Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 165: Chapter 70: Who Is the Bastard?

He calmed himself, a faint sense of regret lingering in his heart.

’It’s a shame she came downstairs wearing a scarf during the big break today. Li Yipeng could only go after the building blocks. If her scarf had been torn...’ He chuckled internally. ’Now *that* would have been truly interesting. The girl’s reaction would’ve surely been different. But nothing’s ever perfect. It was just a little off.’

Zhou Ziheng thoughtfully closed the office door behind him.

"What’s wrong, teacher?" he asked in the pitch-perfect tone of an honest child.

"Ziheng." The homeroom teacher seemed to have been spacing out. He beckoned him over. "Don’t be nervous. There’s something I need to ask you."

Song Nanshan’s face was grim.

"You all in the class should know about it already, so I’ll make a long story short. About the building blocks being smashed this morning—Qiumian now suspects Zhang Shutong did it. Did you see anything at the time?"

"No."

Zhou Ziheng shook his head in feigned confusion, though internally he could barely keep from laughing. He glanced at Zhang Shutong, eager to see his expression and whether he still had the same composure as when he’d questioned him that morning. However, the other boy was facing the bookshelf the whole time, so he gave up on the idea.

"I was chatting with a classmate at the time. I only saw it after I got back to the classroom..."

"Is that so." Song Nanshan sounded a little disappointed to hear that and didn’t press further. Instead, he waved a tired hand. "All right, you can go back then."

But Zhou Ziheng knew he couldn’t leave.

’He really wanted to see their conflict escalate, just like last time. It would be best if it alerted the school administration and their parents, turning them into bitter enemies... But annoyingly, for the sake of his father’s plan, he had to help them clear up this "misunderstanding." Otherwise, how would Li Yipeng’s mother play her part?’

’Off by one step, again.’

This made him clench his fist in frustration. It felt rather stifling. ’Me, helping them make up? What kind of joke is this?’

But he knew he had to endure it for the greater good, and for the "profound lesson" that was soon to come. So, Zhou Ziheng took a deep breath and feigned a sudden realization.

"That can’t be right, teacher. There must be a mistake. I remember Zhang Shutong went to the flag-raising platform to give a speech during the break. How could it have been him?"

"You’re quick on the uptake, but that’s exactly where the problem lies," Song Nanshan sighed. "To be honest, I don’t think it was him either, but if you look at Qiumian... Never mind."

The homeroom teacher then called out, "Qiumian, why don’t you tell him."

The girl spoke, her face an icy mask and her voice cold enough to freeze a person to death.

"Who knows when he got back to class."

"See?" Song Nanshan spread his hands. "It’s true he could have been the first one back. I wasn’t leading the group that day. After they finished their speeches, they all just ran off."

"Then why did the suspicion fall on Zhang Shutong?" Zhou Ziheng couldn’t help but question. This seemed abnormal to him.

"Well, he was overheard bad-mouthing someone," Song Nanshan said, seemingly reluctant to elaborate. He could only hint, a headache coming on. "During the break after first period, by the water dispenser. The rumor should have spread through the class by now."

’So that was the trigger.’

’Everything added up.’

It suddenly dawned on him.

’No wonder the suspicion fell on Zhang Shutong out of nowhere.’

He sneered inwardly, but his face remained innocent.

"Actually, I don’t think Zhang Shutong is that kind of person..."

"So who do you think it is?" Song Nanshan gripped his shoulders anxiously.

"I don’t know."

Zhou Ziheng shook his head, patiently steering the suspicion in the direction he wanted.

In truth, this deviated a bit from his original plan. He was going to report Li Yipeng tomorrow, but an unexpected snow had started falling today. He decided to adapt his plan and take advantage of the situation before too much snow accumulated on the roads.

"But I was thinking... maybe we should look outside our class? After all, they’d have more opportunities to do something. For example, someone who had a conflict with Gu Qiuyan in the past?"

"You’re right!" Song Nanshan slapped his thigh. "Quick, help me analyze this. I’ve asked so many people and still haven’t a clue!"

Zhou Ziheng knew that Zhang Shutong was the homeroom teacher’s favorite student. When it came to clearing Zhang Shutong’s name, the teacher was probably the most desperate person in the room, second only to Zhang Shutong himself. He exploited this fact and continued his analysis.

"Teacher, do you remember Li Yipeng? I’m just spitballing here, but he used to be in our class. Could it be him?"

"That makes sense!" Song Nanshan nodded heavily, but then he clicked his tongue. "But here’s the problem, Ziheng. Zhang Shutong, he..."

"What about him?"

"He’s already confessed."

"What?" Zhou Ziheng froze, finally unable to maintain his composure. "Impossible!"

"What did you say?"

"I mean... he, he wouldn’t just confess, would he?"

Song Nanshan explained, "I didn’t expect it at first either. I just said I was going to call Gu Qiuyan’s father, and he panicked. He said he’d been holding a grudge against Qiumian ever since the incident with the scarf. You should remember that, right?"

Zhou Ziheng certainly remembered. He nodded subconsciously, because he had orchestrated the entire thing.

Song Nanshan slammed his hand on the desk, the impact so loud the whole office seemed to tremble. His face was as dark as a thundercloud.

"Just because of a little thing like that, that scumbag actually went and threatened a classmate’s life. I won’t hide it from you two, I really did have different expectations for him. But I never thought he’d be this kind of..."

"Asshole."

Before he could finish, he was suddenly cut off by Gu Qiuyan’s cold voice.

Song Nanshan was taken aback for a moment, then softened his tone.

"Qiumian, don’t worry. I will definitely give you a proper resolution for this."

"I want him suspended."

"About that..." Song Nanshan sighed. "I just tried calling his mom but couldn’t get through. I’ll try again now."

As he spoke, he pressed the call button and waved Zhou Ziheng away.

"You can go back for now. Tell the students in class to study quietly on their own. They don’t need to come back here..."

But how could Zhou Ziheng just leave like this?

He was completely stunned, having no idea how things had deviated so far from his plan. ’What a joke. If they solve this so-called mystery now, will Li Yipeng’s mother even show up? What about my father’s plan?’

’Calm down, calm down...’

He had inherited his father’s cautious nature—plan before you act. Even though he knew something was fishy with Zhang Shutong and that Li Yipeng was the real culprit, he absolutely could not bring up the truth about the "castle incident" now. The more he said, the more likely he was to expose himself.

His mind raced as his feet moved in concert with his thoughts. He took a few steps toward the door, then suddenly turned back.

"Teacher, I just remembered something. Do you know about the name written on the bathroom stall partition? I even reminded Gu Qiuyan about it this morning..."

"Oh, that? I know about it." Just as he’d hoped, Song Nanshan stopped dialing. "Go on, Ziheng."

Zhou Ziheng was suddenly grateful he had kept an ace up his sleeve. He couldn’t mention the castle, but he could use another clue to misdirect the blame.

"I suddenly know who did it. It was during morning reading. I got here early today, and it was just me and Li Yipeng in the bathroom..."

He hesitated here, because the more details he gave, the more chances there were for him to make a mistake. But then he glanced at the snow falling outside the window and knew he couldn’t wait any longer. If he didn’t detonate the "Li Yipeng’s mother" bomb today, the roads would be frozen over by tomorrow, making travel impossible. His father’s preparations would be completely meaningless. So, he gritted his teeth.

"He’s the one who did it. I saw him coming out of the restroom with a short stick-like object in his pocket. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but it must have been a marker..."

The more he spoke, the calmer he became. "I didn’t suspect him at first," he analyzed, "but with this incident involving Zhang Shutong today... teacher, think about it. Maybe someone else wanted to get revenge on Gu Qiuyan too. That name could be some kind of symbol."

He adopted a somewhat aggrieved tone.

"I know you all might not have taken it seriously. I clearly went to remind her this morning, but Gu Qiuyan wouldn’t listen to me. But even so, I have to say it. For her safety, no matter how small the suspicion, we should still call Li Yipeng over to confirm..."

He knew what Li Yipeng’s nerve was like. As long as he could successfully arouse the teacher’s suspicion and get him to call Li Yipeng into the office, he could fan the flames a little, and his plan would still work.

At this point, he looked toward Gu Qiuyan, hoping she would give some indication of support. He really had been trying to warn her since that morning, albeit to clear his own name and to see her look of panicked gratitude.

But what he hadn’t anticipated that morning was that the girl had found him annoying from the very start.

And even more so now. If she would just nod, the teacher would take this more seriously. But to his fury, Gu Qiuyan didn’t move at all, not even blinking. He suppressed his anger and continued to maintain his persona of a secret admirer.

"So I suggest we call Li Yipeng here right now. We can confront him face-to-face and find out what’s going on. Even if I end up being wrong about him, for Gu Qiuyan’s sake..."

"Ziheng, you really are a good kid," Song Nanshan interrupted, his voice filled with gratification. "But you know he’s not in our class anymore. We can’t just go to another class and drag someone out without any evidence. So... are you sure you saw Li Yipeng write that name?"

"I’m sure!"

"I see." Song Nanshan suddenly stood up.

The gratification was gone, replaced by a suppressed rage.

"Then you should listen to this first."

With that, the homeroom teacher took out a phone. It wasn’t his own, but an iPhone. Song Nanshan hit the play button.

"Just recorded."

Everything caught Zhou Ziheng completely off guard. Before he could say a word, a somewhat familiar, halting voice drifted from the speaker.

"It really wasn’t just me... I had a stomachache and went to the bathroom. There was no one else there, but then a note was suddenly passed under the stall, asking if I wanted to get revenge on Gu Qiuyan... He said his family also has a business on the commercial street. I still have the note. You can check the handwriting if you don’t believe me..."

There was no need to listen to the rest.

Because Zhou Ziheng could no longer make out the words. A buzzing sound filled his ears, like a fly flitting about, yet it was winter.

The heat was on indoors, but his heart felt as if it had plunged into an ice cave.

’It was a trap!’

’They were setting a verbal trap for me the whole time!’

’There was no misunderstanding. Li Yipeng had already been caught. But why did the suspicion fall on me...?’

’Every step was just a little bit off, but why did it suddenly go so completely wrong?!’

His movements were stiff. He woodenly turned his head to look at the back of the figure who had been "facing the cabinet in reflection." Just then, the other boy turned around too. He hadn’t been facing the wall as punishment at all—he had been sucking on a lollipop the whole time.

’He was eating candy!’

The boy casually took the lollipop from his cheek, his indifferent expression unchanged. He twirled it in his hand like a conductor waving a baton, the candy pointing directly at him.

"We know all about your dad’s plan. The commercial street, the escape... you can explain the rest to the police."

"You..."

The string of words made him so dizzy he felt he was going to collapse.

But after speaking, the boy didn’t even look at him, as if he were completely insignificant—far less important than his next question. Zhang Shutong turned to the girl who had maintained a cold expression the whole time and asked in puzzlement:

"Did you ad-lib just now? Who’s an asshole?"

And right before Zhou Ziheng’s eyes, the girl who had never once given him a proper look suddenly broke into a smile, as if a glacier were finally melting. Then, not to be outdone, she glared at the boy.

"Who else could it be?"

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