Chapter 82: That Princess-Like Girl (2) |
When she was truly angry, she wouldn't glare or lose her temper—she would simply grow cold.
Zhang Shutong apologized first. It was hard to say who was right or wrong in this situation, but whatever—saying sorry couldn't hurt.
It wasn't like Gu Qiumian was being completely unreasonable either. Regardless of whether he was in the mood or not, he should have gone downstairs to watch the movie with her. That way everyone would be happy.
So he took the initiative to step out the door, ready to go downstairs with Gu Qiumian. But the girl didn't move, blocking him in the doorway as she said coldly:
"I'm not asking you to watch a movie. The TV's already off, the lights are off, and Teacher Song went to bed. Since you didn't have time to come downstairs, I came up to find you myself. Is that acceptable?"
Zhang Shutong froze. The TV was already off? Then why did you come to find me?
No wonder she'd come back after just a few minutes—she hadn't left the movie halfway through to come get him, but had used that time to take care of things downstairs.
Zhang Shutong could only speak up again, saying he was sorry for ruining her mood.
"I came to find you to settle all accounts." She finished with a frown, then added, "It has nothing to do with the movie."
As the old saying goes, Gu Qiumian had always been a girl he couldn't quite read. He'd gotten a bit too full of himself lately, thinking that after being her errand boy for so many days, he'd figured out what the young miss was thinking. Turned out he still didn't understand her at all.
"Let me in first." She dropped the particles from the end of her sentences, though at least she still had the energy to glare at him.
Zhang Shutong stepped aside, watching the girl walk into his room. Though that phrasing was misleading—it should be that the young miss was gracing her territory with her presence. This wasn't Zhang Shutong's room anymore.
The guest room had furnishings even more complete than a hotel's—a desk and chairs, plus a small sofa set. Zhang Shutong sat on the edge of the bed, watching her settle primly on the sofa as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
Zhang Shutong had been prepared to get scolded, though he couldn't imagine what Gu Qiumian cursing someone out would look like. Wait, she actually had cursed before—and at him, no less.
During that scarf incident back then, she'd said:
"Disgusting!" "I hate people who do things but won't admit it!" "Fine, if you won't admit it, my dad employs your parents—I'll tell him about this!"
Things like that.
Come to think of it, Zhang Shutong really hadn't been cursed out by her in a long time—at least eight years.
"Do you think I'm easy to fool?" But Gu Qiumian's first words were unexpected.
"No." Actually, you really are pretty easy to fool.
"Then look me in the eyes."
How is it looking into eyes again...
Zhang Shutong tilted his head to look at her, thinking that even after looking a hundred more times it would be the same. Yes, I know your eyes are beautiful and your eyelashes are thick, okay... He was trying to lighten the mood, but Gu Qiumian said, word by word:
"Are you hiding something from me?"
"Uh..."
"When we were watching the movie earlier, you suddenly ran upstairs and made a mysterious phone call. Tonight too—you insisted on wandering around that wilderness. On the way back you were distracted, your hair was soaking wet and you didn't even notice," Gu Qiumian stared into his eyes, making Zhang Shutong instinctively look away. But the girl wouldn't let it go. "Teacher Song kept asking me in the car if I was scared—it's related to this, isn't it?"
"Well..."
You've really got this all wrong.
Zhang Shutong felt somewhat caught between laughter and tears. The reason Old Song kept asking if you were scared was actually because I lied, saying you'd been frightened by that snake and couldn't sleep.
But the atmosphere was too serious now for jokes, even for an errand boy.
Gu Qiumian's face was stern:
"It's about me, and it must be serious, right? You've been acting strange since this evening, always examining my family's door. I noticed it ages ago. Just how long were you planning to keep this from me?"
This time she didn't glare or throw a tantrum—she just earnestly asked him to look into her eyes.
But Zhang Shutong couldn't bring himself to speak.
"I'm angry at you right now!" the young miss emphasized.
Zhang Shutong apologized yet again, saying he shouldn't have acted so crazy late at night and made everyone unhappy.
But as soon as those words left his mouth, Gu Qiumian's tone grew even colder:
"Who said it has anything to do with the movie? I didn't want to expose you, but since you won't admit it, I'll just say it outright—you're still worried that someone wants to take revenge on me, and you've been investigating, haven't you?"
Her words were shocking, giving Zhang Shutong no time to react:
"Am I right?"
He had no choice but to nod.
But at the same time, he was even more confused.
If you could guess that I'm protecting you, then why are you angry?
Do you think I'm being a busybody?
He'd just watched a Stephen Chow movie, so he quickly found an appropriate description. Fine, putting himself in her shoes, if someone came to his house and wandered around for such an absurd reason, meddling in this and that, Zhang Shutong wouldn't be happy either.
He simply shut up and awaited orders.
Gu Qiumian finally started glaring:
"Did you really think you were hiding it so well? That I'm easy to fool? Let me tell you—you're an idiot! A dummy! A blockhead!"
This was getting a bit hurtful. How could doing a good deed earn him a scolding?
The girl's eyelashes were trembling:
"Why do you keep everything bottled up inside! Why do you want to shoulder everything alone! Aren't you tired, you idiot! You don't even have time to relax and watch a movie. Do you really think so little of me that you have to run around in the snow, getting soaked to the bone just to protect me!"
Her beautiful eyebrows finally knitted together:
"So I'm very angry right now—angry enough that my stomach hurts!"
Zhang Shutong didn't know what to say. He didn't feel like things were as bad as she made them sound. Besides, he'd already apologized three times. As they say, things shouldn't go past three—even he felt there was no need for more.
Gu Qiumian just stared intensely into his eyes, her chest rising and falling beneath her bathrobe.
Zhang Shutong had to admit—he'd been completely misled by Old Song's words. Of everything that man had rambled on about, Zhang Shutong only remembered one line about her being naive, and he remembered it very clearly. But that line was completely wrong—utterly and completely wrong. She was a young miss, but not some naive, sheltered princess. She wasn't just a little girl who wrinkled her nose and glared. She wasn't some technologically challenged fool who forgot to turn off the flash when taking photos. And she wasn't just someone who teared up in the library. She was clearly smart and proud.
"So now I'm giving you one more chance."
She wore a wine-red velvet bathrobe, had jet-black hair and fair skin—like a beautiful, noble princess looking down from on high as she issued an order that brooked no refusal:
"Tell me. I want to know!"
Zhang Shutong stopped insisting. He sighed and hastily made up an excuse. Since it was improvised, it was naturally far-fetched, but something was better than nothing.
He steeled himself and said that actually, he'd had a dream—in the dream, one rainy night, her family's dog was poisoned to death, and several people in a van stopped at her front door, though he didn't know what they wanted to do... As Zhang Shutong spoke, even he couldn't continue, feeling his face flush. Who would believe something this fake? He'd stopped believing in dreams since kindergarten.
But Gu Qiumian rose from the sofa and sat down beside him.
She braced her hands on the edge of the bed and asked softly:
"Just because of this?"
"Just because of this." Zhang Shutong thought to himself that he should have braved the snow and gone home. "...It's pretty ridiculous, but I didn't mean to deceive you."
"I believe you." But she shook her head. "Because I also had a dream... about that place we went to tonight. I feel like I've dreamed of it before... I really have been there."
Zhang Shutong froze again.
Why would Gu Qiumian dream about the Forbidden Zone?
He'd used dreams as a cover for his regression ability, but what was her reason?
Zhang Shutong hurriedly asked if she remembered any other details, but Gu Qiumian said she couldn't remember clearly—only that it was very cold.
He felt somewhat disappointed.
Could the Forbidden Zone be some kind of special place that would appear in Gu Qiumian's dreams?
Or could her dreams even transcend time and space, showing her scenes from when she was attacked?
Or maybe it was just a false alarm—there were plenty of wilderness areas on the small island. Perhaps she'd visited one day and experienced déjà vu.
A string of questions flooded in, and Zhang Shutong instinctively began analyzing their likelihood. He sat on the bed, hands clasped together and pressed against his chin, staring at the floor in thought.
But at that moment, Gu Qiumian leaned her head closer, her fragrance growing more intense:
"So you're still worried about someone else, like that van?"
Zhang Shutong nodded, but her previously icy expression suddenly grew stern:
"See, I told you you're an idiot. Taking dreams seriously, running around everywhere because of a dream. Idiot!"
Zhang Shutong thought to himself that she was really hard to please. When he kept things from her, he was an idiot. When he didn't keep things from her, he was still an idiot. So when could he be smart again?
But right now Zhang Shutong had no mind for such banter. Since he'd told Gu Qiumian what he was investigating, he needed to use this opportunity to make her take it seriously. So he turned his head to stare at the girl and said earnestly:
"Even though it's a dream, don't take it lightly. Listen to me these next few days."
But Gu Qiumian fell silent, staring at his chest the whole time. Then her earlobes gradually turned red. All that could be heard was their breathing, so close together. Zhang Shutong lowered his head too—she was nearly a head shorter than him, and he realized her line of sight was aimed right at his collarbone. The distance between them was a bit too close. Though they'd been this close as deskmates at school, back then they'd worn school uniforms, not pajamas. Feeling a bit uncomfortable under her gaze, he shifted back slightly:
"Understand?"
"Understand what? I don't understand!"
Gu Qiumian glared again:
"Dummy! Blockhead!"
With that, she fled quickly, nearly losing her slippers. The noble princess became a princess in distress, routed completely. The door slammed shut, and her voice drifted in belatedly from outside:
"Don't keep things from me anymore!"
It took him quite a while to recover. He scratched his somewhat messy hair and breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally got through that hurdle.
Zhang Shutong turned to look out the window. The night was pitch black, snow still falling. That cold girl had melted before his eyes like dancing snowflakes. He thought to himself that Autumn Rain Lingering was still pretty easy to fool after all.
His mood suddenly felt lighter. He stood up.
Turned off the lights, got into bed, went to sleep.
...
Of course the snow was still falling.
Under the pitch-black night sky, only a single lantern glowed above the small courtyard wall.
In the profound silence, with a creaking sound, a young woman pushed open the courtyard gate. She used an umbrella to hook the lantern and extinguish it.
Outside the small temple called Green Snake Temple, even the last bit of light vanished.
Darkness shrouded everything—vast and mysterious—making the young woman's slender figure seem even more fragile.
The young woman walked through the swirling snow, her robes fluttering in the wind, her black hair dancing and sticking to her face.
Soon snow accumulated on her hair and shoulders. She only glanced at the sky, furrowed her brow, and returned to the temple.
Inside, the lighting was dim. Several candlestands burned, the temple door wide open, wind and snow pouring in, the flames wavering precariously with her arrival.
The candlelight illuminated her eyes—calm as an ancient well.
Water droplets mixed with dust soaked into the bluestone floor. She casually set down her umbrella, closed the temple door, and strode forward again.
Before her, on the altar, three long incense sticks burned, faint white smoke drifting through the air.
She walked to the ancient statue and used her fingernail to scrape away bit by bit the wax seal on the snake's eye, casting her gaze upon it.
"As I thought..."
Lu Qinglian murmured to herself, her faint, indifferent voice quickly swallowed by smoke and dust:
"The second time."
This night remained unchanged since ancient times.