December 8th.
Saturday, 7 p.m.
Xu Zhiruo sat back on the sofa, sweating profusely, sticking out her tongue like a puppy from the heat.
Singing is also a physical activity. They arrived at this villa at 1 p.m., and now, six hours later, they haven't rested for a moment.
They had to jump around while singing, so they couldn't sing continuously. Not to mention a group of fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls, even a tough man couldn't sustain such high-intensity exercise.
So after singing a few songs, everyone went to find a movie to watch. The projector was turned on, and the system still had "A Chinese Odyssey" paused halfway.
Gu Qiumian turned off "A Chinese Odyssey" and asked them what they wanted to watch.
Xu Zhiruo was just a little strange that she would want to watch this movie. Her best friend was not a literary girl; she wouldn't sit alone on the sofa holding a tissue box, crying her eyes out. No matter how classic a tearjerker, she would disdain to watch it a second time after watching it once.
She could only attribute it to her bad mood these past few days. When people are in a bad mood, they always like to watch something sad.
After watching the movie, they ran to the piano room on the second floor. Gu Qiumian sat elegantly in front of the piano, and the few girlfriends sat in a row behind her, watching her play from "Für Elise" to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." The melody was sometimes lively, sometimes melodious. Actually, she played many more, but she could only understand these two songs. The rest were dizzying F major and D major that she had never even heard of.
It's okay not to understand; an excellent audience knows to applaud desperately. In the applause, she could see her long, white, swan-like neck, and the young lady's slender fingers glided over the keys, exuding a dazzling and proud aura.
Besides the piano, the piano room was also filled with many building block models. One of Gu Qiumian's hobbies was building blocks—the one that was smashed at school was one of her countless collections. A European-style castle as big as a washbasin, isn't that exaggerated? But compared to the room full of building blocks, it was just a drop in the ocean.
They started building blocks again.
The four teenage girls didn't mind getting dirty or losing their composure. They sat on the floor like little girls, and the four of them built a very, very long train track. When they were done, they put the battery-powered train engine on it. They even lay on their stomachs, concentrating on watching the train start, not daring to breathe. When the train engine went around several times and returned to the starting point, they cheered and high-fived at the same time, taking out their phones to take pictures to commemorate their victory.
At this time, Qiumian suggested, why don't we go down and continue singing? She didn't sing enough just now.
Xu Zhiruo grunted at the words, thinking to herself, that's right, you didn't sing just now, and you kept staring at your phone on the sofa.
Everyone went back downstairs. This time, Gu Qiumian found a silver hairpin. She nimbly pulled up her hair, tying it into a regal princess-like hairstyle. However, no princess would roll up the sleeves of her shirt and eagerly look at the song selection machine.
Unexpectedly, she first sang "Easy to Grow Cold" (by Jay Chou), and her voice became melancholic and lonely again. Xu Zhiruo thought to herself, "Oh no," could it be that her chicken soup's shelf life was so short, not even lasting one night?
She was just about to rack her brains for a few more sentences when Gu Qiumian finished the last lyric and let out a sigh.
"I told you I'm fine." Gu Qiumian glared with her beautiful eyes. "Were you saying bad things about me in your heart just now?"
Xu Zhiruo also breathed a sigh of relief and said jokingly that she wouldn't dare. Sure enough, as if to prove Gu Qiumian's words, as soon as she finished speaking, a new song was cut on the screen. This time, just by listening to the rhythm, she knew it was very intense. She tapped her heel to the beat and then went all out.
At the end of the song, a playful wisp of hair slipped down from Gu Qiumian's tied-up hair, sticking to her rosy lips. She went to the coffee table to drink water, her chest heaving. Xu Zhiruo took over and asked while selecting a song:
"I'll choose 'Simple Love' for you. You always love to sing that one at karaoke."
"No." She deliberately wrinkled her nose. "I don't want to sing love songs today. Besides, my family only has the Wu Bai version, and his love is too rough, not simple at all."
After drinking water, Gu Qiumian went back on stage. She sang the best and could handle any genre. The atmosphere finally livened up. They sang from Jay Chou to Wang Leehom, from Cyndi Wang to Leslie Cheung, and finally returned to Wu Bai.
Everyone was exhausted, but the excitement hadn't worn off yet, and no one really wanted to leave. But it was getting late, and it was time to leave.
So someone, it's not clear who, first suggested, "Let's end the night with Wu Bai's 'First Class in the World.'"
The proposal was unanimously approved. Everyone said, "Okay, okay." After the prelude ended, the girls deliberately raised their voices, comically mimicking the Hokkien accent. The four of them sang hoarsely, their clear voices completely distorted. They burst into laughter after just a few lines, and the speakers buzzed. They all collapsed on the sofa in a heap.
A chaotic dance of demons.
In the end, Gu Qiumian's voice was hoarse from laughing. She put on her slippers and sent her three friends upstairs.
The driver was already waiting outside the villa.
"Are you sure you're not staying for dinner?" Gu Qiumian asked.
"Not really. Didn't you say you still have some things to do tonight? We won't stay. Besides, there's still tomorrow."
"Okay then."
Actually, there was a small interlude while they were singing. She thought Gu Qiumian would be fully focused on singing, but she took out her phone again to reply to a message while drinking water. At that time, Xu Zhiruo was selecting a song in front and was shocked to see this. She thought, "What kind of magic does that wooden brother have to captivate my young lady's soul again?"
She quickly shouted, "Qiumian, Qiumian, it's your turn--"
Gu Qiumian quickly took the microphone, even forgetting her phone in the sofa crevice.
Xu Zhiruo hesitated inside, wondering if she should look. Just then, Gu Qiumian appeared in front of her again and said crossly, "If you want to look, just look." Then she went back to singing.
Only then did she feel relieved to look at the chat history.
Sure enough, it was that brother.
But this time, their conversation had changed.
It was probably around 6:30 p.m. when Qiumian took the initiative to ask:
"Have you eaten?"
The other person quickly replied, saying they had, and attached a picture of the restaurant's entrance.
Gu Qiumian said again:
"You ate so early."
"I didn't eat much at noon, so I'm hungry again."
"Didn't Teacher Song take you guys out for a big meal at noon?"
"I was just so busy having fun that I didn't eat much. Thanks to your card."
"I should be the one saying thank you. Thank you for yesterday."
"Take care tonight."
"Mmm, get a good rest."
The conversation ended there.
Compared to the previous question-and-answer-style conversation, a few more sentences about whether they had eaten were added.
She now understood. It turned out that Qiumian didn't want the other person to worry. Seeing that the boy was fine and having a good time, she didn't say anything else.
But it didn't seem like a normal chat either. Both of them had something on their minds that they hadn't let go of.
She felt that Qiumian was having a blast just now, but she wasn't truly carefree. Instead, she was trying to vent all her worries.
Sure enough, her heart was not here.
Xu Zhiruo blinked:
"Although you sing very well, beautiful girl, retreating and escaping won't solve the problem."
Gu Qiumian didn't speak, just rolled her eyes.
"Don't think that playing until you're exhausted and your voice is hoarse will make you forget your troubles. You've just retreated. In fact, you wanted to go out today..."
"No, you're so annoying."
"I haven't even said what it is, and you've already denied it. You were provoked, weren't you? You're just deceiving yourself, lying to yourself..."
They bickered as they reached the first floor. The four of them went to the door to change their shoes. As soon as the entrance door was opened, the cold wind from outside rushed in. Xu Zhiruo shrank her neck.
So cold.
She was very vain today and wore a padded jacket. It was fine when she came in the afternoon, but the temperature dropped again in the evening. In addition, she was sweating all over from singing just now, and now she felt cold all over.
So she asked:
"Qiumian, where's that black down jacket you don't wear? Lend it to me. I'll give it back tomorrow."
"I lent it to someone yesterday. I'll find you another one."
"Who did you lend it to?"
Gu Qiumian didn't say anything again and stood on her tiptoes to open the wardrobe.
Xu Zhiruo looked at her back and could see that Qiumian was retreating and hesitating, but she couldn't understand why.
Was it related to that boy?
What on earth was it?
...
Aunt Wu gently knocked on the study door.
"Come in."
A man's magnetic voice came from inside.
"Mr. Gu, dinner is ready."
The man nodded slightly, indicating he knew.
This big boss, who started in real estate, was not the upstart or country bumpkin that outsiders imagined. On the contrary, he was a gentle and refined man.
He was in his forties but still well-preserved, with a handsome appearance and fair skin. The girl's fair complexion was inherited from her father.
But never underestimate him because of his appearance. The man was casually giving instructions over the phone:
"Use whatever means you have. Send that student to a juvenile detention center. As for his family, I don't want to see them on the island again...
"I know they can be used as a bargaining chip. The most difficult families have been dealt with, and it will be much easier to talk about demolition now, but I don't want to spoil my daughter's mood. Apologize? No need. They're just flies. Director Yu, it's winter now. There shouldn't be any flies in winter... Mmm, as long as you understand."
"You guys eat first..." He hung up the phone. With just a few words, he decided the fate of several families. He was about to compose a text message on his phone but suddenly sighed. "Forget it, Mianmian will complain about me later. Let's go together."
He got up from the boss's chair and habitually tidied up the desk.
Aunt Wu stood quietly at the door, knowing that the man never liked others to interfere with his things.
Gu Jianhong asked casually:
"Did Mianmian's friends leave?"
He could hear the movement in the living room from the study, so he naturally wouldn't go to see them off himself.
"They left." Aunt Wu handed him a hot towel.
The man wiped his hands:
"How did she have fun? Is she happier than yesterday?"
"She had a great time."
"She's a silly girl, too," the man smiled. The aura of a superior person faded, and he looked like an office worker, an elite in the financial field, or even a writer. But no one would ever associate him with a big boss. He chatted with the nanny about family matters. "Why would she believe whatever others say."
"She was already very rational." Aunt Wu also smiled. "I was originally worried that she would go out with her friends directly, but in the end, she didn't act on impulse. She knew that staying at home was the safest. She must trust you, otherwise, why would she take the initiative to call you."
"You thought she would go out at the time?"
"It's possible."
As they spoke, they walked to the dining table. The nanny pulled out a chair for the man, and Gu Qiumian was already seated.
"Oh, I can see it now. She's really happy, my little glutton." Gu's father said to the nanny with a smile.
"It's because Aunt Wu's food is so delicious." Gu Qiumian raised her eyes.
"You really made a big fuss this time. Your friends are doing it for your own good, but they're a bit over the top... Don't frown just yet. Dad wants to discuss this with you. Tonight, I'll have two people on patrol, and the rest will return to the villa. Let Old Wu make them a bed in the living room. It might be a bit noisy at night."
The man said in a gentle tone:
"You just hold on for two more days. When everything is handled, you can go to the city to play or take a few days off, whatever you want. But don't go anywhere tonight. Just stay in your room and go to bed early. Trust Dad, okay?"
Gu Qiumian subconsciously looked out the window at the words. It was already dark, and the weather was nice tonight; the moon was out.
A lonely moon hung in the dark sky.
She nodded gently.
...
Zhang Shutong suppressed the feeling of dizziness and slowly sat down.
It didn't feel good to be surrounded, but he didn't have the strength to deal with the eyes from all directions. The staff came over and cursed him a few times, but he ignored them, and they left when they saw he was unresponsive.
On the boat, he explained about Teacher Song to his parents. At 6:20 p.m., the ferry docked.
It turned out that twenty minutes could pass so quickly.
In just a daze, he returned to the small island from the city.
But suddenly, he didn't know where he should go.
Go home?
In the end, he went to the hospital.
Of course, before he arrived at the hospital, he felt that he should eat something first.
He wasn't hungry, but he felt like he was a car that needed fuel to keep running.
However, the smell of oil smoke made him want to vomit. In the end, he found a place selling steamed buns at the hospital entrance. He resisted the nausea, tore the steamed bun apart little by little, put it in his mouth, and then stood with his mouth shut tight for a while to stop the churning in his stomach.
Now he was back in the ward on the second floor of the hospital. The surroundings were noisy, and there was even an empty sofa. Zhang Shutong quickly went to grab the seat, thinking that he was quite lucky.
He had already greeted the young nurse, who just sighed when she saw him, probably feeling very helpless, since this was his third time at the hospital.
The adrenaline faded, and his condition seemed to have worsened a bit. The hardest thing is to give yourself an explanation. He didn't understand what that sentence meant at first, but now he had some understanding.
His mind was a mess, and he didn't have time to think like a philosopher. He just knew that at least tonight, from now until midnight, he didn't want to go look for that "fake Lu Qinglian" anymore.
He felt like he was about to run out of steam.
It wasn't just him who was running out of steam, but also the motorcycle.
When he took over the motorcycle, it had a quarter of a tank of gas left. He had ridden the bike to many places these past two days, and the fuel gauge was almost at the bottom. There were no gas stations on the small island, and the only time he went off the island, he didn't have time to refuel. He estimated the remaining mileage. Maybe from here to the villa and back, the motorcycle would be done for.
He decided to use his last chance at midnight.