Winter Time Rendering

The first meal he’d treated anyone to since his return had, just like that, landed in Gu Qiuyan’s hands.

He was stunned. The owner was stunned too. By the time Zhang Shutong snapped out of it, she had already disappeared into the restroom without a backward glance. He glanced at her table; the students there still hadn’t noticed what had just happened.

It was as if Gu Qiuyan had merely excused herself from her table for a moment and, along the way, casually resolved his pressing predicament.

Zhang Shutong accepted the favor.

’Not that he really had a choice in the matter. Was he supposed to chase her into the restroom, pull open the stall door, and say, "You don’t have to pay"?’

’Of course, on second thought, there were other ways to handle it. He was only short about twenty yuan. He could have taken what he was short from her change and returned the rest to her.’

’But a favor was something you either accepted or you didn’t. Just taking the twenty or so he was short would seem fussy. Better to just bring the full amount tomorrow and pay her back properly.’

Gu Qiuyan’s timing for that restroom trip was brilliant. In the past, Zhang Shutong had never been able to figure out her intentions, but this time, even a guy like him could get the message.

So, instead of waiting around for her to come out, he left the fish restaurant, got on his bicycle, and went to meet up with his buddies.

He’d only ridden a few meters when, sure enough, he found Ruoping and the others waiting in line at a milk tea shop.

"So, did it work?"

Qingyi pulled him aside and asked in a low voice.

"Did what work?"

"Didn’t you have me get the other two out of the way because you wanted to talk to Gu Qiuyan?"

"Well..." Zhang Shutong thought for a moment. "Something like that. I was short on cash earlier."

"How much?" Qingyi started reaching for his pocket.

"It’s already paid. Gu Qiuyan came over and paid for me."

"Huh? Why?"

"I don’t know. For now, just help me keep it under wraps for a day."

Zhang Shutong planned to pay her back tomorrow before telling Ruoping. That way, he could publicize Gu Qiuyan’s kindness without stirring up any trouble. He was slightly worried that if he told Ruoping now, she’d drag him right back to the restaurant.

The group then went their separate ways in front of the commercial street.

It wasn’t like they could be attached at the hip 24/7. Qingyi needed to go to the bookshop to borrow a few books, and Du Kang tagged along to pick out some videotapes.

Ruoping had plans to meet some friends back at school that afternoon, so she was heading in the same direction as Zhang Shutong.

He got on his bike, hanging the milk tea from the handlebars. The shop was called "Have a Cup"—nothing like the future milk tea chains in shopping malls with their big 700ml paper cups and fancy designs.

The milk tea on the island came in a small, clear plastic cup, heat-sealed with a film lid. It was probably made from instant powder, but four yuan was still a bargain.

On the way, Ruoping said, "I know you’ve had an upset stomach, so I made sure to get you a hot one. Drink it while it’s warm when you get back." Zhang Shutong was touched. But Ruoping added, "Don’t just be touched—show me some action."

So he readily agreed, promising, "I’ll cover all your milk tea for next week." Only then did the girl nod, satisfied.

It wasn’t until he was inside the academic building, cradling the milk tea, that Zhang Shutong had a thought. ’It’s winter. Of course she ordered a hot drink. Was she supposed to get me a cold one?’ But it was already too late.

Lunch break was from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM.

It was a little after one, and the classroom was fairly quiet. Some students were studying, others were napping on their desks. They were ninth graders, after all—not like the younger kids who were loud enough to tear the roof off the place.

Every part of student life felt new and fascinating to him.

Zhang Shutong had always been energetic—otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the stamina to play the hero in his future life. He thought for a moment and decided he ought to find a special place to properly savor this instant milk tea. Only that would do justice to its price tag: a full week of milk tea.

He settled on the school rooftop.

It had been his favorite spot back in his school days. This was one way Zhang Shutong was different from his close friends. They all thought the cold wind on the rooftop would freeze your brain. Du Kang would rather go take a nap, and even Qingyi’s eighth-grader brainwaves weren’t on the same wavelength as the place. Ruoping even offered a vivid analogy: every time she went up, she said she felt like a caveman.

But Zhang Shutong alone savored the feeling:

The school was built on the island’s periphery. From the rooftop, you could breathe in the cool lake wind and take in the entire view. Gray and white buildings of varying heights stood in a jagged array. The lake was a deep azure, mirroring the sky above. Mountains stretched into the distance, and the people below shrank to tiny black dots. But this was a small place to begin with, perfectly sized to contain all these small people.

This time, he planned on mulling over the murder case while he drank his milk tea.

He stepped into the dark stairwell, the ground underfoot thick with dust. The door to the rooftop was locked, but Zhang Shutong knew where the key was hidden.

’If I remember correctly...’ He shuffled his foot. The tile on the third step from the top was a little loose. He dug his fingers into the cement crevice but found nothing.

’Where’s the key?’

Zhang Shutong was puzzled.

He remembered having the key made himself. A maintenance man had once forgotten to take the original key, and Shutong, bold as he was back then, had immediately run off-campus to get a copy made before returning the original to their homeroom teacher. He’d planned to use it for their group’s secret base—

—but after enduring the wind a few times, his friends had written it off. They felt it wasn’t private enough to serve as a proper base, and as a lounge, it was freezing in the winter and sweltering in the summer. In the end, he was the only one who still went up there from time to time.

’Could some other student with good taste have found it?’

’Zhang Shutong wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or disappointed. He was pleased because it meant he wasn’t the only one who got his brain scrambled by the wind. But he was also disappointed because he really enjoyed having a secret hideout. A "hideout" and a "base" sound similar, but they’re different. After all, even after Batman joined the Justice League, he still had the Batcave. It just proves that no matter if a man is rich or poor, it’s vital to have a private little nest.’

Whenever he didn’t want to be disturbed, he’d come up here for a bit. He couldn’t explain why; he’d just been that way since he was a kid.