Winter Returns

Chapter 240 Deep Dive (Part 2)

The rope at the bow was slowly lowered.

At the same time, Zhang Shutong tapped the stopwatch on his phone, mentally simulating the ticking sound of a clock.

At the fiftieth second, a figure emerged from the water.

Zhang Shutong hurriedly handed her a bath towel, but Lu Qinglian shook her head. She was biting a flashlight, and her already fair skin became even paler from the cold.

“It’s about seven meters.” Lu Qinglian took off her flashlight. “Not too deep.”

Before Zhang Shutong could say anything, Lu Qinglian dived back into the water.

He sent Qingyi a text message, thinking that she was indeed cold-hearted and wouldn't say a word more than necessary.

Lu Qinglian did not come up during the second fifty seconds.

Zhang Shutong instinctively stood up, but the boat rocked, so he had to sit back down, staring intently at the stopwatch, one hand gripping the rope at the bow.

He counted down in his mind, preparing to pull the rope when there were only five left, but just as Zhang Shutong raised his arm, he suddenly saw a shadow rising in the water.

Fifty-eight seconds.

It fits just right.

Zhang Shutong sighed, really wanting to say, "Can't you please not make it so rigid?"

“Found it.” Lu Qinglian’s words were succinct and alarming. “It’s stuck under the reef.”

His heart skipped a beat:
Which one?

"I only saw the base."

"Be careful."

"it is good."

Lu Qinglian dived into the water again.

Zhang Shutong took a deep breath. They were moving faster than he had imagined. Only ten minutes had passed since they boarded the boat. All he could do now was wait. He held his breath and focused until the rope in his hand was tugged.

This is a sign that the fox has been caught.

They are just waiting to return.

Zhang Shutong rested her chin on her hand, thinking that when she saw Lu Qinglian later, she would at least invite her to her house for a meal. Even if they didn't eat, she should at least take a hot shower after coming out of the cold water. Zhang Shutong made up her mind that even if she was rejected, even if her mother had to intervene, she would still try to bring Lu Qinglian back.

But what if we can't see him/her?
A question suddenly popped into his mind.

No, how could he not see her? He shook his head and thought, if there's something that even Lu Qinglian can't handle, then who can?

Girls understand girls best. He can almost recite Ruoping's words by heart. It's just a fox statue, it can't be more troublesome than a clay figure.

He stared intently at the countdown.

The time has reached the fiftieth second.

Zhang Shutong waited patiently for Lu Qinglian to surface.

Fifty-eight seconds, fifty-nine seconds...

"Let's go to the water!"

Zhang Shutong immediately clicked on Qingyi's profile picture and practically shouted those words.

His feet were already on the edge of the boat, but he remembered the photos he had seen at the police station. Zhang Shutong forcibly suppressed his anxiety and, maintaining his last bit of restraint, pulled on the rope at the bow of the boat.

But it couldn't be pulled at all!

Zhang Shutong was stunned, tried again, and then cursed loudly.

What are you doing!
Twenty seconds have passed.

He instinctively looked into the water; the person in the water might never come back up. Zhang Shutong took off his coat and jumped directly into the lake.

After entering the water, his teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. He struggled to open his eyes, searching for the ropes hanging from the boat.

Zhang Shutong quickly confirmed the location. He pulled the rope and searched along the direction of the reef. The deeper the water, the colder his body became, and his limbs began to stiffen. Zhang Shutong struggled to paddle through the lake water, and after a moment, he saw that the middle of the rope was stuck in a crevice of the reef.

Damn it, no wonder! He held his breath and continued to descend, but suddenly froze.

A series of bubbles rose from her mouth, and in the dark water, Lu Qinglian's figure could be vaguely seen, but she was not stuck by a reef as expected.

She did not struggle or break free, but quietly sank into the water, her eyes closed, holding a fox statue in her arms.

how come……

Without thinking twice, Zhang Shutong swam over, untied the rope around Lu Qinglian's waist, and then lifted her up by her shoulders to begin floating.

Half of his body became heavy, not as easy as when he was diving. Or rather, it was incredibly difficult to drag an unconscious person to the surface underwater. But time was of the essence. Zhang Shutong's vision began to darken, a sign of oxygen deprivation. He felt short of breath and his head became dizzy. Just then, he saw a glimmer of light above him. He gritted his teeth and swam upwards with all his might.

— Zhang Shutong has finally surfaced.

But it wasn't time to rest yet. Throughout the entire process, Lu Qinglian showed no reaction whatsoever. He thought to himself, "This is bad." He tried desperately to push Lu Qinglian back onto the boat, but failed and instead choked on several mouthfuls of water.

Zhang Shutong coughed violently, feeling his body begin to weaken. In his haste, he finally grabbed the reef and used his shoulder to lift Lu Qinglian onto it, then flipped himself onto the boat.

Zhang Shutong dared not stop for even a moment. He shook Lu Qinglian's shoulder and said urgently:
"How are you?"

The woman in front of him had a furrowed brow. Her body was so cold, as if he had touched a block of ice that had never melted in a thousand years. He hurriedly turned around and wrapped Lu Qinglian in a bath towel, only to find that her body was even more slender than he had imagined.

Zhang Shutong vigorously wiped his face, dialing Qingyi's number while frantically thinking of countermeasures in his mind. But then a dizzying sensation struck, as if his body had reached its limit. His vision went black, and in the last moment before losing consciousness, Zhang Shutong bit his tongue, but it was too late.

I can't sleep, I can't sleep, I can't sleep!
He roared in his heart, but could not make a sound. When he finally regained consciousness, he opened his eyes and shivered.

The world before her was no longer a calm lake, nor was there a small boat, nor Lu Qinglian.

Zhang Shutong stood in astonishment in front of the school gate, watching the crowds coming and going, speechless for a moment.

The rewind... has it been triggered again?
He examined his hands, but they were exactly the same as they had been a moment before. He even felt a chill lingering on his body. Zhang Shutong took out his phone from his pocket, turned on the front-facing camera, and saw a sixteen-year-old's face.

In the end what happened?
Why at the school gate?
Zhang Shutong's mind was in complete chaos.

It was winter, and the pedestrians on the street were dressed in thick clothes. He looked around at everything with suspicion and uncertainty, but it was much gloomier than the real world.

The school bell rang.

Students poured out of the school gate one after another.

How did your rehearsals go on New Year's Day?

"It's alright, it's just that I sing a little off-key."

New Year?

Zhang Shutong opened his eyes wide, watching several students walk past him. He reached out, instinctively wanting to ask what was going on, what day it was, because his phone seemed to be malfunctioning; the time was still 12:20 PM on December 30, 2012, the moment he lost consciousness. But at that moment, the sky was already tinged with dusk.

His hand reached out to the girl, but it went right through her.

Zhang Shutong was stunned again. He tried several times in a row, but no matter how much he shouted or waved, the other party ignored him. No, this was not time travel. He knew this ability too well. Every time time travel occurred, the world in front of him would begin to tremble. But this time, everything went black before his eyes and he was here. He seemed not to belong to this world, but just an unexpected visitor.

A guess suddenly popped into Zhang Shutong's head.

here……

Perhaps it's a dream.

But if it's a dream, whose dream is it?

He turned his head reflexively and met a pair of cold eyes.

(End of this chapter)