Winter Time Rendering

But she didn’t have any friends in their class, either.

It wasn’t that this made Zhang Shutong want to help her make friends. It was just that as he recalled his interactions with her over the past few days, he realized each one had overturned his previous impression.

At first, he thought she was just an arrogant rich girl who spent money freely. Their only similarity was that they had both transferred from the provincial capital, though for some reason, she always treated him like a traitor.

Later, after he’d provoked her over the scarf incident, he saw her cold side.

Then, by a strange twist of fate, they became deskmates. She probably thought he had taken the initiative to "make up," so her attitude softened a bit.

That morning, he’d seen her father drop her off at school, telling her to be happy, and ended up hearing her nickname.

During the morning reading session, he’d witnessed how she interacted with her little clique of friends—her word was law, and they orbited her like stars around the moon.

Then her castle came crashing down. She was in a foul mood yet acted completely indifferent. She kept a straight face at the restaurant, but still helped him out of a tight spot.

Finally, a few words exchanged after school yesterday revealed her stubborn side.

And if he had to add one more thing, it would be the sight of her making a funny face at the glass, then laughing at herself.

’When she returns to the classroom and discovers that the three of us have already caught the guy, what kind of expression will she have?’

’Joy? The satisfaction of getting revenge?’

’But what if she hears there’s a mastermind behind it all?’

Zhang Shutong didn’t know. If Gu Qiuyan were a research topic, he figured he could spend a lifetime on it and still not figure her out.

Just like now. He had assumed the great Miss Gu was a girl who rarely smiled and was usually lonely, but once again, she shattered his impression.

Gu Qiuyan was walking up the stairs with the same three girls from the morning reading session, actually chatting and laughing the whole way.

She wasn’t exactly doubled over in laughter, but it was definitely a bright smile he had never seen on her before.

The girl was slightly out of breath and seemed to be feeling warm, fanning her face with one hand. She was wearing a dark sweater that made her skin look even fairer.

Gu Qiuyan’s gaze swept over and met Zhang Shutong’s eyes. Her beautiful, spirited eyes blinked instinctively, about to widen into a glare. The hallway was noisy, with countless people passing by her, yet in that instant, she was like a small deer emerging from a dark tunnel, staring at you with wide, round eyes.

Zhang Shutong blinked back.

’This doesn’t seem right.’

’Weren’t you just scrolling through your phone without a care in the world yesterday? How did your sense of humor get so cheap overnight?’

Before he could say anything, the "little secretary" by Gu Qiuyan’s side greeted him cheerfully.

"Hey, handsome, look over here, look over here... Whoa, he actually looked! Qiumian, look, his stare is so fierce!"

Zhang Shutong simply looked away. ’Fierce? I’m just wondering about the dynamic between you three.’

’This is not a place to linger.’

Since his classmates were back, he was about to go look for Song. But unexpectedly, Gu Qiuyan didn’t pretend not to see him this time and walked right over.

"Zhang... Shutong?" The girl had deliberately straightened her face, but the hint of a smile was still visible at the corners of her lips. Gu Qiuyan herself huffed and said, "What are you doing just standing there in a daze?"

Zhang Shutong didn’t know why she always called his name like that, but he could tell she was in a good mood.

"You already know?"

Zhang Shutong suspected that Du Kang had already spread the good news.

"Know what?"

"Too many people here. We can talk later."

"Hmph."

But the "little secretary" started teasing them from the side.

"What’s with the secret code between you two? You have such great chemistry! Are the three of us in the way?"

Gu Qiuyan shot her an annoyed glare. "It’s just him. He loves to act all cool and aloof, always being so secretive."

"Well, he’s only secretive with you. See? He doesn’t even talk to us..."

’That’s definitely not true.’

Zhang Shutong decided to ignore the group of girls and spoke only to Gu Qiuyan.

"It’s nothing. It’s just that yesterday, I saw you..."

"Why do you always bring that stuff up?" Gu Qiuyan wrinkled her nose, clearly not wanting her "dark history" brought up. "Who can stay mad forever? What if I get old and wrinkly?"

Zhang Shutong said he was just a little surprised. Gu Qiuyan pouted and ignored him, but after a moment’s thought, she tossed out, "Then you can just stand out here and be surprised. See ya." The cheerful girl said goodbye to her friends and turned to enter the classroom.

Zhang Shutong thought to himself, ’We’ll probably be seeing each other in the office in a few minutes. I look forward to your surprised expression then.’

It was time for him to find their head teacher. Just then, Qingyi came jogging over.

"We just about finished questioning Li Yipeng. We finally know why he still wanted revenge after all this time, and it’s actually more serious than we thought," Qingyi said, his expression grave. "It’s not just about him and Gu Qiuyan. It involves his family problems, too..."

"His family?" Zhang Shutong caught the keyword.

"Yeah, you remember, right? His family owns a shop on the commercial street..."