Winter Time Rendering

"It’s just a possibility, and the worst-case one at that." Zhang Shutong glanced at him as he spoke.

Veins suddenly bulged on Song’s face:

"Fuck! What are we waiting for? Let’s go! It’s just Qiumian and her nanny at home, right? Who knows what those bastards are capable of!"

"The police will go over."

"Why would you believe them? They said on the phone they’d patrol tonight, but who the fuck knows how late ’tonight’ is! By the time they get there, it’ll be too late..."

"What I mean is, I’ve already called the police."

Zhang Shutong said suddenly.

Song Nanshan froze, and the hand that was already gripping the steering wheel dropped back down.

"What did you just say, kid?" He suspected he was hearing things.

"I said, Teacher Song, I’ve already called the police." Zhang Shutong glanced at his phone again and said calmly, "And they’ve already arrived."

Song Nanshan’s mouth fell open, a million questions flashing through his mind.

’You knew all along?’

’Then why didn’t you say anything?’

’And when did you call the police?’

He was so overwhelmed with questions that he couldn’t think straight. Caught on an emotional rollercoaster, he could only follow his gut and stammer:

"When did you figure it out?"

"Just now."

"Then how did you call the police..."

"Let’s drive first."

At the reminder, Song Nanshan finally remembered to press the clutch. Even so, he nearly stalled the small car, which lurched forward once before finally moving smoothly.

Zhang Shutong fastened his seatbelt and adjusted the air conditioning before slowly beginning to answer Song Nanshan’s questions:

"They had two plans, it’s true. But I had three.

"Plan one was bringing you, Teacher Song, to the commercial street to find the van. After all, even I didn’t realize it was a diversion at first."

"If you didn’t realize, then how did you know to call the police?" Song asked, completely baffled.

"That was plan two. Since they poisoned the dog, even if no one found it tonight, it would definitely be discovered by morning. So I couldn’t rule out the possibility of them making a move tonight. That was a gamble I wasn’t willing to take."

"Nice one!"

Song Nanshan excitedly slammed a fist on the steering wheel and finally let out a breath of relief. Without asking why Zhang Shutong had kept it from him, he asked impatiently:

"Then what’s plan three?"

But Zhang Shutong acted as if he hadn’t heard the question. He just turned his head to the side, watching the scenery fly by outside the window in silence.

The young woman who had sat here a few hours ago had been just as silent. Now, it was Zhang Shutong’s turn.

But since Zhang Shutong didn’t speak, Song Nanshan wasn’t in the mood to ask again. All he wanted now was to rush back to Gu Qiuyan’s house. He wouldn’t be able to relax until he saw with his own eyes that things were okay, regardless of whether the police had arrived.

They sped the whole way, even faster than when they came.

By the time the car finally turned onto the road in front of the villa, they could already see the red and blue flash of police lights.

Song Nanshan slammed the car door and hurried out, only to find that all three of the island’s remaining police officers were there.

It looked quite lively from a distance. Song Nanshan didn’t know whether to be angry or relieved. He blinked hard, wondering if the cold was making him see things. Only then did he remember to ask Zhang Shutong:

"Wait, didn’t they say they were short-staffed? How did you get all of them to come over?"

"I caught two poachers the day before yesterday and got the chief’s phone number."

Zhang Shutong waved his phone.

"Then I told him someone was going to burn down Gu Qiuyan’s house, so I guess he took me pretty seriously."

The chief he was talking about was none other than the heavily accented Officer Xiong.

But even with the goodwill he’d built up, getting the chief to take him seriously wouldn’t have been so simple.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, so Zhang Shutong simply chose to file a false report.

Unlike Song Nanshan, who had just stated the facts, he directly told Officer Xiong that someone was carrying gasoline and about to burn down the Gu family’s villa.

The reason the police believed him immediately was because right after he came home, on his first day after school, he’d gone to the police station and hinted at it.

But at the time, they just thought it was bait—a feint—so they didn’t believe him.

But then, the "electro-fishers" Du Kang had mentioned were actually caught.

As a result, his credibility skyrocketed.

Regardless of the final outcome, Zhang Shutong chose to spend that hard-earned credibility here.

"When did you call the police? The timing doesn’t add up," Song asked again.

"Before we left the villa."

Zhang Shutong showed him his QQ chat history:

"Of course, to be precise, I wasn’t the one who called the police. Du Kang made the call for me."

"No wonder I kept seeing you glance at your phone. I thought you were just worried we were running out of time."

It all clicked for Song Nanshan. A look of sudden relief washed over him, and he grinned, clapping Zhang Shutong on the shoulder.

"Nice work, kid. You really did think of everything. Your excuse was a bit weak, though. When the cops get here and see there’s no gasoline, they’ll think you played them. But when that happens, just tell them I told you to say it. I’ll take the blame."

But Zhang Shutong just frowned and said nothing.

Because...

He could actually smell the faint scent of gasoline.

Meanwhile, a police officer on the other side saw the car and trotted over through the rain.

"Are you Teacher Song Nanshan?"

"That’s me. I’m the one who called you guys before, but this time it was all thanks to this good student of mine."

Song Nanshan smiled and gave Zhang Shutong’s shoulder a gentle push.

The officer, however, saluted Song with an apologetic look on his face.

"Teacher Song, I’m sorry. When you reported it to the station earlier, we didn’t take it seriously enough. It nearly led to disaster..."

"It’s fine, it’s fine. You came in the end, that’s what matters."

Song was magnanimous about it.

"But, Officer... judging by what you’re saying, does that mean you actually caught them?"

"All five assailants have been subdued." A faint smile appeared on the officer’s face as well.