Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 130: Chapter 55: Roman Holiday (Finale)

"...From the moment he stepped onto school grounds, everything has been under our control. See? He’s walking incredibly slowly. That’s because he’s a man who’s cautious, and then some. I’ll bet you he’s even got his face covered."

The young man and woman stood just like that, by a window in the middle of the hallway. The darkness seemed to dull their senses, and they acted as if they were completely unaware of the man’s arrival. They just whispered to each other, looking like a couple who had chosen a deserted corner for a clandestine rendezvous, murmuring sweet nothings.

"So why isn’t he coming over already?" Gu Qiuyan asked in a low voice.

"He’s afraid we’ll call the police. His ideal scenario would be for us to still be watching the movie. He’d sneak in through the back door of the classroom and make his move. As long as he can get control of one of us, the rest is easy."

"And now?"

"Now the first variable has been introduced. He’s discovered we’re not in the classroom, so he’s hesitating."

"He’s not just going to turn around and run, is he? That would be a disaster."

To this, Zhang Shutong simply answered in a quiet voice:

"What gambler who’s already at the table leaves halfway through the game?"

「It was about time.」

He hadn’t closed the door when he’d left the classroom. Roman Holiday was still playing—he wasn’t sure which scene it was on. Their classroom was right next to the stairwell. In the corner of his eye, the faint light spilling from the doorway perfectly outlined a man’s silhouette.

The man really had two choices now: either charge them directly or continue to observe. While it didn’t much matter to Zhang Shutong which he chose, he thought to himself, ’Since the young lady ordered the "fun version," I can’t go scaring her.’

And so, at that exact moment, the young man turned, shining the flashlight beam on the man’s face and making him stop in his tracks.

The young man then shouted, "Who’s there?"

Still shaken, the young woman mumbled, "Who would be here this late at night? A teacher...?"

The two huddled together and, steeling themselves, took a few steps toward the stairwell, until—

"He really does have his face covered..." Gu Qiuyan said, lowering her voice.

"Didn’t I tell you? I can predict his every move."

And so the young man and woman stood frozen, asking their question several times over. But the man didn’t reply; he just squinted in the beam of light, his brow tightly furrowed.

"Why isn’t he saying anything?" Gu Qiuyan’s voice was masked by the movie’s dialogue.

"He’s afraid of leaving incriminating evidence," Zhang Shutong said casually. "And isn’t it just like I said? He’s starting to hesitate because he’s lost his absolute confidence. Even for a gambler, going all-in is a process. If that’s true for a gambler, it’s even more so for a desperado."

"So what do we do?"

"We’ll sweeten the pot for him."

It was clear the two weren’t fools. After just a moment’s pause, the young man blurted out, "You’re that arsonist?" He then urged the young woman to call the police.

But the young woman said frantically:

"My phone’s dead too! Did you forget I was playing games on it all day?"

They exchanged a look, then turned and ran.

"That was a terrible excuse," Zhang Shutong reminded her in a whisper.

"It really is dead."

"Since when does *Tom Cat* drain so much battery?"

"I forgot to close the app and just locked the screen..."

"Idiot."

"You’re the idiot!" Gu Qiuyan retorted, glaring. "What now?"

"The more we say, the more we could slip up. This is enough. We just need to maintain this delicate misunderstanding. It’s enough to make him chase after us without thinking. You know how to fish, right?"

Zhang Shutong had just been fishing today and was eager to share his insights:

"Sometimes, a wary old fish will see the bait in the water and won’t rush to bite. But if you give the line a little tug, that’s when they’ll take the hook."

As they spoke, the young man and woman had already run to the far end of the hallway. There was another stairwell behind them, one that led to the school rooftop. The man seemed to know this; he closed the distance, his pace gradually quickening.

"So he’s taking the bait now?"

"Yep, he’s hooked. And he knows the school layout very well. He knows the rooftop door is locked, so his plan is to break our spirits first, backing us into a corner bit by bit."

"So what’s the plan?" The young lady was in high spirits, asking a rather silly question as if intentionally giving him a chance to show off.

"We’ll do what I said before. It’s not like you don’t know," Zhang Shutong said, knowing full well Gu Qiuyan was up to something.

His eyes had mostly adjusted to the dark, so he could make out the shape of the girl’s mouth as she formed the words:

"Did you forget what you just promised me? Be. More. Hu-mor-ous!"

Zhang Shutong bit the inside of his cheek. That was the third time today. ’Any more of this,’ he thought, ’and I’ll get a canker sore.’ His personality naturally made him a man of action, but what could he do? He was under orders to be more humorous today.

So, he deliberately raised his voice and explained:

"Don’t forget, I have an ace up my sleeve."

"What ace?" Both of them turned around, but surprisingly, it was the man who had spoken.

It was the first time he had spoken. His voice was unremarkable, with no distinctive features. As he said it, the man had come to a complete stop.

Zhang Shutong and Gu Qiuyan were already on the stairs, with the man right below them.

"The key to the rooftop door, of course. You didn’t think it was actually locked, did you?"

Zhang Shutong tilted his head, asking as if puzzled.

In theory, the rooftop door was supposed to be locked. But back in his second year of middle school, a janitor had carelessly forgotten to remove the key. Being the audacious kid he was, he’d taken it and had a copy made. Ever since, he’d had a secret little hideout.

He never thought that after all these years, his little hideout—like Batman’s Batcave or Iron Man’s mansion before it was blown up—would finally have its moment to shine.

This was why Zhang Shutong had chosen the school as the final location.

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