Winter Returns

Chapter 37: One Step at a Time

"So, shall we go to the shopping street to look?"

Old Song isn't stupid either.

Now he has changed his lazy driving posture from before. He grips the steering wheel with both hands and even hunches his back slightly, like a shrimp.

“Yes, there aren’t many vans on the island, so it should be easy to identify, but I didn’t see the license plate number clearly at the time,” Zhang Shutong said regretfully. He didn’t know much about cars either, so he could only refer to it as a “van” at this point.

“If you can remember the license plate number, that would be a miracle. That wouldn’t be called deduction, that would be accomplice.” Old Song finally managed a smile. “It was a Jinbei van. I forgot the model, it was either Hiace or something. It wasn’t too hard to find.”

“Actually, there’s another angle to prove it,” Zhang Shutong said thoughtfully. “Even if we don’t mention the conflicts on the commercial street, the van was originally meant to be used for hauling goods.”

"You mean that person owns a supermarket?" Old Song asked immediately.

"Not necessarily. I mean, supermarkets and restaurants are places where vans might be used, and the only place on the island where these kinds of shops are clustered together is the commercial street."

"Now there's only one last question: what if it doesn't get back?"

“Probably not.” Zhang Shutong glanced at her phone again. “I went there last night. Many shops were still open. They’re all family-run businesses, and they can’t function without either of them, especially restaurants. That’s why I said we should go now while we can still find something.”

"Okay, I'll drive faster, I guarantee we'll be there in ten minutes at most." The engine revved up, and Old Song was indeed a skilled driver, making the Ford Focus feel like a rally car in his hands.

They were driving on a mountain road at night, and sometimes the turns were so sharp that they had to slow down to see the road ahead. Zhang Shutong's heart pounded; he hoped he wouldn't end up like Gu Qiumian, dying here before Gu Qiumian even got hurt.

"It won't make a difference of a few minutes, please take your time..."

"Don't worry, I've driven faster than this before. If it weren't raining today, I could go even faster." With his thoughts clear, Song Nanshan's mood improved considerably. "You're pretty good, kid. I always thought you were a bit slow and clumsy. How did you suddenly become so quick-witted? Did you learn it from Qingyi?"

Zhang Shutong rolled her eyes:
"You can only learn a man's mission from him."

To everyone's surprise, Old Song grinned:
"I think this is exactly what you're lacking right now."

The deep, thoughtful man from before had vanished, as if Mega Venusaur had suddenly regressed, and he had reverted to his carefree, rough-and-tumble self.
"I'm asking you, is your heart racing? Should I sing you a song? Such a romantic occasion wouldn't be complete without a song."

"romantic?"

Zhang Shutong was truly shocked. More shocked than seeing the black dog poisoned to death. He thought to himself, what's so romantic about this? He was already starting to feel cold. He had been thinking about the murderer the whole time, and only now did he realize that his shoulders were almost completely soaked, and rainwater was streaming down his neck.

Zhang Shutong knew that some high-end cars had heated seats, but Lao Song's Focus obviously didn't have that feature.

I could only adjust the seat very far forward, curl up with my legs and hug my shoulders in front of the air conditioning vent, and listen to Song Nanshan spout his nonsense about philosophy.

"That's what it's like to go and save the girl you love. For thousands of years, men's romance has always been like this. It's just that in the past, it was on horseback, and now it's in a car. I don't think there's any difference in essence. It's all about running forward with all your might. What mission or destiny? You may be bleeding, but a man's scars are medals to the girl he loves. At this moment, whether there is a song or not doesn't matter. What matters is a bit of wind."

As he spoke, he lowered the car window, hoping to have a romantic moment. However, the cold wind rushed into the car, causing the two, who were soaked to the bone, to sneeze violently. Forget romance, they almost suffered a tragic accident.

After a long pause, he muttered something under his breath:
"It seems you really don't like Gu Qiumian."

With nothing else to do but travel, Zhang Shutong asked him why he was bringing this up again.
Old Song's answer was simple: "Because you sneezed." Zhang Shutong really didn't know what kind of enchanting beauty Gu Qiu Mian was. Did people who fell in love with her have some kind of magical power that made them unable to feel the cold?

Old Song nodded and said that if that were truly the person you wanted to protect, they would have some kind of magic around them and you wouldn't feel anything. But you don't, so you sneezed.

Zhang Shutong subconsciously thought it was nonsense, but for some reason he felt there was some truth to it. However, he had never had this kind of experience before, and of course, he didn't want to.

At most, experiencing it once outside the delivery room is enough.

But which hospital is well-ventilated?

The hospital has no ventilation, but it does have well-ventilated walls.

"There are no secrets that stay hidden forever." Old Song suddenly sighed. "Whether that person was stupid or evil, what's the point of poisoning a dog while Gu Qiu Mian's father wasn't home? They'll still suffer the consequences later. Do they really think these big bosses are so kind-hearted?"

"What if we target Gu Qiumin herself?" Zhang Shutong countered.

“…That’s neither stupid nor evil, it’s insane.” Old Song was stunned. “I guess the worst thing he could do is smash a window. He could do it while no one’s around these two days. There’s nothing really bad, just some minor mischief. He could annoy their family every day. If he goes too far, he could throw feces at them… Actually, my hometown used to do that a long time ago, but where can you find that stuff now? You’d just disgust yourself first.”

"What if a rabbit gets cornered and bites?"

"If you're really serious, it's not impossible. Anyway, Li Yipeng's situation is rare. There are indeed people whose whole family relies on shops for a living. And don't expect the demolition compensation to be too generous. It's not like the valuable shops in big cities. Many shops don't even have proper ownership rights. They might have been illegally built in the past. The government just turns a blind eye."

Old Song thought for a moment:
"If you put it that way, the scope of the investigation is actually a bit narrower. It should be people with poor conditions who are driven to desperation."

Just as Zhang Shutong was about to launch into an analysis, he heard Old Song, who seemed to have suddenly grasped the concept, say:
"You remember, right? The kid Li Yipeng mentioned today who instructed him also has a grudge against Gu Qiumian's family. Maybe we'll get some unexpected gains on this trip."

"Let's find the van first," Zhang Shutong thought, believing Lao Song to be an optimist.

"But what if we don't find it tonight? Even if your reasoning is perfect, the plan might still change."

Old Song suddenly changed his tone, becoming pessimistic, and said earnestly:
"Shutong, this time just listen to me, okay? Don't just bury your head in solving cases. I know I shouldn't discourage you, and your teacher is quite pleased, but this is really not something you should be doing at your age."

"Listen to me, either I'll take Qiu Mian to your house later, or I'll take you two out to play. There's no need for us, master and apprentice, to fight with this shopping street. Just get through this weekend and that will be a victory. Let her dad worry about the rest."

Zhang Shutong also wanted that.
He didn't really want to argue with any commercial street. Ruoping was even asking him to go celebrate Du Kang's birthday. The first weekend after the retrospection should have been spent resting at home or going out with his best friends. He had unconsciously become younger. Lao Song had said that the tender beef wrap was delicious. Zhang Shutong also wanted to try it when he had time. The carefree days of youth are just a short period, and once missed, they will never return.

Logically speaking, it wouldn't be impossible to drag Gu Qiu Mian off the island to avoid disaster, but you can't escape it forever. The clues brought back from eight years later are so few, and the so-called retrospection is gone. If we don't seize this opportunity to remove this thorn, when will we get another chance?
Should we resolve it in one fell swoop, or leave it there and let it become a troublesome problem that we can't solve by dealing with it or ignoring it?

He's a contradictory person sometimes. He couldn't stand idly by while Gu Qiumian died, but he also found it troublesome to be her "protector" forever.

Therefore, it's best to resolve this in one go.

He nodded but said nothing more, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Seeing this, Song Nanshan sighed.
Fortunately, we're almost at the shopping street.

(End of this chapter)