Zhang Shutong narrowed his eyes, just like Lu Qinglian.
He hadn't expected to have an unexpected gain.
The second misunderstanding of the day was also resolved in passing—
It turned out the rooftop key was picked up by this guy.
He was a bit stunned for a moment, but thinking about it, it was reasonable. Some changes that you think are meticulously planned might just be a butterfly flapping its wings.
Before, there was no class reshuffle incident, and no new class monitor named Gu Qiumian. So the other person accidentally picked up the key and, with the thought of sharing an interesting anecdote, brought it to the dinner... to show off?
Zhang Shutong didn't know what there was to show off, but he thought again, if his past self had made this discovery, he might have shown off to Ruoping and the others as well.
Someone around him teased:
"Kong Yihui, you haven't even had a drink yet, how are you already drunk? It's so cold, who would be crazy enough to go up to the rooftop to feel the wind?"
Excuse me, there are two, actually.
And there were two of them.
Some people were curious:
"Where did you pick it up from? Isn't it usually locked?"
Kong Yihui said:
"It's precisely because it's always locked that I wanted to go up and take a look. We're about to graduate, right? And we still don't know what the rooftop looks like. Everyone can go up there and hang out when they have time. Hmm, a secret base that no one knows about, isn't that pretty cool?"
"Who's going to the rooftop to hang out? Isn't it better to go to the library?"
"We have nothing to do when we go back anyway." Kong Yihui waved his hand indifferently. "Class monitor, it's up to you. Where should we go after dinner?"
Gu Qiumian was not at all interested.
For some reason, there was also a faint flash of coldness in her eyes.
"Oh." She said with a cold "oh," and then refused, "Why would we go to the rooftop?"
Zhang Shutong glanced at her from a distance—and it could only be a glance, because the two of them were already sitting far apart. Maybe it was because the surroundings were too noisy and it was a strain on their voices, so they had leaned in closer to each other while chatting.
Then they were interrupted by this guy's sudden words, and they subconsciously sat up straight, returning to their original distance.
Zhang Shutong looked at that guy again and felt that he really wanted to share something with Gu Qiumian, which was why he was constantly trying to show off his presence.
Zhang Shutong, on the other hand, was thinking with a headache, "Hang out? Don't use other people's restaurants as a place to hang out, okay? Student Lu still needs to eat on the rooftop."
This, of course, was a joke. Although Zhang Shutong rarely went to this base anymore, he still didn't want the key to fall into someone else's hands.
The Justice League doesn't throw parties in the Batcave either.
So he hesitated for a moment and chose the most efficient method:
"That key is mine."
Zhang Shutong sent a message to Gu Qiumian.
Qiuyu Mianmian blinked.
Zhang Shutong had no choice but to narrate his chuunibyou history. In the end, he said:
"I usually like to go up there to feel the wind. I don't like having other people there."
"No wonder."
"No wonder what?"
But Gu Qiumian's fingers had already left the screen. She was a slow typist, so it was more convenient to talk.
Zhang Shutong saw Gu Qiumian mouth something to him. The two of them were a bit far apart, so he couldn't see it clearly, but the gist was:
"No wonder... so you were just getting blown by the cold wind."
Zhang Shutong was about to ask "no wonder what," but Gu Qiumian had already turned her head. She raised her chin and asked the boy:
"Are you sure it's the rooftop key?"
The other person had just been snubbed and had already picked up his chopsticks to start eating. Hearing this, he didn't even swallow the food in his mouth and said vaguely:
"Mm, it must be. I found it on the stairs. Class monitor, are you interested? Or..."
"I'm not interested." Gu Qiumian said crisply. "The rooftop is too dangerous. Give me the key. I'll return it to the teacher this afternoon."
Her tone was calm, but there was a certain authority in it, giving off a sense of unquestionable meaning.
Zhang Shutong watched as the boy went from being a helpful guy to a discouraged guy. He said "okay" dejectedly, put the key on the table, and even consciously turned the table to send it in front of Gu Qiumian.
The key to the base was obtained so easily.
Gu Qiumian glanced at the time and said casually:
"Everyone, hurry up and eat. Stop just chatting. We have to go back to class."
Everyone agreed. Some of the more observant ones had already seen her intention to leave, so they said they were done eating and asked if they should leave now.
Gu Qiumian then said there was no need to rush. They would leave in another ten minutes.
Zhang Shutong used the ten minutes to continue his battle with the sea cucumber.
This meal was enjoyed by both the host and the guests. Maybe his nerves were a bit tense just now. It was rare that he didn't want to think at all. Zhang Shutong followed the crowd out of the private room. He still felt that something was not right. He felt like he had inexplicably had a meal and then inexplicably left.
The waiters continued to bow as they sent them off. The men who were either bodyguards or drivers stood up in the lobby. There was more than one.
Next, Gu Qiumian arranged for everyone to get into cars and go back. Everyone listened to her command. Zhang Shutong got back into the Volkswagen, but he noticed a new problem:
Gu Qiumian had gotten the key back for him, but she didn't say she would give it back to him.
He would have to wait until they got back to school to talk about it.
The conversation on the way back was a bit more lively. Du Kang always liked to express a few opinions every time he went to a restaurant. This time, he was completely impressed. He mumbled:
"It's an eye-opener. I wish I could open my family's restaurant in a mall in the future."
Qingyi suggested:
"You can talk to your dad about it. I just saw an advertisement for a space for rent outside."
"I was just saying that. My family's restaurant is full of repeat customers. My dad would never be willing to move."
Zhang Shutong couldn't help but interject:
"You can do it on your own in the future. Go to the city and open a branch. Rent a place with a rooftop."
"Shutong, I've noticed you have a real obsession with rooftops." Du Kang laughed. "Speaking of which, wasn't your key hidden very well? How was it..."
"I also think a house with a rooftop is really cool!"
A cheerful voice suddenly came from inside the car.
Everyone looked at her speechless, not knowing what trouble Xu Zhiruo was stirring up.
Now she was squeezed between Du Kang and Qingyi. Under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, she shrank her neck, looking very small.
In fact, there was a small change on the way back—Xu Zhiruo had also come along.
When Ruoping came back, she said she wanted to go with Gu Qiumian. The two of them had things to talk about. Now that they were both class monitors, they had business to discuss. Unnecessary people shouldn't interrupt. So the three unnecessary people obediently went back to the car. Xu Zhiruo was also swapped over because of this.
At the dinner table, she bothered Qingyi. In the car, she was asking Du Kang about the rooftop and the key. "Tell me about it," she said. Du Kang was completely giving her the runaround, sometimes saying it was a secret, sometimes saying he made it himself, and sometimes saying he picked it up on the street.
He talked for a long time but didn't say anything useful.
Soon they arrived at school. Ruoping and the others' car had left first and were already waiting for them at the school gate.
"Here. Qiumian asked me to give this to you. Take it."
Zhang Shutong took the rooftop key and thought to himself, "How are you on a first-name basis with 'Qiumian' again? When did you two get so close?"
This time, there was no chocolate to mend the broken bridge.
He then thought about that Sunday morning, when Ruoping had stayed with Gu Qiumian in the hospital all night. Maybe it was that night that the two of them had resolved their issues and formed a friendship.
Don't be fooled by Du Kang's carefree attitude. Ruoping was the one who was best at making friends. The time they caught the poacher, it only took her one night to become "Qinglian."
"Thanks," Zhang Shutong said as they walked. He asked Ruoping, "What did you say to her?"
"We exchanged information."
"Information?"
"Yeah. Qiumian asked me what that key was for. I said it was one you secretly made a long time ago and that you sometimes went up there to chill out. Then she gave me the key."
"I clearly told her myself. Why did she still have to ask you?" Zhang Shutong said helplessly.
"It's because you always lie to her. A fall in the pit, a gain in your wit, you know?"
"And then what?"
"What do you mean 'and then'?"
"You said you exchanged information. What did you ask her about?" Zhang Shutong simply didn't understand what she would need to ask Gu Qiumian.
"There aren't that many questions. We just exchanged information as class cadres. There's an event coming up that you don't know about." Ruoping rolled her eyes. "Who's always scaring themselves like you?"
Zhang Shutong shrugged.
The group walked through the campus and went up the stairs together. They simultaneously entered the Class 1 classroom, but they subconsciously stopped.
"Almost forgot. The classes have been changed." Du Kang's words sounded very sad, but he had another intention.
But Lu Qinglian was not in the classroom.
They chatted for a few more moments and then parted ways at the Class 1 door. Zhang Shutong had eaten too much at noon and was a bit thirsty. He went back to the class to get his cup and some water. After a few steps, he said with a headache:
"How long are you going to follow me?"
"Hehe." The little secretary showed her canine teeth. "Just taking a look. I'm going to Class 2 to find Qiumian later."
"Don't get caught by your big aunt."
"You know Ms. Xu is my big aunt?" she said, surprised. "Then you have to be careful, senior. My big aunt is very strict about puppy love!"
"You don't need to worry about that."
"Don't expect me to speak up for you at that time. I'm a mud Buddha crossing the river myself."
Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "When did I ever have puppy love?" He found that he couldn't handle girls who talked a lot, so he changed the subject:
"What about your group of friends? Why are you the only one here at noon?"
"They both had something to do. Only I got to go eat a big meal. I'm so jealous I could cry." Xu Zhiruo said plaintively. "But I didn't eat well at noon either. You took my seat, senior, and the people around me weren't that familiar, so I could only chat with that expressionless guy next to me."
Zhang Shutong thought she had a real talent for giving nicknames. It was very direct. He couldn't help but smile, but then he heard the girl say:
"Don't laugh. You're the blockhead. You're not much better."
Zhang Shutong put away his smile and continued to walk.
As they were talking, they had already walked past the Class 2 classroom, but Xu Zhiruo showed no sign of stopping. Actually, it was quite interesting to chat with her. Zhang Shutong remembered what she had said before and said casually:
"So you're two separate circles."
"What two circles?"
"I mean those ninth-grade students at noon. I thought you were all very familiar with each other."
Zhang Shutong used to jokingly call Gu Qiumian's circle the "follower circle." After this lunch, he realized that it should be divided into two groups: "followers" and "vassals." The way to distinguish them was simple. Those younger than her were followers, and those in the same class as her were vassals. In other words, he used to think he was a follower, but in a way, he wasn't, unless he recognized Gu Qiumian as his leader.
By the way, did he ever say this in front of Gu Qiumian? He didn't think so. Otherwise, it would have been really embarrassing.
"What are you talking about, senior?" The little secretary looked at him strangely. "We hang out together all the time."
"Didn't you just say you weren't familiar with them?"
"I was talking about the people around you, your friends."
"That's not right," Zhang Shutong didn't know if she was joking on purpose. "That boy who found the key, Kong Yihui. You said yourself you didn't know him."
"That's because he used to be in another class. He only came to Class 2 after the class reshuffle, so of course I wouldn't know him. And not all of Qiumian's close friends came today. That 'Hui' guy, he just came to join in the fun because he heard she was treating people to a meal," the little secretary said as a matter of course. "But I know almost everyone in your class. We hang out together all the time. How could we be two separate circles?"
What do you mean, "hang out together all the time"?
Didn't Gu Qiumian have no friends in the original Class 1?
Or should Xu Zhiruo's words be interpreted separately?
She came to their class to hang out all the time, so she naturally knew the students in Class 1. And the group of people who hung out all the time referred to the other people.
Zhang Shutong frowned.
But he had already gone through one misunderstanding today, so he patiently confirmed:
"You're saying you and the people from the original Class 1 hang out together often?"
"Yeah." The little secretary said innocently. "Oh, I forgot. You probably don't pay much attention, since you're a blockhead."
Zhang Shutong's brows furrowed even more deeply. He used to not pay much attention to Gu Qiumian's matters, but no matter how indifferent he was, he wouldn't fail to understand the interpersonal relationships in his own class.
His intuition told him that something was definitely not right, but where was the problem exactly?
He had clearly asked a lot of people, and the key points he thought were important hadn't changed at all.
The only thing that felt off was Qingyi's attitude. With Qingyi's memory, he shouldn't have forgotten about the chocolate coin incident. After all, it was a big deal. But later, he specifically confirmed it with Ruoping, and Ruoping said it had happened.
"I'm sorry, senior. I shouldn't have given you a nickname. Please don't be mad." Xu Zhiruo said weakly, seeing his expression.
Zhang Shutong was no longer in the mood to care.
Memories were like a long river. From seventh grade to ninth grade, Zhang Shutong tried his best to recall every event related to Gu Qiumian.
He was trying to find that one strange pebble in the middle, but he couldn't find anything wrong.
Or was it really that he knew too little about Gu Qiumian, and the young lady actually had friends everywhere?
He couldn't tell if his memory was a problem or... if he had been too slow before and only cared about fishing, so he hadn't figured anything out?
Zhang Shutong suddenly grasped something:
When did Gu Qiumian's interpersonal relationships in Class 1 go bad?
No one is born to be alienated. He remembered when she first transferred, she brought a backpack full of snacks to share with everyone. The students weren't very close to her, but they didn't exclude her. They just didn't know how to get along with a girl like that, so her relationship with everyone else was always lukewarm during this period.
And then?
The turning point was that bag of chocolate coins.
Ruoping had always been very popular. Besides, she wasn't entirely in the wrong in that matter. People would be subconsciously influenced by the atmosphere around them. It was precisely because of that incident that she led the silent treatment against Gu Qiumian. The people around them, whether intentionally or unintentionally, followed suit. And the kids on the small island all knew each other. They saw each other all the time. The most important thing in this kind of familiar circle was to fit in.
This trend somehow spread, and Gu Qiumian was not the type to suffer in silence. Just as he had understood, since there was no circle, she would actively create a circle, which led to the countless followers from the lower grades.
In the end, it was all because of the chocolate incident!