Winter Returns

Chapter 25 A Gift After Eight Years (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The first time they'd ever hosted a dinner party since then fell into Gu Qiu Mian's hands.

The boy was stunned, and so was the proprietress. By the time Zhang Shutong reacted, she had already gone to the restroom without looking back. Looking at the students at her table, no one had noticed what had happened.

It seems that Gu Qiu Mian only left the table halfway through because she had something to do, and conveniently solved a pressing problem.

Zhang Shutong accepted this favor.

To put it jokingly, it seems like I can't refuse this favor. Am I supposed to chase after her to the bathroom, open the toilet stall door, and say, "No need for you to pay"?
Of course, on the other hand, there are other ways. He is only short of twenty-odd yuan, and he can take out the shortfall from those few bills and return the rest in full.
But when it comes to favors, there are only two options: accept or refuse. Asking for only twenty seems pretentious. It would be better to bring enough money to pay it back tomorrow.

Gu Qiu Mian's choice to go to the restroom was truly brilliant. Zhang Shutong had never been able to figure out her intentions before, but this time even someone like him could understand—

So instead of waiting for the other person to come out, he went straight out of the fish restaurant, got on his bicycle, and met up with a few close friends.

After riding for only a few meters, we ran into Ruoping and the others queuing at the milk tea shop.

"Done?"

Qingyi pulled him aside and asked in a low voice.

"What happened?"

"You asked me to get them away because you wanted to say something to Gu Qiu Mian?"

“Actually…” Zhang Shutong thought for a moment, “that’s about right, I didn’t bring enough money with me just now.”

"How much short?" Qingyi was about to put the pocket on.

"I've already paid. Gu Qiumian came over and paid for me."

"Ah, why?"

"I don't know, please keep it a secret for a day."

Zhang Shutong planned to pay back the money tomorrow before telling Ruoping, so that he could help promote Gu Qiumian's "human touch" without causing any trouble. He was a little worried that Ruoping would try to pull him back now.

The group then parted ways in front of the shopping street.

They couldn't be together all the time. When Qingyi went to the bookstore to borrow some books, Dukang followed her to pick out some videotapes.
Ruoping had arranged to meet some friends at noon to go back to school, and she was traveling with Zhang Shutong.

He rode his bike, hung the milk tea on the handlebars, and named it "Come and Have a Cup," unlike the milk tea shops that would later open in shopping malls, with their large 700ml paper cups printed with exquisite patterns.
The milk tea on the island comes in a small, transparent cup with the opening sealed with plastic wrap. It's probably made from instant powder, but four yuan is a reasonable price.

On the way, Ruoping said she knew he had diarrhea, so she specially ordered a hot drink for him to drink while it was still hot when they got back. Zhang Shutong was very touched when he heard this, and Ruoping said that he should not only be touched but also take action.
He readily agreed, saying he would cover all her milk tea next week, and the girl nodded in satisfaction.

After carrying the milk tea into the teaching building, Zhang Shutong realized that it was winter, not hot. Did they give him a cold shower?

But it was too late.

The lunch break is from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm.

It's a little past one o'clock now, and the classroom is relatively quiet. Some students are studying, while others are sleeping on their desks. After all, it's the fourth year of junior high school, unlike the younger students who are so noisy they could lift the ceiling off.

Everything that happened during his student days was novel and exciting to him.

Zhang Shutong has always had good energy, otherwise he wouldn't have had much time to do chivalrous deeds in the future. He thought about it and felt that he should find a place to properly enjoy this instant milk tea. Only in this way could he be worthy of its "weekly package" price.

The location was set on the school rooftop.

That was his favorite place during his student days. This is what makes Zhang Shutong different from his best friends. They all thought that going to the rooftop to feel the cold wind would make them stupid. Du Kang would rather go down to sleep. Qingyi's chuunibyou brainwaves didn't match up with this place either. Ruoping even gave a very vivid example: every time she went up there, she felt like a caveman.

Zhang Shutong, however, thoroughly enjoyed this feeling:

The school is built on the outskirts of the island. Climbing to the rooftop, you can smell the cool lake breeze and take in the surrounding scenery. The gray and white buildings are of varying heights and are staggered. The lake is azure blue, reflecting the sky. The mountains stretch endlessly, and the people below look like tiny black dots. But this place is very small, just enough to accommodate these tiny people.

He planned to drink milk tea while pondering the murder case during his trip.

Stepping into the dark stairwell, covered in dust, the door to the rooftop was locked, but Zhang Shutong knew where the key was.
If he remembered correctly... he rubbed his feet and found that the third-to-last step's paving stone was a bit loose. He tried to pry it out from the cracks in the cement, but found nothing.

Where's the key?
Zhang Shutong was somewhat puzzled.

I remember I made this key myself. Once, the maintenance worker forgot to remove the key, and being quite daring back then, he went outside the school to have a copy made before handing it back to our homeroom teacher, intending to use it as a secret base for a few of us.

But after a few visits, the rest of them complained that it wasn't private enough and unsuitable as a base, and that it was too cold in winter and too hot in summer as a tea room. Only he went up there occasionally.

Could it be that some student with a keen eye picked it up?

Zhang Shutong didn't know whether to be happy or regretful. He was happy because he wasn't the only one whose brain had been blown out of shape. He was regretful because he actually quite enjoyed having a secret hideout. A hideout and a base sound similar but are actually different. Batman even has a Batcave after joining the Justice League. This shows that, regardless of whether a man is rich or poor, having a private little nest is very important.

When he doesn't want to be disturbed, he'll come up and sit for a while. He can't explain why; he's always been like this since he was a child.

But once this little nest is discovered, it will no longer be a little nest. However, I am about to graduate, so I will treat this as the last time I come here. It is time to pass on the key to the rooftop to my junior, so that there will be someone to carry on the legacy.

So he tried pushing the door. The wind howled outside, even exerting pressure on the door. He forced it open a crack, and a blast of cold air rushed in, allowing Zhang Shutong to see the back of another caveman.

She wasn't a junior, but a girl who looked very familiar.

Even though she wasn't wearing a green robe today, her high ponytail at the back of her head was still very distinctive, hanging quietly down her back, just like the girl's upright posture.

Lu Qinglian turned her face in response and tilted her head:
"Are you looking for me?"

Her tone was as casual as if she had a guest at home. After speaking, she turned her face away without waiting for Zhang Shutong's reaction.

"What are you doing here?" Zhang Shutong asked curiously.

"Have a meal."

Zhang Shutong then noticed that the girl was holding an old-fashioned aluminum lunchbox. She picked up a small piece of rice with chopsticks and slowly put it into her equally small lips, eating quite gracefully.

"I'm eating. If you need anything, please speak quickly."

After she swallowed the food in her mouth, she emphasized it again in a low voice.

Just like when the hostess opened the door and found it was a salesperson, her face turned cold, and she told the salesperson not to disturb her during mealtime.

Lu Qinglian's difference lies in her politeness; she never gives anyone the cold shoulder. Her tone is flat, at most a polite refusal, but the polite refusal is the biggest problem—

What's with this attitude of taking the initiative and acting like the guest is in charge?

Zhang Shutong felt that she didn't seem to understand her meaning. The question wasn't about what she was doing, but rather why she was there.

"You're eating on the rooftop?" That sounds even sillier than coming to the rooftop to fish.

I like to eat alone.

"No wonder I haven't seen you in restaurants outside."

Zhang Shutong said thoughtfully, then sat down next to Lu Qinglian, a distance away, and watched the scattered students walk by.

It was fine when I was alone before; no one would look up at me, so I wouldn't be noticed.
Now there are two, I wonder if that makes them more noticeable.

However, even though she was conspicuous, it wasn't a big deal for Lu Qinglian to come over for a meal occasionally, since she was quiet and it was like someone had come to visit her base, which wouldn't interfere with her milk tea.

Zhang Shutong didn't care, but Lu Qinglian seemed to care. She swallowed the food in her mouth again and frowned.
"You're here on business?"

"It's nothing, just spacing out."

"If you have something to say, say it as soon as possible, don't keep me in suspense." She simply put down her chopsticks.

"...Why do you think I need something from you?"

"I'm the only one who comes here, so I don't really like being disturbed while I'm eating."

"Wait a minute," Zhang Shutong stopped inserting the straw, "What do you mean only you would come?"

You stole my fishing rod yesterday, and now you want to take over my little fishing spot too?

Zhang Shutong said with a headache:

"Lu Qinglian, didn't you notice that this place is usually locked?"

"Zhang Shutong, didn't you notice the door wasn't locked today?"

This woman even mimicked his speech, copying his tone perfectly. She seemed to think he wasn't very bright, and after finishing her sentence, she added:

"Because I was the one who opened it."

Of course I know you opened it, the problem is I made the key.

Before he could speak, Lu Qinglian felt it wasn't enough and revealed a piece of irrefutable evidence:

"Two years ago, when I was in the second year of junior high school, I discovered where I had hidden the key."

It feels like a divorce dispute over assets. The man says he paid the down payment for the car, while the woman says she's the one who paid the mortgage...

Zhang Shutong's lips twitched. He thought to himself, "That must be the second year of junior high. It would be a miracle if it were any other time, because that's when I was voiced in the second year of junior high." Now he finally understood where Lu Qinglian's aloof attitude came from. But what surprised him even more was something else—

My supposedly secret haven was completely infiltrated from the moment I discovered it?
How could the two of them not have noticed each other at all?

Do you usually eat lunch here?

"almost."

No wonder.

Unlike her, Zhang Shutong was never alone. She ate lunch with her best friends and had never been to the rooftop.

"Actually, I made a copy of the key..."

"No, I clearly found it." Lu Qinglian shook her head gently. This girl was not only naturally naive but also stubborn.

"I really am worthy of it."

"evidence?"

"Guess why it was hidden in the third floor tile?"

"I am the temple keeper."

"The temple keeper can even predict where the key is hidden?" Zhang Shutong exclaimed in surprise.

“You can understand it that way,” Lu Qinglian said casually.

Zhang Shutong wanted to say that he was being sarcastic, and asked if Zhang hadn't realized it.
And why is that familiar phrase coming up again?
But then he remembered the subtle curve of her lips that briefly appeared when he took her back up the mountain last night, and suddenly realized something:

First of all, when she says "you can understand it that way," it definitely means that the previous sentence was a lie.

Secondly, this girl is never genuinely naive; she's just pretending. If you actually believe her, you'll be the one being fooled.

"Stop pretending," Zhang Shutong said speechlessly. "I was just fooled by you yesterday."

“You’re a bit smarter than I thought, Zhang Shutong.”

Sure enough, once the truth was revealed, she reverted to her usual indifferent demeanor, as if she had matured completely, even dropping the "classmate" suffix:

"However, to correct you, it wasn't just yesterday."

Zhang Shutong was too lazy to ask her when the next day would come; it was another trap. No matter what she guessed, the answer would be nothing more than "You can understand it this way for now." Zhang Shutong finally understood the meaning of those words; the unspoken message was actually, "You're not very smart right now, so please keep trying."

He suddenly found Lu Qinglian to be more interesting than he had imagined:
"You knew I came here often?"

"I didn't expect there to be other people here before today."

She no longer waited until she swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking, but instead ate her rice in small bites as she spoke:

“At first I thought you had something urgent to tell me, but when you asked, ‘What do you mean by only you coming?’ I realized I was wrong.”

Zhang Shutong felt that she was a bit narcissistic. Just yesterday, she asked herself if she liked her, and today she subconsciously felt that she had something urgent to tell her.

"So everything that followed was just a joke?"

"Almost." She took another bite of rice.

Zhang Shutong was now puzzled:

"Since you've realized that, why are you still pretending..."

"Because I don't like people disturbing my meal, this will scare you away," she said casually, as if talking to a child.

Zhang Shutong said with amusement:

"So this morning, you also didn't want anyone to disturb your morning reading?"

"Only this one is not."

Unexpectedly, Lu Qinglian suddenly frowned, and instantly split the clump of rice under her chopsticks in two.

Poor rice.

Why is this girl only eating rice? Ever since he came over, he's seen her taking small bites of rice, eating, and eating some more.

Looking into that old lunchbox, I realized what had happened:

The aluminum lunchbox was pitted and scratched, and it was filled with rice. Only in the corner was there a small pile of pickled vegetables. It wasn't the kind of pickled vegetables sold in the market. It was probably homemade. It was a strange dark green color and looked a bit wilted.

Needless to say, she must have brought lunch down from the mountain.

Then, Zhang Shutong realized why she could always use chopsticks to pick up rice into small clumps. At first, she thought it was some special skill, but now she realized that it was just because the weather was too cold and the rice had already cooled down. The moisture on it had almost dissipated, so it clumped together in the lunchbox.

"You eat this every day for lunch?" Zhang Shutong was quite surprised.

Lu Qinglian seemed to understand what he meant:
"Only today was relatively bad."

"That's good, I should have invited you at noon..."

“I usually get a boiled egg.” She picked up another ball of rice.

Zhang Shutong checked for a while and realized that she was genuinely focused on eating when she said that, and wasn't pretending like before.

"Just a boiled egg?"

Sometimes it's a duck egg.

"The nutrition is not quite right."

“I know, that’s why I order milk every semester.”

Zhang Shutong didn't know if the "milk" she was referring to was the small square bottle that the school gave out every day, a miniature 150ml bottle of sweet water with a protein content of less than 1.8%.

He didn't know what to say, so he simply handed her the milk tea. Although it didn't have much nutrition, at least it could provide some calories.

But feeling that Lu Qinglian might not accept it, he added:

"Ruoping really wants to thank you for what happened last night. Consider it her treat."

"No need." To everyone's surprise, Lu Qinglian shook her head. "I don't think I'm doing that badly."

"It's not that I pity you..."

Zhang Shutong thought for a moment, but how should he put it? Just friendship? Not really friends; just gratitude? No need for gratitude; just feeling sorry for them? But the other person didn't seem to be doing that badly.

"I mean... like why do you always come to the rooftop to eat? Are you afraid of being seen?"

He didn't know why he asked that question, nor could it be said that he was testing her self-esteem. It was like two cavemen communicating without necessarily knowing what they were saying, relying entirely on gestures. Fortunately, Lu Qinglian understood, and her voice was as calm as water:
"There's no reason, I just like it."

"got used to?"

"Maybe."

"You like boiled eggs every day too?"

"Not really."

"Then we can try something else."

"But it's very convenient."

"It smells like chicken poop."

"I know a way."

“That’s right, I knew that too.” Zhang Shutong placed the milk tea next to her, stood up, and walked to the door to the rooftop. “So it’s not that I’m pitying you, whether you drink it or not is up to you, it’s just…”

He said all that but couldn't find a suitable description, so he simply left it as a mystery:

"Meeting gift."

It's a pity that Lu Qinglian didn't ask what it meant, otherwise no matter what she said, she could have replied, "You can understand it this way for now," and used her own methods against her.
Upon hearing this, the girl immediately frowned, as if pondering something.
Or perhaps she suddenly stopped resembling a young girl; the woman seen in the black-and-white portrait eight years later seemed to reappear before her, evoking a sense of déjà vu.

But this time Zhang Shutong understood what she meant; this was a silly girl who couldn't even tell the difference between Oreos, so she kindly explained:
"Don't eat that black thing, it's milk tea seed, you have to spit it out when you drink it."

She paused upon hearing this, the familiar look vanished, and the girl's eyes suddenly became terrifying again, though her face remained expressionless, much like that morning:

"...Don't take me for a fool."

Sorry, there's only one chapter today with 4700 words.

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(End of this chapter)