Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 167: Chapter 71: Lu Qinglian is a Cool Woman (Part 2)

Lu Qinglian just shook her head, saying it wasn’t a bother. In fact, she was quite interested.

But she didn’t seem to realize that her joining them had brought the conversation to a halt.

Instead, her gaze swept over everyone’s faces, as if wondering, ’Why did you all suddenly go quiet?’

Just then, Du Kang, thinking on his feet, asked if she wanted him to go over it again.

Lu Qinglian thought for a moment, then held up three slender fingers.

"The people on the commercial street want to harm Gu Qiuyan?"

"It’s just a suspicion..."

"And Zhang Shutong discovered all of this?" Lu Qinglian lowered the first finger.

"Uh, yeah. Shutong is pretty amazing, isn’t he..."

"Last question," Lu Qinglian’s eyes flickered. "When did those two make up?"

It wasn’t just Du Kang; even Zhang Shutong was stunned.

’When did you get so gossipy?’

’Weren’t you the one at lunch acting completely indifferent to everything?’

’And now you’re speaking in riddles?’

If it had been Zhang Shutong, he would have retorted with a, "You can interpret it that way for now," but Du Kang had already answered honestly.

"Who knows? They had a meal together, and when they came back, they were like this. We’re baffled too..."

"I see." Lu Qinglian nodded lightly, thanked him politely, and transformed back into that ethereal fairy who seemed above worldly matters, as if she wasn’t the one who had just been gossiping.

She had arrived suddenly and left just as suddenly. No one knew why she had initiated the conversation or what she was really trying to find out.

Only in the instant Lu Qinglian turned away did Zhang Shutong notice the corners of her lips curve slightly. It was too faint to be called a smile, but Zhang Shutong had seen that expression on her before. He frowned.

"What are you really trying to say?"

This question once again surprised his three best friends. Zhang Shutong’s tone had been rather serious. Although he was usually a man of few words, his tone was always casual; he rarely spoke to people like that.

"Nothing," Lu Qinglian said lightly. "You’re pretty good at charming girls."

The three of them were completely confused again.

Zhang Shutong was baffled, too. Back on the rooftop, Lu Qinglian had found his reaction from the previous night odd and asked what he was investigating. He had deliberately avoided telling her.

’Could Lu Qinglian have been trying to find that out, so she wormed a few words out of Du Kang?’

He tried to see it from her perspective. If he were Lu Qinglian, what useful information could he have gathered?

An ordinary person wouldn’t connect poachers, the commercial street, and Gu Qiuyan’s death.

So, in her eyes, he probably just looked like a "knight in shining armor," which was why she made that teasing remark.

Just then, Ruoping silently mouthed, "What’s up with you and Lu Qinglian?"

Zhang Shutong shook his head. Who knew why she had suddenly taken an interest in this.

Although she’d gotten a few things out of them, no real harm was done. Du Kang, however, had a seriously loose mouth. ’Better late than never,’ Zhang Shutong thought, and said to him irritably, "Do you even know what you are right now?"

Du Kang asked blankly, "What?"

"A blabbermouth."

"Huh? What did I do?" Du Kang was dumbfounded.

"Secrets between men cannot be shared with others," Qingyi chimed in.

"I completely agree." Zhang Shutong opened a carton of school milk and raised it in an imaginary toast with him.

"Oh, get out of here!" Ruoping knew their chunibyo was flaring up again and rolled her eyes dramatically. "What, I’m just some girl you can’t share secrets with?"

"Then how about, secrets between best friends can’t be shared with others?" Zhang Shutong amended.

"Heh, you’d better mean that," Ruoping scoffed. "You’d better not share anything with Gu Qiuyan. You said it yourself. Should I record it for you? Remember that."

Zhang Shutong was left speechless.

’He *had* shared things, hadn’t he? The base, the forbidden zone, the castle... he’d let it all slip while they were riding bikes the other day. He’d even taken Gu Qiuyan for a tour of their secret base. He really had no right to criticize Du Kang.’

’From now on, I’ll have to be on high alert around Qiumian.’

This wasn’t the place to talk. Zhang Shutong pulled the three of them outside and whispered to Du Kang, "You need to be more careful. I’m not trying to control what’s going on between you and Lu Qinglian, but the situation with Gu Qiuyan’s family is too sensitive. It’s best if only the few of us know about it."

Du Kang nodded in realization. "You’re right, Shutong. You’re always so thorough. I promise to keep my mouth shut from now on."

Zhang Shutong was relieved.

He then asked Qingyi, "Did you think Lu Qinglian was acting a little strange just now?"

Qingyi mused:

"A little."

Zhang Shutong was all ears, but then he saw Qingyi also hold up three fingers.

"Did you notice her gesture just now?"

Of course Zhang Shutong had seen it. Lu Qinglian had asked three questions in total, representing them with three fingers, and she lowered one for each question she asked.

"And?"

"Didn’t you think it was pretty cool?" Qingyi said, mimicking the gesture.

Zhang Shutong was a little speechless.

’Your next sentence had better not be, "Lu Qinglian is a cool woman."’

"Just kidding, just kidding," Qingyi said with a laugh. "Haven’t you noticed that you have the same habit?"

"I do?"

"Yeah, you do. After school yesterday, Du Kang ran over and asked you why you changed seats. You also held up three fingers and made up three excuses."

Zhang Shutong said, puzzled,

"Are you saying she’s copying me?"

"Not necessarily. I’m saying her sequence is very different. Look," Qingyi held out his hand. "When we do this gesture, don’t we use our thumb to hold down the pinky, showing the other three, and then start closing them from the ring finger inward?"

"More or less..."

"But did you notice Lu Qinglian’s gesture? She started closing them from her index finger, and in the end, only her ring finger was left up. I can’t do it, anyway. Can you?"

Zhang Shutong tried it too. His fingers almost cramped; it was indeed a very difficult maneuver.

"So this is what you meant by ’acting strange’?"

"Exactly."

"And what does that prove?"

"It’s even cooler."

"..."

Zhang Shutong bit the inside of his cheek.

They were about to head to the restroom when Song came rushing back from the dean’s office. "Shutong, you’re coming with me in a bit. I’m going back to the classroom to make some arrangements first."

Zhang Shutong knew that as the homeroom teacher, Song would naturally have to go to the police station, and he himself would be going too. In fact, Zhang Shutong had insisted on it—he wouldn’t be able to rest easy until he saw Zhou Ziheng’s father get caught with his own eyes.

He had already told his best friends about it. After Song made his arrangements in the classroom, the three of them also clamored to go, their words tinged with the excitement of embarking on some kind of secret mission.

And in a way, it was true. While everyone else was in class, they would be out and about with their homeroom teacher. That’s what student life was like; even if it was just to shovel snow, as long as you were outside the school building, it was definitely better than being cooped up in the classroom.

But Song absolutely refused to take them. "I’m going to handle official business. Why are you three causing trouble?" He grabbed Zhang Shutong and started to run.

Amidst the disappointed gazes of his friends, Zhang Shutong waved goodbye to them. Halfway out, he remembered to ask, "Where’s Gu Qiuyan? Isn’t she coming with us?"

"Qiumian isn’t feeling well, so she’s resting in the dean’s office. I have to pick her up after school to take her home. Hiss..." Song suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. "Why don’t you come with me then?"

’Here we go again.’

’Such a familiar invitation.’

It was because of those same words that he’d been cluelessly pulled into Song’s car last time. The three of them had squeezed into that little Fox, spent the night at Gu Qiuyan’s family villa, and a lot had happened. Zhang Shutong found himself missing that bowl of duck noodle soup, but now was not the time to think about that.

"Did you get through to her dad?"

"Not yet. He’s probably on a long-haul flight." Song was still the same old Song; he gave a sly raise of his eyebrows. "What, you’re going to her house and you’re scared her dad might come back?"

Zhang Shutong didn’t engage in the banter, simply saying, "Don’t let your guard down. I suspect this whole thing isn’t that simple."

Then he suddenly said:

"If—and I’m just saying if—there’s no new progress by Saturday, Teacher, could you take me and Gu Qiuyan off the island for fun?"

As he said this, the two were walking down the stairs. Song stopped in his tracks, and Zhang Shutong bumped into his back.

Song Nanshan’s face paled in shock, and he looked at him as if he were an alien.

"Since when did you start having thoughts like that, kid?"

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