Winter Time Rendering

The instant Zhang Shutong shut the car door, the engine roared to life before he could even react.

’This feels like I’ve gotten into an unlicensed taxi.’

And the driver of this shady ride was even in the mood to fan the flames:

"Shutong, why do I get the feeling you want to get out? Are you scared of me, or are you scared of Qiumian?"

’Of course I’m scared of both of you.’

Hearing this, Gu Qiuyan couldn’t sit still. She glared and shot back:

"Sir, didn’t you say you were just getting a bite to eat? Why’d you pick him up too?"

"Ahem, I really did need to talk to Shutong, but I have to take you home first, don’t I? It’d be too late to go back for him after that, so I just picked him up along the way."

Zhang Shutong finally understood where that displeased glance from earlier had come from.

But the young lady’s reaction was relatively calm. She just lowered her head without a word, reaching a hand under the seat and fumbling around for quite a while.

After the car had been driving for a bit, Zhang Shutong finally saw what she was trying to figure out:

She really was trying to figure out the seat—or more precisely, how to adjust it. But instead of asking, she just kept messing with it on her own. After ages of fiddling, the car suddenly lurched forward. With a startled cry, the girl must have hit something by mistake; she and her seat went flying back into a fully reclined position.

It was a compact hatchback, so the seats weren’t very high to begin with. As she fell, her scarf and hair flew into the air. Gu Qiuyan’s head and shoulders tumbled over the back of her seat, landing right on Zhang Shutong’s legs. The scarf draped over her face, leaving only her beautiful eyes visible.

The girl’s hair was a bit of a mess, a single strand falling across her eyes. For two seconds, they stared at each other at close range, eye to eye, face to face. Gu Qiuyan suddenly glared, and Zhang Shutong looked away. In his peripheral vision, he saw her push herself up with both hands, scrambling wildly to sit upright.

Once she was finally back in position, she stewed for a moment before muttering:

"How do you move this seat forward? I’ve never seen a manual one before."

"Oh, it’s just under the seat. There’s a lever, just pull it up," Song replied, his voice practically overflowing with amusement.

Gu Qiuyan yanked her seat forward, finally giving Zhang Shutong’s knees some room—but it was just enough that he no longer had to sit sideways. His knees were still pressed against the back of her seat.

Zhang Shutong now understood that she’d been trying to move her seat forward but had accidentally adjusted the backrest instead. He thanked her, but Gu Qiuyan retorted, "I only moved because you were making me uncomfortable."

But before she finished her sentence, the girl and her seat suddenly came hurtling back along the rails. The precious bit of space he’d gained was suddenly gone again. Zhang Shutong had no idea what she was up to, and then he heard Gu Qiuyan’s slightly embarrassed voice:

"I overdid it just now. Jeez, why do you take up so much space..."

It was as if some piece of cargo were sitting behind her. As she spoke, she huffed and puffed, inching the seat forward a tiny bit, only for it to slide back again. It took her several more tries, adjusting back and forth, before she was finally finished.

At last, the car’s interior settled into silence.

Zhang Shutong more or less understood Song’s intention now. He’d probably seen how "proactive" he was in solving the case and decided to just bring him along when taking Gu Qiuyan home.

Speaking of which, it turned out that Father Gu hadn’t been home these past few days, and Song had been the one driving Gu Qiuyan to and from school.

At the mention of Father Gu, Zhang Shutong asked Song Nanshan:

"Did you tell her dad about what happened this afternoon?"

But Song just laughed.

"See, Qiumian? This kid is more worried than you are..."

Zhang Shutong was speechless at his words. He had expected the young lady to give him a nasty look too, but instead, Gu Qiuyan turned her head away and silently stared out the window. It seemed she always reacted this way whenever her father was mentioned.

In the end, neither of them took his bait.

Song had no choice but to smooth things over.

"I told him, I told him. Just leave it for the adults to handle, don’t you two worry. Besides, I’ve dealt with Li Yipeng’s mother before. That woman is just... well, anyway, she’ll say anything when she gets emotional. If Qiumian’s father hadn’t been away these past few days, I wouldn’t have even told her, just to spare her the bad mood."

But as Song said this, Zhang Shutong saw him give a quick wink in the rearview mirror.

Zhang Shutong suddenly realized that the "real business" Song had mentioned probably wasn’t just taking Gu Qiuyan home. There might be something else to it, so he kept his mouth shut and didn’t ask any more questions.

Song then said with a laugh, "Since we’re out of school, you should cheer up. Have some fun this weekend. As your teacher, I’m officially giving you two the week off from homework."

With that, he turned on the radio, just as a song began to play.

Zhang Shutong had nothing more to say. He stared out the window. Throngs of people were milling about outside, and the car’s soundproofing wasn’t great, yet it still felt strangely isolated from the world outside.

The warm air from the heater was making him drowsy, and the heat carried a faint, sweet scent. A scent that couldn’t have come from Song’s car, of course. It had to be from Gu Qiuyan.

Zhang Shutong couldn’t tell if the scent was coming from her clothes, her hair, or somewhere else. He was hopeless with fragrances—perfume smelled nice, laundry detergent smelled nice, and so did body wash. To him, it was all just "nice."

It was only now that he realized how close he was to Gu Qiuyan. They had been deskmates for two days, but he’d never felt this sense of proximity. Perhaps the cramped space of the car amplified it.

The little red Fox drove slowly down the road, the trees and pedestrians on either side receding behind them.

The area for miles around the school gate was a sea of people. Song Nanshan was clearly an expert driver, downshifting and upshifting, easing off and hitting the gas. He had a short temper and would honk the horn from time to time. In his hands, the car was like a greased fish, weaving through the dense crowds.

The high-pitched whine of the naturally aspirated engine wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it wasn’t awful, either.

Silence fell over the car. They had plenty to talk about outside, but now that they were inside, they were at a loss for words.

The faint, intermingling scents of smoke and perfume wafted through the air. The old song drifting from the speakers was probably "Elopement" by Zheng Jun:

I’ll leave my love for the truest girl at my side;

You sing with me, you roam with me, ’til we’re both black and blue;

All this time, and only now do I suddenly understand;

What I’ve always dreamed of is true love and freedom;

I want to elope with you...

Song’s fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel as he hummed along to the melody, looking for all the world like he was about to drive his little car off to elope with his beloved. He was completely lost in the moment, not caring whether the other two were willing participants or not.

’This song is so not right for the situation. Isn’t almost any song better than one about eloping? Aren’t we just taking Gu Qiuyan home? How did this turn into an elopement? Besides, eloping is for two people, but there are three of us crammed into this tiny car. What a weird setup:’

The adult sat in the driver’s seat, the girl in the passenger seat, and the boy was scrunched up sideways in the back, all because his legs were too long.

Today was Friday, December 7th. Zhang Shutong had checked the calendar many times; he was certain he wasn’t mistaken. Three days from now, on Monday, the girl named Gu Qiuyan would disappear. Her body would be found in a body of water known as the "Forbidden Zone." What happened to her that weekend is now lost to history.

But right now, the girl was sitting right in front of him. She alternated between looking out the window and glancing at the radio. The car’s speakers crackled with static, and whenever Zheng Jun roared out the lyrics, "...elope with you!", she would bear the full force of it and wrinkle her brow.

The weather was frigid. Even with the windows rolled up, it was so cold the tips of her ears were red.