He was back!
It was Thursday, December 6, 2012. Last night, they and Lu Qinglian had caught the poachers. To celebrate, they came to the "Jianan Huyu" restaurant on the commercial street for lunch.
They must have just finished ordering. From the main hall, they could hear the whooshing sound of the stoves from the kitchen.
The air had a faint, lingering smell of oily smoke.
Zhang Shutong's eyes widened.
He had never been this excited before.
Only those who lose something and get it back know what is precious.
Maybe now he should find a corner to sit and quietly calm down; or perhaps he should take the opportunity to cheer with his friends to hide his abnormality... But Zhang Shutong couldn't do that. His nerves relaxed a little, and then they quickly tightened again—
Who was the killer?
He closed his eyes, while the memory of that brief glimpse hadn't faded, and recalled more details about the person.
First, their height was shorter than his, and not by just a little bit. But he couldn't tell if they were fat or thin, as they were wearing thick winter clothes.
Next was the killer's face. The night was too dark, and the phone's flashlight wasn't particularly useful. The whole process, from his eyes adjusting to the light to him focusing, was no more than two or three seconds, and he was killed by the other person.
In the very first moment he turned his head, he thought he had run into a "faceless person," but then he realized that it wasn't that they had no facial features. It was that their face was covered by something. But Zhang Shutong couldn't say what it was. It wasn't quite like the face mask he had imagined, like the one Zhou Ziheng's father wore, which still showed the eyebrows and eyes;
The killer's entire face was covered by something "rough" and dark red.
Zhang Shutong thought of a suitable description... It was probably like the curtains in a classroom. Some mischievous students liked to hide behind them, covering their faces with the curtain, which only outlined a blurry, rudimentary shape of their facial features.
And then came the most shocking part for him—
Could that really be called a "person"?
The normal human body is composed of a head, neck, and shoulders, following a wide, narrow, then wide structure. But the killer seemed to have no neck, or rather, their neck was thicker than their head. Zhang Shutong knew that some people who practiced martial arts fit this description, as it could effectively protect their cervical spine. Judging from the killer's agility, this seemed to match.
So the final answer was a short person with excellent skills?
The defining feature was that their neck was as thick as their head?
Zhang Shutong didn't know if these features existed eight years ago. But based on the clues he had so far, since he was killed after Lu Qinglian's death and then returned to eight years ago at the time of Gu Qiumian's death, were all three of them killed by the same person?
This question could not be answered. The most urgent matter was the clues he brought back from the "cold-blooded" timeline, the three tattoos on his arm.
Thinking of this, Zhang Shutong no longer hesitated. He put down his glass and, under his friends' confused stares, ran to the counter, found the owner, tore a page from a bill, and drew the three tattoos on the paper:
A snake, a figure, and a strange circular pattern.
He had deeply engraved these three patterns in his mind before he rewound. He could easily replicate them now. At this time, a head poked over his shoulder:
"What are you drawing without saying a word?"
He turned around and saw that it was Ruoping. She had short hair and was wearing a petal-shaped hairband. Her bangs were neatly trimmed. She was a beautiful but feisty young girl. They had just come in from outside, and the girl's face was still red from the wind. She wanted to push him away and looked at the paper with wide eyes.
This made Zhang Shutong think of the elegant woman from eight years later who had red eyes and was sobbing softly. Among the three friends, only Ruoping was a girl, so Zhang Shutong treated her differently from Qingyi and Du Kang. He always felt like she was his little sister. At this moment, he felt a sudden sense of guilt.
In fact, Ruoping never gave up on him. Even though she was so disgusted with that version of him on that timeline, she still rushed to the island after receiving his call, told him to wait in her car at the funeral home, and always remembered her past promises;
Just as Du Kang said, their attitude toward him must have been very complex. Every time there was disappointment, but after the disappointment, they would have a tiny bit of hope, which would then turn into disappointment again.
So Zhang Shutong didn't want to hide from them. Instead, he stepped aside and pointed to the patterns on the bill:
"Have you seen these anywhere?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm just asking. Tell me if you see them later."
"You're being mysterious again," Ruoping rolled her eyes. "I thought you had a lead on the person who smashed the castle."
Zhang Shutong then remembered that Gu Qiumian's castle had just been smashed during the break. Not long ago, they were on their way to the commercial street on their bicycles, and they were still discussing Zhou Ziheng's crush on her.
"So why are you suddenly drawing them?" Ruoping asked again.
"I had a dream last night."
Ruoping heard this and couldn't help but laugh:
"I think you're becoming a shaman these past two days. Yesterday, you wrote Qinglian's and Gu Qiumian's names on that scrap paper and told Du Kang you dreamed about it. What, you had another dream today?"
It was another nightmare.
At this time, Qingyi and Du Kang also came over. Zhang Shutong then recalled, "I dreamed that eight years later, the four of us went to a class reunion. We hadn't seen each other in a long time. But as soon as we met, I made you cry, Ruoping, and Du Kang wanted to beat me up. Luckily, I ran fast."
Ruoping laughed even more happily and said, "Du Kang wouldn't need to do it. If you dare to bully me, I can handle you myself."
"What about me?" Qingyi pointed at himself. He was puzzled why the real man hadn't said anything.
"You didn't even go."
"Wow, so Qingyi is the most heartless one of us all," Du Kang said in an exaggerated tone.
Qingyi shook his head and said, "How is that possible? Let me give you a fun fact: dreams are the opposite of reality. I must have been the one who made a grand entrance."
They were truly back to being fifteen or sixteen years old.
They argued playfully about a made-up dream and went back to their table, talking and laughing. Not a single person paid attention to what he meant by "long time no see." They thought that the four of them would never be separated and would always get together even after they entered society. The "long time" would be a few weeks at most.
Then they asked what everyone was like in the dream. Zhang Shutong said that Du Kang took over his family's restaurant and Qingyi was working overtime at a company every day. The two of them were very frustrated when they heard this. Du Kang held his head and said, "What's going on? I always wanted to go out and make it big. Why am I still on this island?" Qingyi also sighed. In his opinion, working overtime was not a manly thing to do.
Ruoping was the most satisfied. After all, she was the only one with a car. Zhang Shutong remembered her appearance and said, "You're the most successful one among us. You started your own company. You're a true businesswoman."
At this time, the three of them remembered to ask, "What about you, Shutong?"
Zhang Shutong was silent for a moment and then said, "I died after the reunion." Ruoping kicked him and complained about him saying unlucky things at a celebration dinner.
Zhang Shutong changed the subject and waved the bill with the drawings in front of them, jokingly saying, "Remember these. Tell me if you see them anywhere."
"Got it, got it..."
"Wait, I've seen the first one before," Du Kang suddenly said.
"Where?"
"Isn't that an earthworm? We dug some up a few days ago for fishing."
Zhang Shutong said helplessly, "This is a snake. This is a person. And this one is..." He stopped there.
"An earthworm, a person, and a turtle. Hmm, that makes sense. I think you've been fishing too much," Ruoping laughed again.
The four of them then raised their Nutri-Express and clinked glasses. Zhang Shutong listened to them chatting but was thinking about something else.
He had been focusing on the killer's identity, but now he remembered the photo his senior sent him.
The surveillance camera's quality was very poor, and the angle was from above, so it only captured the person's long hair.
In a normal situation, Zhang Shutong wouldn't have thought too much about it, but on Saturday night, on his way home, he happened to run into Lu Qinglian leaving her house.
At that time, she said she was going for a walk, but she was actually walking very fast;
She was walking south, in the direction of the Gu family's villa. Assuming she really went to the villa, what did she do?
And the time was also off. He ran into her at a little past eight in the evening. It would take an hour at most to walk to the villa, but the photo was taken on Sunday morning. There were several hours in between. Where did she go during that time?
Also, she had said she had something to tell him and told him to visit the temple the next day. On the "cold-blooded" timeline, what did she say?
Did his time with Lu Qinglian in the second semester of junior high have something to do with what she told him?
All in all, the failure of the "cold-blooded" timeline, besides him finding the wrong culprit, was also because he didn't pay enough attention to Lu Qinglian.
He had thought that she was killed eight years later, so he didn't pay much attention to it. But now, it seemed that all the clues pointed to Lu Qinglian, whether it was the snake tattoo, the photo of the temple on his phone, or the photo his senior sent him at the last moment.
He still didn't have a clear lead, but Zhang Shutong had set a direction for his next actions:
Besides investigating Gu Qiumian, he also had to investigate Lu Qinglian;
And then there was what his senior said. In the police report from that year, the reason for Gu Qiumian's murder was to stop her father from developing the island.
Based on the results from the original timeline and the cold-blooded timeline, the other party's goal was indeed achieved.
Killing Gu Qiumian would stop her father from developing the island. But why didn't they just go after Gu's father himself?
He was pondering this question when he saw Du Kang suddenly look at something behind him with an unhappy expression.
He turned around and saw that a boy had entered the Huyu restaurant and was raising his eyebrows at Du Kang. The two of them were now in a staring contest.
Oh, it was him.
Zhang Shutong still remembered. This younger boy was his "colleague," a member of the sidekicks. He had come here earlier to check the way for the large group of people who were coming for the lunch. For some reason, he and Du Kang had gotten into a conflict.
These two were truly destined to be rivals.
When it was time to pay the bill, Zhang Shutong and this boy ran into each other. The other person was like a fighting rooster and had to win against him, so he had a lasting impression of him.
Since this boy was here, it meant—
The next moment, he heard the sound of the curtain being pushed aside, and a small boot stepped in first.
The owner of the boot was a girl. She was still wearing that red scarf and was wiping the water from her hair. Her face was a little cold, but this time, Zhang Shutong knew it was because she was in a bad mood. He saw Gu Qiumian walk in—even though he knew she was alive, he still couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It was strange. He had just been racking his brain for clues about the killer and wasn't even listening to what his friends were saying, but now he suddenly felt a little relaxed.
If he could, he would really want to pull her over and ask her about the nanny and the bodyguards.
But Zhang Shutong knew that things were different now. Many things hadn't happened yet. His relationship with Gu Qiumian was in a bad phase... Yes, he was a traitor, and after saying a few words to Ruoping this morning, she had started ignoring him.
So Zhang Shutong turned around and poured himself a cup of Nutri-Express. He drank his milk and watched a group of sidekicks gather around the young miss in the main hall, talking all at once, probably discussing what to eat. Zhang Shutong thought to himself that none of these sidekicks were competent. It didn't matter if they ordered steamed fish or braised fish. They should order the sweet and sour pork first. She loved eating that. She even had to have sweet and sour sauce with her rice bowl.
Fortunately, someone thought of it. It was a girl standing next to Gu Qiumian whom Zhang Shutong had called "Little Secretary." The "Little Secretary" had everything arranged. She told everyone to push the tables together, who should go order food, and who should go buy drinks. She also scolded the boy who was glaring at him, saying something like, "Hide your little thoughts."
So the boy's glare at their table became even more intense.
Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "I'm not a sidekick yet. Even if I wanted to join your young miss's group, she wouldn't take me in. There are no conflicts of interest here, so why are you glaring at me?"
Of course, a little boy wasn't worth his attention. The dish for their table had already been served. It was braised pork ribs. This time, Zhang Shutong put two pieces on each of their plates and said that he actually didn't like braised pork ribs and that he just ordered it randomly. "If any of you want to treat me in the future, you don't have to be so deliberate."
Ruoping heard this and got angry. She said, "If you don't like it, why did you order it?" Zhang Shutong wanted to say that he thought the three of them would like it, but he remembered Teacher Song's words. Sometimes, a person shouldn't think too much, even when it comes to goodwill.
Du Kang then said, "Why don't we go to my place next time? My dad will make something special for us. I'm sure he'll make something you'll like."
Zhang Shutong then remembered that Du Kang's birthday hadn't passed yet.
So, the next goals would be this:
Save Gu Qiumian.
Find the culprit.
And then happily celebrate Du Kang's birthday with his friends.
This winter of 2012 was destined to be chaotic, but if he didn't clear these obstacles, he wouldn't be able to start a new life.
The steam rose from the pork ribs in front of him. At this moment, Zhang Shutong felt that everything had become real. But Qingyi's focus was very different:
"Shutong, you're acting weird today," he said in a low voice, his observation skills always sharp.
"Why are you looking at Gu Qiumian's table?"
"Something's definitely going on between them," Du Kang added, wanting to stir up some drama.
Ruoping just rolled her eyes.
Zhang Shutong suddenly realized that there was another headache. The conflict between Ruoping and Gu Qiumian hadn't been resolved yet.
He said that he just thought Gu Qiumian looked familiar, so he kept looking at her.
Ruoping, who was about to laugh coldly, couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Don't use such a lame excuse. Besides, you two are deskmates. When you go back this afternoon, you can look at her as much as you want."
Zhang Shutong said helplessly, "She really does look familiar, but I can't figure out why myself."
It could be that he was looking at Gu Qiumian too much, or it could be that the young miss had noticed them whispering. At this time, the girl with the red scarf turned her head and also looked at Zhang Shutong.
The two of them made eye contact. Then Gu Qiumian casually looked away. Only the pendant on her hair swung quickly.
"See? I told you something was going on between them... Haha."
Zhang Shutong thought to himself that this was just how Qiu Yu Mian Mian was. She always liked to glare at him. He didn't know why. Just like he still couldn't figure out why she had suddenly brought up fruit-flavored pizza that night at the villa. It was such a strange question.
After that, everything was pretty much the same as before. The dishes were served one after another. The owner of this restaurant had a guilty conscience, so he deliberately held back on Gu Qiumian's table's dishes.
Gu Qiumian's table was put together, and a group of people sat down. The young miss naturally sat at the head of the table. She was now diagonally across from Zhang Shutong. Zhang Shutong could see her take off her scarf and say to the sidekicks that she wanted to drink yogurt.
Zhang Shutong's chopsticks suddenly fell.
"That guy is a lost cause..."
"Hey, hey, Shutong. You didn't get dumb just by looking at a girl, did you?"
"That's just how men are... Although I haven't thought of what comes after that, that's definitely how men are."
His friends were all teasing him.
Only Zhang Shutong suddenly felt a chill from the bottom of his heart.
He suddenly knew why he always felt that Gu Qiumian looked familiar.
The girl took off her scarf, and her neck looked a lot "thinner"—ever since she walked into the restaurant, she had been wearing a scarf, with her chin tucked into it.
Zhang Shutong had put this scarf in his pocket when he was catching Li Yipeng, so he probably knew its length.
So, if a person were to cover their face with one end of a scarf and bunch the other end all on their neck, what would that look like?