TL Note: A little change, I will use Mr. Song instead of Teacher Song
____________________
The dismissal bell rang.
Originally, the students of Class 1 surged toward the podium like a swarm of bees, surrounding Mr. Song so tightly that not a drop of water could trickle through.
"Who's all going to eat? Is it a lot of people?" Zhang Shutong asked Lu Qinglian.
"Not many, five."
Zhang Shutong nodded first, then asked in puzzlement, "When did this happen?"
He felt as if he hadn't fully woken up yet; how did he wake up from a nap to find Mr. Song standing on the podium, and treating them to a meal out of nowhere was quite sudden too.
"During the break after the third period." Lu Qinglian also withdrew her gaze from the podium. "As for why no one called you, it was Teacher Song's explicit instruction."
"I see..."
Zhang Shutong glanced at his phone, and sure enough, Ruoping had already notified everyone in the group chat during the break of the last period. Having found his answer, he glanced back at the podium. He had to admit that Mr. Song really possessed great popularity; everyone was chattering and clinging to him in conversation, so it didn't look like he would be able to break away anytime soon.
Thus, Zhang Shutong quietly slipped out of the classroom. Belatedly, it occurred to him that Mr. Song 's return this time was entirely a surprise attack; he even doubted whether the man's body could hold up.
But this was fine too, as it was the perfect opportunity to tell him about the basement.
He recalled what Mr. Song had said just now about putting a perfect period on their middle school careers. For Song Nanshan, did this return also signify a period? Unfortunately, things were always one wave after another with barely a moment to stop.
Without realizing it, Zhang Shutong had walked to the school gate.
There weren't many people in the schoolyard yet. Their school didn't have a cafeteria, so there was no situation where students would rush out like wild horses breaking their reins to grab food the moment class ended. Everyone usually packed their things unhurriedly, laughing and talking, which could easily drag on for a good while.
A row of trees was planted by the school gate. In the December weather, a few withered yellow leaves were unexpectedly still hanging on the branches, which was truly a rare sight. A cold wind blew past, sending a leaf spinning down to land at the tip of Zhang Shutong's shoe.
To the east of the trees was a patch of concrete painted with a few parking spaces. Zhang Shutong instinctively walked over to the side of the parking spots. In the past, whenever Mr. Song agreed to treat them, he and his best friends would come wait by the parking lot, watching the man twirl his car keys as he walked over from a distance.
But right now, the parking lot was completely empty with no car in sight. Zhang Shutong lamented how terrifying human habits could be, then turned around to keep waiting.
"Are you deliberately acting like you didn't see me?" someone glared at him.
"I wouldn't dare." Zhang Shutong turned around again, too embarrassed to say that he currently detected her presence without relying on his eyes.
Gu Qiumian had arrived behind him at some unknown point. Zhang Shutong looked her up and down, still not quite used to the young miss with long hair.
In fact, Ruoping had already mentioned in the group chat that because Mr. Song 's car was gone, they would have to trouble the driver from Gu Qiumian's family to handle the transportation for this lunch gathering.
Zhang Shutong hadn't looked at the specific details too closely; anyway, it was all a matter of a single word from her.
That was why he came straight to the school gate to wait after dismissal.
Zhang Shutong thought he had come out quite early, but he hadn't expected someone to move even faster than him.
Next came the mandatory ritual of seeing her every day—admiring the young miss's wardrobe. Today, she finally wasn't wearing her short leather boots, but a pair of tall boots paired with black tights. On her upper body was a beige trench coat he had never seen before. Zhang Shutong thought to himself, You're starting to dress up for vanity again.
In any case, it looked a bit cold. She blew breaths into her palms, her toes tapping up and down in place, her long hair rising and falling along with her subtle bounces.
There was still barely anyone around the schoolyard now, so Gu Qiumian stood right beside him and asked in a low voice, "What do you want to eat for lunch?"
"It hasn't been decided yet?"
"Teacher Song said it's up to us."
The moment Zhang Shutong uttered the word "Whatever," he heard Gu Qiumian let out a huff. Ever since she became the class monitor, she seemed to carry more and more authority. Left with no choice, Zhang Shutong changed his words: "What about you?"
"Anything is fine with me."
Zhang Shutong thought to himself that the continuous autumn rain shouldn't be so double-standard.
She asked again, "Are you cold?"
Zhang Shutong said, "I'm fine, not as vain as you."
He spoke a bit without thinking today. The moment the words left his mouth, he secretly thought uh-oh, fully expecting to be glared at again. To his surprise, Gu Qiumian's eyes crinkled into a smile. "At least you have good taste."
Zhang Shutong was startled. It took him a while to figure out her line of thought; it turned out she had automatically filtered out the word "vain." Saying she was vainly dressing up was equivalent to praising her beauty. He couldn't help but deeply admire her translation skills.
But it was actually quite strange. Clearly, Gu Qiumian hadn't talked this much yesterday, nor would she wrinkle her nose or crinkle her eyelashes. Yesterday, she had maintained a calm and composed demeanor in front of everyone the entire time, yet right now she acted like a little girl instead. Just as Zhang Shutong was about to ask if she hadn't slept well either, a large crowd of students ran out of the teaching building, and a few familiar faces called out greetings:
"Monitor, I was wondering why I didn't see you. You came out so early!"
"I have some business today." Monitor Gu's wording was concise, never saying a single word extra.
As more and more people emerged from the teaching building, someone would strike up a conversation with her every now and then. When she encountered those she had a good relationship with, she would smile and reply, while for ordinary acquaintances she would just nod. Zhang Shutong even overheard two boys whispering in low voices:
"The monitor is still so aloof..."
Zhang Shutong thought that it was actually alright. Based on past experience, as long as one didn't make her angry or make her shy, it was actually quite rare to see the aloof beauty version of Gu Qiumian.
Following that, they didn't have time to talk anymore because the schoolyard gradually filled up. At the same time, a short-haired girl came running over, making a big fuss.
Who else could it be but Xu Zhiruo.
"Hello, Senior." She had learned her lesson today, waving a greeting the moment they met.
Zhang Shutong returned the greeting, not quite catching the girl's intent—was she planning to scrounge a meal too?
It turned out he was overthinking things. Xu Zhiruo had only come to find Gu Qiumian to chat for a bit; girls always had an endless supply of topics to talk about. In any case, the three of them stood neither too close nor too far apart, but it was obvious they were part of the same group. Zhang Shutong listened to the two of them whispering about who knows what. Sometimes, the little secretary would point at him, and Gu Qiumian would cover her mouth and chuckle lightly. Although the gesture was quite elegant, the laughter wasn't quiet. Zhang Shutong rolled his eyes at her, and she rolled hers back, refusing to be outdone.
A Range Rover pulled up to the school gate. Gu Qiumian bid farewell to Xu Zhiruo, then turned to tell him, "There's only one car today, but it should fit us all. We'll just squeeze a bit, since Teacher Song didn't give advance notice this time."
Zhang Shutong did the math—six people in total. With Mr. Song sitting in the passenger seat, could five people really squeeze into the back row?
To his surprise, Gu Qiumian told him as a matter of course that the car had three rows of seats.
Zhang Shutong learned another piece of useless trivia.
Soon, Mr. Song and his group arrived as well. Once they drew close, Zhang Shutong finally noticed that the man's complexion was very poor. It turned out that his robust and energetic appearance on the podium earlier had been entirely forced; his face was a sallow yellow, and despite the cold weather, a thin layer of sweat coated his forehead. Before Zhang Shutong could open his mouth, Mr. Song glared at him the moment he saw him, barking, "You ungrateful disciple! How dare you abandon your master and run off on your own?"
Zhang Shutong knew he was intentionally changing the subject, and a sour feeling rose in his heart. Gu Qiumian also expressed her concern, "Teacher, how are you feeling?" Mr. Song waved his hand:
"Small matter, small matter. It's only normal for my complexion to be poor right now; it would be weird if I recovered instantly instead. I talked a bit too much just now, I'll be fine after resting for a bit. By the way, Qiumian, back then you had your dad help contact the director of the county hospital for me. I haven't even said thank you to you yet."
Only now did Zhang Shutong find out that such a matter had been hidden behind the scenes.
"Let's get in the car first. It's decided, we're going to eat hot pot." Mr. Song gave a large wave of his hand, carrying quite a bit of his past momentum when he used to command the podium.
Zorro didn't come.
The five people were himself, his two best friends, plus Gu Qiumian and Lu Qinglian.
Naturally, everyone exchanged greetings before getting into the car.
Zhang Shutong felt that their dynamics were actually a bit peculiar. He watched Gu Qiumian and Ruoping talk; although they carried smiles on the surface, it still felt as if they were separated by a thin film. Yet even so, Ruoping was the one she was most familiar with among this group.
Needless to say for Qingyi, he never involved himself in women's topics.
The relationship between Gu Qiumian and Lu Qinglian was also just so-so; in the past they could only be called classmates, and now that they were in different classes, they were furthermore "former classmates." Zhang Shutong racked his brain and found that their interaction over the four years of middle school was truly pitifully meager.
As for Lu Qinglian, Zhang Shutong couldn't see who she was particularly close with either. Her relationship with Ruoping could be considered decent, but that so-called decent merely meant that when Ruoping approached her to talk, she would offer a flat reply.
Sometimes when thinking about it, being able to gather a group of people who weren't very well-acquainted with one another was a rather magical thing.
The hot pot restaurant Mr. Song picked was a place they used to frequent in the past.
The moment the restaurant door was pushed open, a wave of white steam rushed at their faces, blurring everyone's features.
Gu Qiumian stretched first, letting out a sigh of relief as if a burden had been lifted: "Finally left..."
Zhang Shutong knew she was talking to him. If Xu Zhiruo were here he might have doubts, but since the girl hadn't come, he was the only candidate.
"You mean the driver?"
"Yeah," Gu Qiumian took off her scarf and coat. "Just those people my dad found. Look outside, he's just watching from inside the car."
Zhang Shutong didn't need to turn around to know that the man was the exact same full-bearded guy who had bumped into him at dismissal yesterday. Wearing a suit, he offered quite a lot of pressure as a bodyguard and driver, regardless of other evaluations.
Just now, Mr. Song had politely offered an invitation to him, but the man merely shook his head in refusal, remaining behind to wait in the car.
This meal wasn't as simple as just a casual gathering.
Some were joyful while others were anxious.
Mr. Song was the joyful one, saying to treat it as a celebration for his discharge from the hospital—surviving a great disaster brings subsequent blessings. He still naively believed that everyone thought he had been in a car accident, telling the few of them to order whatever they wanted without restraint.
Ruoping and Qingyi, on the other hand, clearly carried heavy hearts. Qingyi was slightly better, merely checking off a box next to the napa cabbage before quietly sliding the menu over to Ruoping. Ruoping marked a checkmark next to the winter melon, typing absentmindedly on her phone:
"What should we say about the dormitory matter?"
"After the meal," Zhang Shutong replied. "I'll find time to tell him."
Certain words, once spoken, would cause people to put down their chopsticks. Zhang Shutong felt there was no need to ruin the atmosphere of this meal.
Ruoping then slid the menu to Lu Qinglian, leaning over to discuss what dishes to order with her.
The final result was that the menu made a full circle and returned to Mr. Song 's hands. Upon inspection, it turned out to be entirely vegetables, meatballs, and tofu; everyone wanted to help him save some money. Mr. Song didn't know whether to laugh or cry, waving his hand to order six plates of mutton first.
The meal passed very quickly.
They rode back to the school in that same Range Rover.
As everyone parted ways to say goodbye, Song Nanshan turned his head back:
"Shutong, do you have something you want to say to me?"