Winter Returns

Chapter 22 The Young Lady Arrives (Bonus Chapter)

He didn't know if this counted as a disappearance in some sense, but even though the timing didn't match, he still asked his homeroom teacher.
Old Song wasn't in the mood to talk either. He stayed in the office with a sullen face, only saying that he saw her go to the library and be with a bunch of friends.

Zhang Shutong thought for a moment and understood. If the abandoned drainage tunnel was the secret base of his and his close friends, then the library was similar in significance to Gu Qiumian, since it was built by her family.

In the two-story building, the long-abandoned art classroom on the upper floor is where Gu Qiu Mian and her underlings gather.

Sometimes, after lunch, when I returned to the classroom, I would see Gu Qiumian coming down from upstairs. She would smooth her hair behind her ear, followed by a large group of people, marching through the campus in a grand procession.

Zhang Shutong was still pondering the events of the long break, but he still had no clues. What puzzled him was Gu Qiumian's attitude, because she was the one who had argued with him with red eyes while wearing a scarf; and she was also the one who was indifferent when the castle blocks were smashed.

It's hard to tell which one is Gu Qiu Mian's true self; perhaps both are.

Zhang Shutong was still unsure how to categorize this incident. Was it a continuation of the scarf incident? If so, it wouldn't be so bad. Although it sounded a bit cold-blooded, it wasn't related to a murder case, which meant it could receive less attention.

But what if Gu Qiu Mian's death was truly due to some student's revenge...?

Zhang Shutong pinched the bridge of his nose.

Not right either.

That would be far too frivolous.

At this moment, Ruoping and the others ran over and called him to go out for dinner. Their school was too small. To put it more officially, in order to increase employment opportunities for the island's residents, they simply let the students go out for dinner, which would also help the surrounding restaurants.

There's no need to worry about food safety. Even at roadside stalls, people on the island see each other all the time. Even if you don't know each other, you can still get a general impression of who someone is. If you lose your conscience for a little money, you'll be criticized for the rest of your life.

Ruoping called everyone to have a celebration banquet. The four of them prepared for their next restaurant trip. Because of what happened last night, they originally wanted to call Lu Qinglian, but when they turned around, the girl had already disappeared without a trace, and they didn't know where she had drifted off to.

Zhang Shutong was deep in thought, so his movements were inevitably a bit slow. He saw Ruoping glare at him and said, "You're still thinking about your deskmate. You're even skipping your lunch. Why don't you go find her and ask if the young lady will provide you with lunch?" It was as if he intended to sever all ties with her.

Zhang Shutong was pulled up by her, feeling a little helpless, but then she thought that she still had to eat, and since she had no clue what to do, she might as well go out for a walk.

As they walked, Du Kang took the initiative to discuss Zhou Ziheng's affairs, partly out of curiosity about the other's guilty conscience, and partly because he thought the kid was too cunning.

Ruoping laughed after listening for a while:

"Can't you guys tell that Zhou Ziheng likes Gu Qiumian? I think the reason he didn't want to tell Shutong back then was quite simple: he was jealous, wasn't he?"

Every girl is a master when it comes to relationships:
"Think about it, if you found out that the girl you liked was in danger, you rushed to tell her, but she completely ignored you; a while later, her deskmate came over to ask her questions, oh, Zhou Ziheng is her old deskmate, wouldn't the contrast be even stronger? If you were in her shoes, you would definitely not be happy if you thought that way."

Zhang Shutong had always been puzzled by Zhou Ziheng's attitude, but this explanation made many things clear to him. He nodded in understanding:
"That makes things much easier..."

"What do you mean?" Ruoping asked curiously, "You know who did it?"

"do not know."

"Then why talk big?"

"We just excluded Zhou Ziheng, which narrowed down the possibilities."

"Shouldn't excluding him have made things even more confusing?"

Ruoping was still somewhat skeptical, so she simply asked Qingyi:
"Where is Qingyi?"

"I really didn't this time. But there's one question: is the toilet partition really related to this? Why would someone write their name on the partition to get revenge, as if they're afraid of being exposed?"

"Then Shutong, tell me quickly, who is the murderer?"

“I don’t understand what Qingyi said either.” Zhang Shutong spread his hands. “So we really can’t be sure who it is right now. We only have a general idea, which is very hasty. The earliest we can do it is tomorrow.”

Ruoping pouted and ignored him.

The group then started talking about food; their destination was the island's only commercial street, located in the central part of the island.

The reason it's a commercial street is because it's really not classy to have a celebratory banquet at the school gate;

But since there were no KFC or McDonald's, popular hangouts for young people, we opted for the most bustling area on the island instead.

But this prosperity should be put in quotes; it's just a long street lined with shops, including supermarkets, milk tea shops, and all kinds of restaurants, as well as book lending shops and two-dollar stores selling trinkets.

They say that though a sparrow is small, it has all the vital organs. It even has fried chicken and hamburgers. Zhang Shutong remembers that it was called "Kende Chicken"? I must say, it's quite novel.

It only takes about ten minutes to cycle from the school to the commercial street, and Zhang Shutong felt a little nostalgic returning to this place.

The road is about ten meters wide, roughly equivalent to four lanes. On both sides are storefronts of varying heights, but the tallest is only two stories, with people living on the upper floor and shops on the lower floor.

Other students also ride their bikes here to browse, mostly girls, perhaps to eat, or perhaps to buy hair ties, hair clips or other accessories. Ruoping's backpack was full of these things.

Even with students and pedestrians included, the street was still sparsely populated and poorly maintained.
The curb was piled with dark gray snow on both sides, and every few steps, you could see some snack wrappers thrown on the ground. When the cold wind blew, the plastic wrappers on the straws also rolled around, creating a desolate scene.

Eight years later, when attending the funeral, Zhang Shutong took the only bus that passed by. At that time, he thought the commercial street was long gone, but it was still there. Compared with now, it was not much different eight years ago.

"It's still the same."

Unlike Ruoping and the others, who were focused on riding to the restaurant, he would take a few steps and then glance around.

"Then take a few more glances."

Unexpectedly, Ruoping also stopped the car, looked around as if trying to memorize the surroundings, and sighed:
"It'll be gone soon, and we don't know where we'll eat after that... But by then we'll be going to high school in the city, probably on a real commercial street."

“That’s perfect! I’ve been wanting to try Pizza Hut for ages. I heard there just opened one in the city.” Du Kang chimed in. “We haven’t had proper Western food yet, like a pizza and steak set… what was the other one again?” Zhang Shutong wanted to tell him that Pizza Hut wasn’t really a proper Western restaurant, but seeing how interested they suddenly were, he felt the process itself was wonderful, discovering the world beyond the island little by little.
Like a child strolling on the beach, treasuring every seashell they see… But that's not the problem. Zhang Shutong is more concerned with what Ruoping said:

"What do you mean 'almost gone'?"

It's still around eight years later. I wonder if that KFC has opened any chain stores.

"You still have the nerve to call yourself a child from the island?" Ruoping said dismissively. "You really are an ignorant city person."

What's with this inexplicable regional discrimination?

Ruoping made a joke and was in a good mood:
"Even though you're about to graduate, Shutong, you really should pay attention to what's happening on the island. Why don't you ask your deskmate? This matter is actually related to her."

"What does this have to do with Gu Qiu Mian?"

"To be precise, it's related to her father," Du Kang interjected. "Look over there—"

Zhang Shutong looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a three-story building in the distance—three stories was indeed considered tall on the island.
"Isn't that Beiyi Shopping Mall?"

Zhang Shutong knew that it was the largest building on the island, a department store, which was actually similar to a large supermarket, but far inferior to a real commercial plaza.
The first floor looks like a supermarket, the second floor sells clothes, and the third floor is a bit of a mixed bag, with home appliances, stationery, toys... basically a mess.

The shopping mall itself isn't very large; it's called a shopping mall because it's what it used to be, but from today's perspective, it's actually just a medium-to-large supermarket.

"Don't tell me you didn't know that it was built by Gu Qiumian's father?" Ruoping asked in surprise.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shutong remembered that his parents had received a prepaid card when the mall opened, and they went in and bought a lot of goods.

"So what does this have to do with the commercial street disappearing..." Zhang Shutong then realized, "Really? I've never heard of this before?"

"You're only thinking about the fish."

Ruoping slowed down and walked alongside him, then explained the whole story:

"If it were closer to this street, it would be fine, as it could attract more people. But now it's too far away, and people are all drawn to the shopping malls. The malls have almost everything that's on this street, and they have more styles. Sometimes they even have promotions and the prices are lower. How can it compete? My mom likes to go shopping there now, and she always goes to grab eggs. Oh, Du Kang is the most qualified to talk about this."

Du Kang then took over the conversation, his face showing lingering fear:
"Who says otherwise? My dad even told me that it's a good thing our restaurant is far away from here, otherwise business would be really tough. I've heard what Ruoping said before, it seems that... Gu Qiumian's dad initially had his eye on this piece of land in the commercial street and wanted to build a shopping mall. The demolition and relocation were almost finalized, but some people raised their prices on the spot, and in the end, it all fell apart."

"Then Gu Qiu Mian's father was really tough; he simply chose another location to build a shopping mall, effectively squeezing this place out of business. It seems they're discussing demolition again recently, but I don't know anything about that..."

“No wonder…” Zhang Shutong said thoughtfully.

"What's the wonder?"

"No wonder Gu Qiumian has so many snacks in her backpack, her family owns a supermarket." As soon as she said this, Ruoping rolled her eyes at her.

What he really meant was that it was no wonder the commercial street was still there eight years later. Gu Qiu Mian died a few days later, and it was likely that the demolition deal Du Kang had mentioned hadn't been finalized.

As they talked, they arrived at a restaurant that served local specialties. The restaurant was called "Jiananhu Fish Restaurant" and it was already the largest on the street. It even had private rooms.

Delicious, inexpensive, and with generous portions, this fish restaurant is the top choice for families who only want to dine on the island.

The group were all regular customers. As soon as they entered the store, they saw a plump woman. Ruoping called her "Auntie" repeatedly, which made the proprietress smile so much that wrinkles appeared on her face.

The shop has a vintage feel to it.

Several cases of beer and beverage cabinets were placed at the entrance, the white walls were covered with a light layer of soot, the wooden tables and chairs were already patinaed, and a floral cloth was covered on the table, with a layer of tempered glass on top, which did indeed match the desolate scene on the street. The hall was empty, and they were the first customers.
Du Kang went straight to the front desk and got the menu. The menu was sealed in plastic and looked sticky, probably from a long time ago. The group sat down, their four heads huddled together, trying to figure out what to eat.

Du Kang, whose family has a long history of culinary arts, was eager to show off his culinary skills. He started by saying which dish was the best, but Ruoping slapped him on the head and he finally shut up. In the end, he still asked for a dish of stir-fried shrimp.

Ruoping loves sweets, so she ordered candied sweet potatoes; Qingyi's taste is always consistent, she only eats shredded mandarin fish here.

The last three people looked at Zhang Shutong. He really couldn't think of what to eat. He wanted to say anything, but Ruoping hated anything. So after thinking for a long time, he suggested that they order hot and sour shredded potatoes.

Ruoping slapped him and said, "Don't you have any self-respect? We're here for a get-together, don't you understand?" So they changed the dish to braised pork ribs, which they thought would be a favorite of all three of them.

While waiting for the food, Du Kang exclaimed that they absolutely had to drink some baijiu (Chinese liquor) today. Qingyi hesitated, saying, "We don't have classes this afternoon, isn't that a bit much?" Ruoping, like a chivalrous woman, slammed her hand on the table and said, "What are you afraid of? I'll take care of it. Auntie, bring four bottles first, and we'll add more if needed."

So the proprietress brought over four bottles of nutritional drinks.

The group was quite ceremonial; they couldn't drink directly from the bottle, they had to pour it into a glass. Du Kang was most adept at this kind of occasion, and his toast came out without hesitation. It was something like, "Qingyi, Ruoping, and Shutong, you did a great job in suppressing the bandits last night. On behalf of all the residents of the island, I would like to express my gratitude to you all."

Zhang Shutong laughed while wondering what was going on. At this moment, the three people had already stood up and were waiting for him, so Zhang Shutong also stood up. The four glasses clinked together, and smiles bloomed on the faces of the young man and woman at the same time.
"cheers!"

The crisp sound of the glass rang out immediately. Before the four heroes could finish their Nutritional Express drinks, a male student suddenly pushed open the store door, which was a real eyesore.
Du Kang looked over with displeasure, as if to say, "Hey kid, take a good look at who the four of us are. Didn't we just see each other at the flagpole during the long break?"

The boy wasn't intimidated at all; instead, he raised his eyebrows defiantly and called out to the shop:
"Is there a seat left, boss?"

The proprietress smiled and said, "Of course we have some! How many of you are there? Come in and sit wherever you like. I even have a private room."
The boy, however, dismissed it, saying that there were too many of us, and gestured towards them with his chin, as if the four of us were in the way and he was afraid that our store wasn't big enough.
Du Kang was both amused and annoyed. He said, "Look how arrogant this guy is. How many more can he have? Why does he want to book the whole place? I'll count them for him later."

Then the boy ran out again, and you could hear him say through the shop door, "There's only one table in the shop, and it's full of students, so it's not too much of a problem. Why don't we eat here?"
After a while, the other person ran back, but instead of going straight in, he opened the door and waited, as if there were really a lot of people.
Du Kang pursed his lips and started counting: one, two, three, four... all the way up to thirteen, his eyes getting bigger and bigger as he counted.
"Wow, there are really this many people?" He had white milk rings painted on his lips and was a little dumbfounded. "Is this a students' meal or a group gathering?"

But that wasn't all. The students who entered the store didn't rush to sit down. Instead, they all looked behind them and automatically parted to make way. Zhang Shutong also looked back at the welcoming avenue and suddenly had a premonition.
Then his premonition came true;

At the entrance of the fish restaurant, the boy standing there smiled at them with disdain.

Then the gang leader, or rather, the first shoe to drop, stepped in—

I'll be adding an extra chapter in the recommendations these next few days. Today's two chapters together total 7500 words. Dear readers, please don't say I'm updating too little.
Also, thank you to readers "Big Black Dog", "Reader 20231230000512623", and "Dan Dan" for their generous donations!
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(End of this chapter)