The man wandered this land like a ghost for four whole years, all to find another ghost.
Life, in essence, is a process of giving yourself an explanation.
Ten seconds left on the countdown.
Zhang Shutong got up from the bed. He held on to everything within reach as he walked to the desk. He opened the bottle of energy drink. He now had the answer in his heart.
It wasn't as simple as just protecting a girl's life. Or rather, just saving her life was far from enough. After eight long years, he finally confirmed the meaning of his Rewind here.
It wasn't about waiting for the murderer to be caught; it was about intercepting her beforehand.
Stopping her outside the villa.
Resolving this matter silently.
And Zhang Shutong knew the location. Since the camera had captured that woman at dawn, he would go to that camera before dawn.
Zhang Shutong also knew where that camera was.
But he also knew that he was no match for that woman. He was a half-crippled body. Going there would just be a burden, or even worse.
Zhang Shutong felt like he must be crazy now.
What did he have now? A body with a fever, a motorcycle with no gas, and he was all alone.
He looked at the wall full of photos and suddenly smiled.
"Damn it." Zhang Shutong was a person who rarely swore, but at this moment, he said softly, "I was all ready to turn over a new leaf. What happened to 'one shouldn't be arrogant' and 'there's nothing that only I can do'?"
But who else could he tell about this?
The police or the bodyguards? Gu Qiumian or her father?
Sometimes, a person just has to go a little crazy.
The countdown had ended. He placed the can heavily on the desk and murmured to the man who was far away on another island:
"Since you can't do it anymore, leave it to me."
"I can still move."
"I will put a period at the end of it."
Zhang Shutong turned and left the room. The can of energy drink seemed to have ignited the last bit of potential in his body. The night wind howled, but he didn't feel cold.
Zhang Shutong wasn't so stupid as to be a lone wolf. He knew clearly that the only person who could be in the know and help was Lu Qinglian, but Lu Qinglian didn't have a phone. She probably hadn't even arrived at the villa on foot. Zhang Shutong had to inform her to change her direction in time.
The winding mountain road had a thick layer of snow. A small mistake could trigger an avalanche. It was definitely not a good place to intercept a murderer.
So he first dialed Ruoping's number, praying that the girl would answer quickly. But to Zhang Shutong's surprise, only a second passed before her displeased voice came through:
"What is it now?"
He also heard the sound of the wind.
Zhang Shutong was stunned:
"Didn't you two go to sleep?"
"Sleep? What sleep? We called Du Kang, and he said you still wanted to cause trouble and wouldn't stop until midnight. How can anyone be at ease with a troublemaker like you? Qingyi and I are riding over now. We'll be at the hospital soon. Hurry up and tell me what's wrong."
He immediately told her his idea. Qingyi took the phone:
"I know. I've already ridden the motorcycle over. Ruoping and I will switch bikes. Ruoping will ride the bike to the hospital to meet you, and I'll go find Lu Qinglian. I'm hanging up now."
This guy was cool too. He hung up after speaking without asking anything. He was a boy like the wind.
Zhang Shutong was stunned for a moment, then used all his strength to pedal the bike. It only took ten minutes to ride from the dorm to the hospital. He could shorten that time to eight minutes. He looked up and could see a room on the second floor of the hospital from a distance. A girl was sitting on a chair.
Zhang Shutong arrived at the hospital at 11:34 p.m. He took the stairs a few steps at a time and went to the observation room at the end of the corridor. He didn't have to go upstairs, but he still wanted to see how she was doing.
Gu Qiumian was still asleep.
Perhaps in some future, the two of them would sleep in the observation room until dawn. Then she would stretch and say that he was so much trouble and that nothing had happened anyway.
Zhang Shutong didn't call her. He just turned off the TV.
He picked up Gu Qiumian and placed her on the single bed, covering her with his jacket.
He glanced downstairs. Ruoping hadn't arrived yet. He still had a little time to say something to the girl in front of him, but she was already asleep. She wouldn't hear anything, which also meant he could say anything he wanted.
"I'm sorry," Zhang Shutong said in a low voice. "I couldn't watch the movie with you until the end again. I'll make it up to you if I get the chance."
But he then felt that he had broken too many promises, and this one was meaningless.
Although Zhang Shutong had been running around for her, he had never said anything like "I want to protect you." Now that Gu Qiumian was asleep, he hesitated for a moment and still said:
"Just leave it to me. Everything will be fine when you wake up. I promise."
Since you came out with me, I will definitely let you go back with peace of mind.
There won't be a pool of blood, a cruel truth, and I won't let you cry.
In her sleep, Gu Qiumian frowned. He didn't know what she was dreaming of, but Zhang Shutong apologized to her again. The girl's eyebrows showed no sign of relaxing.
He sighed and found that the hot water in the cup was gone. Zhang Shutong wasn't good at taking care of people. He just thought that the air-conditioned room would be dry and she might be thirsty when she woke up. He took the cup and went to the hospital room. The young nurse was cracking sunflower seeds and looking at her phone. Zhang Shutong found the sound strangely familiar. After thinking for a moment, he realized it was "A Chinese Odyssey."
The young nurse didn't even look up and asked:
"When did you come back? Why didn't you say anything?"
Zhang Shutong could only say that he had something to do and was leaving right away.
"What on earth are you doing? Count how many times you've run outside today," the young nurse was obviously startled. "And you look like you're about to faint."
Zhang Shutong said that was because he had just come back from outside and the wind had been blowing on him.
He thought for a moment and said:
"And you taught me to do this."
"Hey, hey, don't just falsely accuse people. When did I ever teach you to run around with a fever?"
"Not that. It was about protecting a girl's feelings and stuff."
"That's a normal situation. This is a special situation. What kind of girl needs you to risk your life to protect her? Although I admit that the girl you brought over is very pretty, it's not like... " The young nurse's eyes widened. "It's not like you're going out at dawn to win her over, are you? Is she a very demanding type?"
"No," Zhang Shutong explained while pouring water. "I have something very important to do. You might think she was cold just now, but she's actually very soft and will glare at you at the drop of a hat."
"You're starting to talk nonsense now. It's so illogical."
"My head is a little dizzy."
"So she's a very fragile type?"
Zhang Shutong was silent for a while:
"She's not fragile. She's very strong. It's just that some malice is too big for her to handle."
"Then call the police or her parents."
"The results might be worse."
"Then who else can do anything?"
"No one can." Zhang Shutong held the cup and hurried back because he heard the sound of a motorcycle engine downstairs. "I'll give it a try..."
He could faintly hear the lines from "A Chinese Odyssey" in the distance:
"Look at that man. He looks like a dog."
The young nurse also shouted from behind:
"Hey, don't make yourself look so pathetic. Look in the mirror. You really look like a stray dog now!"
It didn't matter if he looked like a stray dog. In the past, Zhang Shutong found the stray dog analogy to be incredibly embarrassing, but a stray dog also has its strengths. There are some things that those high-pedigree hunting dogs can't do.
Zhang Shutong could no longer hear what she was saying.
He returned to the observation room in a few steps, placed the hot water on the windowsill, but saw that Gu Qiumian was still frowning. Zhang Shutong didn't know what she was dreaming of, but he had no time to linger.
The time was 11:39 p.m. It would take eight or nine minutes to get from here to the camera.
Zhang Shutong said goodbye to the girl, but he found that she was holding something in her hand, and she was holding it so tightly that the color had even faded from her fingers.
Zhang Shutong gently pried her hand open.
It was his motorcycle key.
He put the key on the desk. Gu Qiumian's beautiful eyebrows slowly relaxed.
A so-called princess is a girl who can be easily appeased.
Zhang Shutong closed the door.
He was running nonstop.
He ran out of the corridor, down the stairs, and to the hospital. His lungs were burning, but all he could do now was run, to race against time.
As soon as he got out of the hospital gate, he saw Ruoping. Ruoping had always been a heroine. Without a word, she threw the motorcycle helmet to him. Zhang Shutong quickly caught it. The girl asked:
"Hey, do you have time to say a few words, Mr. Busy?"
Zhang Shutong put on his helmet and gloves at the same time:
"I have time for two sentences."
"I was going to ask you what you were going to do now, but Qingyi told me not to."
"After all, every man has a secret, right?"
A clear, youthful laugh suddenly came from the phone.
Normally, Zhang Shutong would have complained, "Where did you come from, brother? Can you stop with your chuunibyou nonsense? I really can't stand it..." But now, his nose suddenly ached.
To be honest, Zhang Shutong hadn't had this kind of experience in so many years, because he saw that Ruoping was holding her phone, and the group video call for their small group of four was open. Two familiar faces appeared on the screen.
Qingyi's side was completely dark. He was still riding his bike, Ruoping's electric bike, and was on his way.
Du Kang's side was bright. He was leaning against the window in the hospital corridor, a big, carefree smile on his face:
"Don't listen to Ruoping's nagging. Women are just annoying. We're all brothers. Who cares? Hurry up and ride."
"Being decisive at a time like this is what makes a man."
"Get lost, all of you. Do you have any conscience?" Ruoping laughed and scolded, then said, "This is the last time I'll go along with your nonsense, Zhang Shutong. Don't even think about a next time."
"You're not going to ask anything?" Zhang Shutong lowered his goggles.
"Do you want to tell us?"
"I'm sorry," he said in a low voice. "But I really can't tell you this time."
He couldn't even stand his own behavior, acting like a crazy person, making everyone run around for him.
But he really couldn't say. Whether it was a resurrected dead person, Gu Qiumian's mother, or Teacher Song's ex-girlfriend, all he could do was run forward with these secrets.
But Ruoping said:
"You're apologizing? For real? You never used to care about other people's feelings. But with that one sentence, this empress is satisfied. I'll go up and watch over Gu Qiumian for you. Now go and be crazy."
Du Kang said:
"Shutong, be careful. Don't forget my birthday is on Monday."
"I will definitely make it for your birthday this time."
Zhang Shutong twisted the throttle. He wasn't familiar with this bike and needed to feel out the gears first. In fact, he still had time for one more sentence, but he really didn't know what to say.
He felt a little lost. In his previous Rewinds, Zhang Shutong had to put in a lot of effort to gain people's trust. He had even told someone that he could regress, but he was just seen as a lunatic. Later, he got used to being a lone wolf and was too lazy to explain so much. As long as he could achieve his goal, he didn't care what others thought.
But at this moment, he felt guilty for this trust. He didn't know how long it had been since he was trusted like this. The trust of his best friends, Teacher Song's trust, his parents' trust, Gu Qiumian's trust... Zhang Shutong suddenly realized that so many people had gathered around him.
Every person has something most precious in their heart, something they would willingly risk their life for.
He knew that for Teacher Song, it was the short-haired girl with dimples. So for him, this trust was a priceless treasure.
But people often find it hardest to be honest with those who trust them. The tires were already rolling on the ground. He only said in the end:
"I'm going."
A faint shout came from behind:
"Hey, Shutong!"
Zhang Shutong looked back.
Du Kang said:
"After going through all this! You better come back with good news! Otherwise, it'll be too embarrassing!"
Qingyi finally said:
"Do you remember what I told you? You didn't admit it then, but now you're running wildly on that road..."
He said a so-called man is someone who fights to the death to protect what he cherishes.
Zhang Shutong smiled and waved his hand back. Of course, he remembered.
He had always remembered what they said very clearly.
If he could, he would have really liked to finish that movie. The movie was called "Roman Holiday." He didn't expect to go to Rome. Having a holiday was already a luxury.
Maybe he could have left this matter to Gu's father.
The other person might or might not be able to handle it.
But if he left everything to others.
What was the point of this ability to regress?
Zhang Shutong had always wanted to reach that untouchable Sunday and live a normal life. But now he understood that if he was only obsessed with the beauty of the past, tomorrow would never come.
He remembered a sentence that said: "Only when your body is covered in blood, sweat, and mud, and you become bruised and battered, until people think you're crazy—only then will tomorrow come."
He was once again riding in this snowy night, but this time, he was heading to his last destination. He was going to put a final period at the end of this matter.
So-called Rewind is being trapped in a cycle and constantly exhausting yourself.
You are like a stray dog, and you can only keep running wildly for tomorrow.