Winter Returns

Chapter 98 Gu Qiu Mian has chosen the wrong opponent
Zhang Shutong knew that it was inappropriate to bring such a large group of people on a visit.

Fortunately, the young lady was very accommodating, although her tone wasn't very friendly:

"Didn't you go hiking?" she asked coldly.

"I'm back now."

"Oh, you didn't eat on the mountain?"

"There was no food on the mountain, so I came back..."

Then, with a headache and disgust, she said:

"You're such a hassle... Where are you now?"

“We’ve been standing downstairs at your place for quite a while now.”

Zhang Shutong glanced at the second floor; logically, the second floor should have been able to see her.

"I'm underground."

No wonder.

I could hear some faint background noises from the other end of the phone.

The background noise quickly disappeared, and Gu Qiumian's voice remained neither cold nor warm:
"Why didn't you tell me you were bringing people? Wait a minute... I'll go up now."

You can hear the slapping sound of slippers, then it suddenly stops:

"I'll ask Aunt Wu... no, she's cooking right now. I'll tell you the password, you guys come in first, bye."

Gu Qiumian recited a string of numbers, and Zhang Shutong walked to the gate. He had studied this gate countless times. He entered the password, and the iron gate opened with a click.

However, while Gu Qiumian had settled things, disagreements arose within her close friends.

The only veto was cast by Ruoping.

"Shall we go in?" the girl asked, reluctantly. She had told her father they were visiting.

"Let's go inside and wait a bit, otherwise we'll have to walk down again. Besides, Old Song is here too, and there are no outsiders." Du Kang was very outgoing.

"Who says we don't have outsiders with us?" Ruoping glared at him. "It's fine as long as Shutong goes in. They didn't invite us. Let's just go back."

Zhang Shutong knew that she and Gu Qiumian still had some unresolved conflicts, so this time he was more careful and offered some advice, saying that we were here to do serious business, and there was no need to back down. It wasn't like we were taking the initiative to bow down and make amends to her, right?

The girl reluctantly agreed.

Du Kang and Qing Yi didn't care much. They had long heard of the young lady's villa, and they were more like visitors than guests.

Lu Qinglian is always invisible in crowded places; she listens to whatever is said, unless it's something important.

Zhang Shutong then led the four of them into the villa in a grand procession.

Old Song opened the door.

The teacher and students looked at each other for a while, and finally Ruoping sighed first:
"Are we going to school or are we suspended from school? We've encountered both. Is this any different from usual?"

Old Song also looked embarrassed. He'd run into other students at their homes, and a whole bunch of them at once! The worst part was he had no say in the matter at this villa and couldn't make any arrangements. So he could only say:
"Come in, come in. Didn't we just say we were on that road? If you had told me earlier that we had arrived, I would have come out to meet you."

"No, we went to look for someone in that wasteland behind the school and didn't remember to call the teacher."

The nanny also rushed over upon hearing the news.

"This is Qiu Mian's aunt, you can call her Aunt Wu," Old Song introduced.

After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, the nanny went to pour water for everyone.

Old Song finally had time to pull Zhang Shutong aside.

"What are you doing, kid?" the man said in a low voice. "Didn't you tell me on the phone how dangerous it was? Why did you bring them all up here?"

"It's a long story," Zhang Shutong said, also feeling overwhelmed. "I feel like a tour guide now. With so many people, I managed to bring them all here. I came in Ruoping's car."

"So you found it?"

"No." Zhang Shutong sighed. "She should have gone back, but the problem now is, I don't know who she is."

"You'd be a fool to know."

Old Song also sighed:
“Shutong, count how much you’ve done lately. From yesterday, Zhou Ziheng, the police station, to last night, making me drive you around aimlessly, and this morning, you insisted on going down the mountain, only to come back a little while later. And what about Qinglian? She didn’t explain it to me clearly on the phone… I’m not scolding you, it just feels like a dream. I woke up and the world has changed. What’s going on?”

Zhang Shutong repeated what had happened in the car to Lao Song verbatim.

"You didn't tell Qiu Mian about something this big?"

"I was just about to tell her, where is she?"

"When you left this morning, didn't she go upstairs and probably catch up on some sleep? A while later, she told me she went downstairs to watch a movie."

"Oh right, didn't you say it wasn't safe for her to be upstairs alone? I told her that, but I thought it would be safer for her to go downstairs. What murderer could possibly climb walls and dig tunnels? Besides, you said you were coming soon, so I didn't call her. Just now, before I opened the door for you, she went upstairs again. I was about to call her when you knocked on the door..."

At this point, Old Song slapped his forehead:
"Oh, my mind is a mess too. You called her, right? I was wondering how you guys got in. I guess she thought with so many people around, she needed to change her clothes and tidy up a bit."

"Then tell her about this when you have time. I'll have the others sit down first..."

After saying that, Old Song turned around and beckoned the group to sit on the sofa. He then adopted the same serious demeanor he used at school, presiding over the proceedings and asking each of them if they were cold and what they had been doing that morning...

The three best friends were a little reserved when they entered the door, probably because they thought the villa was very grand, just like Zhang Shutong's reaction at the time. But when they saw that Gu Qiumian was not there, Lao Song consciously steered the conversation and they relaxed.

The nanny came again to ask them what they wanted to eat:
"Qiu Mian just called. She's a little busy right now, but she'll be down soon. You can sit and wait. You can watch TV if you want, or just wander around. Don't be shy. If you have any dietary restrictions, just let me know."

"You can do whatever you want, I'm sorry to trouble you again, but you really don't need to make too many dishes..." This time, Old Song answered for them directly.

Finally, we got everyone settled.

The sofa in the villa is really big; even with six of them sitting there, it doesn't feel crowded.

"Is this how she disappeared?" Lu Qinglian was also looking around the villa.

"Mm." Zhang Shutong nodded.

The two were sitting in the corner of the sofa, whispering to each other while Lao Song asked questions.

"What else can open that iron gate besides a password?" Lu Qinglian asked again.

"Face and fingerprint recognition, I guess." Zhang Shutong explained the working principle to her, and she nodded and remained silent.

Zhang Shutong held the hot water and enjoyed a rare moment of peace.

At this point, everyone knew.

He can relax a bit, instead of acting like a lunatic and saying things that others can't understand.

He called Gu Qiumian again:
"We are in the living room now."

"I heard."

"Should I come up to you?" Zhang Shutong wanted to find a quiet place to explain what had happened to her.

“No.” She immediately refused. “Why did you contact me?”

"There's something I want to tell you."

"Then wait a moment."

"why?"

"There are too many people here. Don't come up to me. Are we that close?"

Zhang Shutong has already been told similar things by two women today.

"Besides, I'm busy and don't have time to listen to you right now."

Zhang Shutong guessed that she was either trying on clothes or applying lip gloss.

As she said this, Gu Qiu Mian didn't hang up the phone:
"Tell Aunt Wu what you'd like to eat."

"My aunt just came and asked, it's really fine."

"I haven't even asked you why you suddenly brought people here. Why don't you go out to eat?"

"It's lunchtime."

"cut."

"By the way, there's something I need to ask you." Zhang Shutong glanced at Ruoping, who seemed the most uncomfortable among them, then left the sofa and found a quiet place.

"what?"

"You know I have a friend, Feng Ruoping..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Qiu Mian interrupted him:
"Oh, what's wrong?"

“She…” Zhang Shutong hesitated for a moment. If she brought up that old story and said something like, “You two shouldn’t have any conflicts,” it would seem like she had low emotional intelligence and was very self-righteous.

He thought again, if he said, "Ruoping came to help with what I told you last night," even though it was the truth, it would seem like he was using righteousness to pressure her, and it would be a bit like bullying Gu Qiumian.

That doesn't seem good either.

Actually, as long as he's not dealing with murder cases and doesn't have anything urgent to do, he's quite humane.

He simply stated:

"She's here as well, along with Qingyi Dukang and Lu Qinglian. You can probably guess, but I thought I should tell you anyway."

Zhang Shutong felt that these words were not wrong.

Gu Qiumian is the master, so it is only right for him to report it.

"Oh."

"What do you mean by 'oh'?" "Aren't you just worried I'll give you the cold shoulder?"

"No, I meant..."

"What did you say?" Qiu Yu Mianmian, in her aloof and beautiful mode, makes her entrance.

Zhang Shutong paused for a moment in front of the microphone, unsure of what she had misunderstood.

His thought was simple: what if Gu Qiu Mian came down and met Ruo Ping, and the two of them quarreled again like before?
Pretending not to see something when you are fully aware of it makes you look pathetic.

That's why he brought it up on his own initiative.

Besides, only I can say these things; otherwise, who else would be appropriate to say them? My other close friends or Lao Song?

I was working on Ruoping just now outside the villa, and it went quite smoothly. Why is it not working on Gu Qiumian?

"I mean……"

Zhang Shutong considered it again and again:

"I'm not worried about making you angry."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

The autumn rain drizzled on, and she said irritably:

"Who's angry? Do you think I'm that petty?"

"No, I was just worried. You haven't been feeling well these past few days."

"Hmph." Her voice was very nasal. "Is there anything else?"

"Gone."

"Then wait a moment, I'll be down soon." She hung up the phone.

Zhang Shutong didn't know if she was angry or not, but he was relieved.

This time I finally didn't say anything wrong.

Zhang Shutong knew he had to remain neutral and not take Ruoping's side to ask Gu Qiumian to do anything.

He continued drinking water and sat on the sofa waiting for Gu Qiu Mian, when Ruoping suddenly stood up:

"You three come here for a moment."

"What's wrong, Ruoping?" Old Song asked first.

"It's alright, teacher. You and Qinglian can continue chatting. I need to talk to them about something."

The three of them stood up and went to the French windows.

"Are you three just sitting there chatting like idiots?"

"Otherwise what?" Du Kang was dumbfounded.

"You want to watch TV?" Qingyi was also confused.

Zhang Shutong felt uneasy. It couldn't be that Gu Qiumian was alright, but Ruoping had caused trouble again. He felt that the other party's failure to come down for so long was a sign of disrespect towards them, so he couldn't stand it anymore and decided to go home.
Who knew Ruoping would say:
"Do you really think you're guests? The four of us are doing nothing, just watching that auntie work all by herself? Don't you even think about how many dishes she has to cook?"

The three boys roughly understood what she meant, and belatedly nodded:
"Although my family owns a restaurant, the problem is I'm not a good cook. Shutong, do you know how?"

"I only know how to boil eggs. Qingyi, do you know how?"

"I add a packet of instant noodles when I boil eggs."

"Who told you to cook?" Ruoping was almost speechless. "I meant to help out. Even if you can't cook, you can at least wash vegetables, right? Don't tell me none of you three have ever done this kind of chores at home?"

"Oh, that makes sense." The three realized that it wasn't quite right.

He obediently followed Ruoping to the kitchen.

"When did she become so enthusiastic?" Du Kang muttered to himself.

"It wasn't just about being helpful," Zhang Shutong realized. "It was probably because he felt uncomfortable eating at Gu Qiumian's house, and if he just sat on the sofa waiting, he wouldn't be able to hold his head up high later?"

“Agreed,” Qingyi analyzed. “Actually, Ruoping has a strong sense of self-esteem and doesn’t want us to be seen as freeloaders. Although she’s probably the only one who thinks that way.”

However, since Ruoping was the only girl among her best friends, and she herself wanted to help, it was necessary to protect her self-esteem. The three boys agreed to do some work together, but when they got to the kitchen, they realized that so many people were not needed at all.

The aunt was very touched, but she refused to let them interfere, saying that she was a nanny and this was her job.

But there were too many people eating today, and the nanny was really too busy. After making excuses for a while, she had no choice but to nod and agree.

But in reality, they were only given a tiny bit of work.

Pick out a few kinds of vegetables and peel a few cloves of garlic.

The group divided the work among themselves, and since they were all skilled with their hands, this task was no problem for them.

Du Kang and Qing Yi washed the vegetables, while Zhang Shutong and Ruoping peeled the garlic.

The work was completed smoothly and quickly, and Ruoping let out a satisfied sigh.

It seems she has finally overcome her inner hurdle.

Zhang Shutong smiled when he saw this, thinking she was quite cute.

But then Ruoping put her hand under her nose and frowned:
"It just smells a bit bad. I shouldn't have cut my nails the other day."

"Easy to say."

Zhang Shutong can handle this.

He had been to the villa three times already, and he led Ruoping to the bathroom with practiced ease. He turned on the brass faucet, stepped aside, and showed her which side had hot water and which side had cold water, as well as which bottle contained hand soap, attending to every detail.

The sink was wide enough to accommodate two people at the same time, so they stood side by side in front of the glass. Ruoping carefully rubbed her hands together while asking:
"Hey, you seem to know this place pretty well. How many times have you been here?"

“Her bathroom is so big, I could see it as soon as I walked in.” Zhang Shutong didn’t want to lie, but she could change the subject.

"Hehe." Ruoping didn't say whether she believed it or not.

"Oh, right, I already spoke to Gu Qiumian."

"say what?"

"I told her that the rest of us were coming, and I specifically mentioned that you were here too." Zhang Shutong slowly washed her hands, and she seemed much more relaxed when talking to Ruoping.

"And then, she wasn't angry?" Ruoping asked, glancing sideways.

She said she wasn't that petty.

"Get lost, get lost, are you calling me a jerk? Are you saying I'm petty?" the girl laughed and scolded.

"No, I just felt this was a good opportunity. Anyway, you two don't have much of a grudge, so let's not..."

"Is your elbow already turning against us?"

Zhang Shutong found these words strange.

Am I some kind of grown woman who's about to get married?
He simply pretended not to hear. To shut her up, Zhang Shutong went to find a towel; he remembered which guest towel it was and brought it down for her.

But Ruoping hadn't finished washing yet, so he held up a towel and waited beside her.

Zhang Shutong thought for a moment:

"Are you jealous?"

"Go to hell, who likes you?"

"That's not what I meant. Qingyi was washing vegetables just now and told me that you might feel I've been getting too close to Gu Qiumian lately, and you're a little... jealous?"

"He thinks he's so smart." Ruoping glared. "I'll twist his ear when I get back."

Zhang Shutong explained:
"Don't blame him. I really didn't expect it if he hadn't said anything. After all, you're the only girl here, and he's been neglecting your feelings a bit. I can't think of any good examples right now. For instance, if I suddenly became very close to some guy and we became best buddies, they wouldn't be happy either, right?"

"Alright, alright, I understand." Ruoping sighed and waved her hand. "You're a very busy person now, busy saving the world all day long. How could I dare to trouble you, right? Don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing."

Zhang Shutong smiled and handed over the towel.

Ruoping rolled her eyes at him, "At least you have some conscience."

Zhang Shutong also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he had taken a big step towards becoming more human.

The little conflict between the two of them has finally been resolved... It may not have been completely resolved, but at least it has improved a little.

"Don't worry, I'm not very good at comforting people, but basically... the four of us are definitely the best. You understand?"

"Really?" Ruoping muttered, "You said it."

"Ah."

Zhang Shutong took the towel, draped it back on the rack, and looked at Ruoping's face in the mirror. It was a little red. He wanted to laugh, but almost got stepped on.

Some people had a slightly flushed face.

Some people breathed a sigh of relief.

Some people came down right after they had finished getting dressed.

The restroom and elevator door are facing each other from the side.

You can imagine what happened next.

Someone——

(End of this chapter)