Chapter 272 - 119: 2012, Creating the Future

Chapter 272: Chapter 119: 2012, Creating the Future

Fortunately, his prayers were answered. The Doberman looked at him, then sat down and became still.

Zhang Shutong didn’t understand what it meant. Was it letting him go, or not?

He’d been bitten by a dog as a child, so he tentatively extended a hand and waved it in front of the Doberman’s eyes. The Doberman’s tail wagged in response. As expected of a dog Father Gu had specifically brought to the island, it was quite perceptive.

Zhang Shutong patted its head. ’Be good,’ he thought. ’I’m not a bad guy. Since I said I’d rescue your young miss, I definitely will.’

The Doberman tilted its head, as if to ask, ’Really?’

’Of course it is.’

Zhang Shutong wouldn’t have minded reciting one of Song’s sayings for it, if it could understand.

Then it occurred to him that the dog was just hesitant about the scent on him.

He simply held out his arm. He had worn that down jacket for so long that Gu Qiuyan’s scent had rubbed off on him.

The Doberman understood his meaning. It came closer, sniffed him, and then moved aside.

Zhang Shutong came out from behind the tree as well, backing away slowly.

The old dog gave him one last look, then turned and walked away, its four paws ambling leisurely. The crazy thing was, he could somehow read a sense of relief from the dog, as if it had finally found someone to take over its duties.

Man and dog bid each other a harmonious farewell in the darkness.

But suddenly, Zhang Shutong didn’t find it funny at all.

What he was about to do wasn’t just playing house. He couldn’t just tell a dog he was taking its young miss away and then simply leave without consequence.

There were bodyguards in the villa, and her father. Besides him, plenty of other people were protecting her.

Zhang Shutong had once said that the hardest part was making the decision, because every decision meant shouldering the corresponding responsibility. Back then, Lu Qinglian had asked why he had to be the one to bear that responsibility. He hadn’t really been able to answer, only managing to say that a person shouldn’t be arrogant.

But now, Zhang Shutong understood.

If a girl trusts you one hundred percent—no, one thousand, ten thousand percent—and is willing to follow you into a snowy night without a second thought, no matter what the world outside is like, how could you even talk about protecting her life if you didn’t dare to bear even that much responsibility?

Du Kang had once joked that a beauty’s favor is a heavy burden. In truth, this trust was even heavier.

Before, he had never seriously considered the value of this trust. He’d only thought Gu Qiuyan was easy to trick and coax. But the truth was, she wasn’t easy to fool at all.

Zhang Shutong quietly moved to the spot below the balcony. He had just taken out his phone to contact Gu Qiuyan when her figure appeared in the darkness.

It turned out she had been watching the movements below the entire time.

Zhang Shutong looked up under the moonlight.

It seemed Gu Qiuyan also knew how cold the night was, as she was wrapped from head to toe in thick clothes. This was no time for vanity; she had bundled herself up like a little ball.

But this was in stark contrast to the thin slippers on her feet. They were the kind that left the heels exposed. On a night like this, just standing outside would be enough to freeze you, let alone riding a motorcycle later.

But Zhang Shutong knew it was because all her shoes were downstairs. If she went back to get them, she would surely give herself away.

So Zhang Shutong watched the girl in slippers. He watched as she clumsily climbed over the balcony railing, likely for the first time in her life. The surroundings were quiet, and the only sound was her short, hurried breaths.

Zhang Shutong nodded at Gu Qiuyan and opened his arms.

Neither of them dared to speak loudly, communicating only with their eyes.

Zhang Shutong met her beautiful, spirited eyes again. Her gaze was complex—a mix of anger, decisiveness, and even a film of mist—but there was absolutely no hesitation.

But as Gu Qiuyan squeezed her eyes shut, her thick lashes overlapping, Zhang Shutong still couldn’t guess the emotions held within those eyes.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

In a daze, he suddenly felt the scene was familiar. He tried hard to remember, and it came to him: a rainy Friday night in the past. He had been standing below the balcony on the phone, trying to clear Song’s name. It was cold outside, and a girl in a nightgown had leaned out and chided him:

"You idiot, aren’t you cold?"

These were memories already buried in the long river of time.

He thought with some regret.

’But so what?’

He thought he finally understood what those eyes held.

So what if there was no past? So what if he was completely forgotten? As long as there was courage, there were still many new futures to create.

「The next moment.」

With a small gasp.

The girl named Gu Qiuyan fell from the sky and into his arms.

The moonlight was their witness.

Zhang Shutong held Gu Qiuyan tightly.