How could such a coincidence happen?
For a moment, Zhang Shutong's scalp tingled.
He looked at Gu Qiumian again. The girl had already walked away quickly without saying a word.
There was no excitement as he had imagined, or rather, no questioning. There was only a thermos left on the ground.
Zhang Shutong sighed and pulled his head back.
"Did someone hear us?" Li Yipeng asked vigilantly. He still didn't understand the situation and wanted to look outside.
"It's fine," Zhang Shutong stopped him and quickly gave him a few instructions. "...We'll talk during the extended break. I'll come find you. I'm leaving now."
"Oh, oh..."
After saying that, he no longer paid attention to the other person's reaction. He turned and left the stairwell. After a few steps, Zhang Shutong bent down and picked up the cup on the ground.
It was a beautiful red thermos. The metal bottom now had a small dent.
One action can affect the whole situation.
Zhang Shutong once again deeply understood the meaning of this sentence.
He was trying to save people but ended up putting himself in trouble first... He didn't know what to say, he only knew that he had to clarify this misunderstanding quickly. Otherwise, how could he catch the culprit while being called the "culprit"? He himself found it ridiculous.
Although whether Gu Qiumian would believe him was another matter entirely.
Of course, even if she didn't believe his one-sided story, Zhang Shutong had other methods. The recording of Li Yipeng on his phone, Teacher Song's credit endorsement, the conversation with the Huyu restaurant owner... Several pieces of evidence put together could at least provide a lot of conclusive logical chains to clarify his suspicion.
Zhang Shutong was good at solving things with logic. As he walked toward the classroom, he deduced Gu Qiumian's possible reactions.
Disbelief, half-belief, and the misunderstanding being resolved.
There were roughly these three. The first would almost never happen. The middle attitude was fine. As long as it didn't affect his future actions, it was enough.
Then there was Gu Qiumian's whereabouts.
The classroom, which was a bit of a headache. The class bell was about to ring, which meant he might have to pass her a note to resolve it.
The office, the most ideal location. With Teacher Song as a witness, he could explain everything clearly in a few sentences.
That was about it.
The only variable was that he had never told Gu Qiumian about these plans he had made for her before. Most of the time, he would just give a simple explanation after the dust had settled.
During the building block incident, he felt there was no need to explain.
But during the arson case, Teacher Song told him about the situation at the girl's house. Their thoughts overlapped to some extent. The main reason he concealed it was that he didn't want her to worry about it anymore;
But for Zhang Shutong, the main reason was that it didn't matter much whether she knew or not, so it was better to just keep quiet, and everyone would be happier.
But now, that wouldn't work.
Zhang Shutong suddenly missed the Gu Qiumian from before. He had taken her out for a whole day. Thinking about it now, it was actually quite suspicious, but she never asked him about it.
He thought that she wouldn't waste her energy on such a foolish misunderstanding.
But it was still the same phrase, "that wouldn't work now."
Many things on this timeline always managed to catch him off guard at just the right time. He had thought that after the Rewind, things would be easier, but what awaited him was double the headache.
But between continuing the "I'm the mastermind behind the revenge on Gu Qiumian" act and proactively telling her some of the truth, Zhang Shutong would definitely choose the latter without hesitation.
He always chose the most efficient method.
He had already walked to Class 1 while thinking. Zhang Shutong looked at the back door of the classroom. There was no one in her seat.
He then went to the office door, but there was still no one.
So where did she go?
Zhang Shutong almost reflexively had the answer—
The library.
But when he thought of this, he looked out the window. Snowflakes were flying everywhere. "Is she really outside? She just went out in the snow? But isn't she not supposed to catch a cold today?"
But then Zhang Shutong stopped doubting and became certain, because he really saw a small figure on the field, and she had even forgotten to wear her scarf.
"What's going on?" Qingyi suddenly appeared from behind.
"Can you cover for me? I have something to do this class."
"Did you make Gu Qiumian angry again?"
Zhang Shutong didn't have time to ask how he knew:
"It was a complete accident."
He just left a sentence and quickly went down the stairs.
One step, two steps, five steps, six steps... When he reached the main hall of the classroom building, before he even stepped outside, the temperature around him suddenly dropped.
He subconsciously tightened his coat. As soon as he went out, a gust of cold wind suddenly hit his face.
Zhang Shutong wiped the snowflakes from his forehead and quickened his pace.
The weather was really cold. He had to breathe lightly, or he would feel a sense of suffocation from the lack of oxygen. It was so cold that he wanted to put his hands in his pockets. At this time, he realized that he had been holding the red thermos all along. Zhang Shutong was a little helpless. He should have just given it to Qingyi. Now he couldn't even put his hands in his pockets because the cup wouldn't fit.
However, by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
Just like if he had known that Gu Qiumian would hear him, he would have definitely taken Li Yipeng to the rooftop. But who could have predicted that she would happen to be there to get water? He understood that regret was the most useless thing, but when he plunged into the flying snow, he still felt a little annoyed.
Zhang Shutong started running. He had long legs and quickly caught up with a series of footprints ahead. The footprints led all the way to the library door. He followed the footprints and went inside, not even bothering to wipe the snowflakes from his hair. He subconsciously gasped for air. The white vapor from his mouth disappeared.
This library was truly worthy of being donated by the young miss's family. Although it wasn't very big, every bookshelf was made of dark brown solid wood, and every table had a carefully tended potted plant. The lush branches of the pothos extended out, as if creating a small spring in the cold, snowy weather.
The lights were off inside, but even though not many people came here all year round, and there wasn't even a teacher on duty now, the library still had heating on 24/7.
The heating didn't come from a radiator. It was from an air conditioner, an old, powerful cabinet unit that was humming. The hot air it generated blew all the way to Zhang Shutong's eyelashes. The remaining snowmelt on them became even colder, making him blink hard.
Gu Qiumian was sitting at a table near the entrance.
Her head was buried in her arms, her back to him.
Zhang Shutong pulled out a chair and sat opposite her. He said, "I have something to say."
As he spoke, he had already taken out his phone, unlocked the screen, and was about to press the play button on the voice recorder, but he saw that Gu Qiumian didn't even lift her head.
This was his usual procedure for catching culprits. He was too lazy to talk nonsense and would just throw out the evidence. If one wasn't enough, he would use another until the other person surrendered;
But this tactic didn't work on Gu Qiumian. It made him belatedly realize that Gu Qiumian was not a culprit, and reality was not "Detective Conan."
This made him stop. Zhang Shutong saw the snowmelt on Gu Qiumian's hair. She didn't even bother to wipe it. The water droplets trickled down her hair and collected on the table.
He cursed himself for being too impatient. He should have apologized first. In the end, it was because of his mistake that the two of them weren't in class. It was because of him that they were crossing the snowy campus on a cold day. He really didn't want to see this situation, but in fact, he was the one who caused it.
"I'm sorry," Zhang Shutong said, trying to gauge her reaction.
But Gu Qiumian still didn't lift her head.
Zhang Shutong was then speechless. In the end, he couldn't figure out what the girl was thinking. When she was happy, it was fine. She would just glare at him. But now, with her head buried and not saying a word, Zhang Shutong had no idea what to do.
He then remembered that he was still holding the thermos. He pushed the cup toward Gu Qiumian's face and said, "I just took a look. There's a small dent on the bottom. Do you want me to buy you a new one?"
But this was clearly useless. Gu Qiumian's family was not short of one cup. Zhang Shutong then took out a pack of tissues from his pocket. Influenced by his mom, he was not a neat freak, but he always had a habit of carrying a pack of tissues.
Zhang Shutong asked again, "Do you want to wipe your hair first?" Gu Qiumian still ignored him. He just pushed the tissues to her hand and let her do whatever she wanted.
These were all the efforts Zhang Shutong could make. He then started talking about the serious matter, not caring whether Gu Qiumian was listening or not. He had to talk about it anyway.
He then explained, "You misunderstood. I don't have any malicious intentions toward you. The story is actually like this..." As he said this, he also sighed in his heart, feeling that he was telling a ridiculous and cold joke.
Zhang Shutong started with the commercial street, talked about her family's mall, played the recording, and finally led it to Li Yipeng, saying, "I guessed that he was the one who smashed it, but I didn't have any evidence at the time, and I was just trying to get a confession from him when you heard us..."
Okay.
As he spoke, he also realized that there was indeed a missing link, an unexplainable link—
How he connected the name on the bathroom stall to the building block castle.
He could say he was guessing, after all, only these two things happened today, and anyone would make a connection.
But what did he say at the time?
"I was the one who gave you that note, and I was the one who planned the whole revenge..."
This was very strange. Unless you were a witness, you couldn't make up something like a note.
It was impossible for Gu Qiumian to believe him completely. The best outcome would be that she was half-believing and half-doubting.
He was prepared for the worst and patiently waited for Gu Qiumian's reaction. At least all his words weren't in vain. Gu Qiumian finally revealed her eyes.
Zhang Shutong thought she had something to say, so he waited for her to ask. But she didn't say anything. She just stared at him with her eyes. He used to think that Gu Qiumian had a pair of beautiful and spirited eyes, but now the spirit was gone. Even the beauty was not as much as before, because her eyes were now red and puffy.
The two pairs of eyes stared at each other in silence. The hot air from the air conditioner blew on their faces. The old cabinet unit even had a swing function.
From the corner of his eye, Zhang Shutong noticed that the wind would sometimes blow on his face, sometimes mess up Gu Qiumian's hair, and sometimes make the branches of the pothos in the middle of the table sway.
The world was silent.
He couldn't help but break the silence. He asked, "Did you not understand something? I can explain it again." Or, "Is there any part that you're confused about? I'll try my best to answer." Or, "If you still don't trust me... you can go find our homeroom teacher. He can vouch for a lot of things."
But Gu Qiumian didn't say whether she understood or not. She was silent for a moment and just stared into his eyes, as if all the answers were hidden there:
"You're not lying to me?"
She finally spoke. Zhang Shutong subconsciously nodded, and then he wondered if his explanation was all for nothing. This was no longer a question of whether she understood or not. Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked such a strange question.
"Then look at me in the eye and answer," she said with a slightly nasal voice.
Zhang Shutong could only look into her beautiful and spirited eyes and repeat it again.
Was this some kind of children's game? Shouldn't it be about evidence and logic? When did it become about looking into someone's eyes?
Gu Qiumian was silent again. Zhang Shutong blinked. He felt that it would be easier if she just threw a tantrum. Being angry was easier than this. For example, during the Li Yipeng incident, he just told her a dirty joke, and she left the classroom with a cold face and went straight to Song Nanshan. The other person was then taken away in the next class;
But with him, she came to the library alone in the snow and was just staring at him with red eyes.
"Then I'll believe you," she said coldly again.
Zhang Shutong was also stunned. "That's not right. How can it be this simple?"
Shouldn't it be a process of her pointing out the flaws and him filling them in? A brain-burning process where they would both be parched and exhausted, and then shake hands and let bygones be bygones?
And "letting bygones be bygones" was already the most optimistic outcome. He originally thought that "half-believing and half-doubting" was a good result.
But Gu Qiumian just believed him.
"You just believe me like that?" he asked in disbelief.
"Why not?" Gu Qiumian now had the energy to roll her eyes.
Zhang Shutong suddenly felt that some familiar feelings had returned. He then heard Gu Qiumian say softly:
"I was also a bit emotional just now. I didn't even ask for an explanation and just blamed you..."
Zhang Shutong shook his head and said, "It's fine. It's my fault, not yours."
She was indeed an emotional girl. Her emotions came and went quickly. No matter how cold or nonchalant she was toward others, she was always like this with him.
Zhang Shutong remembered the scarf incident back then. She was also very emotional, but then she was fine again.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief. He took a tissue and wiped the snow from his hair. He then said, "Don't worry about it. Just watch me catch everyone." But he didn't expect Gu Qiumian to sniffle, and her eyes became a little teary again.
Zhang Shutong didn't know why she was crying again. He sat opposite her helplessly, not knowing what he had said wrong.
"My stomach hurts so much..." Gu Qiumian lay back down on the desk. Her thick eyelashes overlapped in frustration.
At this moment, even Zhang Shutong, who was so slow, knew what to do. He was glad that he had brought the thermos and that the library had a water dispenser.
A moment later, in a cloud of white steam, the two of them sat opposite each other without saying a word again.
Gu Qiumian was drinking water with her eyes lowered. Zhang Shutong was looking at her. He really wanted to say, "Next time, don't be so emotional. Even if I really did it, couldn't you have just told the teacher to deal with me? Why do you have to make yourself suffer?"
He still felt a bit apologetic, so he asked her, "How about after this is all over, I treat you to dinner this weekend?"
"What are we eating?"
"Hmm... Chinese or Western food? Which one do you like?"
"Whatever," she muttered. "You can't afford what I like anyway."
Zhang Shutong thought helplessly that this was probably true.
He thought that 200 yuan for a meal was already a feast. He would even have to use his saved New Year's money for it. Zhang Shutong then thought about what Gu Qiumian liked to eat. Of course, it had to be something other than sweet and sour pork rice bowls.
Unfortunately, he only remembered pizza.
Just as Zhang Shutong was about to ask, Gu Qiumian turned her face away. "Never mind. I'll treat you. You help me find out who did it, and I'll treat you to dinner. It just so happens that..."
Zhang Shutong knew what she was going to say next:
"I just don't like to owe people favors."
"Then I need you to cooperate with me."
"Cooperate with what?"
Zhang Shutong told her his plan. He had not intended to do this, but with this unexpected turn of events, if Gu Qiumian could get involved, things would be much easier.
After listening for a while, she finally burst into a smile:
"You're so bad."
Zhang Shutong felt that the two of them really had the potential to do mischievous things together.
It was time to go back to class. Unconsciously, twenty minutes had already passed, which meant that half of the class was over.
The pothos branches were no longer swaying. They turned off the air conditioner and left.
As they walked out of the warm room, the flying snow obscured their vision. On the way back, Zhang Shutong took off his coat and gave it to her. Gu Qiumian refused and told him to wear it. He said, "Just wear it. You'll be in more pain later if you don't."
Snowflakes lightly fell on their shoulders.
Two sets of footprints were left in the white campus.
On this timeline, with an unexpected misunderstanding, the two of them had suddenly become close.