Winter Returns

Chapter 57 "A Pleasant Encounter"

In a sense, this Saturday was exceptionally lively.

Even the most exciting day will eventually come to an end.

It was nearly eight o'clock when the sound of police sirens echoed throughout the campus at night.

The police took Zhou and his son away. Even if no conclusive evidence was found tonight, Zhou's father had pressed his fingerprint when he gathered his accomplices. There was no fingerprint identification technology on the island, but a check in the city would reveal that the conspiracy to commit arson was enough to get him into serious trouble.

As for their final outcome, Zhang Shutong doesn't need to worry about it; Boss Gu will help his daughter get revenge.

The time for parting has come.

The three best friends lived in a residential area on the north side of the island, Song Nanshan's dormitory was nearby, Gu Qiumian's villa was to the south, and Zhang Shutong was going to the east—where it was near Green Snake Mountain.

In short, the six people went their separate ways.

Then an unexpected incident occurred.

After Song Nanshan made a few phone calls, a Land Rover pulled up at the school gate a moment later. The beam of its high beams illuminated the outline of the car dozens of meters ahead, and two men got out—they were Gu Qiumian's bodyguards.

They had rushed back from the provincial capital overnight as an "advance force" to protect their young mistress's safety.

Zhang Shutong glanced at the Land Rover, then at the two burly men with buzz cuts, and thought to himself, "Oh, the real henchmen have finally arrived."

As the two bodyguards got out of the car, Gu Qiumian was speaking quietly to him, but then a man respectfully handed her his phone, saying, "Miss, Mr. Gu is very worried about your safety..." Gu Qiumian then went to make a phone call to her father.

Zhang Shutong finally breathed a sigh of relief, which meant that this unpredictable Saturday was finally over.

But Gu Qiu Mian wasn't happy at all. It seemed that the bodyguard's arrival was more of a shock than a pleasant surprise. Zhang Shutong didn't understand why she was acting so strangely. Gu Qiu Mian simply asked:
"You can come with my car, I'll take you home."

Zhang Shutong shook his head and refused. His bicycle was still parked in the bike shed. He hadn't ridden it away since school ended on Friday. The real sign that the battle was over was not how powerful the enemy you defeated, but that you drove your car back to your own garage after the dust settled.

There were many people around, but the two of them didn't exchange more than a few words. They probably didn't have time to talk. Everyone was busy with their own things, making phone calls or letting others know they were safe... The young lady had been out all day, and it was time for her to go home.

Gu Qiumian looked back through the window of the Land Rover. The night wind had blown her hair into disarray, but she hadn't been wearing the scarf during the coldest time. Zhang Shutong waved to her as a final farewell.

Only the master and his five apprentices remained at the school gate.

They kept talking non-stop. Du Kang asked Qingyi what gift they bought for me. I didn't want to ask, but I did something important today, so could I tell you in advance?
Ruoping then asked Zhang Shutong what he thought about rescuing the damsel in distress. She said, "I just saw a romantic movie playing in the classroom. You and the young lady were watching it together, while the rest of us were enjoying the cool breeze on the rooftop. Wow, how wonderful!"

Ruoping was still upset because she had kept it from her.

As soon as Gu Qiumian left, she started to make things difficult for herself.

Zhang Shutong could only endure it. A few words from her wouldn't hurt him.

Finally, Lao Song asked if you were hungry, and suggested we go get some late-night snacks.

Zhang Shutong first expressed his intention to withdraw, saying that he just wanted to go home and lie down for a while. He wasn't that tired, but he wanted to find a warm place to relax.

The group of close friends weren't in a hurry. They told Lao Song to go ahead and give his statement. It was only Saturday, and they could play all day tomorrow. It wouldn't make a difference if they didn't give him a little more time.

Moreover, the group had been moving tables all afternoon and were exhausted.

After discussing it, they decided that Lao Song would take Ruoping and Dukang home, since neither of their bicycles were there. Qingyi's bicycle had been left at the nail salon by Zhang Shutong, so they would just go with them and ride it tomorrow.

In the end, he went back alone.

He yawned, but instead of rushing to ride his bike, he went back to the teaching building. When the police came, the group rushed downstairs, and the projector in the classroom was still on. Zhang Shutong felt that the four of them had been busy all day, so he said, "You go first, I'll take care of this."

When we returned to the classroom, Roman Holiday was nearing its end.

The plot summary I saw online before was this: After a short holiday, the princess returns to the palace the next day. The male protagonist stands in the audience with a group of colleagues, looking at the princess who is both strange and familiar. The two of them pretend not to know each other, but unexpectedly, the princess suddenly asks to shake hands with the reporters. Everyone is unsure of what the princess is up to, but they all do as she says.

Zhang Shutong understood the princess's intention. She shook hands with everyone, but actually wanted to shake his hand one last time.

Soon it was time for the two to shake hands. Zhang Shutong had already moved the mouse to the red button in the upper right corner of the video, but he unconsciously stopped, wanting to see what the two had to say.

However, it was only one sentence, or even less than one sentence—just two words. Besides, it was an English movie, and the homeroom teacher, naturally, wouldn't have found a Chinese version to practice listening skills. So, the princess's softly uttered words were even simpler, just one word:
"Nice to meet you."

Zhang Shutong clicked the left mouse button.

He folded up the projector and put it away. He habitually glanced at the classroom windows to make sure they were closed, but found a plastic bag in his seat containing snacks he had taken from a cabinet in the library.

The plastic bag was left there as it was. They went out of their way to get it, supposedly to make up for the lack of a movie theater atmosphere, but nobody actually ate anything.

Zhang Shutong stuffed it into the desk drawer of Gu Qiumian, closed the classroom door, went down the stairs, left the building, and rode his bicycle.

Zhang Shutong's home is in the east, but instead of going home immediately, he turned the car around and drove south.

That plastic bag made him realize something—

My paycheck for today is still at the supermarket.

He felt that was his reward. He had spent the whole day shopping with the young lady, and she didn't like owing people favors, so those two big shopping bags of food were naturally his way of repaying that favor.

Zhang Shutong didn't think these things were too little. He wasn't there for anything else in the first place. He didn't want money or anything else. Two big bags of food were just right. One bag wasn't enough for him and his best friend to share, and three bags wouldn't be enough to take back. He's always been a pragmatist.

Ruoping and the others were wrong. He was not a hero saving a damsel in distress or a protector of flowers. It was just something he should do in life, without any reason or expectation of reward.

They are always puzzled by their own motives, and he is also puzzled by their speculations. This matter is more like a larger pebble on the road of life. You used to walk around it. Actually, walking around it is not a big deal. Who doesn't encounter a few stones in their life?

But he was fortunate enough to return to the beginning of the road. Eight years later, the pebble was still blocking the way. Zhang Shutong knew it would trip people up, so he used a little effort to kick the pebble to the side of the road.

The so-called backtracking is the process of removing stones.

He quickly rode to "Beiyi Shopping Mall". There were only a few minutes left before closing time. A cleaner was mopping the floor. He apologized and rushed to the service desk, taking two bags of snacks from the counter.

With the two bags hanging on the handlebars on either side, the center of gravity remained unchanged. Only then did Zhang Shutong feel that the "Operation to Control the Young Lady's Future Goddess" had officially come to an end.

The henchman got his payment back and could now retire and return to his hometown.

The streetlights were still barely working, their light casting a yellow hue on both sides of the asphalt road. He rode his bike slowly, feeling a bit thirsty, and reached into his shopping bag for a bottle of water.

Gu Qiu Mian was very honest and never used drinks to make up the numbers. The two shopping bags were also quite substantial, which was a pity. So he quickened his pace. He hadn't walked this road at night for a long time, and it wasn't a place worth reminiscing about. Besides, he might not be the only one at home tonight; his mother might be there too... Speaking of his mother, Zhang Shutong muttered to himself. His phone was off, and he didn't know if his mother had called. He would definitely be questioned when he got back. In any case, he hadn't explained why he hadn't come home last night.

He was starting to feel overwhelmed. Riding fast or slow was no good either way. He hoped that the TV station would still be showing Detective Conan tonight, so he told her that he wanted to watch the cartoon. No matter what his mother said, he lay on the sofa and pretended not to hear.

The shadow stretched long, and on this deserted path, Zhang Shutong encountered an unexpected person.

"Zhang Shutong".

The other person spoke calmly and took the initiative to stop him.

Zhang Shutong gripped the brakes, wondering where Lu Qinglian was going so late. She was still wearing that green robe, but her ponytail had been loosened into waist-length hair as she walked alone on the road.

What a coincidence! The two of them are standing at an intersection right now. If I had ridden faster or she had walked slower, we wouldn't have met.

Zhang Shutong nodded and greeted her, too embarrassed to say that she looked like a ghost late at night.

Why are you still out so late?

"walk."

"Walking off after a meal?" Zhang Shutong chuckled, feeling that his sense of humor returned the moment he met this girl.

She nodded slightly.
"You can understand it this way for now."

Zhang Shutong bit her lip... she couldn't bite anymore, so she looked at the other person speechlessly.

It's reasonable to assume the two of them have a history of sharing a cup of milk tea, so treating someone like a fool is a bit unreasonable.

Zhang Shutong isn't Du Kang. Du Kang would run up to you at this point and ask where you're going, whether you need him to come with you, or if it's safe to do so late...

Seeing a girl alone outside late at night, Zhang Shutong should have told her to be careful, but he felt that he was the one who needed to be careful. He had nothing to say, so he casually said goodbye and rode home.

Lu Qinglian suddenly asked:
Are you free tomorrow afternoon? I have a few words to say to you.

"What? Tell me now, I'm not in a rush." ​​Zhang Shutong considered putting the shopping bags down, as hanging them on the handlebars to maintain the bike's balance was too difficult.

“But I have other things to do right now and I don’t have time.” She thought for a moment, “If you have time, you can visit the temple tomorrow afternoon.”

"I'm busy then." Zhang Shutong refused outright. What a joke! Life was starting to get back on track. Who would go to the temple again? What if they could "rewind" again?

Lu Qinglian didn't say anything more. It seemed she really had something urgent to attend to, and left without looking back after hearing this.

She wore a long robe, which concealed her two slender legs. Normally, this wouldn't be noticeable, but it became apparent when she walked. Although her steps were light and graceful, she walked very quickly.

Zhang Shutong looked at Lu Qinglian strangely as she walked south, thinking to himself, "This isn't the direction of your home either."

But that's just how this girl is; if she doesn't want to tell you something, you can't get it out of her no matter what you ask.

As it happened, Zhang Shutong wasn't interested in asking any questions.

He was really tired and just wanted to go home and rest. If there was anything he wanted to say, they could talk about it when they got back to school on Monday. That's how Zhang Shutong understood it. She was the kind of person who wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted. Like that time when they went fishing, if there was something important, she would just come along. Although Zhang Shutong never understood what she was doing there that night.

I got home around nine o'clock.

My mom isn't home; it's another night alone.

He had a headache when she was there, but missed her when she was gone. This reminded Zhang Shutong of the night he spent in the villa, where he could hear the bubbling water as the noodles were cooking. The villa was decorated like a palace, and a man in the living room was watching a football game while a girl sat opposite him watching him eat. This was quite a lively scene for him. Under the misty night sky, rain streamed down the floor-to-ceiling windows. In a brightly lit room, there was a unique sense of warmth.

What's truly baffling is that I never imagined I could be associated with the word "warmth and coziness."
Zhang Shutong once thought that if everyone is born with their own mission, then his mission is to fight that damned ability to the death, until the very end. He wasn't prepared to die alone, but he had been alone all these years.

Things are gradually changing now. There are more and more people around her. Zhang Shutong feels that she may not have adapted to this change yet. She didn't have time to think about it before, but now she can finally think about it properly.

He charged his phone first, then went to change his clothes. When he came back from washing up, his phone was already on, and sure enough, he was bombarded with messages. He lay on the bed, intending to put the phone aside after letting everyone know he was safe, and then clear his mind for a while.

He received messages on QQ from his best friends arriving home. Since no one was in much spirits for casual conversation today, he sent a picture of the ceiling in the group chat as a reply. Then came a bunch of missed calls—from his mother, Song Nanshan, and the last one was from Gu Qiumian. Zhang Shutong originally wanted to call Song Nanshan first—since he could just say one sentence and hang up, then chat with his mother—but Gu Qiumian's call surprised him. He had confirmed that the QQ avatar that looked like a sheep and a cloud hadn't sent any new messages; if it were something trivial, it would have been posted on QQ. He dialed back, and the call connected quickly; a girl's voice came through:
"Why are you only just getting home?"

She didn't sound like anything was wrong; her tone was quite light.

Zhang Shutong then asked where you were, and you said you had already taken a shower and were in your bedroom. Zhang Shutong then asked where your bodyguard and nanny were, and that's when she learned that they would all be staying at the villa that day.

He felt relieved and asked Gu Qiuming what she wanted to call. She said it was nothing, just asking if he had gotten home yet. Zhang Shutong was about to suggest chatting on QQ when Gu Qiuming continued:
Are you free tomorrow?

I feel like I've heard that phrase somewhere before.

Zhang Shutong asked what was wrong, and she said, "Of course we're going to eat, lunch. But you need to get there early. Never mind, I'll come find you. What's your address?"
Why is it mealtime again...?

Zhang Shutong felt she might not be able to get up, but the other girl seemed to have read her mind and said, "You don't think this is just for you, do you? Your friends are too. You should also thank them for tonight. So you can't refuse."

Zhang Shutong was persuaded by her. After all, Qingyi and the others had been busy for a long time, so he nodded and said, "Okay, where should we eat?"

"My home or a restaurant, you can choose one."

"Your home, I suppose."

Gu Qiumian asked if there were any dishes he wanted to eat, and he said anything was fine, but as soon as he said that, he could almost feel the girl glaring at him from across the table, so he just listed a few dishes that his best friends liked.

After they agreed on the time, Zhang Shutong was about to hang up when he asked what time it was, whether 11 o'clock was too late, so he could let his best friends know.

She replied irritably, saying something like eleven o'clock or six o'clock.

Whose lunch should we eat at 6 o'clock?

Is it six o'clock in the morning?
She seemed to have said she wanted to arrive early, but isn't six o'clock too early...? Zhang Shutong suspected that the young lady had gone mad again.

She said something like, "You're so silly, I meant dinner at six."

Zhang Shutong asked again, puzzled, "You just mentioned lunch. I have a good memory, do you need me to repeat it to you? Why did you change your mind again?"

But there was no sound from the other end of the phone for a long time. Zhang Shutong began to suspect that the phone had lost signal again, and then she muttered to herself:

"It's just the two of us for lunch, and we only eat with your friends in the evening. Don't you understand? You idiot..."

Zhang Shutong himself wasn't sure either, because he really hadn't understood that hidden meaning. Just as he was about to say something, Gu Qiumian said again, "Then it's settled. Come to the dock to find me at ten o'clock this morning. Don't be late..." and then immediately hung up the phone.

Zhang Shutong held the phone to his ear for a long time before he finally understood what she meant.

It seemed like only a few words were exchanged before the young lady had already arranged her schedule for tomorrow.

First, go to the pier...

Wait, a dock? Doesn't that mean we have to take a boat to the city? What's in the city? Shopping malls, upscale restaurants, cinemas, Ferris wheels... Zhang Shutong immediately snapped out of his daze.

He switched to the QQ page, found "Autumn Rain," and typed: "Let's change the location. I'm too tired to go to the city. Let's eat together tonight instead."

Before I could even send that message, another phone call came in.

It's my mom's.

She was truly a genius; she could even guess when I was coming home. Zhang Shutong was about to express her admiration for her mother when she angrily said, "Your phone has battery, why don't you call me back right away?"
"Just got home..."

The old lady smiled and said, "Tongtong, do you know that I actually called you just now, but it showed that I was on another call, so I hung up immediately."

Zhang Shutong said he had no way to deal with her, and then readily confessed, saying that he had just called his friend to let him know he was safe.

However, my mother never doesn't know what to say:
"For Gu Qiu Mian?"

Zhang Shutong sat up in bed.

"Don't try to lie to me with excuses," Mom continued. "You never call your friends to let them know you're safe, so who else could it be but Gu Qiu Mian?"

Zhang Shutong said helplessly, "She called me. I was just worried that something might have happened to her."

"Yes, yes, my Tongtong is so great, he's a real man!" Mom said cutely.

Zhang Shutong gave up on treatment and briefly explained to her what happened that night, saying that her son wasn't dating a girl, but was saving the world.

The mother didn't ask how vicious the criminal was, but instead asked if he had eaten, as if nothing in the world was more important than her son going hungry.

He said he had eaten, but his mother said she had left some vegetables in the pot for him, so he could have them for breakfast tomorrow.

Zhang Shutong wasn't quite used to talking to her mother like this, because eight years later, her mother wasn't the lively person she was now. She had worried about her for many years, especially during the time she took a break from high school, when she would cry on her back every day.

Zhang Shutong then told her mother not to work too hard. Her mother replied that she didn't need to worry about her and that she should take care of herself first. She asked how she had fun with Gu Qiumian today.
She kept mentioning Gu Qiu Mian in every sentence, so Zhang Shutong said, "Mom, you've really misunderstood. We're not in that kind of relationship."

"Are you free tomorrow?"

Zhang Shutong subconsciously replied that he already had arrangements.

Her mother gave a dismissive "Eek."

Zhang Shutong decided not to explain that Miss Gu had invited a large group of people. Instead, he changed his approach, rolled his eyes, and started talking to her about what happened that morning, asking if she was worried that Gu Qiumian and Ruoping would have a falling out.

"That's all because of you. One is your friend, and the other is you... Hehe." Mom just smiled.

But that's exactly what Zhang Shutong was waiting for. You didn't expect that, did you? Actually, there was nothing between them, and Gu Qiumian even took the initiative to apologize.

Zhang Shutong used this example to tell her not to be too narcissistic, because not everyone will revolve around her son and treat him like a treasure.

My mother asked, puzzled:
"You mean Gu Qiu Mian apologized on her own initiative?"

"Yeah, she's a nice person."

As Zhang Shutong spent more time with her, he discovered that she wasn't the domineering young lady he had imagined, except that she sometimes liked to glare.

"I realize that telling you all this is a waste of my precious rest time."

My mom said this with a look of disgust, then hung up, saying, "If I get wrinkles, it's all your fault," and hung up the phone.

This is the first time I've ever been disliked by my own mother.

Zhang Shutong sent another message to Song Nanshan, who was munching on instant noodles, which made Zhang Shutong a little hungry too.

I went to the kitchen and saw that my mother had left a portion of stew in the pot. He couldn't eat that much, but if he reheated it tomorrow morning, it would turn into mush again. It would be better to eat steamed buns instead.

There were two steamed buns on the table. He took a bite of one and ran to the sofa to watch TV, but then he noticed two shopping bags next to him. Zhang Shutong slapped his forehead, thinking to himself that he was really stupid. Why did he go and eat steamed buns instead of snacks?

He wasn't practicing self-cultivation or tempering himself, so he naturally ate the good things that were available. He rummaged around for a while and found things like Kobi, shrimp chips, beef jerky, and Want Want Little Crisps. Of course, there were also various chocolates and desserts. Gu Qiu Mian judged others by herself.

He simply poured everything out, keeping only a few things he wanted to eat, and took the rest to Ruoping and the others. Then, he found a dark-looking thing among a pile of colorful packaging bags.

This thing is really out of place. All the other snacks are dressed in fancy clothes, but this one is wrapped in a plastic bag. Of course, in a sense, it's not even a snack. Zhang Shutong remembered what it was—

It turned out to be a piece of pig liver.

The only cooked food? Or rather, the only decent dish?

He remembered asking Gu Qiuming why she bought such a big piece of pork liver. She said she wanted to eat it, but it needed to be eaten quickly, and her family didn't need another piece of pork liver. Zhang Shutong didn't need to return it to her, because his memory was always very good. Just like he remembered that Gu Qiuming had apologized, he also remembered that the girl's words had a second half. After a moment, she reluctantly said, "Don't you not know how to cook..."

Zhang Shutong hadn't understood her meaning at the time. If you can't cook, you can go out and find something. What difference would buying a piece of pig liver make? But now he was sitting in his empty house. Not long ago, a woman had asked him if he had eaten. Although he had a lot of snacks, none of them were proper meals. He had a cold steamed bun in his mouth and was feeling a bit hungry. Suddenly, he realized the purpose of the pig liver.

Zhang Shutong took the pig liver to the kitchen, cut off a few slices, put them in a steamed bun, and took a bite.

It's unclear whether Gu Qiumian meant it that way, but that's how he understood it at the moment. Zhang Shutong unconsciously glanced south. The kitchen naturally faces southeast, so it's easy to see the night through the window. The night is dark, like pig liver sandwiched in a steamed bun.

After he finished eating and lay down on the bed, he deleted the words in the chat box.

Zhang Shutong then turned off the lights, hoping for another peaceful night.

I don't know how long it's been since I had such a relaxing moment.

He didn't sleep well tonight. For the first time, he had a dream he couldn't remember. He dreamt that he was back in the provincial capital, walking on an overpass in the night, and saw a huge Ferris wheel in the distance.

The Ferris wheel was lit up, and the cabins slowly rotated, but its outline could never be clearly seen.

So, in the dead of night, when he woke up from his dream, he suddenly opened his eyes.

The bed is shaking!
The ceiling was shaking, the bedside table was shaking, the light switch on the wall was shaking, the phone was shaking, even my own hands were shaking... or rather, it wasn't the objects shaking, but the world as I saw it that was shaking;

His mind cleared instantly, filled with astonishment, and the whole world before him seemed to tremble like a black and white photograph.

Consciousness went blank, as if flying out of the body;
Zhang Shutong was very familiar with this phenomenon;
At the last moment, he straightened up and silently opened his mouth, because—

Backtracking.

It was triggered.

*
Eight years later, Zhang Shutong returned to the island where he grew up.

—To attend the funeral of a junior high school classmate.

The funeral home is located in the southern part of the island, next to the newly built lakeside road.

Leaning against the roadside railing and gazing into the distance, on a clear day, the lake reflects the clear sky like a bright blue gem. When the wind blows, the clouds ripple, making one feel refreshed and relaxed.

Today, however, the lake surface is a dark, iron-blue color.

*
Zhang Shutong stared at the dark blue lake surface, speechless for a long time.

With this, the groundwork for this book is complete. Please vote with your monthly tickets!
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(End of this chapter)