Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 173: Chapter 73: Cyan Snake Temple (Part 3)

"Oh, them? I think they left town a long time ago. I never asked for details. You know how it is—some things, whether you ask or not, the outcome’s the same. So it’s better not to ask at all."

’That does seem to be the case.’

In any case, her parents never showed up at the funeral.

Zhang Shutong turned his head to look at the street outside. The roads were deserted. This little piece of land had always been like this. He had only been away for four years of school before leaving. What if he had to stay here for another eight?

Or what if someone lived their whole life in the same place without ever even leaving the island?

In every timeline, Lu Qinglian had always remained on this island.

For him, those eight years passed in the blink of an eye. But for others, it was a heavy, substantial length of time.

Just then, Song said,

"You know, you two are actually pretty similar."

Zhang Shutong nodded absently. "I guess so. I might not be very talkative, but overall, I’m pretty normal."

"Who are you calling abnormal, you punk? Are you saying Qinglian isn’t normal?" Song Nanshan chided with a laugh. "I think you overcomplicate things when it comes to that girl. It’s not just you; the other students do it too. Her family situation is a little special, sure, but isn’t she just a kid your age?"

Zhang Shutong replied, "She’s far more mature than the average kid."

"Aren’t you pretty mature for your age, too? What normal kid follows his teacher to the police station?"

Zhang Shutong shrugged.

"Think about it. Why is Qinglian always first in the grade?"

"She’s smart."

"Wrong. It means she loves to learn."

For some reason, that statement was a little funny.

But Song said seriously,

"I’m not kidding. I know this kind of talk isn’t popular anymore, but think about it. To you guys, school is a burden, a prison sentence. You can’t wait for vacation. But it’s different for Qinglian. She has to get up at five or six every morning, rain or shine, and her commute alone takes an hour every day. She can’t just be doing it for the exercise. So, what I’m saying is, now that everyone’s family situations have improved, there are things you look down on or take for granted. But for some people, those very things are opportunities they have to fight for."

Zhang Shutong was convinced. He thought about it and realized it was true. Whatever role the girl played outside of school, she had at least always conscientiously fulfilled her duties as a "student."

Song added in a heartfelt, serious tone,

"She’s actually a lot like you. It’s not that she doesn’t want things—can you even call someone with no desires normal? She’s just particularly slow to realize it. Sometimes, she doesn’t even notice what she wants herself."

Zhang Shutong asked, puzzled, ’Really? How am I slow? I’ve known what I wanted for a long time. It’s nothing more than a normal life.’ But Song just chuckled and said no more.

And just like that, the two of them made a quick trip to the police station and were soon back at school. That’s why Zhang Shutong couldn’t understand what Ruoping and the others had been so excited about, clamoring to go with them. As if it were some great privilege.

Zhang Shutong watched in disgust as Song pushed the car door open with his oily hand—he had just finished off the last of his grilled sausage. The two of them were about to head to the dean’s office when Zhang Shutong’s phone vibrated. It was his mom. She was finally off work.

His mom wasn’t the type to waste time with texts. She told him to call her right back after school, saying that typing was too much trouble.

Zhang Shutong told Song not to worry about him, then walked into the academic building, found a spot out of the wind, and returned the call.

It was currently fourth period. The main hall was empty, and you could hear the sounds of lectures coming from the classrooms. But since school was about to end, the atmosphere in the classes had grown restless.

"Hello, hello, son!"

A woman’s voice suddenly burst from the receiver. His mom’s voice was incredibly loud; he had no idea how she was always so full of energy.

Zhang Shutong jumped, afraid of disturbing the classes, and moved over to the stairwell.

"It’s not time for school to be out yet, is it?" his mom asked, confused. "Where are you?"

He explained what had happened all over again. His mom was amused. "Well, I’d like to see what girl has got my son so concerned."

’You’ve actually met her already,’ Zhang Shutong thought. ’You even wanted her phone number.’

He cut to the chase and asked if there were any other suspicious locations besides the commercial street.

"So that’s why you suddenly asked me for the development plans. But are you worrying too much? Girls don’t like clingy boys, you know."

Fortunately, his mom was only teasing. She yawned.

"Alright, fine. We can treat it as a little project. But I really can’t recall any other places similar to the commercial street... How about I send you the blueprints in a bit? You be careful, okay?"

Zhang Shutong agreed. Just as he was about to hang up, his mom asked what he was doing for dinner.

He still had to go to Gu Qiuyan’s house later, so he was planning to grab a quick bite off-campus. But it was snowing today, so the street stalls weren’t open, which meant he couldn’t get one of those weird steamed buns. Thankfully, the restaurant that served rice with toppings was still open.

Just then, a confused voice came from the other end of the line.

"Huh? It’s snowing?"

Zhang Shutong said, "You’re really oblivious, aren’t you? It’s been snowing all afternoon."

"Well, I’ve been busy," his mom said, suddenly a little worried. "I’ll come pick you up now. Don’t go anywhere."

But Zhang Shutong said there was no need; his homeroom teacher would give him a ride home.

As for which home, Zhang Shutong didn’t say.

His mom added, "Your down jacket is in the third cabinet at home, don’t forget to dig it out. You know what, never mind. I’ll come home tonight. I can drive you tomorrow..."

These kinds of conversations could go on forever. Zhang Shutong glanced at the time and told his mom that school was about to end and he had to go. He hung up and walked up the stairs toward his classroom. There was no need to go back inside, though. He just glanced out the hallway window and saw that parents were starting to gather at the school gate.

Many of them were standing by the automatic sliding gate, looking as if they would rush into the academic building to pick up their kids the second the final bell rang.

The end of the school day, melting snow, a crowd of rowdy students and their parents...

He could just imagine how noisy it was about to get.

Zhang Shutong decided to just go wait in the office. He found a disposable paper cup and poured some water. He had just taken a small sip when the planning documents from Boss Gu arrived.

’Mom really is efficient.’

But when Zhang Shutong downloaded the file and merely glanced at the screen, his temples began to throb.

This was the kind of thing you had to zoom in on even on a computer monitor, let alone a tiny phone screen. There was a computer in the office, and he considered asking to use it, but it was best not to let blueprints like these leak. In fact, his mom sending them to him was already a bit against the rules.

So he furrowed his brow, squinted, and moved the phone closer to his face, feeling like he was aging prematurely.

After zooming the blueprint to its maximum size, Zhang Shutong panned across it bit by bit. He first oriented himself with the cardinal directions, then turned his phone around and started searching from the commercial street.

The island wasn’t large, but now that it was condensed onto his phone screen, just locating the commercial street took Zhang Shutong a fair bit of effort.

The final bell seemed to ring, but he paid it no mind, studying the blueprints while he waited for Song to return.

’Commercial street... commercial street...’

’This thing is so hard to find.’

He changed his approach, looking for the shopping mall first. Then he scrolled along from the mall and finally saw a street that matched the description.

’Found it.’

The future plan for this area was also a commercial street, which would connect to the expanded shopping mall to form a commercial plaza.

Zhang Shutong continued searching to the side.

It was noisy around him, with people coming in and out. His buddies probably had no idea he was sitting in here. They had actually already sent him messages on QQ, but Zhang Shutong had no time to reply. He was still studying the blueprint; if he switched apps, he’d have to start his search all over again.

He remembered hearing about the planned commercial facilities: a resort, a movie theater, a hotel...

He scanned through the plan. They were all in the suburbs.

Until he found a symbol that looked like a tower.

’A tourist attraction?’

Zhang Shutong didn’t remember any previous mention of building something like this.

Father Gu had once said he wanted to develop the island into a 5A-level scenic area. Zhang Shutong had always assumed he meant to rely on the natural scenery. Was it going to be man-made instead?

But he couldn’t make out what this place was.

It looked like it was in the east. The mountains were to the east.

He thought for a good while, staring at the screen and trying to figure out where on the mountain it was located. Just as he was about to take a screenshot, thinking he might as well just ask his mom directly...

A cool, clear voice suddenly sounded by his ear.

"That is the Cyan Snake Temple."

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