Winter Returns

Chapter 28 Suspicious clouds abound
"So what time does it close?" Du Kang actually gave him a friendly compliment, proving he's a true best friend.

“Uh…” Zhang Shutong was taken aback. Actually, he didn’t know either. He just thought the sentence was cool. “Anyway, it’s still open at 8:30.”

At this point, Qingyi understood:

"So you went out and bought a new scarf last night and switched Gu Qiu Mian's?"

After saying that, he nodded in realization:

"No wonder I saw you being the last one to come out during the long break; you were waiting for her to leave, weren't you?"

As he spoke, he picked up the scarf from the ground and looked at it. Sure enough, it was different from the one draped over the back of the chair. The one in his hand was very new and even looked a bit more expensive than the other one.

"Well, you even fooled the two of us." Du Kang punched Zhang Shutong on the shoulder, with a mix of excitement at witnessing the truth and a hint of resentment. "But I'm not saying this to criticize you, but what you did was a bit unfair. We went all that way with you."

Zhang Shutong thought to himself that if a boy does good deeds without seeking fame, profit, or sex, then all that's left is to show off. He used to be like that. Otherwise, why would someone come up to this guy on the ground—what was his name again… to pretend?
Of course, most of these ideas were jokes. The most important reason was to worry about unforeseen circumstances, which is why he called two more people. He always seeks stability in his actions.
He smiled and apologized, then mimicked Qingyi's serious expression and said:
"It's just male friendship."

Qingyi gave a thumbs up, and Zhang Shutong returned the gesture. Only Du Kang habitually sought out Ruoping; only she could control the two immature individuals at this moment. It was a pity the girl hadn't come along today.
"Oh well, whatever you two do. I was really scared just now. As long as the result is good, that's all that matters."

The sounds outside the window grew closer. Du Kang turned his head and glanced around. He saw that quite a few students had already entered the teaching building. He rarely took things to heart; he had been somewhat resentful just moments before, but now he suddenly grinned and raised an eyebrow at Zhang Shutong.
"Hey, if that's how you put it, I've got a great idea that'll definitely make it even bigger."

This kid has one trick after another:

"How about we take her scarf before Gu Qiumian comes back? Then you guys think about it: when she comes into the classroom and sees us here, she'll definitely ask what happened. So we'll tell her that we used the scarf as bait to catch someone. She'll definitely be unhappy then. Once she's about to burst into tears, Shutong, you take out the real scarf and give her a real shock..."

"Stop it, you should just shut up for a bit."

Zhang Shutong rubbed his forehead, almost unable to listen any longer. He was also subconsciously looking for Ruoping, hoping the girl would give this person a good whack on the head, but unfortunately Ruoping wasn't there.

No wonder this guy still doesn't have a girlfriend eight years later. Zhang Shutong originally wanted to give him a good look of disdain, but then he remembered that he was also single at that time. He felt a little melancholy that his older brother didn't criticize his younger brother, so he gave up.

“I’m serious,” Du Kang continued, “I read it online. If a man can stir up a woman’s emotions, over time, he will slowly leave a mark on her heart… That’s why they say women don’t love men who aren’t a little bad.”

"This is such an ancient and bizarre love story," Zhang Shutong chuckled. "Why don't you try dating Lu Qinglian?"

"Um, never mind then..." This kid has all talk and no action, a total talker. "But seriously, even if you don't deliberately scare Gu Qiu Mian, if you tell her the whole story later, won't she be quite moved?"

Zhang Shutong hadn't really thought of this. Ultimately, he didn't do this to make Gu Qiumian feel more moved.

To put it lightly, we all agreed to be henchmen together, and there are rules to follow when you're in this business. How could you, a bastard, go after the young lady herself? You'd easily get hacked to death.

To be serious, it was actually her words yesterday that touched me and gave me an idea, which helped her find the "culprit".

Therefore, Zhang Shutong said indifferently:

"Oh, speaking of which, I forgot to tell you two not to embellish anything. Just say that the three of us noticed something was wrong."

"If you're going to do good deeds anonymously, what's in it for you?"

"What's the point? Well..."

He thought for a moment, then, unusually, spoke at length and earnestly:
"Let me give you an example. Before, when you couldn't hold on anymore, no one came to help you. But now that you have a little strength left, when you see someone similar, you'll think of your past self, so..."

As she spoke, Zhang Shutong asked Qingyi curiously why she was typing on her phone. Qingyi replied that she had to quickly write down such a cool sentence so she could use it later.
Zhang Shutong couldn't say whether he should feel honored or ashamed to have received his approval.
He changed his tune, saying:

"So I really feel that I didn't do anything. If I had to thank someone, it would be her, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to create this opportunity today."

“That makes sense in a way,” Qingyi nodded. “If she hadn’t been so nonchalant, this person wouldn’t have come today. Without this link, we can’t catch the other party no matter what.”

At this point, Qingyi asked again:

"However, I've had a question since we were on the stairs. We've caught the person, and we've basically cleared up the other suspicious points, but how do we explain the name on that toilet partition?"

Upon hearing this, before Zhang Shutong could speak, the boy on the ground reacted as if grasping at a straw:

"not me!"

The three of them looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"Li Yipeng, I've already filmed this, what's the use of denying it now?" Du Kang was amused by his anger.

Zhang Shutong also glanced at the other person. Only after Qingyi reminded him did he realize that this person looked somewhat familiar.
It seems to be their former classmate. He wasn't very popular in class, and his personality was quite similar to Du Kang's—a bit eccentric.
Du Kang himself has a good temper, which sometimes offends people, but he doesn't care if others retaliate. Therefore, everyone is used to it and doesn't bother him.
Li Yipeng is lenient with himself but strict with others. His family runs a small business and owns a shop. They are considered well-off, and he has all three major items: a mobile phone, a watch, and an MP3 player, which he often shows off.

But the children on the island all knew each other, so they couldn't really argue with him. Little did they know that he had kicked a hornet's nest.
Everyone knows that Miss Gu has a habit of sharing snacks with her classmates. The giver may be unintentional, but the eater may be interested. Later, he got carried away and thought that Gu Qiumian was interested in him. He felt that their relationship could be more "intimate", so he went to tell Gu Qiumian a dirty joke and even changed the protagonist of the joke to Miss Gu herself.
Gu Qiumian coldly threw his pencil case, but he was too proud to admit it and retorted, thus successfully changing to another class.

Looking back, Zhang Shutong didn't know what to say. He thought to himself, what deep-seated hatred or grudge could there be? Besides, so much time had passed since then.

Moreover, this kid could have been more resolute than admit his wrongdoing, but he didn't have the guts to confess. Now he's sitting on the ground, probably traumatized by his father's wrist and scared out of his wits.

"You're saying you didn't break the castle?" Qingyi actually had the mood to chat with him.

"Do not……"

“Why waste your breath on him? The scarf alone is enough to convict him,” Du Kang said slyly. “Do you think Gu Qiu Mian is more worried about the castle or the scarf? If you lie again, the consequences will be even more serious.”

"it's me……"

"Then it's over."

To everyone's surprise, the boy broke down and shouted:
"I mean it's not just me, there are others too, really!"

"Then tell me who it is?"

"I have no idea……"

"Do you think we three are idiots? Oh, you got caught doing something bad, and now you're saying I had an accomplice? Are you going to say you were forced into it? Putting aside whether that accomplice even exists, you don't even know who he is. Even criminals need to provide some useful information to get their sentences reduced."

"I really didn't lie to you... the toilet! Yes, the toilet!" The boy panicked completely. "Didn't you just say that Gu Qiu Mian's name was on the toilet? It was this Monday when I had diarrhea, and I ran out during class, and I had just locked the door..."

"So you saw Gu Qiumian's name on the partition? Don't tell me that makes her an accomplice?" "No, I wrote the name. Listen, there really was someone else. I was in the restroom when a note was suddenly passed down from below, saying that he and I both had a grudge against Gu Qiumian, and if you wanted to get revenge on her..."

“This isn’t the place to talk,” Zhang Shutong interrupted their conversation. He had already heard footsteps coming upstairs, so he pulled the other person up and said, “You two go to the office first.”

……

Du Kang and Qing Yi took the boys to the office first, while Zhang Shutong waited for Song Nanshan to return in the corridor;

The next class is English, but judging from the current situation, Lao Song definitely won't be in the mood for class; he'll probably have to deal with Li Yipeng's matter first.
Judging from what the boy said, there was actually a mastermind behind him, although he only played a role in instigating things. But the sudden appearance of another person made the whole thing a little more complicated.

Zhang Shutong was pondering a question—

What exactly triggered this incident?
If he was talking about the important changes caused by his own regression, he carefully counted them: being deskmates with Gu Qiumian counted as one, writing the names of the three people on scrap paper and having them projected on a paper counted as one, and Lu Qinglian coming to fish and catching poachers counted as another.
Please elaborate further;
Take being deskmates as an example; Zhang Shutong had considered the possibility of Zhou Ziheng being a suspect:
For example, he had a crush on Gu Qiu Mian, but because he didn't become her deskmate, his love turned into hatred... Okay, that's a bit too far-fetched, but it's not without its possibilities;
But here's the problem: Li Yipeng said he was given a note on Monday, but his seat hadn't been changed yet, right?

It's not fair to say that the boy named Zhou Ziheng has already laid the groundwork for what's to come: if he continues to be Gu Qiu Mian's deskmate, he'll quit; if he doesn't, he'll take revenge... This can't be called deduction, it's not even speculation.

And why would he retaliate against Gu Qiumian's new deskmate instead of Gu Qiumian herself?
Even if the other party really schemed to this extent, why would they take the initiative to tell Gu Qiu Mian?
Therefore, Zhang Shutong ultimately ruled out Zhou Ziheng as a suspect, finding no reasonable motive whatsoever.

Who exactly is the mastermind behind this?

Is it related to the murder case?

And what exactly happened between Monday and Thursday that prevented the bomb from detonating?
Zhang Shutong had no clue how to solve these problems for the time being.

As students began to flood into the corridor, he leaned against a pillar, frowning as he watched them walk by. A completely unrelated thought popped into his mind: why had all these people been sitting at the same table as Gu Qiu Mian?
Of course, researching this was useless. Zhang Shutong had a strange feeling, but then she realized with relief that it could be because she was close to Miss Gu.

If you don't get close, you won't get the chance to be fed snacks, and you can't even talk to her normally. Without contact, how can you get involved with Gu Qiu Mian?

He sincerely felt that Gu Qiu Mian would be better off finding a girl as her deskmate, which would save her a lot of trouble.

But she didn't have any friends in her class.

Zhang Shutong wouldn't actually consider helping her make friends because of this, but he remembered that every time he interacted with the other person these past few days, his initial impression of her was overturned.

I used to think she was just an arrogant rich girl who spent money lavishly. The only similarity between them was that they both transferred from the provincial capital. Although I don't know why, she always thought of herself as a traitor.
Later, I offended her over the scarf and discovered her cold side;
Then, by a twist of fate, they became deskmates. Perhaps the other person felt that they had taken the initiative to "make up," so their attitude softened a bit.
Her father took her to school in the morning and told her to be happy. Then he heard her nickname.
During my morning reading, I witnessed how she interacted with her female friends. She was decisive and always the center of attention, surrounded by everyone like a star.
Then the castle was smashed. He was in a bad mood but also indifferent. He had a cold face in the hotel, but he helped himself out of his immediate crisis.
Finally, a few words of conversation after school yesterday revealed that she also has a stubborn side.
If anything else should be added, it's the way she draws funny faces on the glass and laughs at herself.

When she returns to the classroom and finds that the three of them have already captured her, what kind of expression will she make?
Joy? Revenge finally achieved?
But what if we heard there was a mastermind behind it all?
Zhang Shutong didn't know either. If Gu Qiumian were treated as a proposition to be studied, he estimated that he would never be able to figure her out even after a lifetime.
For example, right now, he thought Miss Gu was usually a girl who rarely smiled and seemed lonely, but he found that she had once again overturned his impression:
Gu Qiumian was walking up the stairs with the three girls she had met during morning reading sessions, chatting and laughing all the way.

While it wasn't quite a hearty, over-the-top laugh, it was definitely a bright smile he'd never seen before.

The girl was breathing slightly out of breath, seemingly because she was hot. She gently fanned her face with one hand. She was wearing a dark sweater, which made her skin look even whiter.
Gu Qiumian glanced over unintentionally and met Zhang Shutong's eyes. Zhang Shutong's beautiful and spirited eyes blinked subconsciously, about to glare slightly. The corridor was noisy, and there were countless people passing by her. But at this moment, she looked like a little deer that had jumped out of a dark tunnel, staring at you with her round eyes.

Zhang Shutong also blinked.

This doesn't seem quite right?

Weren't you casually scrolling through your phone yesterday? How come you're so easily amused today?

Before he could say anything, Gu Qiu Mian's secretary skipped and hopped around to greet him:
"Hey handsome, look over here, look over here... Wow, he's really looking over here, Qiu Mian, look how fierce his eyes are!"

Zhang Shutong simply looked away, thinking to himself, "Why are you being so fierce? I was just wondering about the way the three of you get along."

Don't stay here for long.

Now that his classmates had returned, he was about to go find Lao Song, but to his surprise, Gu Qiu Mian didn't pretend not to see him this time, and instead took the initiative to come over.

"Zhang...Shutong?" The girl tried to straighten her face, but a faint smile could still be seen at the corner of her lips. Gu Qiumian snorted and said, "What are you standing there for?"

Zhang Shutong didn't know why she always called him that, but she could tell that she was in a good mood.
"You know it all?"

Zhang Shutong suspected that Du Kang might have leaked the good news.

"what do you know?"

"There are too many people here, let's talk about it later."

"cut."

The secretary, however, started to egg them on:
"What are you two talking about, so perfectly in sync? Are the three of us getting in the way?"

Gu Qiumian glared at her, annoyed. "He's the one who likes to act aloof and mysterious all the time."

"That's only mysterious to you, look at him, he doesn't even talk to us..."

That's absolutely not true.

Zhang Shutong simply ignored the girls and said only to Gu Qiumian:

"It's nothing, I just saw you yesterday..."

"Why do you always bring up these things?" Gu Qiumian wrinkled her nose, seemingly unwilling to have her embarrassing past brought up. "Who can stay angry forever? What will happen when they get old?"

Zhang Shutong said he was a little surprised, but Gu Qiumian pouted and ignored him. After thinking for a moment, she added, "Then you can stand outside and be surprised. I won't see you." The bright girl said goodbye to her friends and turned to go into the classroom.

Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "I guess we'll meet in the office in a few minutes. I'm looking forward to your surprised expression."

He should go find the homeroom teacher, but Qingyi jogged over at that moment.

"We've almost finished questioning Li Yipeng, and we finally understand why he's still seeking revenge after all this time. It's actually more serious than we thought," Qingyi said with a grave expression. "It's not just about his relationship with Gu Qiumian, but also the conflicts within his family..."

"Home?" Zhang Shutong caught the key word.

"Right, you forgot, his family owns a shop, right on the commercial street..."

I've been too busy these past few days and forgot to check the donations. I apologize to all the friends who have supported this book. Here's a list of the donors from the past few days (sorted chronologically):
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(End of this chapter)