Winter Returns

Chapter 71 Who is the bastard? (Bonus Chapter)

He calmed himself down, feeling only a slight sense of regret.

Unfortunately, the girl was wearing a scarf when she came downstairs during the long break today, so Li Yipeng could only mess with the building blocks. If the scarf had been torn... he chuckled to himself, thinking that would have been truly interesting, and the girl's reaction would have been different. But nothing is perfect, and it was still a little short.

Zhou Ziheng thoughtfully closed the office door.

"What's wrong, teacher?" he asked in the perfect tone of an honest child.

"Ziheng." The homeroom teacher seemed to be lost in thought. She waved to him and said, "Don't be nervous. I have something to ask you."

Song Nanshan's face darkened:
"You all probably already know this in class, so I'll keep it short. Qiu Mian suspects that Zhang Shutong was behind the smashing of the building blocks this morning. Did you see it at the time?"

"No."

Zhou Ziheng shook his head in confusion, though he was secretly laughing so hard he almost choked. He looked at Zhang Shutong, wanting to see what kind of expression she had now, and whether she was still as calm as she had been when she questioned him that morning. However, since she was facing the bookshelf, he gave up on the idea.

"I was chatting with my classmates when I entered the classroom and then I saw it..."

"I see." Song Nanshan was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this. He didn't press further, but waved his hand wearily. "Alright, you can go back now."

But Zhou Ziheng knew he couldn't leave.

Although he really wanted to see how the two would have an even bigger conflict, like last time, preferably one that would alarm the leaders and parents and cause them to completely fall out... to his dismay, for the sake of his father's plan, he had to help the two clarify this "misunderstanding," otherwise how could Li Yipeng's mother play her proper role?
Another step too close.

This made him clench his fist in annoyance, feeling quite aggrieved. He had helped the two of them make up, and this was what he was supposed to do?
But he knew he had to be patient, for the sake of the bigger picture, and also for the "profound lesson" that would soon follow. So Zhou Ziheng took a deep breath and feigned sudden realization, saying:
"No way, teacher, are you sure you're not mistaken? I remember Zhang Shutong gave a speech on the flag-raising platform during break. How could it be him?"

“You reacted quickly, but that’s the problem,” Song Nanshan sighed. “Actually, I also think it doesn’t seem like it, but look at Qiu Mian’s side… never mind.”

Then the homeroom teacher called out, "Qiu Mian, you speak for yourself."

The girl spoke with a cold face, her voice chilling enough to freeze a person to death:

"Who knows when he got back to work?"

“Look,” Song Nanshan said, spreading his hands, “They were probably the first ones. I didn’t bring my team that day, and they ran off as soon as they finished speaking.”

"Then why did suspicion fall on Zhang Shutong?" Zhou Ziheng couldn't help but question, as this seemed somewhat unusual to him.

"Well, he was overheard talking badly about someone behind their back," Song Nanshan seemed reluctant to elaborate, only hinting with a headache, "It happened during the break between the first and second periods, when he was getting water. It must have spread throughout the class by now."

So that was the real trigger.

Everything makes sense now.

Zhou Ziheng suddenly realized.

No wonder they suddenly suspected Zhang Shutong.

He sneered inwardly, but feigned innocence:

"Actually, I don't think Zhang Shutong is that kind of person..."

"So who do you think it is?" Song Nanshan anxiously gripped his shoulder.

"I do not know."

Zhou Ziheng shook his head, patiently guiding the suspicion in the direction he wanted.

Actually, this was somewhat different from his plan. He had originally intended to report Li Yipeng tomorrow, but today there was a sudden snowfall, and since there wasn't much snow on the roads, he decided to use this opportunity to his advantage:

"But I think...why don't we investigate outside the class? After all, they have a better chance to take action. For example, maybe someone has had a conflict with Gu Qiu Mian?"

"That's true!" Song Nanshan slapped his thigh. "Hurry up and help the teacher analyze this. I've asked so many people and I still have no clue!"

Zhou Ziheng knew that Zhang Shutong was the homeroom teacher's favorite student. If anyone, besides Zhang Shutong himself, was most eager to clear the other of suspicion, it was probably the homeroom teacher. Capitalizing on this, he continued his analysis:
"Teacher, do you remember Li Yipeng? I was just mentioning it casually, but he used to be in our class. Is it possible that it's him?"

“That makes sense!” Song Nanshan nodded emphatically, but then clicked his tongue, “But here’s the problem, Ziheng, Zhang Shutong, he…”

"What's up with him?"

"He has already admitted it himself."

"What?" Zhou Ziheng was stunned, finally unable to maintain his composure. "Impossible!"

"What did you say?"

"I mean... he, he can't just admit it outright, can he?"

Song Nanshan explained:

"I didn't expect it at first. When I said I was going to call Gu Qiu Mian's father, he panicked and said that he still held a grudge against Qiu Mian because of the scarf incident. You should remember that, right?"

Zhou Ziheng certainly remembered, and nodded subconsciously, because he was the one who orchestrated this whole thing.

Song Nanshan slammed his hand on the table, the commotion so loud it shook the entire office. His face was ashen.
"For such a trivial matter, this bastard actually went so far as to threaten his classmate to die. To be honest, I did have high hopes for him before, but I never imagined he would turn out like this..."

"Bastard." Before he could finish speaking, Gu Qiu Mian interrupted him coldly.

Song Nanshan was taken aback, then softened his tone:
"Qiu Mian, don't worry, your teacher will definitely give you an explanation for this."

"I want him suspended from classes."

“Well…” Song Nanshan sighed, “I couldn’t get through to his mother when I called her earlier, so I’m calling her again now.”

He then pressed the call button and waved to Zhou Ziheng, saying:
"Go back now and tell your classmates to study hard and not to come back..."

But how could Zhou Ziheng just leave like that?
He was completely stunned, not knowing how things had deviated from his plan. What a joke! If the so-called cold case was solved now, would Li Yipeng's mother still come? And what would happen to his father's plan?
calm down……

He inherited his father's character, planning carefully before acting. Although he knew that Zhang Shutong was involved in something fishy, ​​and that Li Yipeng was the real culprit, he absolutely could not mention the real culprit of the "castle incident" at this time, otherwise the more he said, the easier it would be to expose himself.

His mind raced, his feet moving in sync, and after a few steps, he suddenly turned around:
"Teacher, I suddenly remembered something. Do you know the names of the toilet partitions? I reminded Gu Qiumian about it this morning..."

“You mean this? I know,” Song Nanshan said, stopping his phone call. “Ziheng, you can continue.”

Zhou Ziheng suddenly felt somewhat fortunate that he had kept a secret. He couldn't mention the castle, but he still had other clues he could use to shift the blame elsewhere:

"I suddenly realized who did it. It was during morning reading time. I arrived early today, and it was just Li Yipeng and me in the restroom..."

At this point, he hesitated, because the more details he revealed, the more likely he was to make a mistake. But then he glanced at the snow falling outside the window and knew he couldn't wait any longer. If he didn't detonate the bomb of Li Yipeng's mother today, and waited until tomorrow when the roads were icy and inaccessible, his father's plan would be completely meaningless. So he gritted his teeth:

"He did it. I saw him come out of the bathroom with a short stick in his pocket. I didn't realize what it was at the time, but it was probably a marker..."

He became increasingly calm as he spoke, and analyzed the situation as follows:

"I hadn't suspected him before, but after Zhang Shutong's incident today, teacher, think about it, maybe there are other people who want to take revenge on Gu Qiumian. That name represents some kind of mark."

He spoke with a hint of grievance in his voice:
“I know you probably didn’t take it seriously. I clearly reminded her this morning, but Gu Qiu Mian wouldn’t listen. But even so, I still have to say that for her safety, even if the suspicion is very small, we should call Li Yipeng over to confirm it…”

He knew Li Yipeng's mental fortitude. As long as he could successfully arouse the homeroom teacher's suspicion and call the other party to the office, he could add fuel to the fire with a few words, and the plan could still be carried out.

At this point, he looked at Gu Qiumian, hoping that she would show some appreciation. He really had been reminding her since morning, even though it was to clear himself of suspicion and to see her panicked yet grateful to him.
What he didn't expect that morning was that the girl would find him annoying from that moment on.

This was even more infuriating. Even a nod or a glance would have been helpful, increasing the homeroom teacher's attention. However, to his utter dismay, Gu Qiu Mian didn't make a move, not even blinking. He suppressed his anger, continuing to maintain his persona as a secret admirer.

"So I suggest we call Li Yipeng in now and confront him face-to-face about what really happened, even if I end up wronging him, for the sake of Gu Qiu Mian..."

“Ziheng, you’re such a good kid,” Song Nanshan interrupted with satisfaction. “But you also know that he’s not in our class anymore, so we can’t just go to another class and drag someone out without any evidence. So… are you sure you saw Li Yipeng’s name?”

"Sure!"

"I understand." Song Nanshan suddenly stood up.

The initial relief vanished, replaced by suppressed anger.

"Then listen to this first."

As he spoke, the homeroom teacher pulled out a phone—not his own, but an iPhone. Song Nanshan pressed play.
"Just recorded."

Everything caught Zhou Ziheng off guard. Before he could even speak, a somewhat familiar, intermittent voice drifted from the speaker:

"It really wasn't just me... I went to the bathroom because of a stomachache, and there was no one else there. Suddenly, a note was handed to me from below, asking if I wanted to get revenge on Gu Qiu Mian... He said his family also lived on the commercial street. I still have that note; you can check the handwriting if you don't believe me..."

There's no need to listen to what follows.

Because Zhou Ziheng could no longer hear what was being said inside, his ears were buzzing, like a fly buzzing around, even though it was winter;
The room was heated, but his heart felt like it had fallen into an ice cave.

It was just a platitude!
It turns out they've been trying to trick me into revealing information!
There was no misunderstanding at all. Li Yipeng had already been arrested, so why would they suspect me...?

Each step was just one step away, so why did it suddenly go completely off track?!

His movements were stiff. He turned his face blankly to look at the figure who had been standing facing the cabinet, seemingly in repentance. The other person turned around as well. It turned out that he hadn't been standing there as punishment at all, but had been sucking on a lollipop.

He's eating candy!

The other person simply took the lollipop out of their cheek, their expression unchanged, and twirled it in their hand like a conductor waving a baton, the candy pointing precisely at them:

“We know your dad’s plan: get out of the shopping street, and tell the police the rest.”

"you……"

These words almost made him feel dizzy and he was about to collapse to the ground.

But after speaking, the other person didn't even look at him, as if he were completely insignificant, far less important than his subsequent question. Zhang Shutong looked at the girl with the consistently cold face and asked, puzzled:

"Did you add any words without permission? Who's the jerk?"

Right in Zhou Ziheng's line of sight, the girl who had never looked at him directly suddenly smiled, as if ice had finally melted, and then glared at the boy defiantly:

"Who else could it be?"

(End of this chapter)