Winter Returns

Chapter 62 "Spare Ribs"

Zhang Shutong looked at the tattoo on his arm once again.

There was a snake, a little person, and another one tattooed there...

A strangely shaped circular pattern.

He was still reeling from the news of Gu Qiumian's death, and after trying to figure it out for a long time, he still couldn't make out what it was.

But Du Kang had already shifted his gaze to Ruoping:
"You remember, right? This circular pattern."

Ruoping looked at his arm with complicated emotions, gently pressed her fingernail against his skin, and sighed after a long while:

"I didn't expect you to actually carve it."

Just as Zhang Shutong was about to ask what the circle represented, Ruoping said again:

"But what's the point of this? It's just a pattern. You didn't understand it back then, but you do now after all these years? I remember the police blocked all the information related to the case back then, right? You pleaded with Officer Xiong and finally got a photo, and then you drew this thing... When we asked you what it meant, you said it was the killer's characteristics."

"So, after all these years, have you had any further leads?" Ruoping said, then slapped her forehead. "Never mind, I almost forgot you're practically mentally unstable right now."

Zhang Shutong's questions were all stuck in his throat. Even they didn't know what he had discovered back then.
What do three tattoos mean?
Who exactly is the murderer who suddenly appeared?

Suddenly, he made a discovery that sent chills down his spine:

He killed Zhou Ziheng and his son on Saturday and assumed they were the murderers. But was that the same person who killed Gu Qiumian back then?
Wait, it seems like everything is wrong.

If Zhou Ziheng instructed Li Yipeng to smash the castle so that his mother would let slip the truth about "revenge," thus provoking the arsonists to act sooner and creating an opportunity for his father to escape...

So, in the original timeline where the "block incident" did not occur, how did his father escape?

Zhang Shutong knew that man's personality well; he wouldn't act unless he was absolutely certain. So, did his father actually make a move back then?
No, let's change the question: Is he really the so-called "real culprit"?
In the original timeline, it's highly likely that Zhou's father wouldn't have had a chance to act before Gu Qiu Mian was murdered.

Completely wrong!
The store was air-conditioned, but at this moment Zhang Shutong felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, because this meant that from the very beginning he had strayed from the right answer and was going further and further into the conflict over the commercial street dispute.

From beginning to end! In fact, he never even found a trace of the real culprit!
Zhang Shutong suddenly asked:

Was her body found in a restricted area?

Ruoping nodded, which surprised him again.

How can this be?

With two bodyguards and a nanny, how could Gu Qiu Mian have died in the restricted area?

"How did she get out? Were her bodyguards and nanny harmed?"

“No.” Ruoping said it again, “Everything related to this case back then was sealed off.”

He recalled Ruoping's tone; neither of them knew about the tattoo beforehand. However, the graduation photos were taken in the summer, when everyone was wearing short sleeves and showing their arms, but he didn't look any different in the photos, indicating that the tattoo happened after he graduated from junior high school.

What time exactly?
He pressed the edge of the tattoo with his hand. It didn't hurt or itch, and there was no redness or swelling. The tattoo itself had faded, and it seemed that it had long since become one with his skin, indicating that it wasn't recently tattooed.

Zhang Shutong wondered if that could represent the turning point in his change of attitude and investigation of the "murderer." So what exactly happened after graduation that made him rekindle this idea?
Just as he was at his wit's end, the table shook violently.

“Zhang Shutong, I just realized you’re quite devoted…” It turned out that Du Kang suddenly stood up, grabbed his collar, and his eyes were a little red from drinking.

Zhang Shutong could see the bloodshot in the other man's eyes. Du Kang, equally furious, stared into his eyes, clenching his teeth.
"If that's the case, why did you go and provoke Lu Qinglian?"

"I……"

Zhang Shutong didn't know what to say. He then realized that in their eyes, his sins were not only deceiving everyone and harming Lu Qinglian, but also going to "find a new love" as if nothing had happened two months after Gu Qiumian's death.

Du Kang then growled:

"Fine, you're a good person. You've never forgotten Gu Qiu Mian, and you've been looking for the murderer all these years. Then tell me, what did you take Lu Qinglian for? A tool to relieve your grief? Someone you could summon and dismiss at will? Tell me!"

"Du Kang, sit down first! What the hell are you doing now?"

Ruoping also swore; she stood up and slammed her hand on the table.
"What are you doing? You've all had a few drinks and you're all going crazy, huh? Tell me, what can you do to him? He's almost forgotten his own name. Is beating him up now going to avenge Qing Lian or what?"

"I just want to beat him up. He did all that rubbish back then, and now he's pretending he doesn't remember anything and it's all over?" Du Kang didn't listen to her this time. He said fiercely, "Besides, are you sure he's not faking it? It's not like he's only faking it this once, right? Always with a cold face, never crying or laughing, not even a bit human. Yes, we're all stupid, not as smart as you, and we can't figure out what you're thinking. So what do you take us for?"

Du Kang turned back to Ruoping and questioned her:
Did you see him looking a little sad at the funeral home?

Ruoping was also taken aback when she heard this. Zhang Shutong noticed that Ruoping seemed to glance at him subconsciously, as if to confirm his expression.

Zhang Shutong didn't know what she wanted to see. He only knew that his face had probably been stiff for a long time, and he wasn't used to even smiling... so he could only be disappointed.

There was no disappointment in Ruoping's voice; she simply raised her voice and said excitedly:

"Yes, no, I also think he's a bastard and a son of a bitch. I won't stop you from beating him up if you want, but can you two stop acting crazy in front of me? Let's call it a day after this meal and never see each other again!"

"I just want an explanation for why he turned out this way!" Du Kang roared back.

"Qing Lian is dead, what explanation do you want?"

"What kind of person do you take me for? It's not because I used to like Lu Qinglian, it's because of him! Do you know how I feel? Trying to believe him time and time again, only to be disappointed time and time again, but I still couldn't help it..."

"You think I'm not either?" Ruoping pointed to herself. "Let me tell you, I want to even more than you! You think you're the only one who can't let go of the past? Did you know that he suddenly called three days ago saying he had something to tell me? And then what? And then you asked him if he even remembered it?"

"That's why I told you long ago he was a liar!"

"But you still came today!"

"I knew I shouldn't have come!" "I knew I shouldn't have come, what am I after?" Ruoping's eyes actually reddened. "Did any of you consider me? You've all forgotten, but I still remember. Do you think I treated you today? Why did I order these four dishes? You like stir-fried shrimp the most, and Qingyi likes fish strips the most. He's usually so easygoing, but he only ordered braised pork ribs..."

"How could I not remember? Otherwise, how would I know these four dishes taste worse than before..."

"Shut up!"

She bit her lip as she spoke, suppressing the sobs in her voice:

"Zhang Shutong, you've completely forgotten everything, treating all your words like bullshit. But we all remember! Didn't we promise to go to school in the city together at graduation and stay best friends forever? And what happened? One of you never even came back, one of you started hitting people after a few drinks, and the other of you disappeared for so many years and is now a nobody... You two grown men, fight it out! I don't care if you're bleeding from head to toe. It's the last time we'll see each other. After this fight, don't contact each other again!"

After saying that, Ruoping buried her head on the table, and you could hear her sobbing softly and unable to suppress her sobs. Du Kang also fell silent. He sat down, lit a cigarette, and didn't say anything.

Just then, the proprietress arrived late, carrying a porcelain basin filled with steam.

It should have been served first, as this dish had already been stewed and placed in a large pot. Only then did the proprietress apologize:
"We're out of spare ribs, can I replace them with braised pork instead?"

The two men and one woman at the table remained silent, and the proprietress's hand just stood there frozen.

She seemed to be thinking, how could the reunion of old classmates turn into such a tense situation? You guys weren't like this before, you used to come to the restaurant for meals all the time... But today, one person is missing and one dish is missing. Zhang Shutong doesn't actually like ribs at all. He just ordered them because he thought they all liked them. Now, however, he really wants to taste what these ribs taste like after eight years, and whether they have become worse than before. No one present knows or is more impartial than him, because he had eaten them just a few days ago.

But the braised pork ribs are gone.

Just then, her phone rang. Zhang Shutong glanced at the name on the screen and fell silent.

He nodded and told the proprietress to leave it there, then got up and went to the counter to pay. At this point, he didn't need to ask where the payment code was, and he had plenty of money. Anyway, he hadn't spent any of the money he had earned over the years.

The checkout went smoothly this time, and naturally, he didn't need that young lady to solve his immediate problem. He quickly returned to the dining table, picked up his trench coat, and said softly:

"……Feel sorry."

However, neither of them paid any attention to him. Ruoping simply buried her head in her arms, and Dukang smoked without saying a word. He glanced at the two of them again, and finally left the store without looking back. By then, it was already dark. He walked along the remaining pedestrian street and dialed the phone number back.

The contact person's name is "Su Yunzhi".

The call connected, and before Zhang Shutong could speak, a gentle female voice came from the other end:

"Have you eaten, Shutong?"

Zhang Shutong hummed in response. He wasn't in the mood to explore their relationship anymore. If it was just a casual chat between lovers, he was prepared to give a perfunctory reply and hang up.

But the other party said, "I've found out everything you asked me to look into, but that photo you mentioned is a bit tricky. I'll have to wait a while, but I can get it done before 9 o'clock."

Zhang Shutong was taken aback, only to hear the woman say again:

"The reason your female classmate was murdered was probably because someone wanted to stop her father from developing the island. This is what I saw in the transcript, but I can't send it to you. Just listen to my dictation."

It turns out it was about Gu Qiumian.

But why would they ask this senior student for help?
He suddenly seemed to have a vague recollection of her; her parents worked in the public security system. Thinking of this, Zhang Shutong opened his WeChat Moments and discovered that she was now a reporter for the city's television station.

"But you're probably going to be disappointed. Although this matter wasn't supposed to be leaked back then, it wasn't because the water was so deep, but rather because of her father's power and the impact it would have. Actually, it's pretty much what you guessed—it's a murder case. The only suspicious point is, how did she get out in the middle of the night? And I don't know why her father insisted on not monitoring her..."

The woman sighed:

"Let bygones be bygones. After all, eight years have passed. You should do what you promised me and change jobs no matter what the outcome is. I only just realized that when I asked you what you wanted to study in college, you said you wanted to be a journalist in media. So I went there and waited for you. But you ended up doing home-based translation work. It was all because of this, wasn't it?"

"Let's do the math: three years of high school, four years of university, and a year and a half of working. I just changed positions last month, so I have access to this information. You even figured out all of this?"

"But you can't be that terrifying, can you? Doesn't that mean these foreshadowings were laid from the very beginning when we met..."

The woman then made a joke:

"My best friend recently warned me to be careful of this cold-blooded guy. I told her that you weren't like this when you were in school. We used to go shopping and watch movies together, and you always looked exhausted... I still laugh when I think about it now."

"But Shutong," she said, her voice softening instinctively, "I don't blame you no matter what, but you really can't go on like this. Are you on that island now? Why don't you not rush off, I'll come find you tomorrow..."

Zhang Shutong simply said no, I'll be going back to the city tomorrow.

"Smoke less," the woman said before hanging up the phone.

Zhang Shutong put away his phone. He looked at the streetlights, which were still as dim as before, their glow casting a yellow hue on the road. He lit a cigarette.

The senior student looked just like I remembered her. Being with her was like a gentle breeze; she was intelligent and kind, and never asked me too many questions.

He glanced at his phone; it was a little past seven in the evening. He seemed to be looking at his phone all the time these past few days. The number seven was also familiar; technology was advancing so fast these days, and it was no longer that little thing that would run out of power or signal at the drop of a hat.

He knew he could no longer return to the lake fish restaurant; it would only add to their sadness. Perhaps it would be better for them both if he weren't there.

But he seemed to have nowhere to go. The temperature dropped even lower at night, and he was only wearing a trench coat, one sleeve of which was now wet. So he crossed his left arm and wandered aimlessly down the street.

He arrived at the school gate without realizing it. The gate used to be so easy to push open that he could still squeeze in, but he didn't know whether he should go in. The classroom for Class 1, Grade 9 had already seen eight waves of graduates; it couldn't possibly still look the same. And the library… he had no idea what it would become.

Zhang Shutong did not intend to go in.

He continued walking along the school, but suddenly realized there was nothing he wanted to see. That quiet little home was long gone. The base? Or somewhere else? These places were too far away. There were no taxis on the island, and it was impossible to walk there.

So he decided to find a shop to warm up first.

The street scene was much the same as it had been eight years ago, with only a few supermarkets and restaurants lit up. As he walked, he stopped in front of a nail salon.

(End of this chapter)