Winter Returns

Chapter 99 "The Childhood Sweetheart is No Match for a Sudden Arrival"

"Really?"

“Of course it’s true,” Zhang Shutong said with a smile, draping the towel over a rack to the side.

He thought he saw Gu Qiumian come out.

I'm not sure if the other person has seen me.

But recalling their last encounter at the mall, when their eyes met, it felt like an invisible magnetic field was at work. This time, however, that feeling was absent.

I suddenly felt a chill.

Zhang Shutong has always trusted his intuition, but this time it seems his intuition has failed him.

How could it be cold in a room filled with warmth?

He then realized that he had even forgotten to take off his coat.

Last night, after I entered the house, Gu Qiumian was the first to ask me to change my shoes, take off my coat, and put down my schoolbag.

This shows that he is actually not a very meticulous person.

The villa has underfloor heating, and the marble floors are a light gray, like carefully selected minerals from nature. Even with so many visitors today, they remain spotless. Each slab of marble is surprisingly large, almost four times the size of an average house, making the space feel grand and bright.

The crystal chandelier overhead cast a palace-like brilliance upon the room. Outside, it was a world of ice and snow, while inside, birds sang and flowers bloomed—this was a figure of speech, but in reality, the living room was filled with their chattering voices.

When the voices suddenly stopped, he knew that Gu Qiumian had come into the living room.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Shutong came out of the bathroom, he saw Gu Qiumian sitting on the sofa.

There was a separate set of seats on the sofa, which no one sat in. It seemed to be reserved for her. Zhang Shutong walked closer and found that Gu Qiumian was dressed like a princess today. She had worn the same flattering black sweater when she went out in the morning, but changed into a plain white French-style blouse at noon.

The collar of her shirt was adorned with delicate lace, and a crystal-encrusted button adorned the cuff, enveloping her in a classically romantic atmosphere. Her breasts, like full, ripe fruit, exuded a subtle youthful charm, while the hem of her shirt was tucked into a light blue suede long skirt, tapering along her graceful curves and emphasizing her remarkably slender waist.

Today, she styled her long, black hair into a bun at the back of her head, like a flower bud, secured with a silver hair clip.

Zhang Shutong's idea is brilliant.

Of course, this time they didn't ask.

She placed her hands on her lower abdomen and gently nodded her chin as if receiving greetings from her courtiers.

"The autumn cotton has come down," Old Song said first.

"Gu Tongxue..." came an awkward laugh. "Well, good afternoon." It was Du Kang.

"Hello." Qingyi replied calmly.

"Sorry to bother you," Lu Qinglian replied in return.

Gu Qiumian greeted them one by one, her demeanor dignified and elegant. Ruoping followed behind her, it seemed the two of them didn't get along very well. At this moment, a nod and a smile were the best they could manage. Gu Qiumian returned a slight smile.

Zhang Shutong really enjoyed these kinds of gatherings, and he nodded to greet the young lady... or rather, the princess.

Then it was ignored.

and many more.

Why am I the one being ignored?

Zhang Shutong thought it was too noisy around her and that she hadn't heard him, so he called again. This time, the girl's smile vanished. She glanced at him expressionlessly and then turned to talk to Lao Song.

Zhang Shutong blinked.

I don't understand what's going on yet.

He thought he would need to introduce himself to the others, but Gu Qiu Mian had already started chatting with them.

What's with this feeling of being ignored?

Looking at the sofa, it was already full.

It's just a sofa, after all, not the legendary Noah's Ark that can fit all eight people in the living room.

However, there was still an empty seat on the sofa where Gu Qiumian was sitting. Although it was a separate set, the sofa was spacious and she took up little space, leaving about a third of the space empty. She could probably squeeze in and sit down.

Zhang Shutong definitely couldn't squeeze in, so he looked around, thinking of moving a chair. At that moment, Old Song stood up for him:
"Alright, you guys chat then. You don't usually have a chance at school, so take this opportunity to make some friends and get along well. I'm going outside for a smoke." The man stood up as he spoke. "Shutong, don't stand there either. You've been running around the most today. Come and sit down."

Zhang Shutong was very grateful to Lao Song for giving him a seat. He was about to sit down when he said, "Wait a minute."

But Gu Qiu Mian calmly spoke up to stop her:

"Who told you to sit down?"

The surrounding chatter fell silent for a moment. The group of close friends instinctively shut up, confused as to what had happened between the two.

Zhang Shutong paused, realizing the problem was more serious than he had imagined. Not only was he being ignored, but he wasn't even given a seat.

This is a bit frustrating.

Since that was the case, he planned to go to the restaurant alone for a while, but then he heard Gu Qiu Mian say:

"There's snow on your coat, take it off before you sit down, don't get the sofa wet."

Zhang Shutong looked down and saw that there were indeed some snowflakes stuck to the denim jacket.

Ok.

It turns out she wasn't disgusted by herself, but rather afraid of getting her sofa dirty.

Zhang Shutong didn't need her to remind him where to put his coat. He ran to the wardrobe in the entryway, hung it up, and muttered to himself how his movements were getting more and more practiced before returning to the sofa.

Then they started chatting and laughing again.

Gu Qiu Mian seems to have inherited her father's talent; she speaks fluently and is not at all stage-frightened. To be honest, sometimes when you spend a lot of time with her, you often forget that she is a genuine young lady with countless henchmen under her command, rather than the girl who glares at you from time to time.

Zhang Shutong was sitting next to Qingyi this time. He was originally supposed to sit next to Lu Qinglian, but Ruoping had already taken that spot. The current seating arrangement is as follows:

Gu Qiumian.

Zhang Shutong, Qingyi, Du Kang, Ruoping, Lu Qinglian.

Miss Gu was to Zhang Shutong's left front, not too far away, but not too close either. Even so, Miss Gu would intentionally avoid him when they chatted.

Occasionally, his gaze would linger for a fleeting moment, but only for a moment, before he would quickly look away and move on to the next topic.

Zhang Shutong had no idea how he had offended her again.

"Is the snow on the mountain this thick?" Gu Qiumian asked, her voice tinged with curiosity. "Could it be thick enough to dig a pit this deep?"

“Sure,” Du Kang replied. He was like that with everyone, always making friends easily. In this kind of situation, he was the most talkative. The boy made an exaggerated gesture: “Don’t even mention swindling. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen those snow caves from abroad online. If we have enough time, we can even build a house there.”

"That sounds impressive," Gu Qiumian said with a light compliment. "I've never been to the mountain before."

"Then why don't you come with us next time, Gu? We're friends now."

Gu Qiu Mian didn't respond, so Zhang Shutong couldn't help but interject:

"That's a bit of an exaggeration; there's no place that deep."

"Of course you have! Have you forgotten four years ago... Oh, Shutong, you hadn't turned over yet back then, so you don't know? Does Qingyi remember?"

The four of them became best friends after being in the same class in junior high school. Although the three of them grew up on the island, they said that they were just acquaintances before, not this close.

"I know, the teacher said someone went to play in the mountains and got lost, almost couldn't get back, wasn't that you?" Qingyi also recalled the past.

"Uh, I didn't get lost. I just found my way to the temple in the dark..." "You have the nerve to say that? I remember the teacher wrote this down in the winter break handbook, saying never to go up the mountain alone, to avoid danger," Ruoping ruthlessly exposed her, then asked curiously, "Oh right, I forgot to ask you, since you went to the temple, did you see Qinglian?"

"I did see him..."

Du Kang was surprisingly a little shy upon hearing this.

“That was when,” Qingyi whispered in his ear, “it was love at first sight.”

"Really? This is the first time I've heard of this," Zhang Shutong said with interest.

"According to him, he got lost and was so anxious he almost cried. Then he followed the lights uphill and got to the temple entrance. There he met Lu Qinglian, who was sweeping snow in the courtyard, and she even treated him to a meal." Qingyi said slowly. "It was probably one of those classic scenes, where he trespassed into a 'forbidden area' and encountered a mysterious girl who turned out to be a classmate. You know, Du Kang really likes to read shonen manga."

"Really? Qinglian, I've never heard him tell me this before," Ruoping said in surprise.

"It seems so." Lu Qinglian recalled for a moment.

"What does it mean?"

"I've met quite a few lost people."

"and then?"

"Then my dad came up the mountain." Du Kang said dejectedly, and it seemed he really wanted to stay overnight.

He realized he had neglected Gu Qiumian after he finished speaking. It was she who had brought up the topic first, so he quickly changed the subject, saying, "Hey, let's not talk about this. Don't always expose my shortcomings in front of others. Since everyone is here today, I suggest we go skiing in the mountains tomorrow. We can take Old Song's old tire with us when we leave."

"I'm fine with anything," Qingyi said, "but I have things to do tomorrow."

"What's wrong?"

"How about I modify that tire and give it to you as a gift?" Qingyi suddenly had a whimsical idea.

"Uh, never mind."

“I think it’s a good idea,” Ruoping said with a smile. “Everyone who sees it gets a share, so it’s like the three of us delivering it together, which saves us a lot of trouble.”

"No!" Du Kang cried out.

Ruoping then said:

"Actually, I'm tired of playing today too, it's all snow. How about we go to the city tomorrow? What about Shutong?"

"I'm fine with whatever you say, as long as I'm available."

Zhang Shutong never had the authority to make decisions about such matters. He casually replied as usual, but his intuition seemed to be wrong again.

He turned his head, and this time the chill came from Gu Qiumian's direction.

Zhang Shutong realized that the four of them had been chatting for too long and had neglected her.

From Gu Qiumian's perspective, she was actually the outsider.

The relationship between myself and my best friends goes without saying.

Although Lu Qinglian didn't act particularly close to them, Ruoping kept calling her Qinglian, so their relationship must have been quite good.

Of all the people present, she actually only had a real connection with herself.

But if the two don't speak, they seem out of place.

The problem is that she ignores herself.

Zhang Shutong asked proactively:

What are your plans for the afternoon?

"After dinner, do you want to go downstairs to watch a movie?" Gu Qiumian asked almost simultaneously.

Well, it seems I was overthinking it.

How could the young lady be neglected?

"There's even a movie theater downstairs?" Du Kang exclaimed in surprise.

"A home theater? Can it play DVDs?" Qingyi was also interested.

"Hmm." Gu Qiumian nodded her chin. "What do you want to see?"

"I'm fine with anything, I'll just leave it to Gu..."

Zhang Shutong wanted to ask Lu Qinglian if there was anywhere else she wanted to go in the afternoon, but since they lived too far apart, he let Gu Qiumian make the arrangements first.

Miss Gu steered the conversation back on track once again. She loves movies, so she could chat about anything, from foreign action blockbusters that Du Kang enjoys to mystery films that Qing Yi likes.

She either doesn't speak at all, but when she does, she always becomes the center of attention.

As they chatted, Gu Qiumian stood up to pour water for them. She was dressed like a princess today, but she wasn't the kind of girl who deliberately acted aloof. Although Zhang Shutong had never seen her pour water for his group of henchmen, then again, his best friends weren't henchmen.

She bent her upper body slightly, and a pendant hung from her long, snow-white neck. Zhang Shutong looked at it for a long time and recognized it as a four-leaf clover. Some vague memories surfaced in her mind, but she couldn't remember them anymore. All that remained in her heart was a faint sense of emotion.

He shook his head, realizing he had underestimated Gu Qiu Mian. She wasn't a fragile girl. If it weren't for this murder, she could have lived a good life. She would have left the island after graduating from junior high school, and perhaps take over the family business a few years later. Then she would be a true young lady.

She probably doesn't do this kind of thing often, as her movements were a bit clumsy, but her posture was very standard.

The group of close friends quickly thanked her and placed the cups on the coffee table. Gu Qiu Mian didn't deliberately avoid Ruo Ping, but Zhang Shutong felt that Ruo Ping would avoid her.

But in reality, this did not happen.

Because there was one less cup on the coffee table.

Zhang Shutong then remembered that his cup had been taken to the dining room while he was washing vegetables.

Now I don't have to worry about whether I can get a glass of water.

Gu Qiu Mian's cup hadn't been used yet. She had only been downstairs for a short while when she gently pushed her cup to the corner of the table, filled it up, and then sat back down nonchalantly to continue chatting with her best friends.

Zhang Shutong saw her fidgeting with her fingers, but didn't know what it meant.

Soon the nanny called them to dinner.

The group then lined up to wash their hands in the restroom, just like kindergarten children. This time, Zhang Shutong didn't need to remind them, because Gu Qiumian had already explained the layout of the room.

Zhang Shutong followed at the back. He turned on the tap and rinsed the water quickly since he had just washed. When he squeezed out the foam, a girl in a French shirt appeared in the mirror.

Gu Qiumian stood beside Zhang Shutong.

She didn't say anything, and focused on washing her hands when she did.

Zhang Shutong watched as she unbuttoned the crystal buttons on her cuffs and carefully rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender wrists. It was a beautiful but troublesome dress, but she was also a girl who loved beauty, something Zhang Shutong was used to.

He then noticed a small blister on Gu Qiumian's finger.

"Did you get burned?"

It seems so. She doesn't often do this kind of thing. When she poured water, she touched the lid of the teapot directly instead of the handle and got burned. Zhang Shutong already knew that her skin was very delicate, but she didn't expect to get a blister.

"Mmm," she said, her head down.

"Use cold water to rinse it."

He picked up a towel from the shelf, wiping his hands as he gave the reminder.

(End of this chapter)