Winter Returns

Chapter 192 "Weaver Girl" Storyline (Part 2) (Bonus Chapter, Please Vote!)

"and then?"

"Then he shone a flashlight into the reeds. I didn't know what he was going to do, so I hid there and didn't dare to breathe. After a while, when he got back to the car, I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but then you guys came. You scared me to death..."

"What did that person look like? And what about the car? What kind of car was it?" Zhang Shutong asked urgently.

Ruoping was startled by him, and her voice became even softer:
"I couldn't see clearly, the flashlight was shining so brightly I couldn't open my eyes..."

Zhang Shutong frowned upon hearing this.

He turned off the motorcycle's headlights, and the boundless darkness seemed to swallow him whole. He clenched his fists and then released them, his knuckles turning white.

In the end, we were still a step too late.

Or perhaps, this "past" was frozen the moment he returned, and the only thing that can be changed is the future.

"Let's go first."

Zhang Shutong softened his tone.

This was definitely not the place to talk. He glanced at Ruoping's pale face, still showing signs of lingering fear. The fox statue and the unknown man—only then did Zhang Shutong truly realize what this night meant for her.

Zhang Shutong vaguely guessed that, in the timeline before Du Kang changed things, even if he and Lu Qinglian hadn't come here, Ruoping was still prepared to hand over the statue to him.

Otherwise, how would the people on that line know about the Sad Fox?
But it was too late.

They were just one step too late and plunged into the abyss.

Zhang Shutong always knew Ruoping was filled with remorse, but she herself hadn't experienced those five years. It wasn't like that for Ruoping; she was fifteen that year, and the accident happened just before Christmas. She was a lively girl, perhaps even preparing gifts. The seeds of regret took root and sprouted in her heart, tormenting her into that state.

Just then, the phone rang, and Du Kang's voice came through immediately:
"What happened to Ruoping? We're riding towards where you said, we'll be there soon..."

He was panting heavily, clearly in a great hurry.

"It's alright, the person has been found." Zhang Shutong was silent for a while, then suddenly didn't know what to say. "No need to rush, I'll tell you a place, let's meet there in a bit."

The meeting place wasn't far from here, except there was a street lamp overhead.

Under the dim light, Zhang Shutong parked his bike. Not long ago, he had written down that children's song on his phone and sent it to Lu Qinglian. At this moment, she was silently staring at the lyrics.

Zhang Shutong and Ruoping found a quiet place and watched her take off her helmet, complaining:

"I already told you my down jacket has a hood, you can wear it yourself..."

Zhang Shutong rubbed his stiff face:
"got used to."

Her emotions had calmed down considerably, and she was now secretly watching his expression, lost in thought.

"Do not be afraid."

"Who's afraid?" Ruoping's face immediately flushed with embarrassment. "Qinglian is standing right here. I'm not afraid at all. Why are you being so gentle today? Are you up to no good?"

"I made you cry, so I've come to apologize."

"I'm not blaming you and Qingyi, you're just scaring yourselves..."

Zhang Shutong handed her the phone and asked Ruoping to call her family first. The two of them sat down on the lakeside.

She carefully patted the ground before sitting down, afraid of getting her clothes dirty.

"Hey, you'd better keep a close eye on that fox, it's something very important." Ruoping suddenly changed to a very serious tone.

“…I know.” Zhang Shutong paused for a moment, then smiled. “Of course it’s something very important.”

"I'm not kidding you!"

"I'm not kidding you either."

After a while, she whispered, "I have something to tell you. I'll tell you now, so you won't be angry with me."

"Ah."

"Have you ever heard of those statues of gods that allow you to make wishes? Folklore... no, let me think... in some places there are legends of fox spirits and weasel spirits, have you heard of that?"

"Oh."

"That fox can change the past."

"Really?" Zhang Shutong feigned surprise.

"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you for no reason! I..." Her voice lowered, "Actually, I was just lying to you all."

"Have it?"

“Yes, it was the time you asked me about Gu Qiu Mian. Do you remember? I asked if there were really foxes on Qinglian Mountain because I found that statue.” She hugged her knees and said softly, “But what I’m telling you now isn’t a legend. You might not believe it, but what I’m saying is true.”

After saying that, Ruoping turned her head, her big eyes blinking.

“I believe you.” Zhang Shutong plucked a blade of grass from the ground and put it in his mouth.

"Really?" Now it was her turn to be surprised.

“There are snakes on the mountain, so what’s so strange about a fox suddenly appearing? Besides, if we’re talking about paranormal events…” Zhang Shutong thought for a moment, “I’ve already told you about Teacher Song’s situation.”

"It's boring." She pouted as she said this, but seemed to be relieved.

"Is this what you're planning?" Zhang Shutong asked. "If I don't believe you, we'll stop here. If you do believe me, then we can continue with what's next?"

"Nothing's wrong..."

"chocolate."

Before her gaze turned panicked, Zhang Shutong pointed to his head:

"I still remember."

"you……"

“A smiling fox told me.” Zhang Shutong pulled a sculpture out of his pocket. “This one not only told me about the chocolate, but also that you would be in danger. Guess how we found this place?”

Ruoping's voice trembled slightly:

"You knew all along? I used it to change the past?"

"I don't know, I'm just guessing." Zhang Shutong shrugged. "You said yourself that the fox could change the past, so you must have tried it yourself. Don't wrong an innocent person."

“I did try it,” she stammered, “and I tried it a long time ago, during the time you were hospitalized, but I didn’t tell anyone… I didn’t think it was a bad thing… and I didn’t know what would happen if I told anyone… so I just kept it a secret.”

"Don't stay silent!" Ruoping suddenly nudged him, deliberately raising her voice to cover her panic. "Just say what you want to say. It's my fault, I'm scheming, okay? I've already told you, I'm sorry, okay?"

"Also, if you want to tell Gu Qiumin, then go ahead and tell her. I'll accept whatever comes my way." She bit her lip, staring blankly ahead. "And Du Kang and Qingyi, when they arrive, please pass on the message to them for me. I don't know how to say it; it's been so long, it's hard to bring it up..."

"What kind of danger are you talking about?" After a long while, Ruoping asked dejectedly.

“The person in that car just now should be the owner of the basement we found. He’s also looking for Fox,” Zhang Shutong said solemnly, not hiding anything about this. “That person has already noticed us. From now on, you must be careful. I’m not kidding, there really could be danger.”

"I understand." Ruoping's eyes finally reddened. "Because I hid the fox statue from you, didn't I? If only I had told you sooner..."

Zhang Shutong used to jokingly call her a fiery female knight-errant and the eldest sister among them. She was sometimes like an older sister and sometimes like a younger sister, but at this moment she just looked like a little girl who had done something wrong.

“Nobody blames you. I suspect he spotted us when we went into the tunnel, otherwise how would he recognize your face?” Zhang Shutong finally said this. “Nothing will happen, I promise.”

He then asked an unrelated question:
"Let's talk about something else. Have you ever heard the saying? It means that growing up means you can't cry, you can't throw tantrums, you can't secretly miss someone, and you can't look back. You just have to move forward on your own?" Ruoping shook her head, her face now buried in her knees.

"I understand, I'm not going to cry over something like this. I just feel... I just feel like how so much trouble suddenly came up..."

As she spoke, her shoulders still trembled.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhang Shutong patted her head. "I mean, you're still a child, so you can rely on us a bit more."

He thought to himself that even when he grew up, he could still rely on someone, instead of walking forward alone in silence.

Just then, a loud shout came from afar, along with the sound of a bicycle bell. The two turned around and saw that it was Du Kang and Qing Yi who had arrived.

"Let's go." Zhang Shutong stood up.

Ruoping remained seated on the ground, instinctively shrinking back and muttering:

"You go ahead first, I'll come back later..."

But before she could finish speaking, Zhang Shutong had already covered his mouth with his hand and shouted behind him:

"Run faster! Feng Ruoping says she has something to tell you, something she's kept hidden for a very, very long time!"

"What? What?" Du Kang ran down the slope, completely bewildered.

"I knew she'd disliked me for a long time." Qingyi said worriedly. Zhang Shutong really couldn't understand how this guy's brain worked.

"Zhang Shutong, you!" Ruoping hurriedly wiped her face, glaring at him angrily.

“Some things you still have to say yourself.” Zhang Shutong looked at her. “After all, if you don’t say it now, you never know when you’ll be able to say it again. Whether you admit your mistake or cry, you can lean on any of our shoulders. There are three of us. Oh, and if you want to lean on Lu Qinglian, I can ask her for you.”

“Who’s using your shoulders? Your clothes are filthy…” she laughed, her voice trembling with a nasal tone.

The girl named Feng Ruoping had always been like this; she couldn't hide anything in her heart, and her joys and sorrows were always written on her face. One second she was about to cry, and the next second if you whispered a joke in her ear, she would burst out laughing, but tears were still welling up in her eyes; she was a personality that couldn't decide whether to cry or laugh.

“But,” Zhang Shutong said seriously, “after you’ve finished crying, you’re not allowed to blame yourself anymore.”

This sentence made Ruoping pause for a moment.

Zhang Shutong had already turned around and waved to his two best friends.

This is Sunday night, December 16th.

A few stars can be seen in the night sky tonight, their light faint. The day is about to end, but Zhang Shutong really doesn't know what to name this timeline.

It could be called the torment line, the severance line, the concealment line, etc., but although he has a good memory, he doesn't want to remember everything.

He decided to be romantic and named the first star he saw after something like the Big Dipper, Sirius, or Orion – all very cool names.

But after looking at it twice, he discovered that the first star was called Bear.

There are already enough animals, well, this one doesn't count.

In the end, Zhang Shutong simply looked up at the night sky. He stood quietly on the ground, suddenly looking forward to the arrival of summer.

Ruoping's mother still drove over, leaving the two bicycles in the trunk, and took the three of them home.

Zhang Shutong rode his motorcycle slowly through the night.

The two helmeted men walked in silence through the cold wind.

“Lu Qinglian,” Zhang Shutong said after a long pause.

"What?" Lu Qinglian also looked up at the stars in the sky.

"fine."

Lu Qinglian ignored him and continued to tilt her chin up.

After a while.

"Lu Qinglian?"

"Do you think I have hearing problems?" Her tone turned cold.

"It's alright as long as it's alright."

“Zhang Shutong, you’d better ride faster.” Lu Qinglian had said she had something to do back at the temple earlier, otherwise Zhang Shutong would have liked to talk to his best friends a little more. Now she sighed, “You should have some self-awareness. Also, let me know as soon as you have a dream in the future.”

"I already told you I'm not dreaming," he said helplessly.

"Whatever," she said indifferently.

When I got home, it was already past nine o'clock at night.

His mother was surprised that he was back so early. Zhang Shutong was really tired. He yawned as he finished washing up and ran to the kitchen in his slippers.
"Mom, do we have any ice cream left?"

"Yes, the bottom layer." Mom decided to add one.

The mother and son each held a small piece of pudding and went out onto the balcony. The mother asked him how things had progressed, and Zhang Shutong only told her the legend of the fox. He then asked his mother if she had ever heard of anything similar, but his mother sighed:

"You're hopeless, Tongtong."

"Where did you dig out the fox?" Zhang Shutong suddenly remembered to ask.

"The old cemetery to the north, but it has been moved now."

Zhang Shutong nodded.

He hadn't talked to his mother in a long time. Since she was home, Zhang Shutong fought off his sleepiness and stood with her for a while. His mother was actually looking at the stars. She was a geologist, but that didn't mean she couldn't do some astronomy.

At that moment, the stars in the sky were obscured by a thin mist, and after waiting for a while, there was no sign of it dissipating. Zhang Shutong finally couldn't hold on any longer. He said goodnight and was about to go back to his bedroom.

"Look, Vega." Mom suddenly pointed a finger, slightly tiptoed, as if recalling some interesting memory.

Zhang Shutong subconsciously turned around. Perhaps the wind had picked up outside, the thin mist had dissipated, and the bright starry sky was once again before his eyes.

"Weaver Girl..."

He muttered to himself, and as he turned around, his gaze fell upon a corner where a cardboard box lay quietly on the shelf.

Zhang Shutong returned to his room and lay quietly on the bed. Only when he was alone could he hide the heaviness in his heart.

Christmas is December 25th. Since Ruoping and Dukang both said it was Christmas Eve, it probably wasn't Christmas Day either. Today is December 16th, which means that, even from the most optimistic perspective, the basement man won't make his move for more than a week.

He only has one week left, but now, besides knowing that the other party has a car, the only clue he has is a photo of them together.

There's also the MP3 player. He doesn't plan to go back to the tunnel before dealing with that man, so the fox statues need to be hidden somewhere else. He only has two now, so what will happen if he finds all five foxes? It feels very important, so he also needs to find clues about the other three.

Finally, there's Lu Qinglian's deafness and confinement. He doesn't know the exact timing of these events, but he wants to take preventative measures.

Ruoping's crisis was imminent. Zhang Shutong thought it over and over. He had to act as her bodyguard for the next week. But someone who could recycle clay figures... his strength was far from enough. Even with Lu Qinglian's help, there was no guarantee of success.

But who can I turn to?

Ideally, there should be some military force and enough manpower...

In the darkened room, in the last moments before falling asleep, he swiped through his phone, his eyes still blurry with sleep, his gaze finally settling on an ID.

"The autumn rain is continuous."

(End of this chapter)