Winter Returns

Chapter 101 "Family Portrait"

Only family photos?
Zhang Shutong wanted to confirm this once more.

But before he could finish speaking, he glanced at his best friend and swallowed his words back.

Since it's a family photo, it's a group photo of Gu Qiumian's family.

He immediately thought of Gu Qiu Mian's mother's passing, but his close friends didn't know this, and it might not be a good idea to let them go up and see it rashly.

Because Gu Qiu Mian never intended to tell anyone this news.

In a flash, he was already in the elevator, waving to the group to indicate that nothing serious had happened.
"Something broke. I'll go up and check it first. I'll let you know if everything's alright."

Gu Qiu Mian walked ahead, not wanting to join the group. Zhang Shutong wanted to say, "Last night I promised you I wouldn't hide it from you anymore, but you also promised to listen to me and keep your word..."

But those words were too cheesy. It was just a normal arrangement, yet it sounded like a love confession. So Zhang Shutong controlled his facial expression, perhaps becoming a little cold, and stopped him:
"Stay with them and don't wander off."

As he spoke, he pressed the button to go to the first floor.

He stopped looking at Gu Qiu Mian, and then the elevator doors slowly closed. He released his hand from the microphone and heard Lao Song say:
"A very large family photo, framed in solid wood, was originally nailed to the wall, but suddenly it fell off..."

"Is there a family photo hanging in the living room?" he recalled. "How come I never noticed?"

Zhang Shutong still doesn't know what Boss Gu looks like.

“It’s not the living room, it’s the study. Didn’t you notice that there are three guest rooms on the second floor, but only two on the first floor? Actually, there were originally three rooms, but one of them was used as a study.”

"Which wall does the study face?" Zhang Shutong asked reflexively.

"You two are really something..." Old Song chuckled.

"what?"

"Qinglian asked the same question just now. She ran out the door as soon as she heard the noise, saying she wanted to go out and see. I was just about to go find her when you called again. Let's come up first."

He vaguely heard Lao Song's voice and then hung up the phone.

"Here, Shutong." As soon as the elevator doors opened, Zhang Shutong saw the other person waving at him from in front of a room.

"Why don't you go in?"

"The door was locked, and the nanny went to find the key."

"Wait a minute," Zhang Shutong couldn't help but ask, "If the door was locked, how did you know it was a photograph?"

"Oh, the nanny said that the family photo was too heavy and had fallen down before, I think it was just last week. Before Qiu Mian's father left, he had someone reinforce the wall, but it fell down again today. As for the key, it should be the key to his office, which is usually locked and outsiders can't get in."

Zhang Shutong nodded, "I'll go out and take a look too."

He and Lu Qinglian were worried about similar things. If it was just a loose wall that fell, that would be fine, but he was afraid that something had been tampered with from the outside of the wall. He rushed to the door, grabbed his coat, put on his boots, and left the villa.

Zhang Shutong circled half of the villa, and amidst the pristine white, he found the figure in the blue robe.

Lu Qinglian stood quietly in the snow. She lowered her eyes and stretched out a finger, gently scratching at the outer wall with her nail. The wall plaster peeled off like snowflakes.

"How is it?" Zhang Shutong looked back and forth. Beyond the fence, in the boundless wilderness, he saw neither a person nor any extra footprints.

"I didn't see anyone," Lu Qinglian frowned. "What did you drop?"

"The family photo wasn't hung securely on the wall." As he spoke, Zhang Shutong reached out and pressed against the wall. Sure enough, it was damp and powdery. He frowned. "So damp?"

"What do you want to say?" Lu Qinglian asked.

"It's nothing. Look, there's a lake down there, so it's normal for the air to be a bit humid. The walls are probably eroded. I just think the exterior walls of a villa shouldn't be this bad." Zhang Shutong doesn't know much about civil engineering, but Gu Qiumian's father certainly does, as he's a real estate developer. "Shouldn't they have taken some moisture-proofing measures?"

He said uncertainly.

If it were a very heavy and large picture frame, it would probably be secured to the wall with several nails before being hung up. Zhang Shutong guessed that one of the nails must have come loose, causing it to suddenly fall down.

“I don’t know about this,” Lu Qinglian answered decisively. “But according to you, it might have fallen naturally. This wall happens to be on the windward side.”

Zhang Shutong nodded, glanced back, and saw that it was indeed a semi-lake view room, with the study and bathroom on the same side. He had looked out the window while taking a shower and could see the lake below.

That said, did this happen in the previous timeline?
It's Friday afternoon now, but the last time he came to the villa was Friday evening. Who would have thought to ask about the family photo back then?
Moreover, this heavy snowfall caused thermal expansion and contraction, potentially leading to problems with the newly reinforced walls.

Zhang Shutong couldn't say for sure if it was due to the sudden drop in temperature.

He and Lu Qinglian walked around the villa again, but found nothing unusual. The damp wall was only on the side facing the wind.

"Look here." Lu Qinglian suddenly squatted down.

Following her finger, Zhang Shutong noticed a small black stele embedded in the wall below the main entrance, inscribed with the three characters "Shi Gandang." This is one of the traditional folk customs of the province, and the carrier is usually a stone from Mount Tai. At the beginning of the house's construction, the stone with these three characters was placed on the wall, seemingly called "Zhen Zhai Bu Jiao," which originated from the ancient people's worship of sacred stones.

But that's not the point. The point is, he saw a string of numbers engraved at the base of the stone tablet—

2004.

This did serve as a reminder to Zhang Shutong.

This is a luxurious villa, like a palace. Since Gu Qiumian transferred to the island in the second semester of her first year of junior high school, the young lady naturally moved in with just her bags. He subconsciously thought it was a relatively new house.

However, judging from the small stele and the damp wall, it has actually been there for quite some time.

"Yes," Zhang Shutong nodded in realization. A villa couldn't possibly be built overnight; construction must have started long before Gu Qiumian transferred schools. Although he had never bought a villa, he knew how troublesome it was to renovate such a house. The time required was almost several times that of a regular apartment, and sometimes it might take two or three years to finish.

Thinking about it this way, this villa has actually been around for a long time.

It's 2012 now. Another eight years have passed.

No wonder the walls are aging; old houses also need maintenance.

He told Lu Qinglian about his discovery, and she nodded without saying anything.

We did run into that Doberman along the way.

Zhang Shutong stood at a distance, pointed at the dog, and said to her:

"Why don't you move closer and see if it reacts?"

Lu Qinglian gave him a look as if he were an idiot:
"Its reaction shouldn't be as strong as yours."

Zhang Shutong actually wanted to test whether her self-proclaimed affinity for animals was genuine.

However, there was no need to try anymore, because Lu Qinglian walked over as if nothing had happened, and the dog perked up its ears warily, just like before.

Zhang Shutong quickly followed:
"Your approachability doesn't seem to be working?"

“Zhang Shutong,” Lu Qinglian said with a headache, “what do you think I mean by being approachable? Just disappearing in front of animals? Animals you meet for the first time will still have their usual reactions, they’ll just be a little smaller.”

Before the dog started barking, Zhang Shutong pulled her back to the villa.

Upon entering, I saw the nanny opening the door.

With a creak, a quaint study came into view, furnished with mahogany furniture, including tables, chairs, bookshelves, a computer, and even solid wood flooring, exuding a damp, musty smell.

Zhang Shutong shifted his gaze to a picture frame almost as big as the color TV in the living room, lying on the floor.

The TV was about 80 or 90 inches in size, and the picture frame was made of solid wood, so it's no wonder the wall couldn't withstand it.

He then looked at the bare wall, which was covered with wallpaper. The area where the picture frames were hung was noticeably whitish, while the rest was yellow. He guessed that Boss Gu must have smoked quite a bit.

The wallpaper no longer fits as well; in some places, it's been pushed up by the expanding walls and has faint mold spots. It seems my previous guess was right: the building is old and the walls are too damp.

He, Lao Song, and the nanny stood at the door. Lu Qinglian had already returned to the sofa. It seemed that as long as it wasn't "serious business," she had little interest in anything that happened.

"Hang it up again?" Old Song rolled up his sleeves.

"No need to trouble you. Just lean against the wall for now and we'll talk when Mr. Gu comes back. I'll tell Mianmian later."

"That's true." The picture frame was too heavy, so Old Song offered to help lift it, but the nanny apologetically stopped him:

"I'll do it myself. Mr. Gu instructed me that it's best not to go into his study."

This is a euphemism.

To put it bluntly, they are very averse to outsiders entering.

The master and apprentice nodded and watched from the doorway as the nanny lifted the photo frame.

"What other discoveries have you made?" Old Song asked quietly.

"The walls are damp." As he spoke, Zhang Shutong noticed the contents of the family photo.

However, it wasn't completely clear because Aunt Wu's body was half-covered.

The scene appeared to be an auditorium, with a solemn and clean atmosphere. He could only see the woman on the right side of the screen.

The woman was beautiful, in her thirties, wearing a pure white long dress, white satin arm sleeves, and a light veil draped over her head.

Perhaps it was left over from our wedding anniversary?
Zhang Shutong looked at her and noticed that the woman's eyes were very similar to Gu Qiumian's.

However, women have oval faces, while young girls have egg-shaped faces.

Mother Gu has long hair. The soft sunlight shines through the stained glass window, dust swirls around, and the woman in the photo has a gentle smile on her face. She is bathed in light and dust, as if she could make people feel close to her at a glance.

He then noticed a line of numbers under the photo, revealing that the family photo was taken in the summer of 2006.

Zhang Shutong did a simple calculation. He was in the fourth grade of elementary school at the time, which means that Gu Qiumian's mother passed away after that.

Zhang Shutong suddenly felt a slight pang of regret.

Old Song looked at him for a long time, then patted him on the shoulder:

"Alright, let the auntie handle it."

"Ah."

He returned to the sofa, about to text his best friends, when Lu Qinglian casually reminded him:
"We should make a decision about tonight's arrangements as soon as possible, whether to let her continue staying here?"

Zhang Shutong certainly didn't want Gu Qiumian to stay here anymore.

It wasn't a matter of who was with her, but rather that she simply couldn't stay in this villa any longer.

He thought for a moment, and then his phone rang. It was Gu Qiumian calling.

I guess she waited downstairs for quite a while, and then she couldn't wait any longer.

Sure enough, when the call connected, her somewhat anxious voice came through immediately:

"How are you doing there?"

(End of this chapter)