Chapter 281 - 123: One-Life Clear (Part 1)

Chapter 281: Chapter 123: One-Life Clear (Part 1)

"Yun, I saw you again today."

Zhang Shutong fell silent.

He automatically broke down the meaning of every word. The woman named "Yun" had to be Song’s girlfriend. This diary must have been written after she died—a rough guy like Song would never keep a diary otherwise. And Song said he *saw* her again... but did he actually see her, and not just dream it?

Zhang Shutong saw the date at the end of the entry.

December 16, 2008.

"Just as I thought,"

he muttered to himself.

While on an IV drip that evening, Zhang Shutong had discussed with his close friends what on earth Song could have seen that made him suddenly run off. Ruoping had said it seemed like he’d seen someone, but Zhang Shutong knew Song didn’t have any acquaintances on the island.

Only Zhang Shutong knew that it would take seeing one particular person—a dead one—to make Song lose his composure like that.

The dead, returned to life.

This terrifying theory had formed in his mind back then. But with Song still in a coma, he couldn’t draw any further conclusions.

The one thing he hadn’t expected was that Song had seen his ex-girlfriend so long ago—exactly four years ago, by his calculation. A chill ran down Zhang Shutong’s spine. ’This means it probably happened not long after her funeral.’

’Just how long has this story been buried?’

Things that were once hazy now clicked into place. He laid out a few simple deductions.

Song saw his deceased ex-girlfriend after lunch today.

Song chased after her and got into a car accident.

Song knew he was protecting Gu Qiuyan.

The first thing Song did after waking up was tell me to get Gu Qiuyan from the villa and make sure she was safe.

Then who is the killer?

Is it connected to Gu Qiuyan’s murder?

Perhaps the answer was obvious.

The real clues really were hidden in this little room.

Zhang Shutong rapidly flipped to the next page of the notebook.

He urgently needed to confirm whether the woman Song had seen was actually his ex-girlfriend.

After all, there was a precedent: he himself had seen a "fake Lu Qinglian" near the restricted area.

A photo was pasted onto the second page of the diary. It was yellowed and very blurry. As he examined it closely, he realized it had been taken secretly—the car’s steering wheel was visible at the edge of the frame. It must have been taken from inside a car.

The photo showed the short-haired woman standing in a weed-choked, barren field. The date was January 1, 2009.

"Is that you?"

It was Song’s inscription.

The third page.

Again, there was a photo, but this one only showed a woman from behind. She also had short hair.

But he could clearly see that this woman was dressed differently from the one in the previous photo. Zhang Shutong didn’t have time to analyze differences in their height or build, especially since it seemed Song himself couldn’t tell, which was why the rest of the page was blank.

The entry was dated January 3rd.

The fourth page:

"I saw you again, but just like before, you suddenly ran off."

There wasn’t even a photo on this page. She must have vanished too quickly for him to take one.

The fifth page:

"I went to the police. I feel like I’m going crazy from the torment. Is that person really you? I wish so much that it was. But I watched them bury your body with my own eyes... I hope everything works out."

January 4, 2009.

The sixth page:

"The results of the search are in. The police say I’m just hallucinating out of grief. I thought about telling your parents, but they still won’t see me. It’s all my fault. I should have taken you home that night."

January 11, 2009.

Zhang Shutong froze. He suddenly recalled their visit to the police station, how Song was an old acquaintance of an officer surnamed Wang. Song had said, "Sorry to trouble you about that matter from back then," and the officer had replied, "Don’t take it so hard. You have to learn to let go..." Zhang Shutong hadn’t understood what they were talking about then, but now he did.

’So Song really did file a police report to find his deceased ex-girlfriend.’

The next page:

"I’ve made up my mind. I’m quitting my job in the city and settling down on this island. My parents don’t really understand, and the principal had a talk with me, trying to convince me to move on. But they could never know what I saw. Of course, even if they did see it, they wouldn’t believe it. Heh, who would believe that I saw someone who’s already dead?"

February 1, 2009.

On the following page:

"I’ve already handed over my work. This is where you grew up. You told me you loved walking by the lake, and that there was a Temple on the mountain. I haven’t had a chance to visit it yet. I’ve just been driving around these past few days, looking for you."

February 3rd.

Zhang Shutong flipped another page and was finally met with a new discovery. A yellowed photo was pasted onto the equally yellowed paper. It showed the profile of a short-haired woman, and upon closer inspection, he determined it had been taken in the urban part of the island.

"My decision was the right one. Even though I didn’t catch up to you this time, I will get to the bottom of this one day. You’re still alive, waiting for me to find you, right?"

February 10th.

"Day off today. I drove around the island five times."

February 15th.

"It’s like you’ve suddenly disappeared, Yun."

February 20th.

"I’ve memorized every road on this island."

February 25th.

"You’ve completely disappeared from my life."

March 1st.

"Maybe it really was a hallucination."

March 5th.

"But I don’t believe it."

March 10th.

Zhang Shutong flipped through the pages, faster and faster, until he came across a new photograph.

The photo was indistinct. He squinted at it, only to realize that the blurriness wasn’t from the environment—it was the subject itself that was out of focus.