The first class in the afternoon was math.
It was still snowing.
Zhang Shutong got a cup of water and returned to his seat.
It was a bit sad. They were close to graduating, but their class didn't even have a water dispenser. They still had to go to the hot water room in the hallway to queue up.
This was how it was in a small town. If Gu Qiumian's father hadn't donated a plastic track, it would be difficult to find a place to play ball in the winter.
He glanced diagonally to the front. Lu Qinglian had returned at some point. She had probably been sitting on the rooftop all afternoon.
Now, Zhang Shutong's attitude toward her was complicated. Before, that is, when he received the news of her death, he thought she was a cold and aloof background character. While fishing, he found her to be a bit of a ditz. When she was eating Oreos, she was like a normal girl. He pieced these images together and thought that this was the real Lu Qinglian. But the clues from eight years later overturned all of these impressions. To be honest, Zhang Shutong felt that she was a little dangerous now.
He was a little influenced by his experience eight years later, and a filter had been placed over his perception of her. But this wasn't a good thing.
Ruoping said that he had turned his back on her and dumped her;
He also believed that even if they weren't a couple, he had indeed used some tricks to keep her on the island.
The relationship between the perpetrator and the victim was clear at a glance.
But Zhang Shutong was thinking, was there something missing here—
For example, Lu Qinglian's own thoughts.
Was she truly willing and without any regrets?
One thing was very strange. Ruoping and the others never mentioned Lu Qinglian's reaction.
In the original timeline, he and Du Kang had a short chat outside the funeral home. Du Kang had said that Lu Qinglian had been busy repairing the temple's sculptures all these years and would sometimes go down the mountain to the school to accompany the children.
Until she called him the day before she passed away.
What did she want to say at that time?
Did that call disappear in the cold-blooded timeline because he had "betrayed" her?
And there was that line on the rooftop:
"If you don't want anything to happen, you'd better not investigate me again."
This sentence was a subtle warning, and it could also be seen as an order for him to leave. He wouldn't give up because of it, but he wasn't going to talk to her again until his mom called him back.
Zhang Shutong could prove once again that his position had really bad feng shui.
But class had to continue.
It was snowing outside, and he only had a bicycle, so it was difficult to go out and investigate.
It seemed that he had been mooching rides from other people lately. Teacher Song's, Qingyi's, Ruoping's... Zhang Shutong had thought that learning to drive was useless for someone like him, but now he realized the importance of transportation—since no one on the island checks for a driver's license, how about he practice driving with Teacher Song's Focus?
When he was idle, he started to get carried away with his thoughts again.
He had to find something to do. Zhang Shutong took out his monthly exam paper. He only looked at the last few questions of each type. His memory was a little blurry. It would take some time to catch up with the ninth-grade curriculum. This gave him a strange thought—
They had all agreed to go to high school together, but what if all three of them got in and he was the only one who didn't?
Okay, this was a joke. It wasn't certain that he would get his previous ranking, but the knowledge from junior high was just child's play for him. Of course, he still needed to listen carefully.
It was now the class break. The atmosphere in the winter afternoon was lazy. The air was a bit stuffy. According to the class rules, the students by the windows had to open them to ventilate after their nap. Qiu Yu Mian Mian would naturally not move. She was now squinting her eyes in a daze. According to Zhang Shutong's observation over the past few days, she would usually be in a daze until the bell for the first class rang.
Besides, she couldn't be in the cold wind today. The window was not opened, and that was fine. The air around the two of them wasn't too stuffy. He was gradually getting used to that scent.
The two of them, one was looking at an exam paper, and the other was in a daze. He had trained himself to do two things at once since high school. He could save the world without delaying his studies.
Zhang Shutong looked at his previous answers, analyzed the question, and scribbled on it. He thought while glancing at Gu Qiumian.
She had taken the heated milk from the radiator. She was quite smart.
He figured out this question and moved on to the next one. Zhang Shutong looked at Gu Qiumian again.
Hmm, this one was also figured out. Next one.
He looked at her again.
This time, he was caught.
"Why are you always looking at me?" she said with a cold face.
Zhang Shutong hesitated.
He wanted to say that he wasn't looking at her but at the scarf hanging on her chair.
While he was pondering the math problem, he suddenly thought that he could borrow the scarf, tie it around his face, and take a photo in a dimly lit place to compare it with the killer's appearance.
This way, he could prove that his guess was correct and that the killer was indeed wearing a scarf.
Zhang Shutong then pointed at the scarf:
"I'm looking at it."
"Boring."
She turned her face away.
Zhang Shutong was too embarrassed to say that he wanted to use her scarf for an experiment. He was willing to, but the problem was that Gu Qiumian wasn't.
"Do you remember that your scarf was stepped on before?" Zhang Shutong asked again.
This was the incident that had caused their relationship to drop to a freezing point. It was after a PE class. Gu Qiumian found that her beloved scarf had been stepped on. Zhou Ziheng said he had been watching, and then Gu Qiumian came over, disappointed and angry, to question him. He felt a bit guilty at the time because he seemed to have really touched it with the tip of his shoe, so he was speechless.
Then Gu Qiumian became more and more sad and hurt, and her questions kept coming. At that time, he was someone who couldn't be pushed around. When he got annoyed from listening, he retorted, which made her cry. She left the classroom with red eyes without looking back.
She even threatened him, "I'm going to tell my dad..."
Of course, she never told her dad in the end.
But after that incident, their relationship went from "traitor" to one of indifference. She no longer glared at him and just pretended he didn't exist. Of course, Zhang Shutong was also holding a grudge at the time. It was better that she ignored him, until her life ended.
So Zhang Shutong thought that it was better to clear up this misunderstanding sooner rather than later.
As expected, Gu Qiumian's face became even colder when she heard this:
"Why are you bringing that up?"
"I think I know who it was."
"Who?"
"I think," he paused, "it's very likely your former deskmate. Be careful."
"Okay..." Qiu Yu Mian Mian subconsciously nodded in belief, then opened her eyes in surprise.
She was biting the straw, and the milk inside the straw stopped for a moment and then went back down. The straw became transparent again.
But she seemed to think that it would be too embarrassing to just believe him like that. She would have cried for nothing before. So she glared at him and found something to say:
"He said it was you."
Zhang Shutong didn't understand what she meant. So she didn't believe him?
Oh, it was indeed a bit suspicious.
It was important to remember that Zhou Ziheng also snitched in the same way. Now, he was the one snitching. From Gu Qiumian's perspective, it was like two people were slandering each other. So Zhang Shutong originally wanted to ask, "Do you believe him or me?"
But then he realized that he really wasn't very trustworthy on this timeline, so he swallowed the words and said instead:
"It's just a warning. Do what you want."
In any case, just don't suspect me of having malicious intentions toward that scarf again.
Zhang Shutong also thought that he had said quite a bit to Gu Qiumian last time, but they never seemed to have discussed the "scarf incident."
He had forgotten to clear his name because he had too many other things to do.
But Gu Qiumian was strange. She never said if she believed his explanation or not back then. Did she always see him as a suspect, or was it something else?
"So?" Gu Qiumian asked again, staring straight ahead and not looking at anyone.
"So what?"
Zhang Shutong thought for a moment. He felt that she needed some evidence. She couldn't just believe him for no reason. It was a shame that he couldn't provide any now:
"I don't have any evidence. Just be careful."
"I..." She didn't know what she wanted to say, but she suddenly frowned and bit her lip, lying back down.
Zhang Shutong then decided to shut up.
The matter was left unresolved. Zhang Shutong was still a bit speechless. The first time he tried to clear up a past misunderstanding, the other person didn't believe him at all. Since that was the case, he wouldn't bother with it anymore. It wouldn't affect his future actions anyway.
The bell for class rang. The math teacher came in to lecture. He had pretty much understood the questions on the exam paper, but he wasn't at the level where he could go up and explain them. Luckily, he was always a quiet person, so the teacher didn't call on him.
Zhang Shutong listened to the class in a distracted manner, looking at the snow outside the window.
Gu Qiumian was suffering from her period. Her usually beautiful and spirited eyes were now dull. Besides, she was in a bad mood today. Zhang Shutong remembered that it was today that the two of them met at a steamed bun shop after school. She took small bites of the steamed bun, and her face was cold.
Zhang Shutong didn't understand whether she was in a good mood or a bad one at the time.
If she was in a good mood, why was her face so cold?
If she was in a bad mood, why was she in the mood to go to a restaurant and eat a snack?
Then the girl said something that he would never forget:
"Because that's when I'll be defeated."
In reality, she was in a very bad mood, but this somewhat soft girl had a very strong side. The reason she acted nonchalant instead of reacting was because that was when the "avengers" would succeed.
Of course, even the strongest girl couldn't withstand physical pain.
She was defeated today.
At that time, Zhang Shutong could have helped her and found the culprit who smashed her building blocks, but how could he help with this?
And he also had something on his mind. He looked at the snowflakes outside the window, and his brows furrowed little by little.
The snow was getting heavier.
The red plastic track was once again covered in white. Zhang Shutong's head also started to hurt. Only he knew what this meant—
All his previous plans would be ruined.
The reason he was able to find Li Yipeng back then was because everyone went out to do calisthenics the next day.
But it looked like this, so the extended break tomorrow would definitely be indoors.
If Li Yipeng was still easy to handle;
What about the arsonists?
The five of them made their move on a rainy night. The rain covered their tracks. They came and went in a van without a trace. But looking at the intensity of this snow, if it continued until the evening, two possibilities would arise:
First, they would proceed as planned, but the gasoline might not work, and they might use another method.
Second, the snow wouldn't have melted by tomorrow night, and their car tracks would be too easy to leave behind. So they would remain in hiding.
Zhang Shutong wasn't worried about the Zhou family father and son. Because if he caught the arsonists, Zhou Ziheng's father would also be caught.
Thinking back to that night, he separated Teacher Song from Gu Qiumian, left the girl at the villa, called the police in advance, and went to the commercial street to find the van.
But now he wasn't even sure if the van would come, so what measures should he take?
He knew who the culprit on the commercial street was. He thought that this Rewind would be much easier. He could just follow the clues and catch them. But this snow had completely disrupted Zhang Shutong's plan.
This led to the second problem:
Was it still necessary to time the "castle incident"?
Theoretically, he could take a gamble, but he had a whole day to prepare. Should he just do nothing and gamble on "weather" and "human nature"?
These two things were almost the most unpredictable things in the world.
This also didn't fit Zhang Shutong's style.
He then made a decision:
What if he thought about it in reverse? What if he found Li Yipeng directly and then found Zhou Ziheng through him? Could he then follow this line to find his father?
If his father was caught first, then the five arsonists wouldn't be able to run either. The order of events didn't make much of a difference.
It was now the first class of the afternoon. His time at school was running out. He pondered it for a while and finally decided to abandon the "Li Yipeng's mom" fuse and instead focus directly on the Zhou family father and son.
But this also required some maneuvering, and it couldn't be done alone.
He had to first trick Li Yipeng, then make the matter important enough to get the attention of Song Nanshan or even the school's leadership. From there, it would escalate to outside the school, and the final goal was the police. With double the pressure, there would be a possibility of directly investigating Zhou Ziheng's father.
Zhang Shutong was not a person who hesitated, especially when he took his eyes off the window and noticed Gu Qiumian's pale face.
He had to deal with this matter quickly so he could have enough energy to investigate the real culprit.
Therefore, when the bell for the end of class rang, Zhang Shutong left the classroom immediately.
This time, he didn't call his friends. Instead, he went straight to Li Yipeng's classroom. The other person was in Class 4-3. Zhang Shutong casually found a student and told him to call him out.
Li Yipeng was a bit confused:
"What's wrong?"
The two of them were in the same class before, so they weren't complete strangers. Zhang Shutong just frowned and told him that this wasn't the place to talk. "Follow me first."
He seemed to have a certain intimidating presence when his face was expressionless. The other person was a bit reluctant but eventually agreed.
The two of them walked through the hallway where students were passing by.
Zhang Shutong originally wanted to take him directly to the office, but when he left the classroom, he saw that there was more than one teacher in the office. The method Zhang Shutong was about to use was a bit underhanded, so it was better to have fewer people around.
He led Li Yipeng towards the rooftop. Of course, he didn't go all the way up to the rooftop. Just climbing the stairs would take up half of the class break.
They stopped at the stairwell leading to the rooftop. It was very quiet here. Although the hot water room was nearby, it was not that close.
Zhang Shutong knew Li Yipeng well. He had a bit of street smarts, but he would panic when something big happened. So there was no need to be on high alert. A few words would break the other person's psychological defense, and he could then proceed to the next step.
"You were the one who smashed the castle's building blocks, weren't you?"
He turned his head and asked faintly.
"...What do you mean? What castle's building blocks?" As expected, the other person was stunned for a while before quickly shaking his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Is that so? Then let me repeat myself. A castle made of Lego blocks."
Li Yipeng deliberately pretended to be impatient:
"Alright, alright. What's with the building blocks? Are you crazy? You're being so mysterious. If there's nothing else, I'm going back. I thought it was something important. It's just this?"
"Are you sure you don't understand? It's normal for others not to understand," Zhang Shutong suddenly smiled. "But do you need me to remind you that you used to be in Class 1?"
Li Yipeng was about to walk away, but his feet suddenly stopped.
The first layer of his psychological defense had been broken.
"Oh, you mean Gu Qiumian's toy," the boy said, forcing a smile. "Of course I know about it. But you said it was smashed? When did that happen?"
"Alright, just admit it. Let's save some time," Zhang Shutong said impatiently. "I have other things to talk to you about."
"How can you accuse me without any proof?" The boy completely panicked. "If you have evidence, show it! Did you take a picture of me or something? Without surveillance, you're just talking nonsense!"
"The name on the bathroom stall," Zhang Shutong suddenly said.
The other person was stunned again.
"I was the one who gave you that note. I was the one who planned the whole revenge. Do you think I don't know who smashed the castle?"
This was the effect he was looking for.
As expected, Li Yipeng breathed a sigh of relief. His tone was no longer anxious, and his hands no longer trembled. It was not that he was seeing a fellow countryman, but he felt like he had found a kindred spirit. He was about to put his arm around Zhang Shutong's shoulder. Zhang Shutong shook his hand away and bit the soft part of his cheek, but in order to get the next words out, he had to be this "accomplice" for a while.
"You..."
He was about to speak. Once Li Yipeng confessed everything, he could then turn his back on him. But this wasn't to scare the other person. It was to make him cooperate with him under the guise of "reducing his sentence," to expose Zhou Ziheng.
But at this time, the loud sound of a cup falling echoed from outside, which was especially jarring in the quiet stairwell. The two of them immediately fell silent.
Zhang Shutong poked his head out and was also stunned because a girl was staring at him in a daze. The cup in her hand had fallen to the ground. She must have been coming to get hot water.
She was on her period today. She was already not feeling well, and she was in a bad mood. This was a vulnerable time for her.
Gu Qiumian was now looking at them with disbelief, and her eyes were already red.