Winter Time Rendering

Zhang Shutong immediately surrendered:

"I’ll call her for you... Anything else?"

"Nope. Buy me milk tea at lunch." Ruoping waved her hand cheerfully and left.

’Didn’t she just say she was treating me to milk tea? Why did it turn into me treating her?’

Zhang Shutong pondered this, feeling that she’d had ulterior motives from the moment she mentioned the words "milk tea."

But a treat was a treat. He didn’t really care. It was just some friendly fun, so he let it go.

That was just the kind of person Ruoping was. Just wanting milk tea was too boring, and simply having you treat her wasn’t enough. She had to set a trap and swindle you into it to feel a sense of accomplishment.

But Zhang Shutong wasn’t Du Kang. Threatening Du Kang with Lu Qinglian could actually subdue the guy—forget milk tea, he’d probably drag over a whole cow. For Shutong, however, it was just teasing. As the saying goes, he who is without desire is strong, and that perfectly described Zhang Shutong’s state of mind.

He returned to his seat. Before calling out to Lu Qinglian, he picked up his previous train of thought and was about to ask Gu Qiuyan what she and Ruoping had just talked about. But the moment he opened his mouth, he found the girl was giving him the cold shoulder.

’Looks like the "traitor" hat has been firmly placed on my head again.’

The way she ignored people was actually kind of amusing. She propped her textbook against Lu Qinglian’s chairback, staring straight ahead. Her small hands were tucked into her sweater sleeves, with both sleeves pressed against her ears. Her scarf covered most of her face as she focused on her morning reading, determined to hear nothing he said.

’A conflict of loyalties? No, that’s not it. Choosing justice over a pretty face? Still not right.’

Zhang Shutong just felt like this was a repeat of the chocolate incident.

Back then, Gu Qiuyan had gotten into a fight with Ruoping over it. That afternoon, during cleaning duty, Miss Gu had stormed into the classroom with a bag of chocolates and asked him if he wanted any. Zhang Shutong had politely declined, and from that day on, he’d been on Gu Qiuyan’s bad side, earning the title of "traitor."

’In Gu Qiuyan’s eyes, she probably thinks Ruoping called me over to badmouth her a little, or maybe Ruoping told me not to talk to my deskmate, or something like that.’

’In short, heaven knows what kind of story she’s concocted in her head.’

He found girls’ social dynamics very strange. For instance, last night, Ruoping had only exchanged a few words with Lu Qinglian but was already treating her like a friend, even though their connection wasn’t that deep.

And then there was Gu Qiuyan. Was their grudge really that serious? Not really. In a guy’s eyes, it would have blown over in a few days. But the two of them were stuck in a standoff. ’Is it more about saving face?’

Zhang Shutong couldn’t figure it out. All he could say was that if it happened again, he’d emotionally lean toward Ruoping’s side. But to avoid trouble and prevent escalating the conflict like before, he would remain neutral and not offend either of them.

Just then, Miss Gu had to go out for something, maybe to the bathroom. She stood up without looking at Zhang Shutong, simply tapping the back of his chair with a stern expression.

The way they coordinated for her to get out of her seat was like a secret spy exchange. This time, Zhang Shutong understood the signal. He conscientiously moved his chair and watched her walk away.

He’d just have to wait and ask the guy himself for clues about her.

He sincerely believed that it was much easier to deal with girls who weren’t so scheming.

Like Lu Qinglian, for example.

’Such a simple girl.’

Although she could be baffling at times, being baffling meant she wouldn’t cause any headaches. With that thought, he poked the morning-reading Lu Qinglian with his pen, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief.

The girl suddenly froze. She turned around, and before she even spoke, her delicate eyebrows were already knitted together.

Her frown was usually quite intimidating. Especially after last night’s events, it subconsciously brought to mind those two explosive kicks. Looking at her now, he had the unnerving feeling of being targeted.

Zhang Shutong just couldn’t figure out how he had provoked her. ’Wasn’t provoking one of them enough? How did I get another one mad at me?’

"Don’t touch my waist," Lu Qinglian said slowly, her eyes seemingly glinting with murderous intent.

"Oh... sorry."

They say you shouldn’t casually touch a girl’s waist or feet. He really hadn’t been paying attention. In fact, he had specifically used a pen to avoid any suspicion, but he’d ended up poking her in the waist.

"What is it?" The girl’s brow relaxed, and she returned to her usual expressionless look.

"Ruoping just asked me to call you. She wanted to thank you."

Lu Qinglian nodded, and then Zhang Shutong remembered something else.

"Right, I couldn’t find the history notes. Did you see..."

"I took them from your cubby this morning."

As she said this, Lu Qinglian had already turned back around. Holding her textbook, she offered a faint explanation, her voice drifting to Zhang Shutong’s ears amid the sound of morning reading.

Zhang Shutong felt she was like an old computer that had to be shut down every day. After a reboot, the day’s cache was gone, as if last night’s events had never happened. Their relationship was back to that of ordinary classmates.

Zhang Shutong himself didn’t mind, but he figured Ruoping and the others would be baffled. They had all been chatting in the group, vowing that this was the start of a great friendship. But just as they set off on the little boat of friendship, they’d look back and see Lu Qinglian was still standing on the shore.

’In comparison, I might have been a bit quiet back in the day, but I was never like this.’

He wasn’t too concerned, though. He was just relieved he hadn’t lost her notes. That kind of thing would be hard to replace.

He turned back to find that guy, finally remembering his name was Zhou Ziheng. Back when Gu Qiuyan’s scarf got stepped on, he had stood up as the primary witness, insisting it must have been Zhang Shutong.

Zhang Shutong didn’t have strong feelings about it. He wasn’t exactly angry—it had been too long. It was such a small thing; even if they’d gotten into a fight, he wouldn’t have held a grudge for this long.

Back then, he’d mostly been frustrated. After all, he did look a little suspicious. Qingyi and Du Kang, on the other hand, had gone to settle the score with the guy.

He had no intention of settling scores with Zhou Ziheng, but the moment the guy saw him, he became visibly flustered.

"What do you want?" The boy instinctively leaned back, wary. "I haven’t done anything to you, have I?"

This left Zhang Shutong dumbfounded.

’Am I really that scary?’

He forced a smile, trying to look more approachable.

"Relax, I just wanted to ask you something. A minute ago, you and Gu Qiuyan..."

"You don’t have to intimidate me! If you keep this up, I’m telling the teacher..."

With that, the guy squeezed past him and bolted out of the room.

Zhang Shutong stood there for a long moment before asking the girl sitting at the same desk:

"Was I that scary just now?"

The girl wore glasses. She was their class president, and his impression of her was that she was a bit introverted but very dependable when it came to getting things done.

The class president stared blankly for a moment, then polished her glasses. "I thought it was okay," she said, uncertain. "Of course, I wasn’t looking that closely. Shutong, how about... you smile again?"

So, Zhang Shutong had to force another smile.

The class president stared blankly again, then said hesitantly:

"I don’t think I got a clear look..."

Just then, the girl in front of her turned around. You could see a canine tooth when she spoke, and she had a lively personality. She mercilessly exposed the class president, saying:

"Don’t listen to her. She’s doing it on purpose, just so she can see you smile a few more times..."

Without waiting to see the class president’s face immediately flush red, she shouted toward the front of the room:

"Feng Ruoping! Feng Ruoping! The class president is flirting with your Shutong! Come rescue him!"

’What do you mean, "your"?’

Ruoping just waved a hand magnanimously without even turning around, declaring in a grand voice:

"This Queen grants her permission. There is no need to report such a trivial matter to the throne. Court dismissed—"

A few other girls who were close to Ruoping also looked up. Only at times like this did they dare to heckle Zhang Shutong to his face. A mix of half-joking, half-serious comments filled the air, and a wave of giggles and laughter broke out amidst the morning reading. The target of it all, of course, was Zhang Shutong himself.

Zhang Shutong’s expression darkened. He was about to walk away when the class president suddenly asked him to stay.

"Can I ask one more thing? Was what just happened related to Gu Qiuyan?"

Before he could answer, she quickly added:

"You, and Gu Qiuyan, and Zhou Ziheng—the three of you?"

A strange glint suddenly reflected off the girl’s glasses. Zhang Shutong recognized it as the prelude to some serious gossiping. She looked like Conan, as if she’d suddenly transformed into a different person.

"Oh, right! I just saw Gu Qiuyan go out. Did Zhou Ziheng do something to upset her, and you’re here to get revenge for her?"

"...You’re overthinking it."

"Then what about during English class yesterday...?"

Zhang Shutong suddenly smiled at her. The girl froze again, and Zhang Shutong, speechless, turned and walked away.

’What is wrong with everyone? It feels like Ruoping’s infatuation is contagious.’

He frowned. He hadn’t thought anything of Zhou Ziheng before, but the guy’s guilty conscience was making him seem suspicious.

’He probably ran to the bathroom to take refuge.’ Zhang Shutong was just considering whether he should go after him to press for answers.

Just then, their dear homeroom teacher, Song Nanshan, suddenly burst into the room in a flurry.

He was the same as always, sleeves rolled up despite the cold weather. With a raised eyebrow, Song grinned and shouted:

"Zhang Shutong, Lu Qinglian, Feng Ruoping, Meng Qingyi, and Du Kang! Are you five here? Come on out, come on out! You’ve been busted! You’re all invited to the podium in a bit—"