Winter Returns

Chapter 60 The Worst Timeline (Bonus Chapter 2)

Ruoping, however, spoke like a machine gun, these words she had been holding back for so long, growing angrier with each word:
"You two were together almost every day during the second semester of your fourth year of junior high. You kept saying you weren't interested in Lu Qinglian, but you were with her behind our backs. How were we supposed to feel? Was Du Kang upset for a long time back then, torn between his best friend and the girl he had a crush on? How were you supposed to make him feel?"
"But he felt that the incident had a big impact on you, so he kept it all inside. I still remember that night he brought a bottle of wine to me and Qingyi. He was almost crying, but he pretended to be very carefree and said that he voluntarily withdrew from the competition to make way for his best friend. I even scolded him for not competing and not withdrawing... So, no one blamed you, Shutong, back then, but you shouldn't have turned your back on people as soon as you graduated."

Ruoping seemed completely lost in her memories, and she continued in a lonely tone:

"Her grandmother wouldn't let her go to high school, and we were all trying to find a solution, going to teachers, schools, and the education bureau... This is something you should be doing, but do you remember what you said back then?"

"You said we didn't need to get involved in this, that you had already figured out a solution. I thought you would be the same as before, always managing to arrange everything, even though you like to keep things mysterious. But we only found out when school was about to start that you were lying. You fooled everyone. By the time we realized what was happening, school had already started, and the best opportunity to mediate had passed. And what did you do then? We thought maybe you had your own reasons and were waiting for you to give us an explanation. Didn't we agree to go to school in town together? But when school started, we found out that you had run off to the city without a word."

"Fine, I can forgive you for going to school, and I can forgive you for ignoring Lu Qinglian!" She became more and more agitated as she spoke, pointing her manicured finger at the funeral home entrance: "But why did you lie to us back then? Do you know that because of this, Qinglian never left this island in her entire life, from birth to death, and spent her whole life in that temple!"

"And then? What happened next? We still didn't think you were that kind of person, and we thought there was something going on. But when we went to the city, we found out that you were with your senior!"

"Now tell me, how dare you tell me to accept my condolences?"

Zhang Shutong subconsciously took a step back, completely at a loss for words.

He could only try to piece together what had happened:

Starting from the second semester of the fourth year of junior high, he and Lu Qinglian were inseparable. And from what they said, it seemed that they were not ordinary friends. Then, after graduating from junior high, he was transferred to the city with his parents' job, instead of the high school in the town. They had originally agreed to go to school in the town, but he not only did not keep his promise, he also lied to all of them.

Not only that, Lu Qinglian's grandmother wouldn't let her leave the island's high school. Originally, there was an educational organization that could have mediated, but she interfered and ruined the girl's future.
That's not all. Besides turning his back on her, once they got to the city, he went and started dating his senior.
But that's completely wrong. Putting aside the fact that he doesn't have any feelings of liking for Lu Qinglian at all, just look at the timeline. He came back in December and the new semester started in February. In just two months, he and Lu Qinglian established a relationship?

He does want to enjoy a normal life, that's true, but it shouldn't be like this. Besides, why did he go to the city just to date his senior?
It's true that Zhang Shutong once liked the other person, but after so many years, those feelings have long since faded away. He asked himself honestly, and this really didn't seem like something he would do. But when he tried to explain, he suddenly remembered the chat history he had just seen on his phone. He had just finished chatting with a woman named "Su Yunzhi" last night. What was going on?
In just two months, he completely changed into a different person?

What puzzled him most was his relationship with Lu Qinglian. She wasn't his type, and he wouldn't date anyone else. So why did he have to hurt her?

But Du Kang almost lost his temper just now, and Ruoping's eyes reddened again as she spoke. It seemed that her best friends had no reason to lie to her... But could they really still be called best friends now? Zhang Shutong suddenly felt a little lonely. He thought that after starting over, he should value this relationship more, especially when he found their phone numbers in his contacts, he felt a faint joy.

Looking back now, it's not even as good as the relationships in the original timeline. Back then, we just hadn't been in touch for a long time, but childhood playmates still felt close when they met. Now, one has disappeared without a trace, one has almost become an enemy, and the other, although willing to say a few words, speaks in a completely unfamiliar tone.

Why does this happen?
Zhang Shutong lit another cigarette, and he seemed to understand why he was addicted to cigarettes now.

My life hasn't changed; I'm still the same person who deliberately isolates myself from the outside world...

Even best friends have become like strangers...

Lu Qinglian eventually passed away...

It was a complete mess.

This time, his life is even worse than the last. What exactly has changed?
"Calm down yourself."

Ruoping coldly uttered a sentence and turned to enter the funeral home.

Zhang Shutong watched her leave, then stood there for a while, looking at the dark blue lake. He slowly slid down from the railing and squatted down.

But then Ruoping came out of the funeral home again. The two were far apart when she suddenly threw something at Zhang Shutong. He caught it instinctively. It turned out to be a car key.

“Take it and keep it in the car. Aren’t you ashamed to be out here?” she frowned. “Also, don’t smoke in my car.”

Zhang Shutong was about to thank her when she had already gone inside.

He hugged his frozen body, opened the SUV door, and a faint fragrance wafted inside. Zhang Shutong sat in the passenger seat, leaning back slightly.

He stared at the roof of the car, utterly exhausted. To be honest, he really wanted to just sleep and not think about anything, but that would be escapism. He needed to figure out what had happened first.

He found Qingyi's number and his finger hovered over the dial button, but suddenly a man rudely squeezed onto the bus. He turned around and saw that it was Song Nanshan.

His hair was styled in a neat, slicked-back manner, but his first words betrayed his true nature:
"You know what, Ruoping knows a lot about cars," Old Song said, patting and touching the cars around her. "Toyotas are really good, they never break down."

Zhang Shutong wasn't in the mood to ask where your Ford Focus was. He put away his phone. Old Song asked, "You two are arguing again? How old are you, still arguing?"

Yes, how old are you to still be so stubborn? Or rather, the word "stubborn" shouldn't even exist in the adult world.

Old Song continued to ramble on, talking about everything from Japanese cars to American cars, from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi to the "Big Three" (older women).

Zhang Shutong didn't know what he was going to say, but it wasn't bad to have someone nagging in his ear at this time, so he simply shut his mouth and listened patiently to what the homeroom teacher was saying.

"Shutong, this disheveled state is unlike you."

"Song Nanshan suddenly said. Zhang Shutong was taken aback, thinking to himself, 'Teacher, you've misjudged me this time. Actually, I haven't had a very good life all these years. The only time I was truly not in a sorry state was probably those four days, but you've remembered them all.'"

Song Nanshan seemed relieved, and a look of reminiscence crossed his face:

"I still remember what you did that night, right? The time we were looking for the van, it was winter, I think it wasn't that long ago. It was raining, and we were both soaked to the bone. I was so anxious that my face turned blue, but you had arranged everything... I didn't want to mention it, but in my eyes you're already amazing, so don't always blame yourself."

Zhang Shutong opened his mouth silently, wanting to apologize to him. He realized he wasn't as capable as the man thought, and it seemed he had truly let everyone down, though he himself didn't understand why things had turned out this way.

"You are the student the teacher is most proud of."

The homeroom teacher said something else.

Song Nanshan patted him on the shoulder, just like when he taught him how to woo girls back then. He pulled a piece of paper from the inside pocket of his well-tailored suit and handed it to him. It turned out to be a photograph:
"This is our graduation photo from back then. You didn't want it, so I kept it for you. I just happened to bring it with me this time, thinking we might run into each other. Here you go."

After saying that, he got out of the car, and before leaving, he made a joke:

"I've already paid for the photo developing; you don't need to pay it back."

Then the car door slammed shut. He was like a sharp swordsman, seemingly saying a lot, but really only three sentences. It was like drawing a sword and swinging it countless times, but in reality, only three swords could kill.

In the enclosed space, Zhang Shutong silently accepted the photograph.

That was their junior high school graduation photo, with a banner above their heads reading "2012 Elite Middle School Graduates";
Old Song moved a stool and sat in the very middle of the front row. He was the homeroom teacher, and he casually spread his legs.

I was in the fourth row on the right, surrounded by my best friends. Du Kang struck an exaggerated pose, and Qingyi, who usually had a slumped expression, showed a slight smile. Ruoping was right behind me and Qingyi, and she gave each of them bunny ears. I happened to notice her and turned around to roll my eyes. This scene was captured by the camera.

He saw Lu Qinglian again, standing at the back, as always, expressionless, but still looking like a young girl, or at least a color photograph... He held this photograph in his hand after eight years, and in fact, the faces in it were the ones he was most familiar with.

The surface of the photo has become sticky. Old Song is still the same rough man he was back then, and his memories are as sticky as water. Zhang Shutong is leaning back in the passenger seat, staring at it in a daze.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but as darkness gradually fell, he heard voices outside the car window. It turned out that Old Song was coming over with his arms around Ruoping and Dukang's shoulders.

He laughed and said, "Alright, alright, what are you young people doing guarding the funeral home? Hurry up and go get a meal before it gets dark. You used to be so close that you were inseparable, practically inseparable. After all these years, if there's anything you don't like about each other, just say it all and drink it all away."

Then Ruoping sighed, as if she had reverted to the fiery young girl she used to be. Unable to bear the constant headaches caused by the three boys, she opened the car door. Du Kang was still somewhat reluctant, but Ruoping glared at him.
Why are you even more hesitant than I am?

Du Kang, with a sour face, went into the back row. He made a point of giving up his seat for Lao Song. In the past, their homeroom teacher would drive the four of them around in that Ford Focus, and everyone would squeeze together, smelling the cigarette smoke. Now, it was the other way around.

But Song Nanshan said, "I won't go. It'll be too much for you to be shy with the teachers around. Tonight, whether you cry, laugh, fight, or yell, just be happy."

The three of them finally got into the car. Ruoping had become a dashing driver. She drove the SUV onto the lakeside road, the scenery outside the window rushing past. She glanced at Du Kang in the rearview mirror and broke the silence:
"Go to your place?"

"My restaurant is closed for the next few days," Du Kang muttered. "The usual place, please."

Ruoping nodded, then fell silent.

Everyone knows what "the old place" means. Zhang Shutong said something to Ruoping, lowered the car window a little, and saw the lake on the other side of the road. He felt the wind blowing and seemed to see the backs of four young men sitting on the shore fishing.

As the car entered the city, there were more private cars on the island. The city was a little more prosperous than it was eight years ago, but only a little. The three of them knew this road very well. They watched Ruoping take a shortcut through various turns, and sometimes when they were unsure, they would ask Du Kang for advice. Finally, the car slowed down at the entrance of the commercial street. There were indeed not many people today, and it was still as deserted as ever.

The car could drive in, and the SUV finally stopped in front of "Jiananhu Fish Restaurant".

Zhang Shutong unbuckled his seatbelt, got out of the car, and looked around at the shops. The street was much the same as before, mostly two-story storefronts, but the shops on the street had basically all changed.

He still vividly remembers that night when he and his homeroom teacher plunged into the rain to search for the van, but now he can no longer find that scarf and hat shop.

"Be content, city folk. What more upscale do you want? It's a miracle this lake fish restaurant hasn't gone out of business." Ruoping retorted, seeing that he was still hesitant to go in, and then led Du Kang inside to order.

Upon hearing her words, Zhang Shutong's heart suddenly clenched.

He finally realized where the vague sense of unease he had felt after the regression came from:

Why is this commercial street...?

Still there?

(End of this chapter)