Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

The air in the abandoned ice rink seemed to have been sucked out.

Gu Xidong gripped the videotape tightly in his hand, the plastic casing burning hot from the sweat on his palms.

He stood in front of Ling Wuwen, his chest heaving violently.

"Explain yourself." His voice was hoarse and broken, like sandpaper scraping against a table. "Who is that girl? What happened in that room in the video... that night five years ago?"

He felt like a fool.

A pathetic fool who's been played for five years.

Ling Wuwen held the iron box and watched him quietly.

There was no panic at being caught, nor fear at the exposure of her conspiracy in her eyes.

There was only one kind of... deep weariness.

She didn't answer, but silently took the videotape from his hand.

Her movements were so light, as if it were not a cassette tape, but a corpse.

"Come with me." She turned and walked to a corner of the ice rink.

There stood an old television set that should have been in a museum long ago, covered in dust.

Gu Xidong stood frozen in place, like a stone statue.

"If you want to see the truth, come over here." Ling Wuwen's voice came from afar, carrying an undeniable determination.

the truth?

Is this the truth?

Is that voyeuristic girl the truth?

Gu Xidong gritted his teeth and took a step.

2

Ling Wuwen inserted the videotape into the player.

"Sizzle—"

The TV screen flickered a few times, then burst open with a blinding amount of static.

The noise of the electric current echoed in the empty factory, like countless ants gnawing at Gu Xidong's nerves.

He stood in front of the television, staring intently at the static.

He is waiting.

Waiting for an explanation.

Waiting for a trial.

Ling Wuwen stood to the side, his hands in his pockets, watching the snowflakes, but his gaze drifted into the distance, as if looking through the screen at another time and space.

"Who exactly are you?" Gu Xidong asked the question he had asked countless times before.

Ling Wuwen didn't look at him, but simply reached out and gently patted the side of the television.

You'll find out soon enough.

3

The snowy screen finally stabilized.

The image gradually became clear.

That wasn't the private video from the hotel room five years ago that Gu Xidong had imagined.

That was a... video of a match.

The black and white image is somewhat blurry, but the outline of the ice rink is clearly visible.

The camera pans through the crowd, seemingly searching for someone.

Then, the camera suddenly freezes.

In the picture, two young boys are embracing each other tightly.

One of them, wearing a red competition uniform, had a bright smile and was full of vigor.

That was Gu Xidong at the age of fifteen.

He was crying and laughing, his face covered in tears and snot.

Another boy, wearing a blue racing suit, was patting Gu Xidong's back forcefully, seemingly trying to comfort him.

The boy had a gentle smile on his face and his eyes were full of doting affection.

Gu Xidong's breath caught in his throat.

That boy...

It is Ling Wufeng.

His twin brother.

His younger brother, who lost his life in a car accident when he was sixteen.

4

The floodgates of memory were suddenly opened.

That was the first time he won the national youth championship.

That day, he cried like a child.

It was Ling Wufeng who carried him down from the podium.

It was Ling Wufeng who patted him on the back and said, "Brother, you are the best in the whole world."

Gu Xidong remembers that hug.

He remembered the faint scent of soap on Wufeng.

He remembered the warmth of his palm when there was no wind patting his back.

But he doesn't remember...

He suddenly looked at the television screen.

The image is somewhat blurry due to its age, but it is still legible.

Ling Wufeng had a red rope hanging around his neck.

The rope was thin and old, yet very bright.

Gu Xidong's gaze was fixed on the red rope.

That was a gift he gave to Wufeng.

It was a broken wooden pendant that Wufeng gave him for his tenth birthday. He thought it was too ugly, so he strung it with a red string and hung it around his neck, saying that this would "bring him good luck".

Wu Feng laughed at him for being superstitious, but he also strung his own pendant together with the same red string and hung it around his neck.

That was a "token" between the two brothers.

It was a secret known only to the two of them.

Gu Xidong subconsciously touched his chest.

It was completely empty.

That pendant, along with his medal, was locked in a safe by him after Wufeng's accident and was never taken out again.

"You..." Gu Xidong pointed at the television screen, his fingers trembling violently, "How did you get this recording?"

This video was recorded at his home years ago and has never been made public.

Ling Wuwen did not answer.

She simply reached out and pointed to the red string around Ling Wufeng's neck on the television screen.

She looked at Gu Xidong and asked, word by word:

"Brother, do you remember this red string?"

5

elder brother?

This title struck Gu Xidong like a thunderbolt.

His blood seemed to turn back instantly.

He looked at her.

Looking at her cold, unfamiliar face.

Looking into her eyes, which always seemed to hold hatred.

He suddenly realized that the face, the eyes, even the curve of the lips...

They're all so familiar.

No.

impossible.

Gu Xidong shook his head frantically, trying to shake off that absurd thought.

"Shut up!" he roared. "Don't call me brother! You're not Wufeng! Wufeng is dead! He died at only sixteen!"

"Yes, he's only sixteen."

Ling Wuwen looked at him and suddenly smiled.

It was a smile that was utterly desolate.

She slowly reached out and slipped her hand inside her collar.

Then, she pulled something out of her neck.

It was a worn-out wooden pendant strung together with a red rope.

And the one that Ling Wufeng was wearing around his neck on the TV screen.

The same.

Gu Xidong's pupils suddenly contracted.

He stared intently at the pendant, his mind completely blank.

There was no wind.

That was a gift he gave to Wufeng.

How could this be...?

"You..." His voice trembled uncontrollably, "Where did you get this? Did you steal it? Or did you..."

Ling Wuwen remained silent.

She just watched him quietly, watching him break down.

Then, she did something that made Gu Xidong's soul fly away.

She took the red string off her neck.

She handed the red string to Gu Xidong.

"Brother," she whispered, "look carefully."

Gu Xidong's gaze was fixed on the red rope.

Then, he saw it.

At the end of the red string, there was a small, almost invisible wear.

That was from when he accidentally cut himself with his ice skate years ago.

He remembers.

That was the day before the incident occurred without wind.

They were playing around on the ice rink.

He accidentally cut Wufeng's neck with his ice skate.

Wu Feng cried out in pain.

He was terrified and rushed to check.

It turned out to be just a minor scratch.

The red rope also had a small cut made by the ice skate.

He also said at the time that he wanted to get a new one for Wufeng.

Wufeng said that this was a keepsake between the two brothers, and they would keep it even if it broke.

So they used a lighter to heat up the gap so that it wouldn't continue to unravel.

That small, charred mark.

At this moment, it clearly appeared at the end of the red rope in Ling Wuwen's hand.

It was exactly the same as he remembered.

Gu Xidong suddenly raised his head and looked at Ling Wuwen.

His eyes were filled with fear, shock, and an indescribable sense of absurdity.

He always thought she was a woman.

He always thought she was his enemy.

He even thought she was a perverted suitor.

But he never imagined...

Ling Wuwen looked at his pale face and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

She didn't say anything more.

She just stood there quietly, holding the red rope in her hand.

Like a ghost from the past.

And that red string, between her pale fingers, was as red as blood.