Winter Returns

Chapter 75 Friend or Foe (Bonus Chapter, Please Vote!)
The girl with her hair tied in a high ponytail stood behind Zhang Shutong with her eyes lowered.

Zhang Shutong felt inexplicably uneasy.

When did she arrive?

How come you walk without making any noise?

Zhang Shutong immediately turned off the screen, turned her body to the side, and subconsciously created distance.

If it weren't explained beforehand that this was a development plan, it would take him a while to figure out what it was.

Besides, it's not like he wouldn't have felt someone standing behind him for so long without him noticing. This means that Lu Qinglian only glanced at him and even figured out the location of her family temple.
This is too abnormal.

“I’ve seen this picture.” Lu Qinglian said directly before he could speak, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"What do you mean?"

“Gu Qiumian’s father wanted to demolish the temple and develop it into a tourist attraction. His people came to talk to my grandmother, but she did not agree.”

"Then your home..."

Zhang Shutong was a little unsure of her intentions.

"I disagree as well," the girl said calmly. "By the way, are you still investigating who has a grudge against Gu Qiu Mian's family?"

Zhang Shutong choked for a moment.

"Are you doubting me?" she asked again, her tone unchanged, but giving him no time to breathe.

"……How can it be."

"Well, it's best not to."

After saying that, Lu Qinglian lost interest in continuing the conversation.

She put her schoolbag on the table, took out a neatly folded robe from it, and put it on. Zhang Shutong knew this wasn't because she was being unconventional, but because she was afraid of the cold and wanted to use it as a warm coat.

Then Lu Qinglian tossed her ponytail, went to the cabinet in the office, and found an umbrella in the corner. The umbrella was a free gift with some kind of purchase. The red and white umbrella was folded together, and you could vaguely see an advertisement for some kind of beer printed on it. It was probably a shared umbrella for the teachers.

"Where is Teacher Song? I'd like to borrow an umbrella," the girl asked at that moment.

"He has something to do."

"Then please tell him for me when he gets back, thank you."

After saying that, Lu Qinglian left.

Zhang Shutong sat in the chair until her figure disappeared from the office door. Her footsteps were indeed very light, and were quickly covered by the students coming and going.

Zhang Shutong picked up the water glass, but didn't drink it, and put it down after a while.

really.

It is related to the Green Snake Temple.

The reason I didn't continue talking to Lu Qinglian on the rooftop was because I wasn't sure of her stance.

He remembered the tattoo on his arm again.

Snake, little man, eyes.

The snake is the Green Snake Temple, and the little man is the temple keeper...

This undoubtedly confirmed his guess.

He frowned as he thought about the three tattoos.

Wait a minute, when were these three patterns discovered?

Zhang Shutong recalled Du Kang's words at the Lake Fish Restaurant. At the time, he was only focused on asking the two what the circle represented, but they said:

"...I remember the police had sealed off everything related to the case back then, right? You pleaded with Officer Xiong and finally got a photo, then you drew this thing. When we asked you what it meant, you just said it was a clue to the murderer..."

Zhang Shutong then realized a detail that had been overlooked.

The "circle" is a clue for the murderer, but that doesn't mean all three patterns are the same. These three patterns must be related in some way, which is why he always felt they were discovered together.

Now I think, that's not necessarily true.

He found the circle not long after Gu Qiu Mian was murdered, but Ruo Ping and Du Kang did not react to the snake and the little man at the time, which means that he only told them about the circle, or rather, he only found the circle.

The three patterns were not discovered at the same time.

The snake and the little man belong to the latter.

Zhang Shutong raised his arm, his left arm, and closed his eyes, visualizing the location of the three tattoos.

From left to right are:
Green snake, little man, eyes.

People also read from left to right.

Therefore, his subconscious understanding of the order of the three patterns was also based on this.

Another reason is that the green snake and the little man almost reflexively evoke certain associations, while the circle leaves one completely clueless.

But Zhang Shutong suddenly thought, if the circle was the first one discovered, then according to this order, does it mean that the green snake was the last one discovered?
Eyes, a little man, a green snake.

But does the so-called order of events really help in catching the culprit?

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack. The cold wind rushed onto his face, and a chill rose up on his body as well.

Parents swarmed onto the playground, some holding umbrellas, others wearing raincoats, while students ran out at top speed. In an instant, the pristine white snow turned gray-black, like a tattered, pitted quilt.

On this tattered quilt, Zhang Shutong even saw Ruoping. Her father had arrived. As expected of his precious daughter, he first helped the girl carry her schoolbag, then held up an umbrella, and hurriedly brushed the snow off her hair with his other hand.

Zhang Shutong then remembered to check her best friends' messages. It turned out that Ruoping had asked if she wanted to go with her family in their car. The latest message was from three minutes ago, saying that her dad had called her and she was going downstairs to wait for him. She asked him to reply quickly.

Du Kang and Qing Yi had agreed to go back together. All three of their best friends had cars, but Du Kang's parents couldn't leave at the moment, and Qing Yi was picked up by his father, who, in his memory, was a refined man with glasses.

He looked around and spotted the two figures below the school building. Boys aren't usually that particular, so their parents don't usually need to come to the front of the building. The two just put their schoolbags on their heads and rushed out with all their might.

He quickly replied to the message, telling them that he had plans for the day and would see them tomorrow.

The crowd surged like a tide, washing away the thick snow in the blink of an eye. It was in this turbulent scene that Zhang Shutong noticed a figure that seemed out of place.

The figure was holding a red and white umbrella, the surface of which was wrinkled and printed with an advertisement for a certain beer. Under the umbrella, a girl dressed in a green robe was hidden.

Amidst the swirling snow, Lu Qinglian surged into the crowd.

The surrounding noise had nothing to do with her; her steps were unhurried, yet she walked very quickly.

Zhang Shutong stared at the advertisement on the umbrella for a while, until the red umbrella disappeared from the crowd again. It left the school gate and disappeared around the corner, heading back up the mountain.

He looked away and saw that the national flag on the flagpole had been left hanging; it was drooping and pressed against the flagpole, probably going to freeze by tomorrow.

Zhang Shutong closed the window.

The next three strategies are simply: superior, middle, and inferior.

The best course of action is to find some clues tonight, to find out what exactly happened to Gu Qiu Mian in the early hours of Sunday, and then, with the help of those around us, bring the murderer to justice.

The best course of action is to hide. It doesn't matter where you hide, but leaving the island is the safest option.

The worst option is to wait and see, calling on Old Song, the police, and Gu Qiu Mian's bodyguards to stay at the villa on Saturday. But the reason it's a worst option is that mobilizing such a large force is not so easy.

Zhang Shutong went back to the classroom to pack his schoolbag. As he was leaving, he ran into Lao Song. Remembering the umbrella, he told Lao Song about it.

Song Nanshan slapped his forehead, realizing something was wrong:

"I forgot to tell Qinglian to wait. I should have taken her home in this heavy snow... When did she leave?"

Zhang Shutong thought for a moment:

"Leaved early."

(End of this chapter)