Winter Returns

Chapter 95 Showdown
"Yes, I know. I'm with Lu Qinglian. I'll explain in the car. Please thank your uncle for me..."

Zhang Shutong hung up the phone and rushed out of the room.

In the short time it took to say a few words, Lu Qinglian was also dressed and followed closely behind. Both of them had long legs and walked very fast. It was almost noon, and there was no sound of cooking oil fumes yet. The quiet stairwell was broken by the sound of two footsteps.

The staircase was neither too wide nor too narrow, enough for two people to fit at the same time. Zhang Shutong deliberately gave one side of the handrail to Lu Qinglian, while he himself took three steps at a time and descended a floor in an instant.

"Hey Zhang, skipping class today, going fishing again?"

He had just rushed to the corner when he unexpectedly ran into an aunt carrying a vegetable basket. He vaguely remembered that she lived on the third floor and was half a colleague of his parents. Zhang Shutong had long forgotten her name. Just as he was about to give her a brief greeting, he caught a glimpse of her flowing black hair out of the corner of his eye.

Zhang Shutong subconsciously turned his head, only to see Lu Qinglian rush to his side in a flash. The girl held onto the stairs, leaning against them for support, and then pushed off with her toes—

Zhang Shutong was taken aback, and so was the aunt:
"This girl is..."

Before she could finish speaking, the girl in the green robe almost slid down the stairs along the handrail.

Time seemed to freeze.

Her long hair flowed freely, and her eyes remained calm and still.

The aunt met her gaze and was speechless.

By the time she came to her senses, Lu Qinglian had already brushed past her without saying a word. The girl stood on one foot, her posture steady, her movements efficient, and her demeanor elegant.

Zhang Shutong had no choice but to apologize to the aunt and quickly went downstairs.

Lu Qinglian seemed to be waiting for him. As soon as they stepped out of the stairwell, a cold wind rushed in, and amidst the white snow, the two of them started walking almost at the same time.

"You almost scared someone's shopping basket off their hands..."

"Where are you going?" The girl glanced at him, her green robe rustling behind her.

"They were going the same way as the utility pole to the left of the entrance to the residential area, so they arrived at the same spot."

"it is good."

"Is your foot alright?"

"It can hold up."

Seeing Lu Qinglian walking faster and faster, Zhang Shutong had no choice but to call out to her, saying that it wouldn't make a difference if she didn't take another minute. However, she frowned, as if she thought he was being too slow.

Zhang Shutong thought he was the type who couldn't care about anything else once he had something important to do, but he never expected to meet someone even more extreme than himself.

Soon after leaving the residential area, an SUV was already parked next to a utility pole.

The passenger window rolled down, and Ruoping's eyes widened:

"Qinglian, why are you with him?"

Hey, we're best friends, shouldn't it be "Shutong, why are you with her?"

Lu Qinglian and Ruoping had a good relationship. She greeted her and then stopped rushing. Even though she had been walking ahead of Zhang Shutong just now, she stepped aside to indicate that she would get in the car first.

"Wait a moment..."

He started to say something, but then swallowed his words back, regretting that he hadn't discussed it with Lu Qinglian beforehand, otherwise it would have been difficult to explain why she had come out of his house.

But it was too late to say all that now. Zhang Shutong opened the car door and saw Qingyi and Dukang's faces.

"What a coincidence, Shutong." Qingyi was quite the sly fellow.

Du Kang just chuckled foolishly. Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "Don't laugh. You already have a baby face, and the more you laugh, the more you look like a child. Hope is slim."

There was no point in saying more. He squeezed into the carriage, and Lu Qinglian followed him in. The door slammed shut, and Zhang Shutong looked at the man in the driver's seat first.

The man was imposing with broad shoulders, and even wearing a sweater, you could see the obvious muscles in his arms. Despite driving a large SUV, he looked like he was huddled in a small box, his shoulders hunched over.

It is said that a tiger father will not have a dog daughter, so the man who can give birth to a heroine like Ruoping must be extraordinary.

Zhang Shutong remembered that the other person was a retired athlete from the provincial team who practiced gymnastics. He had come to their school as a physical education teacher a couple of years ago, but had now been transferred to the town. He originally wanted Ruoping to transfer there with him, but the girl refused and couldn't bear to leave the three of them, so he had to give up.

The man has regular facial features, so he must have been quite handsome when he was young, except that his mouth is a bit big, a trait that Ruoping inherited.

These days, a physical education teacher needs to be able to command respect, so the man looks very serious and doesn't smile much, but in reality, he's a complete doting father to his daughter.

Zhang Shutong didn't stand on ceremony and quickly greeted and thanked the other party. The four best friends and their parents had become familiar with each other.

The man grinned as well:
"Xiao Zhang, I was wondering why I hadn't seen you earlier. Turns out you were with a woman..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ruoping gently nudged him with her arm.

Zhang Shutong knew she was afraid Du Kang would misunderstand. The man shut his mouth, only glancing strangely at himself in the rearview mirror before turning to look at his daughter and smiling:

"Then you guys chat, I won't say anything."

Wait, does he think Ruoping is jealous?

Zhang Shutong felt a slight headache.

"Tell me honestly, what did you do today?"

Lady Feng turned her head.

"Yeah, Shutong, you even made the three of us dig a hole, all mysterious. Qingyi said you were planning to catch a wild boar, is that true? Did you catch one?"

Wild boar...

There were indeed wild boars in the mountains in earlier years.

Zhang Shutong secretly glanced at the "wild boar".

Lu Qinglian didn't speak. She looked out the window as if everything was irrelevant to her.

"No... I accidentally stepped off the edge of the pit and almost fell in," he said, rolling up his sleeves to reveal some bruises on his arms. "Look."

"Did a wild boar hit it?" Qingyi pretended to be confused even though she knew the truth.

“I told you I fell by myself.” Zhang Shutong glared at him, signaling him not to talk nonsense.

"Really? Then why didn't you come to find us?" Ruoping asked suspiciously.

Zhang Shutong forced himself to say:
"My clothes were all wet, so I went home to change and called my mom to come pick me up."

"Then how come Qinglian is with you?"

“I ran into her at the foot of the mountain.” Zhang Shutong quickly came up with a plan. “She was at that little shop. I went to buy water, and she was buying sausages to feed the foxes. Do you remember those foxes? The ones we encountered last time with the poachers…”

Zhang Shutong spoke more and more fluently, preparing to properly explain the relationship between the girl and the fox, but then:

"He's lying."

A voice suddenly rang out beside her, and Lu Qinglian spoke calmly. The carriage fell silent instantly.

Several pairs of eyes focused on the girl in the green robe.

“Uh…” Zhang Shutong was taken aback, not understanding why she was causing trouble at this time.

“He’s lying to you, don’t believe him,” Lu Qinglian repeated calmly.

"Okay, I knew something was off. I felt like you were lying, making us dig a hole, and then telling us to leave right after you'd dug it. And another thing, if you went home to change clothes, why did Qingyi say she was busy when she called you earlier, but suddenly she's free now?"

Ruoping questioned:

"Qinglian, you tell me, I don't believe him."

Lu Qinglian didn't speak immediately, but turned to look at Zhang Shutong, who saw that faint, playful smile on the other's lips.

"Zhang Shutong, can I tell you the truth?"

Only Zhang Shutong knew the hidden meaning behind those words, but to others, it sounded as if she had been coerced, her words filled with vulnerability.

"He even threatened you?" Ruoping was surprised; Zhang Shutong's crime was compounded.

"Don't worry, Lu, with us watching over him, this kid definitely won't dare to do anything," Du Kang chimed in.

"Is it okay?" The girl tilted her head and looked at him.

Zhang Shutong no longer believes in friendships based on a single kick.

He sighed resignedly, closed his eyes to rest, and thought to himself, "I might as well say it; some things I'll have to let my best friends know sooner or later."

Moreover, once it gets out, he'll lose all leverage over her.

Zhang Shutong gave up treatment, and seeing this, the others ignored him and all stared at Lu Qinglian, hoping to glean some shocking secret from her. The next second, the girl parted her red lips slightly:
"The truth is, Zhang Shutong fell into that trap."

"Uh...what do you mean?"

"He was trapped in that pit and couldn't get out by himself. I happened to be passing by and rescued him. So he invited me to his house for a cup of hot water."

Ignoring the disappointed looks from the crowd, Lu Qinglian said calmly:

"But he thought it was embarrassing and was too ashamed to tell you, so he told a lie."

"That's all?" Du Kang was stunned, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"What do you think, Zhang Shutong?" Lu Qinglian asked meaningfully.

Zhang Shutong nodded quickly.

"Wait, that doesn't explain why we dug the hole either," Ruoping still wondered.

"I don't know about that," Lu Qinglian said.

"Alright, Pingping, stop twisting your body like that, it's not safe," the man in the driver's seat reminded her at the right moment.

Ruoping couldn't get any information out of her, and turned away unwillingly.

The interrogation finally came to an end. Everyone was disappointed with the final "truth" and went back to their own business. Ruoping listened to music with her headphones on, while the remaining four squeezed into the back row. Their seats, from left to right, were Du Kang, Qing Yi, Zhang Shutong, and Lu Qinglian.

Qingyi and Dukang were discussing this week's issue of "Zhiyin Manke," but Dukang seemed a bit distracted, probably regretting sitting on the far left.

Zhang Shutong glanced at them, then looked at Lu Qinglian, and mouthed something in an annoyed tone:
"What are you doing?"

"Warning." Lu Qinglian mouthed the words.

"What happened to me?"

"Don't expose other people's private matters."

"Private matter?"

Zhang Shutong was puzzled.

She didn't mention that she had sprained her ankle.

“Fox.” To everyone’s surprise, she said coldly, “I don’t care who you’ve lied to this time, but you shouldn’t use my affairs as an excuse.”

Seemingly worried that she might not understand if she spoke too quickly, she added after a long pause:

"This is the third time I'm reminding you, our relationship isn't that good yet."

Zhang Shutong opened his mouth:
"Uh... I'll be more careful next time."

Lu Qinglian nodded casually, then turned her face away to look at the scenery rushing past the window.

She always maintained a proper posture, with her hands on her knees, like a well-behaved traveler, seeing only passersby along the way.

Zhang Shutong glanced at her a few times, then looked away.

Okay, so liking foxes is a taboo topic too.

Life is about learning from mistakes.

Following waist, limb contact, and feet, there is now another taboo.

It was still a long way from the mountain road, and he was sitting in the back of the SUV. Sometimes when they got to the difficult parts of the road, his body would sway from side to side.

He closed his eyes and rested for a while, knowing that he couldn't hide this from his best friends no matter what.

Even if an excuse can be found for the incident involving the pit and Lu Qinglian;

Next, when he and Lu Qinglian got out of the car at the villa, it would arouse even more suspicion.

Once you tell one lie, countless more will follow.

This cycle seemed endless, with no end in sight, which made Zhang Shutong feel exhausted.

If he were still the lone wolf he used to be, he could keep everything bottled up inside. But as the truth was gradually revealed, he found himself increasingly powerless.

Human resources are sometimes limited. In the castle case, he could have kept it a secret from everyone. In the arson case, he could have revealed the secret afterward. The Zhou family father and son could have kept it a secret for now... But things are different now.

Now that the real culprit has come to light;

Therefore, it's time to lay the cards on the table with everyone.

He typed out what he needed to explain in his phone's notes app, only to find that Lu Qinglian was staring at his screen the whole time.

"Are you going to tell them?" she asked casually.

(End of this chapter)