Winter Returns

Chapter 188 Torture (Part 1)

"pick one of two."

Zhang Shutong suddenly realized.

Two people were injured, but the fox could only use it once.

So Ruoping's injury was quietly changed, and Lu Qinglian, despite her deafness, stayed behind.

"you……"

Zhang Shutong moved his lips, but remained silent for a moment.

He understood where Du Kang's guilt and Ruo Ping's torment came from.

Zhang Shutong still didn't understand why there was anything to hide from him and Qingyi. Besides, Du Kang was Ruoping's savior, so how could they have a falling out?

“…This isn’t your fault,” Zhang Shutong could only say, trying to comfort her.

“No…” Du Kang said softly.

“I mean, this is inherently a dilemma,” anyone would feel the same way, Zhang Shutong suddenly understood his feelings, torn between the girl he liked and his friend, “but at least you changed history once, right? Nobody will blame you, you really don’t have to be like this…”

"No! No!" Du Kang's voice gradually rose.

Zhang Shutong noticed that he was becoming somewhat emotional and changed the subject:

"Calm down first. Ruoping will be back soon. I'll call her over later and we can talk about this together."

“There’s no need,” Du Kang suddenly said dejectedly. “We haven’t been in touch for a long time, of course it has nothing to do with her, or rather, it’s not just about her. Because I’ve wronged more than just Lu Qinglian, haven’t you thought of that yet… Among us, I’m always the dumbest and slowest to react, it’s always been like that. My brain isn’t as sharp as yours, and I’m not as calm as Qingyi. Even that fox was discovered by Ruoping first, so…”

他 说:

"How could I be the only one who knows the fox's role?"

Zhang Shutong was startled, vaguely guessing what was going on, when Du Kang continued:
"You know Qingyi, you know Ruoping, and you know Lu Qinglian. But who should we give this one and only chance to? We had agreed to discuss it again, but I stole the fox."

"This is the truth of what happened back then. That fox wasn't usable from the beginning, otherwise there wouldn't have been so much trouble. It suddenly became usable one day after Lu Qinglian lost her hearing. Shutong, you've seen that fox, haven't you? Didn't you feel anything when you saw it? That's right. If it were still usable, you should have felt something, that involuntary urge to look at it and make a wish to change the past..."

"so……"

Du Kang's voice was a little hoarse:

"It was never a decision I could make alone. All five of you were there, and all five of us knew about it. We were at an impasse. Lu Qinglian said that since Ruoping found the fox, it should be given to her. But Ruoping said it should be given to Lu Qinglian. We couldn't come to a conclusion because everyone had a point. Amputation was out of the question. Even though it was just her lower leg, she could walk with a prosthetic. But Ruoping was only fifteen years old at the time. You know what kind of personality she had before... I forgot whether she smiled after that incident. I only remember that she never wore a skirt again."

"And then there's Lu Qinglian's ears. She was about to take the high school entrance exam, and it was already difficult to let her leave the island to attend high school. On top of that, she was deaf. She would have to stay on this island for the rest of her life as a temple keeper. But the fox's ability appeared suddenly, and no one knew if it would suddenly disappear. We agreed to talk about it the next day, but no matter who we chose, it would be cruel. So that night, I secretly stole the fox from all of you."

"We were...voting at the time?" Zhang Shutong's throat was a little dry and hoarse.

“It’s not a vote,” Du Kang said with a wry smile. “It’s more tragic than a vote. Don’t forget the fox’s mechanism. To change the past, someone has to make a wish to it. But both of them abstained. So it’s not a vote, but someone has to come…”

Du Kang softly uttered two words:
"implement."

"There are only three of us to carry this out. So, Shutong, tell me, who should make this decision personally?"
"Qingyi wanted to save Ruoping, but he knew I liked Lu Qinglian, so he always took care of my feelings. You were even more conflicted than I was. In that timeline, you had a disease that caused breathing difficulties, and it would flare up from time to time during that period..."

"So, Shutong," Du Kang repeated, "who do you think should personally choose one of them?"

Zhang Shutong fell silent.

Du Kang slowly said:
"I'm so sorry."

Then his speech became faster and faster:
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry to everyone, and I'm so sorry to Lu Qinglian. I changed time and space, and I've been keeping it from you all, but I really don't know what to do..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't want this to happen either. I thought that as long as I kept it from you, we wouldn't be as conflicted and in pain as before. I also knew that I would be exposed sooner or later if I saw you, so I wouldn't go to dinner, fishing, or anything else you asked me to do. But this kind of thing becomes real as you act it out. I thought that if I kept this secret, things would be better than before. Ruoping thought so too. Could things get any worse than before? But we still broke up."

Du Kang choked up and said:
“I’ve always been this kind of person. Not smart, and most of the time I don’t know what to do. That’s why I stole that fox in the first place, and that’s why I only know how to run away. I’m afraid to see Ruoping, afraid to see Lu Qinglian, afraid to see you and Qingyi, and I’m even afraid to go back to the island. Today I asked you to feed Zorro for me, thinking that if you found out, I would confess everything. If you didn’t find out, I would hide it for the rest of my life. But, but, keeping a secret isn’t that simple…”

He suddenly burst into tears:

“Shutong, I haven’t been home for a year…” Zhang Shutong held his phone, his eyes glancing at the wooden sign. In fact, he had been clutching the sign the whole time, which read “Sorry, sorry, sorry…” What must have been the owner’s feelings when he carved those words?
He stared blankly out the window; dusk had fallen on every corner.
It's not a dead end yet; there's still a chance to change things. He was about to say this to Du Kang, but the moment the thought crossed his mind, his heart clenched, cold sweat broke out all over his body, and the familiar feeling of suffocation washed over him. He recalled the woman's words:

"...You can't go back."

What's going on? Why can't I even say a word... He had always kept his abnormality a secret from others, but now that he wanted to talk about it, he found that he couldn't do it at all. It was as if he couldn't mention even a single thing related to it. Zhang Shutong was stunned for a moment.

He didn't realize it was the two SUVs that had driven up to the building until he heard a car engine. He checked his phone, but the call had already been disconnected.

"Shutong! Ping'er's back, come down for dinner!"

Mother Feng's voice pierced through the door, carrying a hint of joy:
"Can you drink? I'll have your uncle pour you some."

Zhang Shutong silently sent a text message to Qingyi, then went downstairs.

He felt a chill run through him; it turned out that the doors and windows were closed and the air conditioning wasn't on when he made the call, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.

He was about to say something to Ruoping when he saw Feng's mother chasing after the other person in the bright living room, complaining:
"Why did it take you so long to buy groceries? I thought something had happened to you."

"Don't even mention it, Mom. You have no idea how long I searched for green peppers. It was so crowded today," Ruoping said, her forehead covered in sweat. She noticed Zhang Shutong, kicked off her shoes, and asked with a smile, "What have you been doing, all sweaty?"

"Shutong, do you drink baijiu or beer tonight?" Feng's mother asked.

Zhang Shutong felt as if he had been transported to another world.

It's really lively here. Although there's no sofa in the living room, the TV is still on, the air conditioner is humming, and the people in the living room are chatting and laughing.

"Beer bar," Zhang Shutong suddenly remembered to say.

"Hmm, your alcohol tolerance is as bad as ever," Ruoping commented.

She didn't change her clothes; she just put on her skirt, tied on an apron, quickly picked out the green peppers, and then the range hood started up.

When Zhang Shutong sat down at the table, steaming dumplings were scooped onto a plate. As he picked up his chopsticks, Ruoping brought out shredded pork with green peppers and sat down next to him.
"Don't just stand there, you think my cooking is bad?"

Just as Zhang Shutong was about to reach for his chopsticks, he heard Mr. Feng laugh:

"Come on, let's have a toast. First, thank you for your hard work all day, Shutong. Second, let's celebrate that you old classmates can have a meal together. I wish you all a long and lasting friendship."

He's a physical education teacher, and he can also adopt an official tone when necessary.

Feng's mother nudged him with her elbow, as if annoyed that he was bringing up a sore subject, and then raised her cup:

"Ping'er, after you move, don't forget to invite your friends over for dinner at your new home."

As she spoke, she winked at Zhang Shutong:

"Forget it, you girl have no sense of reason. Let Shutong do it. Anyway, he was the leader back then. Shutong, Auntie has already told you."

"What do you mean 'lead'? I'm the one leading." Ruoping rolled her eyes, as if she hadn't heard the last sentence, and then raised her glass, "Cheers."

This was just an ordinary home-cooked meal. The dough was freshly rolled, the meat filling was freshly chopped, and the dumplings were freshly made. They had been drinking, so they ate the simple meal very slowly.

When Zhang Shutong's beer bottle was empty, Ruoping had already poured herself a second glass of baijiu.

She has a really high alcohol tolerance. She once slammed her hand on the table and said she wanted to drink some baijiu (Chinese liquor), but it turned out to be nutritional drinks. Now she's finally switched to the real thing.

Do you remember the time Du Kang celebrated his birthday? She was the one who suggested that everyone have some drinks to celebrate, which was actually just her own curiosity.

That makes sense; what female knight-errant who roams the martial world wouldn't have a good capacity for alcohol?

In the end, everyone was a little drunk. Only Ruoping got up to serve food to the three of them, saying, "Dad, eat more. Mom, eat more too. And you, you're such a grown-up, why do you still need me to serve you?"
As he said this, a chicken leg landed on Zhang Shutong's plate.

The second pot of dumplings was still cooking, and Ruoping would often put down her chopsticks to check on the pot while she was eating.

As the meal drew to a close, Mrs. Feng finally couldn't contain herself any longer:
"Hey, Ping'er, let me ask you something. I was chatting with Shutong tonight. How did you and Du Kang have your falling out back then?"

(End of this chapter)