"I was there just yesterday."
Lu Qinglian was discussing an extremely serious topic. Zhang Shutong didn't know if it was his misconception, but a chilling glint was faintly visible in her eyes.
Zhang Shutong understood her feelings. This was no longer just a matter of a base being discovered. It was that the other party had not only invaded your base, but also, before leaving, had unethically taken the key. It was like Batman returning to the Batcave, or Spider-Man getting ready to crawl through the window, but after searching for a long time, the two superheroes found that the lock on their home had been changed.
This was something that could not be endured.
"But I don't have a spare key either." Zhang Shutong said helplessly. If he didn't have something to do later, he would definitely stay and look for it, but Gu Qiumian had just sent a message on QQ saying she was waiting for him at the school gate, so he had no choice but to deal with it later.
"I see." Lu Qinglian nodded and continued correcting homework, with a strand of hair falling down her temple because of the motion.
"Don't be rash, Student Lu Qinglian." He advised her kindly, feeling that she was very likely to go directly to the rooftop entrance to block the person.
"What kind of childish things are you thinking about again, Student Zhang Shutong?" Lu Qinglian frowned. She murderously drew a big 'X' on the paper. He didn't know if it was because the person had too many wrong words or for some other reason. "I just think it's strange. If you want to go to the rooftop, you can go up directly. There's no need to take the key."
"That's true."
Zhang Shutong thought to himself that not everyone was like her. Although Lu Qinglian had been going up there for many years without him knowing, she always put the key back in its place every time she came down, which was why he had never discovered it all these years.
The classroom was already empty. There were only a few scattered footsteps running by in the corridor. Even the students on duty had gone to eat. Their school didn't have a cafeteria, so they could only get lunch at the school gate. Lu Qinglian was one of the few students who brought lunch from home.
The weather was very nice today. It was noon, and the warm winter sun was cut into pieces by the window grates. The light spots sprinkled on the dark hair behind her head, and the light and shadows shifted. It probably wasn't too cold. Besides, there was heating in the classroom. Lu Qinglian stretched like a cat, and there was a very comfortable feeling about her.
He also remembered Teacher Song saying that she actually quite liked going to school. Zhang Shutong couldn't understand why someone like her would like school. He closed the door. The sunlight pouring in from the window was cut off, and she was the only one left inside.
The classroom faced the sun. The corridor was a bit cold and shady. Zhang Shutong came and went in a hurry. He quickly got to the school gate, where his friends were waiting for him.
"Why are you so slow?" Ruoping asked.
"I was kept after class."
"You? Kept after class? Is that for real?" The others clearly didn't believe him.
Zhang Shutong said there was nothing he could do. The new homeroom teacher inexplicably disliked him.
He looked around, but didn't see Gu Qiumian. Didn't she tell them to wait at the school gate? So where did she go?
Also, he didn't mind going to eat rice bowls at the gate, but unfortunately, the young lady minded.
Just as he was thinking nonsense, a black sedan pulled up in front of them. The window rolled down, revealing the face of a man with a buzz cut:
"You are the young lady's classmates. Are you Zhang Shutong?"
"Yes." Zhang Shutong was a bit surprised that the other person knew him.
He was about to ask, but the driver smiled on his own:
"Get in first. The young lady told me to find the one with the injured hand."
Okay, so he was indeed an obvious target now.
Zhang Shutong now understood what was going on. It turned out that waiting at the school gate meant they would be picked up by a special car. Qiuyu Mianmian, why are you also starting to show off?
The group opened the car doors. Zhang Shutong took a special look. It wasn't that Audi. It seemed to be a Volkswagen, but he couldn't recognize the model. Gu Qiumian's family had so many cars. Zhang Shutong had been to the villa several times and almost recognized all the people, but he still hadn't recognized all the cars. To be honest, this was the first time for all of them to sit in such an expensive car. Unlike Teacher Song's dirty one, the interior was dark brown, a complete executive style. The places the skin could touch were all soft leather. The seats were also very soft, like a sofa, and felt very warm to sit on.
Ruoping and the others were a bit reserved and pushed him into the front passenger seat. He put on his seat belt and looked at the man in the driver's seat. The driver was a young guy, but he wasn't the type to be overly familiar. Instead, he was a man of few words, with very tough professional ethics. He said there was mineral water in the glove box and that they should have some to wet their throats.
Zhang Shutong opened the glove box. The brand of mineral water was Kunlun Mountain, which was an absolute luxury at the time. Zhang Shutong noticed a problem, which was: why wasn't Gu Qiumian here?
He asked the driver. The driver said the young lady had gone ahead to order.
Zhang Shutong's first reaction was, so you don't call her the young lady. His second reaction was, this meal is really a big production, sending out two cars.
He gave the mineral water to his friends and took out a cylindrical thing from the glove box. It turned out to be a tube of lipstick. Zhang Shutong quickly put the lipstick back in. He only had one hand to use. No one had the nerve to say anything. They sat stiffly the whole way, but the group chat was constantly buzzing with messages.
Qingyi also did some research on cars. He searched for the car's model and price and sent it in the chat. Zhang Shutong occasionally thought that out of the two of them, he was the one who truly inherited Teacher Song's... No, his legacy.
Du Kang, on the other hand, was asking which was more expensive, Baishui Mountain or Kunlun Mountain?
Ruoping said just drink it since it was given to him.
Soon they arrived at the mall entrance. Several cars were parked there. Zhang Shutong recognized one of them. It was Gu Qiumian's Range Rover.
He had just been to this mall over the weekend. At that time, he had a fever and his head was groggy. Teacher Song had paid for the meal out of his own pocket. Now, things were different. Zhang Shutong held onto the escalator and looked at the newly opened shops.
Gu Qiumian had already sent the address. The driver stopped the car and went up with them, but he stayed far behind, probably to not disturb their conversation. The four of them took the elevator and stopped at a Shandong cuisine restaurant. Zhang Shutong thought to himself, what a coincidence. In the wild dog timeline, the place where they had dinner eight years later was also this location, but it had been changed to a lake fish restaurant.
Zhang Shutong remembered Ruoping saying in the future that her parrot had learned the words her mom used to urge her to get married, which drove her crazy. He had joked that she shouldn't get a parrot. Ruoping had looked at him with a puzzled expression and said, "I just bought it last week. How do you know?"
Zhang Shutong was also stunned for a moment. Then he remembered that parrots had a long lifespan. Even the smallest budgie could live for eight years easily. He could only mourn for Ruoping in his heart and hoped she would keep it and her mom separated.
The bigger surprise was yet to come.
Because Zhang Shutong then noticed that the address Gu Qiumian sent was not just the name of a restaurant. It also included the name of the private room.
Qiuyu Mianmian used Intimidation!
Zhang Shutong was shocked!
Well, he was a bit numb. In his mind, this meal was always just a casual dinner. It was nothing more than a change of location, from the commercial street to here. But Zhang Shutong noticed that the waiters were lined up in two rows. As soon as he walked in, the group of people bowed one after another:
"Welcome."
The other person then asked if they were Miss Gu's guests, and then led the group to the private room. Zhang Shutong whispered to Ruoping that it felt like they were VIP guests. Ruoping said it was fine, after all, it was a celebration dinner.
The restaurant was very deep. They walked through the lobby and then through a corridor with a dark red carpet. Some perfume was sprayed in the corridor, and there were some paintings and calligraphies hanging on the walls on both sides, which looked quite impressive.
The lighting was also very deliberate. The ceiling lights emitted a soft glow, creating a perfectly peaceful atmosphere. It wasn't creepy, nor was it noisy. The waiter stopped at the end of the corridor. It turned out that their destination was the largest private room in the entire restaurant.
The door to the private room was also very grand. It was not a single door, but a double door. Zhang Shutong even suspected that this was a place where Gu's father usually entertained guests. He couldn't tell what the material of the door was, but he saw a brass carving on it—a magnificent painting of a fierce tiger descending the mountain.
Then two pretty waitresses stood on each side. They pushed open the heavy doors at the same time. The originally quiet corridor suddenly changed!
The sound of people rushed at them!
Through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, light also rushed in, completely swallowing the shadows in the corridor. Zhang Shutong blinked uncomfortably. The sound of people was noisy and the light was flickering in front of him. When he saw the scene inside, he was completely shocked.
He almost wanted to ask if they had gone to the wrong place. Before this moment, he had always thought that this was just a dinner for five people, just in a more luxurious location. But as soon as he entered, he found that the huge private room was full of people, one, two, three... Zhang Shutong numbly counted. It was better to say that counting by single digits was meaningless. It was in the tens. There were more than a dozen boys and girls sitting in the luxuriously decorated private room.
They were gathered around a huge round table made of solid wood. A basket of flowers was placed in the center of the table. Zhang Shutong really wanted to say, "Did we go to the wrong place?" But the people in front of him were clearly wearing school uniforms. As the door was pushed open, the noise of people stopped for a moment. Everyone's gaze turned to them.
Maybe there was another Miss Gu who was also very rich in the school, and Gu Qiumian was actually sitting in the next room... But how could that be? Zhang Shutong subconsciously looked at his friends' faces. Ruoping's eyes slowly widened. Qingyi's face was still a blank slate. Du Kang, on the other hand, knew people everywhere. He was not shy at all, and instead, he was smiling and greeting a few people.
Zhang Shutong finally realized one fact—
This was a big party for her followers.
And he, a follower, didn't know why he was dragged here.
Okay, okay, he thought to himself with a sudden realization. No wonder there were special cars to pick them up. No wonder Gu Qiumian hadn't shown up yet. No wonder there were so many cars at the mall entrance. Zhang Shutong actually didn't want to participate in this kind of occasion. In the final analysis, he was an unofficial follower. Formal occasions were none of his business. In fact, he wasn't the only one who was surprised. Some people were also surprised to see him. They were probably thinking, "Big bro, where did you pop out from? Why have I never seen you before? A Pokémon that was just tamed by the young lady?"
But there's a saying, "Since you're already here." It wouldn't look good to just stand at the door. It just so happened that there were a few empty seats at the lower end of the table. This private room was really big. Even a dozen people couldn't fill it.
"Let me introduce you. These are my close friends. This is Ruoping, this is Qingyi, and this super cool one is Shutong..."
"Oh, Ruoping, you're here too. Why didn't you tell me beforehand? I would have taken the same car as you..."
In the middle of the small talk, Zhang Shutong couldn't tell who was who. He said a brief hello. Just as he was about to sit down, a girl at the head of the table suddenly stood up and waved at him happily:
"Senior, senior, you guys come over here. I specifically saved some seats for you."
Zhang Shutong finally met a familiar person. Although her "big aunt" disliked him, Xu Zhiruo was still very friendly. Zhang Shutong was pulled away by the little secretary. Since the seats were specially saved, they were the closest to the main seat of the round table. It was clear that this Pokémon of his was a favorite of the leader. Xu Zhiruo stuck out her tongue:
"I'm sorry about what happened last time, senior. I didn't know you had a fever. Please forgive me."
Zhang Shutong knew she was talking about the video call at the hospital that day. In fact, the other person had helped him. Besides, she had so cutely said, "Please forgive me."
Zhang Shutong had never taken it to heart, so he shook his head and said it was nothing. What kind of event is this?
"It's more lively with more people. Oh, right, Qiumian went to the bathroom. She'll be back soon. Aren't you surprised?"
Zhang Shutong said it was more than just a surprise. It was a shock. He almost thought he was attending a graduation banquet. The little secretary then asked, "Do you want me to introduce you?" Then she said, "No, you probably don't need it. I forgot that you know everyone here this time."
What do you mean I know everyone? I clearly don't. Even a Pokémon Nurturing Center needs a Nurse Joy to introduce them.
Zhang Shutong thought with a wry smile. The private room door was pushed open again.
And this time, there were not just two waitresses opening the door. It was as if the entire staff of the restaurant was squeezed at the private room entrance, lining up to greet her.
A familiar figure walked in.
She was still wearing her boots, but there was no tapping sound on the dark red carpet. A very proud girl walked through the door.
Zhang Shutong moved his gaze away from her boots. It seemed he always looked at Gu Qiumian's boots first, then her scarf, and finally the pendant on the tip of her hair. He didn't know when he developed this habit.
So he raised his gaze, but his mouth opened soundlessly.
The sound of people was boiling in his ears. The figures were moving in front of him. Many people stood up. Since the young lady had arrived, they naturally had to show respect. Zhang Shutong also subconsciously stood up, but his expression was frozen on his face.
Why...
Was the person he saw Gu Qiumian with long hair?