This decision might have been a bit rushed and seemed to be made without thought, but sometimes, things happen so suddenly that they don't give you a chance to think it through.
When Lu Qinglian stepped into the trap, fell into the snow pit, and couldn't break free, Zhang Shutong didn't believe he wouldn't be able to get anything out of her then.
Of course, the plan was just to get some information, not to harm her.
As for what to do if Lu Qinglian was truly innocent, that wasn't something he should be thinking about right now. It wasn't about shirking responsibility. Whether it was paying compensation or getting kicked by her, those were things for later. But he couldn't do nothing and go up the mountain alone just because of these concerns. If something unexpected really happened, it would be no different from being captured without a fight.
However, Zhang Shutong wasn't so ruthless that he had to lead her into the pit. It was just a backup plan. If he could, he actually didn't want to use it.
This made Zhang Shutong think of himself on the cold-blooded timeline. He didn't know how he had managed to get on good terms with Lu Qinglian, and he couldn't figure it out now. Since that was the case, he could only think of other methods.
Thinking of this, Zhang Shutong sighed inwardly.
He was indeed a cold-blooded person at his core.
At that time, he should have had some kind of relationship with Lu Qinglian, a much deeper one than now. He didn't know what kind of mood he was in to leave her on the island.
Did he hesitate?
Did he regret it?
Did he feel sympathy?
Everything remained unknown.
He only knew that he seemed to be repeating the same mistakes.
But to Zhang Shutong's surprise, after getting out of the car, Lu Qinglian's attitude was more direct than he had expected. She no longer hid everything. Although he still didn't get too much key information, the two of them could at least have a smooth conversation.
Just as Lu Qinglian had said just now:
"If you want to be honest, show the corresponding attitude."
These words indeed made him reflect deeply.
So now that the trap was dug, his thoughts had also changed a little.
Maybe he didn't need to go to such extremes.
Even if he got the information and ruled out her suspicion, it would be equivalent to losing a potential collaborator.
Zhang Shutong didn't have persecution delusions.
If Lu Qinglian had maintained the same attitude as she had in the car, with a cold smirk every now and then and saying things that made him uneasy, he wouldn't mind putting her in the pit for a good laugh.
But now...
Zhang Shutong was not a person who liked to hesitate, but he had to admit that he was starting to hesitate again.
It was hard to say why. Was it because Lu Qinglian's words made him realize there was a problem with his own attitude? Or did he subconsciously let his guard down? Or did seeing her stroking the fox make him feel that she was actually still a sixteen-year-old girl at her core?
"Do you like small animals?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Not really." Lu Qinglian said indifferently. "You can't see many animals here either."
"It's as if you raised it since it was little." Zhang Shutong saw the fox actually expose its belly. He couldn't believe a wild fox could do that.
Zhang Shutong was about to get closer to take a look, but Lu Qinglian said again:
"Don't move."
"Uh, I'm not scaring it."
Seriously, she made it seem as if he was some kind of dangerous person.
"You shouldn't look at it now. It's actually very fierce."
He seemed to have heard similar words somewhere...
"Then why isn't it fierce with you?"
"I am a temple keeper."
Here we go again.
Zhang Shutong was a little speechless.
He had thought her attitude would get better, but now she was saying these ambiguous things again, which was no different from saying nothing at all.
"That's no fun."
"I'm not lying." She just looked at the fox and explained calmly, "I have a strange affinity for animals. If you ask me why, I can only say that it's probably because I'm a temple keeper. Because my grandma is the same."
Zhang Shutong shrugged. He would take it as the truth for now.
"Snakes too?"
"Snakes too." Lu Qinglian added, "I broke my word. You can go and rest on the side. I'll leave in a bit."
When she said this, she was poking the fox's nose with a finger.
But who was it just now who said in a serious tone, "We're almost there. You'd better not stop again"?
This kind of double-crossing attitude was not at all like a dangerous person. It was more like a little girl who couldn't walk when she saw a cute animal.
Zhang Shutong couldn't be bothered to complain about her. Rather, he didn't have much of a mind to complain right now. He was just subconsciously thinking about the meaning behind every word Lu Qinglian said.
Her words just now could only be explained as maybe she wasn't sure if she would run into this fox here.
Then what was her mood like when she went up the mountain before?
A faint smile was able to appear on a girl who had almost no emotional fluctuations.
Was she holding some kind of expectation?
The word "expectation" should be used for anticipating good things, such as a child expecting a birthday gift on their birthday, or a boy expecting to sit with the girl he likes when they change seats. Zhang Shutong didn't understand what was so great about seeing a wild fox. This fox was far from as cute as the ones he saw online, and especially in winter, it looked malnourished, its fur was not shiny, and it had a missing ear.
Calling it "cute" was a polite way of saying it, but to Lu Qinglian, seeing it was a form of expectation.
Zhang Shutong was speechless.
He found a relatively clean stone step, wiped the snow off with his glove, and sat on it, propping his chin up, watching the interaction between the beautiful girl and the not-so-beautiful fox.
The girl named Lu Qinglian was squatting in the snow. On the mountain road in winter, the snow under her feet looked like solidified clouds. Her scattered green robe looked like a blooming green lotus, and the fox was a dark red, like a ball of fire. This scene was simple and pure.
If only everything in life were that simple.
He also wished he could have such a simple student life, going up the mountain with his friends to have a snowball fight. In the local legends, there would be a mysterious girl and a fox that would appear randomly on the mountain. If you ran into them, it would be like finding a lucky four-leaf clover on a vast grassland. You would be very satisfied, and you would probably have a sweet sleep that night.
But unfortunately, it could never be that pure.
Zhang Shutong then shook his head.
He remembered the scene he saw in the restricted area yesterday.
Since the other party ran away immediately, it meant that what she was doing absolutely could not be discovered by him. He had never asked this question because the two of them were full of suspicion toward each other. A small misunderstanding would lead to more serious suspicion, and it was almost uncontrollable, even depending on a certain tone or expression.
Therefore, he wanted to wait a little longer.
Maybe this result would determine the direction of today.
Now his guard had been lowered a little, and Lu Qinglian's attitude was also starting to soften.
For Zhang Shutong, this opportunity might have come.
He just looked at the girl who was stroking the fox. His body, which had already straightened up, slowly sat back down in disbelief.
Because, to be precise, the opportunity had not come yet.
Instead, something even more unexpected was happening in front of him.
It made Zhang Shutong's heartbeat slow down by a beat.
...
The fox had lost an ear. The wound had scabbed over, and he could still see dried blood.
But that was normal. If he thought about it, it hadn't been long since it was injured. Today was Friday, and the poachers were caught on Wednesday. It was very likely that it happened on the same day.
So the fox's wound had not yet healed.
Don't expect a wild fox to be smart. It just affectionately rubbed its head against Lu Qinglian's sleeve. Maybe the scabbed wound was itchy, or for some other reason, the wound soon opened up again. Faint bloodstains appeared on Lu Qinglian's green robe, which were very conspicuous.
So the girl gently pushed its head away.
The fox did not give up and insistently rubbed against her again.
This was the first time Zhang Shutong had seen an expression of helplessness on her face. The girl then rolled up one of her sleeves, rolling up both the robe and the sweater so she wouldn't have to worry about getting her clothes dirty.
The small arm she exposed was truly like a work of art. Every line was smooth and gentle, and every inch of her skin was flawless, porcelain white.
Zhang Shutong stared at that arm in a daze and, for the first time, understood the meaning of the idiom "well-proportioned."
However, there was one minor flaw.
On this exquisite work of art.
There was a glaring, yet unignorable, presence—
It was stained by a birthmark.
Zhang Shutong saw a coin-sized, crimson mark on Lu Qinglian's arm.
Maybe it was a birthmark.
Oval-shaped.
An oval-shaped birthmark.
Actually, it didn't matter what kind of mark it was.
What was important was that.
It represented an oval shape.
An oval shape that had always left him with no clue.
He had guessed and guessed.
And the one that was tattooed on his arm for this reason—
Oval shape.
Green snake.
Little person.
Circle...
Green snake.
Temple keeper.
Birthmark...
Green snake, temple keeper, birthmark.
—Lu Qinglian.
Lu Qinglian used her exposed arm to play with the fox. Her movements were agile, and she was always able to make the little thing jump up and down, but it could never touch her. A faint smile, different from the playful or subtle smiles he had seen before, appeared on the corners of the girl's lips, although it was very shallow.
And her other hand reached into the inner pocket of her green robe, taking out an item.
Zhang Shutong was sitting on the stone steps below, not far from them, so he could easily see what it was.
It was a red, stick-like object.
He knew it was something she had just bought.
From the convenience store at the foot of the mountain.
Hot dog.
Hot dog...
The dog that was easily poisoned.
Vigilance.
Very fierce.
Affinity.
Villa.
Photo.
Were the person who smashed the flower pot and the person who poisoned the dog the same person?
Creating a commotion and eliminating a commotion are contradictory.
Someone wanted to stop the development of the island.
The long-haired figure that suddenly appeared in the restricted area.
She was squatting on the shore.
She suddenly disappeared.
His previous deductions.
Maybe they were all wrong.
Zhang Shutong just stood up in silence.
...
The fox ran away after eating the hot dog. The girl in the green robe stood there, watching it run away happily.
So when she put down her sleeve, the boy with the scarf walked up to her and asked:
"Is that red thing a birthmark?"
"Yes, it's very ugly."
"It's fine." Zhang Shutong just said a few words. "We should go."
This time, he took the initiative to walk in front of the girl and lead the way.
He was slowly walking to the front right.
Zhang Shutong knew what was next to the third tree from the left in a small patch of woods to the front right.
"I have one more question," he suddenly said. "Why were you so indifferent to me on the rooftop yesterday, but today you're like a completely different person?"
"I overheard you and a few friends talking about the commercial street incident, and I happened to be a little interested."
As I thought.
He was wrong.
Maybe everything was wrong.
He had been misled by Ruoping and Du kang's messages.
Maybe his relationship with Lu Qinglian on the cold-blooded timeline was never one of fighting side-by-side.
And there was never any "betrayal" or "turning your back on someone you know."
Graduation season is summer.
Summer is the season for short sleeves.
It's the season to expose your arms.
Why did he have those three tattoos?
The circle was a characteristic of the murderer.
What about the other two?
The green snake and the little person.
Doesn't it seem too obvious?
Why would information that could be understood at a glance be tattooed on his arm?
If so, if the green snake really meant a green snake and the little person really meant a temple keeper, were they redundant in a way?
Did the three tattoos point to three different things?
Or was it just one person they were talking about all along?
Did he really not find out who the murderer of Gu Qiumian was in those eight years?
Or did he already know who it was?
That person had been by his side all along.
Zhang Shutong closed his eyes. He was walking slowly now and didn't have to worry about his feet.
He began to recall the last piece of information he had obtained.
Three tattoos.
A photo from a phone album, showing the inside of the temple.
A photo sent by his senior, a surveillance photo of a long-haired woman.
"Is your life... very tiring?" Zhang Shutong opened his eyes and asked again.
He didn't really want to talk about the murder case anymore.
"I'm used to it."
"So it is a little tiring?"
"It's fine."
"It's not easy to always be number one in your grade, is it?"
"It's fine."
"Teacher Song said you quite like going to school."
"It's very interesting."
"Can I interpret your warning as a kind of protection?"
"Yes." Lu Qinglian said again, "I told you, it's best not to doubt me."
"Sorry." Zhang Shutong sighed.
He saw the third tree.
"Last question, are many things out of your control?"
"I am a temple keeper." She said it again.
Zhang Shutong was silent for a while and then smiled:
"My mom said we were pretty in sync. Don't let her fool you, she's always lively and enthusiastic with everyone, but she's never said that to anyone before."
As he spoke, he turned around and took a plastic bag out of his pocket. It contained the apples that had been soaked in salt water.
His mom always thought things through, so the apples in the bag hadn't oxidized and were still fresh:
"Do you want to eat some? I see you like it."
Lu Qinglian, however, frowned:
"Have you been stalling for time since we started?"
As expected, his mom was always right. The two of them had a little bit of sync. Lu Qinglian could always guess his intentions.
So Zhang Shutong didn't deny it. Denial was meaningless.
He just nodded.
Then;
He turned and ran—
"You..."
The last glimpse in his vision was of Lu Qinglian frowning slightly and lifting her leg.
He knew how fast Lu Qinglian was. Her speed when she disappeared in the restricted area last night showed that. If he was caught, he would completely lose the initiative. He wasn't even sure if he could go back.
So he just ran forward recklessly. His hiking boots were working well now. Snow splattered. The rubber soles had a strong grip, and every stud was firmly fixed on the snow. He had even taken off his scarf in advance, afraid that it would slow him down.
In contrast, Lu Qinglian's reaction was a beat slower. She was also wearing a pair of cloth shoes. No matter how fast she was, she couldn't escape the limitations of objective conditions. That green robe was a hassle to run in, but even so, Zhang Shutong's heart sank as he heard the wind getting closer behind him.
The distance between them was getting smaller.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. He had already run a dozen steps forward until he took a big step over a certain spot. Zhang Shutong stopped and turned around.
In his peripheral vision, there was a perfectly camouflaged pile of snow.
There were two intersecting branches on the surface of the snow.
He just stared at the two branches, holding his breath, and his heartbeat began to involuntarily quicken.
Zhang Shutong counted silently in his heart.
One.
Lu Qinglian took another step. The hem of her robe fluttered behind her.
She had a pair of long legs that were usually hidden by the robe, and she was actually very fast.
Two.
The figure in the green robe was a little closer in a flash.
Zhang Shutong had underestimated Lu Qinglian. She wasn't as simple as just being strong, as she said. The quality of her body had completely surpassed that of girls her age.
However, no matter what, she was only a stone's throw away from the intersecting branches.
Three.
The only thing he cared about now was whether she would step over it like him. For this reason, he had stopped early so that Lu Qinglian would subconsciously stop when she was about to touch him.
His chances of winning?
It was hard to say.
The probability?
He could only guess.
But sometimes, that's how it is. To catch a beast that is fiercer and calmer than a human, you have to gamble.
Even if the bet is on himself—
One step away.