A Starry Night (Part 6)
She stood there, speechless, as if frozen in place, unable to move.
The blinding light flashed suddenly, accompanied by another shutter click. This seemed to indicate some kind of omen, and Zhou Zeyu finally woke up as if from a dream, stinging as he took a few steps back.
Suddenly, a large number of people appeared around her, almost all of whom she had never seen before. Just like they had surrounded Radetz earlier, they surrounded her tightly, like a hastily made cage, and she soon had nowhere to escape.
She felt like a lamb to the slaughter, with people eager to take a share of her flesh, just like before.
The elegant Angelica was still smiling at her, seemingly waiting for her answer. She looked almost exactly the same as before, or perhaps because so much time had passed, Zhou Zeyu couldn't even remember what she looked like clearly.
She belatedly nodded, silently shaking hands with Angelica. Angelica seemed quite pleased with her docile attitude, and strode over to her, chatting casually in a light tone: "I really didn't expect to run into you here. I've been in Belgrade for closed training recently, what about you?"
“A vacation,” Zhou Zeyu said succinctly. She looked around for an empty passage to escape, but she obviously failed. Angelica’s appearance completely blocked the place, making it impossible for even a hair to pass through.
She pulled her mask up, avoiding the raised phones and cameras, looking helplessly down at her feet, her only visible feature being her own pair of shabby sneakers.
“Let me think… it’s been over a year since we last met, hasn’t it?” Angelica put her arm around her shoulder warmly. “How have you been?”
"Thank you, everything is fine."
She remained as taciturn as ever, and even those around her noticed the strange atmosphere. The scene seemed to suddenly cool down. Angelica awkwardly pursed her lips, trying to say something to break the deadlock, but Zhou Zeyu didn't want to stay a moment longer.
"Are you still bothered by this?" Angelica suddenly asked abruptly. "If that's the case, I think I need to apologize to you. I'm sorry."
She stood there, stunned, as if she couldn't believe her ears: "Apologize? Why?"
“I don’t want that,” she said sincerely. “Please give me a chance. Let’s participate in today’s event together.”
“I think you’ve misunderstood,” Zhou Zeyu said almost coldly. “You don’t need to apologize to me; you didn’t do anything wrong.”
"I'm fine, and you shouldn't feel guilty. You won that match, it's just that I was less skilled than you, it has nothing to do with you."
She swallowed hard. "As for friends, I think that's unnecessary. Win or lose, you're a respectable opponent, and I've always respected you."
Suddenly, a man dressed as a reporter appeared out of nowhere. As if he had seen through her attempt to run away, he grabbed her wrist and rattled off a string of words like a machine gun: "I'm a reporter from Sports Weekly. May I have a brief interview with you? An exclusive interview."
"No, thank you." She was about to leave when she was called back.
Please think about it again.
"Really, no."
The reporter continued to question her gently, with a kind of unwavering determination to achieve their goal. Cameras of various sizes were set up around the two of them, like an invisible deterrent.
Zhou Zeyu sighed, glanced at the other person's employee badge, and nodded resignedly.
She was then led to another room, where she was passively guided as if she were being deliberately led. There were two chairs in the room; the empty one faced her, while the male reporter sat in the other, staring intently at her.
It was a conspiracy, she realized almost immediately, but she said nothing more. She couldn't say anything; this was a situation she had to face eventually. She just hadn't expected it to happen here, in a foreign land where she thought she was safe and secure.
For Zhou Zeyu, she has been interviewed countless times since childhood. They have even received special training, which taught them what to say and what not to say, how much to raise the corners of their mouths to be appropriate, and how to avoid those malicious questions, etc.
Therefore, logically speaking, she shouldn't feel afraid, since everything should be easy for her to handle.
But that's not the case. After such a long hiatus, when she sat in that chair again, looked at the camera, and answered those incredibly stupid questions, her mindset was completely different. She was tired of dealing with it, and even more tired of covering it up.
In short, she can no longer hide her true thoughts.
The reporter briefly introduced herself, but Zhou Zeyu didn't remember. She took a deep breath and tried to forget what Angelica had just said, but the words kept popping into her mind and wouldn't go away.
She suddenly remembered what Angelica looked like back then. For a table tennis player, her height was tall enough, so tall that she seemed completely indestructible. She could block out all the lights in the stadium, and even she could hardly get past her.
The reporter's voice rang out again. Zhou Zeyu was stunned for a moment, and finally came back to his senses, but he didn't hear what the reporter said.
He seemed to have anticipated this situation, and smiled good-naturedly, asking, "How have you been lately?"
"So-so," she said honestly, but then suddenly changed her mind and said, "Not bad."
Why did you choose Belgrade in the first place?
Zhou Zeyu felt inexplicably irritated, but she managed to control herself and cleared her throat as she replied, "There's no other reason, it's just because the scenery here is beautiful, with mountains, water, and forests, which is perfect for me to recuperate."
She glanced at her right knee, hesitated for a moment, and then replied, "Barely...barely okay."
Do you regret that injuries have held you back?
Zhou Zeyu remained silent, staring at her right knee for a long time. She recalled the dim light in the operating room, the pungent smell of the ointment with a rubbery odor, the physiotherapist's cloudy, dull face, and the diagnostic report pressed under the glass table—all of it. She could never forget it.
It's impossible to be without regrets.
She remained silent, saying nothing. The reporter nodded understandingly and immediately asked the next question.
"After recovering from your injuries, do you have any plans to make a comeback?"
Just a second before the answer in her heart was about to spill out, she stopped herself in time, pursed her lips, and forced back her reply, saying somewhat stiffly, "No comment."
His slightly stiff attitude did not dampen the reporter's enthusiasm. He still had a kind smile on his face, but he was writing something on a piece of paper. He quickly looked up at her again: "Some people think that you gave up on yourself and chose to retire after losing the match against Angelica. Do you have anything to say about that?"
Giving up on yourself?
Whether it was her imagination or not, the reporter momentarily showed an expression of pity, but within that expression was a subtle, undisguised satisfaction.
"So, did losing that game have a significant impact on you?" the reporter asked casually, glancing down at the documents. "I've noticed that since then, you seem to have been caught in a prolonged media storm, with most people criticizing you for lacking responsibility and resilience. What are your thoughts on this?"
Zhou Zeyu was stunned. Countless memories flashed through her mind like a movie reel. The controversial headlines and reports swept in like a hurricane, and countless accusations and insults surged forth all at once. Her already exhausted spirit almost completely collapsed.
Whether it's baseless accusations or deliberate distortion, who can bear such malice without warning? Just the day before, she was a chosen one, but overnight, she lost everything.
Amidst the rumors and gossip, all the hard work was overshadowed by a dismissive "nepotism," past honors were called luck, and closeness with Cen Zheng was labeled as flattery. All the words and actions of youthful arrogance were artificially exposed to the spotlight, waiting to be infinitely distorted.
Those gazes were too harsh, so harsh that they magnified every inconspicuous punctuation mark, so harsh that they had to interpret her micro-expressions frame by frame. Every move she made could be a mistake, and everything could become a target of attack.
But she did lose the competition, and she lost the most important gold medal. She is indeed a sinner and should be condemned and criticized by everyone. That is the responsibility she should bear.
Therefore, even if it is extremely painful, you must accept it all.
Every day since that day has been a nightmare for her, whether it's day or night.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes: "I have nothing to say, it's all my fault, it's all my fault from beginning to end."
“No,” she said firmly. “Thank you for the interview, but I saw my friend and I think I have to go.”
Zhou Zeyu nodded to the reporter, quickly picked up her things and hurriedly walked out. She gave Sorkov a wink, and he immediately understood, catching the coat she tossed to him and rushing out the door.
“Why would you be so foolish?” He glanced back with a hint of disgust. “As a journalist, that guy has absolutely no professional ethics.”
Sorkov shook his head. "It's alright, I don't like them either. Angelica and Radetz are in cahoots, and we've disliked each other for a long time. As for that stupid reporter, you should see how he reported on me back then."
Zhou Zeyu looked up at him, "How should we report this?"
"because?"
"Because I fell in love with his fiancée." He tried to say it in a nonchalant tone, but in reality, he couldn't help but grit his teeth. His distorted expression was so funny that Zhou Zeyu forgot all about his troubles.
She burst into laughter, so loud that she startled herself. Sorkov's expression darkened even further. "Although I meant to make you happy, you're laughing way too hard."
"A very insightful observation."
"So what will that guy report about me?" Zhou Zeyu suddenly exclaimed in surprise. "He won't say that I have a crush on Angelica or something, will he?"
“Very likely,” Sorkov scoffed softly. “You’d better prepare yourself.”
Zhou Zeyu yelled, "The reports from Serbia shouldn't get back to China, right?"
Sorkov glanced at her and said coldly and sarcastically, "What, do you have a secret lover in China that you can't show to anyone?"
“I don’t have a secret lover, but I do have an old coach who is extremely worried that I’ll do something wrong here,” Zhou Zeyu said after thinking for a moment. “He’s a very stubborn person, and he might actually believe that I like Angelica.”
That's such a shame.
Zhou Zeyu chuckled a few times, "But I'm also a very stubborn person. Who knows, one day I might also believe that you and Radetz are having an affair. You know, love turning into hate and stuff."
Sorkov pretended to throw her coat into the river, so she slowly began to beg for mercy, eventually managing to get it back. "You're a really bad guy," he said.
“If it were really bad, it wouldn’t be here,” he said. “Who’s sitting in there looking so upset, like they’re about to burst into tears?”
Zhou Zeyu tried to raise the corners of his mouth, but there was no smile on his face. "I just remembered what happened before, but it's okay, I should forget about it again soon."
Sorkov looked at her for a long time, then suddenly shook the bicycle keys in his hand: "Let's go, I'll take you home."
She sighed and gave him a high five.
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