Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 159: Chapter 67: The Most Troublesome Timeline (2)

In the end, she even threatened him, saying, "I’m going to tell my dad..."

Of course, she never ended up telling her dad.

But after that, her view of him changed from "traitor" to complete indifference. She stopped glaring at him and pretended he didn’t exist. Of course, Zhang Shutong was holding a grudge himself back then, so he thought it was better if she ignored him. That lasted until the day she died.

So, Zhang Shutong thought it would be best to clear up this misunderstanding as soon as possible.

Sure enough, Gu Qiuyan’s expression turned even colder when she heard this.

"Why are you bringing this up?"

"I think I know who it was."

"Who?"

"I think," he paused, "it was most likely your former deskmate. You should be careful."

"Okay..." Gu Qiuyan subconsciously nodded in agreement, then her eyes widened in surprise.

She was biting her straw, and for a moment, the milk inside it stopped, then flowed back down, leaving the straw clear again.

But then she seemed to feel like she’d lose face if she just believed him so easily. ’Wouldn’t that mean she’d been made to cry for nothing?’ she thought, glaring at him again as she grasped for something to say.

"He said it was you, you know."

Zhang Shutong didn’t understand what she meant. ’So she doesn’t believe me?’

’Oh, it does sound a bit suspicious.’

After all, Zhou Ziheng had snitched on him the same way back then. Now, he was the one tattling. From Gu Qiuyan’s perspective, it must look like two people slinging mud at each other. So, Zhang Shutong had been about to ask, somewhat puzzled, "Do you believe him or me?"

But then he realized that in this timeline, he really didn’t have much credibility. So, he swallowed his words and said instead:

"It’s just a warning. Do what you will."

’Anyway, as long as she stops suspecting I had ill intentions toward that scarf.’

Zhang Shutong thought again. In the last timeline, he and Gu Qiuyan had talked quite a bit, but it seemed they had never discussed the "scarf incident."

He had been so preoccupied with other things that he’d long forgotten to clear his name.

But Gu Qiuyan’s reaction was strange. She never said whether she had believed his explanation back then. ’Did she see me as a suspect this whole time, or was it something else?’

"So what?" Gu Qiuyan asked again, staring straight ahead, not looking at anyone.

’So what?’

Zhang Shutong thought for a moment. He figured she needed some proof; she couldn’t just believe him for no reason. Unfortunately, he had none to offer right now.

"I don’t have proof. Just be careful."

"I kn—" She didn’t seem to know what she wanted to say, but she suddenly frowned, bit her lip, and slumped back down on her desk.

Zhang Shutong took the hint and shut his mouth.

The matter was dropped without any real conclusion. Zhang Shutong felt a little speechless. It was his first time trying to clear up an old misunderstanding, and she hadn’t believed him at all. Since that was the case, he wouldn’t press the issue. It wouldn’t affect his future actions anyway.

The bell for class rang. The math teacher came in to go over the test questions. He pretty much understood the problems on the paper but not well enough to explain them at the board. Fortunately, he’d always been quiet, so the teacher didn’t call on him.

Zhang Shutong listened to the lecture half-heartedly, his eyes on the snow outside the window.

Gu Qiuyan was suffering terribly from her period. Her eyes, usually so pretty and full of life, had lost their sparkle. Besides, she was already in a bad mood today. Zhang Shutong remembered that today was the day they would meet at the baozi shop after school. She would take small bites of the doughy skin, her expression cold.

At the time, Zhang Shutong hadn’t understood if she was in a good mood or a bad one.

’If she’s fine, why the long face?’

’If she’s not, why is she in the mood to go out for a snack?’

Then the girl said something he would never forget:

"Because that would mean I’ve been beaten."

The truth was, she was in a terrible mood. But this girl, who seemed so soft, actually had a very strong side to her. The reason she acted so nonchalant, instead of reacting in any other way, was simply because that would have given the "revengers" the satisfaction they wanted.

Of course, no matter how tough a girl is, she can’t fight off physical pain.

Today, she had been beaten after all.

Back then, Zhang Shutong could help her by catching the culprit who knocked over her building blocks, but how could he help with this?

Besides, he had his own worries now. Watching the snow fall outside the window, Zhang Shutong’s brow slowly furrowed.

The snow was falling harder now.

The red rubber track was once again covered in a blanket of white, and a headache began to throb in Zhang Shutong’s temples. Only he knew what this meant—

all his previous plans were about to be shattered.

The only reason he’d been able to expose Li Yipeng last time was because everyone had gone outside for exercises the next day.

But from the looks of it, tomorrow’s long break would definitely be spent indoors.

Dealing with Li Yipeng was one thing;

but what about the arsonists?

Those five had made their move on a rainy night. The downpour had washed away their tracks, and they had come and gone without a trace in a van. But looking at the intensity of this snowfall, if it kept up until evening, two possibilities would arise:

First, they’d proceed as planned, but splashing gasoline might not be effective, so they might switch to another method.

Second, if the snow hadn’t melted by tomorrow night, their tires would leave tracks too easily, so they’d remain in hiding.

Zhang Shutong wasn’t worried about the Zhou family’s father and son. As long as the arsonists were caught, Zhou Ziheng’s father would inevitably be brought to justice.

He carefully recalled the events of that night. He had separated Song and Gu Qiuyan, leaving the girl at the villa. He had called the police in advance and then gone to the commercial street to find the van.

But now, he wasn’t even sure if the van would show up. What measures should he take?

He knew who the culprits on the commercial street were. He had thought this do-over would be much easier, that he could just follow the clues and catch them. But this snow had completely upended Zhang Shutong’s plans.

This brought up a second problem:

Was it still necessary to wait for the "Castle Incident" to happen?

In theory, he could take the gamble. But he clearly had a whole day to prepare. Was he really going to do nothing and bet on the "weather" and "human nature"?

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