His eyes quickly adjusted to the bright light. The heating in the room was on high, and the wind from the central air conditioner tickled his cheeks.
Following the principle of not causing trouble for others, Zhang Shutong first bent down and brushed the snow from his pant legs. However, he was not in charge here. In the young miss's territory, everything was naturally up to her.
"Put your backpack down first. Isn't it heavy?" she said, not forgetting to give him instructions while taking off her little boots.
Zhang Shutong put down his backpack as he was told.
"Take off your coat so you don't catch a cold."
The young miss took off her scarf and then issued another command.
He did as he was told, feeling helpless, and thought, "You're so bossy."
"Hang it here." Gu Qiumian nodded her chin in satisfaction, pointing to a hook on the cupboard.
Zhang Shutong felt a bit flustered, but when you're a guest in someone's home, you have to follow the host's lead.
"And then you have to change your shoes. Let me find them..."
She was wearing a pair of light gray tights today. After taking off her boots, her feet were only covered by a thin layer of fabric. She was now standing on her tiptoes, looking for slippers.
Gu Qiumian muttered:
"Oh, hurry up and get them for me. I can't reach them. They're on the..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Zhang Shutong had already reached over her head and taken out a pair of slippers from the second shelf. They were the perfect size.
He knew that the guest slippers were kept there.
Gu Qiumian was stunned:
"Did I finish talking just now?"
"I'm taller than you. I can see them," Zhang Shutong teased her.
Aunt Wu, the nanny, watched the two of them at the door with a smile.
"This is Aunt Wu."
Gu Qiumian introduced him.
Zhang Shutong said hello. The woman said, "Don't be shy. You two must be freezing. Come and eat."
The young miss then commanded again:
"Don't forget to wash your hands..."
Zhang Shutong didn't need her to remind him. He walked to the bathroom, which he was very familiar with. He turned on the brass faucet, and lukewarm water immediately flowed out, covering his skin and making him let out a comfortable sigh.
Amid the sound of flowing water, Qiuyu Mianmian's expression in the mirror was as if she had seen a ghost.
"Did I tell you where the bathroom was?" she said with wide eyes. "How are you so familiar with this place?"
"I guessed."
Zhang Shutong was secretly laughing.
He thought to himself, "I even guessed that you have a burgundy pajama. It would scare you to death if I said it out loud." But Zhang Shutong was not a pervert. He only thought about it.
The two of them dried their hands and walked to the dining room.
The bowls and chopsticks were already set.
Under a bright crystal chandelier, there was a magnificent square dining table. At a quick glance, the marble tabletop was dazzlingly bright and could easily accommodate eight people.
The head of the table was empty. Mr. Song and the nanny sat on one side, and Zhang Shutong and Gu Qiumian sat on the other.
The dinner was very rich:
Milky white crucian carp soup, lotus root pork ribs, green peppers stuffed with meat, and crystal dumplings. The portions were not large, but they were all meat dishes.
Qiuyu Mianmian was indeed a meat-eater.
The remaining two dishes were added later:
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried tofu with scallions.
Zhang Shutong muttered to himself:
"How is it that a random dinner at her house is better than what I would get at a restaurant?"
But even so, Aunt Wu, the nanny, was serving soup to everyone while apologizing to Mr. Song:
"It's a bit simple. Please bear with us."
Mr. Song quickly took the ladle and said, "This is better than what I eat all week. The dishes at a restaurant aren't as exquisite as these. I'm the one causing you trouble."
Zhang Shutong knew this was a necessary courtesy, so he thanked her after his teacher and took the ladle.
"We should also thank Qiumian. We're benefiting from her," Mr. Song was a man of high emotional intelligence.
"I'm benefiting from you," Zhang Shutong also had high emotional intelligence. He served a bowl of soup for the young miss.
Gu Qiumian hummed, reluctantly satisfied.
After a round of pleasantries, everyone picked up their chopsticks. Zhang Shutong picked up a crystal dumpling. The outside was glutinous rice, and the inside was a meat filling mixed with water chestnuts. He had only seen this on his phone and had never eaten it in real life.
It was impossible for his mom to make such a time-consuming dish. She only knew how to stew food. Zhang Shutong was most afraid of eating her stir-fried dishes, which would either be burnt or watery.
He then picked up a piece of green pepper stuffed with meat. The savory and slightly sweet sauce was wrapped around it. The sauce was rich and fragrant, the green pepper was crisp, and the meat filling was soft.
After two bites, he no longer missed that duck soup noodle.
Sometimes, you only crave something because you've never had anything better.
The only difficulty was that he and Gu Qiumian were a bit "at odds."
Zhang Shutong then realized that she was a lefty, and the girl was sitting on his right. The young miss's chopsticks were made of ceramic. They looked expensive and were both heavy and long. The tips of their chopsticks had already clashed twice.
Zhang Shutong moved his chair to the side. She was not happy about it and glared at him.
Zhang Shutong then tried to control the ceramic chopsticks. Sometimes, you don't judge a person's wealth by external things like their car, clothes, or bags. You look at the smaller details of their life.
For example, when it came to tableware, his family's conditions were also not bad, but their tableware was never considered a "set." They would always just grab whatever they wanted and use it. Sometimes it was a plate, sometimes it was a bowl, and sometimes it was a serving dish.
In contrast, for this dinner, there was a soup bowl and a plate in front of each person, as well as a small dish for bones.
These items and the serving dishes were all part of a set, with a celadon glaze and a faint floral pattern. Even the chopsticks and spoons matched perfectly.
And there were several other sets of similar tableware, as Zhang Shutong discovered when he was washing the dishes that day.
And that chandelier above their heads. Zhang Shutong had originally thought it was a bit glaring, but who would have thought that a thing that looked like a vintage craft could also be adjusted for brightness and had a small remote control to go with it?
At this moment, the light was soft, and the glaze on the tableware shimmered under its glow. It was exquisite but didn't steal the show or overpower the color of the food itself.
While eating his rice, Zhang Shutong thought to himself, "Qiuyu Mianmian always seemed unassuming, but in reality, they were far apart. They were people from two different worlds."
The dinner was over quickly.
Although the nanny's cooking was excellent, he didn't have a high desire for material things. He only ate until he was about six or seven-tenths full, and then he put down his chopsticks.
Mr. Song also couldn't eat anymore, even if he wanted to. He muttered that he shouldn't have eaten those three sausages to fill himself up earlier.
And Gu Qiumian's appetite wasn't very big today. She just sat on the side and quietly drank her soup.
The nanny went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, and the three of them moved to the living room.
Gu Qiumian asked if they wanted tea or coffee. Mr. Song waved his hand:
"You should get some rest. I won't bother you anymore. Besides, I have to take Shutong home. Right, Shutong?" He turned his head. "Wait, where is he?"
He found that his favorite student was already gone.
Zhang Shutong was studying the villa's doors.
The main door had a password lock, a key card, and a fingerprint scanner. Zhang Shutong thought that it was unlikely to be breached from the front.
There was also a side door—the villa's balcony was a huge floor-to-ceiling window that faced the backyard.
And there was a small sliding door next to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside was a hallway. He had talked to Qingyi on the phone there before. Zhang Shutong unlocked the door and bent down to look at the lock cylinder.
If it were locked, it would be impossible to open from the outside.
But it was definitely not as secure as a security door.
Did they forget to lock the door that night?
There was a layer of solid wood decking under the floor-to-ceiling window. He took off his slippers and walked on it, and it made almost no sound.
"What are you doing, kid?"
At this time, a speechless voice came from behind.
He turned around and saw that Mr. Song and Gu Qiumian were looking at him in confusion.
Zhang Shutong said that he wanted to look around. It was his first time here, so he was curious.
"Hey, are you leaving or not?" Mr. Song gritted his teeth.
"No rush. You can sit for a while and have a drink of water."
Zhang Shutong said casually and ran to the elevator.
"Qiumian, look at this kid. He's really making himself at home," Mr. Song said, crossing his legs and laughing.
Gu Qiumian pretended not to hear and asked him in an irritated tone, "What are you drinking? I'll go get it."
"I'm not drinking anything. Just leave me be. Hurry up and show him around so we can get this over with."
Gu Qiumian sighed when she heard this. She said he was a lot of trouble.
As she said this, she walked a few steps to the elevator. The girl had her hands behind her back and blinked:
"What kind of trouble are you causing now?"
"Can we go up and take a look?"
Gu Qiumian nodded and pressed the open door button.
The two of them entered the elevator. What Zhang Shutong was paying attention to was the sound of the elevator. As expected of a high-end model for a villa, it was almost silent. It only made a sound when the door opened and closed.
They arrived on the second floor and stepped into the long, narrow hallway with a dark-colored carpet. Gu Qiumian said that there were three rooms on this floor: her bedroom, a music room, and a guest room.
"Where's your dad?"
"He's on the third floor."
Okay, Zhang Shutong couldn't figure out the quirks of rich families. The family didn't even live on the same floor.
It was said that some expensive wool carpets had sound-absorbing properties. Even if they didn't, this floor was specially soundproofed. The two of them walked through the quiet hallway, and their footsteps were completely absorbed.
Zhang Shutong walked in front. He pretended to wander aimlessly, but he was actually walking toward Gu Qiumian's room.
But after a few steps, Gu Qiumian stopped him.
"What's wrong?"
"That's my room. You're not allowed to go in!" she said in a petulant tone.
"When we parked, I saw a window from the main gate. Was that your room?"
Zhang Shutong thought for a moment and then said:
"When I was at the police station today, I heard the police say that Zhou Ziheng's dad originally wanted to send people to your house to cause trouble. I was just curious about where they would make their move so they wouldn't be discovered."
"Okay, then." Gu Qiumian hesitated for a moment and then said slowly, "But you're only allowed to look from the doorway."
Zhang Shutong naturally agreed. He then stepped aside to let Gu Qiumian walk in front of him. When she got to the door, she reminded him:
"You're not allowed to go in!"
"Why would I go into your room for no reason?"
Zhang Shutong thought helplessly.
Then Gu Qiumian pushed open the door and turned on the light.
The light came on. At a glance, the first thing that came into view was another floor-to-ceiling window. It turned out to be a balcony with a terrace, and a layer of snow covered the terrace.
Zhang Shutong remembered that Gu Qiumian had leaned out of a window on the second floor and talked to him that night. It turned out that it was from this terrace.
And behind the floor-to-ceiling window was a desk. The desktop was neat, with stationery, documents, and some of the girl's knickknacks.
He was not interested in Gu Qiumian's private belongings and was about to ask if the terrace had a lock when he heard her gasp. Zhang Shutong was startled again. He thought something had happened and didn't have time to react, but Gu Qiumian clumsily pushed him away, rushed into the room, and slammed the door shut.
What was going on?
Did her low blood sugar act up again?
Zhang Shutong was completely confused.