When she was truly angry, she would not stare or get furious, but would be indifferent.
Zhang Shutong apologized first. It was hard to say who was right or wrong in this matter, but whatever, saying sorry was never wrong.
Nor could it be said that Gu Qiumian was being unreasonable. No matter what his mood was, he should have gone down to watch the movie with her. That way, everyone would be happy.
So he took the initiative to go out, ready to go downstairs with Gu Qiumian. But the girl did not move, blocking him in the doorway, and said coldly:
"I'm not calling you to watch a movie. The TV is already off, the lights are off, and Teacher Song has gone to sleep. Since you don't have time to go downstairs, is it okay for me to come to you?"
Zhang Shutong was stunned. The TV was off, so why did you come to me?
No wonder she came back after only a few minutes. It turned out that she didn't come up to find him in the middle of the movie, but used this time to arrange things downstairs.
Zhang Shutong could only speak again, saying he was sorry for spoiling her mood.
"I came to settle the score with you." She finished with a frown, then added, "It has nothing to do with the movie."
The corridor fell silent again. Zhang Shutong had no idea what she meant.
As the old saying goes, Gu Qiumian was always a girl he couldn't figure out. He had been a little overconfident lately, thinking that after being her assistant for so many days, he understood what the young lady was thinking. But in fact, he still didn't.
"Let me in first." She didn't add any more modal particles at the end of her sentence. Fortunately, she was still in the mood to stare.
Zhang Shutong then stepped aside, watching the girl walk into his room. But saying that was ambiguous; it should be that the young lady had descended upon her territory, so this was no longer Zhang Shutong's room.
The furnishings in the guest room were more complete than a hotel, with a set of table and chairs and a small sofa. Zhang Shutong sat by the bed and watched her sit properly on the sofa, tucking her hair behind her ears.
Zhang Shutong was already prepared to be scolded by her. Although he couldn't imagine how Gu Qiumian would scold people, wait, she did scold him, and it was him she was scolding.
During the scarf incident, she said:
"Disgusting!" "I hate people who do something and don't dare to admit it the most!" "Fine, since you won't admit it, don't your parents work for my dad? I'll go tell my dad!"
Things like that.
Thinking about it, it had really been a long time since he was scolded by her, at least eight years.
"Do you think I'm very easy to deceive?" That was Gu Qiumian's first sentence.
"No." Actually, you really are easy to deceive.
"Then look into my eyes."
Why is it "look into my eyes" again...
Zhang Shutong tilted his head and looked at her, feeling that it would be the same no matter how many times he looked. "I get it, your eyes are beautiful and your eyelashes are thick..." He tried to lighten the atmosphere, but Gu Qiumian said word by word:
"Are you hiding something from me?"
"Uh..."
"You suddenly ran up here while watching the movie, making a mysterious phone call. And tonight, you insisted on going for a walk in that wild area. On the way back, you were distracted, and you didn't even realize your hair was soaked," Gu Qiumian was also staring into his eyes, making Zhang Shutong subconsciously look away, but the girl did not let go. "Teacher Song kept asking me if I was scared in the car. It's related to this, isn't it?"
"This..."
You really misunderstood this.
Zhang Shutong felt a bit helpless. The reason Old Song asked you if you were scared was that I told a lie, saying you were scared by that snake and couldn't sleep.
But the atmosphere was very serious now, and he couldn't make jokes, not even as an assistant.
Gu Qiumian put on a straight face:
"It's about me, and it must be very serious, right? You've been acting strange since the evening, always studying the door of my house. I saw it long ago. How long are you going to hide it from me?"
At this time, she wasn't staring or acting spoiled, but just seriously asked him to look into her eyes.
Zhang Shutong, however, could not speak.
"I'm angry with you now!" The young lady emphasized again.
Zhang Shutong apologized again and again and again, saying that he shouldn't have acted crazy late at night, making everyone unhappy.
Who knew that when these words came out, Gu Qiumian's tone became even colder:
"Who told you it had anything to do with the movie? I didn't want to expose you, but since you won't admit it, I'll say it directly. Are you still worried that someone wants to retaliate against me and have been investigating?"
She made a shocking statement, not giving Zhang Shutong any time to react:
"Am I right?"
He could only nod.
But at the same time, he was even more confused.
Since you can guess that it's for your protection, then why are you still angry?
Do you think I'm being meddlesome?
He had just watched a Stephen Chow movie, so he quickly found a suitable adjective. Okay, thinking from her perspective, if someone came to his house and wandered around for this kind of nonsensical reason, managing this and that, Zhang Shutong wouldn't be happy either.
He simply shut up and obeyed.
Gu Qiumian finally stared:
"Do you still think you're hiding it well and that I'm easy to deceive? I'm telling you, you're an idiot! A fool! A block of wood!"
This was a little sad. How could he be scolded for doing something good?
The girl's eyelashes were trembling slightly:
"Why do you keep everything to yourself! Why do you want to shoulder everything alone! Don't you get tired, you idiot! You don't even have time to relax and watch a movie. In your eyes, am I so unbearable that you have to run around in the snow and get all soaked to protect me!"
Her beautiful eyebrows finally furrowed together:
"So I'm very angry now, so angry that my stomach hurts!"
Zhang Shutong didn't know what to say. He didn't feel as miserable as she said. Besides, he had already apologized three times. People say "never more than three times," and even he himself felt it was unnecessary.
Gu Qiumian stared closely at his chest, her chest rising and falling beneath the dressing gown.
Zhang Shutong had to admit that he had been completely fooled by Old Song's words. The man had babbled so much, but Zhang Shutong only remembered one sentence—that she was an idiot—and he remembered it very clearly, but this sentence was completely wrong. She was a young lady, but not a silly sweetheart. She was not a little girl who only knew how to wrinkle her nose and stare. She was not a technological idiot who forgot to turn off the flash when taking pictures. Nor was she just the one with red eyes in the library. She was clearly smart and proud.
"Then I'll give you one more chance now."
She wore a wine-red velvet dressing gown, with black hair and fair skin, like a beautiful and noble princess, high above, and then gave an undeniable command:
"Tell me, I need to know!"
Zhang Shutong no longer insisted. He sighed and made up a quick excuse. Since it was made up on the spot, it was of course absurd, but having something was better than nothing.
He braced himself and said that he had a dream, a dream that one night when it was raining, her dog was poisoned, and several people drove a van and stopped in front of her house, not knowing what they were going to do... As he spoke, Zhang Shutong couldn't continue. He felt his face was a little hot. Who would believe such a fake thing? He hadn't believed in dreams since he was in kindergarten.
Gu Qiumian, however, got up from the sofa and sat next to him.
She held onto the edge of the bed with both hands and asked softly:
"Just because of this?"
"Just because of this." Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "I should have gone home even in the snow." "...It's absurd, but I didn't mean to lie to you."
"I believe you." She shook her head. "Because I also had a dream... I seem to have dreamed of that place we went to tonight... I really have been there."
Zhang Shutong was stunned again.
Why would Gu Qiumian dream of the restricted area?
He used dreams to cover up his regression. So what was the reason for hers?
Zhang Shutong quickly asked her if there were any more details, but Gu Qiumian said she couldn't remember, only that it was very cold.
He felt a little regretful.
Was the restricted area a special place that would appear in Gu Qiumian's dreams?
Or could her dreams even cross time and space, dreaming of the scene when she was harmed?
Or was it just a coincidence? There were many wild areas on the island, and maybe she had a sense of déjà vu from a time she went to play there.
A series of questions came. Zhang Shutong subconsciously tried to identify their possibilities. He sat on the bed, his hands clasped tightly, propping up his chin, and stared blankly at the floor.
Gu Qiumian, however, leaned her head closer. The scent was even nearer now:
"So you're still worried about others, like that van?"
Zhang Shutong nodded. Her face, which had been cold just moments ago, suddenly hardened:
"I told you you're an idiot! You take dreams seriously and run around everywhere for a dream. Idiot!"
Zhang Shutong thought to himself that she was really difficult to please. He was an idiot for hiding it, and he was still an idiot for not hiding it. So when could he be a smart person again?
But at this moment, Zhang Shutong was not in the mood to take such words. Since he had told Gu Qiumian what he was investigating, he had to use this opportunity to get her to pay attention. So he turned his head, stared at the girl, and said solemnly:
"Even if it's a dream, don't take it lightly. Listen to me these next few days."
Gu Qiumian, however, did not say a word, just stared at his chest. Then the tips of her ears turned red bit by bit. The only thing he could hear was the breathing of the two people close by. Zhang Shutong also lowered his head. She was a head shorter than him and he found that her line of sight was aimed right at his collarbone. The distance between them was a little too close. Although it was about the same as when they were deskmates at school, they were wearing school uniforms then, not pajamas. He felt a little uncomfortable being watched and moved back a bit:
"Understand?"
"Understand what? I don't!"
Gu Qiumian stared again:
"Idiot! Block of wood!"
After she said that, she ran away quickly, almost not even putting on her slippers properly. The noble princess became a princess in distress, defeated and disarmed. The door slammed shut, and her voice came in a half-beat later from outside:
"Don't ever hide things from me again!"
It took him a while to come back to his senses. He ruffled his somewhat messy hair and let out a sigh of relief.
He had finally passed this test.
Zhang Shutong turned to look out the window. The night was dark, and the snow was still falling. The cold girl from just now melted in his eyes like a dancing snowflake. He thought to himself that Autumn Rain was still easy to deceive.
His mood suddenly lightened. He stood up.
Turn off the lights, get in bed, and go to sleep.
...
The snow was still falling, of course.
Under the pitch-black night, only one lantern was lit on the small courtyard wall.
All was silent. With a creak, the girl pushed open the courtyard gate and used her umbrella to poke the lantern, extinguishing it.
Outside the small temple named Green Snake Temple, the last bit of light also disappeared.
Darkness enveloped everything. It was vast and mysterious, highlighting the girl's frail figure.
The girl walked in the endless wind and snow. Her clothes fluttered, and her dark hair flew, sticking to her face.
Soon, snow fell on her hair and shoulders. She only glanced at the sky, frowned, and returned to the temple.
The light inside the temple was dim. Several candlesticks were burning. The temple gate was wide open, and the wind and snow poured in, making the candlelight flicker precariously because of her arrival.
The candlelight illuminated her calm eyes, like an ancient well.
Drops of water mixed with dust soaked the bluestone floor. She casually put down her umbrella, closed the temple door, and started walking again.
Three long sticks of incense were burning on the altar in front of her, and a faint white smoke drifted in the air.
She walked to the ancient statue, used her fingernail to peel off the wax seal on the snake's eyes, and looked at it.
"As expected..."
Lu Qinglian murmured to herself. Her faint and indifferent voice quickly disappeared into the dust and smoke:
"The second time."
This night was unchanging since ancient times.