Winter Returns

Chapter 189 Torment (Part 2) (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"What's there to talk about? It's all in the past."

“I think there was definitely something going on between them back then,” Mr. Feng interjected. “Was it that you two were dating and then broke up? You cried a lot at night during that time, and your mother and I were worried about you. Now it seems like you were heartbroken?”

"Yes, it's just a breakup. I dumped him. Are you satisfied now?" Ruoping asked rhetorically.

"Really?" The man suddenly became sad. "I thought this kid was innocent, but it turns out he had ulterior motives..."

"Stop gossiping, you're almost retired."

"Shutong, do you know that your uncle is watching you today? You can speak freely without worry!"

All three people turned their gazes toward Zhang Shutong.

"Would you like to go for a walk after dinner?"

Zhang Shutong then looked at Ruoping.

He asked softly, and Mr. Feng's gaze immediately turned strange, as if to say, "I've been guessing for so long, and it turns out it was you, kid."

"Leaving now?" Ruoping glanced at him, her cheeks flushed. "I'm not listening to them nagging anymore."

They hit it off immediately, and after saying that, they picked up their keys and went out the door, just like back then, once they had made a decision, they couldn't stay idle.

Only the man and woman exchanged a glance:
"I told you not to ask, or you'd upset our daughter."

"You were the one who brought it up first."

"Who told you to bring up dating? She was already drunk, and girls are easily embarrassed..."

"Ping'er!" the man shouted urgently, "You two, whatever you do, don't drive!"

As the door closed, those words faintly reached my ears.

How could he possibly drive? Zhang Shutong got on the small electric scooter and rode Ruoping through the streets at night.

The streetlights emitted a faint light.

"Where to?" Ruoping asked lazily. She was wearing a red dress and looked like a drunken, aloof, and mature woman. "I saw you were in a bad mood today, so I came out for a walk with you. Isn't that nice of me?"

Only when I kick my legs out of sheer boredom do I feel like that little girl from back then.

"Commercial Street."

"Why go there? At this hour, only restaurants are open."

“I’m not full.”

“I’ll tell my mom later,” she chuckled. “Anyway, that’s what I told them. Otherwise, they’ll definitely ask, ‘Ping’er, did you and Shutong go out late at night for something?’ Ugh, so annoying.”

"Are they already pressuring us to get married?"

"This trend is starting to emerge. My dad is trying to prevent it, while my mom is pushing it. In a few years, they'll likely merge."

"Yes... I did bring you out because I had something to do." Zhang Shutong did not deny it.

"Who has anything to do with you? This isn't romantic at all. You smell so bad." She pretended to gag.

“You think you’re not?” Zhang Shutong laughed. “You climbed mountains all day and went to the market to buy groceries. When you got home just now, there were white marks on the back of your skirt.”

Upon hearing this, she quickly pressed her hand against her back and complained:

"You're the one who called me out. I was planning to take a shower after dinner. So what are we doing here?"

They had now driven into a desolate wilderness, and the streetlights had somehow disappeared behind them.

Zhang Shutong squeezed the brakes:
"Find the fox."

"Oh." To everyone's surprise, Ruoping's tone was completely unsurprised. She nodded calmly, "You should have said so earlier. I'll tell you where it is. Walk for two more minutes, there's a clump of reeds ahead, it's hidden inside."

Zhang Shutong continued twisting the handlebars. After a while, he looked at the bare bank and turned to ask:
"Here? There are no reeds here."

“These past few years have been wasted, I mean five years ago,” Ruoping said clearly.

Zhang Shutong took a closer look at her and realized that she seemed like a completely different person, showing no signs of being drunk at all.

"Make no mistake."

"I remember it very clearly."

"Let's keep going." Zhang Shutong memorized the location and started the car again.

The streetlights ahead grew brighter as they entered the city. Not much had changed since five years ago. Zhang Shutong rode forward silently, while Ruoping sat quietly on the back. Neither of them said where they were going next, nor did they ask each other.

Zhang Shutong stopped his car at the entrance of the commercial street:
"Are you going to eat?"

"You're really not full?"

“Let’s go eat something else. Do you remember that KFC? It’s run by your mom’s friend. She gave you some coupons. They had a discount one Wednesday, but we didn’t go. We went to the tunnel behind the hospital instead.”

"That was a long time ago," Ruoping stretched. "I don't remember."

Zhang Shutong looked around the commercial street. Some of the shops on both sides were familiar, while others were unfamiliar. That hamburger shop was quite remarkable, having persisted for five years without moving away.

The shop wasn't big, but they were willing to turn on the lights and air conditioning. When the two of them walked in, there were a few kids playing video games.

It's summer vacation now.

Zhang Shutong ordered two servings of fries.

He and Ruoping found a seat by the window. Popular music was playing in the store, and the fries were obviously not freshly fried, so they were a bit soft.

"I went to see Du Kang's dog."

Zhang Shutong casually remarked while sucking on a French fry.

"So that's when it was discovered." Ruoping cupped her face in her hands, gazing out the window. "It's amazing you could think of so much from a statue." "Actually, it went in circles. Who would have thought the past had been changed?" Zhang Shutong said with some emotion. "So, what's going on between you and Du Kang?"

"He saved me, and I didn't want him to save me, without consulting anyone, it was that simple."

"There's no need to break off relations."

"My leg is broken, and I'm a bit psychologically unstable. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Don't say that." Zhang Shutong frowned. "Who are you arguing with?"

"Nobody else, if anyone, it's just me. But you, shouldn't you be angry?" Ruoping asked, "We've kept this from you for so long."

"Actually, I can understand..."

Ruoping suddenly turned around:
"What do you understand? Qinglian is deaf, Dukang hasn't come back for so long, you and Qingyi have been kept in the dark the whole time. I'm the only beneficiary. I'm the most selfish one!"

Her tone carried a hint of anger, which startled Zhang Shutong.
"Calm down first."

Ruoping remained silent, just chewing on her fries. After a long while, she finally spoke:

"You've seen what Qinglian looks like, and Du Kang should have told you about the fox's restrictions. How am I supposed to stay calm?"

"I……"

"Let me finish, don't interrupt!" Ruoping slammed her hand on the table. "What can we do now but wait? Wait for that fox to appear and for a miracle to heal Qinglian's ears? But how can we change what happened to her at the temple? That fox isn't omnipotent!"

Ruoping stared intently at him:
"So how do you interpret this? What can you possibly understand? I'm the one who's being forced into a choice between two options!"

“But your leg is healed after all…” Zhang Shutong had no choice but to change his words.

"Yes, it's healed, but I wish it hadn't. It's all because of my timeline that it's become this mess!"

As she spoke, she pinched her left leg hard, which made Zhang Shutong's eyelids twitch involuntarily. Not only him, but also the shop assistants and students playing games were startled by the commotion.

Zhang Shutong withdrew his gaze, rubbed his temples, and stood up first:

“You’re not in a good mood right now, let’s talk outside.”

Ruoping also silently stood up.

The two servings of freshly bought fries were scattered on the plate. The two of them walked out of the fast food restaurant and headed towards the electric scooter. As Zhang Shutong passed a supermarket, he noticed that it was still open.
"Hold on."

He ran inside and came out carrying two bottles of beer.

"Only you will get drunk from this stuff," Ruoping said coldly.

"Then treat it as a drink." Zhang Shutong shrugged and tossed it into Ruoping's arms.

The woman caught it instinctively, bit her lip, and said nothing, simply following behind him.

Soon they got on their electric bikes. There was a gentle evening breeze on the road, but it wasn't cool, as if it wanted to keep them trapped in this summer forever.

Finally, he rode his bike into the wasteland behind the hospital. Zhang Shutong sighed and stopped the bike.

"There's really no need," Zhang Shutong said thoughtfully. "To put yourself through so much suffering..."

"whatever you think."

Ruoping spoke nonchalantly, but her voice was as cold as ice.

Zhang Shutong glanced at her again, wanting to say that she was more like a mature woman now, but even to lighten the mood, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

He could understand Ruoping's feelings. She didn't feel fortunate about this change; on the contrary, she blamed herself for all the tragedies on this timeline.

“Actually, Du Kang feels the same way as you.” He popped open a beer bottle and stared at the old house in a daze. “You’ve both taken the blame upon yourselves and have been blaming yourselves for so many years. You’re almost driven to the brink of madness.”

"what do you want to say in the end?"

Ruoping, however, said impatiently:
"If you called me out today just to comfort me, I appreciate your kindness, but I don't need comfort. Tomorrow I will go up the mountain and tell Qinglian the whole story, and apologize to her. If you have something to say to her, say it now, and I'll pass it on to her."

"Oh, so you're also trying to tell me you forgive Du Kang? It's not what you think about us. I don't know what he said unilaterally, but I really never blamed him. I just don't want to bring it up, but we'll definitely talk about it whenever we meet, so I've chosen not to meet at all. Can you understand?"

"understand."

"That's settled then..."

"I mean I understand you."

"Didn't I already say that!" Ruoping raised her eyebrows upon hearing this, then helplessly relaxed them. "Only I know what I think about this matter. I don't need understanding or comfort. If Zhang Shutong wants to scold me, then I'm welcome to, is that alright?"

She paused:

“I know I’m not calm right now, and I’m in a bad mood. I’m sorry, but I really can’t control myself. I know you mean well, but right now, I really don’t want to talk about it. Over the years, I’ve tried to comfort myself with reasons, like what’s done is done, and there’s no use in regretting it. Or that Du Kang took the fox, which I originally intended to give to Qing Lian. Or that maybe the fox will be useful someday. I’ve thought about all of these things, but just because I’ve thought about them doesn’t mean I can convince myself…”

Her emotions surged like a burst dam; though she said she didn't want to talk about it, once she opened the floodgates, she grew increasingly agitated, until finally she exhausted all her strength and roared:
"But in the end, I got up, but Lu Qinglian could no longer hear me. This is an obstacle that I can never overcome for me!"

"Are you finished?"

Zhang Shutong asked softly.

She nodded dejectedly.

Then, to Ruoping's incredulous gaze, Zhang Shutong pulled out something:

"Actually, this is what you really don't want to say, isn't it?"

The thing glittered in the moonlight.

Zhang Shutong handed a gold coin chocolate to Ruoping.

(End of this chapter)