Winter Returns

Chapter 3 The Island's Young Lady and the Penguins

The memory was thus interrupted.

Zhang Shutong thought it was perfect timing; he'd forgotten his old deskmate's name anyway, so he'd greet him when he got a new one.

It's the second period in the afternoon now. There will be a long break later, during which we usually go for a run.

However, there was snow on the playground, so the arrangement was changed to be left to each class to arrange their own activities.

Their class changes seats once a month. Looking around, some students are already ready, while others leisurely close their homework, just waiting to put it in their bags.

In that sense, I became the "last" one to know.

He understood and started working, only pausing to think when he glanced at the scrap of paper with the name written on it.

When I got home that night, I decided to think about it some more. It's always better to be safe than sorry, so I took out my 53 and clipped it in. It's a habit of mine—for boys my age, it's safer than carrying it around.

Just as Zhang Shutong was about to stuff a bunch of things into his schoolbag, he suddenly ran into a problem.

My schoolbag was filled with test papers, textbooks, exercise books, and folders. All sorts of materials from different subjects were mixed together, and I couldn't remember how they were categorized anymore.

He has lived alone for many years. People who live alone generally fall into two categories:
Either live a very messy life;

Either keep your life in good order.

Zhang Shutong is the latter, even a bit obsessive-compulsive, unable to tolerate anything being stuffed in randomly.

Thinking this, he moved to the bookshelf on one side of the classroom, intending to make do with it there for now.

The bookshelves are very long, taking up an entire wall, with each student having their own shelf and each class also having one.

The bookshelf itself had nothing to do with Gu Qiumian's home; the school wouldn't be that shabby. But the things displayed on the bookshelf were relevant.

It was previously mentioned that she had never made any friends in class and had very distant relationships with anyone, so Miss Gu simply formed her own circle.

She doesn't care about others, nor does she like others to care about her. Of course, she doesn't have a particularly bad personality, so she can't do anything too outrageous; at most, she's just a bit eccentric.

For example, she loves building Lego sets, the genuine kind, which are incredibly expensive. The reason Zhang Shutong knew about this hobby is precisely this—

Each class would display a few potted plants to decorate the classroom, usually on the bookshelf, such as pothos and snake plants. Only their class had an extra block castle. It was one of Gu Qiumin's collections.

He still remembered that his grid was right below the castle, which was as big as a washbasin, European in style, and had a Lego miniature figure in a skirt standing at the entrance;
Hidden among the lush green leaves, she looks like a princess living in seclusion in the forest—that's the privilege of a young lady.

Looking again at the window seat, the ghost faces on the glass were piled up in countless layers, making it impossible to discern what Gu Qiu Mian had drawn.

She seemed to realize the problem herself, frowned, propped her chin on her hand and stared at it for a long time, but was amused by the grotesque pattern. She wiped it off and continued doing her homework, the hair ornament on her hair swaying slightly.

Zhang Shutong stared at the pendant, then turned to look at the quiet classroom. Sometimes the wind howled and blew against the window, causing the glass to tremble slightly, giving a feeling that it was not very stable.

The outside world was dim, and the overhead light tubes, though yellowish, seemed warm.

I don't know how long it's been since I had a moment of relaxation like this.

But only he knew that in five days, this reassuring picture would be shattered.

Recalling the details of that murder case, because of Gu Qiu Mian's special identity, she had heard two versions:

One case involved a criminal who was short of money, so he kidnapped the victim, but the negotiations broke down, leading to a tragedy.

Some say it was Gu's father's enemy, who committed heinous acts when he became wealthy, which brought misfortune upon his children. This version is more widely circulated and even receives praise from some.

But Zhang Shutong didn't quite believe it. Whether it was because he was short of money or seeking revenge, there was no reason for him to harm Lu Qinglian again eight years later.

Since he couldn't use it, he could only recall the message that Du Kang had once told him.

"The murderer in that case has never been caught. Several fishermen have testified that they saw someone in the restricted area before the incident..."

Even if the clues aren't very clear, it's better than nothing.

After he had packed everything away, he had a pretty good idea of ​​what to do.

Of course, there's no need to rush into action immediately.

At 16, I was a lone wolf, carrying a huge secret. I would skip class and ride my bike non-stop to the "forbidden zone."
Things are different now. To put it bluntly, his personality has become somewhat cold over the years, but that's just the way it is:

There are still several days before the incident, so being anxious won't help. Besides, calling the police is better than fighting alone.

Even if we call the police, we can go after school; it won't make a difference if we take half a day.

If life has a main mission, its main mission should be to cherish the life we've been given a second chance at.

The side quest is just a side plot that leads to the discovery of the murderer and a "happy ending".

As for interacting with the two girls or trying to get closer to them, Zhang Shutong had no interest in that.

Since we didn't have much of a relationship eight years ago, it's the same if we do it again.

Ultimately, he hates trouble and prefers to resolve things discreetly rather than arouse suspicion.

He'd rather go fishing with a few close friends than waste that free time.

Just as he was wondering if his fishing skills had become rusty after not touching a rod for so many years, the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

Yawns, complaints, laughter... the once quiet classroom suddenly erupted into a cacophony of sounds.

One by one, the students stood up, their figures swaying before their eyes, their rubber shoes making a scraping sound on the terrazzo floor.

Only when he saw this scene did the world feel real.

Zhang Shutong also inexplicably felt like stretching. It was quite magical, as if long-dormant bodily memories had been awakened, and his mind became much more active as well.

If he weren't too old, what he wants to do most right now is get a driver's license and buy his own car; a used car would be enough.
Of course, it can't be too small either. I need to put fishing rods and a water tank in the trunk, and then drive around the country to see all the scenery I haven't seen in years.

There are also some regrets he wants to make up for: to stop his parents from worrying about him, to get into a better university, and to stay in touch with his close friends. But he doesn't have any intention of deliberately making friends with anyone; his view on friends is that a few are enough.

Speaking of friends, Zhang Shutong wasn't in a hurry to catch up with his best friends; he preferred to wander around first.

So he left the classroom. Their school was one of the few four-year programs. He was in Class 1 of Grade 4, at the very front of the corridor, right next to the stairs.

Two people were talking on the stairs.

One of them was his homeroom teacher, holding onto the railing;

The other person opposite the teacher was a girl wearing a blue cloth robe.

The girl had a cool and aloof demeanor, with long hair that reached her waist, and was sitting on the steps.

Zhang Shutong stopped in his tracks.

Simply put, if you had just bowed to her photo a few hours ago, and now that person is standing right in front of you in person, anyone would stop and take a look.

The girl named Lu Qinglian seemed to have just returned from outside; her delicate face was pale from the cold, and the hem of her coarse cloth robe was still covered with snowflakes.

Most people's skin would only turn red when they get cold, but she was already very fair-skinned, and at this moment, her skin shone with a flawless, cold light, which was even more pronounced against her blue robe.

He wasn't the only one curious; more and more students poured out of the corridor, and many of them were looking in this direction.

No matter what, there was a beautiful and mysterious girl outside the classroom who looked like she had just returned from cultivating immortality; she was irresistible to both men and women.

But perhaps she gave off too much of a sense of distance, and no one dared to come closer, only whispering among themselves from afar.

Lu Qinglian, however, paid no attention, as if the noise around her had nothing to do with her. She was focused on her own thing, bringing her hand to her lips and gently breathing on it to warm it.

Zhang Shutong didn't have this concern.

Not only did they observe it for a while, but upon closer inspection, they also discovered that something was amiss:

She was probably wearing several layers of clothing underneath. When she was standing, it looked fine; the robe was wide enough that it moved with her body and the sleeves swayed in the wind, giving her a rather ethereal appearance. She could easily pass for a fairy.

But now, when I sit down, it looks bulging.

The girl's slender figure was hidden among them, creating a somewhat contrasting and incongruous scene. She didn't resemble a fairy; she looked more like a penguin that had returned from the world of cultivation.

Next, Zhang Shutong heard the homeroom teacher ask the penguin:
"Have you finished shoveling snow back at the temple?"

"Yes, the mountain was too slippery, and some places were icy, which delayed us for a while."

Now he understood.

It turned out he had just returned from helping out at the temple.

Their homeroom teacher was a young male teacher surnamed Song. He was a very nice person and knew that the girl's family situation was special, so he always readily granted her leave.

“I already told you, you can come tomorrow. What if you fall and hurt yourself? I’ll talk to your grandma about it.”

"It wasn't her, I came on my own."

The girl's tone and expression were both indifferent.

Teacher Song could only manage a wry smile:

"There's no need to rush like that. Look at you, you ran over without even changing your clothes..."

"I wore this specifically because it's too cold outside."

As she spoke, the girl took off her robe, revealing her school uniform jacket underneath.

The conversation died down.

"...Okay, you can warm up first. I'll collect yesterday's homework later. Next class is mine, and I'll be going over the problems."

Teacher Song gave these instructions before leaving.

Lu Qinglian simply nodded, folded her robe and stuffed it into her schoolbag, then bit her hair tie and tied her long, flowing hair into a ponytail.

When they looked up again, their eyes met.

"Thank you," the girl suddenly said.

"What are you thanking me for?" Zhang Shutong wondered. "Didn't I give you a 500 yuan white envelope not long ago? No way, that would really make it a ghost story."

Then, she handed me a pair of gloves.

He held it in his hand and examined it for a few moments. The design was quite stylish. It was black, with padding at the joints, and it was almost as big as Lu Qinglian's face.
Their full name should be outdoor tactical gloves. I used to have a pair, bought when I was fishing years ago. These look familiar though.

It feels like it belongs to me.

Made of nylon, unlike wool, it doesn't get wet easily, so it should be quite useful for shoveling snow.

However, although her trouser legs were wet, her gloves were clean and well-preserved.

Then I noticed her hands. Unlike other people her age with delicate skin, her hands were rough, the marks left by working. There were also several frostbite cracks on her palms and fingers.

Although he had absolutely no recollection of this incident... he nodded:
"Small things."

"You were looking for me?" Lu Qinglian tilted her head and added, "I saw you were here just now."

Zhang Shutong really wanted to correct her statement:
You were the one who contacted me.

To be precise, it was you eight years later who called me.

I guess I'll never hear that phone call again, but I don't feel any regret now, since I'm still alive.

Actually, Zhang Shutong had nothing to say to her and was about to shake his head in denial when, before leaving, he couldn't help but feel that fate was somewhat strange.

Eight years later, he came to the island to attend her funeral, and in retrospect, although it was by chance, the first person he spoke to was also her.

Suddenly I want to be a riddle solver:

Do you have a cell phone?

"No, what's wrong?"

"If you have a cell phone in the future, remember not to call people in the middle of the night."

The conversation should have ended there, and he walked away cheerfully, leaving the other person puzzled, just as he was pondering the contents of the phone call.

To everyone's surprise, she actually thought about it seriously:
"A cold joke?"

He said this without giving anyone face, because he didn't even smile.

"Hmm... I just don't have a sense of humor."

Zhang Shutong bit the soft meat in his mouth, then turned and left.

They should really bring Du Kang here to see what true aloofness is.

……

However, what he didn't expect was that shortly after he left, Lu Qinglian also entered the classroom;

The girl first checked the homework on her seat, then went to the seat of a classmate named Zhang Shutong and looked around.

"What happened?"

Suddenly, a boy eagerly darted out. He had a baby face and was always smiling.

The visitor was none other than Du Kang.

"Just got back from shoveling snow?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"Ah."

"Is it cold outside?"

"Kind of."

"Shall I help you next time?"

"Need not."

No matter what she said, the girl's tone remained flat, or rather, somewhat perfunctory.

She had originally intended to wait for Zhang Shutong to return, but since he and Du Kang were best friends, there were some things she could say to him almost as if she were talking to him in person, so she explained:

"He's the only one who didn't hand in yesterday's English homework."

I remember that the other person always had excellent grades, especially in English, and he was a boy who knew his own limitations, so it was rare for him not to hand in his homework.

“This…” Du Kang’s expression became unnatural.

"He didn't do it?"

"Uh……"

That means you guessed correctly.

"Then I'll carry it over first. Teacher Song needs it for the next class."

These words, spoken by the girl in a clear, crisp voice, sounded like a death sentence to Du Kang. He quickly replied:

"Don't report it, don't report it. You should have done it already. Let me look for it for you first."

The names of those who didn't do their homework would be written on sticky notes and reported to the homeroom teacher, and they would receive a demerit.

Other class representatives might have pleaded for leniency, but Lu Qinglian showed no mercy whatsoever.

The teacher had previously stipulated that anyone who didn't hand in their work would have to do cleaning duty for a week. Although the punishment wasn't severe, the students still had to get things done after school today, so they couldn't be delayed by their cleaning duty.

That's why we're brothers; if we can save a life, we will.
“He did half of it last night, and I remember he said he would make up for it during today’s self-study session, so he should have finished it.”

Lu Qinglian found it strange.

If she didn't do it, she could just not tell the teacher. Why go through all that trouble?

But explaining it would cause even more trouble, so I waited for the other party to look for it.

As for Du Kang, his best friend's schoolbag was on his desk, and the two of them didn't stand on ceremony. Besides, he often copied directly from it.
He looked for homework while simultaneously searching for topics to talk about; an opportunity to strike up a conversation with the girl he had a crush on was hard to come by.
Guess what we did yesterday?

"fishing?"

"Completely correct."

Du Kang snapped his fingers:
"You know that patch of wild land to the south? I caught five fish, four for Qingyi, and Shutong forgot her gloves. She finally caught a big one, but then her hand slipped, and the fishing rod and the fish got away..."

He wanted to stop there, knowing that few girls were interested in fishing, let alone someone as quiet as Lu Qinglian. He was racking his brains to think of the next topic.
To everyone's surprise, there was a hint of curiosity in the other person's voice:
"and then?"

Du Kang was somewhat overjoyed:
"Let's go home when it gets dark. By the way, do you like crucian carp? I'll make you one another day."

"No, I'm asking about what happened after I accidentally slipped my hand."

"Oh, that's quite interesting. Then Shutong got really impatient and insisted on going back to move the tent. We couldn't persuade him otherwise. If it hadn't been snowing these past few days and the nights weren't so cold, he wouldn't have even finished half of his homework..."

Lu Qinglian nodded and said nothing more.

It turned out to be the case.

She lowered her gaze and saw the cut on her palm.

That should have happened this Monday.

She and a boy named Zhang Shutong were assigned to move books.

The textbooks were stacked in piles, bound together with plastic cable ties.

When I picked it up, the cable tie cut my hand. I lost my grip and it fell to the ground.

The boy glanced back:
"How did you do that?"

"It's cold."

"Don't you have gloves at home?"

"Damn, shoveling snow is such a hassle."

"Oh."

He picked up the stack of books on the ground, and the conversation ended there.

When school ended in the afternoon, someone walked up to the desk.

It was the same boy; he didn't look at anyone, his tone seemingly nonchalant, only staring towards the window.
"Here, take it."

A pair of very exaggerated gloves were handed to me.

The boy then solemnly added:
"But don't forget to return it to me in a couple of days, I need to go fishing."

From the start of the semester until the very end, their conversations seemed to consist of only a few words.

Lu Qinglian snapped out of her reverie, just then hearing Du Kang ask in bewilderment:

"No, his homework is usually kept in a hidden compartment in his backpack, isn't it? Oh, right, I saw him carrying a bunch of things to the bookshelf after class. Wait a minute, I'll go check there."

The final result was naturally smooth. Du Kang carefully flipped out a blue exercise book—mainly to avoid bumping into the block castle on the bookshelf.

Then, the boy smiled with relief and handed the five-year exam paper to Lu Qinglian.

"sorry to bother you."

"It's nothing." Du Kang said with a silly grin as he watched the girl leave.

He not only saved his best friend from doing chores, but also struck up a conversation with Lu Qinglian. It was a win-win situation for both himself and others.

Moreover, something even more exciting is about to happen—

He and Shutong had agreed to change seats in the next class...

Thinking of this, Du Kang left the classroom and found his best friend by the toilet door.

Now that he had achieved fame and success, he couldn't help but pat the other person's shoulder forcefully:

"Brother, you're welcome!"

(End of this chapter)