Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 192: Chapter 84: Cold Beauty

"The bad news is, Qiumian’s father called. He had booked a flight straight to the city, but the airline said there’s a cold front nearby and all flights have been canceled. He was supposed to arrive tonight, but now it looks like he’ll be delayed.

"This snow is heavier than we thought, especially in the city. They’re saying it’s even hard to drive. We don’t have many cars on our island, and it’s too dangerous to have kids riding their bikes to school in this weather. Plus, today’s Friday, so it’s like getting an early start to the weekend... Hey, kid, how come you’re not reacting at all?"

"Then what’s the good news?" Zhang Shutong asked again.

"I just told you. No school," Song said, surprised. "Isn’t that good enough?"

’What kind of good news is that...’

School was canceled.

And Father Gu couldn’t come back early.

Zhang Shutong could only feel things spiraling further and further out of his control.

"What do you think, Qiumian?" Song decided to ignore him.

"I don’t care either way." Gu Qiuyan set down her cup. Today, she was playing the part of the cool, aloof beauty.

"In a bad mood? Don’t you worry, though. Your father just said that if he can’t fly, he’ll take the high-speed rail. He’ll find a way back. He was afraid of waking you, so he didn’t call you directly..."

"It’s not because of that." Gu Qiuyan looked coldly at a certain someone. "It’s because *he* harassed me this morning."

"Seriously, Shutong?" Song was taken aback.

Zhang Shutong was taken aback, too.

"I just went and knocked on her door. I didn’t do anything else."

"And if I’d gone and opened the door, would you have run off again?"

Zhang Shutong honestly didn’t know the answer to that.

He had come downstairs right after knocking.

Feeling bad for waking her, Zhang Shutong apologized. Gu Qiuyan just turned her face away.

"Alright, let’s eat first," Song said, seeing that it was nothing serious between them. He dropped the subject. "I called the auto repair shop just now, but they didn’t pick up. We’ll figure out our plans after we get the tires changed."

Zhang Shutong nodded, thinking about the impact of these two developments.

’As for Father Gu... to be honest, he was always a backup plan. It’s a shame he can’t come, but if he did, it might not necessarily be a good thing.’

’He’s her father, after all. He’d definitely have his own plans. For example, what if he insisted that Gu Qiuyan stay home for the weekend? What then?’

’So subconsciously, Zhang Shutong hadn’t been counting on him as a last resort. This just meant one less option was available.’

’As for school being canceled, that actually gave him an extra day to act freely.’

The impact of both was still manageable.

He had already formulated a plan in his head:

First, he’d go home to get properly dressed and equipped, then head up the mountain.

The path up the mountain had stone steps. Even with heavy snow, as long as he went slowly, he could still make it up during the day.

Today’s destination was the Cyan Snake Temple.

Song hurried them again to go wash their hands. Zhang Shutong got up, unplugging his phone to take a look.

His friends must have gotten the news about school being canceled too. As expected, the group chat was buzzing, with the message count showing 99+. They were all restless types, and the mood was one of widespread celebration.

"I was already halfway to school when my mom told me class was canceled," Ruoping griped, then tagged him. "Where did you suddenly disappear to yesterday?"

"Too happy to think of home," Qingyi replied cryptically.

"So what are we doing today?" Ruoping asked.

"Skiing, right? Didn’t we agree on that last night?"

But Ruoping had changed her mind. She suggested leaving the island for fun. She’d just checked the weather forecast; it was only snowing on the island, while the city was fine. So why not go play there?

"I can’t. I’m stuck here and won’t be free for a bit. The second my parents saw the snow, they rushed out to stock up on supplies. I’m minding the shop." Du Kang sent a picture of the entrance to his family’s restaurant. He had built a small snowman and was posing next to it with a wide grin.

Zhang Shutong thought about sending a picture too, but couldn’t find a good angle or subject, so he decided to just lurk.

He kept his eyes on his phone as he turned sideways, motioning for Gu Qiuyan to wash up first.

The villa’s sink was large enough for two people to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. Zhang Shutong put his phone away and looked at the girl’s face in the mirror. Noticing she seemed to have filled in her eyebrows, he commented casually,

"You seem a little strange today."

"How so?"

Zhang Shutong came up with a fitting metaphor—

The gentle autumn rain had suddenly turned into freezing rain.

"I shouldn’t have woken you up this morning. Are you just grumpy from being woken?"

"You have the nerve to say that," Gu Qiuyan frowned. "Who are you chatting with now?"

"My best friends." Zhang Shutong showed her his QQ screen. "They’re asking me to hang out."

Just then, a message notification popped up at the top of the screen. The sender had a very girly profile picture—a cute little bunny. It was a voice message from Ruoping.

Zhang Shutong played the voice message:

"Shutong, I know you’re up. Reply as soon as you see this. You have three minutes."

Ruoping’s cheerful voice came through.

But Zhang Shutong knew it was a dangerous omen.

Still, the message had come at a convenient time. He took his phone back, replied to her, and then said,

"See? I wasn’t lying."

Last night, Gu Qiuyan had told him not to hide things from her. Although he hadn’t explicitly agreed, Zhang Shutong decided to bring it up anyway.

"I need to go home this morning, and then I’m going up the mountain."

However, Gu Qiuyan had reverted to her cool beauty persona. She squeezed some soap onto her hands—it was hard to tell which was finer, the lather or her skin—washed them, and walked away.

Zhang Shutong glanced back at her, not understanding why she had suddenly turned so cold this morning.

Back at the dining table, another delicious breakfast was waiting.

The seating arrangement was different this morning. Gu Qiuyan sat with the housekeeper, and Zhang Shutong sat with Song.

In the center of the table was a crystal platter of freshly cut fruit, five or six different kinds, looking very appetizing.

Fruit was a rare sight on the island in winter. Zhang Shutong moved his fork toward the last cherry tomato, but at the same moment, Gu Qiuyan made a move for it too.

Seeing this, he retracted his fork, not wanting to fight her for it. But then she pulled her hand back as well. The cherry tomato sat there, forlorn, until Song finally ate it.

It was a rare, quiet breakfast.

Afterward, Gu Qiuyan went to sit on the sofa and play on her phone.

Zhang Shutong was the last to finish eating. As he helped clear the dishes, the housekeeper said,

"Have you noticed Mianmian’s been a little quiet today?"

Zhang Shutong nodded. ’Is the housekeeper worried I upset her? Is she trying to hint at something?’

’But he wracked his brain and couldn’t think of anything he’d done. They had cleared up last night’s misunderstanding, after all.’

"She’s not in a bad mood," the woman chuckled softly. "She’s always like this. She’s a very sensitive girl. Did she do something embarrassing at school yesterday? After sleeping on it and calming down, she probably decided it was too humiliating, so now she’s deliberately putting on a stern face the next day."

Zhang Shutong thought he understood.

A little later, he ran into Song smoking on the balcony. The man said,

"Have you noticed how cold Qiumian is being? Do you know what that means?"

Zhang Shutong was all ears.

"It means she was too nice to you yesterday. She asked you to watch a movie and you refused. So of course she’s going to change her attitude today. You should probably think about what you’re going to do with her later."

He had more or less expected that.

Walking back into the living room, he saw Gu Qiuyan watching TV with her legs crossed. This time, she was sitting on a separate armchair, seemingly to distance herself from everyone else.

Zhang Shutong asked her what her plans were for the day.

She said she was going to watch a movie.

Zhang Shutong then said, "Don’t be so cold. Didn’t we clear things up last night?"

She replied, "Your friends are asking you to hang out, so just go hang out. You don’t need to ask me."

"I told you, it’s not for fun..."

"Oh, so you have more ’important business’ to attend to?"

She deliberately emphasized the last two words.

"I’m going hiking up the mountain. You want to come?"

"No," she said flatly.

’So, who was right? Song or the housekeeper?’

But this time, Zhang Shutong really hadn’t planned on bringing her. He took her to the mall last time because he suspected the housekeeper and didn’t feel safe leaving her at home alone.

This time, however, he was going to the temple. If possible, it would be best to have Song take her out somewhere.

Just then, Song came back inside. The man hung up a call and sighed.

"Well, I’ve got more bad news."

"What is it?" Both of them turned their heads at the same time.

"The tires can’t be delivered. The guy just called me. He’s right at the start of Ring Mountain Road. The heavy snow has completely blocked the road, so he can’t get up."

"Blocked? How bad is it?" Zhang Shutong seized on the key point.

"Well, not completely blocked. It’s just that most cars don’t have high enough ground clearance, and the snow on that stretch of road is so thick that when he tried to drive up, the undercarriage got stuck." Song had a headache.

It seemed the problem wasn’t the tires. Even if they had brought the tires up themselves, it wouldn’t matter. The car couldn’t get down the mountain.

’So, in a way, were they trapped?’

Not quite to that extent.

Zhang Shutong did a quick mental calculation. It would take about half an hour to walk that stretch of winding mountain road.

At this moment, Gu Qiuyan’s lips curled slightly at the corner, as if in a sneer, but her expression remained unchanged.

It made sense. The two had just declared their plans—one to hike, one to watch a movie—and now Zhang Shutong had been thoroughly put in his place. It was as if nature itself was proving that the young Miss Gu’s decision was the right one.

"Are you still going hiking?" Gu Qiuyan asked, her face predictably cold. Her pale skin, ruby-red lips, and black sweater formed a stark contrast.

"Of course I am."

"Are you going to walk from here all the way to the mountain? In this cold? Are you stup—" She stopped herself, her tone turning sharp. "Then do as you please."

Zhang Shutong was getting a headache too. He dialed his mom’s number, preparing to ask for help.

His family had a car, an SUV. Zhang Shutong certainly couldn’t ask his mom to drive all the way up to get him. Instead, he planned to walk down himself and have her wait for him at the main road.

Luckily, his mom hadn’t gone to work.

He paid his respects to his "Queen Mother," and she replied with three words:

"Tongtong, speak up."

Zhang Shutong quickly covered the mouthpiece and explained the situation.

Her voice on the other end was lazy:

"Wouldn’t it be better to just stay put at their place? Why are you running around, disturbing my beauty sleep?" His mother complained that he was being a handful, but he could hear her getting up. "Are you sure you’ll be okay walking down the road by yourself?"

"It’ll be fine. I checked. It’s only about ten minutes." Zhang Shutong deliberately shortened the time.

"An SUV should be able to get up that road, right?" his mom mused, not taking the bait. She thought for a moment, then added, "You’d never guess, but I had the foresight to put on the snow chains yesterday."

She said it in a nonchalant tone.

Zhang Shutong was thoroughly impressed. He never expected she’d have a trump card of her own; mother and son were truly cut from the same cloth. His mom smugly accepted her son’s praise.

She was a science major. A woman in a lab coat was cool, but a woman who knew how to install snow chains was even cooler. In comparison, Zhang Shutong, a liberal arts student, felt like he was losing face.

But there was no need for her to take the risk. Zhang Shutong just said they’d stay in touch and see how things played out.

"Fine, I’ll be waiting then," the woman yawned.

Zhang Shutong told her not to bother with makeup and to please come quickly.

His mom said she had been about to go to work, but then her office announced a day off, so she had just gone back to bed without even changing.

"I’m heading downstairs." The crisp sound of her heels on the stairs came through the phone. Mother and son chatted for a bit while she went down. The moment she stepped outside, she started complaining again. "Do you have any idea how cold it is out here? My precious day off is ruined. Oh, and the car is covered in snow. Now I have to brush it all off. What a pain..."

Zhang Shutong had a strange feeling, as if there were no clear line between a woman and a girl. His mom and Gu Qiuyan were similar in that they both needed to be humored sometimes. With the former, it was a matter of filial piety. With the latter... well, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. When he chatted with his mom, Zhang Shutong knew what she liked to hear, but she would just laugh and say, "Enough of that. Your mother is long past that age."

But her tone was still happy.

Zhang Shutong listened patiently as she brushed the snow off the car. His parents were rarely home, but then and now, whenever he needed help, they would always be there for him. He found a strange sense of comfort in the sound of her sweeping snow.

But then this very reliable, very reassuring mother suddenly cried out, her voice filled with terror. Zhang Shutong jumped in fright and quickly asked what was wrong.

The woman took a moment to compose herself, her voice still trembling with lingering fear as she said,

"I just saw a tree branch on our car’s windshield. I was going to throw it away, but when I picked it up, I realized..."

She breathed a sigh of relief, now in the mood to be dramatic.

"Sonny, what do you think it was? If you guess right, Mommy will bring it to you."

Zhang Shutong, however, had a bad feeling. He opened his mouth, the words rising to his lips.

’Could it be... again...’

"Ah, forget it, I’ll just tell you. It was a frozen snake! It scared me to death..."

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