Gu Qiumian's detached villa had four floors, surrounded by a large yard enclosed by an iron fence.
The villa was built in the desolate countryside, overlooking the lake below. Perhaps the scenery was nice on a clear day, but now it only felt eerie.
Teacher Song was quite considerate. He knew to keep an umbrella in the car and handed it to Gu Qiumian. The girl asked if the two of them wanted to come in and sit, but the teacher and student both waved their hands at the same time, saying it was too late and she should hurry back to eat. They told her to contact them if anything happened.
They watched her walk into the light rain and stand in front of the black iron gate for a while. It turned out to be an electric gate. With a beep, it opened, and Gu Qiumian waved at the car, then turned and walked into the villa.
The lights were on in the villa. She had a nanny, and it was a happy thing to be able to eat a hot meal as soon as she got home.
Zhang Shutong was quite foresighted, knowing to buy a steamed bun at the school gate, but Teacher Song was miserable. He probably hadn't eaten well at noon, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger. He thought they'd quickly find a restaurant, but Teacher Song surprised him by pulling the handbrake, rolling down the window, and turning off the engine.
"Let's have a cigarette before we go." The head teacher waved the cigarette pack in his hand. It seemed he had been holding it in for a long time. "You might as well come to the front. Why are you still squeezed in the back seat? There's an umbrella under the car door."
Zhang Shutong also felt uncomfortably squeezed, but he didn't need an umbrella. He braved the rain and changed seats. With Gu Qiumian gone, the two men were more relaxed.
"I actually have something I want to talk to you about. I wasn't joking at noon." Song Nanshan found a lighter, and a flame lit up in the dim space. "I contacted her dad today at noon, but he can't make it back. The earliest he can be here is Monday, so these next few days... what do you think, kid?"
Zhang Shutong was recalling what Du Kang said. He remembered him saying that Gu Qiumian "disappeared" on Monday, but the report was not made until Tuesday. He couldn't figure out why the report was delayed by one day before, but now he had the answer.
"What did her dad say?"
"Her dad expected it and said he'll arrange things."
"Is there anyone else besides the nanny?"
"No, there isn't. Mainly because Qiumian doesn't like having so many strangers around. He probably talked to the commercial street or the police. You know, a big boss like him has gone through a lot of storms. He has more experience than me, and more than you."
Zhang Shutong, however, did not speak.
"Don't worry about that. What I actually wanted to talk about isn't that. How come I created so many opportunities for you just now and you didn't grab them?" Teacher Song pushed him with his shoulder, disappointed. "Didn't I actively suggest we go out and play tomorrow? All you had to do was agree."
"'She said she didn't want to go,' Zhang Shutong answered casually, his mind on other things."
"That's because you're not proactive. The girl waited for a long time before she said that. You have to pursue girls," Teacher Song said, sounding like a master of romance. "Do you believe me? If I call her right now and you ask her again, Qiumian might just agree."
"Let's not."
"When you're out and about, don't tell anyone I taught you this. You're wasting your good looks," Teacher Song said in a disgusted tone.
Zhang Shutong then came back to his senses and asked in confusion, "Teacher, why are you so keen on setting us up?"
Teacher Song took a puff of his cigarette and said, "As expected, your mind is not pure, kid. When did I ever talk about a boy-girl relationship? I was clearly asking you to be friends. Friends, you get it?"
Zhang Shutong pursed his lips and didn't say anything.
Before he finished his cigarette, Song Nanshan started reminiscing about his youth with a sigh. He said that back when he was in school, boys and girls had to be strictly guarded even just to talk to each other. If he could sit in the same car with a pretty girl to go somewhere, let alone a car, he would be overjoyed even if it was a donkey-pulled cart, and he couldn't believe Zhang Shutong wasn't cherishing the opportunity.
Zhang Shutong genuinely felt strange about being taught about relationships by him. It wasn't that their identities were inappropriate, but rather that Teacher Song was also single. If he really had this ability, he wouldn't be bothering me; he would have been with girls a long time ago. But he didn't say this out loud, just grumbled to himself.
He then urged Teacher Song to quickly say what he wanted to say, as he still had to go to the commercial street later.
"You really want to investigate yourself?"
"'I'll just take a look.' Zhang Shutong didn't need to hide it from him. Teacher Song would definitely follow him if he knew, and a helper wouldn't be a bad thing to have."
He was planning to go to the South Lake Fish Restaurant again. This time he had a clearer direction. There was no need to beat around the bush; he could just get straight to the point. If that was the case, his head teacher's appearance was more intimidating than his, and he might actually be able to find something out.
"Sigh, I spend all day long just messing around with you kids," Song Nanshan scratched his head. "But what's in it for you? I can understand if you like Gu Qiumian, but for something like the scarf incident, you did it but didn't tell her the whole truth."
"'Less trouble, isn't that a good thing?' Zhang Shutong replied absentmindedly."
"You'll regret it sooner or later, kid."
"If I really regret it, I'll let the future me deal with the headache?"
"You're playing mind games with me now," Song Nanshan laughed and scolded. "But speaking of which, what do you think of Qiumian? Answer me properly. I'm not talking about romance."
Zhang Shutong really wanted to say, "Please stop asking." If you ask one more question, I promise to pour hot water into your teacup in the future. Can't you just maintain your rough guy persona? Why do you have to be so naggy?
"Actually, she was in a pretty good mood today," Song Nanshan flicked the cigarette ash.
"Was she?" Zhang Shutong was puzzled. "I didn't see her smile much in the car."
"You're so dumb. I'm telling you, you can't tell if a girl is happy just by whether she smiles or not. I could even tell. Look for yourself—"
With that, Song Nanshan pointed to the passenger side window. Zhang Shutong turned his head and saw that Gu Qiumian had messed up the car window, leaving a faint smiley face.
"Although I can't tell what she was drawing, she must have been in a good mood."
Zhang Shutong tilted his head and stared at the smiley face for a few seconds. It was truly ugly. "I saw her with her friends during break, talking and laughing. It's not strange, is it?"
What was strange to him was that she was in a very bad mood yesterday, but suddenly the clouds had cleared and she was happy today.
Zhang Shutong thought for a moment:
"Is she the type who's a bit easygoing?"
"Bullshit!" Teacher Song messed up his hair. "I think you're the one who is heartless!"
"Then what is it?"
"Why are there so many whys with girls? Some are just easily satisfied," Teacher Song began his lecture. "This is something I shouldn't be teaching you, but the opportunity is right, so I'll pass it on to you. My girlfriend back then was pretty much the same. A bit silly."
Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "Don't think I can't hear what you're saying. Isn't it a bit too arrogant to be talking bad about someone right in front of their villa, saying they're silly? Besides, Gu Qiumian isn't silly:"
"Isn't she quite smart?"
"Wrong again. She's clearly a silly girl too."
But Zhang Shutong really couldn't connect "silly" with Gu Qiumian, so he listened to Teacher Song continue his eloquent speech:
"This 'silly' isn't about the level of intelligence. It's differentiated like this: Smart girls know very clearly what they need, but silly girls, they can't tell the difference."