"Then what time does it close?" Du Kang, being a good friend, actually played along.
"Uh..." Zhang Shutong was taken aback. In reality, he didn't know. He just thought the sentence sounded cool. "It's open until at least 8:30."
At this point, Qingyi already understood:
"So you went and bought a new scarf last night and swapped it out with Gu Qiumian's?"
After saying that, he came to a sudden realization:
"No wonder you were the last one to leave the line during the big break. You were waiting for her to leave, weren't you?"
As he spoke, he picked up the scarf on the ground and looked at it. Indeed, it wasn't the same as the one draped over the back of the chair. This one in his hand was new and even looked a little more expensive than the other one.
"Alright, you even fooled us." Du Kang punched Zhang Shutong on the shoulder, with both the excitement of witnessing the truth and a hint of a complaint about being left out. "But I'm not going to lie, what you did was a little shady. We came all this way with you."
Zhang Shutong thought that when a man does a good deed, he doesn't do it for fame, fortune, or romance. The only thing left is to look cool. He had always been like this. Otherwise, would he have come up alone and acted cool in front of this guy—by the way, what was his name again?
Of course, these thoughts were mostly jokes. The most important reason he called two more people was his concern about something going wrong. He always played it safe.
So he apologized with a smile and then, imitating Qingyi, said in a profound tone:
"It's just a man's friendship."
Qingyi gave him a thumbs up, and Zhang Shutong returned one. Only Du Kang habitually looked for Ruoping, as she was the only one who could handle these two chuunibyous. Unfortunately, the girl didn't come today:
"Sigh, have it your way. You really scared the hell out of me just now. As long as the result is good, that's all that matters."
At this moment, the sounds from outside the window were getting closer and closer. Du Kang turned his head and saw that many students had already entered the school building. He was the kind of person who rarely took things to heart. He had just been a little annoyed, but now he suddenly grinned and raised his eyebrows at Zhang Shutong:
"Hey, if you put it that way, I've got a good idea. I guarantee it'll be even cooler than this."
This kid had a new mischievous idea every second:
"How about we hide Gu Qiumian's scarf before she comes back? Then, think about it. When she enters the classroom and sees us here, she'll definitely ask what happened. We'll tell her that we used her scarf as bait to catch someone. She'll definitely be unhappy and about to cry. Then you'll take out the real scarf and give her a huge shock..."
"Stop. Just calm down."
Zhang Shutong held his forehead. He couldn't listen anymore. He was also subconsciously looking for Ruoping, hoping the girl would hit this guy on the head. Unfortunately, Ruoping wasn't there.
No wonder this kid didn't have a girlfriend eight years later. Zhang Shutong originally wanted to heavily despise him, but then he remembered that he was also single at that time. He felt a little sad and gave up.
"I'm serious," Du Kang was still rambling. "I saw it online. If a man can provoke a woman's emotions, over time, he'll leave a mark on her heart... That's why they say women love a bad boy."
This was such an old-school trope. Zhang Shutong laughed, "Why don't you go try it on Lu Qinglian?"
"Uh, I'll pass on that..." This kid was all talk and no action. He was a complete loudmouth. "But I'm serious. Even if you don't intentionally scare Gu Qiumian, when you tell her the whole story, won't she be really moved?"
Zhang Shutong hadn't actually thought about this. Ultimately, he didn't do this to make Gu Qiumian feel moved.
To put it a bit flippantly, they were all followers together, and there were rules to be followed. How could this jerk go after the rich girl herself? He would easily get cut down.
To put it more seriously, it was her words yesterday that touched him a little, and he also had an idea, so he helped her find the "culprit."
Therefore, Zhang Shutong said indifferently:
"Oh, speaking of that, I forgot to tell you two. Don't add any extra details. Just say that the three of us sensed something was wrong."
"So you're a good person who doesn't seek recognition. Then what's your motive?"
"My motive, how should I put it..."
He thought for a moment and said a long, rare, serious sentence:
"Let me give you an example. In the past, when you couldn't hold on, no one came to help you. But now that you have a little strength, when you see someone in a similar situation, you'll think of your past self, so..."
As he spoke, Zhang Shutong asked Qingyi strangely why he was typing on his phone. Qingyi said, "Of course I have to write down such a cool sentence. I'll use it later."
Zhang Shutong didn't know whether he should be honored or ashamed to be recognized by him:
He changed his words:
"So I really feel that I didn't do anything. If I had to thank someone, it would be her. Otherwise, this opportunity wouldn't have been created today."
"In a way, that's true," Qingyi nodded. "If she hadn't been so calm, this person wouldn't have come again today. If we were missing this link, we wouldn't have been able to catch him."
At this point, Qingyi asked again:
"But I've had one question since we were on the stairs. It's true that we caught the person, and we've basically cleared up the other suspicious points, but how do you explain the name on the toilet partition?"
As soon as he said that, before Zhang Shutong could speak, the boy on the ground reacted as if he had found a life-saving straw:
"It wasn't me!"
The three of them looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"Li Yipeng, I'm telling you, we've already recorded it all. What's the point of denying it now?" Du Kang was so angry he laughed.
Zhang Shutong also glanced at the other person. After Qingyi's reminder, he realized this person looked a little familiar.
He seemed to be their former classmate. He had an average social life in the class, and his personality was a bit like Du Kang's—a bit jumpy.
But Du Kang had a good temper himself. Sometimes he would annoy people, but he didn't care if they annoyed him back, so everyone was used to it and didn't find him annoying.
This Li Yipeng, however, was lenient with himself and strict with others. His family ran a small business and opened a store. He was well-off and had all the three major electronic devices: a phone, a watch, and an MP3 player, which he showed off a lot.
But the kids on the island all knew each other and couldn't really care about him. Who knew that he would mess with Gu Qiumian?
Everyone knew that the rich girl, Gu, had a habit of sharing snacks with her deskmate. The giver had no intention, but the receiver had an idea. Later, he got carried away, thinking Gu Qiumian had a thing for him. He thought their relationship could be more "intimate" and went and told Gu Qiumian a perverted joke, even replacing the main character of the joke with the rich girl herself.
Gu Qiumian slammed his pencil case down with a cold face. But this person was too proud and said something rude back, so he was successfully moved to another class.
Looking back, Zhang Shutong didn't know what to say. He thought, "What a grudge. Besides, how long ago did this happen?"
And it would have been fine if this kid had stood his ground, but he did something bad and didn't have the guts to admit it. He just sat on the ground now, probably traumatized by what Gu's father did. He was so scared that he was on the verge of soiling his pants.
"Are you saying you didn't smash the castle?" Qingyi was actually in the mood to chat with him.
"No..."
"What's the point of talking nonsense with him? The scarf is enough to convict him," Du Kang said, threatening him with a sideways glance. "Guess if Gu Qiumian cares more about the castle or the scarf. If you lie again, the consequences will be even more severe."
"It was me..."
"So you admit it."
Unexpectedly, the boy shouted in a breakdown:
"I'm saying it wasn't just me! There was someone else, really!"
"Then tell us who it was!"
"I don't know..."
"Then do you think the three of us are idiots? Oh, you got caught doing something bad, so now you're saying you had an accomplice. Are you also going to say you were forced to do it? Let's not talk about whether that accomplice even exists. You don't even know who it is. Criminals get their sentences reduced by providing useful information."
"I'm really not lying... The restroom! Right, the restroom!" The boy was completely panicking. "Didn't you just say that Gu Qiumian's name was on the restroom partition? It was this Monday. I had a stomachache and ran out of class. Just as I locked the door..."
"And you saw Gu Qiumian's name on the partition. Don't tell me that's your accomplice?"
"No, I wrote the name! Listen to me, there's really another person! I was in the restroom, and suddenly a note was slid under the door. It said that he and I both had a grudge against Gu Qiumian, and if I wanted to get revenge on her..."
"This isn't the place to talk." Zhang Shutong interrupted their conversation. He had already heard footsteps coming up the stairs, so he pulled the other person up. "You guys go to the office first."
...
He told Du Kang and Qingyi to take the boy to the office first, while Zhang Shutong waited in the hallway for Song Nanshan to come back.
The next class was English class, but looking at the current situation, Teacher Song definitely wouldn't be in the mood to teach. He would have to deal with Li Yipeng first.
According to the boy, there was actually a mastermind behind him. Although he only served to incite him, the sudden appearance of another person made the whole thing a little more complicated.
Zhang Shutong was thinking about a question—
What was the catalyst for this event?
If it was a major change caused by his regression, he counted them. Being Gu Qiumian's deskmate was one. The three names being written on the draft paper and projected was one. Lu Qinglian coming to fish and catching the poachers was also one.
To be more specific;
Taking the deskmate thing as an example, Zhang Shutong hadn't ruled out Zhou Ziheng's suspicion:
For example, he had a crush on Gu Qiumian, but because he didn't become her deskmate, his love turned into hate... Okay, that was a bit childish, but it was a possibility.
But here's the problem. Li Yipeng said that he was given the note on Monday. But they hadn't switched seats yet, had they?
It's not like the boy named Zhou Ziheng had already prepared a fallback plan. If he continued to be Gu Qiumian's deskmate, he would stop. If not, he would take revenge... This couldn't even be called a deduction. It couldn't even be considered a conjecture.
And why would he take revenge on Gu Qiumian and not her new deskmate?
To go a step further, even if the other person had planned to that extent, why would he take the initiative to tell Gu Qiumian?
So, Zhang Shutong still ruled out Zhou Ziheng's suspicion in the end. He couldn't find a reasonable motive.
Who was this mastermind?
Was he related to the murder case?
And what exactly happened between Monday and Thursday that prevented this bomb from going off in the past?
Zhang Shutong had no clues about all these questions for now.
Students started to flood into the hallway. He leaned against a pillar, frowning as he watched people walk by. An unrelated thought popped into his mind: Why had all these people been Gu Qiumian's deskmates?
Of course, there was no point in researching this. Zhang Shutong just had a strange feeling and then relievedly thought, "Why else? They were close to the rich girl, Gu."
If they weren't close, they wouldn't have had the chance to be fed snacks. They wouldn't even have had the chance to talk to her. Without contact, how could they have had a relationship with Gu Qiumian?
He sincerely felt that it would be better for Gu Qiumian to have a girl as her deskmate. It would save her a lot of trouble.
But she didn't have any friends in her class.
Zhang Shutong didn't go so far as to think of helping her make friends. He just remembered that every time he interacted with her these past few days, he would overturn his original impression of her.
He used to think she was just an arrogant rich girl, who spent money lavishly. The only thing they had in common was that they both transferred from the provincial capital, although he didn't know why, she always treated him like a traitor.
Later, because of the scarf incident, he made her angry and saw her cold side.
Then, by some twist of fate, they became deskmates. She might have thought he had taken the initiative to "make up," and her attitude softened a little.
In the morning, her father dropped her off at school and told her to be happy, and he heard her nickname.
During morning reading, he saw her interactions with her friends. She was the one who made the decisions and was surrounded by them like a star.
Then, her castle was smashed. She was in a bad mood but was also indifferent. She had a cold face at the restaurant but helped him out of a sticky situation.
Finally, there were a few conversations after school yesterday, and he discovered that she also had a stubborn side.
And if he had to add anything else, it was the way she made funny faces at the glass and was amused by herself.
When she returns to the classroom, what kind of expression will she have when she finds out that the three of them have caught the person?
Joy? Revenge?
But what if she hears that there was a mastermind?
Zhang Shutong didn't know. If he were to study Gu Qiumian as a subject, he probably wouldn't figure her out in a lifetime.
For example, right now, he had thought the rich girl, Gu, was usually a girl who rarely smiled and was a little lonely, but he found that she had once again overturned his impression:
Gu Qiumian was walking up the stairs with the three girls from morning reading, and they were actually laughing and chatting the whole way.
Although she wasn't laughing so hard that she was bent over, it was definitely a slightly bright smile that he had never seen before.
The girl was slightly out of breath, as if she was hot. One hand was gently fanning her face. She was wearing a dark sweater that made her skin look even fairer.
Gu Qiumian unintentionally glanced over and met Zhang Shutong's eyes. Her beautiful and lively eyes subconsciously blinked and were about to widen slightly. The hallway was noisy, and countless people were passing by her, but at this moment, she was like a little deer that had darted out of a deep tunnel, staring at him with her big round eyes.
Zhang Shutong also blinked.
This didn't seem right?
Weren't you indifferently scrolling on your phone yesterday? How is your sense of humor so low today?
Before he could say anything, the little secretary next to Gu Qiumian skipped over and greeted him:
"Hey, handsome, look over here, look over here... Wow, he's really looking over here! Qiumian, his eyes are so fierce!"
Zhang Shutong simply moved his gaze away. He thought, "What's so fierce? I'm just curious about the way the three of you get along."
This was not a good place to stay for long.
Since the students from his class were coming back, he was ready to go find Teacher Song, but Gu Qiumian didn't pretend not to see him this time and instead walked over.
"Zhang... Shutong?" The girl had already tried to put on a cold face, but a smile could still be seen at the corners of her lips. Gu Qiumian herself snorted and said, "What are you standing here in a daze for?"
Zhang Shutong didn't know why she always called him 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?"
"There are too many people here. Let's talk about it later."
"Tch."
The little secretary next to her started to make a scene:
"What are you two talking about in code? You're so in sync! Are the three of us in the way?"
Gu Qiumian glared at her angrily. "He's just an aloof guy who's always so mysterious."
"He's only mysterious to you. Look, he doesn't talk to us..."
That's definitely not true.
Zhang Shutong simply ignored the few girls and only said to Gu Qiumian:
"Nothing. It's just that I saw you yesterday..."
"Why do you always bring up these things?" Gu Qiumian wrinkled her nose, seeming unwilling to have her dark history brought up. "Can't a person stop being angry? What if I get old?"
Zhang Shutong said that he was just a little surprised. Gu Qiumian pouted and ignored him. She thought for a moment and then said, "Then just stand outside and be surprised. See you later." This bright girl said goodbye to her friends and turned to enter the classroom.
Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "We'll probably meet in the office in a few minutes. I'm looking forward to your surprised expression."
He should also go find the homeroom teacher. At this moment, Qingyi came trotting over.
"We just finished questioning Li Yipeng. We finally know why he wanted to get revenge after all this time. It's actually more serious than we thought," Qingyi's expression was a little grave. "It's not just about him and Gu Qiumian. It's also about a conflict with his family..."
"Family?" Zhang Shutong caught the key word.
"Yeah, don't you remember? His family has a store on the commercial street..."