Chapter 298 - 129: That Four-Leaf Clover Pendant Will Never Fall (Middle)

Chapter 298: Chapter 129: That Four-Leaf Clover Pendant Will Never Fall (Middle)

"Now you’ve paid a price and discovered other uses for ’it’."

Those words resurfaced in his mind.

The sky had grown dark, but the fluorescent light overhead was bright. He saw his own face reflected in the window glass. ’What have you been running for these past eight years?’

Zhang Shutong muttered to himself.

There was no way to trace it back now.

He shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it. Things that couldn’t be proven weren’t worth the mental energy. Better to just leave it as a speculation tucked away in his mind.

The island truly was a small place, and small meant you were bound to run into all sorts of acquaintances. Zhang Shutong turned around, and for two seconds, his eyes met those of a young nurse who had come to do her rounds.

She shouted:

"Are you trying to run away again?"

Zhang Shutong quickly denied it. "I just came out for some fresh air."

"Really?" she said doubtfully. "I feel like I should file a request with the director to have you strapped to the bed."

One moment she was looking furious, but the next, she broke into a smile.

"Just kidding. I heard you did something incredible. You’re practically a minor celebrity in our hospital now. Was it for some heroic deed?"

"A celebrity? That’s an exaggeration."

"It’s not an exaggeration at all! This morning, the administrators from your school came, and so did the police. Oh, right, and it looked like some big boss came too. I’m guessing he was a big boss, anyway. I saw a bunch of luxury cars parked at the entrance, and this one guy got out surrounded by a whole crowd of people. That big boss came to your room and stayed for a bit, but you were asleep the whole time. He said a few words to your parents and left."

"Really?" Zhang Shutong was taken aback.

"Don’t tell me you didn’t know?" The nurse was even more surprised.

"I really didn’t know."

No one had told Zhang Shutong about all the commotion today. School administrators and the police weren’t that surprising, but he never expected Father Gu to come too.

They’d had quite a few indirect interactions, but the two of them had never actually met. Zhang Shutong didn’t even know what the man looked like.

Of course, he wasn’t disappointed about not meeting this legendary big boss. On the contrary, meeting him would have been a real headache.

"The girl you brought in came by, too," the nurse added.

"I did know that. I saw her around noon, but I fell asleep before we had a chance to talk."

"Not at noon. Now."

The nurse pointed.

Zhang Shutong turned his head. At the other end of the hallway, he saw Gu Qiuyan.

...

Gu Qiuyan was wearing a black dress.

"I’m transferring schools."

She said calmly.

As she spoke, Gu Qiuyan walked over to his side. The hospital’s air conditioning was on, so it wasn’t cold. She wore only a wool cardigan over her dress. The pendant was still tied to the ends of her hair, glittering in the light from the window.

Zhang Shutong’s attention, however, was still fixed on what she had just said.

He never expected those to be the first words out of her mouth.

He was even more surprised by how sudden it was. ’Wasn’t she supposed to transfer next semester?’

"Oh..." he nodded instinctively. "Where to? The provincial capital?"

"Yes. The school has already been arranged."

"So it’s set for you to transfer next semester?"

"Not next semester. Next week."

"So soon?" Zhang Shutong said in surprise.

Gu Qiuyan nodded. She leaned against the windowsill beside him, propping her cheek on one hand. Her expression was unreadable. As they both gazed out at the ivy covering the wall, the young woman’s soft voice drifted to him:

"Father thinks it isn’t safe to stay on the island, so he wants me to transfer."

Zhang Shutong was caught completely off guard.

’Which butterfly flapped its wings this time?’

’The only thing I did differently was send Gu Qiuyan home before dawn.’

’So why did her transfer get moved up instead?’

"I know what you went to do last night," Gu Qiuyan said. "You’re the one who stopped the person who left those footprints, aren’t you?"

"More or less," Zhang Shutong said hesitantly.

"But you still didn’t tell me."

"Because..."

"You could have just woken me up. I could have called my father and let the bodyguards handle it. But you still went off on your own and took that risk."

"I’m sorry."

"I don’t want your apology." Gu Qiuyan turned away from him. "I just came to the hospital to say goodbye. I’ve told you before to stop hiding things from me. I don’t want to see you running around outside with a fever, and I don’t want to see you facing dangerous people all by yourself. But you won’t listen, and I’m tired of repeating myself."

Zhang Shutong thought he understood her meaning. ’If she doesn’t want to be troubled like this, then it’s better to just move away. That way, there won’t be any trouble at all—we won’t even see each other anymore.’

’What a great way to solve everything once and for all.’

Zhang Shutong opened his mouth to speak, but just then, a fierce gust of wind blew past outside, finally tearing the ivy from the wall. In the corner of his eye, the wall of leaves collapsed. He found he had nothing left to say.

Their eyes met, and Gu Qiuyan looked earnestly into his.

"Even though you stopped that man, my father thinks that as long as he isn’t caught, the danger isn’t gone. He’s still determined to have me move away. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"To be honest, I don’t want to leave. But my father is adamant. I have to go... unless I can find a reason to convince him."

"I..."

She trailed off, her gaze falling.

"But I know it’s impossible to find a reason. The man just vanished. He wasn’t caught on any of the surveillance cameras, and the police say they have no leads to even start a search. Who knows if he’ll come back? So... there’s nothing I can do."

"Actually, that person has already been caught," Zhang Shutong blurted out instinctively.

After saying it, he felt a wave of relief, which was immediately followed by regret.

He thought, ’Now I’m in for it. I could have just played dumb—said the attacker got away, that I didn’t get a clear look at his face. I could have been vague about what happened that night. It would have just become another unsolved case, kind of like that shipwreck years ago. It might have seemed a little strange, but eventually, people would have moved on and stopped caring about the truth.’