Things weren't much better for Meng Qingyi. He was with Ruoping, buying ice cream.
Why would they eat ice cream on such a cold day? That was a question no man could answer.
"Where are we going to go next?" Ruoping asked, licking her ice cream.
"Don't ask me. My opinion doesn't matter anyway. In the end, we'll still listen to you."
"I wish you would just listen to me." Ruoping said in dissatisfaction. "You're just waiting for a message from Shutong. As soon as he sends one, you'll definitely run off."
"It's a matter of life and death." Meng Qingyi held the back of his head. "I think the most important thing is to find that person quickly."
"What were you two just talking about? Do you have a clue already? Don't be so mysterious."
"Not yet. Think about it. It's six minus one. Who knows who that one person is? Now we can only define a scope. At the very least, they're someone from the commercial street."
"So are we going to the commercial street?"
"We'll wait for his message."
"Do you feel like Shutong has become strange recently?"
"Ah, a little." The boy answered lazily. "But a man's growth happens overnight..."
Before he could finish, Ruoping stepped on his foot. "Be serious."
"What do you want to ask? About his relationship with Gu Qiumian?"
Ruoping pursed her lips and didn't say a word.
"I think it's okay. He doesn't seem to like Gu Qiumian that much. Don't be jealous."
"Who's jealous? It's just a little..."
Ruoping thought for a long time and finally looked a little dejected: "It's just that I feel like our relationship was the best, but now someone has a new crush. Did you know I have a cousin who I used to have a very good relationship with? She used to go to our middle school. She's seven or eight years older than me. When I was a kid, I often followed her around. She was wilder than any boy. Later, she got a boyfriend. One time, when she took me to the city to play, my cousin still treated me the same way, and her boyfriend was also very nice, but... but I just couldn't find that feeling from before."
"Are you worried?"
"Something like that." Ruoping muttered. She wanted to kick a small rock, but they were inside the mall, and there were no rocks for her to kick. Even the ice cream in her hand had melted.
Meng Qingyi also stopped talking about men and said seriously: "You're too involved to see clearly, or maybe you girls just don't understand boys... Sshh, don't touch my hair. I'm giving you a serious example. Have you ever played a computer game? It doesn't matter if you haven't. I'll make up a plot for you. You're a hero sent by the king to rescue a princess who was kidnapped by a dragon. You put on your best equipment and set off. You killed monsters all the way, and in the end, you chopped off the dragon's head. Isn't that very similar to what we're doing now?"
"Oh, so according to you, we're the companions the hero met on his journey. He defeated the dragon, and now we're useless. Are we also going to celebrate the hero for finally getting the princess?" Ruoping looked at him sideways, feeling a little sour.
"Wrong. What I really want to say is next," Qingyi shook his head. "On the surface, this is a game about a hero saving a princess, but if you think about it, the hero has been killing monsters all the way. Is he enjoying the fun of killing monsters to level up, or is he enjoying saving the princess herself?"
"Are you saying Shutong is that hero, and Gu Qiumian is that princess?" Ruoping was stunned.
"Something like that. Shutong gives me the feeling that he's here with a mission and has to complete a certain task, and the person at the center of the event just happens to be Gu Qiumian." Qingyi analyzed. "My example isn't even very accurate, because this isn't a game about killing monsters and leveling up. Do you think Shutong really enjoys solving cases every day?"
"I guess not..."
"Exactly. That's why his expression in the end is so awkward. Actually, you and I are not the same. I can treat catching the murderer and solving cases as a hobby, but he doesn't. He doesn't like Gu Qiumian as a person, and he's not very interested in solving cases. He's here to complete a mission. Let me give you another example. If the story of him and Gu Qiumian is a hero saving a beauty..."
"Why are you guys so narcissistic?" Ruoping couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't interrupt me. Just pretend this is the story. What should the hero do after saving the beauty? Shouldn't his relationship with the beauty progress further? Today, he caught the murderer, and tomorrow, it's a date... Let's just follow this script. But what do you think Shutong wants to do the next day?"
"Sleep soundly. Then he'll get up without even washing his face and go fishing. He's always like that." Ruoping laughed out loud.
"But he didn't even fish that day." Qingyi said out of the blue.
"...Are you worried that something is wrong with him?"
"Something like that. You see, each of us has something we want. For example, right now, I want to find the murderer as soon as possible, and I'm desperately trying to figure out who that person is. Du Kang is just waiting for his birthday on Monday, and he can't even sleep well. You're desperately licking your ice cream... Don't poke my waist. My point is, at least during this period, I haven't figured out what Shutong wants."
"Then what should we do?" Ruoping also started to worry.
"Who knows?" Qingyi shrugged his shoulders: "He's in front of that dragon right now. Behind the dragon is the princess. He has no other thoughts besides defeating that dragon. He probably doesn't have time to think about anything else. You told me not to use a man's analogy, but I really feel that every man will encounter a dragon that needs to be defeated. Before you defeat this dragon, you don't even know why you have to defeat it. Because the dragon is blocking your way, and someone just gave you a sword. It roars at you, and you strike at it with your sword, fighting to the death. If you lose, you lose. If you win, you might be able to overcome a hurdle. You might not know what you want, but at least you'll have the leisure to think about it."
Ruoping was silent for a while: "So we have to help him?"
Qingyi nodded forcefully: "So we have to help him."
At this moment, his phone buzzed. The boy who had just been a philosopher suddenly raised his eyebrows in excitement: "Oh, the message has finally arrived."
"What did he say?"
"He asked for help in placing something somewhere." He answered in a mysterious tone.
This is how chuunibyou kids are—Sometimes they're life mentors, and sometimes they're immature brats. They can always switch seamlessly.
...
"What thing?" Gu Qiumian chased him and asked from behind.
Zhang Shutong had just used the photo as a threat to get back control of the operation. The price was almost an act of mutually assured destruction with Qiu Yu Mian Mian. In the end, Zhang Shutong still deleted the photo.
Now Gu Qiumian was asking him what he was going to get, but the name of the operation for taking charge of the young lady's... what was it called again? The only downside of this operation was that the name was too long to remember. Anyway, he couldn't let Gu Qiumian know, so he habitually said in a mysterious tone: "An important prop."
"Hmph."
"What's 'hmph'?"
"Hmph hmph hmph!"
As she spoke, Miss Gu actually nodded and believed him. She followed him with a curious gaze all the way to the storage lockers next to the supermarket: "Third row, fifth one..."
He muttered to himself, following the message from Qingyi, and found a piece of paper from a crack in the lockers. He then scanned the paper under an infrared light, and a locker opened with a click.
Zhang Shutong took out a key from inside.
Gu Qiumian asked again what it was for. Zhang Shutong said it was to unlock an important vehicle.
"How important?" The young lady also became serious.
"It's actually a key to a bicycle lock."
"..."
Gu Qiumian realized she had been fooled. She gnashed her teeth, and Qiu Yu Mian Mian was about to turn into a winter storm.
He had to admit, sometimes it was fun to tease her, but he couldn't go too far. Zhang Shutong explained: "I have something to do next. Do you want to drink some milk tea?"
"Milk tea? Where is it?"
"On the commercial street."
"Did you buy the hat and mask for this?"
"Yeah." He handed the two items to Gu Qiumian. The only regret was that after a long search, he found that the store was not a proper accessories store. It sold mostly children's items. He escaped the Mickey Mouse hat but fell into the Strawberry Bear trap.
But he wasn't the one wearing it anyway.
"I know it might be a little..." Zhang Shutong was racking his brain for words to convince the young lady that her underling wasn't trying to stab her in the back.
But he saw Gu Qiumian say nothing and just nodded curtly: "Let's go."
She put on the mask and the hat. Her oval face was already small, and now only her bright and beautiful eyes were exposed. The Strawberry Bear on top of her head was grinning mischievously. The girl blinked. She seemed to have said nothing, but she also said everything.
Zhang Shutong was speechless.
The two of them left the mall. The sound of people immediately quieted down. The cold air hit them. He took a deep breath. The world's background color seemed to have suddenly turned grayish-black. People were walking down the street in down jackets. The bare branches of the trees on the side of the road, the plastic bags floating in the streets... On such a cold day, wearing a mask and a hat was not very noticeable.
Zhang Shutong had chosen a cloth mask. He asked Gu Qiumian if she wanted to eat anything. Gu Qiumian shook her head. He then asked if she wanted to buy a balloon, and she glared at him with her exposed eyes.
Based on Qingyi's hint, he found his bicycle at the entrance of the mall—Zhang Shutong's own was at school, and there was a box on the back, so he couldn't take a girl with him. So he had to borrow his best friend's for a while.
The Operation of the Goddess of Fate in Charge of Miss Gu's Future—he finally remembered—had an impressive name, but the props that matched it were very shabby. He wasn't asking for a sports car, but at least a motorcycle. But now, all they had was a bicycle.
As expected, Gu Qiumian was a little reluctant and kept dawdling on the side. She had grown up in an executive sedan and had never even seen the manual seats in Teacher Song's Focus. Now she was truly being put through the wringer. A proper young lady could only sit on the back of a bicycle, and it would probably hurt her butt.
Zhang Shutong then said, "Don't complain. We don't have a choice right now. Besides, I can't drive."
Gu Qiumian glared at him again—ever since she put on the mask, she seemed to prefer to communicate only with her eyes. As her underling, he didn't have a choice either.
"Then what should we do?" Zhang Shutong asked in confusion. "Do you want to walk?"
She glared again, but this time she finally gave him a hint. She tugged at the hem of her green dress.
Only then did Zhang Shutong understand. She wasn't complaining about the bicycle; it was just that it was hard to get on while wearing a dress.
But that was easy to solve.
Zhang Shutong had already gotten on the bike and patted the back seat: "You can sit sideways."
But she was still a little hesitant. Zhang Shutong suggested, "Or I can ride slowly and wait for you." The girl then made a certain decision. She glared at him, as if she couldn't stand his incompetence, and got on the bike sideways. Then, Zhang Shutong seemed to understand what she had been debating—
A pair of somewhat stiff arms gently wrapped around his waist, making Zhang Shutong's body also stiffen. He figured that if she sat straight, she could hold onto the bike frame or the clothes on his sides to keep from falling. But sitting sideways, none of these methods worked. She could only wrap her arms around his waist.
Only then did Zhang Shutong understand what she meant. Why hadn't she just said it earlier?
He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he closed it. Some things might be wrong to say out loud.
This was the city in winter. They were on a small island. The roads under the wheels were not uniform. Some were newly paved asphalt roads, and some were concrete roads laid a long time ago, already with cracks. The two roads were connected, forming a trace of time. The bicycle would inevitably bump.
The time was 11 a.m. sharp. His phone's battery was still at 30%. Fresh cold air rushed into his nasal cavity. The view ahead was wide, and there were few people on both sides.
He took a small shortcut and could see the scenery by the lake. The lake was a clear blue today, similar to the color of the sky. The reeds grew tenaciously. Occasionally, he would see some unmelted snow. The lake wind carried a faint fishy smell. In the quiet moments, a girl with a Strawberry Bear hat was sitting behind him.
Zhang Shutong only knew the name of that bear. He didn't even know if it was from a movie or a cartoon, but for some reason, he felt that it matched Gu Qiumian's personality.
The arms around his waist slowly became softer. Zhang Shutong then asked her if there was any place she wanted to go on the commercial street. Although it might not happen, at least he would have a direction.
Who knew she would bring out that Talking Tom Cat again? No matter what Zhang Shutong said, what he heard in the end was his own voice.
Zhang Shutong was speechless at first. He had heard of "unleash the hounds," but he had never heard of "unleash the cat" in a car. But later, he got used to it and started talking to himself. He introduced the areas on the small island that he and his best friends had divided in the past: where the temple was, where their base was, where the restricted area was... All were very boring and meaningless things, but when played back by Talking Tom Cat, they took on a new and interesting color.
Soon, the two of them rode to the commercial street. He locked the bike and took out his phone to send a message to Du Kang, feeling that the ride had been very fast.
There were a few more people on the commercial street. Many boys and girls were wandering around holding hands.
Gu Qiumian finally spoke once and asked, "What's next?" Zhang Shutong told her to just play with her Talking Tom Cat, and she glared at him again. He then explained that she should just relax and let him handle everything.
So she didn't ask again, and Zhang Shutong didn't answer. He accompanied Gu Qiumian into the commercial street. They were not an unusual combination. Zhang Shutong was already prepared to carry her things.
But Ruoping was wrong about one thing. His mission today was much more difficult than they thought. He not only had the mission of accompanying her but also of investigating. Today was Saturday, and the students were all off school. The so-called "murderer" was still like a needle in a haystack. But as he had said to Qingyi before, it was impossible to speculate on his motive. He could only use the process of elimination.
There were no reliable clues. He had once thought about asking Teacher Song to ask Gu's father if he had any enemies on the island in the past, but then he thought that if he had a clue, he would have already arranged for the police to investigate.
Zhang Shutong specifically chose shops with fewer people. He looked at them one by one, sometimes going inside with Gu Qiumian, but he didn't get much.
In the original timeline, the girl's disappearance could be divided into three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. However, many things had been changed now, and it was useless to refer to the previous information.
So he was going to make a bold assumption: Guilty until proven innocent—assuming the murderer would definitely act today. The opportunity on Friday had been missed, and Gu's family would return on Sunday. Although the murderer might not know this, if you put yourself in his shoes, the arsonists had already been caught, and Gu's father would definitely react. His family might arrive tomorrow or the day after, or even rush back tonight. So, for an unpredictable future, the only thing to do was to act today. And the earlier, the better.
If he was going to act, he couldn't just stay in his shop. Not to mention the preparations before the act, he at least needed to know where Gu Qiumian herself was. He couldn't go all the way to her villa only to find that she wasn't there.
Zhang Shutong didn't think the other person was that stupid. Of course, if they were, there was nothing he could do—because Du Kang had gone there. So the focus of Zhang Shutong's attention was on the shops without men.
Most of the shops on this street were run by couples, but there were also some run by one person, such as the clothing store. So if he could find a shop that had fewer people than usual, he could narrow down the scope.
This direction was good in theory, but difficult to implement. As a person who had just returned from the future, he couldn't even distinguish his classmates, let alone the merchants on the commercial street.
—But there was one person who could.
Among the four of them, there was one chatty girl who always liked to come here to shop, and she knew it like the back of her hand. Even the news of the commercial street being demolished was first learned from her.
The purpose of this operation was that everyone could use their strengths, and no one could be replaced.
So Zhang Shutong typed to Ruoping, asking for urgent help and for the hero to come quickly.
The hero was summoned.
"Talk." She replied in a voice message, a bit angry, but she never acted childishly when it came to serious matters.
Zhang Shutong then took pictures of each shop and sent them to her. He would tell her who was in the shop and what the general situation was, and the girl could answer with a little thought. Of course, even if she couldn't answer, Ruoping had her own little friends—she had a wide circle of friends, and she would get a reply if she asked a few questions.
The two of them continued to check the shops one by one, asking and answering. When they got to the middle of the street, they finally found a small shop that fit the criteria. It was a milk tea shop with a long line. He remembered that not long ago, they had come here to eat, and Ruoping had bought them pearl milk tea.
Zhang Shutong put away his phone and glanced at the "A Cup of Tea" milk tea shop. He had taken a lot of pictures with his phone, and the battery had already dropped below 30%.
He then typed to Qingyi: "What was the name of that plan you mentioned? I forgot again."
"The Operation of the Goddess of Fate in Charge of Miss Gu's Future." The other person replied immediately.
"Alright. Just giving you guys a heads-up." Zhang Shutong used one hand to type out the last two lines: "Get ready."
"The Operation of the Goddess of Fate in Charge of Miss Gu's Future, may have to move to the second stage."