"And then?"
"And then he shone a flashlight into the reeds. I didn't know what he wanted to do either, so I hid inside and didn't even dare to breathe. After a while, when he went back to his car, I wanted to leave quickly, but then you guys arrived and scared me to death..."
"What did that person look like? What about the car? What kind of car was it?" Zhang Shutong asked urgently.
Ruoping was taken aback by his tone, and her voice grew even smaller:
"I didn't see clearly. The flashlight shone so brightly I couldn't open my eyes..."
Hearing this, Zhang Shutong furrowed his brows tightly.
The motorcycle's headlight had been switched off by him, and the boundless darkness seemed to swallow them whole. He clenched his fists bit by bit and then released them, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.
In the end, he was still a step too late.
Or perhaps, this "past" had been frozen the moment he returned, and the only thing that could be changed was the future.
"Let's leave first."
Zhang Shutong softened his tone.
This really wasn't the place to talk. He glanced at Ruoping's pale face, which still bore traces of lingering fear. The fox statue and the unknown man—only now did Zhang Shutong clearly realize what this night meant to her.
Zhang Shutong faintly guessed that on that timeline unaltered by Du Kang, even if he and Lu Qinglian hadn't rushed over here, Ruoping had been preparing to hand that statue over to him.
Otherwise, how would everyone on that line have known about the Sorrowful Fox?
But it had just been too late.
Being late by a single step meant falling into the abyss.
Zhang Shutong had always known she felt immense regret, but he ultimately hadn't experienced those five years himself. For Ruoping, however, it wasn't like that. This year she was fifteen, and the day the incident occurred happened to be right before Christmas. She was a girl who liked lively festivities; maybe she had even been preparing gifts. The seeds of regret had taken root and sprouted in her heart, torturing her into that state.
Just then, his phone rang, and Du Kang's voice immediately came through:
"What's wrong on Ruoping's end? The two of us are riding toward the place you mentioned, we're almost there..."
He was breathing heavily, presumably worried sick.
"It's fine, we've found her." Zhang Shutong fell silent for a long moment, suddenly not knowing what to say. "No need to rush. I'll name a place, let's meet up there in a bit."
The gathering place wasn't far from here, except there was an extra streetlight overhead.
Under the dim light, Zhang Shutong propped up the bike. Not long ago, he had recorded that nursery rhyme on his phone and sent it to Lu Qinglian. Right now, she was silently staring at the lyrics.
Zhang Shutong and Ruoping went to a quiet spot. Watching her take off her helmet, she complained:
"I already told you my down jacket has a hood, you should wear it yourself..."
Zhang Shutong rubbed his stiff face.
"I'm used to it."
Her emotions had stabilized quite a bit. At this moment, she was quietly studying his expression, who knew what she was thinking.
"Don't be scared."
"Who's scared?" Ruoping immediately felt a bit embarrassed. "Qinglian is standing right over there, I'm not scared at all. Why are you being so gentle today? Up to no good?"
"I made you cry, so I'm here to apologize."
"I didn't blame you and Qing Yi, you guys were just scaring yourselves..."
Zhang Shutong handed his phone to her so she could call her family back first, and then the two of them sat down by the lake shore.
Before sitting down, she very carefully patted the ground, afraid of getting her clothes dirty.
"Hey, you better keep a close eye on that fox. It's a very important thing." Ruoping suddenly switched to a very serious tone.
"...I know." Zhang Shutong froze for a moment, then smiled. "Of course it's a very important thing."
"I'm not joking with you!"
"I'm not joking with you either."
Only after a moment did she say in a small voice, "There's something I need to tell you. Let's agree beforehand, don't get mad at me."
"Okay."
"Have you ever heard of those kinds of statues that can grant wishes? Folklore... No, let me think. In some places, there are legends about fox immortals or weasel immortals. Have you heard of that?"
"Oh."
"That fox can change the past."
"For real?" Zhang Shutong feigned surprise.
"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you for no reason! I..." Her voice grew lower. "Actually, I did lie to you guys."
"Did you?"
"Yeah, that time you asked me about Gu Qiumian. Do you remember? Back then, I asked Qinglian if there really were foxes on the mountain precisely because I had discovered that statue." Holding her knees, she said softly, "But what I'm telling you now isn't a legend. You might not believe me, but what I'm saying is the truth."
Having finished, Ruoping turned her head, her large eyes blinking.
"I believe you." Zhang Shutong plucked a blade of grass from the ground and held it in his mouth.
"For real?" This time it was her turn to be surprised.
"There are already snakes on the mountain, so what's so strange about a fox suddenly popping up? Besides, speaking of supernatural events..." Zhang Shutong thought for a moment. "I've told you guys about Teacher Song's matter too."
"No fun." She curled her lip. Though she said this, she looked like she had let out a sigh of relief.
"Did you plan it this way?" Zhang Shutong asked. "If I didn't believe you, it would end there. If I did believe you, you'd continue with what comes next?"
"What could there be..."
"The chocolate."
Before the look in her eyes could turn into panic, Zhang Shutong pointed at his head:
"I still remember."
"You..."
"A Smiling Fox told me." Zhang Shutong pulled a statue from his pocket. "This one. Not only did it tell me about the chocolate, but it also told me you would be in danger next. Want to guess how we found our way here?"
Ruoping's voice trembled slightly:
"You know everything? About me using it to change the past?"
"I didn't know, I guessed." Zhang Shutong shrugged. "You said yourself that the fox can change the past, so you must have tried it yourself. Don't blame an innocent person."
"I did try it," she said hesitantly. "And I tried it a long time ago, right around the time you were hospitalized. But I didn't tell anyone... I, I didn't think it was a bad thing... and I wasn't sure what would happen if I spoke about it... so I, I hid it."
"Don't just stay silent!" Ruoping suddenly gave him a nudge. She intentionally raised her voice to hide her panic. "Say whatever you want to say. It's my fault, I'm calculating, alright? Haven't I told you now? I'm sorry, okay?"
"Also, if you want to tell Gu Qiumian, go ahead and tell her. I'll accept whatever happens." She bit her lip, staring blankly ahead. "There's also Du Kang and Qing Yi. When they get here, you can pass it on to them for me. I don't know how to say it either. It's been so long, it's really hard to bring up..."
"What exactly does the danger you mentioned refer to?" After a long silence, Ruoping asked downcastly.
"The person in that car just now should be the owner of that basement we discovered. He is also looking for the foxes." On this matter alone, Zhang Shutong wouldn't hide anything. He said solemnly, "That person has already noticed the few of us. From now on, you must be careful. No joking, there really will be danger."
"I understand." Ruoping's eyes finally turned red. "It's because I hid the fox statue, isn't it? If only I had told you guys sooner..."
In the past, Zhang Shutong had always jokingly called her a fiery heroine and the big boss among the group. Sometimes she acted like an older sister, and sometimes like a younger sister, but at this moment, she only looked like a little girl who had done something wrong.
"No one blames you. I suspect we were noticed by him back when we went to the tunnel, otherwise how would he recognize your face?" Zhang Shutong could finally say these words. "Nothing bad will happen, I promise."
He then asked an unrelated question:
"Let's chat about something else. Have you ever heard a saying? It goes: growing up means you're not allowed to cry, not allowed to throw tantrums, not allowed to secretly miss things, and not allowed to look back. You can only move forward on your own."
Ruoping shook her head. She had now buried her face in her knees:
"I understand. I'm not going to cry over this little thing anyway. I just feel... I just feel how could so many things suddenly crop up..."
Even as she said this, her shoulders began to tremble anyway.
"What are you thinking?" Zhang Shutong patted her head. "I'm saying, since you haven't grown up yet right now, you can rely on the few of us a bit more."
In his heart, he thought that even after growing up, she could still rely on them, instead of silently moving forward all alone.
Just then, a bout of shouting and yelling drifted from the distance, accompanied by the ringing of a bicycle bell. The two turned their heads; it turned out Du Kang and Qing Yi had arrived.
"Let's go." Zhang Shutong stood up.
Ruoping, however, sat on the ground and didn't move. She instinctively shrank her body a bit, murmuring:
"You go over first, I'll... in a bit..."
But before she could finish speaking, Zhang Shutong had already cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted toward his back:
"Run faster! Feng Ruoping says she has something to say to you guys, something she's hidden for a long, long, long time!"
"What's what?" Du Kang ran down the dirt slope, looking completely bewildered.
"I told you she's disliked me for a long time." Qing Yi looked full of anxiety. Zhang Shutong truly didn't understand how this guy's brain was wired.
"Zhang Shutong, you!" Ruoping hurriedly wiped her face, glaring at him with a hint of anger.
"Some things are still better said by yourself." Zhang Shutong met her gaze. "After all, if you don't speak up now, who knows which day you'll never be able to say it again. Whether it's admitting a mistake or having a good cry, our shoulders are available for you to use anyway—a total of three. Oh, if you want to lean on Lu Qinglian, I can help ask for you too."
"Who wants to use your shoulders, your clothes are filthy..." She laughed, her voice carrying a nasal tone.
The young girl named Feng Ruoping had always been like this—she couldn't hide anything in her heart, and her joys, anger, sorrow, and delight were all displayed right on her face. She was the type whose character meant she was about to cry one second, but the next second if you leaned into her ear and cracked a joke, she would burst into a laugh, even while tears were still welling up in her eyes, making it so she could neither truly cry nor truly laugh.
"But," Zhang Shutong said seriously, "after you're done crying, you're not allowed to blame yourself anymore."
These words caused Ruoping to daze for a moment.
Zhang Shutong had already turned around, waving his hand toward his two best friends.
This was Sunday night, December 16.
A few stars could be seen in tonight's sky, their light faint. The day was drawing to a close, but Zhang Shutong really didn't know what would be a good name for this timeline.
It could be called the Torment Route, the Fallout Route, the Secrecy Route, and so on. But although his memory was excellent, he didn't want to keep every single matter recorded in his mind.
He decided to be a bit romantic and name it after the first star he saw. Names like the Big Dipper, Sirius, or Orion would all be very cool.
But after looking for a moment, he found that the first star was called Ursa Major.
There were already enough animals. Yeah, this one didn't count.
In the end, Zhang Shutong just tilted his head to look at the night sky. Standing quietly on the ground, he suddenly looked forward to the arrival of summer very much.
Ruoping's mother still drove over in the end. The two bicycles were thrown into the trunk, and the three of them were driven straight back home.
Zhang Shutong, on the other hand, rode his motorcycle, traveling slowly through the night.
The two helmeted figures rode all the way through the cold wind without a word.
"Student Lu Qinglian," Zhang Shutong said after a long silence.
"What?" Lu Qinglian was also looking up at the stars in the sky.
"Nothing."
Lu Qinglian ignored him and kept her chin tilted up.
After a short while.
"Student Lu Qinglian?"
"Do you think my hearing is bad?" Her tone turned cold.
"As long as it's fine."
"Student Zhang Shutong, you'd better ride a bit faster." Since moments ago, Lu Qinglian had kept saying she had business back at the temple, otherwise Zhang Shutong would have wanted to talk a bit more with his best friends. At this moment, she let out a soft sigh. "You should have some self-awareness. Also, notify me as soon as possible after you have a dream in the future."
"I told you it wasn't a dream," he said helplessly.
"Whatever," she said indifferently.
By the time he returned home, it was already past nine in the evening.
His mom was very surprised that he could return so early. Zhang Shutong was truly a bit tired. Yawning, he finished washing up, threw on his slippers, and ran into the kitchen:
"Mom, are there any ice creams left at home?"
"Yes, bottom layer." His mom decided to join him for one.
Mother and son each held a Little Pudding ice cream bar and came out onto the balcony. His mom asked him how things were progressing. Zhang Shutong only recounted the legend of the foxes, and then asked his mom if she had heard of anything similar. His mom merely sighed:
"You're hopeless, Tongtong."
"Where were the foxes dug out from?" Only now did Zhang Shutong remember to ask.
"The old cemetery to the north, but it has already been relocated now."
Zhang Shutong nodded.
He hadn't stayed to chat with his mom like this in a long time; it was rare for her to be at home. Forcing down his drowsiness, Zhang Shutong stood with her for a while. His mom was actually looking at the stars too. She was in geology, but it wasn't impossible for her to study astronomy a bit.
At this moment, the stars in the sky were obscured by a thin layer of mist. After waiting for a while without any sign of it dissipating, Zhang Shutong finally couldn't hold out any longer. He said goodnight, preparing to return to his bedroom.
"Look, Vega." His mom suddenly extended a finger, standing slightly on tiptoe, wondering what interesting memory she had thought of.
Zhang Shutong instinctively turned his head. Perhaps a wind had picked up outside, for the thin mist receded, and the clear starry sky reappeared before his eyes.
"Vega, huh..."
He muttered to himself. As he turned around, his gaze happened to brush past a certain corner where a cardboard box lay quietly on a shelf.
Zhang Shutong returned to his room. He lay quietly on his bed. Only when he was alone was he unable to hide the heaviness in his heart.
Christmas was December 25. Since both Ruoping and Du Kang said it was the eve of Christmas, it probably wouldn't be Christmas Eve either. And today was December 16, which meant that, estimating from the most optimistic perspective, that basement man wouldn't take more than a week to strike.
He only had one week left, yet right now, aside from knowing the opponent had a car, the only clue was a group photo.
There was also the MP3 player. Before dealing with that man, he didn't plan to go to the tunnel again. The fox statues naturally had to be hidden in a different place. Right now, he only had two in his possession. What would happen if he gathered all five foxes? It felt very important, so simultaneously, there were also clues to find the other three.
Finally, there was Lu Qinglian's hearing loss and confinement. He didn't know the specific time these things occurred, but he had to guard against them in advance.
The crisis immediately before his eyes was Ruoping's. Zhang Shutong thought it over and over; during this one week, he absolutely had to act as a personal bodyguard. But against a person who could reclaim clay figurines... perhaps his own strength was far from enough. Even adding Lu Qinglian wouldn't guarantee absolute safety.
But who else could he find?
It would be best to have some martial force, and enough manpower...
In the darkened room, at the very last moment before falling asleep, his eyes drowsy, he swiped through his phone. Finally, his gaze stopped on a specific ID.
"Gu Qiumian."