"Do you still want to watch the movie?"
Gu Qiumian asked calmly.
But just a moment before, her expression was not like this. If he hadn't mistaken it, she had blinked hard just now.
"...We'd better go back. We were startled just now, and we've caused enough trouble for today."
Du Kang quickly said politely.
Hearing this, Gu Qiumian turned her head, covered the microphone, and quickly repeated it.
Du Kang didn't know why she was being so mysterious when making a phone call to Shutong. Anyway, he didn't understand, so he didn't bother to think about it.
Speaking of which, Shutong didn't seem to have told her about the footprints yet.
The "culprit" also hadn't been found.
So, should they wait or not?
He wasn't sure what to do and was about to ask his two best friends. When he turned his head, he saw Qingyi and Ruoping whispering to each other.
"No, why are you all so mysterious?"
"Shh," Ruoping waved her hand, meaning, just listen and don't talk. She whispered to Qingyi, "Can you see anything now?"
"No."
"Forget it, let's not think about it anymore."
Gossip is a girl's nature, but with people who aren't that important, it comes and goes quickly.
If the other person was truly very nervous and worried about something, they should show concern out of humanitarianism. But she checked again and found that Gu Qiumian didn't look sad or upset. She was clearly in a tangled state just now, but now she was talking on the phone in a low voice with a calm expression, so Ruoping stopped paying attention.
"Let's go up first. Shutong must be waiting for us."
Ruoping stretched a little and told the two to tidy up the sofa and not leave their phones behind. She was always worrying about everything.
On the other side, Gu Qiumian also turned off the lights and the projector. The noisy screening room returned to darkness until the three of them walked into the elevator and realized that Gu Qiumian was still standing outside.
"You guys go up first," she said as if nothing had happened, picking up her phone. "I just remembered I have to make a call to my dad to tell him about the outer wall."
The few of them were not familiar with each other, so they just nodded and pressed the elevator button.
As the elevator doors closed, the last bit of light reflected in the car disappeared.
Forgetting is a very normal thing. Everyone has some small memory fragments lingering in a corner of their mind. These things may be linked together at some unintentional moment, and you nod with a sudden realization, feeling a sourness in your nose.
But perhaps for some people, those memory fragments are not buried deep in their memories but have completely disappeared.
The girl returned to the sofa in the dim space. She hugged her knees and took off the four-leaf clover pendant on her chest and the hair clip at the back of her head. Her dark, beautiful hair quietly fell.
...
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Shutong first looked at the time. It was almost three o'clock, which was indeed a bit late.
If they stayed a little longer, the nanny would probably start preparing dinner.
He thought about Lu Qinglian's reminder and had a bit of a headache.
He was not at ease with Gu Qiumian staying in the villa overnight.
But where should they go next?
Leave the island?
Or find a small hotel on the island for a night?
Speaking of which, Gu Qiumian's dad should be coming back soon. He wondered if that would cause more problems.
It would be troublesome if the other party treated it as a children's game.
Saying things like, "Nonsense, how can I not let my daughter go back to my own home?" Zhang Shutong didn't want to get into a conflict over this kind of thing.
A big boss like that would not listen to his arrangements for everything.
He went to the sofa, poured a glass of water, and only when he drank it did he realize it was not his cup but Gu Qiumian's. However, she hadn't used it before, so there was no need to be concerned.
At this time, a message also came on his phone. In the group chat, his best friends asked if they should continue to wait.
Zhang Shutong was not sure either.
Would the culprit come again?
From a rational point of view, if the other party came up again, they would definitely find a bunch of footprints on the mountain road. Putting himself in their shoes, many people were waiting for him in the villa, and it was daytime now. It was highly likely that they would retreat in the face of difficulties.
Therefore, it was difficult to get more clues today.
And the identity of the other party was also a problem. Was it the figure he saw in the forbidden area?
If so, why were the shoes different?
Countless questions came to his mind. At this time, the elevator also slowly opened, and a few people came upstairs.
Zhang Shutong, however, did not see Gu Qiumian.
"Where is she?"
"She said she wanted to sit downstairs for a while, by herself," Ruoping spoke first. She looked at him strangely and said, "What did you do to her again?"
"I didn't do anything, right?" Zhang Shutong also replied strangely.
"So are we leaving or continuing to wait? We've already had dinner and watched the movie..."
"Let me ask first, wait a moment." He dialed Gu Qiumian's number again.
The other end quickly answered:
"Just say what you have to say on the phone. Don't come down first," Gu Qiumian said in a low voice.
Zhang Shutong guessed it was about her mother, so he didn't waste any time and told her about the footprints.
"Mm," she was silent for a while and then said, "I'll lock the doors and windows. Auntie is with me, and Dad will be back soon tomorrow."
Zhang Shutong didn't want to hear this answer. "I mean, you'd better consider whether you want to move to another place for the next two days."
"Why should I go somewhere else?"
"Do you remember the dream I told you about? Your house is actually not safe," Zhang Shutong had to say awkwardly.
"Then how did that person you mentioned get in?"
This was the question Zhang Shutong was most afraid of. He couldn't explain it at all.
He also said, "Then why don't we leave the island and go to the city for a few days?"
"I... that's too much trouble for you. Nothing will happen at home."
Alright, he thought this move was a killer move, but who knew it didn't work at all? He remembered Teacher Song once said that if he invited her, she would agree. It really shouldn't be taken seriously.
Zhang Shutong knew that she was preoccupied now and probably wasn't in the mood to do anything, so he said:
"It's only three o'clock now. The last boat leaves at six. You can think about it first."
Gu Qiumian, however, acted as if she hadn't heard him:
"Actually, I wanted to ask this before. Why are you so concerned about my affairs?"
Zhang Shutong was choked. He thought, how can I not be concerned when you're about to be harmed?
But he couldn't say, "You'll die if you don't listen to me," like a lunatic.
Zhang Shutong also thought that if there was a real catalyst, it should have been at the steamed bun shop at the school gate. The girl was clearly in a very bad mood but still looked indifferent, and then she stubbornly told him that if she showed her feelings, she would be defeated.
He felt some empathy when he heard it and decided to help her from then on, and it spiraled out of control.
He hesitated for a moment and was about to say these words, but he remembered that this was also something that had disappeared.
It turned out that in this timeline, he didn't even have a reason to help her.
He was about to instinctively make up an excuse, but Gu Qiumian spoke.
"Alright," she said softly. Her voice sounded soft, but it wasn't the softness of acting spoiled. It was more like she had no energy. "Wait until I come up, and we'll talk."
Not long after, the elevator door opened.
When he saw Gu Qiumian again, she had already taken off the hair clip at the back of her head and restored her medium-length hair. She no longer looked like a meticulously dressed princess but a beautiful and noble girl.
Gu Qiumian sat on the sofa, drinking water in small sips.
Zhang Shutong originally wanted to say that he had used that cup, but she had already drunk from it, so it was better to keep his mouth shut.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
She only then raised her head again and smiled:
"You're so silly. Who said I was in a bad mood..."
"That's good."
Zhang Shutong didn't know what happened to her during the time she was downstairs. At this moment, her mood was neither good nor bad. He only knew that some things seemed to have changed quietly and were different from before.