Chapter 78: A Ball of Ojou-sama |
The suspicious Zhang Shutong had extended an "invitation" to Gu Qiumian!
Autumn Rain Lingering agreed!
In any case, she nodded her head in acceptance, then pattered upstairs to change clothes.
Fortunately, she said she was just changing into a very thick coat, not like last time when she had to try things on forever.
Zhang Shutong quite liked this about Gu Qiumian—when she should be straightforward, she was quite straightforward.
"You, you, you..." Old Song was shocked again.
Zhang Shutong apologized to his mentor, also feeling rather embarrassed that on such a cold day, he had to trouble his teacher to make another trip.
"That's actually fine, I'm in the car anyway, and I wouldn't be able to sleep at this hour even if I went back..." Old Song muttered. "What I mean is, how do you keep coming up with ideas on the spot, why are you taking Qiumian out again?"
"There's a legitimate reason," Zhang Shutong explained.
Zhang Shutong nodded.
Indeed.
If possible, he didn't want to drag Old Song along as a driver either—it felt too awkward.
"Fine, fine, fine, so you're complaining about me being a third wheel..."
Zhang Shutong hurriedly said you've misunderstood, Teacher. Just now we encountered a snake in the courtyard.
"And then?"
"And then... she got scared, said she was afraid at night and couldn't sleep alone, so I thought why don't the three of us go out for a bit, safety in numbers."
Sorry, Autumn Rain Lingering, help me take the blame for this.
Zhang Shutong apologized again.
It was perfectly reasonable for an ojou-sama to occasionally take the blame for her underling.
"Oh, you're quite considerate," Old Song believed him, stroking his chin. "Qiumian is indeed that kind of... hmm, I recently saw a trendy word online that you young people should know. What was it called?"
"Tsundere?"
"Right, tsundere. I was wondering why she acted so disdainful of you just now—turns out she was embarrassed, actually felt she lost face in front of you, right?"
Zhang Shutong hurriedly said exactly right.
"That makes sense. So, Shutong, be more accommodating with her usually. Sometimes young girls are just like that, they like to throw little tantrums." Old Song finally seized the opportunity to pass on his wisdom about wooing girls to his beloved disciple.
Zhang Shutong thought to himself, I'm not being even more accommodating?, but outwardly expressed his gratitude for the teaching.
Old Song cheerfully said:
"Alright then, since that's the case, your teacher will take you two for a drive. Mm, a drive through the snowy night—quite romantic."
Some men seem to possess a unique romantic streak that specifically activates in difficult situations. Zhang Shutong couldn't say whether this was good or bad, but Old Song was like this, and so was Qingyi.
He just felt cold.
But it was necessary to make a trip to the Forbidden Zone, and bringing Gu Qiumian along wasn't because she was afraid, but because that frozen snake gave Zhang Shutong an ominous premonition.
Snakes are cold-blooded animals, right? This was basic knowledge even he knew. He also knew snakes had hibernation habits. Logically, in this kind of weather, you shouldn't see snakes on the surface. Add to that the Green Snake Temple and tattoos and other related symbols, and it would be strange not to be on guard.
Moreover, he had just thought—while it was difficult for people to climb over the villa's fence, that didn't mean animals couldn't.
Though he couldn't find any connection for the moment.
He went back to lock the side gate, and took a photo of that snake with a stick. When he returned to the house, Gu Qiumian had also come downstairs. She wore a very thick white down jacket, zipper pulled to the highest, covering even her chin.
The down jacket was clearly high-end goods, stuffed full and fluffy with goose down. Now she was no longer an ojou-sama, but rather a ball of ojou-sama.
Even so, the young girl's lower half still wore jeans that outlined her slender leg lines. Zhang Shutong asked her, if you're so afraid of cold why not change into thick cotton pants? The girl rolled her eyes at him, saying "what do you know, that would look so ugly."
Beauty trumped cold—this was a vain girl.
Old Song chuckled and said, "See, there it is again, just like I said, right?"
Zhang Shutong knew he was about to say the ojou-sama was tsundere. To keep the lie from being exposed, he steeled himself and nodded. Gu Qiumian didn't know what they were talking about, just looked over strangely.
Then the three of them got into the car. The housekeeper came out with an umbrella to see them off, reminding Gu Qiumian not to stay out too late, which made Old Song feel somewhat embarrassed—taking students out to wander around so late at night really was improper:
"Don't worry, I'm just taking them for a drive. We'll stay in phone contact..."
Gu Qiumian also deployed her grand act-spoiled technique. Auntie Wu could only smile bitterly and say don't catch a cold, then remembered something and wanted to go back inside to pour her some hot water, asking where's your thermos?
Zhang Shutong thought, uh oh.
Who knew Gu Qiumian would casually gloss over it:
"I forgot it at school today. Oh Auntie Wu, really don't worry about me, hurry back inside, don't freeze..."
They raised the windows. Under the pitch-black sky, moonlight was faintly visible. The car's engine broke through the silent snowy night, slowly driving onto the road, leaving two deep tracks on the surface.
Old Song fiddled with the radio, not forgetting to tease:
"Qiumian, are you still scared now?"
Gu Qiumian lowered her hands that had been breathing warmth on them, puzzled:
"Scared of what?"
"I get it, I get it." Old Song raised his eyebrows at Zhang Shutong again. "See, isn't your teacher prophetic?"
Zhang Shutong felt immense pressure, thinking please don't prophesy anymore, or when Gu Qiumian exposes this, won't I have to compensate two... no, a full three thermoses?
This time Zhang Shutong sat in the passenger seat. He thought he'd need to give directions from the front, but who knew Old Song was quite familiar with the roads here. He asked curiously, and Song Nanshan casually said:
"I often drive around aimlessly, you know that."
"Then... why would you drive around that wasteland?" The Forbidden Zone had been replaced by Zhang Shutong with "that wasteland."
"The way you put it—our island doesn't lack wasteland. Four directions east, west, south, and north—except for the mountains in the east, anywhere outside the urban area counts as suburbs."
"Just this one road?"
Old Song thought about it:
"If you're talking about roads that can accommodate cars, then there should only be this one. Remember when we came, that mountain road we took? There's an intersection, turn west onto a small road, then follow the main road and you'll arrive."
The villa was to the south, while the "Forbidden Zone" was to the west.
The lakeside highway that would exist eight years later hadn't been built yet. Many places were still unhardened dirt roads.
Zhang Shutong heard this and seemed thoughtful, then turned to ask Gu Qiumian:
"Have you walked this road before? Or been to the place I mentioned?"
The girl shook her head, then said you've both been so mysterious since earlier, what are you actually talking about?
Old Song chuckled. Zhang Shutong couldn't laugh.
The process of this unsolved case had only two possibilities:
The killer brought Gu Qiumian to the Forbidden Zone.
Gu Qiumian went to the Forbidden Zone herself.
The former required a vehicle, and not something like a bicycle or motorcycle. He also thought, even if this road had no surveillance cameras, car tracks would surely be left behind.
The previous Friday it had rained. The time Gu Qiumian was killed was Sunday dawn—a little over a day. In many places in the suburbs, the road surface hadn't dried yet. Add to that the island's inherently humid climate, and wheel marks should have been left.
If it was the latter, Zhang Shutong first set aside the question of why she would run out in the middle of the night—but she didn't even know where the "Forbidden Zone" was, how could she run there?
On a clear day, this stretch of road took twenty minutes by car, let alone on foot.
The car drove on for a while, soon reaching the intersection Old Song mentioned. Not long ago, they'd created a pothole here.
This time Old Song drove more carefully. Fortunately, nothing happened along the way. After driving for a bit, he suddenly pulled the car to the roadside and turned off the engine:
"Come give it a try. Haven't you been clamoring to learn to drive?"
Zhang Shutong was somewhat surprised.
Old Song had already opened the car door:
"Don't just stand there. I know you've been itching for this—you were staring at how I shifted gears just now. It just so happens there's nothing going on tonight, this is a small road, and with the snow you can't drive fast anyway. I might as well teach you how to start."
"You're learning to drive?" Gu Qiumian asked curiously.
Zhang Shutong nodded, and reassured her don't be nervous, I won't drive fast.
Lest the ojou-sama make a fuss about getting out of the car.
He switched seats with Old Song, took a deep breath—he hadn't expected this day to come so quickly.
Not that he wasn't mentally prepared, but he hadn't expected Old Song to be so readily agreeable.
"First adjust the seat, and the rearview mirror. You're tall, about three fist-widths from the roof..." Worthy of being a teacher, Song Nanshan seamlessly switched to driving instructor mode.
The subsequent instruction was also very professional:
"Seatbelt.
"Then think about what I taught you this afternoon. Ignition, then press the clutch, shift to first gear and release the handbrake. Don't learn from me starting in second gear, or you'll get scolded when you test for your license later..."
As he spoke, Song Nanshan began muttering:
"Having you do all this right away seems a bit difficult. Why don't you familiarize yourself with the gear positions first, don't shift into the wrong gear."
Zhang Shutong did as instructed, feeling he had it pretty much memorized.
"You're sure you've memorized it?"
"Sure." Zhang Shutong replied casually. He looked straight ahead, his hand movements still somewhat unfamiliar, but he wasn't flustered. Zhang Shutong turned the key. Old Song was still worriedly chattering beside him:
"Don't get cocky. Of course you remember everything while sitting still, but once the car moves you'll definitely panic. The first time touching a manual transmission, not stalling out would be considered good. If you don't believe me, just watch... wait, you actually succeeded on the first try?"
At the same time, Zhang Shutong coordinated hands and feet, brake and clutch working together. The gearbox smoothly shifted into first gear. The engine sound was low. He released the handbrake and the car body immediately responded. Old Song looked surprised:
"Not bad. I thought you'd stall when releasing the clutch..."
At this moment the car was in idle. Zhang Shutong lightly pressed the accelerator, as if he could feel a certain critical point where engine and wheels connected. The car lurched forward, then quickly stabilized under his control. He continued giving gas, smoothly shifting into second gear.
"Good, keep going!" Old Song's eyes lit up.
But Zhang Shutong had no energy to pay attention to what he was saying. Right now all his energy was focused on controlling this small machine beneath him—
The steering wheel was like an extension of his arms, the accelerator pedal intimately connected to the sole of his shoe. He shifted into third gear, but there was no need to drive too fast in snowy weather. He supplemented with a foot on the brake to slow down. Old Song truly was a man who understood cars. This little Focus, though it didn't have some incredibly powerful large-displacement engine, was unexpectedly nimble under his control.
Actually, he'd always had a good memory. From this afternoon, the various steps had been rehearsed many times in his mind. Now he didn't even need to look at the gear positions—the moment he pressed the pedal, he instantly shifted gears, completely smooth.
Zhang Shutong wasn't someone who aimed too high. Being able to successfully drive the car, he was already satisfied. Today he only planned to familiarize himself with the lower gears. At this moment, Old Song suddenly cursed:
"Did you just rev-match when shifting?"
Zhang Shutong startled, then nodded:
"Shouldn't I?"
He'd just suddenly remembered a technique Qingyi had once told him about, something called heel-toe downshifting, seemed to be for raising the engine's RPM to facilitate overtaking... In any case, Zhang Shutong hadn't paid much attention to the principle at the time. There were no cars to overtake on this small road either, but that didn't prevent him from practicing first.
Unfortunately, the car suddenly lurched—apparently not very successful.
"Holy shit, impressive!" Old Song slapped his thigh. "You can't even drive yet but you're already practicing advanced techniques. You little bastard, are you the Car God reincarnated?"
"Is it difficult?"
At this moment, Autumn Rain Lingering interjected.
Zhang Shutong also instinctively turned his head.
"Don't look at me, watch the road!"
Old Song's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
He turned back to watch the road, and Old Song said dumbfounded:
"...You say it's difficult, well, it's actually not that difficult. With more practice you'll get it. The problem is this is his first time touching a car... You sure this is really your first time driving?"
Zhang Shutong grunted affirmatively. Of course it was his first time—he didn't even dare take his hands off the steering wheel. He was still far from Old Song's casual ease.
He slowly decelerated, no longer playing with advanced techniques, lest his mentor's heart couldn't take it. Old Song, seeing this, breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the window a bit to light a cigarette.
Smoke drifted. Old Song seemed to come back to himself and still wanted to pat Zhang Shutong's shoulder to praise him for driving well. Zhang Shutong quickly stopped him. Old Song stared for a while longer before relaxing and chatting with Gu Qiumian.
Naturally it was car-related knowledge—manual transmission techniques, the ten things veteran drivers must know, which cars had good shifting feel—he knew them like the back of his hand, talked endlessly. Then discussing Zhang Shutong, saying this kid was born to drive, his talent was incredible...
Zhang Shutong listened casually and drove seriously. After gradually getting familiar with it, he finally dared to relax his muscles a bit. Honestly, his left foot was cramping a little. He shifted to a more comfortable position, then realized his cheek was itchy.
He didn't even need to turn his head—just a glance with peripheral vision showed it was Gu Qiumian's hair.
The entire back seat was her domain. At some point she'd leaned forward, hands gripping the seat, whether from nervousness or curiosity, listening to Old Song talk while staring at the road ahead.
Zhang Shutong followed her gaze forward but found nothing new—just a small car driving across the vast wilderness:
The headlights outlined the road's contours, snowflakes danced in the night sky, windshield wipers scraped with a creaking sound, on and off. The weather was certainly cold, but inside the car wasn't bad. The ceiling light cast a faint glow, warm air puffed from the air conditioning vents. A few strands of hair hung from her forehead, mischievously swaying. Like the scent from her body—disobediently wandering, climbing onto your face and into your nostrils.
Zhang Shutong really wanted to say can you please sit properly, please have some ojou-sama dignity—which ojou-sama sits in a car like this? But right now all his energy was on the car, he had no time to speak, so he could only twist his face uncomfortably, finally shaking them away a bit.
In the trio's small car, the homeroom teacher boasted:
"Let me tell you, Qiumian, I've driven for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen someone dare to rev-match right after first touching a car. The key is he actually succeeded...
"If we were still in my era instead of today's fixed driver's license testing procedures, this kid would definitely get his license in three days guaranteed. You believe it or not—if an instructor encountered this kind of student, they'd just get lazy and make him the substitute instructor...
"Alright, it's getting narrow ahead. Let me drive. Shutong, slow down. Don't rev-match this time, just shift normally."
Seeing Zhang Shutong nod and reach for the gear shift, the man turned back with relief:
"I originally thought if he could learn to start today that would be good enough. I didn't expect to get such a big surprise, he actually..."
The car suddenly jerked. To be precise, it stalled.
More accurately, due to improper operation, he hadn't pressed the clutch properly when shifting and got it killed.
It was one of the most common mistakes beginners made.
"What happened, is the car broken?" Old Song first froze. "It's not broken. Wait, weren't you driving fine just now?"
His face couldn't handle this. Thinking to himself, I just finished bragging and you pull this.
"Uh..."
Zhang Shutong didn't know what to say either. He'd operated by the same feeling as before, thought his hands were steady, but when shifting his face itched again. His foot consequently didn't control the pressure properly, and the car stalled right in the middle of the road.
"I originally thought if he could learn to start today that would be good enough, but..." Gu Qiumian repeated the phrase while collapsing back into her seat with laughter. "...surprise... hahaha..."
Zhang Shutong awkwardly restarted the ignition. His hand was already on the gear shift when he remembered Old Song said they were switching drivers. His motion therefore paused.
Just about to open the car door, suddenly it brightened behind him. He turned his head—turned out Gu Qiumian was holding up her phone taking photos, aimed right at his face.
Click—he was frozen in the viewfinder, his expression presumably quite embarrassing.
Zhang Shutong froze.
But what really made him freeze was that Gu Qiumian also froze.
"Why did it light up?"
She was a tech idiot, saying this while puzzledly flipping over her phone to look at the camera.
"Delete it."
Zhang Shutong took a deep breath and reached to grab it. Gu Qiumian, caught in the act, stopped pretending. She huffed and said who photographed you, I was photographing the scenery ahead, okay...
Zhang Shutong didn't believe her at all—he'd done this very thing before. Who knew Ojou-sama Gu would go on the offensive. She suddenly said:
"Car God reincarnated."
Zhang Shutong's face heated up.
"Talent is incredible."
Old Song also coughed.
"Born to drive!"
Master and disciple simultaneously opened their doors and got out. Autumn Rain Lingering achieved victory this round.
As they passed each other in front of the car, Old Song still patted Zhang Shutong's shoulder:
"Tsundere, tsundere, just accommodate her..."
...
Chaos in the car. Zhang Shutong sat in the passenger seat with nothing to say. He opened the window a bit, letting cold air blow on his face.
His first time learning to drive in this life ended with an extremely embarrassing result.
When he drove well she didn't take photos. When he stalled she remembered to pull out her phone.
Zhang Shutong glanced at the rearview mirror. Gu Qiumian was curled up in her seat, giving a tiny yawn.
But he couldn't let her catch him looking, because once she did she'd look back defiantly, and then it would be:
"You're born to drive, I'm just commemorating it for you, what's wrong with that?"
Saying this, she herself couldn't suppress her smile either.
In any case, repeated over and over were just these few phrases, making Zhang Shutong suspect she wanted to drag him to her house to be a driver.
It had been over ten minutes since they switched drivers. Perhaps because the three had just been making a commotion and were now feeling drowsy from the warm air; or perhaps because the surrounding environment was gradually becoming eerie—the moon had disappeared, and aside from the car lights, not a single light source could be seen. The atmosphere congealed accordingly.
Zhang Shutong withdrew his gaze from the car and looked toward the road ahead. The road surface was getting narrower, beginning to look familiar.
Outside the window, only the rustling sound of tires passing over snow remained.
That body of water where he'd been killed twice, as if in some dark fate—
The "Forbidden Zone" was approaching.