"There's nothing to chat about here; it's all in the past."
"I think something definitely happened between those two back then," Father Feng chimed in. "Was it a case of you two dating and breaking up? You used to cry constantly at night during that time, and your mom and I were worried about you. Looking at it now, was it a broken heart?"
"Yes, exactly, a broken heart. I dumped him. Satisfied now?" Ruoping countered.
"For real?" The man was suddenly aggrieved. "To think I actually thought that kid was simple-minded. Turns out he had bad intentions..."
"You should gossip less; you're someone who is about to retire."
"Does Shutong know? Uncle is watching over you today, so feel free to speak up boldly!"
Three sets of eyes turned toward Zhang Shutong.
"Do you want to go out for a walk after finishing dinner?" Zhang Shutong looked back at Ruoping.
He asked softly, and Father Feng's gaze instantly turned peculiar, as if saying after guessing for so long, it turns out it was you, kid.
"Leave right now?" Ruoping cast a sidelong glance at him, her face flushed red. "I'm not listening to those two nag anymore."
The two of them hit it off instantly. Finishing their words, they grabbed the keys and stepped out the door. Just like back then, once they reached an agreement, they couldn't stay idle.
Leaving only the man and woman to exchange a look:
"I told you not to ask, didn't I? You've annoyed our daughter."
"Clearly you were the one who brought it up first."
"Then who told you to bring up the dating thing? She was already drunk to begin with, and girls are thin-skinned..."
"Ping'er!" The man hurriedly roared, "Don't you two dare drive!"
As the door clicked shut, these words faintly fell into their ears.
How could they possibly drive? Zhang Shutong hopped onto that small electric scooter, carrying Ruoping as they rode along the nighttime streets.
The streetlights emitted a faint glow.
"Where are we going?" Ruoping asked lazily. She wore a red dress, looking much like a dead-drunk, cold and elegant older-sister figure, radiating a mature aura. "Seeing that you're in a bad mood today, I'm accompanying you out for a stroll. Fair enough, right?"
Only when she occasionally kicked her legs out of sheer boredom did she resemble the little girl from back then.
"The commercial street."
"What are we going there for? At this hour, only the restaurants are open."
"Didn't eat my fill."
"Tell my mom afterward, then," she burst into a laugh. "Anyway, that's what I told them. Otherwise, those two would definitely ask, Ping'er, did you and Shutong go out in the dead of night because something is going on? ...Ah, so annoying."
"They're starting to push for marriage already?"
"There's a sign of it looming. My dad blocks, and my mom pushes; in a few more years, they'll merge forces."
"Mm... I indeed have something to bring you out for." Zhang Shutong didn't deny it.
"Who has something going on with you? It's not romantic at all, alright? The scent of sweat on you is so thick." She feigned a dry heave.
"As if you aren't," Zhang Shutong laughed. "Climbing a mountain all day and then going to the vegetable market to buy groceries. When we returned home just now, there were even white marks on the back of your dress."
Hearing this, she hurriedly pressed her hand against her back, complaining:
"Wasn't it because you called me out? I originally planned to take a shower after finishing dinner. So what exactly are we doing?"
By now, they had driven into a desolate wasteland, and the streetlights had slipped behind them at some unknown point.
Zhang Shutong gripped the brakes:
"Looking for the fox."
"Oh." To his surprise, Ruoping's tone carried no hint of surprise. She nodded calmly. "Should've said so earlier. I'll tell you where it is. Ride for another two minutes; there's a patch of reeds up ahead, and it's hidden right inside."
Zhang Shutong continued to twist the handlebar. After a while, he looked at the bare shoreline, turned his head, and asked:
"Here? Where is the patch of reeds?"
"It went barren over these years. I was referring to five years ago," Ruoping articulated clearly.
Zhang Shutong took a careful look at her, only then discovering that she seemed to have transformed into a different person, with no trace of being drunk remaining.
"Don't get it wrong."
"I remember very clearly."
"Keep moving then." Zhang Shutong imprinted this location into his mind, starting the scooter once more.
The streetlights ahead grew brighter and brighter as they entered the urban area. Compared to five years ago, there wasn't much change here. Zhang Shutong rode the scooter forward silently, and Ruoping also sat quietly on the backseat. Neither of them spoke of where they were heading next, and neither asked.
Zhang Shutong parked the scooter at the entrance of the commercial street:
"Are you going to eat?"
"You really didn't eat your fill?"
"Go eat a bit more. You still remember that Kendo-Chicken, right? The one your mom's friend opened. She gave you a few discount coupons. Once there was a discount on Wednesday, but we didn't go; we went to the tunnel behind the hospital instead."
"How long ago was that." Ruoping let out a stretch. "No impression."
Zhang Shutong studied the commercial street. The shops on both sides included familiar ones and unfamiliar ones. That burger joint was quite resilient, holding out for five years without moving away.
The storefront wasn't large, but it was willing to turn on the lights and the air conditioning. When the two of them stepped into the shop door, there were still a few kids playing games.
It was currently summer break.
Zhang Shutong ordered two portions of french fries.
He and Ruoping found a seat by the window and sat down. Popular music played inside the shop. The french fries were naturally not freshly fried, feeling a bit soft upon entering the mouth.
"I went to see the dog at Du Kang's house." Zhang Shutong said casually with a fry in his mouth.
"So it was discovered at that time." Ruoping cradled her face, looking out the window. "Credit to you for being able to think of so much from a single statue."
"In fact, I went around in many circles. Who could have thought that the past had been altered?" Zhang Shutong felt somewhat sentimental. "So what exactly is going on between you and Du Kang?"
"He saved me, and I didn't want to be saved by him, especially under the circumstance of not consulting anyone. It's just that simple."
"It doesn't warrant cutting ties though."
"The leg broke, and the mentality became a bit abnormal. Couldn't be helped."
"Don't talk like that." Zhang Shutong knit his brows. "Who are you piqued at?"
"No one. If there is someone, it's at myself. On the contrary, shouldn't you be angry?" Ruoping asked. "The two of us kept you in the dark for so long."
"In fact, I can understand..."
Ruoping suddenly turned her head around:
"What can you understand? Qinglian went deaf, Du Kang hasn't returned once in all this time, and you and Qingyi have been kept entirely in the dark. The beneficiary was clearly only me. I am the most selfish one!"
Her tone carried a strand of anger for some reason. Seeing this, Zhang Shutong froze for a moment:
"Calm down first."
Ruoping stopped speaking, merely biting into a french fry. It took her a long pause before she said:
"You've seen what state Qinglian is in now, and Du Kang should have told you about the limitations of that fox too. Tell me, how am I supposed to calm down?"
"I..."
"Let me finish speaking, don't interrupt!" Ruoping slammed the table. "Right now, besides waiting, what else can be done? Wait further for that fox to manifest its spirit, wait for a miracle to happen so it can cure Qinglian's ears? But how can the matter of her being in the temple be changed? That fox isn't omnipotent!"
Ruoping focused her stare tightly on him:
"So how do you understand, what can you understand? I am the one who was chosen out of the two!"
"But your leg did get better after all..." Zhang Shutong could only amend his words.
"Yes, it got better, but I would rather it hadn't! It's all because of me that this timeline turned into this ghostly state!"
As she spoke, she fiercely pinched her left leg, causing Zhang Shutong's eyelids to jump instinctively. Not just him, but the shop assistant and the students playing games were all alerted by the commotion over here.
Zhang Shutong withdrew his gaze, rubbed the space between his eyebrows, and was the first to stand up:
"Your emotions are off right now. Let's talk outside."
Ruoping also stood up silently.
The two portions of newly bought french fries were thus left scattered on the food tray. The two of them stepped out of the fast-food restaurant, walking toward the position of the electric scooter. When Zhang Shutong passed by a supermarket, he discovered it was still open:
"Hold on a moment."
He ran inside, and when he emerged again, he was carrying two bottles of beer.
"This thing will only make you drunk if you drink it," Ruoping said coldly.
"Then treat it as a beverage." Zhang Shutong shrugged, tossing it into Ruoping's embrace.
The woman caught it instinctively, bit her lip, and said nothing, merely following behind him.
Soon they hopped onto the scooter. A gentle night breeze blew along the road, yet it wasn't cool, feeling as if it wanted to permanently frame people inside this summer.
Ultimately, he rode the scooter into the wasteland behind the hospital. Zhang Shutong let out a sigh and stopped the vehicle.
"There really is no need," Zhang Shutong deliberated. "To keep yourself in such torment..."
"Think whatever you like."
Ruoping spoke completely nonchalant words, yet her voice was like frozen ice.
Zhang Shutong cast two more glances at her, desperately wanting to say you look even more like an older-sister figure now, but even to liven up the atmosphere, he couldn't utter such words.
He could understand Ruoping's feelings. She felt no relief or luck due to this alteration; on the very contrary, she attributed all the tragedies on this timeline entirely to herself.
"In fact, Du Kang's feelings are about the same as yours." He popped open a beer with a thud, staring abstractedly at that old house. "Both of you shoulder the blame onto yourselves, blaming yourselves for this all these years, to the point where you're about to be driven insane."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Ruoping grew impatient:
"If you called me out today just to comfort me, I thank you for your kindness, but I don't need comfort. Tomorrow I will go up the mountain to tell Qinglian this matter from beginning to end, and then apologize to her. If you have words you want to say to her, then say them now; I'll help bring them to her.
"Oh, do you also want to tell me to forgive Du Kang, that he and I aren't what you think? I don't know what he said unilaterally, but I really have never blamed him. I just don't want to bring up this matter, but the moment the two of us meet we will definitely talk about it, so we simply choose not to meet. Can you understand?"
"Understand."
"Then let's leave it at that..."
"I'm saying I can understand you."
"Haven't I said so already!" Ruoping arched her eyebrows upon hearing this, before loosening them in a helpless manner again. "Only I myself know what I think about this matter. I don't need understanding, nor do I need comfort. If you, Zhang Shutong, want to curse at me, then I am very welcoming. Is that fine now?"
She paused:
"I know I am very uncalm right now, and my mood is also bad. I am very sorry, but I truly have no way to control it. I also know you mean well, but I, right, now, really, do not want to bring it up at all. Over these years, it's not like I haven't searched for reasons to comfort myself—like the matter has already happened so it has happened, and being vexed further is useless; like Du Kang was the one who took away that fox when I originally wanted to give it to Qinglian; or like maybe that fox will become usable again one day. I've thought about all of these, but me thinking about them doesn't mean I can convince myself..."
Her emotions were like a torrent breaking through a dam. Although she claimed she didn't want to bring it up, once this opening was made, she grew more and more agitated. Finally, exhausting all the strength in her body, she roared:
"But the ultimate result is that I stood up, while Lu Qinglian can no longer hear! To me, this matter is a hurdle that can never be crossed!"
"Are you finished speaking?" Zhang Shutong asked softly.
She nodded dejectedly.
Next, under Ruoping's incredulous gaze, Zhang Shutong fished out a certain object:
"In fact, the thing you truly don't want to speak of is this, right?"
That object gleamed under the moonlight.
Zhang Shutong extended a chocolate gold coin before Ruoping.