Winter Returns

Chapter 53 Roman Holiday (Part 1)

The so-called "base" is actually a large drainage tunnel.

It had been abandoned for an unknown period of time. The other end was blocked, and the silt deposited at the bottom of the hole had long since dried and hardened. A few wild grasses stubbornly sprouted from it, shivering in the winter.

The concrete-cast tunnel is riddled with cracks, and in the worst places, the cracks have peeled off, exposing the rusty orange-yellow steel bars.

Gu Qiumian followed Zhang Shutong into the drainage hole, curiously examining the graffiti on both sides of the inner wall.

The boy squatted down in front of a safe and rummaged around for a while.

"You even have a safe?" she asked in surprise.

"Du Kang found it."

"How do you know what the password is?"

“The combination lock was broken a long time ago, otherwise how would we have found it?” Zhang Shutong smiled and finally pulled a key out from a crack. “It’s just a shell.”

Gu Qiu Mian then noticed that an extra padlock had been installed on the safe.

The lock cylinder was a bit stiff, and Zhang Shutong twisted it for a while before it opened. He opened the cabinet door and took out two motorcycle helmets.

These two helmets weren't exactly from legitimate sources either. One was donated by Qingyi, and the other was a discarded item from his own father. He tapped the surface of the helmet with his knuckles, and the sound echoed in the drainage hole. He suddenly realized that many of the precious things he had as a child were actually "junk" he had picked up.

Childhood, in reality, is a beautiful eggshell you build for yourself because you haven't seen the bigger world; it's easily broken.

Who ended up taking all these things home?
Nobody wants it, it's not even worth the labor cost. In the past eight years, he had completely forgotten about their secret base. It seems the safe has been left in this dark cave all this time. Since you don't mind that it's trash, it will just wait for you here silently.

The safe also contained a variety of small items: a military shovel, a military knife, a broken digital watch, several hair ties, a mobile phone data cable... Some were useless, while others might be useful later. In any case, this was their treasure chest.

At this moment, Gu Qiumian asked again what we wanted to eat for lunch, suggesting that she call Aunt Wu and we go home to eat.
Zhang Shutong shook his head. He didn't really want to go towards the villa, and besides, the two of them had just drunk Grand Slam Milk Tea, which was really filling.

Upon asking, Zhang Shutong learned that Gu Qiumian wasn't hungry either, so he suggested going fishing to let the young lady experience the fun that ordinary students like them have.

He took out two sets of spare fishing gear from the safe—the base can't be short of fishing rods, no matter what else it is—and started threading the line and tying the hooks.

Gu Qiumian was also eager to try, but the difference was that she just bent down and watched from the side, not intending to do it herself, and waited for Zhang Shutong to finish it for her.

"Where's the bait?"

Gu Qiumian immediately pointed out the key issue, showing that she has a great talent for fishing.

Zhang Shutong said there was ready-made bait. He took an entrenching tool and dug out a few earthworms in the damp mud by the water. Zhang Shutong picked them up to show her, but Gu Qiumian jumped back and glared at him, telling him to take them away quickly.

It turns out she's afraid of earthworms; she's such a coward.

What would she think if she knew that Du Kang dared to catch frogs with his bare hands?

Zhang Shutong glanced around. They were in the wilderness, the daylight had turned pale, and the wind was blowing intermittently, making a whooshing sound as it rushed into the drainage hole.

To be honest, it was a bit creepy, but Gu Qiu Mian didn't say she wanted to go back, so it seems that calling her timid earlier was really underestimating her.

Since he didn't see anyone, Zhang Shutong lowered his head again and continued fiddling with the bait.

The two moved out stools and finally sat down on the bank next to the drainage hole. He had just found two bags of compressed biscuits, which was an unexpected bonus. He tossed one bag to Gu Qiumian and started fishing while sipping milk tea and eating biscuits.

Although the wind was a bit cold, the water was a bit shallow, and there weren't many fish, Zhang Shutong felt it was really cool and couldn't resist taking a picture to show off to Qingyi.

But then my phone malfunctioned again at the crucial moment. The pictures I sent just kept spinning, and only one message remained—a message about going fishing. What a terrible signal.

……

"No, in the middle of the day, he really took Gu Qiumian fishing?" Ruoping asked in surprise.

"It's alright, I have some compressed biscuits I saved before, they won't go hungry," Qingyi comforted them. He turned to the side, swayed the chat history, and then turned back to sit in the passenger seat.

"I didn't mean compressed biscuits, I meant fishing..."

"Isn't it poetic to eat compressed biscuits while fishing? Or are you suggesting we eat Oreos instead?"

"What does this have to do with what we eat?" Ruoping said in a frenzy. Now she was starting to feel sorry for Gu Qiumian. "I mean, there are so many places to go, who would take a girl fishing in the wild on a weekend? Let alone Gu Qiumian, I feel creeped out!"

"Shutong said that Gu Qiumian is quite brave and wasn't afraid."

Is it because they are brave?

Just as Ruoping was about to angrily berate these two blockheads, the man in the driver's seat suddenly spoke:
"Alright, you guys, shut up. You're giving me a headache. What do you want for lunch?"

"Hot pot?" Ruoping's attention was immediately diverted.

"I just finished eating," Du Kang burped, "but I can eat a little more."

"Why don't we go find Shutong? I still have some compressed biscuits." This was Qingyi.

The three of them were sitting in the Ford Focus. Meng Qingyi and Ruoping had just been picked up from the mall by their homeroom teacher. Although the teacher had said on the phone that he had something urgent to do, after they got in the car, the teacher was no longer in a hurry and asked the three of them if they were hungry, suggesting they go shopping first.

"Hot pot won't do, we'll be too late." Song Nanshan glanced at his watch, shook his head, and ignored the two boys' words. "Let's go eat rice bowls at the school gate, it's on me."

"So what's going on, teacher?" Du Kang asked, gripping his chair. He and Ruoping were both sitting in the back row.

“Move a few tables from the warehouse to the first year of junior high,” Song Nanshan said casually. “I originally planned to arrange for you guys to go on Friday, but I forgot about Li Yipeng’s matter that day.”

"You're really something, forgetting even this." Du Kang gave a thumbs up. "No wonder you suddenly wanted to treat us to a meal, so you just wanted us to do the hard labor?"

"What do you mean 'no wonder'? Haven't I treated you ungrateful wretches to meals regularly?" Song Nanshan laughed and scolded. "You think those meals were free? Who else would I turn to if not you guys to take the fall?"

Ruoping rolled her eyes: "Then why only call the three of us, and not your beloved disciple? Isn't that still being biased?"

The beloved student naturally refers to Zhang Shutong.

“Him,” Song Nanshan paused, glancing at the boy in the passenger seat, “isn’t Shu Tong fishing with Qiu Mian? I just thought I shouldn’t disturb their time together.”

The girl pretended to sigh and rub her forehead, but actually she didn't have much of an opinion; she was just being sarcastic.

Anyway, today's arrangements were already a complete mess. Shu Tong had already replied to them while he was at the mall, saying that their mission was complete and they were free to do as they pleased, and that they didn't need to worry about him and Gu Qiu Mian.

She pressed for details, but Shutong said there was a "big surprise" today. "Do you want to know now, or wait until the last minute to find out and have an unforgettable Saturday?"

The girl thought for a moment and chose the latter.

He also told him to be very careful and not to get carried away and mess things up.

The other party replied briefly, "Don't worry," and told her to enjoy the rest of the process.

But nobody said the "process" was just moving desks from the school, right?
What do you call an unforgettable Saturday?

Oh, in a sense it is indeed unforgettable. Feng Ruoping is numb now, let them do whatever they want.

So the girl simply rested her chin on her hand and looked out the window without saying a word.

Du Kang, who couldn't sit still, asked Song Nanshan how many desks he needed to move and whether he could finish by the afternoon. Song Nanshan thought for a moment and said about ten, not many.

"You call that not much?" Du Kang glared. "It takes at least five minutes to run from the warehouse to the teaching building, right?"

"I didn't just call the three of you," Song Nanshan corrected himself, "there were other students I called to help." "Teacher, you should have said so earlier." Du Kang breathed a sigh of relief.

"I already told you, what if you back out and don't want to come?" Song Nanshan held the steering wheel with one hand and ruffled Qingyi's hair with the other. "You too, stop playing on your phone, be careful not to get carsick. Why are you always acting like an adult?"

Qingyi pushed the man's large hand away with displeasure, "I was chatting with Shutong."

"Oh, how is he doing over there?"

"He didn't reply. I was going to tell him that we went to school." Qingyi was puzzled. "Is the power out? That shouldn't be the case. Then the signal is bad over there?"

"He probably didn't see it. That guy's probably busy chasing girls," Song Nanshan reassured him.

But before he could finish speaking, his phone suddenly vibrated. The phone was on the center console in the car. Du Kang was about to hand it over, but he grabbed it first, glanced at it, typed two words, then put it back in his pocket and continued driving.

The car soon drove into the school gate; it was almost noon.

The four of them ate lunch casually.

Since he was helping out with the hard work, he naturally had to treat the homeroom teacher to a good meal. However, the most luxurious rice dish was braised beef rice, so Du Kang shamelessly drank two bottles of soda and felt uncomfortably full.

At this point, Song Nanshan told them to go to the classroom to rest for a while, as he had some things to do outside and would be back to move the tables.

The group nodded, and then watched the car drive out of the school gate.

Du Kang then asked, bored, "What should we do next? And how is Shu Tong doing?"

"He still hasn't replied." Qingyi shrugged. "Anyway, the plan was discussed beforehand, so there shouldn't be any problems if we follow it step by step."

"Don't you think Lao Song is acting a bit strange today?" Ruoping suddenly asked.

"What's wrong... hiccup." Du Kang clutched his stomach.

"He told me on the phone that he had something urgent to do and told me to hurry up and come out of the mall to wait for him. Why is he not in a hurry now and even went out?"

“Old Song said the same thing to me,” Du Kang recalled. “I was still at Gu Qiu Mian’s house when he suddenly ran to the villa’s entrance and told me to hurry up and get in the car.”

“There’s something else wrong,” Ruoping added, “How did he know that Shutong and Gu Qiumian were together? Did you tell me?”

"I didn't say that either." Du Kang was bewildered. "I thought you two said it."

"Then how did he find out?" Ruoping also became serious.

Unfortunately, after she had been reasoning for a long time and was just waiting for someone to agree with her, the reasoning fanatic suddenly fell silent.

Ruoping nudged Qingyi, and the boy snapped out of his reverie. "I was thinking about something else. What were you talking about?"

Ruoping then repeated it.

"Stupid," Qingyi sighed. "Couldn't Old Song just call Shutong himself?"

"But there's no signal on Shutong's end, right?"

"Shutong hadn't even reached the base yet at that time; it was just a matter of timing." He felt that explaining this was too stupid. "Alright, stop focusing on this. I'll show you something more interesting."

As Meng Qingyi went to the restroom first, the two of them then remembered the name of the restroom stall.

Ruoping was still fidgeting at the door when Du Kang laughed and teased, "There's no one around on Saturday, what are you afraid of? Besides, you're a tough woman, you're not afraid even if someone is there..."

As a result, Du Kang's other ear was also twisted off.

The three of them arrived at the stall amidst much bickering. The school lights were off on Saturday, and only light streamed in through the small square windows, making the toilet somewhat dim.

Qingyi then shone her phone's flashlight on it:

"There are still no leads on the person who did this."

Ruoping pinched her nose, a little nervous as it was her first time in the men's restroom. "So, do you have a clue?"

Qingyi simply smiled and said, "Have you noticed that this matter is actually very similar to an arson case?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's always a so-called mastermind behind it all."

Ruoping, thinking he had made some important discovery, said speechlessly:
"These two things are not comparable. One is revenge at school, and the other is about burning down someone else's house. To put it bluntly, one is a petty squabble, and the other is a matter of life and death. How can they be connected?"

"But what if these two things are closely related, or even indispensable?" Qingyi raised an eyebrow.

"How to contact?"

Qingyi then said:
"Now you two think about a question, consider it a brain teaser this afternoon: Why did that liver-colored guy suddenly miss Friday?"

"Something happened at home?" Du Kang asked without even thinking.

"wrong."

"Suddenly scared?" Ruoping interjected.

"Still wrong."

"What's that for?"

“Because that liver-colored man never intended to go in the first place,” Qingyi affirmed. “If he really wanted to go, he wouldn’t have gone to the commercial street to gather people without revealing his identity.”

"No, what kind of motive is this?" Du Kang asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Don't underestimate this motive; he wanted to absolve himself of all responsibility from the very beginning."

Qingyi spread his hands:
"Just one more hint, Shutong told me at noon that, according to the five arsonists, the six of them originally planned to take action on Saturday night. Since they didn't know who was who, they were afraid of being betrayed by their companions, so they agreed that no one could be missing."

“I understand,” Ruoping was a bit smarter than Dukang. “You mean, the liver-colored guy didn’t want to go from the beginning, but if he didn’t participate, his companions wouldn’t agree either, right?”

"That's right, here's the question: why did those five arsonists go before everyone was ready?"

“I know that!” Du Kang answered quickly. “Because Li Yipeng’s mother let it slip! They were afraid of alerting the enemy, so they called Gu Qiumian’s father back in advance. Once they missed this opportunity, they didn’t know when they would get another chance. Besides, the commercial street was about to be demolished, so they didn’t care whether everyone was there or not, and they gritted their teeth and went.”

“Correct answer.” Qingyi snapped his fingers. “That’s the truth. The mastermind behind it all, the liver-pig man, used this method to clean himself up completely.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Du Kang said, puzzled. “You just said that the liver-loving guy didn’t want to go in the first place, but if it weren’t for his incredible luck with Li Yipeng, he would have had to bite the bullet and go on Saturday.”

"That's why I said this is the most exciting part of the case," Qingyi said excitedly. "It's almost exactly what I read in the book. That's right, on the surface, it was Li Yipeng who took revenge on Gu Qiumian first, which led to his mother being called in and revealing that someone was planning revenge. Then the arsonist acted in advance. It can be said to be a chain reaction caused by a series of unexpected events. But what if I said that if you don't treat Li Yipeng's revenge as a sudden event, but instead look back from the result and consider it as something premeditated?"

Ruoping was stunned:

"You mean, even Li Yipeng's mother was part of the pig-liver man's scheme?"

Qingyi didn't answer the question. Instead, he took a deep breath, seemingly lost in reverie, and suddenly coughed, but still managed to say, word by word, with great effort:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this murderer is far more intelligent and cunning than you and I can imagine, much more so."

(End of this chapter)