Chapter 214 - 92: Emotionally Slow

Chapter 214: Chapter 92: Emotionally Slow

"Where to next?"

Mom let out a lazy yawn.

"Should we go there first?" Zhang Shutong didn’t answer right away, asking the person behind him instead.

"Let’s go there first." Lu Qinglian nodded.

The "there" they were both talking about was the restricted area. As they had agreed on the way down the mountain, they planned to investigate it one more time. Although he couldn’t see anything unusual himself, Lu Qinglian might be able to spot something.

"You two seem to be on better terms again." Mom tilted her head, looking puzzled.

’As if,’ Zhang Shutong thought to himself.

’A relationship built on getting kicked?’

’And it just so happens she sprained her ankle.’

Zhang Shutong was willing to call it a "friendship forged by a kick."

He ignored his mom’s teasing and described the location of the restricted area in detail.

"What are you going there for?"

"...To hang out."

"You’re really treating your mom like a chauffeur. What about you, Xiaolu?"

"I was the one who wanted to go take a look. Sorry to trouble you."

Lu Qinglian’s soft voice came from behind him.

Zhang Shutong glanced at her. She wore a half-smile, that playful look of hers again. Of course, according to her, it was a smile of interest. He knew what she meant—she was mocking him for telling another lie.

Of course, she had also helped him cover up that lie.

Mom sighed.

Zhang Shutong sighed inwardly.

He was sure that if he were the only one in the car right now, his dear mother would have impatiently thrown him out on the side of the road already.

They drove to the restricted area. This was the difference between men and women. Song had asked if he should get out with them, but Mom just said, "You two go on your own, don’t call me." After saying that, she reclined her seat, cranked up the A/C, and slowly lay back.

"Don’t take too long."

"Okay..."

Zhang Shutong pushed open the car door and subconsciously glanced around. There wasn’t a soul in sight. He could almost still see the tire tracks from last night.

A light mist shrouded the body of water, blanketing everything in white. The sky was high and the surroundings vast. Reeds swayed gently in the wind.

This time, he walked a little slower because of Lu Qinglian’s injured foot.

Zhang Shutong took the lead, pushing aside the reeds as he walked. He reminded her, "Watch your step, there’s fishing line."

"Why is there fishing line?"

"Uh... probably some idiot fisherman tied it there."

Zhang Shutong gave a perfunctory reply and pointed toward the shore.

"She was right there, squatting by the lake. Her posture... how should I put it? It was like she had both hands on the ground, too. Have you ever seen *Kung Fu Hustle*?"

He had wanted to use the Toad Style from the movie as an example, but Lu Qinglian just shook her head.

"I think I understand. Continue."

"Then, when my flashlight beam hit her face, she turned her head. Right, her hair was down at the time, not like how you have it now."

The girl’s hair was currently tied up in a high ponytail.

"She only ran after she saw you get closer?"

"Yes."

"But we made a lot of noise on our way here," Lu Qinglian frowned.

"I thought that was weird, too. At the time, I thought it was you. I figured you recognized me and were doing something shady, or something you absolutely couldn’t let me see, and that’s why you suddenly ran..."

"How fast?"

"Like, in the blink of an eye."

"You should be glad she ran. Judging by that speed," Lu Qinglian paused to think, "if she had decided to attack you, you wouldn’t have been able to escape."

"True." Now that she mentioned it, Zhang Shutong felt a pang of lingering fear. "Can you see anything?"

"I can’t," Lu Qinglian said thoughtfully. "But I’ve come up with two possibilities for now."

"First, she clearly heard a sound but waited until she saw your face to run. That’s highly unusual. Your theory is that she had a reason she couldn’t be seen specifically by ’you,’ but that premise requires her to have known ’you’ beforehand."

"She knows me?" Zhang Shutong frowned. "Let me confirm this one more time, just in case. Since the start of junior high, the ’Lu Qinglian’ I’ve always known has been the one standing in front of me, right?"

"Correct."

"Then what’s the second possibility?"

"It’s simple. She has a hearing problem but is sensitive to light." Lu Qinglian’s thinking was very clear. "You came by car. I paid attention to the sound of your family’s car just now; the engine is quite loud, yet she didn’t notice. But when you shone the flashlight, she immediately turned her head."

"If you put it that way, that’s actually very possible," Zhang Shutong muttered. He stared at Lu Qinglian for a long moment before he couldn’t help but ask, "Are you sure that person really wasn’t you?"

"I’ve already told you, I was never here last night," Lu Qinglian said calmly. "If you’re still suspicious, then our partnership can end here."

"I mean, could it be that you don’t remember it yourself? Like sleepwalking or something?"

"No. I was wide awake all of last night."

’It seems they really aren’t the same person, but two people who look identical.’

He then recalled that last Saturday, on his way home, he had run into Lu Qinglian. They had exchanged a few words. That Lu Qinglian must have been the real one. At the time, she was heading south, in the direction of the villa.

’So, she did go to the villa after all.’

Zhang Shutong recalled a previous conversation.

The frozen snakes were a means of "relaying a message."

In other words, on Saturday night, she might have discovered something was wrong at the villa through the snakes and rushed over.

’But in the end, she still couldn’t prevent Gu Qiuyan from being killed?’

’But this time it snowed so heavily that even the snakes were useless.’

The two of them walked around the shore for a bit longer, trying to find her footprints, but she had run straight into the reeds, so there was nothing to be found.

"Let’s go back," Zhang Shutong said, his head aching. "There’s no point in staying here any longer."

"Okay. Where to next?"

"How about we go take a look at the villa?"

"Alright."

Zhang Shutong again walked in front. He noticed Lu Qinglian’s foot was indeed in bad shape. She had to occasionally use the reeds on either side for support, as if they were crutches.

"How’s your foot?"

"It’s fine."

Zhang Shutong wasn’t quite sure what "it’s fine" meant.

Putting himself in her shoes, if he were to say "it’s fine," it would mean it hurt quite a bit. If it were truly "fine," he would have said "it’s nothing."

"By the way, are you cold in those clothes?"

Zhang Shutong noticed her face, which had just regained some color, had turned pale again.

Previously, Zhang Shutong thought she wasn’t afraid of the cold. Now he realized she seemed to just be resistant to it, or perhaps slow to register her own discomfort?

She seemed like the type of person who would ignore her own physical sensations once she got serious about something.

"A little, but I can bear it."

"I thought you weren’t cold."

"Why do you always say such useless things?" Lu Qinglian sighed.

Zhang Shutong was at a loss for words.

Back in the car, Mom was applying lipstick in the vanity mirror.

"So where to next, you two kids?"

Zhang Shutong was used to this. His mom was vain like that. He just asked:

"Are the buses still running today?" Zhang Shutong asked.

"Should be."

"Then just drop us off at the bus stop."

There was only one bus route on the island, and it went near the villa. While it didn’t go all the way to Ring Mountain Road, cars couldn’t get up there today anyway, so it didn’t matter if the stop was a little farther or closer.

"Finally feeling sorry for your old mom?" She suddenly seemed quite happy for some reason.

So she didn’t ask what they were going to do, just said "Alright" and started the car.

When outsiders were present, his mom never asked why he was doing something, always letting him save face.

But then Zhang Shutong remembered Lu Qinglian’s injured foot. Making her travel all that way without a break seemed pretty heartless. Although if he asked her if she could handle it, she’d most likely just reply with "it’s fine" again.

So Zhang Shutong changed his mind.

"Actually, let’s just go home first."

He glanced at Lu Qinglian and saw she had no reaction, just kept her face turned toward the window.

"Why’d you change your mind again? Hurry up and tell me where to go, I’m in a rush."

"Home."

"You really don’t need me to take you anywhere else?"

"Nope."

"Then how about a bet? What happens if you call me again today?" Mom said playfully. She had a beautiful pair of phoenix eyes, and when she squinted them, the corners tilted up slightly. That look always meant trouble.

"No thanks." Zhang Shutong wasn’t taking the bait.

"Right, what about those friends of yours? Didn’t you say you were going to the mountain to hang out with them?"

"Oh, them? They already went back in their family’s car."

Zhang Shutong answered with a half-truth.

Hanging out with his buddies was the lie.

But they had indeed come over in a car together today. Zhang Shutong hadn’t asked for details, but it was probably Ruoping’s dad who drove them.

"Then a gentleman’s promise is a promise, okay? Don’t call me. I’m really leaving the island in a bit."

"Leaving the island for what?" Zhang Shutong was taken aback. ’In the last timeline, Mom was definitely still on the island,’ he thought.

"To meet your dad, of course. A candlelight dinner. He said he’s already booked a restaurant." His parents had a great relationship, and his mom admitted it openly. "He called me not long after you two left. He said he saw it was snowing on the island and, since it’s Friday, asked if he should bring you into the city to have some fun. I told him you already had plans with other classmates, so we get to have our ’world for two’!"

"Uh..."

Zhang Shutong was still processing this information.

’No wonder she was putting on lipstick.’

’No wonder she was all smiles.’

’So Mom and Dad are going on a date.’

’And they weren’t planning on taking me.’

Although his parents were usually busy, the nature of their work was quite different. His mom worked on the island, while his dad sometimes traveled for lectures, conferences, and things like that. That’s why even though she had the day off because of the snow, only his mom had come back.

He vaguely remembered that his father had been in the city for the past few days.

"I’m jealous." Zhang Shutong was genuinely jealous.

His parents were what he would call a model couple. They had known each other since college. When his mom was young, she had a wild, life-of-the-party personality, like a little witch who loved to stir up trouble. She had countless admirers, but she had stubbornly set her heart on his dad.

And his dad truly doted on his mom. After all these years, she was still as carefree as she was in her youth, with barely any wrinkles to show for it.

And now here they were, having a candlelight dinner.

The thought that he still had to run all over the place later, with no idea what he’d even do for dinner, while those two would be dining together in a private room at some restaurant, made him feel a bit complicated.

But it couldn’t be helped. Back then, Tongtong had grown up amidst their constant public displays of affection. He remembered when he had just started high school, they had both been transferred back to the city for work. They finally had some free time, and instead of rushing back to their careers, they just drove around the country for a while.

That was right around the time Zhang Shutong had just gained his regression ability, and he’d had a great time being a lone wolf.

Influenced by the two of them, he had high standards for a significant other. When he finally met an upperclassman he liked in high school, they were fated to not be together, and he had been single for many years since.

Thinking of the past, Zhang Shutong couldn’t help but feel a little melancholy.

Seeing him silent for a long time, his mom pinched his cheek. "Feeling lonely? Why don’t you go too?"

Zhang Shutong unwillingly shook her hand off. "No thanks, I have things to do later."

"I knew it," Mom laughed again. "You and Xiaolu have fun."

The car quickly arrived back at the dormitory building.

The two of them got out.

Zhang Shutong said goodbye to his mom.

Lu Qinglian had been mostly silent the whole ride. Aside from occasionally nodding or shaking her head when his mom asked her something, she was quiet and polite. No parent could dislike a girl like that.

But Zhang Shutong knew she was putting on an act. For instance, she often acted like a ditz, and even he was almost fooled. In reality, she was a terrifying woman through and through.

"I believe I told you we’re on a tight schedule. Your habit of changing plans on a whim is getting very annoying." Sure enough, as soon as the car drove off, Lu Qinglian dropped the act. She frowned. "You’d better have a reasonable explanation for why we came to your place. And not some pointless reason."

"What plans? I just brought you here to rest for a bit. It only just occurred to me that there’s no way you can walk up Ring Mountain Road in those shoes. You need to change them, at the very least." Zhang Shutong said helplessly. "You call me suspicious, but I think you’re just as bad."

"That’s the only reason?"

"That’s the only reason." He then pointed at the stairs. "Do you need me to carry you?"

But Lu Qinglian fell silent. She just shook her head and slowly made her way up the stairs, holding onto the handrail.

"Thanks."

Lu Qinglian said softly after a moment.