Chapter 101: The Crow Drinks Water (1) |
Time rewound a few minutes.
Underground level one.
The movie screen froze on the image.
It was hard to hear what was happening upstairs.
The group exchanged glances.
"Why isn't Shutong calling back? Could that person he mentioned have come again?" Ruoping asked Qingyi in a low voice.
"Probably not." Qingyi thought for a moment. "I was close to him just now and heard a bit of the phone call. Old Song seemed to say something about a photo frame falling."
"Is there really such a big photo frame in the living room?" Ruoping asked reflexively.
"Must be in another room."
"A bit on edge?"
"I also think he's been jumpy lately."
"Can't help it. We've only heard about many things from Shutong, never experienced them firsthand, so we can't understand how he feels."
The two whispered to each other.
"Should we tell her?" Ruoping secretly pointed at Gu Qiumian. "She looks pretty anxious too, probably worried something happened."
"You tell her." Qingyi gave her a sidelong glance. "Why be coy? It's a good chance to break the ice."
"Fine, I'll tell her." Ruoping bit her lip with a determined look, though she hesitated when she spoke. "Um, Gu Qiumian..."
Gu Qiumian froze, seeming surprised that Ruoping would take the initiative to talk to her, and quickly turned her head.
"Don't worry too much," Ruoping said uncomfortably, turning her face away and pointing at Qingyi. "I also heard it from him—it should just be a photo frame that fell, nothing else."
"...Thank you." Gu Qiumian also replied hesitantly. She relaxed first, then explained, "Then it should be nothing. Don't worry either. It's the family photo in my study..."
But at this point, she seemed to think of something and gently bit her lip.
So in Ruoping's view, the girl named Gu Qiumian, upon learning this news, not only didn't relax but became even more worried.
No, that wasn't quite accurate either. Earlier she had been worried, but now it had turned into slight nervousness.
Gu Qiumian unconsciously stepped forward, the hem of her long dress becoming somewhat disheveled. Her fingers clearly pressed the elevator button, but then she lowered her head and stood there in a daze for a while. Moments later, she returned to sit on the sofa.
This was a beautiful and noble girl. Today she wore an exquisite French-style blouse, dressing herself up like a princess. But even a princess could suddenly panic. She still bit her lip, staring at her toes, lost in thought, appearing completely at a loss.
Those fluffy slippers twisted restlessly. The blue long dress was also wrinkled from her grip, like a flower bud about to bloom.
Ruoping noticed that in the girl's beautiful eyes, the usually high-spirited gleam was being replaced by a kind of inner conflict.
"What's going on now? Didn't she just say not to worry? Quick, analyze this." Ruoping was completely confused. She asked Qingyi in a low voice.
"That photo is very important to her?" Qingyi said, but immediately negated his own judgment. "No, wait. If it was something very important, she should have rushed up immediately. Why did she sit back down? It gives off a feeling of... the deed is done, it's too late? You're a girl, you should understand better?"
"I don't know either." Ruoping shook her head. "If I had to say, I feel like she's avoiding some kind of fact, but at the same time holding onto some expectation?"
"Why does the way you put it sound like waiting for monthly exam scores?"
"What a terrible comparison." Ruoping said irritably. "She's a young lady. When have you ever seen her worry about scores? She probably doesn't even worry about the high school entrance exam. It must be something much, much more important than that."
"Then what is it?" Qingyi was rarely stumped. "What could be so sudden and related to a photo?"
"Shh, stop talking." Ruoping tugged at his clothes. "Just listen..."
Then, Gu Qiumian took two deep breaths. After much deliberation, she finally made a phone call.
Under their confused and curious gazes, the call was quickly answered.
"How are things on your end?"
Even though she had already determined what had happened, Gu Qiumian still instinctively and worriedly asked this question.
Of course, perhaps it was also to pave the way for what she really wanted to say next.
Because she herself hadn't realized that she was speaking much faster than usual, completely flustered.
...
Zhang Shutong answered the call.
"How are things on your end?"
The girl's voice was very anxious.
Zhang Shutong thought he had scared her with his earlier nervousness, and quickly said it was nothing, just a photo that had fallen.
"The family photo in the study?" Gu Qiumian immediately confirmed.
"Yeah, don't worry, it didn't break. I propped it up against the wall for now." Since it concerned his mother's belongings, Zhang Shutong felt he should explain clearly.
But Gu Qiumian didn't respond.
Zhang Shutong could even hear her slightly rapid breathing.
He could only continue explaining:
"I just went out to check. It's just that the wall is old, nothing else. Teacher Song originally wanted to hang it back up, but Auntie Wu said to wait until your father comes back to handle it, so we listened to her..."
Zhang Shutong remembered that precious scarf of hers, a memento left by her mother. Although the significance of a photo wasn't quite the same as a memento, he imagined it was equally important to Gu Qiumian.
So he emphasized again:
"Don't worry, it didn't break. Do you want to come up and take a look?"
"It can't break..."
This time, only a few sparse words answered him.
The tone was as ambiguous as her voice—quiet yet complex.
After a moment, Gu Qiumian explained in a low voice:
"It's just a photo cloth, and it's fallen several times already. It doesn't even have glass..."
"Oh... that's good then."
The two seemed to have fallen into a situation of making forced conversation.
Zhang Shutong thought for a moment. He wanted to ask whether they would continue watching the movie and what her plans were for tonight. But before he could speak, in the long silence, Gu Qiumian suddenly asked:
"You... saw everything?"
Zhang Shutong reflexively made a sound of acknowledgment.
But then he immediately regretted it.
Because he understood what Gu Qiumian was hesitating about.
Damn it... He knocked his forehead with his knuckles, cursing himself. On this timeline, his sworn friend didn't know about her mother's passing—that was true—but he shouldn't know either. He only learned about it last time when Old Song told him in the car.
So she was worried about him discovering this.
He should have just pretended not to see it. He had no intention of prying into others' family affairs. Perhaps next, Gu Qiumian would wait for him to ask:
"Why haven't I heard you mention your mom? Where is she? Is she away? Is she busy with work, or is she also on a business trip..."
Thinking this, Zhang Shutong couldn't help but glance back at the study. The door was tightly closed, but he seemed to see again that beautiful woman draped in white gauze. But Zhang Shutong knew she was neither away on business nor busy with work—she had simply left this world forever. Death. A word both weightless and heavy. Some things were irretrievable. This was destined to be a topic that brought silence.
An even longer silence came from the other end of the phone.
"So?" Gu Qiumian finally said after a long while.
So what?
Is she waiting for me to ask something?
Thinking this, that question indeed came.
"Don't you want to ask me anything?"
"No." Zhang Shutong didn't want to stir up the sad memories in her heart, so he changed the subject. "Like I said, there's nothing else. I was just on edge. I scared you earlier. You all keep watching the movie. I'll come down soon..."
Zhang Shutong even asked thoughtfully for once:
"Want some juice, or something to eat?" He remembered where Gu Qiumian had found the juice yesterday. "What do you want to eat? I'll bring it down..."
He thought this time he should have passed the test. Although they had just eaten, based on Zhang Shutong's limited understanding of her—like that night watching the movie when she had eaten rice bowl and then pulled out a big bag of snacks in the library—this spirited girl should be a carnivore with one stomach specifically reserved for snacks.
But before he finished speaking, Gu Qiumian interrupted:
"No need."
Zhang Shutong couldn't discern what emotion was contained in those words—like a flower beaten down by frost.
Zhang Shutong reflexively glanced out the window. The courtyard was indeed covered with a layer of pristine white snow, but inside it was clearly warm. He didn't know what was wrong with her again.
"Should I come down to find you all?"
"Don't come down..."
The other end of the phone went quiet for a moment, as if she was covering the receiver to ask about something. Then Gu Qiumian's voice came through, speaking rapidly:
"Your friends were all scared too. They said they're not in the mood to watch the movie anymore, and it's getting late..."
As if not saying something now would cause other words to spill out instead.
"Alright then."
Zhang Shutong replied.
That made sense. In Qingyi and the others' eyes, he had been so nervous just now that they probably thought he had discovered a new clue. Although it turned out to be a false alarm, this little episode had left everyone without the mood to continue watching the movie.
If that was the case, then he'd wait for everyone to come up and discuss what to do tonight. He was about to say something, but the call had already been disconnected.