Winter Returns

Chapter 33 The Master of Relationships (4th Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Gu Qiumian's family owns a four-story detached villa with a large yard surrounded by an iron fence.

The villa is built in the middle of nowhere, overlooking the lake below. The scenery may be nice on a sunny day, but now it just feels gloomy.

Old Song was quite thoughtful, knowing to keep an umbrella in the car and hand it to Gu Qiu Mian. The girl asked the two if they wanted to come to her house for a while, but the master and apprentice waved their hands at the same time, saying it was too late and they should go back and eat, and contact her if they needed anything.

She walked into the drizzle, stood in front of the black iron gate for a while, and surprisingly, it was an electric gate. With a beep, it opened, and Gu Qiu Mian waved to the car, then turned and walked into the villa.

The lights were on in the villa. She had a nanny, and she could have a hot meal as soon as she came home. It was such a happy thing.

Zhang Shutong was farsighted enough to buy a steamed bun at the school gate, but Lao Song was in trouble. He probably didn't eat well at noon and his stomach was growling. I thought he would quickly find a restaurant, but Lao Song pulled the handbrake, rolled down the window, and turned off the car.

"Have a smoke before you go." The homeroom teacher waved the cigarette pack in his hand, looking like he had been holding it in for quite a while. "You come to the front too, why are you still squeezing into the back seat? There's an umbrella under the door."

Zhang Shutong also felt uncomfortable being so crowded, but since he didn't need an umbrella, he changed seats in the rain. After Gu Qiumian left, the two men felt a bit more relaxed.

"Actually, I really have something to tell you. I wasn't joking at noon." Song Nanshan took out a lighter, and a flame lit up the dim space. "I contacted Gu Qiumian's dad at noon today, but he can't come back in time. The earliest he can come is Monday, so these next few days... what are you spacing out for?"

Zhang Shutong recalled Du Kang's words, remembering that he said Gu Qiumian "disappeared" on Monday, but the police report was not actually filed until Tuesday. He originally couldn't understand why the report was filed a day later, but now he had the answer.

What did her father say?

“His father anticipated this and made arrangements.”

"Besides the nanny, is there anyone else?"

"No, it's just that Qiu Mian doesn't like having so many strangers around. She must have spoken to the shopping street or the police. You know, he's a big boss, he's weathered many storms, he's more experienced than me and more knowledgeable than you."

Zhang Shutong remained silent.

"Alright, stop worrying about it. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about. How come you missed all the opportunities I created for you earlier?" Old Song nudged him with his shoulder, exasperated. "Didn't I suggest taking you guys out tomorrow? You could have just agreed."

“She said she didn’t want to go,” Zhang Shutong replied casually, preoccupied with other thoughts.

"That's because you didn't take the initiative. The girl waited a long time before saying that. Girls need to be pursued." Old Song also started acting as a relationship guru. "Believe it or not, if I call her again right now and ask her again, Qiu Mian might just agree."

"forget it."

"Don't say I taught you this when you go out in the future. What a waste of your good looks," Old Song said disdainfully.

Zhang Shutong then came to her senses and asked the teacher in bewilderment, "Why are you so keen on trying to match us up?"
Old Song took a drag of his cigarette and said, "Your thoughts are definitely not pure. When did I talk about things between men and women? I was clearly asking you to make friends, you know what friends are."

Zhang Shutong pursed her lips and didn't say anything.

Before he had even finished lighting his cigarette, Song Nanshan began to wistfully reminisce about his youth. He said that when he was in school, boys and girls had to be extremely careful about what they said to each other. If he could ride in the same vehicle as a pretty girl to some place, he would be overjoyed, even if it was just a donkey-drawn cart, let alone a car. And you didn't appreciate that.

Zhang Shutong felt it was strange to be taught about relationships by him. It wasn't that their identities were incompatible, but Old Song was clearly single. If he really had that ability, he wouldn't need to ask him for help; he would have been running around with girls long ago. But he didn't say this in the end; he just muttered it to himself.

He urged Lao Song to speak quickly, as he needed to go to the commercial street later.

"You really want to investigate it yourself?"

"Let's see." Zhang Shutong didn't need to hide it from him. Old Song would definitely come along if he found out, and having a helper wouldn't be bad. He planned to go to the Nanhu Fish Restaurant again. This time he had a clearer direction, so there was no need to beat around the bush. He could just get straight to the point. That way, the homeroom teacher's disguise would scare him, and he might actually be able to get some information out of him.

"Sigh, all I do every day is play around with you kids." Song Nanshan scratched his head. "But what are you after? I can understand if you like Gu Qiumian, but like with the scarf thing, you did it but didn't say anything."

"Less trouble, isn't it good as it is now?" Zhang Shutong replied absentmindedly.

"You'll regret this sooner or later."

"I really regret it now. Will this cause me headaches in the future?"

"I'm just teasing you here," Song Nanshan said with a laugh. "But speaking of which, what do you think of Qiu Mian? Answer me properly. I'm not asking about your feelings for her."

Zhang Shutong really wanted to say, "Don't ask anymore! If you ask one more question, I promise I'll pour boiling water into your teacup one more time. Isn't it better to maintain your rough and tough guy persona? Why do you have to be so fussy?"

"Actually, she's in a pretty good mood today." Song Nanshan flicked his cigarette ash.

"Really?" Zhang Shutong asked, puzzled. "I didn't see her smiling much in the car."

"You're so dense! Let me tell you, you can't tell if a girl is happy just by whether she smiles or not. I can tell just by looking—"

As he spoke, Song Nanshan pointed to the passenger window. Zhang Shutong turned his head and saw that Gu Qiumian had also vandalized the car window, leaving a faint grimace.

"Although I couldn't figure out what she was drawing, she definitely seemed to be in a good mood."

Zhang Shutong tilted her head and stared at the face for a few seconds. It was really ugly. "I saw her with her friends during break. They were chatting and laughing. It's not surprising."

What puzzled him was that he was in a bad mood yesterday, but today his mood suddenly turned from cloudy to sunny.

Zhang Shutong thought for a moment:

Is she the kind of person who's a bit carefree?

"Bullshit!" Old Song ruffled his hair. "You seem more like the heartless type!"

"What's that for?"

"Girls don't have so many questions. Some things are easy to satisfy," Old Song began to explain. "This isn't something I'm supposed to teach you, but since it's the right time, I'll teach you a lesson. My girlfriend was pretty much like that back then, so naive."

Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "Don't think I can't understand what you're saying. Isn't it a bit too arrogant of you to talk about someone being stupid in front of their villa? Besides, Gu Qiumian isn't stupid either."

"Isn't she quite smart?"

"Wrong again, she's clearly a silly girl too."

But Zhang Shutong really couldn't connect the fool with Gu Qiumian, so he listened to Old Song continue his long-winded explanation:

"This 'foolishness' isn't about intelligence, but rather how it's differentiated: shrewd girls know exactly what they need, while 'foolish' girls can't distinguish these things."

(End of this chapter)