Winter Returns

Chapter 103 Retreat (Part 2)
"Do you still want to see a movie?"

Gu Qiumian asked calmly.

But just a moment ago, her expression wasn't like this; if I'm not mistaken, she had just blinked hard.

"...Let's go back. We were startled just now, and we've already caused enough trouble today."

Du Kang quickly replied politely.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qiumian turned her head, covered the microphone again, and quickly repeated herself.

Du Kang didn't know why she had to be so secretive when she made a phone call to Shu Tong. Anyway, he couldn't figure it out, so he didn't think about it anymore.

Come to think of it, Shutong hasn't told her about the footprints yet.

The "murderer" was never found.

So, should we wait or not?

He was unsure what to do and was about to ask his two best friends when he turned around and saw Qingyi and Ruoping whispering to each other.

"Wait, why are you all so mysterious?"

"Shh." Ruoping waved her hand, meaning you just listen and don't speak. Then she whispered to Qingyi, "Have you figured it out yet?"

"No."

"Forget it, I'm not going to think about it anymore."

Gossip is a girl's nature, but it comes and goes quickly with people who aren't that important to her.

If the other party was truly tense and worried about something, then out of humanitarian concern, she should show some concern. However, after checking again, she found that Gu Qiu Mian didn't seem sad or upset. Just a moment ago, she had looked conflicted, but now she was talking quietly on the phone with a calm expression, so she stopped paying attention.

"Let's go up first, Shutong is definitely waiting for us."

Ruoping stretched slightly and told the two to tidy up the sofa and make sure their phones weren't left underneath... She always had so many things to worry about.

On the other side, Gu Qiumian also turned off the lights and the projector. The noisy movie theater, which had been bustling not long ago, returned to darkness. It wasn't until the three of them entered the elevator that they realized Gu Qiumian was still standing outside.

“You guys go up first,” she said casually, picking up her phone. “I just remembered I have to make a call to my dad about the outer wall.”

The three of them weren't familiar with each other, so they simply nodded and pressed the elevator button.

As the elevator doors closed, the last ray of light inside the car disappeared.

Forgetting is a perfectly normal thing. Everyone has some small fragments of memory that remain in a corner of their mind. These things may be connected at some unexpected moment, and you will suddenly realize and nod, feeling a lump in your throat.

But perhaps for some people, those fragments of memory are not buried deep in their memories, but have completely disappeared.

The girl returned to the sofa in the dim space, hugged her knees, took off the four-leaf clover pendant from her chest, and removed the hair clip from the back of her head, her black hair quietly falling down.

……

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Shutong checked the time; it was almost three o'clock, which was indeed a bit late.

If we stay a little longer, the nanny will probably start preparing dinner.

He pondered Lu Qinglian's reminder and felt a headache coming on.

He was a little worried about Gu Qiumian spending the night at the villa.

But where should we go next?
Leaving the island?

Should we find a small hotel on the island to stay overnight?
Speaking of which, Gu Qiu Mian's father will be back soon, I wonder if he will cause any more trouble.

It would be troublesome if the other party treated it like a child playing house.

Zhang Shutong didn't want to cause conflict by saying things like, "Nonsense, why can't my daughter go back to her own home?"

This kind of big boss won't do everything you tell him to do.

He ran to the sofa and poured himself a glass of water, only realizing after he had taken a sip that it wasn't his own glass, but Gu Qiu Mian's. However, she hadn't used it before, so there was nothing to avoid.

Just then, a message came through on my phone in the group chat, where my best friends asked me if I should keep waiting.

Zhang Shutong was also unsure.

Will the killer do it again?
From a rational perspective, if the other party were to come up again, they would definitely find a lot of footprints on the mountain road. Putting themselves in their shoes, many people would be waiting for them at the villa, and it would be daytime now, so it's highly likely they would turn back.

Therefore, it's unlikely we'll gain much more today. Furthermore, the other party's identity is also a problem—was it really the figure we saw in the restricted area?

If so, why are the shoes different?
Countless questions piled up in their minds when the elevator doors slowly opened, and the group went upstairs.

Zhang Shutong did not see Gu Qiumian.

"What about her?"

"She said she wanted to sit downstairs for a while, alone," Ruoping spoke first, looking at her curiously. "What did you do to her this time?"

"No, right?" Zhang Shutong replied, equally puzzled.

"Should we leave or keep waiting? We've already eaten and watched a movie..."

"Let me ask first, wait a moment." He dialed Gu Qiumian's number again.

The call was connected very quickly on the other end:
"Tell me what's on the phone, don't come down yet," Gu Qiumian said softly.

Zhang Shutong guessed it was probably about her mother, so without further ado, he told her about the footprints.

"Okay." She was silent for a moment, then said, "I will lock the doors and windows. Auntie is with me, and Daddy will be back soon tomorrow."

Zhang Shutong didn't want to hear that answer. "I mean, you'd better think about whether you want to stay somewhere else for the next couple of days."

Why go somewhere else?

"Do you remember the dream I told you about? Your home isn't actually safe," Zhang Shutong had no choice but to say, forcing herself to speak.

"Then how did that person you mentioned get in?"

This was the question Zhang Shutong feared most; he simply couldn't explain it.

He then said, "How about we go off the island for a few days and visit the city?"

"I... this is too much trouble for you. Nothing will happen at home."

Well, I thought this was my trump card, but it turns out it doesn't work at all. I remember Lao Song once said that if you invite them, they'll agree. I guess you can't take that seriously.

Zhang Shutong knew she was preoccupied and probably wouldn't be in the mood to do anything, so he said:

"It's only three o'clock now. The last ferry isn't until six o'clock. You can think about it first."

Gu Qiu Mian acted as if she hadn't heard:
"Actually, I've wanted to ask you this before: why are you so concerned about my affairs?"

Zhang Shutong choked, thinking to himself, "You're about to be killed, how can I not care?"

But he couldn't say, "You'll die if you don't listen to me," like a lunatic.

Zhang Shutong then thought that if there really was any opportunity, it would be at the steamed bun shop at the school gate, where the girl was clearly in a bad mood but still acted indifferent, and then stubbornly told him that she would be defeated if she did that.

He felt a connection to her story and decided to help her from that moment on, and then things spiraled out of control.

He hesitated for a moment, just about to say those words, when he realized that this was something that had already disappeared.

It turns out that I never even had a reason to help her on this line.

He instinctively tried to come up with an excuse, but Gu Qiu Mian spoke up first.

"Okay," she said softly, her voice sounding very soft, but not in a coquettish way; rather, it sounded listless. "Let's talk about it when I get up here."

Shortly afterward, the elevator doors opened.

When I saw Gu Qiumian again, she had taken off the hair clip at the back of her head and had her hair back to medium length. She no longer looked like a princess who had been carefully dressed up, but was a beautiful and noble girl.

Gu Qiumian sat on the sofa, sipping water.

Zhang Shutong wanted to say that she had used that cup, but since she had already drunk from it, it was better to keep quiet.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

She then raised her head again and smiled:
"You're really something, who said I was in a bad mood..."

"That's good."

Zhang Shutong didn't know what had happened to her while she was down there. At the moment, she was neither in a good mood nor a bad one. He only knew that some things seemed to have changed quietly and were different from before.

(End of this chapter)