one?"
Cen Zheng closed her eyes briefly. She had completely given up on arguing with him. Having lived in the peaceful and prosperous land for too long, she had been blinded by victory and power and had completely lost her mind.
He also forgot who brought him those victories.
When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked. Under such circumstances, it seems inevitable that the rabbit dies and the fox grieves. Cen Zheng was not surprised that those veterans chose to retire at this time, because Zhou Zeyu was the most obvious example.
She had served as a soldier on the front lines for so many years, never making any mistakes or harming anyone, and doing her best to navigate the situation, yet she ended up with such a tragic fate. Who would continue to work diligently for him?
What an idiot...
When Cen Zheng was very young, her father told her that in chess, she would always be the general who arranged the pieces in the rear, while everyone else was just a pawn that could be used to clear the way for her.
She was certainly convinced of the statement's truth, and had strictly adhered to it for many years, but it was still false.
No matter how powerful her background is, no matter how much effort she puts in, after all these years, she is still just a pawn in someone else's hands. Today she can rest easy, but tomorrow she can be completely abandoned.
Coach Huang had already warned her. He was indeed angered by her actions, so he was even willing to risk a falling out to threaten her into stopping immediately.
Undoubtedly, this is a very effective threat. She is certainly not a good person who would sacrifice everything for justice, or who would fight against darkness because of her conscience. This is a glorious character that only appears in comics and movies, but she is not.
Just as humans need air and water to survive, she needs power and status, because these are the resources she relies on for survival.
Cen Zheng slowly exhaled. Something was aching faintly. It shouldn't be her conscience, nor should it be her reason. As for what it was, she no longer had time to care.
You'll regret this.
She only said one sentence.
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