Chapter 80: Oblivious to Romance |
One cannot step into the same river twice.
This saying should be from the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus.
The reason it suddenly popped into his mind was because Zhang Shutong had finally figured out the difference between the shampoo and conditioner at Gu Qiumian's house.
He had just finished his shower.
Honestly, it was strange—every time he came here, he ended up taking a bath. But last time it was raining, and today it was snowing; he always seemed to encounter bad weather.
A person's understanding of something is formed by individual fragmented impressions. If, many years from now, someone were to ask Zhang Shutong what this villa meant to him, it would probably be good food and hot showers.
It was just past nine o'clock. He now sat on the sofa, wearing neatly pressed pajamas—clothes specially prepared for guests, carrying a faint scent of disinfectant.
In front of him was the television, which for once wasn't showing a ball game but a late-night movie instead. English, no subtitles. Teacher Song was watching it with great interest.
Behind him, snow drifted down beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. Snow isn't like rain—it falls silently. You turn your head and suddenly realize it has covered the entire courtyard without you noticing.
She had actually come home today, for once.
"Teacher Song's car broke down, so I'm staying at a classmate's place tonight..."
"Yeah, not Qingyi and them, other classmates..."
"It's fine, I have a change of clothes, I won't catch a cold..."
Mom was indeed an open-minded mother. She didn't press him about which classmate it was, didn't make a fuss like typical parents saying "how can you stay at someone else's house, I'll come pick you up," and didn't demand to "let me talk to the teacher to confirm."
At most, she teased him about whether it was a female classmate—which was exactly what Zhang Shutong most feared she'd ask.
Fortunately, he managed to muddle through.
Though it wasn't really "muddling"—his mother was a clever woman and quickly guessed the classmate was Gu Qiumian. Of course, she didn't say the name directly, but rather:
"It's that girl you were worried about this afternoon, isn't it? Wouldn't happen to be Boss Gu's daughter, would it?"
Zhang Shutong was quite curious how she guessed it. She just said it was a woman's intuition.
A woman's intuition, like a man's romanticism, is something that lies most of the time and changes flexibly, yet always leaves you speechless at critical moments.
She asked a few more questions, and Zhang Shutong answered honestly. He found it strange that she didn't interrogate him further, but his mother just smiled and said, "Of course when you're out, your son's face matters most. If I controlled you too strictly, you wouldn't be able to hold your head up in front of your female classmate."
"Or would you prefer I gossip a bit?"
Zhang Shutong certainly didn't want that, so the mother-son conversation ended there.
He didn't dare play with his phone anymore—the little thing ran out of battery too easily and needed to be carefully preserved.
Teacher Song was watching TV leisurely. For a man, the villa's impression was probably just that the color TV was very large.
Zhang Shutong wasn't in that mood though. He leaned back on the sofa, unconsciously rubbing his damp hair with his hand, thinking about the Forbidden Zone and Lu Qinglian.
The housekeeper had already returned to her room.
The TV volume was turned to the minimum. Only one lamp remained lit in the living room.
Gu Qiumian was taking a bath on the second floor.
Her room had an en-suite bathroom.
"Still haven't recovered?" Teacher Song said casually. "My dear disciple, learn from your master. Look at me—I don't even care. I've already requested tomorrow off."
That's right, Teacher Song had just called the teaching director to explain tonight's situation.
Although there was a garage outside the villa with tools, what could they do with a blown tire that couldn't be patched? They could only wait for someone to deliver a new tire tomorrow.
So strictly speaking, they weren't just staying overnight—they couldn't even guarantee arriving at school on time tomorrow morning.
The small island didn't even have a gas station, let alone a proper auto repair shop—there was only one, and it wasn't professional. They'd be lucky if it could deliver a tire.
Teacher Song had just made a call and arranged for someone to come change the tire around seven.
Zhang Shutong noticed that as a homeroom teacher, he seemed quite excited, as if he'd found a legitimate excuse to slack off.
"How long has it been since I stayed up late?" The only downside of the villa was no smoking, which was killing Teacher Song. "Last time was when I was in college. You know, several people partying together, beer covering the whole table. Oh wait, not beer—we all drank baijiu, wouldn't stop until we were drunk. Then after becoming a teacher, I had to say goodbye to all that."
"What about at home, Teacher?"
"Watch some ball games, write lesson plans, play Doudizhu. Oh right, do you know how to play cards? How about I teach you two, and the three of us can play Doudizhu?"
Better not—the landlord was currently bathing upstairs.
Zhang Shutong thought to himself.
He wasn't in the mood to play cards today. Actually, he wanted to go back to his room and be alone, but Gu Qiumian hadn't come down yet. If he went up now, it would be a bit... Zhang Shutong didn't know how to put it, but he felt it wasn't quite right. He'd wait until she finished bathing.
Teacher Song seemed quite disappointed.
The two chatted intermittently. Zhang Shutong took the opportunity to send Qingyi a message, asking him to look up legends about the Green Snake Temple. He vaguely remembered that the group had once discussed "the temple keeper's occupation." Zhang Shutong hadn't paid attention then, but now he wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Information on the internet was limited, but Qingyi's father had many books in his collection—perhaps there were records in local gazetteers.
Zhang Shutong turned off his phone screen again and stared blankly at the TV. He wasn't actually paying attention to what was showing, until a scent of body wash and a wave of moist steam drifted to his side.
Zhang Shutong turned his head. The girl in a wine-red bathrobe was standing behind him. The robe was velvet, revealing her swan-like slender neck. She was fanning her face with both hands, her cheeks flushed with a faint blush—she looked like she was about to be cooked through.
Girls' bath water was supposedly scalding hot.
"Fair-skinned beauty" was still a trendy term, and it suited her perfectly. If anything was inadequate about the description, it was only the degree—she should be ultra-fair, ultra-wealthy, ultra-beautiful.
The young lady immediately demanded they change movies. Teacher Song was watching Wuthering Heights, and she said the surroundings were already creepy enough—Teacher, could you please switch to a comedy? I want to watch Stephen Chow.
"A Chinese Odyssey?"
"Tricky Brains." Gu Qiumian lifted her chin.
Zhang Shutong didn't understand why they were so enthusiastic. Last time they stayed over, it wasn't like this—everyone should have returned to their rooms early.
Then he thought, last time they'd caught the arsonist, but today nothing had happened—they'd just gone out for a spin. He was the only one still shaken.
So he stood up, said goodnight, and prepared to go upstairs.
But Gu Qiumian wasn't having it. She said, "You're so boring. Why are you going to bed so early?"
Zhang Shutong couldn't explain—specialization has its advantages. Even henchmen have different roles. He wasn't responsible for entertainment, only for saving lives.
Then Teacher Song also urged him, saying watching comedies is only fun with more people. If you leave, what are Qiumian and I going to watch? Sometimes you need to learn to join in the fun.
Zhang Shutong sat back down, not because he was convinced by these words, but because first, Qingyi hadn't called back yet, and second, he remembered what Teacher Song had told him last time—to have more human warmth and such. Actually, Zhang Shutong didn't quite understand what "human warmth" meant, but he figured joining in the fun counted.
If they wanted to watch, he'd just sit beside them and be part of the atmosphere.
Teacher Song picked up the remote. During the opening credits, Gu Qiumian pattered away in her slippers, went to the fridge to get yogurt, and asked if the two of them wanted any.
What was this? Were they really having a movie party?
Teacher Song raised his cup and said he had coffee, no need to worry about him.
Zhang Shutong glanced over and just reminded her it was cold. She pouted but smiled with her eyes, put it back, and found room-temperature juice instead, humming as she asked, "This okay?"
Zhang Shutong really didn't care what he drank, so he nodded and said, "Sure... no, it's fine."
Then Gu Qiumian turned off the living room lights. She held two cups in one hand and pinched the ear of the juice box with the other—she looked quite busy—and trotted back to the sofa, the belt of her robe fluttering around her slender waist.
The living room sofa layout was like their classroom building, in an "L" shape. The short side formed its own section, occupied by Teacher Song.
Zhang Shutong had been sitting on the long side. Now Gu Qiumian came to this sofa too. Zhang Shutong glanced at her, but she only stared at the TV with an expectant and focused expression. Then she kicked off her slippers, curled her legs to one side, and nestled herself into the sofa.
For some reason, once she changed into that bathrobe, she seemed to become alluring. Her snow-white skin was breathtaking. Gu Qiumian propped up her cheek, leaning against one side of the sofa. You could see ruby-like nail polish on her toes. The TV screen flickered, the living room was dim, and each little gem sparkled with light.
The movie began. It starred Andy Lau and Stephen Chow, with Rosamund Kwan and Chingmy Yau as the female leads—a proper star-studded cast. Zhang Shutong had seen this movie before and found it fairly interesting, but Young Lady Gu's laugh threshold was extremely low.
Zhang Shutong really wasn't used to watching movies with people who laughed easily.
This reminded him of going to the cinema with his three buddies. Ruoping and Du Kang usually paired up—both had low laugh thresholds, and they not only loved laughing heartily but always whispered and discussed the plot, getting along splendidly.
Zhang Shutong would sit with Qingyi. No matter if it was comedy, tragedy, horror, or even a terrible film, throughout the entire movie, the two of them calmly held their popcorn, and whoever's expression changed first lost. They were obviously very cultured good audience members.
He patiently continued watching. The movie couldn't be called unfunny, but at most it might activate your facial muscles a bit—it really wasn't laugh-out-loud material. Yet Gu Qiumian laughed until her whole body shook.
High-end sofas were indeed very soft. When she laughed with her eyes curved, even the sofa surface rippled like water. Zhang Shutong was a bit helpless and scooted to the side, thinking to himself, could you please not kick your feet around?
Then his phone vibrated. It was Qingyi replying.
He shifted his gaze to the screen, muted it, and started chatting. Qingyi had actually found some information about the Green Snake Temple legend. Zhang Shutong's interest was immediately piqued, and he asked the other to elaborate.
But the sofa's rippling stopped. Zhang Shutong instinctively turned his head—Gu Qiumian was frowning at him.
Aren't you watching the movie?
Just then, Qingyi directly called. He waved his phone and quietly stood up.
When there was nothing urgent, he could provide some atmosphere, but when real business came up, he couldn't be blamed.
Zhang Shutong didn't want to disturb them watching the movie, so he went straight to the elevator and pressed the answer button.
Talking to Qingyi was much simpler.
"Shutong, it's a bit noisy on your end."
"Wait, it'll be fine in a moment."
The elevator doors closed.
Zhang Shutong indicated they could communicate freely now.
Qingyi asked:
"Why did you suddenly want to look this up?"
He was brief and to the point:
"I ran into Lu Qinglian at the Forbidden Zone tonight."
"What's going on? Why'd you go to the Forbidden Zone, and wasn't it snowing all evening?"
Zhang Shutong briefly explained and voiced his doubts.
"Mm, so you mainly want to figure out what she was doing by the water?"
"Pretty much," Zhang Shutong reached the second floor. "But I didn't find anything else at the time. I was thinking, since this behavior can't be explained by common sense, maybe I should consider supernatural directions, like rituals?"
"Then you'd need to find the offerings first." Qingyi joked. "Besides, you know about this too—it's the summer festival every year. Haven't found any other customs, especially the kind related to water that you mentioned."
"Then what do you think she was doing out there so late at night?"
"Who knows? Why don't you have Du Kang guess—he's good at this." Qingyi said straightforwardly. "Let me just tell you what I found. About the temple, there are two legends. One says the green snake cultivated into human form and had offspring. Its descendants are the temple keepers, passed down through generations to today. What do you think of that credibility?"
"Oh, Lady White Snake." Zhang Shutong couldn't help but laugh.
"It should be Lady Green Snake then." Qingyi also laughed. "But there's something else interesting. You know how lots of people on our island go to the temple to burn incense, praying for all sorts of things—wealth, peace, many children, good fortune, no illness, high school entrance exams, college entrance exams... But all this only became popular in recent years with the internet. Actually, in the very beginning, the so-called Green Snake Temple only handled one thing. Guess what?"
"What?"
"Longevity." Qingyi uttered two words. "This relates to another legend—that the worshipped green snake never died. Being a snake, it just kept shedding its skin, shedding and shedding, with an unlimited lifespan, growing bigger and bigger, until it's still alive even now."
"There's really a snake in there?" Zhang Shutong thought of that snake staff.
"Of course it's fake. I've been there—it's just a large wooden carving. But actually, there's quite a bit to this. You've heard of the Five Elements mutual conquest, right?"
Zhang Shutong hummed in acknowledgment.
"Then guess why it's a wooden carving and not some other material. Never mind, I'll just tell you the answer. Think about it—isn't that temple on a mountain? Can't mountains be considered 'earth'? Wood conquers earth, so only a wooden carving can suppress this mountain, or rather, the entire small island beneath it."
Zhang Shutong thought for a moment:
"But it still has nothing to do with the lakeside."
"Exactly." You could practically see Qingyi shrugging. "And according to what you said, when you pushed through the reeds, you made quite a commotion. She should have noticed you already, but she didn't run then—just kept crouching by the lake. Then when she saw you, she suddenly ran. I think that's the strangest part."
Zhang Shutong also felt that was the creepiest part.
Lu Qinglian was very mysterious—he'd expected that early on. But every time he saw her, she always had that calm demeanor. Running away suddenly like tonight was a first.
"Do you have any good ideas? My brain's temporarily frozen." Zhang Shutong said with a headache.
"Test her out tomorrow?"
"She already ran. Anyway, she's very suspicious. When you're already in deep debt, a little more doesn't matter—she definitely won't tell the truth."
"Then force her to answer?"
"...Can't beat her."
"Ah, true."
The two fell silent for a while. Zhang Shutong spoke again:
"I feel like I need to figure out what she's doing. The feeling she gives me now... isn't good."
"Why not just bypass her?" Qingyi suggested. "If you can't beat her, at least you can avoid her. Isn't her grandmother at the temple? Why not go ask her grandmother directly?"
That seemed like a solution, even if not a great one.
Hopefully she'd be a kind old lady.
Zhang Shutong nodded, planning to visit the temple tomorrow.
There was still one problem unsolved. He described the situation at the Gu family villa again:
"If someone wanted to harm Gu Qiumian, how do you think they'd get in?"
This was what made Qingyi great. If it were anyone else, they'd focus on how do you know so much about Gu Qiumian's house, or why are you concerned about Gu Qiumian?
But Qingyi just followed his train of thought and fell into contemplation. After a long while, he said:
"Are you sure her family's housekeeper and bodyguards are ruled out?"
"Yeah, I'm sure about that."
Zhang Shutong thought of the intelligence from eight years in the future. This was an unsolved case. If it really was these people, never mind "sure"—even if there was the slightest "suspicion," with Father Gu's influence, he absolutely wouldn't let these people off easy.
"Then describe her door to me again?"
"Whether it's the gate or the front door, they're all electronic—face or fingerprint scanners. I've studied them. It's very hard to climb in."
Qingyi said:
"How should I put this... on an unrelated note, I'm reminded of those high-tech crimes in movies where they copy someone's fingerprint or face, then fool the system. Heh, but that's just movies—no reference value."
Zhang Shutong agreed with that.
There were all sorts of bizarre theories. He might as well say the culprit knew bone-shrinking techniques. Guessing like that was meaningless.
"If that's the case, I suggest you..."
While they were at a loss, Zhang Shutong's ears perked up. He heard the elevator door opening.
"Gotta hang up, it's not convenient here. I'll call you back later."
Zhang Shutong said in a low voice.
"Okay, bye."
He put away his phone, planning to wait until Gu Qiumian returned to her room. But the footsteps grew closer and closer, until knocking sounded on the door.
Zhang Shutong froze for a moment and opened the door.
Outside naturally stood that alluring girl in the wine-red bathrobe. She was pursing her rosy lips, looking furious.
But what was she doing at his room?
Had she come to settle accounts for leaving midway?