In a way, this Saturday was very lively.
But even the liveliest day would come to an end.
As time approached 8 PM, the sound of police sirens echoed through the night campus.
The police took the Zhou family father and son away. Even if they didn't find conclusive evidence tonight, the father had left his fingerprints when he gathered his accomplices. The island didn't have the technology to identify fingerprints, but it would be known once they sent them to the city. Just conspiring to commit arson was enough to get him in trouble.
As for the final outcome for the two of them, Zhang Shutong didn't have to worry. Boss Gu would help his daughter get her revenge.
It was time to part ways.
His three friends' homes were in the residential area on the north side of the island. Song Nanshan's dorm was not far away. Gu Qiumian's villa was on the south side, and Zhang Shutong had to go to the east—where it was close to Qingshe Mountain.
In short, the six of them went their separate ways.
At this time, an unexpected interlude occurred.
After Song Nanshan talked on the phone for a few moments, a Land Rover also drove to the school gate. The high beams illuminated the outline for dozens of meters ahead. Two men got out of the car—they were Gu Qiumian's bodyguards.
They had rushed back from the city overnight and were the "vanguard" to protect their young miss's safety.
Zhang Shutong looked at the Land Rover and then at the two muscular men with crew cuts. He thought, "Oh, the real sidekicks are finally here."
When the two bodyguards got out of the car, Gu Qiumian was talking to him in a low voice. But then one of the men respectfully handed her a phone and said, "Miss, Mr. Gu is very worried about your safety..." Gu Qiumian then went to talk to her dad on the phone again.
Zhang Shutong finally breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that this Saturday, which was full of variables, had finally passed.
But Gu Qiumian was not happy at all. The arrival of the bodyguards seemed to be a shock rather than a surprise. Zhang Shutong didn't understand why she was being so difficult. Gu Qiumian just asked:
"Let's go together in my family's car. I'll take you back."
Zhang Shutong shook his head and refused. His bicycle was still in the bike shed. He hadn't ridden it since school ended on Friday. The real sign that the operation was over wasn't when you defeated a powerful enemy. It was when you put your own car back in your own garage after the dust had settled.
There were many people around, so the two of them didn't say much. Maybe they didn't have time. Everyone was busy with their own things. Some were making phone calls, and others were reporting that they were safe... The young miss had been out all day and it was time for her to go home.
Gu Qiumian looked back from the window of the Land Rover. The night wind messed up her hair, but she wasn't wearing that scarf at the coldest time. Zhang Shutong waved at her as a final farewell.
Only the teacher and the four students were left at the school gate.
Their mouths didn't stop talking. Du Kang asked Qingyi what gift they had bought for him. "I didn't want to ask, but I did a big thing today. Can you tell me in advance?"
Ruoping, on the other hand, asked Zhang Shutong how he felt about saving a beautiful girl. "By the way, I saw that you were watching a romance movie in the classroom. You were cuddling with the young miss and watching a movie, while we were freezing on the rooftop. Wow, that sounds so happy."
Ruoping was still upset about being kept in the dark.
As soon as Gu Qiumian left, she started giving him a hard time.
Zhang Shutong could only take it. It wouldn't hurt to be talked to a few times.
Finally, Teacher Song asked, "Are you guys hungry? Let's go get some supper."
Zhang Shutong was the first to decline. He just wanted to go home and lie down. He wasn't that sleepy, but he wanted to find a warm place to just be in a daze.
His friends weren't in a hurry either. They told Teacher Song to go do his report first. It was only Saturday. They still had a whole day tomorrow to have fun. This little while didn't matter.
And the few of them had really been moving desks all afternoon. They were all exhausted.
After some discussion, this was the decision: Teacher Song would take Ruoping and Du Kang home, since their bicycles weren't here. Qingyi's bicycle was left at the nail salon by Zhang Shutong, so he might as well go with them and ride it back tomorrow.
In the end, he was the only one who went back alone.
He yawned and didn't rush to ride his bike. Instead, he returned to the classroom building. When the police came, the few of them 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 guys go first. I'll take care of this."
When he returned to the classroom, "Roman Holiday" was almost at its end.
It was the plot summary he had read online—after a short holiday, the princess returned to the palace the next day. The male protagonist stood in the audience with a group of his colleagues, looking at the princess who was both a stranger and a familiar person. The two of them pretended not to know each other, but unexpectedly, the princess suddenly asked to shake hands with the reporters. No one knew what the princess was up to, so they all did as she said.
Zhang Shutong understood the princess's intention. She shook hands with everyone, but she really wanted to shake his hand one last time.
Soon, it was their turn to shake hands. Zhang Shutong had already moved the mouse to the red button in the top right corner of the video but unconsciously stopped. He wanted to see what the two of them would say.
But there was only one sentence, or not even a sentence, just two words. And this was an English movie. The homeroom teacher, in order to train their listening skills, naturally didn't get the Chinese version. So the words the princess whispered 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 checked if the classroom window was closed but found a plastic bag on his desk. The bag contained the snacks he had found in the library cabinet.
The plastic bag was left there as it was. She had deliberately taken a detour to get it, saying it was to make up for the movie theater atmosphere, but in reality, no one ate any of it.
Zhang Shutong stuffed it back into Gu Qiumian's desk drawer. He closed the classroom door, went down the stairs, left the building, and got on his bicycle.
His home was on the east side, but Zhang Shutong didn't go home immediately. Instead, he turned his bike south.
That plastic bag made him realize one thing—
His reward for the day was still at the supermarket.
He felt that was his reward. He had accompanied the young miss for a whole day. She didn't like to owe people favors, so the two bags of food were naturally a way of returning the favor.
Zhang Shutong didn't feel that these things were too little. He didn't go for anything else in the first place, not for money or other things. Two big bags of food were just right. One bag wasn't enough to share with his friends, and three bags would be too difficult to carry. He had always been a pragmatist.
Ruoping and the others were all wrong. He was not saving a beautiful girl or being a bodyguard. This was just something he had to do in his life. There was no reason for it, and he didn't expect anything in return.
They were always curious about his motive, and he was curious about their guesses. This matter was more like a slightly bigger stone on the road of life. He had bypassed it before, and it was no big deal. Who doesn't encounter a few stones in their life?
But he was lucky enough to return to the starting point of this road. That stone was still blocking the way after eight years. Zhang Shutong knew that it would trip people, so he exerted a little effort and kicked the stone to the side of the road.
The so-called Rewind was a process of clearing away the stones.
He soon rode to the "Beiyi Mall." It was only a few minutes 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.
The two bags were hung on both sides of the handlebars. The center of gravity remained the same. At this moment, Zhang Shutong felt that the "The Operation of the Goddess of Fate in Charge of Miss Gu's Future" had officially come to an end.
The sidekick had taken his reward and could return home in peace.
The streetlights were still half-dead. The light dyed both sides of the asphalt road yellow. He rode his bike leisurely and felt a bit thirsty, so he wanted to find a bottle of water from the shopping bag.
But Gu Qiumian was very pragmatic. She never used drinks to fill the bags, so the two shopping bags were also very pragmatic, which was a shame. He then quickened his pace. He hadn't been on this night road for a long time, but it wasn't a place worth reminiscing about. Besides, maybe he wasn't the only one at home tonight. His mom might be there... Speaking of his mom, Zhang Shutong was a bit worried. His phone was off, so he didn't know if his mom had called. He would have to face a lot of questions when he got back. And come to think of it, he still hadn't explained what he was doing out all night yesterday.
His head ached. It was not good to ride fast or slow. He hoped that "Detective Conan" was still on TV tonight. He would just tell her that he wanted to watch cartoons, and no matter what his mom said, he would just lie on the sofa and pretend not to hear her.
His shadow was stretched very long, and on this empty road, Zhang Shutong ran into an unexpected person.
"Zhang Shutong."
The person spoke faintly, stopping him.
Zhang Shutong squeezed the brakes. He didn't understand where Lu Qinglian was going so late at night. She was still wearing that green robe, but her ponytail was now long hair reaching her waist. She was walking alone on the road.
What a coincidence. The two of them were standing at a crossroads. If he had ridden faster or if she had walked slower, they wouldn't have met.
Zhang Shutong nodded and greeted her. He was too embarrassed to say that she looked like a female ghost so late at night.
"Why are you still out so late?"
"Taking a walk."
"After-dinner walk?" Zhang Shutong said with a chuckle. He felt that his sense of humor came back whenever he met this girl.
She nodded faintly:
"For now, you can think of it that way."
Zhang Shutong bit his cheek... he couldn't bite it anymore, so he just looked at the other person speechlessly.
They had a milk tea's worth of friendship. It was a bit too much to keep treating her like an idiot.
Zhang Shutong was not Du Kang. At this time, Du Kang would have run up and asked her what she was doing and if she needed him to accompany her, since it wasn't safe so late at night...
It was said that when you meet a girl alone at night, you should tell her to be careful, but Zhang Shutong felt that in comparison, he was the one who needed to be careful. He had nothing else to say, so he just said goodbye casually and started riding home.
But Lu Qinglian suddenly asked:
"Are you free tomorrow afternoon? I have a few words to say to you."
"What? Say it now. I'm not in a hurry." Zhang Shutong considered putting the shopping bags down. It was too difficult to keep the bike balanced with them hanging on the handlebars.
"But I have something else to do now. I don't have time," she thought for a moment. "If you're free, you can come to the temple as a guest tomorrow afternoon."
"Then I'm not free." Zhang Shutong refused directly. "Are you kidding me? My life is starting to get back on track. Who would go to a temple? What if I 'Rewind' again?"
Lu Qinglian didn't say anything else. It seemed she really had something urgent to do. She left without looking back.
She was wearing a long robe, and her two long legs were hidden underneath. It was hard to tell usually, but when she walked, you could see that her steps were light, yet she walked very fast.
Zhang Shutong looked strangely at Lu Qinglian walking south. He thought to himself, "That's not where your house is."
But this girl was like this. If she didn't want to tell you, you could never find out.
Zhang Shutong also had no interest in asking questions.
He was really tired. He just wanted to go home and rest. If there was anything to say, it wasn't too late to say it when they got back to school on Monday—that was how Zhang Shutong saw it. She was the kind of person who wouldn't give up until she achieved her goal. Just like that time he was fishing, if it was something important, she would have just followed him. Although Zhang Shutong never understood what she was doing that night.
He got home at around nine o'clock.
His mom wasn't home. It was another night alone.
When she was here, he had a headache. When she wasn't, he missed her. It reminded Zhang Shutong of last night at the villa. He could hear the bubbling sound of water boiling noodles. The palace-like decor, the man in the living room watching a ball game, and a girl sitting opposite him watching him eat... For him, this was very lively. Under the misty night, rain streamed down the floor-to-ceiling windows. In a well-lit house, there was a different kind of warmth.
But what the hell? When did he get to be associated with the word "warmth"?
Zhang Shutong once thought that if everyone was born with a mission, then his mission was to fight that damn ability until he died. He didn't prepare to die alone, but he had always been alone for so many years.
Now, things were gradually changing. The people around him were increasing. Zhang Shutong felt that he might not have adapted to this change yet. He didn't have time to think about it before, but now he could finally think about it properly.
He first charged his phone, went to change his clothes, and when he came back from washing up, it was already turned on. As expected, there were a lot of messages. He lay on the bed, planning to just report that he was safe and then put his phone aside, completely clearing his mind for a while.
The group chat on QQ had messages from his friends saying they were home. They didn't have much interest in chatting today. He took a picture of the ceiling in the group as a reply.
Then there was a bunch of missed calls, from his mom and Song Nanshan. The last one was actually from Gu Qiumian. Zhang Shutong originally wanted to call Teacher Song back first—because he could just say one sentence and hang up, then chat with his mom. But Gu Qiumian's call made him pause. He confirmed that the sheep-like, cloud-like profile picture on QQ had no new messages. If it was a small matter, she would have sent a QQ message. He called her back, and the call was quickly connected. The girl's voice came through:
"Why are you just getting home?"
Her tone was quite cheerful and didn't sound like there was anything wrong.
Zhang Shutong then asked her how she was. She said she had already showered and was in her room. Zhang Shutong asked where her bodyguards and nanny were, and he found out that they would all be staying at the villa tonight.
He was relieved. He then asked Gu Qiumian what she called for. She said it was nothing, just to ask if he got home. Just as Zhang Shutong was about to say that they could have just chatted on QQ, Gu Qiumian continued:
"Are you free tomorrow?"
He felt like he had just heard this somewhere.
Zhang Shutong asked, "What for?" She said, "To eat, of course. Lunch. But you have to be there early. Never mind, I'll just go find you. What's your address?"
Why was it about eating again...
Zhang Shutong felt that he might not be able to get up, but she seemed to have guessed his thoughts and said, "You don't think I'm just inviting you, do you? Your friends are also invited. We have to thank them for what happened tonight. So you're not allowed to refuse."
Zhang Shutong was convinced. After all, Qingyi and the others had also been busy all day. He nodded and said, "Okay. Where are we eating?"
"My place or a restaurant. You pick."
"Your place."
Gu Qiumian then asked if there were any dishes he wanted to eat. He said, "Anything." But as soon as he said that, he could feel the girl glaring at him from the other side. So he told her a few dishes that his friends liked.
After they had agreed, Zhang Shutong was about to hang up. He asked what time they should meet. "Is eleven o'clock too late?" He wanted to tell his friends.
But she said in a grumpy tone, "Eleven o'clock? Six o'clock."
Whose lunch is at six o'clock?
Did she mean six in the morning?
She had just said to be there early, but wasn't six in the morning a bit too early... Zhang Shutong suspected that the young miss had become silly again.
But she said, "What are you talking about? You're so dumb. I mean six for dinner."
Zhang Shutong was then confused. "You just said lunch. I have a good memory. Do you want me to repeat it? Why did you change your mind?"
But there was no sound on the other end for a long time. Zhang Shutong was starting to suspect that his phone had no signal again. She then whispered:
"It's just the two of us for lunch. We'll eat with your friends at night. You don't get that, you idiot?"
Zhang Shutong was no longer sure himself because he really didn't hear that meaning. Just as he was about to say something, Gu Qiumian said, "Then it's set. Go to the pier to find me at ten in the morning. You're not allowed to be late..." and then she immediately hung up.
Zhang Shutong held his phone to his ear for a long time, and it took him a while to figure out what she meant.
In just a few sentences, the young miss had planned his schedule for tomorrow.
First, the pier...
Wait, the pier? That meant they were going to take a boat off the island to the city? What was in the city? Commercial plazas, high-end restaurants, movie theaters, ferris wheels... Zhang Shutong immediately became alert.
He switched to the QQ page, found Qiu Yu Mian Mian, and typed, "Let's change the location. I'm too tired to go to the city. Let's just eat together at night."
Before he could send the message, another call came in.
It was his mom.
She was a great fortune-teller. She could even guess when he got home. Zhang Shutong was about to express his admiration for his mom, but she said angrily, "Your phone has battery, and you're not calling me back immediately?"
"I just got home..."
His mom smiled, "Tongtong, do you know that I actually called you just now, but it showed you were on a call, so I hung up immediately?"
Zhang Shutong said he couldn't win against her, so he just admitted it and said that he was just reporting that he was safe to his friends.
However, his mom's words were shocking:
"To Gu Qiumian?"
Zhang Shutong propped himself up on the bed.
"Don't try to lie to me with excuses," his mom continued. "You never call your friends to report that you're safe. Who else could it be besides Gu Qiumian?"
Zhang Shutong said helplessly, "She called me. I was just worried that something happened to her."
"Uh-huh, my Tongtong is so great. He's a real man!" his mom said cutely.
Zhang Shutong gave up. He simply explained what happened tonight and said that her son wasn't on a date with a girl, but was saving the world.
But his mom didn't ask how ferocious the culprit was. Instead, she asked if he had eaten, as if the whole world was less important than her son being hungry.
He said he had eaten. His mom then said, "I left some food for you in the pot. You can have it for breakfast tomorrow."
Zhang Shutong wasn't used to talking to his mom like this. Eight years later, she wasn't as lively as she was now. She had worried about him for so many years, especially during the time he dropped out of high school. She would cry behind his back every day.
Zhang Shutong then told his mom not to work too hard. His mom said, "You don't have to worry about me. You should take care of yourself. How was your day with Gu Qiumian?"
She couldn't stop talking about Gu Qiumian. Zhang Shutong said, "Mom, you really misunderstood. We're not in that kind of relationship."
"Then are you free tomorrow?"
Zhang Shutong subconsciously said, "I have plans."
His mom snorted in disdain.
Zhang Shutong decided not to explain that the young miss was treating a whole group of people. This time, he changed his angle, rolled his eyes, and started talking about the morning. "Were you afraid that Gu Qiumian and Ruoping would have a falling out?"
"That's because of you. One is your friend, and the other is your... hehe," his mom just smiled.
But Zhang Shutong was waiting for this sentence. He said, "You didn't expect it, did you? They're totally fine, and Gu Qiumian even took the initiative to apologize."
The reason he brought up this example was to tell her not to be so narcissistic. Not everyone revolves around her son and treats him like a treasure.
But his mom asked strangely:
"You said Gu Qiumian apologized on her own initiative?"
"Yes, she's a decent person."
After spending more time with her, Zhang Shutong found that she wasn't the arrogant young miss he had imagined, except for the times she liked to glare at him.
"I found that I'm wasting my precious rest time talking to you."
His mom complained and then said, "I'm hanging up. If I get wrinkles, it's all your fault." And she hung up.
It was the first time he had been disliked by his own mother.
Zhang Shutong then called Song Nanshan back. Teacher Song was slurping instant noodles, which made him a little hungry too.
He went to the kitchen. His mom had left some stew for him in the pot. He couldn't eat that much, but if he left it, it would turn into a mushy mess in the morning. It was better to eat steamed buns.
There were two steamed buns on the table under a cover. He took a bite of a bun and went to the sofa to watch TV. But he found two shopping bags by his side. Zhang Shutong slapped his forehead. He thought to himself that he was so stupid. Why was he eating buns when there were so many snacks?
He wasn't trying to train himself. It was natural to eat something good when he had the chance. So he rummaged through the bags and found all sorts of things: Lay's, shrimp chips, beef jerky, Want Want Small Crisps. Of course, there were also all kinds of chocolates and desserts. Gu Qiumian judged others by herself.
He poured them all out, kept the ones he wanted to eat, and decided to give the rest to Ruoping and the others. Then, in the pile of colorful packaging, he found something black.
This thing was truly out of place. The other snacks were all in exquisite packaging, but this one was wrapped in a plastic bag. Of course, in a way, it wasn't a snack either. Zhang Shutong remembered what it was—
It was a piece of pig liver.
The only piece of cooked food? Or a decent dish?
He remembered asking Gu Qiumian why she bought such a big piece of pig liver. She said she wanted to eat it, but it had to be eaten quickly, and her family wasn't lacking a piece of pig liver. Zhang Shutong didn't need to return it to her. Because he had a good memory, just as he remembered Gu Qiumian apologizing on her own initiative, he also remembered that the girl's words had a second half. After a moment, she reluctantly said, "You don't know how to cook, do you?"
Zhang Shutong never understood what she meant. If he didn't know how to cook, he could just eat out. What could a piece of pig liver change? But now, sitting in an empty house, a woman had just asked him if he had eaten. Although there was a mountain of snacks, none of them were a proper meal. He had a cold steamed bun in his mouth, and his stomach was a bit hungry. He suddenly understood the purpose of this piece of pig liver.
Zhang Shutong took the pig liver to the kitchen, sliced a few pieces, put them in the steamed bun, and took a bite.
He wasn't sure if Gu Qiumian meant this, but at this moment, he understood it that way. Zhang Shutong subconsciously looked to the south. The kitchen naturally faced southeast, so he could easily see the night sky through the window. The night was also dark, like the pig liver in his steamed bun.
When he finished eating and lay down on the bed, he deleted the words in the chat box.
Then Zhang Shutong turned off the lights, hoping that tonight would also be a peaceful night.
He didn't know how long it had been since he had such a relaxed moment.
He didn't sleep well tonight. For the first time, he had a dream whose contents he couldn't remember. He dreamed that he was back in the city, walking on an overpass at night, and saw a huge ferris wheel in the distance.
The ferris wheel was lit up, and the cars were slowly turning, but he could never see its outline clearly.
So in the middle of the night, when he woke up from his dream, he suddenly opened his eyes.
The bed was shaking!
The ceiling was shaking, the nightstand was shaking, the light switch on the wall was shaking, his phone was shaking, and even his own hands were shaking... Or rather, they weren't shaking at all. It was the world in his eyes that was shaking;
His mind instantly became clear, with a thick sense of astonishment. The entire world in front of him turned into a black and white negative and trembled.
His consciousness went blank, as if it had flown out of his body;
Zhang Shutong was all too familiar with this phenomenon;
At the last moment, he sat up and opened his mouth soundlessly because—
Rewind.
It had been triggered.
After eight years, Zhang Shutong returned to the small island where he grew up again.
—To attend a junior high school classmate's funeral.
The funeral home was located in the southern part of the island, next to the newly built ring road around the lake.
Looking out from the railing on the side of the road, on a clear day, the lake reflected the clear sky, like a sapphire. The wind blew, and the clouds also rippled, which was refreshing.
But today, the lake was a dark blue.
Zhang Shutong looked at the dark blue lake, speechless for a long time.