Chapter 20: A New Crisis!

"You lot are in trouble, come out here!"

Zhang Shutong understood immediately. The news of them catching the poachers must have reached the school. If it had been in the city, there would have been a buffer period of two or three days, but the island was so small and there was only one middle school. Since the incident occurred last night, the police had called first thing this morning. Judging by Old Song’s beaming face, a round of praise was inevitable. But even if it was a good thing, why did he make it sound like they had been caught in the act?

Regardless of what Zhang Shutong was thinking, the classroom suddenly went quiet, and most eyes were fixed on Lu Qinglian. Zhang Shutong was always hanging out with his group of close friends, so it was no surprise when they got into something, but what did this have to do with Lu Qinglian? Many people had this thought. Was Lu Qinglian on good terms with any of them? Many in the class knew Du Kang liked Lu Qinglian, and after much deliberation, only one suffocating possibility remained: had the kid finally succeeded?

With this speculation in mind, the crowd watched as Du Kang just set down his backpack and then scurried out of the classroom, looking smug. Many of the boys' eyes turned fierce. In short, amidst the curiosity and whispers of those around them, the group walked out of the classroom and followed their homeroom teacher to the office.

Old Song had a trick up his sleeve—he enjoyed playing games. He leaned back in his office chair like he was interrogating suspects and spoke unhurriedly: "Do you know why you’ve been called here?"

Du Kang was the first to curl his lip. "Old Song, why are you acting like Qingyi? Just say it."

"Is 'Old Song' what you call me? So disrespectful." Song Nanshan raised his thick eyebrows. "Let me ask you, did you do your homework yesterday?"

"Uh..."

"A week of cleaning duty," the homeroom teacher smiled terrifyingly.

"Don't do this!"

Zhang Shutong thought Du Kang was still too green; you couldn't confront Song Nanshan head-on. He took the initiative to grab the teacher's teacup and headed for the water dispenser, the perfect picture of an obedient student. Old Song told Du Kang that he should learn from Shutong’s respect for his elders, but as he turned his head happily, he saw Zhang Shutong pouring boiling water and was shocked: "What are you doing, kid?"

Zhang Shutong stopped, looking a bit regretful.

"Fine, fine, stop pouring. I can see it now—you’re all heartless little brats. Give the cup to Ruoping, let Ruoping fill it..." Song Nanshan lost interest in teasing the students and said irritably: "I’m just here to tell you that there won't be morning exercises today. The principal wants you to take turns speaking at the flag-raising platform. Go back and prepare well."

"No bonus?" Du Kang was stunned.

"What kind of daydreaming is that? A bonus? At most, you'll get a silk banner." Song Nanshan scolded with a laugh: "Take this seriously. Think about what you're going to write; it doesn't need to be long, but the principal is taking it quite seriously. Especially you boys, don't mess around... Feng Ruoping!"

Old Song barked again, staring at her and asking if she was also trying to scald her teacher to death—did she think he didn't see her? Ruoping stuck her tongue out embarrassedly and was about to hand the cup to Qingyi, but Old Song wouldn't have it, his eyes widening: "Are you guys playing a relay race? Let Qinglian fill it for me!"

Lu Qinglian simply nodded upon hearing this and calmly took the cup. Old Song was quite relieved, thinking that at least there was one good child left. He looked at the four "ungrateful wretches" again and said sternly: "Praise is praise, but stay away from such dangerous things in the future. Oh, and this time, you didn't just drag yourselves into it, you dragged Qinglian along too. Although I haven't asked for the specifics, what if something had happened to you kids? How would your parents go on? Don't always think about playing the hero, do you hear me?"

The group nodded to show they understood. Only then did Old Song open his drawer. Despite being a rugged man, he was being fussy now, his words still sharp: "I don't think you heard a word I said. Sigh, forget it, come here. You did a good job this time. Just like before, one for each of you..."

Song Nanshan’s drawer was always filled with lollipops, meant for quitting smoking, but in reality, few ever made it into his own mouth; they all went to the students: one for praise, one for a heart-to-heart talk, and one to coax them if he made them cry while scolding them...

In short, everyone received a lollipop, even Lu Qinglian. Song Nanshan waved his hand, chasing the children back to the classroom like chickens. Watching the backs of the young boys and girls laughing and playing, he felt both nostalgic and proud. The man finally just shook his head with a smile, secretly sighing that he was truly getting old. He habitually pounded his waist, straightened his slightly stooped back under his white shirt, and picked up the water he had just poured. He took a sip, then spat it out on the floor, eyes wide: "Wait, why is it still scalding hot?"

...

As soon as they left the office, Ruoping leaned over to talk to Lu Qinglian. Zhang Shutong thought to himself that if he had known the homeroom teacher would call them out, he wouldn't have bothered with such a roundabout way earlier and offended Gu Qiumian for nothing. But regardless of whether they called Lu Qinglian out or not, recalling her behavior during morning reading, Zhang Shutong could only offer a silent prayer for Ruoping. It would likely be a case of a hot face pressed against a cold butt.

But to his surprise, they managed to strike up a conversation. As they chatted, Lu Qinglian actually peeled her lollipop under Ruoping’s guidance and put it in her mouth. The girl’s cheek bulged, and she seemed to be in a decent mood, squinting those peach-blossom eyes of hers. He had thought it was just because Ruoping was well-liked, but then Du Kang and Qingyi went over to say a few words, and she would occasionally nod or shake her head in response. Although she still had no expression, she was much more lively than during morning reading.

Zhang Shutong, also sucking on a lollipop, wondered why she only frowned and looked intimidating when she talked to him.

...

He heard Ruoping ask: "I originally wanted to ask Shutong to call you, I don't know if he said anything..."

"Oh, he said it. As long as he said it, it's fine. Wait, what did you say he called you..."

"What?"

Ruoping suddenly turned back and glared at Zhang Shutong: "Pah, you pervert!"

Zhang Shutong entered the classroom, confused. At this moment, Gu Qiumian had also returned, and not alone—she was surrounded by three young girls, chatting animatedly. That wasn't quite accurate; it was more that Gu Qiumian was sitting in her seat, and the three girls were around her, chattering away.

Looking closer, it turned out Gu Qiumian was scrolling on her phone. Zhang Shutong recognized it as the latest iPhone; he remembered it had to be bought at a premium and was once hyped to be very expensive. Gu Qiumian stared at the screen, occasionally reaching into her bag to pull out snacks. The colorful wrappers were dazzling, all in foreign languages he didn't recognize. They were certainly not low-end items like Wangwang breakfast sausages; he wasn't even sure if Oreos were good enough to make the cut.

She placed the snacks on Zhang Shutong’s desk, not caring how they were divided. The girls ate, their mouths moving, trying their best to come up with gossip and interesting stories to liven up the atmosphere just to get a smile from the "young lady," but Gu Qiumian only nodded nonchalantly, occasionally curling her lips. When the snacks on the table ran out, she would pull another pile from her bag.

One girl realized Gu Qiumian wasn't interested, so she tactfully changed the subject and began complimenting her new phone. Once the topic was raised, someone quickly chimed in, exclaiming that this model was only released in the U.S. in September and wasn't available domestically yet. She’d seen online that the ones available were snatched up from Hong Kong and were terrifyingly expensive, hard to come by. Another girl said she had only ever seen the old models online and had never seen anyone use them, wishing she could afford one someday. A spoiled little girl pouted and said, "Qiumian, Qiumian, let me see it, please..."

In reality, they didn't know much about luxury. Zhang Shutong had noticed yesterday that the most expensive thing on Gu Qiumian was probably that women’s wristwatch—perhaps tens of thousands, maybe over a hundred thousand. He hadn't studied it, but the phone was likely not worth as much as her wool coat.

Gu Qiumian put down her phone, glanced curiously at the Apple logo on the back, and handed it over, saying casually, "If you want to see it, go ahead. I’m not interested in these electronic products. An uncle gave it to me, so I just used it." The girls were envious again. But Zhang Shutong felt she wasn't lying, nor was she showing off on purpose—didn't they see her typing with one finger, poking at the screen with a fair finger, slow as death...

As he approached his seat, they had moved on to the next topic:

"So, are we calling Zhao Yang today..."

"No." Gu Qiumian didn't even look up.

"He actually wanted me to apologize to you for him. He’s just not very bright, he spoke out of turn. He shouldn't have told others privately that he liked you. Qiumian, look..."

Gu Qiumian looked up at the girl, who immediately bit her lip and fell silent. The other two girls exchanged glances and quietly put down the snacks in their hands, closing their mouths as well. It seemed that until Gu Qiumian made her stance clear, no one dared to make a sound. The originally noisy little circle went stiff. Gu Qiumian was, of course, the owner of the circle. Just as they hit a lull, Zhang Shutong happened to walk back to his seat.

Unexpectedly, the girl who had been biting her lip suddenly let out a "wow," swept a glance at Zhang Shutong, her eyes lighting up like little stars: "A handsome guy! A handsome guy! Qiumian, is this your desk mate? Since when?"

The two girls behind her joined in, immediately changing the subject: "He looks so familiar. What should we call you, senior?"

"Isn't he much better than your previous desk mate..."

They moved aside, as if they were about to ask for an autograph the next second, their attitude incredibly enthusiastic. Zhang Shutong, however, noticed that the truly clever one was the girl who had bitten her lip. She was talking about him, but her eyes were always observing Gu Qiumian’s expression. As for the other two, they were always a beat behind, genuinely distracted.

Gu Qiumian glanced at him coldly: "Not close."

She spat out the two words decisively and flipped her phone face-down on the desk. The three girls stopped mid-sentence again. The atmosphere became awkward; they looked at each other, but no one spoke until Gu Qiumian waved her hand impatiently: "You guys go back first, we'll talk about noon later."

The three girls, as if granted amnesty, quickly said goodbye and trotted out of the classroom. Zhang Shutong returned to his seat. If asked for his thoughts, it was that he had truly seen the "young lady" side of Gu Qiumian. Before, he could only sense her uniqueness by staring at the toy castle on the bookshelf, but now it was much clearer.

He still had two things on his mind: one was to find Zhou Ziheng, which was simple; but the urgent priority was to write a speech, which gave Zhang Shutong the biggest headache. He had never been good at such occasions. Just as he was pondering how to draft a document—heaven knows why he used the word "draft"—the Chinese teacher walked in, clapped his hands, and said they were going to do a spot check on the text, rightfully combining the morning reading with the first period. By the time the class ended and Zhang Shutong had finally prepared his draft, the bell for the second period rang.

Then came the long break after the second morning period. Long breaks were usually divided into morning and afternoon. In the morning, they usually went downstairs for exercises. His only impression of morning exercises was the "Colorful Sunshine" routine, but in reality, they weren't doing that now; for the students, it was time to go out and let loose. In the afternoon, they ran around the track, which was a chore, but luckily the track had been icy lately, so it was changed to free activity.

Now, even the morning exercises were changed to listening to them speak. This had already been announced over the school broadcast. Zhang Shutong thought the students must be very annoyed, but judging by the reactions of those around him, they were eager, as if just being able to go out for some fresh air was enough.

As a result, he didn't find time to talk to Zhou Ziheng during the long break. Zhang Shutong found it strange how he had so much going on; he remembered being quite idle before... He decided to cut the Gordian knot and handle other things after the speech.

The classroom was noisy. This time, Zhang Shutong didn't let Gu Qiumian tap the desk; he left early. Du Kang was still bragging to those around him and was dragged away by Old Song by the collar, who also beckoned the rest of them to follow. The group quickly went downstairs to the flag-raising platform, where they were forced by Song Nanshan to rehearse once. As expected, none of them were easy to deal with.

"Du Kang, isn't this exaggerated? That man was scared by a frog you caught? Is it true?"

"Ruoping’s is too long. Don't start from how you guys started playing mobile games..."

"Qingyi, stow those 'chuunibyou' lines. This is to express your thoughts on a heroic act, not to explore the mission of man..."

"As for you, Shutong... forget it, just be yourself. Try to smile more."

"Finally, Qinglian. Although I said one sentence is enough, you can't really just say one, right? What do you mean by 'I am very happy I subdued a criminal last night'?"

After much work, Old Song looked up at the sky, exhausted. Then came the order of the speeches: they all unanimously pushed Du Kang to go first to liven up the atmosphere, followed by Ruoping and Qingyi. Zhang Shutong wanted to be the last one, hoping that by then the people below would be bored and he could just say a few words and get off the stage. But a certain girl was truly oblivious—the three friends had already lined up, but Lu Qinglian hadn't moved. Zhang Shutong had deliberately left a spot open behind Qingyi, but the girl saw it and went right behind him. He looked back at Lu Qinglian for two seconds, and she calmly looked back. Should he squeeze in behind her? He could only sigh.

Soon, the students were lined up under the flag-raising platform. The morning sun pierced through the clouds, stabbing into one’s eyes. Melted snow flowed down the flagpole; looking up to find its source would make one unable to open their eyes against the bright, pale sky... It was a very clean scene.

Then the leaders went up to speak. Du Kang had been impatient for a long time, staring at the leader’s pant legs with a distorted expression, wishing he could just pull them down. Finally, it was their turn. Du Kang rushed up in a dash, Ruoping took a deep breath below... everyone reacted differently. Zhang Shutong let his mind wander: why was the applause under the platform so rhythmic?

It was most intense when cheering for the leaders. It weakened significantly for Du Kang. It became more intense again when Ruoping went up. The girl ran down with a blushing face, and when Qingyi went up with a deadpan expression, the applause was even louder than before.

Next was Zhang Shutong’s turn. He was puzzled as to why the applause suddenly erupted, even more intense than for the leaders. Shouldn't they get more bored as they listened? He walked up the platform step by step, and he could even see someone waving at him in the crowd. Looking closely, it was those young girls who had been with Gu Qiumian in the morning, jumping and excited, like a cheering squad, whispering to those around them.

When he reached the microphone, the applause hadn't stopped—according to his observation, the boys had already stopped, and only the girls were shouting. He looked at a few, all of whom were unfamiliar.

Wait, no way...

Zhang Shutong’s eyelids twitched. An absurd guess surfaced.

But them not stopping was fine; he might as well use this time to finish his speech. He cleared his throat, and with a shrill echo, the microphone coughed as well. To his surprise, the applause stopped, and pair after pair of curious eyes looked toward him.

Zhang Shutong scanned the faces of his peers and the younger students; he didn't know what they were so excited about, but he wouldn't get stage fright. Not liking such occasions didn't mean he couldn't handle them. He stood calmly on the stage, casting his gaze down. He didn't need to look at a script; it was just a few sentences, a glance and he knew it by heart. He opened with an appropriate, calm tone. As he spoke, he saw a familiar figure in the crowd.

Gu Qiumian was too conspicuous. She was wearing her school uniform jacket, but underneath was that light brown skirt, out of place among the students. The girl had her hands behind her back, looking quite proud, though she stomped her feet in place from time to time—which really ruined her poise. Clearly, the young lady had chosen beauty over warmth. That red scarf was still around her neck; she usually took it off for morning exercises, but today’s event involved clapping in the cold wind, so she had put it back on.

They locked eyes for a second, and Gu Qiumian looked away, not knowing what she was thinking. By then, Zhang Shutong had almost finished. He bowed and left the stage amidst renewed applause, brushing past Lu Qinglian.

Then—the crowd erupted.

The boys below, in addition to clapping, started wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves, and some even jumped up. If Du Kang hadn't been watched by Old Song, he would have howled too, to the point that the PE teacher had to roar into the microphone to maintain order. But by the time he finished roaring, Lu Qinglian had already drifted off the stage like a gust of wind. She hadn't even bowed before turning to leave.

Thus, another round of ghostly wailing and wolf howling erupted. Of course, this time it wasn't excitement, but regret.

"I hope I don't have to participate in this kind of activity again." That was Zhang Shutong’s only thought.

Amidst the perfunctory music from the speakers, the PE teacher maintained order, and everyone left in an orderly fashion—though it was actually turning into a mess. They quickly returned to the classroom. Du Kang was muttering about which girl had looked at him a second longer. Qingyi sighed while staring at his speech script; he had originally wanted to add some ad-lib to shock the crowd, but was suppressed by Old Song’s gaze. Ruoping was discussing with Zhang Shutong whose entrance got more intense applause. The conclusion was that the school’s male-to-female ratio was 6:4, and the "shrine maiden" girl had edged him out by a small margin.

But Zhang Shutong didn't want to discuss this with her at all. At this moment, she would look at him sideways and say, "What? Can't wait to go back and chat with your desk mate?" Zhang Shutong had to endure it. Qingyi came over to discuss the mission of man again, and Zhang Shutong rolled his eyes, saying it certainly wasn't endurance.

They squeezed together up the stairs. The people in front entered the classroom, but for some reason, someone suddenly gasped and stopped. The crowd went from moving to static; some complained, some were curious... then, only surprise spread through the air, so much so that the noisy sounds suddenly died down.

Zhang Shutong, listening to Ruoping, didn't pay much attention and bumped into the classmate in front. He frowned and squeezed in, casting his gaze toward where everyone was looking—

It was the toy castle on the bookshelf, smashed on the floor. Parts were scattered everywhere, and buried inside was a piece of white paper with two characters written in black marker:

*Go die.*