Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 147: Chapter 61: "Pork Ribs" (2)

Ruoping was taken aback. Zhang Shutong noticed her glance at him instinctively, as if to gauge his expression.

Zhang Shutong didn’t know what she was hoping to see. All he knew was that his face had probably been stiff for a long time; he wasn’t even used to smiling anymore... so she was bound to be disappointed.

But Ruoping’s voice held no disappointment. She just raised it, agitated.

"Right, there’s nothing! I also think he’s a bastard, an asshole! I won’t stop you if you want to punch him, but can you two just not go crazy in front of me? Let’s just finish this meal and go our separate ways! And never see each other again!"

"I just want an explanation for why he’s become like this!" Du Kang roared back.

"Qinglian is dead! What kind of explanation are you looking for?"

"What do you take me for? It’s not because I used to like Lu Qinglian—it’s because of *him*! Do you have any idea how I feel? I try to trust him again and again, and I’m disappointed again and again, but I still can’t help it..."

"You think I’m not the same?" Ruoping pointed to herself. "Let me tell you, I want to know more than you do! You think you’re the only one who can’t let go of the past? Did you know he suddenly called me three days ago saying he had something to tell me? And then what? You ask him now, does he even remember?"

"That’s why I told you he’s a liar!"

"But you still came today, didn’t you!"

"I wouldn’t have come if I’d known!"

"I wouldn’t have come either if I’d known! What am I even getting out of this?" Ruoping’s eyes had actually turned red. "Have any of you ever thought about me? You’ve all forgotten, but I still remember! Why do you think I treated everyone today? Why do you think I ordered these four dishes? You love stir-fried shrimp, Qingyi loves shredded fish, and he’s usually easygoing about everything, but back then he picked one dish: braised pork ribs..."

"How could I not remember? Why else would I know these four dishes taste worse than they used to..."

"Just shut up for a minute!"

She bit her lip, suppressing the sob in her voice.

"Zhang Shutong, you’ve completely forgotten everything. You treat your own words like dog shit, but we all still remember! Didn’t we promise at our graduation ceremony that we’d all go to school in the city together and stay best friends forever? And what happened? One of us never even came back, one wants to start a fight after a few drinks, and another disappeared for so many years and now looks like he can’t even take care of himself... You two grown men, go ahead and fight! Beat each other bloody for all I care. This is the last time we’ll see each other anyway. After this fight, no one contact anyone ever again!"

After speaking, Ruoping buried her head on the table, and her soft, irrepressible sobs could be heard. Du Kang fell silent at her words. He sat back down, lit a cigarette, and said nothing.

Just then, the owner, a woman, finally bustled over. She was carrying a porcelain bowl from which steam was rising.

It should have been the first dish to arrive, since this kind of dish was always stewed in a large pot ahead of time. The owner said apologetically,

"We’re out of ribs. Is it okay if I swap them for braised pork belly?"

But neither of the two men nor the woman at the table spoke. The owner’s hands froze in mid-air.

’How can a reunion of old classmates get so tense?’ she seemed to be thinking. ’You kids weren’t like this before. You used to come here for gatherings all the time...’ But today, one person was missing, and one dish was missing. In truth, Zhang Shutong didn’t even like pork ribs; he had only ordered them because he thought everyone else loved them. Now, however, he desperately wanted to taste those ribs after eight years, to see if they really had gotten worse. No one present was a better or more impartial judge than him, because he had just eaten them a few days ago.

But the braised pork ribs were gone.

Just then, his phone rang. Zhang Shutong glanced at the name on the screen and fell silent.

He nodded at the owner and said, "Just put it here." Then he got up and went to the counter to pay. This time, he didn’t have to ask where the payment QR code was, and he had more than enough money. After all, he hadn’t had anywhere to spend the money he’d earned over the past few years.

The payment went smoothly this time, so naturally, he didn’t need that "young miss" to come to his rescue. He walked quickly back to the table, picked up his trench coat, and said softly,

"...Sorry."

Neither of them acknowledged him. Ruoping kept her head buried in her arms, and Du Kang just smoked his cigarette without a word. Zhang Shutong glanced at them one last time before turning and walking out of the restaurant without looking back. By now, the sky had grown dark. He walked along the still-existing pedestrian street and called the number back.

The contact was saved as "Su Yunzhi."

The call connected. Before Zhang Shutong could speak, a gentle female voice came from the other end.

"Have you eaten, Shutong?"

Zhang Shutong grunted in affirmation. He was in no mood to explore their relationship right now. If this was just a casual chat between lovers, he’d give a perfunctory reply and hang up.

But the person on the other end said, "I’ve found everything you asked me to look into. But that photo you mentioned is a bit tricky. I’ll need a little more time, but I can get it done before 9:00."

Zhang Shutong paused, then the woman continued:

"The reason your female classmate was murdered back then was likely because someone wanted to stop her father from developing the small island. I saw this in the official records, but I can’t send them to you. It’s better if I just tell you about it."

’So it was about Gu Qiuyan’s case.’

’But why did I ask my senior for help with this?’

A faint memory suddenly surfaced. His senior’s parents worked in the public security system. Thinking of this, Zhang Shutong opened her Moments and saw that her current profession was a reporter for the city’s TV station.

"But you’re probably going to be disappointed. Although this case was kept under wraps back then, it wasn’t because it was some deep conspiracy. It was more likely out of consideration for her father’s influence and the potential impact. It’s actually pretty close to what you suspected—a straightforward murder case. The only mysterious part is how she managed to get out of her house in the middle of the night. And I don’t know why her dad was so stubborn about not installing security cameras..."

The woman sighed.

"Let the past be the past. It’s been eight years, after all. You should keep your promise to me and find a new job, regardless of how this turns out. I’m only just realizing it now... Back then, when I asked what you wanted to major in for university, you said media, that you wanted to be a reporter. So I went there and waited for you. But then you ended up working from home as a translator. It was all for this, wasn’t it?

"Let’s see... three years of high school, four years of university, a year and a half of work... and I just happened to get transferred to a new position last month that gives me access to this kind of information. Did you calculate even this?

"But you wouldn’t be *that* calculating, right? That would mean you were laying the groundwork for this from the moment we first met..."

The woman then joked,

"My best friend told me a while ago to be careful of this ’cold-blooded man.’ I told her you weren’t like that back in school. We’d go shopping, see movies... I remember you always looked so exhausted... I still laugh when I think about it now.

"But, Shutong," she said, her voice unconsciously softening, "I don’t blame you, no matter what. But you really can’t go on like this. Are you on the island right now? Maybe don’t be in such a hurry to leave. I can come find you tomorrow..."

Zhang Shutong just said, "No need. I’m going back to the city tomorrow."

"Smoke less," the woman advised, then hung up.

Zhang Shutong put his phone away. He looked at the streetlights, still as dim as they used to be, their halos staining the road yellow. He lit a cigarette.

His senior looked just as he remembered her. Being with her was like a refreshing spring breeze—she was intelligent, gentle, and never asked too many questions.

He glanced at his phone. It was a little after 7:00 PM. He seemed to be checking his phone constantly these past few days. The number seven felt familiar again. Technology had advanced so quickly; phones were no longer those little gadgets that were always running out of battery or losing signal.

He knew he couldn’t go back to the Lake Fish Restaurant. It would only bring more sadness. Maybe it was better for both of them if he wasn’t there.

But he seemed to have nowhere to go. The temperature had dropped further in the evening. He was only wearing a trench coat, and now one of the sleeves was damp. So he cradled his left arm and walked aimlessly down the street.

Before he knew it, he had reached the main gate of his old school. The gate could still be pushed open with a good shove, just like before, but he didn’t know if he should go in. The classroom for Grade 9, Class 1 had seen eight waves of graduates pass through; it couldn’t possibly look the same. And the library... he had no idea what had become of the library either.

Zhang Shutong had no intention of going inside.

He just continued walking along the school’s perimeter. He suddenly realized there was nothing he wanted to see. That little, empty home of his was long gone. The base? Or some other place? Those places were too far. There were no taxis on the island, and it was impossible to get there on foot.

So he decided to find a shop to warm up in first.

The street scene was much the same as it was eight years ago. Only a few supermarkets and restaurants had their lights on. As he walked, he came to a stop in front of a nail salon.

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