Zhang Shutong stood still for a moment, listened, and then continued down the stairs.
Green, a figure, and an eye. He suddenly had a bad guess just now.
There weren't many students in the hallway. Most of them were taking a nap in the classrooms. He lightened his footsteps and held his phone to his ear.
Although his mom worked overtime every day, she should be on a lunch break now, so he should be able to get through. However—
"The user you are trying to reach is busy..."
If his mom could be judged by common sense, she wouldn't be his mom.
He simply sent a text message and waited for her reply.
According to his senior, the culprit's goal was to prevent Gu's father from developing the island, but this term was actually very vague. Mr. Gu wanted to build many buildings. Who knew what it meant? To preserve the original ecology of the island? Or to stop a specific building?
It was important to note that demolishing the commercial street was also considered development.
This scope was too broad. Luckily, he had a mom who was a geologist and happened to work for the other party. He could find out which specific locations were being developed just by asking her.
He had to start preparing in advance.
Then Zhang Shutong went to the office. Teacher Song was sitting there, his face sullen and not saying a word. He would occasionally stand up and take a few steps, roll up his sleeves, put his hands on his hips, and was still thinking about who left the "die" on that A4 paper.
Zhang Shutong thought, "My dear teacher, you won't find the culprit this way. You should hurry up and eat." Speaking of which, was Teacher Song the only "victim" of the Rewind? He had been promoted eight years later and had become an elite, a gentle and handsome man. Now, he was back to being this crude man.
He ran to Teacher Song's drawer and took out a lollipop. He needed to supplement his sugar intake when he was thinking. When Teacher Song saw this, he just waved his hand, as if to say, "Eat it and get out. Don't get in my way and hinder my deduction."
Zhang Shutong sighed. He thought, "You're giving me a chance to show off." He then said calmly:
"Teacher, I know who it is."
Song Nanshan, as expected, stood up in a flash, put his hands on his shoulders, and asked urgently, "Who is it?"
As he said this, he looked around vigilantly, closed the office door, and whispered, "This is safer."
Zhang Shutong only spoke of his deduction. He said that he might have a chance during the extended break tomorrow—but he didn't mention Li Yipeng at all. He deliberately timed the parent meeting for Friday noon, so that the arsonists would act at night, and he could catch them all at once.
The situation with Zhou Ziheng was not that complicated. He would hand over the suspicion of his father to the police. On one hand, he would keep the other party under control. On the other hand, he would send that paper with the "fingerprint" to the city for inspection. The results would be back in a couple of days. He wouldn't have to deliberately go fishing and wander around with Gu Qiumian for a day like he did before.
So Zhang Shutong didn't come here just to show off. He had a more important purpose—he analyzed that smashing the castle was most likely a metaphor for their dissatisfaction with the Gu family's mall. He mentioned the commercial street conflict and played the conversation of the Huyu restaurant owner for Teacher Song. He did this for only one reason—to get the other person's attention.
"Then what should we do?" Song Nanshan asked subconsciously.
"Call Gu Qiumian's dad and tell him to come back immediately and to send more people." This was Zhang Shutong's real purpose.
Before, the bodyguards arrived on Saturday night. As for Gu's father, he would arrive on Monday. Zhang Shutong planned to move this up. Even if the real culprit wasn't caught, he didn't believe that she could still be harmed with a house full of people protecting her.
Teacher Song nodded and went to make the call. However, Gu's father's phone was also unreachable, just like his mom's.
"He's probably on a plane. He left the island right after dropping Qiumian off this morning," Song Nanshan analyzed.
"Then do it as soon as possible," Zhang Shutong nodded and told Teacher Song to keep this in mind. While the other person was still surprised and seemed to think that the matter was resolved so quickly, he yawned and left.
He then realized that he was really sleepy. He had rewound in the middle of his sleep on Saturday night and had been running around for half a day in the future. Now that he was back, the mental fatigue was impossible to eliminate. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been on the verge of a breakdown before.
Zhang Shutong planned to take a nap during this time. He returned to his seat and found that there was one more person there.
His deskmate was lying on the desk, looking ill. Her coat was under her body. One hand was supporting her cheek, and the other was scrolling on her phone.
When she saw him coming, the girl glanced at him and then looked away, not saying a word.
Zhang Shutong pulled out his chair and sat down. He actually had a few questions to ask her, but it just so happened that she wasn't feeling well and wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. And what was he going to say?
Zhang Shutong decided not to bother her. He just glanced at Gu Qiumian.
She had put her phone away at some point and was slightly tilting her head. Her two hands were placed under her cheek. One side of her face was squashed. Her thick eyelashes would blink from time to time, as if she were in a daze.
He felt that he didn't need to nag her and tell her to drink more hot water—even though Zhang Shutong knew that doing so would earn him a glare from a girl.
The curtains on the side were drawn, so he couldn't see the snow outside.
The radiator was emitting waves of heat. The lights in the classroom were off, the light was dim, and the atmosphere was quiet. Most of the people were taking a nap. Sleepiness was contagious. Zhang Shutong also lay down. He could hear the faint sound of her breathing, which covered the wind and snow outside. He closed his eyes, and his nerves relaxed little by little. He felt a sudden sense of peace.
Before, he didn't like to take a nap in the classroom. He felt a stuffiness in his chest, but now he had no choice;
Just like he used to feel unaccustomed to sleeping next to Gu Qiumian. It was the young miss's side, how could anyone snore next to her? But he didn't have the energy to make these jokes now. He just wanted to lie still for a while.
Faint wisps of fragrance wafted into his nostrils. He sniffed and felt that he was about to develop a skill: being able to tell who was next to him just by the smell.
Zhang Shutong didn't know about perfumes and wasn't sure if the scent on Gu Qiumian was perfume. He couldn't tell the difference between sandalwood, citrus, or floral scents... He was very dull when it came to smells, but if he smelled something enough, it would stick in his mind.
He closed his eyes and lay there quietly. He heard a rustling sound next to him. Zhang Shutong turned his face and saw that Gu Qiumian had also closed her eyes. She had put her wool coat on herself, with only a small part of her face showing. Zhang Shutong had seen her serene sleeping face before, in the nail salon. He subconsciously made a comparison. The current Gu Qiumian had a slight frown on her face. It seemed that her stomach was hurting a lot.
Some girls seemed to need to be well protected.
Zhang Shutong had this thought for no reason. This was something Teacher Song would say, but the other person hadn't said what to do if some things were only remembered by one person. He didn't have time for sentimentality. Instead, he forced himself to fall asleep as soon as possible so he could be energetic for the next step. So he closed his eyes.
Time slowly passed. The ticking of the clock's hands was made clear.
It wasn't until the end-of-nap bell rang that Gu Qiumian groggily opened her eyes.
A few strands of hair were stuck to her lips. The girl had low blood sugar, so she would always be in a daze for a while after waking up. She habitually yawned and slowly got up from her desk. But the cramps in her abdomen made her let out a painful hum. She covered her stomach and slowly lay down again in discomfort.
Maybe she had caught a cold. She was really not feeling well today, even during her nap.
It felt like she had a very sad dream. It was in a classroom at night. The lights were off. A black and white old movie was playing on the projector screen. The ending was a bit sad. Why would she be watching a movie in an empty classroom? It seemed there was also a person sitting next to her, but she didn't know who... She tried to turn her head to look but wasn't sure if she saw them in the end because she only remembered this after waking up.
She just subconsciously looked at the seat next to her, but it was empty.
It was just a dream.