Winter Returns

Chapter 102 The Crow Drinks Water (Part 1)

Time goes back a few minutes.

basement one.

The movie footage is frozen on the screen.

It's hard to hear what's happening up there.

Several people looked at each other.

"Why hasn't Shutong returned the call yet? Did that person he mentioned come again?" Ruoping asked Qingyi in a low voice.

"It shouldn't be that bad." Qingyi thought for a moment. "I was close to him just now and overheard a little bit of the phone conversation. It seemed like Old Song was saying something about a picture frame falling off."

"A picture frame this big in the living room?" Ruoping asked instinctively.

"Other rooms, perhaps."

"Then why won't he let us go up?"

"A little nervous?"

"I also think he's been overly jumpy lately."

"There's nothing we can do. We've only heard about many things from Shutong; we haven't experienced them ourselves, so we can't understand his feelings."

The two whispered.

"Should we tell her first?" Ruoping secretly pointed at Gu Qiumian. "I think she's quite anxious; she must be worried something might have happened."

"Go ahead and say it," Qingyi glanced at her sideways. "What are you being so coy about? This is a good opportunity to break the ice."

"Fine, I'll say it then." Ruoping gritted her teeth, looking resolute, but hesitated before speaking, "Um, Gu Qiumian..."

Gu Qiumian was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Ruoping to take the initiative to talk to her, and quickly turned her head away.

“Don’t worry too much,” Ruoping said awkwardly, turning her face away and pointing at Qingyi. “I heard it from him. It should be a picture frame that fell, nothing else.”

“…Thank you.” Gu Qiumian replied hesitantly, then, relieved, explained, “Then it should be alright, don’t worry too much. It’s just the one in my study…”

But as she spoke, she seemed to remember something and gently bit her lip.

Thus, in Ruoping's view, the girl named Gu Qiumian, upon learning this news, not only did not feel relieved, but became even more worried.

No, that's not quite accurate. She was worried just now, but now she's a little nervous.

Gu Qiu Mian subconsciously took a step, her long dress hem slightly disheveled. Her fingers clearly pressed the elevator button, but she lowered her head and stood there blankly for a while before returning to sit down on the sofa.

This is a beautiful and elegant girl. Today she is wearing an exquisite French-style blouse, dressing herself up like a princess. But even a princess can suddenly panic. She is still biting her lip, staring at her toes, seemingly lost in thought, looking completely bewildered.

Her fluffy slippers shifted restlessly. Her long, light blue skirt was also wrinkled from her pinching, like a budding flower.

Ruoping noticed that the girl's beautiful eyes, which always held a lively spirit, were now being replaced by a sense of unease.

"What's going on here? Didn't she say there was nothing to worry about? Analyze this quickly!" Ruoping was completely baffled and asked Qingyi in a low voice.

"That photo is important to her?" Qingyi blurted out, then immediately dismissed her own judgment. "No, if it were something important, she should have rushed over immediately. Why did she sit down? It gives the impression that... what's done is done, and it's too late. You're a girl, you should understand better, right?"

"I don't know either." Ruoping shook her head. "If I had to say, I feel like I'm running away from some kind of reality, but at the same time, I'm still hoping for something?"

Why do you make it sound like it's like every monthly exam score release?

"What a terrible analogy," Ruoping said irritably. "She's a young lady from a wealthy family. When have you ever seen her overthink things? I doubt she'd even be overthinking the high school entrance exam. She's probably dealing with things much more important than this."

"What is that?" Qingyi was unusually stunned. "What could happen so suddenly, and it's related to a photograph?"

"Shh, stop talking," Ruoping tugged at his clothes, "Just listen..."

Then, Gu Qiumian took two deep breaths, thought for a while, and finally dialed a number.

The call was quickly connected amidst the confused yet curious looks on their faces.

"How are you doing there?"

Even though she already knew what had happened, Gu Qiumian still asked a question subconsciously and worriedly.

Of course, perhaps this is just a prelude to what he really wants to say next.

Because she herself didn't realize that her speaking speed was much faster than usual, she completely panicked.

……

Zhang Shutong answered the phone.

"How are you doing there?"

The girl's voice sounded anxious.

Zhang Shutong realized that he had been a little nervous and had startled her, so he quickly said it was nothing, just that the photo had been lost. "The family photo in the study?" Gu Qiumian followed up to confirm.

"Hmm, don't worry, it's not broken. Let's lift it up and lean it against the wall." Since it concerned her mother's belongings, Zhang Shutong felt she should explain things to her.

Gu Qiumian did not reply.

Zhang Shutong could even hear her slightly rapid breathing.

He had no choice but to continue explaining:
“I just went out to check, it’s just that the wall is old, nothing else. Teacher Song originally wanted to hang it up, but Aunt Wu said to wait until your father comes back to deal with it, so we listened to her…”

Zhang Shutong remembered the scarf she cherished, a keepsake left by her mother. Although the significance of a photograph and a keepsake are not quite the same, they were equally important to Gu Qiumian.

He then emphasized again:
"Don't worry, it's not broken. Do you want to come up and take a look?"

"It won't break..."

This time, he only received a few words in response.

Her tone was as ambiguous as her voice, quiet yet complex.

After a moment, Gu Qiumian explained in a low voice:

"It's just a photographic cloth, and it's fallen off several times already; it doesn't even have a glass backing..."

"Oh... okay then."

The two seemed to be in a situation where they were making small talk.

Zhang Shutong thought for a moment, intending to ask if she wanted to see a movie and what her plans were for the evening, but before he could speak, during the long silence, Gu Qiumian suddenly asked:
"You...saw everything?"

Zhang Shutong subconsciously hummed in agreement.

But he soon regretted it.

Because he understood what Gu Qiumian was hesitating about.

Damn it… He tapped his forehead with his knuckles and cursed himself under his breath. It was true that his best friend didn’t know about her mother’s death on this timeline, but he shouldn’t have known either. It was only when Lao Song told him in the car last time that he found out.

So it turns out she was worried about finding out.

He should just pretend he didn't see it; he had no interest in meddling in other people's family affairs. Perhaps Gu Qiu Mian would wait for him to ask her next.

"Why haven't I heard you mention your mother? Where is she? Why isn't she home? Is she busy with work, or is she on a business trip...?"

Thinking of this, Zhang Shutong couldn't help but glance back at the study. The door was tightly closed, but he seemed to see that beautiful woman in white gauze again. However, Zhang Shutong knew that she hadn't gone on a business trip or been busy with work; she had simply left this world forever—death. A word that is both light and heavy. Some things are irreversible, and this is destined to be a topic that leaves people silent.

A longer silence followed on the other end of the phone.

"So?" Gu Qiumian finally asked after a long pause.

What, so?
Are you waiting for me to ask something?

Thinking this way, those words indeed came.

Don't you want to ask me anything?

"No." Zhang Shutong didn't want to bring up her sad past, so she changed the subject. "I said there's nothing else. I was just nervous and scared you. You guys continue watching the movie, I'll be down in a bit..."

Zhang Shutong even asked, quite considerately, on a rare occasion:
"Would you like some juice, or something to eat?" He remembered where Gu Qiu Mian had found the juice yesterday. "What would you like to eat? I'll take it down with me..."

He thought he had passed this test. Although she had just eaten, based on Zhang Shutong's limited understanding of her, just like the night they went to the movies, when she ate a rice bowl and then went to the library to take out a big bag of snacks, this kind of spirited girl must be a carnivore with a stomach specifically for snacks.

But before he could finish speaking, Gu Qiu Mian interrupted him:
"no need."

Zhang Shutong couldn't discern the emotions behind her words; she was like a flower battered by frost.

Zhang Shutong glanced out the window subconsciously. The yard was indeed covered with a layer of white snow, but the room was clearly very warm. She wondered what was wrong with her.

"Then should I go down and find you?"

"Don't come down..."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, as if she were covering the receiver to ask something, before Gu Qiu Mian's voice came through, and she said quickly:

"Your friends were also scared, saying they weren't in the mood to watch the movie, and it was getting late..."

It's as if if I don't say something at this moment, something else will just slip out.

"Well."

Zhang Shutong replied.

That's right. In Qingyi and the others' eyes, their tension just now probably meant they thought they had discovered a new clue. Although it turned out to be a false alarm, this little episode made everyone lose interest in continuing to watch the movie.

Since that's the case, let's wait for everyone to come up and discuss what to do tonight. He was about to say something when the phone call ended.

(End of this chapter)