Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 176: Chapter 75: Revisiting the Villa 2

Song was already waiting in the car.

The small car was idling, its engine vibrating faintly. The exhaust had blackened the snow behind it, while the candlelight-like headlamps cast a dim, yellow circle of light.

Fine snowflakes danced in the beams of light.

The two of them walked to the back seat. Zhang Shutong held the umbrella for her, watching as the young miss pulled open the car door, slipped inside, and then slid over to the far side without saying a word or looking at him.

Zhang Shutong sat down next to her. As he shook the snow from the umbrella, he wondered, ’How did I become a gofer again?’

It was a bad habit, one that seemed impossible to break once you picked it up.

Only then did Song turn around with a cheerful laugh. "Looking at you two, I think you should just walk home. It’d save me the trouble."

Gu Qiuyan ignored him.

But Zhang Shutong had a new realization:

He suddenly realized that he and Song were just like the foolish father and son from the "Father and Son with a Donkey" fable—not that he was calling Gu Qiuyan the donkey. What he meant was, Song could have easily used the umbrella to get to the car, then backed it up to the building entrance to wait for them. That way, nobody would have had to get snowed on.

’Wait a minute, is he trying to play matchmaker again?’

He voiced this thought, but Song just slapped his own forehead in frustration.

"You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that?"

...

The car slowly pulled away from the school.

Back in this car again, with the same girl sitting beside him, his state of mind was completely different.

This time, there was no "Elopement" or "Like Smoke" to listen to. It was cold outside, and Song always acted like a gentleman when a girl was present. He didn’t smoke, just hummed a tune lightheartedly.

With the change in mood, their conversation changed as well.

Song spoke first.

"I’ll drop Qiumian off first, then Shutong. Any objections? If not, we’re off."

Of course, Zhang Shutong had no objections.

But Gu Qiuyan asked:

"Teacher, what would you like to eat?"

"Oh, is Qiumian treating? It’s too cold today, though. Let’s wait for the weekend."

"What?" she said, rolling her eyes. "I mean eating at my place. I’ll tell Aunt Wu to make a couple of extra dishes."

"Is that really okay?"

"What’s not okay about it? You want me to have you drop me off and then go find food in the snow?" Gu Qiuyan said, wrinkling her nose.

"In that case, this teacher will be imposing." Song was actually quite happy about it, accepting after a moment’s polite refusal. "I’ll eat anything. I can fill up on just noodles. Don’t trouble your Aunt Wu too much."

"What about you?" Gu Qiuyan asked again.

"I’m easy, noodles are fine," Zhang Shutong said. ’Song didn’t have lunch, just a few roasted sausages to tide him over,’ he thought. ’I don’t care where we eat, but I have to consider other people’s feelings.’

"Why are you both so ’whatever’? Is there anything you want besides noodles?"

"Duck noodle soup?"

"In your dreams. Where would we get a duck?"

That was true. Today was Thursday. They only stewed duck on Fridays.

Zhang Shutong felt a pang of regret at the missed opportunity for duck noodle soup.

Song then asked how many dishes there were.

"Four."

Even Song was taken aback. "Four dishes for the four of us should be enough, don’t you think?"

"Forget it. I’ll just tell Aunt Wu to decide what to make," Gu Qiuyan gave up.

Because of the snow, Song drove very slowly. Zhang Shutong was glued to the window, terrified of seeing another van.

Of course, that was impossible.

Song was the type who couldn’t sit still:

"By the way, how about this teacher takes you two out on Saturday?"

Zhang Shutong saw him shooting frantic looks in the rearview mirror.

He said that was fine.

The two of them then looked at Gu Qiuyan, but the girl asked slowly:

"Where to?"

"Anywhere you want. The movie theater, the amusement park... Or you can pick a place, and I’ll be the driver."

"The amusement park is boring."

"They have bumper cars and a Ferris wheel!"

"Can a Ferris wheel that only goes around once in ten minutes even call itself a Ferris wheel?" Zhang Shutong interjected with a laugh.

"Not you too, Shutong..." Song felt like he’d been stabbed in the back. "You’ve looked into this?" he asked, surprised.

Of course Zhang Shutong hadn’t looked into it. He just remembered Gu Qiuyan saying something similar before and decided to use it.

He had thought Qiumian would strongly agree with this point, so he said, "Teacher, ask her if you don’t believe me." But to his surprise, Gu Qiuyan pretended not to hear.

But Song got fired up.

"Fess up, kid. Which girl have you been on it with before?"

"I haven’t."

"Then how do you know how long one rotation takes?"

"I heard someone say it." Zhang Shutong decided he would stop repeating things other people said.

"Boring." Song pouted. "If the amusement park is a no-go, let’s go see a movie."

Only then did Gu Qiuyan speak up. She was poking at her phone with one finger, and after a long moment, she said there weren’t any good movies out.

"So, are we still going or not?"

Gu Qiuyan fell into a thoughtful silence, as if she were seriously considering it. Only after the car had traveled a few hundred meters did she give a reserved nod.

"Okay."

Zhang Shutong breathed a sigh of relief. He was starting to think she wouldn’t agree to go out.

Thankfully, the city still held some appeal for Gu Qiuyan.

Zhang Shutong relaxed as well. When a person lets their guard down, the first thing they notice is the smell.

This time, Gu Qiuyan was sitting closer, and her fragrance was stronger. It mixed with the lingering smell of smoke in the car, making Zhang Shutong a little dizzy.

He rolled the window down a little, but then remembered Gu Qiuyan couldn’t catch a cold, so he rolled it back up and sighed.

But more trouble was yet to come:

"My thermos is broken."

Gu Qiuyan suddenly went on the offensive.

A girl on her period has a mood as unpredictable as today’s weather.

"Uh, how much was it?" Zhang Shutong asked.

"It’s not about the money," she said, her face stern.

Zhang Shutong had no choice but to apologize.

"Not good enough," Gu Qiuyan said, turning her head away. "It was a limited edition. You can’t buy it anymore. And I really liked that specific design."

"Then what should I do?"

"You’ll have to replace it with a similar one."

"Okay," Zhang Shutong said. "What brand was it? I’ll look it up."

"I forgot," Gu Qiuyan said, crossing her arms, her expression frosty.

Zhang Shutong was speechless.

’So how exactly am I supposed to replace it?’

After a long while, she finally said, "Forget it. I’ll take a picture of the thermos and send it to you. You can search for it yourself... Oh, right. I don’t think I have your QQ, do I? What’s your QQ number?"

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