Winter Returns

Chapter 65 Endless Energy (Bonus Chapter, Please Vote!)
He suddenly thought of the killer's dark red, rough face. Could it be that the killer was wearing a scarf at the time?
Going even further, could that scarf be Gu Qiu Mian's?

Where did that scarf go in the eight years since she was murdered?

If the same person did indeed kill both of them, then the killer would have had access to the scarf.

But if we only consider it from the perspective of covering up facial features, why choose it in particular?
Zhang Shutong recalled the transfer student in the graduation photo, who was also wearing a red veil. However, he had been so preoccupied with Gu Qiumian's death and the tattoo that he had overlooked this "variable."

The timeline of Cold Blood Line is more complex than I thought.

Zhang Shutong still doesn't understand why he had to erase all the information back then.

Based on Zhang Shutong's understanding of herself, unless she was considering the possibility of no return after being murdered, or worried about the information on her phone being leaked and discovered by the murderer, she wouldn't have hesitated.
But Gu Qiu Mian and Lu Qing Lian are both dead. Who was she protecting?
He finally sighed.

He picked up his chopsticks and continued eating. His best friends looked at him differently, as if he was having a fit today. They all asked if he had been scared by the poachers yesterday. Zhang Shutong nodded and said he needed to drink some energy drink to calm his nerves.

He still had to eat. While pondering these matters, he chatted with his best friends. When they talked about the castle being smashed, Zhang Shutong casually mentioned whether Li Yipeng was a possibility. "Look," he said, "he's from another class, which would make it easier for him to take action. He also used to have a grudge against Gu Qiumian."

“That’s quite possible. The problem is there’s no surveillance footage. What if he denies it?” Du Kang asked.

Zhang Shutong said it was simple: "We just need to go to the shopping street, buy a scarf, switch it with another one, and wait for the rabbit to run into our trap." He then explained his plan, which made Qingyi nod in agreement, earning him a wave of admiring glances.

But whether it's Li Yipeng, the arsonist, or the Zhou family father and son, these are all things that can be easily dealt with. He now has a better way:
For example, if you tell Li Yipeng that the person who wrote your name on the toilet partition has implicated you, he will definitely be so scared that he will admit it on the spot.
For example, you could tell Zhou Ziheng that Li Yipeng exposed you, and he would definitely be speechless... It's a bit wicked, but it's quite useful.

Of course, to ensure the arsonist can be caught successfully, it's best to manage the timing carefully.

Speaking of which, Old Song is still in his office right now, smoking a cigarette in his slump, feeling utterly worried.

Zhang Shutong is now eager to explore the Gu family villa. He hasn't thoroughly explored the area yet, and what exactly happened along the way from the villa to the restricted zone is a crucial point of suspicion.

He sighed again, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of things to do.

"Wait, when did you and Gu Qiumian become so close?" Ruoping asked suspiciously; a woman's intuition is truly terrifying.

"so so."

"Then why are you suddenly so interested?"

"My deskmate."

The group seemed to have set a trap for him, just waiting for him to fall into it. Ruoping said, "Look, I got him to talk. I told you he had ulterior motives for sitting at the same table with Gu Qiumian."

Zhang Shutong didn't want to explain anymore; he was a bit tired. Just then, the proprietress brought out the last dish, and he prepared to finish eating and leave quickly. He wasn't going to force himself to treat this time because he didn't have enough money with him; he would definitely do it next time.

Thinking this, he sped up the speed at which he picked up food, and the boy at Gu Qiu Mian's table suddenly stood up:

"Boss, why aren't we getting our food yet? We've been waiting for ages, and there are only a few of them!"

He glanced at their table with a provocative look.

Look, those familiar lines are back again.

It seems that the boy has a crush on Gu Qiu Mian and really wants to be her protector. He feels that since his tablemates are Gu Qiu Mian's classmates, he needs to vent his anger. That's about it.

Zhang Shutong calmly thought that these henchmen had really poor professional ethics and would be fired sooner or later. No wonder Gu Qiumian didn't want to take them to the mall on Saturday.

And next...

He remembered that Du Kang threw down his chopsticks and was about to retort, but Ruoping suppressed him.

"Hey, who are you, kid? You think you're so tough just because you're having a meal?" Du Kang immediately stood up.

Zhang Shutong was stunned. Wait, he remembered clearly that Du Kang was being suppressed by Ruoping. What's going on now?
But Ruoping only then realized what was happening and hurriedly pulled down Du Kang's sleeve to make him sit down.

Zhang Shutong seemed to be deep in thought; he had underestimated the influence of his own "butterfly" influence.

Last time at the dinner table, no important matters were discussed; there was mostly idle chatter. Ruoping kept an eye on Du Kang when she had a spare moment.

But now he's getting tattoos, talking about class reunions, and most importantly, he's casually recounting the whole story of the "castle incident." Ruoping listened intently the whole time, but in a moment of carelessness, she couldn't stop Du Kang.

Sure enough, the boy stood up, not to be outdone:
"You're in Sister Gu's class, right? Let me tell you, I've disliked you for a long time, so what?"

"Holy crap, who are you?" Du Kang was shocked. "Still calling me 'Sister Gu'? You think you're something special just because you hang around Gu Qiu Mian every day?"

At this age, people are naturally competitive. As soon as Du Kang finished speaking, the men and women at Gu Qiu Mian's table all stood up.

Then Qingyi stood up, and Ruoping also stood up. Zhang Shutong was stunned.

He usually uses "henchman" as a euphemism just for convenience, so why is he acting like he's really fighting with the gang now?

The secretary also stood up and urged everyone to sit down, saying they were eating. She watched Gu Qiu Mian's expression but neither stopped nor incited her.

Anyway, everyone stood up, and for a moment the hall was filled with the sound of chair legs scraping against the floor. Only two people were left standing: Zhang Shutong and Gu Qiumian.

Zhang Shutong was thinking that he had just become a henchman a few days ago and now he was an enemy. Life is unpredictable and it's really sad.

Gu Qiumian then put down the yogurt:

"sit down."

She uttered two words calmly, and the people around her sat down in unison.

It's hard for Zhang Shutong to associate her with the girl who talks to Talking Tom, but it's not bad that the young lady has returned to her aloof and cool demeanor.

Gu Qiu Mian continued drinking her yogurt with a cold face, the rim of the cup level with her eyebrows and eyes, not looking at anyone. At this moment, the secretary realized her stance and started to criticize the boy first.

The proprietress, who had rushed out to mediate the fight, froze in shock upon seeing the scene.

Du Kang sat down unhappily, muttering that this grandson just needed to be taught a lesson; Ruoping then scolded him, saying, "Why are you taking these kids so seriously? Besides, there are more than a dozen of them. If a conflict really breaks out, won't we be the ones who suffer?"

Qingyi said nonchalantly that a fight wouldn't break out, and asked if Shutong was there.

Zhang Shutong felt he really couldn't beat more than a dozen people, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to control the situation.

Qingyi added that Shutong had helped her pick up the building blocks during break, so she still owed him a favor.

Zhang Shutong himself had almost forgotten. It seems the two still have some "old feelings" between them, and based on his understanding of Gu Qiumian, she doesn't like owing favors to others; the fact that she bought herself two large bags of snacks on Saturday is a good example.

Now he could finally eat in peace. After finishing his plate, he glanced at the time and remembered that it was around this time last time that he went to the restroom and overheard the conversation between the owner and his wife, thus learning about the conflicts in the commercial street.

Zhang Shutong was considering whether to eavesdrop again and record the conversation. Although not recording wouldn't affect the outcome, he wanted to speed up the process, hoping it might come in handy. At least, sending it to the police would attract their attention.

Besides, it doesn't take much time.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shutong told her best friends, "Give me the money. My stomach's a little upset. You guys go out and wander around while I pay the bill later."

There's another advantage to doing this: once he records the couple's conversation, he can pretend he "accidentally" stumbled upon the dispute on the shopping street while in the restroom.

Playing the recording to a few close friends later will make them realize the seriousness of the matter without needing to make up another excuse, which will only benefit their subsequent actions.

The three men, unsuspecting, simply said they would find a shop to go inside and wait, and would contact them later.
Zhang Shutong took the money and went to the restroom. He secretly turned on his phone's recorder and, sure enough, heard the landlady walk into the kitchen and start urging them on. The conversation was similar to what he had heard before.

But he remembered that not long after, he heard the boy shouting for the bill outside, and then the proprietress hurriedly ran out.

But this time, they didn't get to see it.

what happened?

He immediately realized that perhaps the minor conflict earlier had caused Gu Qiumian's table to eat more slowly, and even delayed the time to pay the bill.

There are so many changes in these small details.

The two proprietresses couldn't keep arguing forever, since Gu Qiumian was eating out. So they started chatting about everyday things. Zhang Shutong had listened enough and was about to turn off his phone when he heard someone pull on the door of a cubicle. It was a simple toilet enclosed by plywood. He had locked the door, but he was still startled by the sudden noise.

He replied that someone was there, and the stall door was pulled again. The person outside didn't say anything, as if pulling the door was some kind of secret signal. Zhang Shutong thought helplessly, how could he, this butterfly, affect other people's toilet use? He was too powerful.

He had nothing to do if he stayed any longer, so he opened the door and went out, only to be stunned again.

The person standing outside the door was none other than Gu Qiumian.

The girl clutched her lower abdomen, her brows furrowed slightly, and she bit her lip. A hint of pain flashed across her face. She looked somewhat weak, but when she saw him, she instinctively put on a brave face, as if she didn't want him to see her like this.

"Uh……"

Zhang Shutong really didn't know what to say. Girls are indeed shy, especially when it comes to this kind of thing. Putting himself in her shoes, even he felt embarrassed. But the toilet here was built later. He originally wanted to point to the "Peeing Only" sign on the wall as a subtle reminder, but when he saw what Gu Qiumian was holding, he suddenly realized something.

He quickly went out to make room and saw Gu Qiumian walk in quickly, barely having the strength to close the door.

She knew it was her inside, but was too embarrassed to say so, so she tugged at the door to urge him to come out.

Zhang Shutong recalled the day she went to the supermarket, when she hesitated for a long time in front of spicy strips;
He told her to buy whatever she wanted to eat, but Gu Qiu Mian said she couldn't eat spicy food these days.

Zhang Shutong was certainly not oblivious to the euphemisms used to describe a girl's period. He was just wondering why this was happening earlier than expected. Perhaps it wasn't "early," since it was only Thursday and Saturday, not a difference of more than a few days. Rather, he was wondering why it was suddenly manifesting now.

Some girls reacted strongly, while others reacted weakly. Gu Qiumian was undoubtedly the former. She was in so much pain that her lips turned white from biting them. As expected, no matter how aloof she appeared on the surface, she was actually a soft and gentle person.

Zhang Shutong wanted to say that since you know it hurts a lot, you still drink a lot of yogurt on a cold day, but the point is not about the yogurt, but why such a thing can change.

Unable to figure it out, he went to the front desk to pay. Coincidentally, he bumped into the boy who was slapping several hundred-yuan bills on the counter.

He thought that this time he had brought enough money and the other party would have no excuse to cause trouble, but this time he only had small change on him, which was given to him by his best friends. It is rare to see students of this age casually pulling out large bills like Gu Qiumian.

As Zhang Shutong was counting the coins, the boy came over:
"Dude, you're short on cash? How much do you need? I'll help you make up the difference."

Zhang Shutong sighed, feeling that this person's presence was really strong. Everything else was changing, but he hadn't changed at all, like a fighting rooster.

Without looking up, he replied with "That's enough," which made his stance clear, but perhaps because of this new conflict, the boy's words were even more inflammatory:
"I noticed you were the only one who didn't stand up just now. Did you chicken out? But don't be afraid. I was just trying to scare you. I wasn't planning on doing anything. Let's just let this go."

Zhang Shutong simply didn't want to cause trouble, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get angry when a rooster-like fellow was chattering in his ear. For the first time, he gave the other person a cold glance:
"Shut up."

Before they could finish speaking, a cold female voice rang out at the same time, and the two of them said "Shut up" almost simultaneously.

Zhang Shutong turned around and found that Gu Qiumian had walked over at some point. The boy choked immediately, seemingly unable to believe that the words were spoken to him. Zhang Shutong glanced at Gu Qiumian and noticed that her face was still a little pale, but no matter how the timeline changed, she always seemed to arrive in time to save the day.

Of course, after each rescue, he would turn around and leave, flicking the pendant from his hair.

The boy forced a smile and tried to call out to her, but Gu Qiu Mian ignored him. She had already returned to her seat, pointed in this direction, and was in no mood to talk much, or perhaps she was too tired. The secretary immediately ran over, grabbed the boy, and left.

"I……"

"Alright, don't come here again. Qiu Mian just said that she doesn't want to talk to anyone right now, and she asked me to tell you."

"No, I just..."

"Stop talking nonsense. Didn't I tell you that she's Qiu Mian's deskmate? You'd better keep your little schemes to yourself. Do you really think no one can see through them?"

The boy looked pleadingly at the group at the table, but the men and women who had been on his side just moments before had now changed their tune. Some even started to criticize him, saying that it was already cold today, Qiu Mian wasn't feeling well, and that he was being annoying. They had told him not to cause trouble, so what was the point of playing the innocent now...

Zhang Shutong didn't care what happened next. He simply felt that Gu Qiumian's words carried a lot of weight. She had seemed weak and frail just now, but now she was assertive and had a strong presence when she put on a stern face.

So, does this mean she's repaying the favor she did for collecting the building blocks?

Zhang Shutong didn't know why she was so insistent on repaying the favor. He originally wanted to resolve the issue once and for all, but Gu Qiumian abruptly interrupted him.

But they meant well.

He had other things to do and needed to go to the rooftop to meet someone, so he hurriedly left the shop and then sneezed.

Leaving the hotel with its heater on, a blast of cold air hit her face, making her nose sting. Dust-like snowflakes fell from the sky, and the outside world was almost a white expanse. The scene on the commercial street was even more desolate, and the pedestrians were walking very fast. Zhang Shutong was stunned on the steps, her eyes widening slightly.

He suddenly remembered a small gesture Gu Qiumian made when she entered the store: she was wiping the water off her hair.
He suddenly understood why she wasn't feeling well today and why her period had come early;
These are all details that never happened before, but now everything seems to have an answer;

But this still doesn't explain it—

Why……

Will it snow today on this timeline?

(End of this chapter)