When Zhou Yi got home, his mother asked strangely, "Why were you gone for so long? Does she live far away?"

"Yeah, a bit far." Zhou Yi nodded, and then he wanted to return to his room, but his mother stopped him.

"Hey, son..."

"What's wrong, Mom?"

"You and that... Kotana are on good terms, right? Of course, I'm not saying you two are boyfriend and girlfriend, I mean your relationship with her should be better than the average player, right?" Li Cuiyun said.

Zhou Yi didn't expect his mother to ask such a question, but he didn't hide or deny it, and nodded: "She's Mark's sister. I used to see her often when I was staying at Mark's house."

"Oh, no wonder..." Li Cuiyun suddenly understood. "I was saying that when you're with her, it's like you've known each other for a long time."

"Mom, you..."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to rush you or anything. Although Kotana is also a very nice girl, feelings are your own business, and I won't interfere." Li Cuiyun waved her hands repeatedly to explain. Ever since she interfered with her son and forbade him from playing football, and he ended up succeeding, Li Cuiyun really didn't interfere with Zhou Yi's affairs anymore, letting him make his own decisions.

Zhou Jianliang came out of the bedroom with his mobile phone and interjected, "I think that Kotana is pretty good. Son, don't worry about our family not accepting foreigners, as long as you like her, even a Japanese girl is fine!"

If it were any other day, Zhou Yi would have laughed and cried upon hearing his parents say this, but today he simply said "Oh" and went into his room.

Li Cuiyun waited until Zhou Yi closed the door before lowering her voice and saying to her husband, "Something seems a little off with our son..."

"It must be something between him and Kotana." Zhou Jianliang was very certain, with an expression of "I've seen everything." "He's twenty-two years old, he really should have a girlfriend or something. Otherwise, those reporters will really think our child is gay..."

Li Cuiyun slapped her husband: "Don't talk nonsense!"

"I'm not talking nonsense, the media is."

Li Cuiyun ignored him and turned to look around the spacious room. Although there were some pieces of furniture, the room still seemed very empty.

"In a couple of days when we leave, our son will be living alone in such a big house. I wonder if he'll get used to it... It would be nice if there was someone to keep him company..."

※※※

Zhou Yi entered the room, closed the door, and didn't hear his parents' hushed discussions outside. He turned on the computer and typed "Li Zongsheng" into the search bar, looking for the works of this singer that he had never paid much attention to before.

After being assisted by "Loneliness Is Hard to Bear" in the car today, he became interested in this singer who couldn't be said to sing very well. In the past, his impression of Li Zongsheng was more that he was a music producer, lyricist, and composer. Now he felt that some of the songs he wrote himself, when he sang them himself, actually had a unique flavor, and might even be more emotionally accurate.

He plugged headphones into the computer, leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes, and listened to Li Zongsheng's love songs.

"...You are the spirit of my life, you know all my moods. It is you who wakes me from my dreams, once again, once again giving me an open heart... We have all walked the road of love. We have heard too many songs about love. They have all guessed wrong about our affairs. The words in our hearts, the words in our hearts, are only for you..."

"...Work is easy, making money is difficult; falling in love is easy, starting a family is difficult; loving each other is easy, getting along is difficult; making a decision is easy, but waiting... is difficult..."

"I am a love lieutenant, I have come to capture the fortress in your heart, don't think you have good defenses, don't think you have complete preparations, I will taste the taste of love from you... The love lieutenant doesn't cry, the love lieutenant doesn't get drunk, the love lieutenant doesn't want to sleep, pursuing love doesn't queue..."

"...Someone asked me what's so good about you, that I can't forget you after so many years. The spring breeze is beautiful, but it can't compare to your smile. Those who haven't seen you won't understand..."

……

※※※

That night, Zhou Yi fell asleep listening to Li Zongsheng's songs.

The next day, when Zhou Yi went to the training base, he didn't see Kotana. He didn't take the initiative to look for her either. Since she said she needed to consider it, then let her consider it.

What surprised Zhou Yi somewhat was that no reporters came to ask him what his relationship with Kotana was. His teammates said they would keep his secret, and they really didn't say anything. Especially Grosskreutz, that big mouth, was actually tight-lipped this time, which was quite unexpected.

After seeing him at the training base, he even ran over to ask Zhou Yi gossiping, "How is it? Did you confess to Kotana?"

"Why are you so gossipy?" Zhou Yi rolled his eyes at Grosskreutz.

"Hey, just concerned about you. Tell me, did you confess?"

"I did..." Zhou Yi nodded. Now that he had confirmed his feelings, there was nothing to hide.

"Nice! Did she say yes?" Grosskreutz asked, his face full of excited anticipation.

"She said she needed to consider it..."

"Consider it?" Grosskreutz frowned. Kotana's answer was a bit unexpected. He thought Kotana would either say yes or no. German women didn't have so many things to think about, why consider it?

"Consider it for a day and then reject you?"

"How would I know..." Zhou Yi spread his hands. Kotana's answer also puzzled him. If she liked him too, would she need to consider it before accepting? If she didn't like him, would she still hesitate to reject him?

"Okay, I've never encountered a woman like that before, your Kevin-bro really can't give you any life experience..." Grosskreutz scratched his head. The women around him didn't need him to put in any effort at all. As long as he revealed his status and waved his money around, a crowd of women would flock to him, vying to please him. If he wanted to find a girlfriend, how could the other party say "I'll consider it"?

※※※

That day, Zhou Yi not only didn't see Kotana until the end of training, but he also didn't receive a call from her.

He didn't know whether Kotana had made up her mind.

The next day, Zhou Yi still didn't receive a call from Kotana, but this time, he didn't continue to wait. Instead, he went directly to the physiotherapy room where Kotana was.

"Hey! Is it good or not, give me an answer!" Zhou Yi complained to Kotana as soon as he entered the door.

"Ah, I thought it was just a momentary impulse, and you would forget about it yourself after this period..." Kotana spread her hands.

"How could it be a momentary impulse? I thought about it thoroughly!" Zhou Yi said loudly.

"You haven't changed your mind?" Kotana asked.

"Why would I change my mind?" Zhou Yi asked back.

"I remember you said before that your standard for choosing a partner is to have a connection, and if you argue all the time, it's definitely not going to work out."

"...Yeah." Zhou Yi remembered, he did say something similar.

"Then don't we argue often?" Kotana asked.

"This... arguing is different from arguing, right..." Zhou Yi explained.

"What's different about arguing?"

"Uh..." Zhou Yi's mind was racing. He felt that if he didn't come up with a reasonable explanation, this matter would be over. But he was quick-witted, and this question didn't really stump him.

"Of course it's different. When my dad and my mom were together, they would often bicker. But that's not arguing, it's flirting... Yes, it's flirting. Their relationship has never deteriorated because of such bickering. Even now, they're still like that... We Chinese have a saying, 'Hitting is affection, scolding is love,' which means that if the relationship isn't close enough, it's impossible for such things to happen..." Zhou Yi explained.

"You Chinese are really strange..." Kotana heard "Hitting is affection, scolding is love" for the first time. "So you haven't changed your mind, you still want me to be your girlfriend?"

"Of course. I'm not kidding you, I didn't lose a dare in a game, I made this decision after careful consideration." Zhou Yi said very seriously on the phone. "Kotana, although our first meeting wasn't pleasant, and although we had some friction living together... but Kotana, as I said before, my standard for choosing a partner is to have a connection, and now I'm interested in you. Without a doubt, I want you to be my girlfriend, and this is the result of very serious consideration."

Kotana didn't interrupt Zhou Yi, and listened to him finish everything before asking him, "You really want to be with me? I'm not like ordinary girls, I don't like romance very much..."

"I'm not good at romance either." Zhou Yi replied immediately.

"I'm a bit mean."

"Coincidentally, my friends all say I have a sharp tongue."

Kotana smiled when she heard this: "Looking at it this way, Zhou Yi, it seems like we can only be together. Other girls might not be able to stand you."

"Other men might not be able to stand you either. So, we're a good match."

"What if I reject you?" Kotana asked suddenly.

"I don't know..." Zhou Yi paused for a moment before replying. "I haven't thought about that. Are you going to reject me?"

"I don't know, I haven't thought about that either," Kotana said. "I never thought that I would one day date a professional football player. But Zhou Yi, if it's you, I want to try."

Even the quick-witted Zhou Yi spent some time processing Kotana's answer before he understood what Kotana meant.

"You're saying yes?!"

He asked in surprise.

"Yes, I'm saying yes, Zhou Yi," Kotana repeated.

Zhou Yi came back to his senses and chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Kotana asked.

"I was thinking that since we're a couple now, can we do some... do some things?"

"Like?" Kotana looked at him and asked.

"Like... like..." Zhou Yi stammered, not knowing how to say it.

But Kotana took the initiative to put her arms around Zhou Yi's neck, brought her head closer, and the two were very close, so close that the hot breath exhaled was sprayed on each other's faces.

"Like this?"

Kotana lowered her eyes, tilted her head, and kissed Zhou Yi's lips.

Zhou Yi "mmmed" twice, then closed his eyes and concentrated on enjoying it – those not-so-sexy lips had an indescribable softness and warmth...