Winter Returns

Chapter 109 Slowly, Slowly (Part 2)
After dinner.

In the bedroom on the second floor of the villa, Gu Qiumian was quietly flipping through a book.

The desk was tidy, and there was a picture frame on her left, which she now gently placed face down on the desk.

The room is predominantly dark red, with hand-woven carpets, velvet curtains, and even the fairytale-like canopy on the bed, all exuding an air of elegance and luxury under the warm lighting.

Although it's called a bedroom, it's actually fully furnished, with a walk-in closet, dressing table, terrace, bathtub, and private bathroom. There's even a mini hot and cold storage unit that's always stocked with chocolate and yogurt.

She had just taken a long bath, and steam filled her hair.

The girl would sometimes pick up the cup next to her to moisten her lips, and she would flip through the book in her hand very slowly, but she wasn't reading it very carefully. She would often turn to a new page and then go back to read it again.

Until someone gently knocked on the door.

Gu Qiumian put down her book, knowing that Aunt Wu had come; only Aunt Wu's knocking sounded like that.

She responded softly, but then remembered that the door was locked, so she walked barefoot through the bedroom and opened the door.

"Why is the door locked today?" A kind-faced woman stood outside the door.

"I accidentally locked it," Gu Qiumian said casually.

Aunt Wu chuckled lightly:

"Let me guess, did your classmate tell you to be careful and lock the door when you go to sleep at night, and you listened to him and locked the door?"

Gu Qiumian stopped talking, took a few steps back to her desk, propped her face up, and stared blankly at the curtains.

The woman sat gently on the edge of the bed, like a mother watching her daughter.

"Mr. Gu asked me to come up and check on you. He thought you were in a bad mood today," Aunt Wu smiled and continued, "I thought you would leave with him this afternoon, and I was worried about how to explain things to Mr. Gu. But it turns out you two are having a fight?"

“No.” She blinked her thick eyelashes and said calmly, “I only went out out of spite. I stayed home because it’s safer at home.”

"Really?"

"Seriously, who would want to run around outside in this cold weather? He doesn't tell the truth. I've asked him several times, and I'm bound to lose my patience."

"Even if you lack patience, you shouldn't suddenly distance yourself from them."

"It's not that I'm distancing myself from him."

"Is it him who's distancing himself from you?"

"Not at all."

"why?"

Gu Qiumian fell silent again.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this," the woman said gently. "What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Just like before."

"So that's a fried egg, a piece of bacon, and a side of bitter lettuce?"

"I don't want to eat bitter chrysanthemum."

"You can't skip vegetables," Aunt Wu laughed again. "You'll get fat."

"Not fat," Gu Qiumian muttered.

"Would you like some milk? I'll heat up a cup."

Gu Qiumian shook her head.

The woman changed the subject again:
"Mr. Gu also said that you should stay at home for the next couple of days and not go anywhere, whether it's the city or the island. Wait until he has taken care of everything. If you get bored, invite your younger children over for a visit and have the driver pick them up."

"I understand," Gu Qiumian said absentmindedly. "I'll contact them again tomorrow, depending on my mood."

"It's already ten o'clock, aren't you going to sleep yet?"

"I want to read for a while, I can't sleep." As she said this, Gu Qiumian covered her mouth and yawned slightly.

"You can't stay up late these next few days," the woman instructed again.

Gu Qiumian nodded, then closed the book in her hand and slowly lay down on the bed.

Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she started to squint.

"Silly girl," Aunt Wu stroked her smooth forehead and pulled the blanket up for the girl, "Why do you always keep everything to yourself?"

"I have nothing on my mind."

"Your hair isn't dry yet, you'll have a headache tomorrow. And you can't take a bath these days, haven't I told you so many times? You always regret it when your stomach hurts." The woman helped her put her hair up. "What happened between you and your little one?"

"Nothing much." Gu Qiumian tossed her hair. "I didn't have a fight with him."

"Didn't he ask you if you wanted to go on a trip off the island together? You were thinking of going, right? Why didn't you go?"

“He’s always running around, always worrying about things. He shouldn’t continue like this.”

The woman flicked her nose:
"You silly girl, why were you playing so wildly with him before, even running out late at night? And you weren't telling the truth just now. It wasn't that you were impatient, was it? You clearly told President Gu to bring back a lot of people so he could relax and go home to rest." "Yeah, it was my fault before. I was too complacent."

"Feeling at ease?"

"Ah."

"How could that be?" the woman asked, puzzled.

Gu Qiumian did not answer the question, but only said:

"Alright, Aunt Wu, I'm fine. You should go to sleep too."

"Then I'll tell the people downstairs to keep things quiet at night."

After speaking, the woman got up. Knowing that the girl was not used to a completely dark room when she slept, she turned the bedside lamp to its lowest brightness. The lampshade emitted a faint halo, like a firefly floating in the air.

Gu Qiumian subconsciously reached out, trying to grab something, but grasped nothing.

The night was quiet, the velvet curtains were drawn tightly together, Gu Qiu Mian put her phone under her pillow and finally closed her eyes.

I just hope I can have a good dream tonight.

……

Saturday, December 8, 2012.

When Zhang Shutong looked at the calendar, he realized that this day had truly arrived.

Friday has passed.

It was seven o'clock sharp, and he still got up early as usual. The first thing he did was take out his phone and check his chat history.

Now, his connection with Gu Qiumian exists only on this small screen, not through phone calls.

Since the phone was hung up on me last night, usually he asks how I am, and the other person replies that they're fine; sometimes the other person takes the initiative to say that they're fine and that I shouldn't worry anymore, and he replies that I should be careful.

That's pretty much it.

Since adding her as a friend, I can count the number of messages we exchange on one hand.

Knowing that she woke up later than him, Zhang Shutong sent another message saying "Reply to this message after you get up." Then she got up to wash up, but she didn't expect that as soon as she got out of bed, her phone received a new notification.

Upon opening it, I found it was a message from Gu Qiumian, containing only two words:
"fine."

I don't understand why she got up so early today.

Theoretically speaking, if something happens to her, I could very well return to eight years in the future. But theory is just theory; it's better to ask her to be on the safe side.

He stretched languidly, drew back the curtains, and the morning light shone on the snow below, so bright it stung his eyes.

It was another quiet morning.

Zhang Shutong walked through the empty living room, toothbrush in her mouth, to the kitchen to boil water, then boiled eggs, and put three steamed buns in the microwave for a balanced diet.

It was Saturday morning. He slapped his face hard, changed into a thick hooded coat, tidied himself up quickly, went downstairs to ride his bike, and suddenly remembered something when he opened the door.

Zhang Shutong went back to the sofa and put the black down jacket away. Maybe he could take it over today, maybe not. Anyway, he would take it with him. After he finished doing all this, he went downstairs. His feet swayed and a strong sense of dizziness came over him.

Zhang Shutong frowned and touched his forehead.

It seems a bit hot.

I caught a cold as expected.

It's best if it's not a fever.

He overestimated his physical condition and reluctantly went upstairs to find cold medicine. Human laziness can be a double-edged sword. He really wanted to take a nap, but it was Saturday, and he had to be alert no matter what he did.

After struggling for quite some time, he finally managed to get on the bike. He turned the key, the engine roared, and the snow on the branches in the morning began to fall softly. He had arranged to meet Lu Qinglian at eight o'clock.

The other party doesn't even have a cell phone, so there's no way to cancel a message if they want to.

It's already 7:30.

The motorcycle left a long trail. He breathed in the morning air, and the dizziness finally lessened a bit. On the road, he pondered what he had accomplished this time and what he had overlooked.

The issue of the commercial street has been resolved.

Therefore, he contacted Mr. Gu in advance and asked him to come back. This was the biggest change and the reason why he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

After taking a nap, Zhang Shutong realized that she had indeed worried too much.

Actually, Gu Qiu Mian's matter was already resolved by this point—it wasn't that he was careless, but rather that if eight adult men were helpless, then he couldn't do anything about it either.

Moreover, yesterday's exchange had already determined the opponent's strength. He was capable of fighting, but only within the realm of humans. He didn't possess any shrinking techniques or the ability to fly. Now the villa was completely surrounded. His father was quite reliable, knowing to bring so many people back on his own initiative.

The current point of contention is the fake Lu Qinglian. Once this is clarified, the matter will be almost over, and perhaps even the death of Lu Qinglian eight years later can be resolved at the same time.

Zhang Shutong rode his bicycle to the foot of the mountain.

(End of this chapter)