Chapter 297 - 129: That Four-Leaf Clover Pendant Never Falls (Part 2)

Chapter 297: Chapter 129: That Four-Leaf Clover Pendant Never Falls (Part 2)

Zhang Shutong then realized why everyone had been acting so strangely toward him, looking like they were holding something back.

"So, what was the result?"

"The result is, the only security camera that might have caught the incident suddenly broke. On top of that, no trace of a second person was found at the scene. In a way, we have the avalanche to thank—it covered up a lot. So, it’s still inconclusive. Actually, the police wanted to question you a while ago, but your parents stopped them."

Qingyi continued,

"But overall, this is the version of events everyone has pieced together: there’s definitely a suspect who means the Gu family harm. This person cased the area near the villa, leaving footprints on Ring Mountain Road. Then, in the early hours of this morning, you ran into this suspect on their way to the villa. Something happened along the way—maybe you tried to stop them, or maybe they tried to silence you. A struggle broke out? Then you rode your motorcycle to the villa to warn them, but as luck would have it, an avalanche hit. You were buried. By the time the suspect got there, they probably figured you were dead and just left."

Zhang Shutong fell silent upon hearing this.

"Don’t feel so pressured. I didn’t come here to interrogate you, though I admit I’m pretty curious," Qingyi said reassuringly.

"I know."

"Want a tangerine? Oh, right, your arm’s broken. Need me to feed you? The thing I really can’t figure out is the motorcycle’s rearview mirror. The angle it was bent at... there’s no way that happened from the bike just falling over. That’s why I was exaggerating earlier, saying it looked like someone punched it askew." Qingyi shook his head with a small laugh. "But how could..."

"It’s true."

Qingyi froze.

Zhang Shutong said softly,

"Your guesses were basically right. There really is a being beyond imagination. Incredibly strong and fast. But I don’t know who she is."

"I would have said I don’t believe you, but I’ve seen what Lu Qinglian did to that poacher... how she kicked him into the air..." Qingyi muttered. "Are you saying there’s someone else like her out there? What happened then?"

"I couldn’t beat her. I tried to ride up Ring Mountain Road to get help from the bodyguards, but I accidentally triggered the avalanche."

"And you were only saved because Lu Qinglian happened to find you?"

"You could put it that way."

"You’ve got some incredible luck," Qingyi said, amazed. "Can you tell me one more thing? How were you so sure she would make her move in the early morning? I remember you were in a huge hurry when you took off on your bike."

"Song told me."

"Song?"

"Song told me to stop by his dorm. He said he had something for me." Zhang Shutong reached for the tangerine with his good hand, but it was just out of reach.

"What was it?"

"Photos. Several of them, showing that woman on the security camera. And the timestamp was always in the early morning."

’This explanation is brilliant,’ Zhang Shutong suddenly thought. ’I’ll just let my dear teacher be the scapegoat again. He’s a man of mystery, after all; what’s one more secret?’

"A woman who shows up on camera, always in the early morning? Sounds like something out of an urban legend. Are you serious?"

Qingyi had forgotten all about the tangerine. Zhang Shutong seized the opportunity to snatch it. He mumbled while chewing,

"Maybe she’s the person Lu Qinglian is looking for. Song seemed to be looking for her too, though I don’t know why. The car accident this afternoon might have been related to her, which made him connect the dots. That’s why he had Du Kang call and tell me to get Gu Qiuyan out of there first, then come to his dorm."

"So Song has a lot of secrets, huh? You don’t think his driving all over the place these past few years was for some other purpose, do you?"

Zhang Shutong grunted in agreement.

"That’s not the main point. The point is, I need to warn you—and Du Kang and Ruoping, too—that there are things on this island that don’t follow the rules of common sense. You need to be careful."

...

Eventually, Qingyi left too.

It was rare to see a shocked expression on his face, but this time, he was clearly stunned as he walked away.

Zhang Shutong began to eat his first meal of the day.

Shredded pork with green peppers over rice.

He bit into the limp strips of green pepper, wolfing down the food.

His fever had broken. His left arm was fractured, but the rest of his injuries were just soft tissue damage and a lot of bruises. The anesthetic hadn’t worn off yet, but he figured he’d be in too much pain to sleep by nighttime.

Zhang Shutong was already resigned to this miserable fate.

While he still felt up to it, he wanted to walk around a bit. He forced himself out of bed. He was staying in the observation room now. Realizing this, he was at a loss for words. ’I could do without this kind of fateful connection.’

He went out into the hallway. The observation room was at the very end, so there weren’t many people around. His parents had stepped out for a bit, off to do who-knows-what, leaving him alone. Zhang Shutong leaned on the windowsill and looked outside. The snow had mostly melted.

Behind the hospital stood an old, red-brick building. Perhaps the owner had neglected its upkeep, or perhaps it was long abandoned. It was overgrown with weeds, and withered ivy clung to the walls. The wind had torn away half of the massive curtain of leaves, which now seemed on the verge of collapse. It was a desolate sight.

’I called the last rewind the ’Cold-Blooded Line’. So what should I call this one?’

’I can’t think of a cool name. I’ll drop it for now.’

He finally had a moment to ponder the cause of the rewind.

’Maybe it was a near-death experience. When I was buried by the avalanche, I was on the brink of death, and that sent me straight back to eight years in the future. But then, when I was saved in the hospital and was no longer in critical condition, I naturally came back.’

’Or maybe it had something to do with that dream.’

’My self in the ’Cold-Blooded Line’ could gamble on a single possibility: that being killed by the murderer would send me back to the past. But in this timeline, that murderer no longer exists. Maybe I went looking for another way, and just vanished into thin air for a while.’