Chapter 67: The Most Troublesome Timeline |
The first class of the afternoon was math.
The snow was still falling.
Zhang Shutong filled his cup with water and returned to his seat.
It was depressing to think about—with graduation approaching, their class still hadn't even scored a water dispenser and had to queue up at the hot water room in the hallway.
That's just how it was in small places. If it weren't for Gu Qiumian's father donating a synthetic rubber sports field, they wouldn't even have a decent place to play ball in winter.
He glanced to the front-left. Lu Qinglian had returned at some point—she'd probably sat on the rooftop for the entire lunch break.
Zhang Shutong's feelings toward her were now complicated. Before—that is, when he'd received news of her death—he'd thought of her as a rather aloof background character. While fishing, he'd discovered she was a bit naturally airheaded. When eating Oreos, she'd seemed like a young girl. He'd pieced together these images and thought he understood the real Lu Qinglian. But the clues from eight years later had overturned all those impressions. Honestly, Zhang Shutong now felt she was somewhat dangerous.
He was influenced by his experiences eight years in the future, viewing her through an inherent filter from the start. But this wasn't good.
Ruoping had said he'd turned his back on her, dumping Lu Qinglian.
Perpetrator and victim—the relationship was crystal clear.
But Zhang Shutong was thinking: wasn't something missing here?
For instance, Lu Qinglian's own thoughts.
Was she truly willing and without regret?
One thing was very strange—Ruoping and the others hadn't mentioned Lu Qinglian's reaction at all.
In the original timeline, he and Du Kang had chatted briefly outside the funeral parlor. Du Kang had said that Lu Qinglian had been busy recently repairing the temple's sculptures, and sometimes went down the mountain to the school to spend time with the children.
Right up until the day before her death when she called him.
What had she wanted to say then?
Could it be that in the cold-blooded timeline, because he'd "betrayed" her, that phone call had disappeared?
And then there was that line on the rooftop:
"If you don't want any accidents to happen, it's best not to investigate my affairs any further."
This could be taken as a veiled warning or as a dismissal. He wouldn't give up because of it, but until his mother called back, he didn't plan to approach her again.
Zhang Shutong could once again confirm that his seat's feng shui was truly terrible.
But class still had to continue.
With snow falling outside and only a bicycle, it was difficult to go out investigating.
It seemed like lately he'd been constantly bumming rides from others—Old Song's, Qingyi's, Ruoping's. Zhang Shutong had originally thought someone like him had no use for learning to drive, but now he recognized the importance of transportation. Anyway, nobody on the island enforced unlicensed driving—how about practicing with Old Song's Focus?
His mind was wandering again when he had nothing to do.
He needed to find something to occupy himself. Zhang Shutong pulled out his monthly exam papers. He only looked at the last few questions of each problem type. His memory was somewhat fuzzy—catching up to the ninth-grade curriculum would take some time. This made a strange thought pop into his head:
What if they all agreed to go to high school together, but the three of them all got in and only he failed?
Well, that was just a joke. He might not recover his former ranking, but this middle school material was child's play to him. Of course, he still needed to pay attention in class.
It was currently the break between classes. Winter afternoons had a lazy atmosphere, and the air had become somewhat stale. According to class regulations, after the afternoon nap, students by the windows should open them for ventilation. Autumn Rain Lingering naturally wouldn't move—she was currently squinting and spacing out. Based on Zhang Shutong's observations over the past few days, she could generally maintain this state until the first class bell rang.
Besides, she couldn't be exposed to cold air today. The window staying closed was fine—the air around them wasn't that stale anyway. He'd gradually gotten used to that hint of fragrance.
One person reading test papers, the other spacing out. He'd long since developed a method of multitasking during his high school days—saving the world while not neglecting his studies.
Zhang Shutong looked at his previous answers, analyzing them against the problems, casually writing and drawing on the paper. While thinking, he'd glance at Gu Qiumian.
She'd taken the warmed milk from the radiator. Pretty clever.
He figured out this problem and continued to the next one, glancing at Gu Qiumian again.
Mm, this one was solved too. Next problem.
Another glance.
However, this time he was caught.
"Why do you keep looking at me?" she said coldly.
Zhang Shutong wanted to speak but hesitated.
He wanted to say that actually, he wasn't looking at her, but at the scarf draped over her chair.
While pondering math problems earlier, he'd suddenly thought he could borrow the scarf, wrap it around his face to try it on, then take a photo in a dimly lit place to compare with the killer's appearance.
That way, he could prove his guess wasn't wrong—the killer was indeed wearing a scarf wrapped around their face.
So Zhang Shutong pointed at the scarf:
"I'm looking at it."
"Boring."
She turned her face away.
Zhang Shutong felt awkward saying he wanted to use her scarf for an experiment. He was perfectly willing, but the problem was Gu Qiumian wasn't.
"Do you remember when your scarf got stepped on before?" Zhang Shutong asked again.
It was this incident that had frozen their relationship. It was probably after a PE class when Gu Qiumian discovered her beloved scarf had been stepped on. Zhou Ziheng said he'd seen it happen, and then Gu Qiumian had come over, disappointed and angry, to demand answers. He'd felt somewhat guilty at the time because he seemed to have actually touched it with his shoe tip, so when questioned, he'd been struck speechless.
Then Gu Qiumian had grown increasingly sad and upset, questioning him endlessly. Back then, he could handle soft approaches but not hard ones. Growing irritated with her questioning, he'd fired back at everything, and this retort had made her cry, red-eyed and leaving the classroom without looking back.
She'd even threatened at the end: "I'm telling my dad..."
Of course, she never actually told her father in the end.
But after this incident, they'd gone from "traitor" to a relationship of mutual disregard. She didn't even glare at him anymore, treating him as completely invisible. Of course, Zhang Shutong had also been holding his breath at the time—ignoring each other was fine by him. This lasted until her life ended.
So Zhang Shutong thought this misunderstanding should be cleared up sooner rather than later.
Sure enough, Gu Qiumian's expression grew even colder when she heard this:
"Why are you bringing this up?"
"I think I know who it was."
"Who?"
"I think," he paused, "it was very likely your former deskmate. You should be careful."
"Okay..." Autumn Rain Lingering nodded instinctively in belief, then opened her eyes in surprise.
She'd been biting on her straw, and at that moment, the milk in the straw froze for an instant, then retreated back, leaving the straw transparent again.
But apparently feeling it was too embarrassing to just believe him like that—wouldn't all that crying from before have been for nothing?—she glared again, making conversation: "He said it was you."
Zhang Shutong didn't understand what she meant. Did she not believe him?
Oh, that was indeed a bit suspicious.
After all, Zhou Ziheng had tattled the same way back then. Now the one reporting was himself. From Gu Qiumian's perspective, it was almost like two people accusing each other. So Zhang Shutong had initially wanted to ask oddly: Do you believe him or me?
But then he realized that in this timeline, he really didn't have much credibility. So he swallowed those words and changed his response:
"Just a reminder. Do as you please."
At least don't suspect me of having ulterior motives toward that scarf.
Zhang Shutong also thought that last time, he'd said quite a bit to Gu Qiumian, but the two of them seemed to have never discussed the "scarf incident."
He'd forgotten to clear himself of suspicion because there were too many other things going on.
But Gu Qiumian was very strange. She also hadn't said whether she'd believed his explanation back then. Did she still consider him a suspect, or was it something else?
"So?" Gu Qiumian stared forward and asked, not looking at anyone.
So what?
Zhang Shutong thought about it, feeling she needed some evidence. She couldn't possibly believe him out of nowhere, but unfortunately, he couldn't produce any right now:
"No evidence. Take it as a heads-up."
"I know..." She didn't know what she wanted to say, but suddenly frowned and bent over, biting her lip.
Zhang Shutong tactfully fell silent.
This matter passed without beginning or end. Zhang Shutong was still somewhat speechless. The first time he'd wanted to clear up an old misunderstanding, the other party simply didn't believe him. Since that was the case, he wouldn't meddle anymore. At least it wouldn't affect his subsequent actions.
The class bell rang. The math teacher came in to go over problems. He'd more or less understood the questions on the test, but wasn't yet at the level where he could go up and explain them. Fortunately, he'd never liked speaking up, so the teacher didn't call on him.
Zhang Shutong listened to the lesson half-heartedly while looking at the snow outside the window.
Gu Qiumian was suffering badly from her period. Those eyes that were usually pretty and lively had lost their sparkle. Besides, she was already in a bad mood today. Zhang Shutong remembered that it was today, after school, when the two of them had met at the dumpling shop. She'd taken small bites of the wrapper, her expression cold.
Zhang Shutong hadn't understood at the time whether her mood was good or bad.
If it wasn't bad, why the cold face?
If it wasn't good, why was she in the mood to eat snacks at a restaurant?
Then the girl had said something unforgettable:
"Because that way, I'd be defeated."
Actually, her mood was very bad, but this somewhat soft girl actually always had a very strong side. The reason she acted indifferent rather than showing other reactions was simply because otherwise, she'd let the "revenge seekers" succeed.
Of course, even the strongest girl still couldn't withstand physiological pain.
She was still defeated today.
Back then, Zhang Shutong had been able to help her a bit, ferreting out the culprit who'd smashed the building blocks. But how could he help with this?
Besides, he had his own concerns right now. Looking at the drifting snow outside the window, Zhang Shutong's brows gradually furrowed.
The snow was falling harder and harder.
The red synthetic rubber field was once again covered in pure white, and Zhang Shutong's head began to ache accordingly. Only he knew what this meant—
All his previous plans would have to be scrapped.
Back then, he'd been able to identify Li Yipeng thanks to everyone going out for morning exercises the next day.
But looking at this weather, tomorrow's extended break would definitely be indoor activities.
Li Yipeng was still manageable.
But what about the arsonist?
Those five people had made their move on a rainy night. The rain had covered their tracks as they came and went without a trace in their van. But looking at this snow's momentum, if it continued until evening, two possibilities would emerge:
First, they'd proceed as planned, but splashing gasoline might not work well, so they might switch to another method.
Second, tomorrow night's snow still wouldn't have melted, making tire tracks too easy to leave behind, so they'd continue lying low.
Zhang Shutong wasn't worried about the Zhou family father and son, because once they caught the arsonists, Zhou Ziheng's father would definitely be caught in the net.
Thinking back carefully on that night's experience: he'd separated Old Song and Gu Qiumian, left the girl at the villa, called the police in advance, and then gone to Commercial Street to find that van.
But now he wasn't even sure if that van would come, or what measures he should take.
He knew who the killers on Commercial Street were. He'd thought this regression would be much easier—that he could catch them by following the map. But this snowfall had completely disrupted Zhang Shutong's plans.
This brought up a second question:
Was it still necessary to time things around the "Castle Incident"?
Theoretically, he could gamble on it, but he had a whole day to prepare. Should he do nothing and gamble on "weather" and "human nature"?
These two were among the most unpredictable things.
This also didn't fit Zhang Shutong's style of doing things.
He immediately made a judgment:
What if he thought in reverse—directly find Li Yipeng, then through him find Zhou Ziheng, and could he dig out his father by following this thread?
If his father was caught first, those five arsonists couldn't escape either. This order of events didn't differ much.
It was currently the first class of the afternoon. School time was about to pass. After weighing it repeatedly, he finally decided to abandon the "Li Yipeng's mother" trigger and instead place his target directly on the Zhou family father and son.
But this equally required some maneuvering, and it wasn't something he could complete alone.
He had to first trick Li Yipeng, then make this matter catch Song Nanshan's—or even the school leadership's—attention. From inside the school to outside, the ultimate goal was the police. Under dual pressure, there would be a possibility of directly investigating Zhou Ziheng's father.
Zhang Shutong wasn't someone who liked to hesitate, especially after he withdrew his gaze from outside the window and noticed Gu Qiumian's pale face again.
This matter had to be handled quickly so he'd have sufficient energy to investigate the real killer.
Therefore, when the dismissal bell rang, Zhang Shutong went straight out of the classroom.
This time he didn't call on his close friends but headed straight for Li Yipeng's classroom. The other student was in Class 3 of Grade 9. Zhang Shutong casually asked a random student to call him out.
Li Yipeng was quite confused:
"What's up?"
The two of them had been in the same class before, so they weren't complete strangers. Zhang Shutong just frowned and told him this wasn't the place to talk—come with me first.
When he had no expression, he apparently also had quite an imposing presence. The other party wasn't very willing but ultimately agreed.
The two walked through the hallway where students were coming and going.
Zhang Shutong had initially wanted to lead him straight to the office, but he'd confirmed when leaving the classroom that there was more than one teacher in the office. The method Zhang Shutong was about to use was somewhat underhanded—fewer people would be better.
He led Li Yipeng toward the rooftop. Of course, he wouldn't go all the way up to the rooftop itself—otherwise, just climbing up would consume half the break period.
They stopped in the stairwell leading to the rooftop. It was very quiet here. Although the hot water room was nearby, it wasn't that close.
Zhang Shutong understood Li Yipeng very well. He had a certain low cunning but would panic when confronted with major issues, so there was no need for elaborate preparations. A few words to break through his psychological defenses, and the next step could unfold.
"You were the one who smashed the castle blocks, right?"
So he turned around and asked blandly.
"...What do you mean, what castle blocks?" Sure enough, the other party froze for a long moment before quickly shaking his head. "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Really? Then let me repeat it—a castle made from Lego blocks."
Li Yipeng deliberately put on an impatient look:
"Alright, alright, what blocks or whatever, are you sick or something, talking all mysterious? If there's nothing else, I'm going back first. I thought it was something important, but 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 I need to remind you that you used to be in Class 1?"
Li Yipeng had been about to stride away but suddenly froze mid-step.
The first layer of psychological defense had been breached.
"Oh, you mean Gu Qiumian's toy," the boy forced a laugh. "Of course I know about that, but you're saying it was smashed? When did this happen?"
"Alright, hurry up and confess. Save time," Zhang Shutong said impatiently. "I have other things to discuss with you."
"What gives you the right to falsely accuse people?" The kid completely panicked. "If you've got the ability, produce evidence—did you catch me on camera or something? Without surveillance footage, you're talking shit!"
"The name on the bathroom stall partition." Zhang Shutong suddenly said.
The other party froze again.
"That note was passed to you by me. The entire revenge operation was planned by me. Do you think I know who smashed the castle or not?"
This was the effect he wanted.
Sure enough, Li Yipeng relaxed, his tone no longer anxious, his hands no longer shaking. If not quite "fellow townsmen meeting with tears streaming," it was still like meeting a kindred spirit. He was about to put his arm around Zhang Shutong's shoulders in familiarity. Zhang Shutong shook off his hand and bit the soft flesh inside his mouth, but to extract what came next, he had to play this "accomplice" role for a while.
"You..."
He was about to speak, waiting for Li Yipeng to completely confess. Then he could turn his back on him—not to scare the other party, but to get him to cooperate in setting up a trap in the name of "reducing his sentence," to ferret out Zhou Ziheng.
However, at that moment, the loud crash of a water cup hitting the floor came from outside, particularly harsh in the quiet stairwell. Both of them simultaneously fell silent.
Zhang Shutong looked out and froze as well, because a girl was staring at him in a daze. The cup in her hand had fallen to the ground—she'd probably just come to get hot water.
She was on her period today, already uncomfortable and in a bad mood—precisely a vulnerable time.
Therefore, Gu Qiumian was currently filled with thick disbelief, her eyes already reddened.