Winter Returns

Chapter 196 A Busy Christmas Eve

"And what about that shoebox?" Mom said earnestly. "Tongtong, if you don't give it as a Christmas present, you really won't be able to give it to anyone. Let me count for you: Christmas is followed by New Year's Day, then there's a holiday, we won't see each other, then it's Chinese New Year, we won't see each other again, and then it'll be spring again. So what's the point of giving boots then?"

Zhang Shutong thought it made a lot of sense.

Even renting a wig, Lu Qinglian had to split the cost with him, so giving her a "gift" was an even greater and more arduous task.

Mom opened the long, rectangular box again, saying as she did so:
"Qiu Mian is very polite. I ran into her at the mall and asked her if she wanted to come over for dinner. She said yes, but she had to prepare some things for a class activity and might be a little late, so I went home to cook. But she still used that time to prepare a gift... a scarf, it's so pretty."

She put it on and happily twirled around:
"how is it going?"

Zhang Shutong absentmindedly said it looked good, but his mother tapped him on the head with the box:
"No, come on, let me teach you how to say it today. You should say, 'I remember you have a trench coat in your closet that might go well with this. Go and try it on.'"

Zhang Shutong applies what he has learned:
"Oh, you have something in your closet..."

Before he could finish speaking, his mother glared at him and smacked him on the head.
"Who told you to use me? I'm telling you to learn from this. By the way, the return gift I mentioned earlier was for you to send her something, but whatever you do, don't send a return gift to her dad!"

“Of course,” Zhang Shutong said, taken aback. “Why would I send it to her father?”

"My distrust of you has reached its peak," Mom sighed. "I'm afraid you'll actually go and deliver some things to Boss Gu, thinking that's just reciprocity."

Zhang Shutong's face darkened. He knew his mother was teasing him. He went to the kitchen to wash the dishes and lathered up some dish soap.

Humans are such strange creatures. Zhang Shutong looked at the bubbles in his palm. Normally, he would never have made any connection to them, but at this moment, he thought of the pom-poms on a Santa hat.

Christmas hasn't arrived yet, but he's the kind of person who likes to prepare in advance for everything.

What should I give as a gift?
If it were just her close friends, it would be fine, as Zhang Shutong knows each of their preferences. But Gu Qiumian has everything she needs, which is a bit of a headache.

One doesn't know what to give, and the other doesn't know how to give it.

Zhang Shutong looked up at the sky, the tap running loudly.

When Zhang Shutong came out of the kitchen, her mother was squatting in front of the Christmas tree. She wrapped the included fairy lights around the tree, plugged them in to test them, and the lights actually made a sound. A familiar melody floated into the living room. Zhang Shutong listened carefully and realized it was "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way."

By this time, night had completely fallen, and the glass, like a mirror, reflected the colorful lights, which then went out. Mom stood up confidently:

"You're definitely going to have a very busy Christmas."

Zhang Shutong neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

Ok.

Really busy.

This is a Tuesday, December 18th.

A thin mist hung in the air as he squinted against the cold wind, the bicycle chain turning slowly.

Zhang Shutong was on his way to Ruoping's house.

He, Qingyi, and Dukang had discussed it and decided that from now until Christmas, the three of them would take turns "escorting" Ruoping to and from school.

Of course, they didn't plan to get in the car; they just wanted to watch Ruoping get in, keep an eye out for any disturbances around them, and then ride the car to school.

It's no wonder he's cautious. Since he knows what kind of disastrous consequences the future might bring, why not be even more cautious?
"Good morning," Zhang Shutong said with a yawn after a moment.

"Good morning, good morning, come in and sit down." Ruoping's head peeked out from under the door.

Gu Qiumian's driver hasn't arrived yet.

"Where is Auntie?" Zhang Shutong knew that Feng's father was a teacher and was away from the island from Monday to Friday.

"I told her that she would be going to school with Qiu Mian this week, and asked her to sleep in a little later. She's probably still upstairs washing up right now."

Zhang Shutong entered the room and saw two plastic bags piled up at the entrance:

"Trash, shall I take it out for you?"

"What garbage! These are clothes meant for Qinglian."

"That's an exaggeration..."

"Should we let her give it a try?"

"How did you sleep last night?"

“It’s fine, you’re all overthinking it,” Ruoping poured him a cup of hot water. “If he can find my house, then hiding like this won’t help.”

Zhang Shutong nodded and wandered around the living room. There was nothing to be reserved about. Not to mention that he had helped her move five years later, he had also been here quite a few times during his junior high school years.

Many things were still the same as in the future, except for one thing... Zhang Shutong noticed a small gift box tied to the birdcage.

"They celebrate Christmas too?" Zhang Shutong was surprised.

"How boring." Ruoping pouted. "I even taught it to sing Christmas carols last night, but it's too clumsy and couldn't learn them."

These days even parrots celebrate Christmas.

"What do you think is a good Christmas gift?" Zhang Shutong suddenly asked.

"Oh, you're giving it to me? But isn't it too early to say that now?" Ruoping was startled. "And how come you became so gentle after you touched the fox? Was it really a smiling fox or a gentle fox?"

No, it's a sarcastic comment about the fox.

Zhang Shutong listened speechlessly to Ruoping's complaints. She was just joking, and then she laughed too.

Zhang Shutong thought that he had planned to send two people, but two might not be enough.

First of all, they are best friends, an inseparable group of four. There's no reason why they would give gifts to two girls for Christmas but ignore Ruoping.

Because she was the only girl among them.

Besides, if you gave Ruoping a gift, you should also give Dukang and Qingyi a gift, right? How can you neglect your good brother?

Secondly, if asked about it afterward, all sorts of rumors will inevitably emerge, saying things like, "Zhang Shutong, Zhang Shutong, so you have such big ambitions..." It's obvious that this is a repeat of the draft paper incident, so it's better to shut them up as soon as possible.

As a result, the number of gifts to be given suddenly increased from two to five. Zhang Shutong thought admiringly, "My mother really had foresight."

But he's the kind of person who never even sends holiday greetings via text message. Suddenly having five gifts to give is overwhelming, not to mention his wallet, his brain cells can't handle it either.

Zhang Shutong silently took a sip of water and simply asked Ruoping directly:

"what do you want?"

"Why did you suddenly think of giving us something?" Ruoping asked suspiciously. "You've never given us a present for Christmas before."

"It's the last year, I want to leave something as a memento?" Zhang Shutong genuinely thought so. "Besides... I seem to remember giving one before?"

"Apples don't count as gifts."

"Doesn't count?"

Zhang Shutong swallowed back the question, "Can I buy five apples?"

“That’s something for Christmas Eve. If you want the other person to be safe and happy, you have to give it to them. Otherwise, it doesn’t count as a Christmas gift.” True to her girlish nature, Ruoping argued confidently, “Oh, and fish doesn’t count either.”

"Really? I'm so sorry..." Zhang Shutong said weakly.

"Really? I'm so sorry..." the parrot said cheerfully.

Zhang Shutong stared blankly at the parrot, thinking to himself, "How come you learned this phrase so quickly?"

So what do you want?

"I just want to get out of the house!" Ruoping wailed. "Can't we just catch that guy? That would be the best Christmas present we could get!"

Zhang Shutong sighed, knowing that Ruoping was probably just saying it casually, but he also wanted to resolve everything quickly so he could have a proper holiday.

Just then, a car horn sounded outside the door; it was Gu Qiumian's car that had arrived.

Zhang Shutong saw Ruoping off to her car, then turned to look around. It was still early, and there were only a few students, some on bicycles and some on foot; it was hard to see any adults.

He said goodbye and rode his bike back to school.

"morning."

After a moment, Zhang Shutong continued.

Lu Qinglian was doing her morning reading. She never read aloud during her morning reading; if it weren't for the slight movement of her lips, one would think she was just focused on reading.

Upon hearing this, Lu Qinglian turned a page in her textbook, perhaps to indicate that she understood, or perhaps to avoid being disturbed.

Zhang Shutong has gotten used to it.

What he wasn't used to was Gu Qiu Mian. Zhang Shutong had thought she would ask him what he thought of the scarf, or if his mother had said anything, but she didn't say anything.

He sent a thank you message, and Qiuyumianmian sent a meme of a sheep rolling its eyes. "So ugly."

"I drew it!"

So during lunch break, Zhang Shutong went directly to Class Two:
Is your class monitor here?

"Squad leader, someone's looking for you!"

Without turning her head, Gu Qiumian, who was at the back of the classroom, said, "Let him wait... What are you doing here?"

She raised her chin, looking very imposing.

They asked for my help yesterday, and today they've turned their backs on me.

Zhang Shutong waved:

"I have something to say."

Gu Qiu Mian reluctantly ran out and nudged him:
"Hey, let's talk outside, don't block our classroom door."

The two walked a few steps, chose a less crowded spot, and she asked again in a crisp voice:

"Why?"

"Thanks for yesterday."

"I just feel it's impolite to come empty-handed," Gu Qiumian muttered. "Why do you keep bringing this up?"

"What do you want for Christmas?" Zhang Shutong asked directly.

Gu Qiu Mian blinked as if she hadn't heard clearly.

Two seconds later, blood stained her ears:

"Think for yourself!"

She said something irritatingly and went back to the classroom.

Zhang Shutong was confused, but luckily someone came over:
"Hey, senior, are you two bickering again?"

It's Xu Zhiruo.

She probably came to visit Gu Qiumian, and somehow got hold of a deer hair ornament to wear on her head, making her look like a mischievous elk.

"Is it a Christmas present?" the secretary said.

"How did you know?"

"Your thoughts are easy to guess."

"But when I was talking to her, why did I see two horns hiding behind the pillar?"

Xu Zhiruo stuck out her tongue:

"We just happened to run into each other. Hey, I can give you some advice. Are you still going to listen?"

Zhang Shutong took a step and then stopped.

“First of all, we can’t send anything too ordinary.” The secretary held up one finger.

Zhang Shutong expressed his understanding.

"Secondly, don't give anything too expensive; I mean, your wallet can't handle it." The secretary held up a second finger.

Zhang Shutong expressed his agreement:
"What's the end?"

"Make sure it's original and remember to keep it a secret until the very last moment. She's a girl who likes surprises. Okay, that's all for the friendly tips. I'm going to find Qiu Mian now. Bye-bye."

Zhang Shutong felt the burden on his shoulders had become even heavier.

He slowly exhaled. It's easy to say something original, but it's not that simple.

By the afternoon, he had completely put all these random thoughts out of his mind.

Business matters.

Or perhaps, the important business is about to begin.

He must be fully focused.

I didn't think about it before because it was pointless. Since that man knew Ruoping's hairstyle and figure, it wasn't difficult for him to guess that she was a student. There were only so many school-aged children on the island, and they definitely had to go to school during the day, so it wasn't very meaningful for them to go out during the day. Only after school was it time for students to have activities.

The location was a tunnel.

Zhang Shutong touched the baton in his pocket. He had brought a self-defense weapon with him today. Although Lu Qinglian might not need it, it was always better to be safe than sorry.

He patiently waited until the bell rang for the last class.

The surrounding students erupted in a cacophony of noise, more restless than usual due to the approaching holiday. Zhang Shutong didn't rush to get up, but glanced at his phone and said to Lu Qinglian:

"Ruoping left the clothes at the entrance to the rooftop."

"Ah."

"She also said..." Zhang Shutong hesitated for a moment, "that she wanted to help you get dressed, and that the clothes were all washed."

Actually, Zhang Shutong knew that Ruoping was a fangirl; she just wanted to see what Xiaolu would look like in a different outfit.

"Thank you." Lu Qinglian nodded her chin. She was still working on her test paper. "Please tell Feng Ruoping that it would be safer for her to go home as soon as possible."

"She said you'd better be more vigilant," Zhang Shutong typed.

"Okay, okay." You could feel Ruoping's disappointment even through the screen. She then added, "Then remember to take two photos for me."

"……talk later."

He waited in his seat for a while longer, until almost everyone in the classroom had left. Then he looked out the window and saw Qingyi and Dukang standing in front of a car, waving at the window.

Zhang Shutong felt relieved.

There's no way to get them involved in this plan.

At the same time, Lu Qinglian put down her pen. She not only finished the test paper, but also took the time to correct the answers.

She put her things away and then reached out her hand:
"wig."

Zhang Shutong also took a plastic bag out of his schoolbag and handed it to her.

The wig was with him because it wasn't very convenient for her to take it up the mountain.

Zhang Shutong stood up. The corridor was quiet; almost everyone had left. The two of them left the classroom and headed towards the rooftop.

That's the only convenient place; you don't have to worry about being discovered. You can hide behind the stairwell at the top.

Zhang Shutong actually wanted to make the location the girls' restroom, but Lu Qinglian shook her head and rejected it. She thought about it and figured there were still some students on duty, and going to the restroom would easily give them away. Zhang Shutong put away her joking intentions. She wasn't doing this because she cared too much about what others thought, but because the island was too small. If she was discovered today, it would spread throughout the entire grade tomorrow, the whole school the day after, and then outside the school...

If there were any other personal reasons besides that, it might be that the toilet was too dirty.

"Do you have the key?"

They entered the stairwell, and Zhang Shutong asked from behind Lu Qinglian.

She gave a casual reply, then inserted the key and clicked the lock open. This place was no longer Zhang Shutong's secret hideout; in fact, he hadn't seen the key since it was lost.

Having not returned to the rooftop for a long time, a cold wind hit his face first, and Zhang Shutong was about to take a few nostalgic glances at it.

With a bang, the door slammed shut right in front of his nose, and the wind and air stopped.

"Uh……"

"Please wait outside for a moment," Lu Qinglian said calmly from behind the door.

Zhang Shutong shrugged.

A few minutes later, the door was pushed open a crack.

Before Zhang Shutong could speak, Lu Qinglian spoke first.

Through the crack in the door, bathed in the setting sun, Zhang Shutong saw her delicate face, her brows slightly furrowed:
"Zhang Shutong, come in for a moment."

Her tone seemed quite helpless:

"This wig seems difficult to put on."

(End of this chapter)