Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 180: Chapter 78: A Ball of a Young Lady

Zhang Shutong had extended an "invitation" to Gu Qiuyan!

And Gu Qiuyan agreed!

In any case, she gave a nod of agreement and then scurried upstairs to change.

Thankfully, she said she was just changing into a thick coat, not like last time when he had to wait forever while she tried on outfit after outfit.

Zhang Shutong liked that about Gu Qiuyan. When it was time to be decisive, she really was.

"You... you... you..." Song was stunned once again.

Zhang Shutong apologized to his teacher. He felt pretty bad about it, troubling him to make another trip on such a cold day.

"That’s not a big deal. I’m in the car, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I went home at this hour anyway..." Song muttered. "I’m talking about you, kid. You’re always so impulsive. What are you taking Qiumian out for now?"

"It’s for something important," Zhang Shutong explained.

"Of course it’s for something important." Song laughed with exasperation. "How could taking a girl out late at night be for anything unimportant? Hey, I just realized something. If you knew how to drive, I wouldn’t even be involved tonight, would I?"

Zhang Shutong nodded.

’That’s true.’

He didn’t want to drag Song along as a chauffeur if he could help it; he felt too guilty about it.

"Right, right, right. So you’re saying you don’t want me around being a third wheel, is that it...?"

"You’ve got it all wrong, Sir," Zhang Shutong said hurriedly. "We just saw a snake in the yard."

"And?"

"And... she got spooked. She said she’d be too scared to sleep alone tonight, so I figured the three of us could go for a drive. There’s safety in numbers, right?"

’Sorry, Gu Qiuyan. You’ll have to be the scapegoat for this one.’

Zhang Shutong apologized again in his head.

’It’s only right for the young miss to take the fall for her lackey sometimes.’

"Well now, aren’t you thoughtful." Song bought it, stroking his chin. "Qiumian is definitely that type of girl... Hmm, I saw a popular term for it online recently. You kids have probably heard of it. What was it again?"

"Tsundere?"

"Yes, tsundere! That explains why she was acting so disgusted with you earlier. She was just embarrassed. She felt like she’d lost face in front of you, right?"

"Exactly," Zhang Shutong said hurriedly.

"That’s it, then. So, Shutong, you need to indulge her more often. Girls are like that sometimes; they like to get a little moody." Song finally seized the chance to pass on his wisdom about wooing women to his favorite student.

’As if I don’t indulge her enough already,’ Zhang Shutong thought, but he put on a receptive expression.

Song then said with a hearty laugh:

"Alright, in that case, I’ll take you two for a spin. Hmm, a drive on a snowy night... how romantic."

Some men seemed to have a romantic streak that only came out in times of crisis. Zhang Shutong couldn’t say whether it was a good or bad thing, but Song was like that, and so was Qingyi.

All he felt was the cold.

But he had to make a trip to the restricted area. He’d brought Gu Qiuyan along not because she was scared, but because the frozen snake had given him a bad feeling.

Snakes are cold-blooded animals; even he knew that much. He also knew they hibernated. Logically, you shouldn’t see one out in the open in this weather. And with related signs like the Cyan Snake Temple and the tattoo, it would be weird *not* to be on guard.

Besides, he’d just had another thought: it might be hard for a person to climb the villa’s fence, but that didn’t mean an animal couldn’t.

Though he couldn’t see the connection just yet.

He went over to lock the side gate, and while he was there, he took a photo of the snake, which was frozen as stiff as a stick. By the time he got back inside, Gu Qiuyan had run downstairs. She was wearing a thick, white down jacket, zipped all the way up to cover her chin.

The down jacket was clearly a high-end item, generously filled with puffy goose down. She was no longer a young miss, but a ball of a young miss.

Despite this, she was still wearing jeans that hugged the slender lines of her legs. Zhang Shutong asked her why she didn’t change into thicker padded pants if she was so afraid of the cold. The girl just rolled her eyes at him and said, "What do you know? Those are so ugly."

’Looks are more important than warmth. What a vain girl.’

Song chuckled. "See? There she goes again. Isn’t it just like I told you?"

Zhang Shutong knew he was referring to the whole ’tsundere’ thing. To keep his lie from being exposed, he forced himself to nod. Gu Qiuyan had no idea what they were talking about and just shot them a strange glance.

The three of them then got into the car. Aunt Wu came out with an umbrella to see them off, reminding Gu Qiuyan not to stay out too late. This made Song feel a little awkward; it really wasn’t proper to be taking his students out for a joyride so late at night.

"Don’t you worry, ma’am. We’re just going for a little drive. We’ll be in touch..."

Gu Qiuyan also deployed her ultimate wheedling technique. Aunt Wu could only smile wryly and say, "Just don’t catch a cold." As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and offered to go back inside to get her a cup of hot water. "Where’s your thermos?" she asked.

’Oh, crap,’ Zhang Shutong thought.

But Gu Qiuyan brushed it off nonchalantly:

"I forgot it at school today. Oh, Aunt Wu, don’t worry about me, really! You should hurry back inside before you freeze..."

They rolled up the windows. The moonlight was a faint glimmer in the pitch-black sky. The car’s engine shattered the silence of the snowy night as it pulled slowly onto the road, leaving two deep tracks in its wake.

As Song fiddled with the radio, he didn’t forget to look back and tease them.

"So, Qiumian, are you still scared?"

Gu Qiuyan lowered the hands she’d been breathing on to warm them up, looking puzzled.

"Scared of what?"

"I get it, I get it." Song shot Zhang Shutong a look, wiggling his eyebrows. "See? Am I psychic or what?"

Zhang Shutong felt the pressure mounting. ’Please, stop being psychic,’ he thought. ’If Gu Qiuyan exposes this, I’ll have to pay her back with two... no, a full three thermoses.’

Zhang Shutong was riding shotgun this time. He had assumed he would need to give directions, but to his surprise, Song was quite familiar with the roads in this area. When he asked about it, Song Nanshan replied casually:

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