Winter Returns

Chapter 120 2012, Creating the Future (Thanks to ChanTho for being the patron)
Zhang Shutong once again rode his bicycle through this snowy night.

The train's front end moved swiftly, cutting through the cold wind.

A straight ray of light illuminated the road ahead.

Now he has a new goal.

The windproof jacket was pulled to the top, the helmet visor was at the bottom, and the tactical gloves were wrinkled from gripping the throttle tightly.

His phone was tucked between his helmet and cheek, glowing faintly in the darkness.

"Old Song has fainted again?"

He is currently on the phone with Du Kang.

"Yes, I sent Gu Qiumian a photo, the one of you standing next to the motorcycle."

"Just one photo?"

"Just one. I'll listen to whatever he says. You know I'm always obedient. Du Kang keeps his mouth shut. Oh, by the way, Old Song also said he wants you to go..."

"Where?"

He fainted after saying that.

"I see."

Can you guess where he wants you to go?

"I can't guess, but I know where to go now."

"What do you mean? There's a lot of noise going on over there, and you're out running around again. Wait, you're not going to find Gu Qiu Mian, are you?" Du Kang asked in surprise.

"Correct."

"But doesn't her family have bodyguards...?"

"Remember the footprints we saw?" Zhang Shutong analyzed quickly. "That person scouted the place at least twice. I used to think that having bodyguards was enough, but the safest way was actually to bring Gu Qiu Mian out of the villa. That way, someone could be lying in wait at the villa..."

"Someone has multiple burrows outside?" Du Kang suddenly realized.

"More or less." Zhang Shutong had already driven out of the city. He turned onto a side road and was forced to slow down. "Their target is 'Gu Qiumian in the villa.' The villa and Gu Qiumian are two keywords that are indispensable. But conversely, if one of them is missing, the initiative will be in our hands."

"Oh, so you're hiding her, huh? Now that you mention it, I'm reminded of something Old Song said: he was wrong!"

"wrong?"

"Yeah, the first thing he said when he opened his eyes was 'I was wrong.' At first, I thought he was just apologizing for causing trouble for everyone..."

Du Kang's habitual nagging filled her ears, while Zhang Shutong reflexively recalled what the other party had said that day: that she didn't need to worry and that the rest could be left to the bodyguard.

So does "wrong" actually mean this?
"What time is it now?" Zhang Shutong asked again.

"A little past 10:10."

"Okay, I'm almost there. We'll figure something out when I get there."

"The key is, even if you go there, Shutong, there's nothing you can do. Would Gu Qiumian be willing?"

"She called and said she wanted to come with me."

"Awesome!" Du Kang exclaimed. "No wonder you were willing to go to such lengths to be around Shu Tong, leaving her in the middle of the night without a second thought. That's 100%—no, 1000% trust! You've done her a great favor, don't let her down!"

He then worriedly asked, "But even if she believes you, will her father believe her?"

"They probably don't believe it."

"What should I do?"

"Do it exactly as instructed."

"You're awesome too." Du Kang swore again. "So, does this mean everything was part of Old Song's plan, even though he passed out before he could finish speaking?"

"Maybe," Zhang Shutong said softly.

That may not have been a simple traffic accident, but what the homeroom teacher was thinking before the incident remains unknown.

"Then you two keep it up. I'm going to stay up all night, not leaving your side for a second. I'll call you as soon as Lao Song wakes up, and I'll make sure I don't miss a single cough from him."

At this moment, Zhang Shutong saw a large pit.

He squeezed the brakes, and the motorcycle slowed down instantly.
"You're going to go through all this trouble with me too?" he asked in surprise.

“What are you talking about?” Du Kang laughed. “Damn it, we’ve gone through all this trouble. Whether it’s useful or not, there’s nothing we wouldn’t dare to do. If I could come back right now, I would definitely help you get Gu Qiu Mian out.”

"Okay." Zhang Shutong smiled as well.

The two then hung up the phone.

He didn't even bother to put his phone away; three more minutes had passed since the time announcement.

Five minutes ago, Du Kang called.

I told them what the homeroom teacher had told me.

Gu Qiu Mian called ten minutes ago.

She said she wanted to go with me.

Zhang Shutong just said on the phone that he'll figure something out once he arrives.

Actually, there is already a solution.

Moreover, it was Gu Qiumian who took the initiative to suggest it.

Her attitude was even more intense than she had said—

The girl was preparing to jump out of the window.

Yes, she jumped directly from the second-floor terrace outside her room.

Because the living room was full of people, she couldn't get out of the room.

Zhang Shutong was stunned. He had thought Gu Qiumian was there to question him about why he had gone through all this trouble, and that she was emotional and he would probably get a scolding and be ordered to slink home. But she simply said:

"I want to go with you!"

Zhang Shutong then asked:
"How will you explain this to your father?"

But she firmly retorted:

"Don't worry about it!"

So Zhang Shutong ignored it, bypassed the ditch, twisted the accelerator again, and sped forward.

At that moment, the night wind howled, and the motorcycle engine roared as he lowered his body, thinking about how to bring Gu Qiu Mian out.

It would be very difficult for her to jump down from the second floor by herself.

So I need to sneak in first.

According to the information provided by the girl, the defenses outside the villa were weak tonight.

Apart from the two bodyguards who stayed in the car to keep watch overnight, everyone else was in the villa.

The two people went out to buy late-night snacks; it wasn't time for their shift to end yet.

In other words, he now has to race against time.

Before the other party returns, take advantage of the time difference and pick up Gu Qiu Mian.

Otherwise, by the time that car drives back downstairs, it will be too late, unless he can fly or disappear.

Zhang Shutong kept a close eye on the time and the remaining fuel level on the fuel gauge.

He counted silently in his mind as the motorcycle drove through the suburbs and finally arrived at the western part of the island.

He is now very familiar with the roads here, and if he counts carefully, he has been to the villa more times than he has gone back to his own home.

The ring road is now in sight.

He shifted gears and controlled the vehicle to crawl for a distance.

Then stop the car.

We can't go any higher.

All was quiet.

The engine noise would alert the bodyguards inside the house.

What followed was his solo journey.

Zhang Shutong hid the car in the shadow of the mountain wall, and then felt something hit his helmet.

He looked up and saw that the snow on the mountain was piling up little by little, and then falling down. It seemed that any noise would trigger an avalanche.

But it doesn't matter, since this was originally a quiet operation.

He took a flashlight out of the carriage and shone it around, but he didn't see anyone.

Of course not.

Because Gu Qiumin was murdered in the early hours of the morning, Zhang Shutong understood that he was now racing against time with both sides.

One faction is Gu's father, who wants to pick up Gu Qiu Mian before the bodyguards return.

One faction is the murderer, who, like the other, hid her away without anyone noticing before the other party arrived.

His current goal is to ensure Gu Qiu Mian's safety; as for the murderer, he'll leave it to the bodyguards who stayed at the villa.

Based on Lu Qinglian's judgment that day, the long-haired woman could handle an ordinary person like him, but she was no match for those fully armed bodyguards.

Of course, there are also strange aspects, such as how Zhang Shutong still can't figure out how the other party got into the villa.

That's why we need to take her away.

Therefore, it must be done as soon as possible.

Zhang Shutong took a deep breath and started walking.

I've driven this mountain road many times.

He had an excellent memory; he knew exactly which paths were easy and which were difficult. Although he was a little weak, it didn't stop Zhang Shutong from squeezing out every last bit of strength. He gritted his teeth and walked faster and faster until he was panting heavily and could feel his heart pounding.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes... He used his footsteps instead of timing, counting every two steps as one second. This time, he arrived at the villa in just fifteen minutes.

The time came to half past ten.

The night was quiet, and the surrounding area was a snow-covered wilderness. In the distance, the lights on the first floor of the villa could be seen.

The two bodyguards haven't returned yet.

He breathed a sigh of relief, but knew the challenge had only just begun.

We still need to race against time.

Otherwise, it would be terrible if the bodyguards happened to run into them when they were walking down the mountain with Gu Qiu Mian.

He turned off his flashlight and quickly arrived at the villa's gate. Zhang Shutong was somewhat glad that he had studied it carefully before. Although he still didn't understand how the murderer had sneaked in, at least he knew how he should sneak in.

Zhang Shutong also knew that there were electronic eyes installed on the gate. If a bodyguard glanced at the screen out of boredom, he would see a sneaky helmeted man standing in front of the gate, and then a group of people would rush out and pin him to the ground.

Therefore, he first memorized the location of the combination lock, then turned to the side, hiding himself in the blind spot of the electronic eye, and pressed a string of numbers from memory.

There's only one chance, because this damn lock will set off an alarm in the living room if you enter the wrong password even once.

Fortunately, everything went well.

With a soft beep, the door lock opened.

Zhang Shutong even knew that the hinges of the left door were a bit rusty, and that if pushed to a certain angle, they would make a teeth-grinding sound. He carefully squeezed in from the right side, gently closed the door, and then entered the front yard, quickly seeing the terrace of the second-floor room.

The curtains were drawn back, the windows and doors were half-open, but the lights inside were off.

Before Zhang Shutong could contact Gu Qiumian, he suddenly heard the door open. It turned out that a bodyguard came out to smoke.

He cursed under his breath and quickly hid under the eaves.

Zhang Shutong patiently calculated the time, but before the other party could finish drawing, another bodyguard came out, and the two chatted idly at the door:
"Want to take another stroll?"

"Okay, since the boss isn't asleep yet, let's wander around in front of him a bit more."

As they spoke, the two turned on their flashlights, a move that resembled a game of tag.

Zhang Shutong was a chicken, but fortunately, the two of them were patrolling side by side. If they had been more dedicated and split up to flank the young lady, they would have eventually found a suspicious guy who had abducted her.

Zhang Shutong tiptoed to the backyard.

The backyard was huge, and he hid behind a very large tree, not moving. Suddenly, he felt that he knew this place better than his own home.

The bodyguard quickly walked past him, and he breathed a sigh of relief, wondering whether to leave immediately or wait for the other person to go back inside.

He quickly decided to wait and play it safe, but then someone urged him on.

To be precise, it wasn't a person, but a large, furry head that seemed to be getting impatient watching Zhang Shutong stand behind the tree for too long.

—That Doberman!
Zhang Shutong's heart leaped again.

He overlooked one thing: the dog wasn't leashed. But then again, it made sense; this Doberman was a guard dog, and after eating so much food all the time, it was bound to be useful in a pinch.

But who could have imagined that it would come all the way to my feet?

Although he seemed to have gotten along well with the dog, he had been away from the villa for a whole day, and who knew if it would turn on him.

Zhang Shutong winked at the big guy, thinking to himself, "Don't shout, or I'll make your young lady fire you. At worst, we'll both die. After all, I saved your life."

Fortunately, his prayers came true; the Doberman looked at him, then squatted down and remained still.

Zhang Shutong didn't understand its meaning. Was it telling him to leave or not to leave?

He had been bitten by a dog when he was a child, so he tentatively reached out and waved his hand in front of the Doberman. The Doberman wagged its tail. As expected of a dog that Gu's father had specially brought to the island, it was quite intelligent.

Zhang Shutong patted its head, thinking to himself, "Good boy, I'm not a bad person. I promised to save your young lady, and I will."

The Doberman tilted its head and looked at him, as if asking, "Really?"
of course it's true.

Zhang Shutong wouldn't mind reciting Lao Song's quotes, if it could understand them.

He then realized that the dog was only hesitant because of his scent.

He simply stretched out his arm, and it turned out that the down jacket had been worn for a long time, and Gu Qiumian's scent had already settled on him.

Doberman understood what he meant, sniffed it, and then moved away.

Zhang Shutong also emerged from behind the tree and slowly backed away.

The old dog glanced at him, then turned and walked away, its four paws slowly pacing. Strangely enough, he could actually read a sense of "peace of mind" in the dog, as if it had finally found someone to take over its job.

A man and his dog bid each other a peaceful farewell under the night sky.

But Zhang Shutong suddenly realized that this was not funny at all.

What he's about to do isn't child's play, it's not like he can just tell the dog he's taking his young lady away and then walk away.

There were bodyguards and her father in the villa; besides herself, there were many other people protecting her.

Zhang Shutong once said that the hardest thing is making decisions, because every decision means you have to take on the corresponding responsibility. When Lu Qinglian asked him why he had to take on this responsibility, he couldn't really answer, so he could only say that one cannot be arrogant.

But now Zhang Shutong understands.

If a girl trusts you 100%, no, even 1000%, and no matter what the outside world is like, she will follow you without hesitation on this snowy night, how can you talk about protecting her life if you don't even dare to shoulder this responsibility?
Du Kang jokingly said that the beauty's kindness was heavy. In fact, it was this trust that was even heavier.

He had never seriously considered the value of this trust before, only thinking that Gu Qiu Mian was easy to fool and coax, but the truth is that she was not easy to fool at all.

Zhang Shutong quietly walked down to the terrace. Just as he took out his phone to contact Gu Qiumian, the other party had already revealed herself in the darkness.

It turns out she was keeping a close eye on what was happening below.

Zhang Shutong raised his head in the moonlight.

It seems Gu Qiu Mian knew it was cold at night, so she wrapped herself in thick clothes from head to toe. At this moment, she didn't care about being vain and wrapped herself up like a dumpling.

But this contrasted sharply with the thin slippers she was wearing. The slippers were the kind that exposed the heels, and you would freeze just standing outside on a night like this, let alone riding a bike later.

But Zhang Shutong knew that was because her shoes were all downstairs, and going back to get them would definitely give her away.

Zhang Shutong watched the girl in slippers as she awkwardly climbed over the balcony railing, presumably for the first time in her life. The surroundings were quiet, and the only sound was her rapid breathing.

Zhang Shutong nodded to Gu Qiumian and opened his arms.

Neither of them dared to speak loudly, communicating only through eye contact.

Zhang Shutong met those beautiful, spirited eyes again. Her gaze was complex, a mixture of anger, decisiveness, and even a misty haze, but there was no hesitation.

But as Gu Qiu Mian closed her eyes tightly, her thick eyelashes overlapped, and until the very end, Zhang Shutong still couldn't guess the emotions contained in those eyes.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

In a daze, he suddenly felt that the scene was familiar. He tried hard to recall, and realized it was a rainy Friday night years ago. To clear Old Song of suspicion, he was making a phone call on the balcony. It was cold outside, and then a girl in a bathrobe leaned out and scolded him:

"Idiot, aren't you cold?"

These are memories buried in the river of time.

He thought with some regret.

But so what?

He seemed to understand what was contained in those eyes.

So what if there is no past? So what if we are completely forgotten? As long as we have courage, there are still many new futures to create.

next moment.

A soft gasp followed.

A girl named Gu Qiumian fell from the sky and landed in his arms.

The moonlight is the witness.

Zhang Shutong hugged Gu Qiumian tightly.

(End of this chapter)