Winter Time Rendering

"Aren’t you two good deskmates?"

"Who said I’m friends with him."

Zhang Shutong had thought her old deskmate was one of the few people in class she actually talked to.

He put down his bookbag, not minding a little chat with the young miss.

"You just gave me an example yesterday."

As he spoke, Zhang Shutong pointed to the window.

But to his surprise, Gu Qiuyan just pursed her lips and turned away. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

She was ignoring him now.

Zhang Shutong reminded her,

"Have you forgotten? It was what you drew..."

"Zhang Shutong, do you have any EQ?" Gu Qiuyan snapped her head back around. Her eyelashes were quite long, and they fluttered as she glared at him.

The term "EQ" was still quite trendy back then. Zhang Shutong decided not to provoke her further, but Gu Qiuyan rolled her eyes, and, for once, was in the mood to explain.

"He was fine at first, but then he started talking my ear off, just rambling on and on. He’d stand there watching whatever I was doing. It was so annoying."

"So this is a warning for your new deskmate?" Under the training of Trainer Gu Qiuyan, Pokémon Zhang Shutong’s [EQ] had increased.

"Of course."

"So I’m your shield?"

"Well, you’re the quiet type."

"Right, right." Zhang Shutong sat down, amused. He wasn’t sure if he should be happy the young miss thought so highly of him.

’Still, being her shield isn’t half bad. I can just sit here and no one will dare to come near. I’d be glad for the peace and quiet.’

"So what’s my reward?" he asked Gu Qiuyan for a cookie—not because he had a craving, but simply because he thought it was amusing.

"We still have three scores to settle!" The girl shot him a look that screamed, ’Don’t you have any self-awareness?’

’Which three?’

Zhang Shutong wanted to ask, but being a man of few words was his strong suit, so he held his tongue. He was actually thinking about something else.

As he had approached the desk moments ago, he hadn’t clearly heard what the other boy said, but he had managed to catch a few key words:

"Don’t just brush it off, I really heard it..."

’What did that warning mean?’

He had just been to the restricted area, and maybe it was the early morning hour, but he was feeling paranoid. His thoughts kept subconsciously drifting to the murderer.

Zhang Shutong quickly analyzed the situation. ’This conversation probably isn’t a result of me coming back eight years and changing something. It must have existed in the original timeline. Could it be that someone had already discovered the plot against Gu Qiuyan even back then?’

’Not only discovered it, but even warned her about it. But from Gu Qiuyan’s attitude, it seems she thought he was just hitting on her, so she didn’t pay it any mind?’

’The chances were slim, but just to be safe, he should ask about it.’

Just as he was about to speak, a crumpled ball of paper hit him.

He turned around and saw that it was Ruoping. She was standing at the back of the classroom on her tiptoes, waving insistently at him.

If it had been anyone else, he would have been too lazy to go over, insisting they come to him instead. But Ruoping was an exception. Not only was she one of his best friends, she was the only girl among them. Most of the time, Zhang Shutong was a bit more patient with her than he was with Du Kang and Qingyi.

"What’s up?"

"Going for a British look today, huh? What made you decide to dress up?" Ruoping pointed at his clothes, complimenting him.

’She sounds just like my mom,’ he thought. ’What a fangirl.’

Zhang Shutong didn’t know what a "British look" was. He glanced down and only saw that his scarf wasn’t tied tightly, but was hanging loosely around his neck. ’Is that what she means?’

He simply unwound the scarf and balled it up in his hand. With nothing left for her to look at, Ruoping said in disappointment,

"Aww, I wanted to take a picture."

She sometimes roped him and Qingyi into being her models, taking candid photos and posting them on her social media page whether they liked it or not. It wasn’t to show off; she just thought the pictures looked good. She did the same when Du Kang caught a fish with a beautiful pattern, though in those cases, Ruoping only photographed the fish, never the person holding it.

"How about you? Did you sleep well last night?"

Zhang Shutong ignored her teasing, offering a rare question of concern.

"Ooh, trying to be the gentle, caring type today, are we?" Ruoping covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. "That won’t work on me, though. Save it, handsome."

These were the only times Zhang Shutong was at a loss for words.

Ruoping spoke again.

"I just wanted to ask you to call Qinglian out for me. I need to talk to her. Everything was so rushed yesterday, and it wasn’t until I got home that I realized I never properly thanked her. If it hadn’t been for her, the rest of us would’ve been in real trouble."

’She’s right,’ Zhang Shutong thought. But then another thought occurred to him, leaving him speechless. ’Why can’t you just tell her yourself? There’s no need to have me call her out for that.’

But Ruoping completely misunderstood him and her smile grew wider, as if she were teasing a pouting child.

"Don’t be upset, don’t be upset! It was thanks to you, too. If you hadn’t been there, the rest of us would’ve been in for it. So, my great hero, what do you want for lunch? I’ll treat you to some milk tea?"

"...I’m saying, why don’t you call her yourself?"

At his words, Ruoping’s eyes went wide.

"Zhang Shutong, has she completely bewitched you or something?"

"What?"

"Ugh, I don’t know if you’re being dense or just playing dumb. Why do you think I won’t come over to your desk?" Ruoping gestured behind him. "Just take a look at who your new deskmate is."

Zhang Shutong didn’t need to turn around to know who she meant.

Ruoping’s reminder was all it took for him to remember the two of them had some bad blood.

"Just because of that?" he asked, puzzled.

"Yes, just because of that! You got a problem with it?"

Ruoping stopped smiling and just stared past him. In what seemed like a magical coincidence, the young miss seemed to sense it and turned around. The two girls’ gazes locked for a split second before they each let out a cold huff and sharply turned away.

Positioned in the middle of the battlefield, Zhang Shutong felt like an Oreo. ’...Why are Oreos on my mind so much these last couple of days?’

Ruoping gave him a wide, beaming smile, full of big-sister-boss swagger.

"Well, Zhang Shutong," she said, "I’ll leave it up to you."

"..."

"Oh! Now I see why you’re going for the British look today. It’s a matching couple’s outfit!" Ruoping covered her mouth in feigned surprise. "One red scarf, one black scarf... you two actually match quite well."