Winter Returns

Chapter 72 Lu Qinglian is a cool woman
It can't be me.

Zhang Shutong silently recited it in his heart.

In most cases, he wouldn't stoop to Gu Qiumian's level, so he kept quiet.

As the saying goes, good things make people happy, and Gu Qiu Mian is feeling quite... well, her spirits are better than before.

Zhang Shutong put the lollipop in his mouth, feeling that this time, by bringing along Lao Song, Gu Qiumian, and his three best friends, the whole show had finally paid off.

It turned out that he overestimated Zhou Ziheng's mental fortitude, but it's always better to be cautious in everything.

The rest was beyond Zhang Shutong's control.

Without saying a word, Lao Song called the police, not the school leaders.

Strangely enough, at this point, the school leaders' stance was exactly the opposite of theirs. Zhang Shutong's side wanted to escalate the matter, while the school leaders hoped to downplay the incident and contain its impact within the school.

Once the other party arrives, it will be hard to say which direction things will take, and as a member of this group, Lao Song should of course "follow the rules".

But if Lao Song followed the rules, he wouldn't be Song Nanshan.

He did choose to call the police, but Zhang Shutong didn't want to make things difficult for Lao Song. He still wanted to see Lao Song get promoted, and what if he was retaliated against? So he handed over his phone and dialed Officer Xiong's number. That way, even if the school leaders held him accountable afterward, they could say that the student was being irresponsible.

Old Song, who had been keeping a stern face, was deeply moved by Zhang Shutong's sudden gesture. But between men, expressing gratitude doesn't require flowery words; a pat on the shoulder is enough.

Zhang Shutong then took the opportunity to ask if he could practice driving in Song Nanshan's car, as he wanted to learn. Song Nanshan choked for a moment and said, "You little brat, don't you know what kind of occasion this is?"

Okay, let's get down to business.

The call was quickly connected. Old Song identified himself and immediately began pressuring Gu by invoking his name, saying that the two had already spoken on the phone, and that he had a student whose family was suspected of being involved in the retaliation against the Gu family, with solid evidence and even a recording...

The police were quite accommodating. Soon after, Song Nanshan hung up the phone, gave him an "OK" sign, and then took Zhou Ziheng to report to the grade director.

Gu Qiumian also came along this time, and in a sense, her words carried more weight than Song Nanshan's in front of the school leaders.

Zhang Shutong finally breathed a sigh of relief and found a place to sit down.

Zhou Ziheng's composure is only relative to his peers; he'll probably spill everything once he's in the police car.

All that's left is to wait.

Zhang Shutong decided to inform his family and friends. He entered the classroom while thinking about things, and the noisy class instantly quieted down. He paused and realized that things were different now.

I am now a "big villain".

Countless eyes were fixed on him, holding their breath. He had a lollipop in his mouth and said calmly that it was already resolved. "Don't stare at me, look at your textbook."

Quite a few people subconsciously lowered their heads, and the class monitor gave him a grateful look, which Zhang Shutong found very strange.

There was still a while before the long break ended, so there was no need to continue studying. Old Song should have come over to lift the curfew, but he forgot.

Zhang Shutong wasn't one to meddle; he simply returned to his seat.

The four of them held another meeting, this time around him.

Zhang Shutong moved further in and sat in Gu Qiumian's seat, leaving his own stool for Du Kang. Qingyi sat in the back, while Ruoping went to the front after discussing it with Du Kang.

He felt it was necessary to give his three best friends more information, otherwise he would have to explain everything he did, like getting on the bus first and buying the ticket later. When would that ever end?

Zhang Shutong turned to the side, leaning against the radiator, and thoroughly experienced the throne of the young lady. Then, he spoke from both sides—since the three people were positioned in three different directions—he explained the whole story. Du Kang said admiringly:
"No wonder Gu Qiu Mian suddenly went to the library. So this was part of your plan. You've got it all figured out!"

“Only this one isn’t.” Zhang Shutong said, embarrassed.

"Then how did you come to suspect Zhou Ziheng?" Ruoping asked again.

"Yeah, it's because he's dark-skinned." Zhang Shutong couldn't help but laugh. "When he passed the note to Li Yipeng, Li Yipeng saw his hand. I asked him for his features, and Li Yipeng only remembered that the hand was very dark. Isn't that a coincidence?"

—Of course, he made it up, but the excuse was strangely reasonable, and Ruoping laughed so hard she bent over.

Qingyi was still in a state of shock, since he was the only one willing to use his brain.

In these kinds of situations where the mystery is revealed, Du Kang and Ruoping are used to treating Zhang Shutong as an external brain. So no matter how difficult, reliable, or mysterious the reasoning process is, they don't care much. They just need to be there to create a good atmosphere.

Only Qingyi understood the difficulties involved. In his words, "The building block incident only happened in the morning, but Shutong found the person in the afternoon and even made an unexpected gain. You're amazing."

Zhang Shutong's close friends never hesitated to flatter him, and amidst the chorus of praise, he felt a little embarrassed. Just as he was about to say something modest, a voice suddenly broke in:
"Amazing."

The four of them instinctively shut their mouths, looking at each other and signaling with their eyes that it wasn't me who said it. But there were only the four of them present. Could it be that a supernatural event had occurred?

Just as the atmosphere was getting tense, the girl next to Ruoping slowly turned around, looking calm and composed.

So that was what she said.

Zhang Shutong couldn't tell whether Lu Qinglian's words were a compliment or not. To put it in a more advanced way, it was "blank reading." She said, "You're amazing," but her tone and expression remained unchanged.

"I'm sorry, Qinglian, I disturbed your studies..." Ruoping quickly apologized in a low voice, thinking that they had gotten carried away and disturbed the other person.

Lu Qinglian simply shook her head, saying it wasn't a bother, but she was actually quite interested herself.

But she was completely unaware that her presence caused an awkward silence around her.

Instead, he swept his gaze across everyone's faces, as if wondering why they had suddenly fallen silent.

At this moment, Du Kang had a sudden inspiration and asked the girl if she wanted him to tell her again.
Lu Qinglian thought for a moment, then held up three slender fingers:
"Are the people on the commercial street going to harm Gu Qiu Mian?"

"We just have suspicions..."

"Did Zhang Shutong find all of these?" Lu Qinglian put the first one back.

"Um, right, isn't Shutong pretty amazing...?"

“One last question,” Lu Qinglian glanced at him, “when did they make up?”

Not to mention Du Kang, even Zhang Shutong was stunned.

I thought to myself, "When did you become so gossipy?"

Who acted indifferent to everything at noon?

Just because you say a few words doesn't make you a riddle teller.
If it were Zhang Shutong, he would definitely retort with "You can understand it that way for now," but Du Kang has already given a more honest answer:
"Who knew? We just had a meal and came back like this. We're puzzled too..."

"I understand." Lu Qinglian nodded her chin gently, thanked them politely, and transformed back into that ethereal fairy, as if she hadn't been the one gossiping just moments before.

She came suddenly and left suddenly; no one knew why she initiated the conversation or what she wanted to find out.

Only in the instant Lu Qinglian turned around did Zhang Shutong notice a slight curve at the corner of her lips. To call it a smile would be too faint, but Zhang Shutong had seen this expression on her face before. He frowned.

"what do you want to say in the end?"

These words surprised the three close friends, because Zhang Shutong's tone had been rather serious just now. Although he was usually a man of few words, he rarely spoke to people in such a casual manner. "It's nothing," Lu Qinglian said lightly, "You're quite good at winning over girls."

The three of them were completely confused again.

Zhang Shutong was also baffled. On the rooftop, Lu Qinglian had wondered about his reaction the night before and asked him what he was investigating, but he deliberately didn't say.

He immediately realized that Lu Qinglian might be trying to find out about this, so she managed to get a few words out of Du Kang.
He put himself in Lu Qinglian's shoes and considered what useful information he could glean from her:
Most people wouldn't associate poachers, the commercial street, or Gu Qiu Mian's death.

He probably saw himself as just a "protector of the flower" in the other person's eyes, so he made a teasing remark.

At this moment, Ruoping quietly mouthed, "What's going on between you and Lu Qinglian?"
Zhang Shutong shook her head, wondering why she was suddenly interested in this matter.

Although a few words were tricked out of him, it was nothing serious. It's just that Du Kang's mouth is really loose. It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. So Zhang Shutong said in an annoyed tone, "Look at what you look like now."
Du Kang was still stunned and asked, "What does it look like?"

"Pouty lips".

"Huh? What happened to me?" Du Kang was bewildered.

"Men's secrets shouldn't be shared with others," Qingyi chimed in.

“Completely agree.” Zhang Shutong opened the student milk cup and toasted him in the air.

"Get lost, I'm not a girl!" Ruoping knew they were having another bout of adolescent delusions and rolled her eyes wildly.

"Can't the secrets between best friends be shared with others?" Zhang Shutong changed his mind.

"Heh, you'd better," Ruoping sneered, "You'd better not share anything with Gu Qiumian. You said it yourself. Do you want me to record it for you? Remember that."

Zhang Shutong was speechless.

He actually did share it, mentioning things like the base, the restricted area, and the castle. He let it all slip while riding his bike that day, and even took Gu Qiumian on a tour of their secret base. He really has no right to criticize Du Kang.

We must take strict precautions against the continuous autumn rains from now on.

This isn't the place to talk. Zhang Shutong pulled the three of them outside and whispered to Du Kang, "Be more careful in the future. I don't care about you and Lu Qinglian, but Gu Qiumian's family matters have too much of an impact. It's best if only the few of us know about it."

Du Kang nodded in realization and said, "Shu Tong, you're so thoughtful. I promise to keep my mouth shut from now on."

Zhang Shutong was relieved.

Then he asked Qingyi, "Do you think Lu Qinglian acted a little strangely just now?"

Serene Contemplation:
"is a bit."

Zhang Shutong listened attentively, but then he saw Qingyi also hold up three fingers:

Did you notice what she did just now?

Zhang Shutong, of course, saw it. Lu Qinglian asked three questions in total, each representing a finger, and she would take one finger back for each question asked.
"and then?"

"Didn't you realize it's pretty cool?" Qingyi said, gesturing as she spoke.

Zhang Shutong was speechless.

I thought to myself that you'd better not say in your next sentence that Lu Qinglian is a cool and stylish woman.

"Just kidding, just kidding," Qingyi laughed. "Haven't you realized you have this habit too?"

"Have it?"

“Yes, yesterday after school, Du Kang came up to you and asked why you changed seats. You held up three fingers and made up three excuses.”

Zhang Shutong asked in bewilderment:

"You mean she's copying me?"

"No, I mean her order is different. Look," Qingyi stretched out her hand, "when we do this action, do we press our thumb down on our little finger, leaving the other three fingers exposed, and then start pulling inward from the ring finger?"

"Roughly the same……"

"Did you notice Lu Qinglian's movements just now? She started by pulling her index finger inwards, until only her ring finger was sticking out. I certainly couldn't do that. What about you?"

Zhang Shutong also tried it, and his fingers almost cramped up; it was indeed a very difficult move.

"Is this what you mean by 'abnormal'?"

"Yes."

"What does this mean?"

"It's even cooler now."

"..."

Zhang Shutong bit into the soft flesh.

Just as they were about to head to the restroom, Old Song rushed back from the administration office, saying that Shutong would be coming out with me later while he went back to his class to make some arrangements.

Zhang Shutong knew that as the homeroom teacher, Lao Song would naturally have to go to the police station with him, and he himself would also have to go. It was Zhang Shutong's own initiative to ask for it—he couldn't put his mind at ease until he saw Zhou Ziheng's father arrested with his own eyes.

I also talked about this with my best friends. After Lao Song made the arrangements in class, the three of them were all eager to go, and they were quite excited, as if they were going to carry out some secret mission.

And that's exactly what happened. While everyone else was in class, I was out wandering around with the homeroom teacher. That's how it is in school. Even if it's just shoveling snow, as long as I'm out of the school building, it's definitely better than being cooped up in the classroom.

But Lao Song refused to take them with him, saying, "I'm going to do serious business. What are you three doing causing trouble?" He then grabbed Zhang Shutong and ran outside.

Amidst the disappointed looks of her friends, Zhang Shutong waved goodbye to them. Halfway there, she remembered to ask Gu Qiumian where she had gone and whether she was following along.
"Qiu Mian isn't feeling well, so she'll stay at the administration office for a while. I'll pick her up after school, oh my..." Old Song suddenly gasped, "Why don't you come with me then?"

Again.

What a familiar invitation.

Last time, it was because of that sentence that he was unwittingly pulled into Old Song's car, and the three of them squeezed into that Ford Focus and spent the night at Gu Qiu Mian's villa. A lot happened during that time, and Zhang Shutong was starting to miss that bowl of duck noodle soup, but now was not the time to talk about that:
"Did you get through to her dad on the phone?"

"Not yet, probably a long-haul flight." Old Song, still the same old Old Song, raised an eyebrow slyly. "What, are you worried about the other person's dad coming back when you go to their house?"

Zhang Shutong didn't engage in idle chatter with him, but simply told him not to let his guard down, implying that the matter was not as simple as it seemed.

He suddenly said:
"If, I mean, if there's still no new progress by Saturday, could you take me and Gu Qiumian off the island for a bit?"

As they were saying this, the two were going down the stairs when Old Song suddenly stopped, and Zhang Shutong bumped into his back.

Song Nanshan was utterly shocked, his eyes widening as if he were looking at an alien:
"When did you get this idea, kid?"

(End of this chapter)