Winter Returns

Chapter 31 Childhood Sweethearts (Second Update)
Zhang Shutong, sitting in the back, could see very clearly, so every time he wanted to lower the window a little, he would touch the window lift and then give up.

Why aren't you two saying anything?

Old Song even had time to ask questions while overtaking other vehicles, but unfortunately this was a small island with few cars, so he usually overtook bicycles, which only made him look dashing.

No one cares about him.

"Where do you want to go? How about I take you two to the city to see a movie tomorrow? Let's see 2012, the new American blockbuster. It's on me, and there's plenty of popcorn and drinks." The man was very generous, staring ahead and saying nonsensical things. "But we have to see the original English version, so we can practice our listening skills. You two have to write me an English review when you get back."

Still no one paid attention to him.

For example, Zhang Shutong simply didn't understand how he went from eloping to movies and then to listening practice.

"How about we go to the amusement park? Bumper cars are a good deal, 10 yuan for unlimited time. Shutong, you and Qiumian can ride one, and I'll ride the other. Let's see who can bump into whom," he said, beaming with excitement. "They say every man has a childlike heart, and that's absolutely true." He added, "The Ferris wheel is nice too, but the best time to go is at night. But once you're done at night, there's no boat back, so you can only go during the day. Let me tell you, I've never ridden one. Once I even bought the tickets, but then it rained..."

Even if Zhang Shutong was slow-witted, he could still sense the other layer of meaning in Lao Song's words. Was he trying to play matchmaker? He was about to ask, "Where is your integrity as a teacher?" but Song Nanshan seemed to get more and more interested as he spoke:
"After we're done playing, let's go to KFC for lunch. You guys know the Beef Wrap, right? I heard it's going to be discontinued soon, and we won't be able to get it anymore. We can still catch the last one if we go now..."

He had been casually holding the steering wheel with one hand, but when he said this, he straightened up excitedly, it seemed that the tender beef five-square was really important to him.

Zhang Shutong wondered if her judgment was wrong. Perhaps the man, who was almost thirty, was someone who wanted to go out and have fun but was too embarrassed to go, so he had to bring two students along.

Song Nanshan was very approachable outside the school. After talking for a while and no one paid him any attention, he complained:

"You two have already treated me to dinner and you still won't give me any face? Shutong, how about we chat about our experiences as protectors of flowers? Qiumian, you can talk about being..."

Just then, the song on the radio was nearing its end, the vocals were full of emotion, and the phrase "Let's elope" kept repeating, elope, elope, elope... Zhang Shutong and Gu Qiumian couldn't hold back any longer and said in unison:

"Could you please turn the music off first?"

"Oh, you think it's too noisy? You should have said so earlier. I thought you two were just listening to music without talking..."

"Who listens to such awful music?" Gu Qiumian replied irritably. Miss Gu's taste was indeed different; Zhang Shutong simply thought it was out of place, but didn't find it unpleasant.

“Hey Qiu Mian, what you're saying hurts me. The teacher really likes this song. Look, the first line is about dedicating your youth to that glorious city behind you. Although our island isn't glorious, I've truly dedicated my youth here…”

"Teacher, why are you riding the Ferris wheel all by yourself?" Gu Qiumian will definitely be a shrewd businesswoman in the future. If you don't want to hear it, just pretend you didn't hear it.

"What do you mean, 'alone'? How can you ride a Ferris wheel alone? Of course, it's with your girlfriend," Song Nanshan said dismissively. "That's why I say you two kids don't understand anything."

"And what about your girlfriend?" Gu Qiumian asked curiously. It seemed that as long as she didn't mention eloping, she wouldn't mind saying a few more words.

"Uh, we broke up."

This was the first time Zhang Shutong had heard that Lao Song had an ex-girlfriend, but this ex-girlfriend was probably quite "early," since Lao Song had been single for at least four years of junior high school. Otherwise, how could someone with a girlfriend have time to drive around aimlessly? Song Nanshan didn't really want to talk about this topic.
"Go away, go away! How did you two become my interrogators? Give me a straight answer: are you going to the city tomorrow or not? If you are, I'll come and get you two."

"No way," Miss Gu said disdainfully. "The one in the city is too small. It only takes ten minutes to complete a full rotation of the Ferris wheel. How can it be called a Ferris wheel?"

Old Song smiled wryly and said yes, he knew Qiu Mian was a young lady, and the Ferris wheel in the city could not compare to Disneyland or anything like that, but when the teachers' generation was young, they thought it was cool enough. It was a holy place for young people to date. Back then, the tickets were very expensive, costing as much as a day's meals, and you still had to queue for an hour.

Gu Qiu Mian seemed quite unhappy that people called her "Miss" to her face, so she rolled her eyes and said, "Teacher, can you be serious for once? First of all, there are no Ferris wheels at Disneyland in China. Secondly, when did I compare it to Disneyland? I was talking about the one in the provincial capital. You can ask him if you don't believe me."

"He" refers to Zhang Shutong, of course.

Zhang Shutong's family were originally from the provincial capital, but came to the island because of her parents' job transfer.

After Gu Qiumian mentioned it, he did recall visiting a Happy Valley before. It was indeed a very grand place, built in the suburbs and surrounded by a whole street of hotels. Compared to it, the one in the city could only be called a children's amusement park at best.

Of course, a proper amusement park has proper staff, dressed in all sorts of fluffy costumes, holding balloons in their hands, and there are also clowns selling ice cream, making a group of children laugh.

However, he wasn't interested in Ferris wheels when he was a child. Why waste precious time on such things? Zhang Shutong always went straight for roller coasters, but because he was too young, he was carried away by the furry leather-clad mannequin, his legs flailing in mid-air.

Later, as he got older, he didn't go many times. Zhang Shutong's parents were always busy. Other children might be able to go to the movies, have a big meal, or go to the amusement park on weekends, but he could only choose one of these three things each week. Even then, his parents often couldn't get everyone together. Either his mother or his father would take him, and they rarely went together.

So when he was with his dad, he would go fishing and have barbecues in the wild; when he was with his mom, he would sit in a beauty salon reading a book, and a bunch of aunties or older sisters would often pinch his cheeks, leaving him with several lipstick marks when he looked in the mirror, which annoyed Zhang Shutong to no end.

In short, he was completely cut off from amusement parks, but he did remember the Ferris wheel that Gu Qiumian mentioned, as it was a landmark building.

Every night, colorful light strips illuminate the overpass, making its massive silhouette visible against the night sky from afar.

Zhang Shutong nodded in agreement, confirming that Miss Gu wasn't lying, and added an extra memory: he remembered there was a shop selling rainbow cotton candy under the Ferris wheel. He had never ridden the Ferris wheel, but he had eaten cotton candy. He thought it would be Gu Qiumian's turn to nod in agreement, saying she had eaten it too, but to his surprise, she said she hadn't, and that going to the amusement park was a long time ago.

Zhang Shutong wondered how long this "long time" would be. She was only in elementary school when she ate cotton candy, but Song Nanshan interrupted her immediately.

Old Song gritted his teeth and said, "That's when I remembered you two are from big cities. If it were Ruoping and the others, they would have been cheering excitedly. Taking you two out to play doesn't give me any sense of accomplishment."

"But there's something I've been curious about for a long time. Can I ask you about it today?"

"What's wrong?" Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "Do you want to eat cotton candy too?"

Song Nanshan blurted out:
"Actually, I've been thinking about this for a long time. Since you two are both from the provincial capital and transferred schools on the same day, did you two know each other before, Shutong and Qiumian?"

(End of this chapter)