Chapter 5 - The Girl's Red Surpasses All

『 Translator – Divinity 』

Zhang Shutong called "that incident" the Scarf Incident.

It happened after a PE class. When everyone returned to the classroom, Gu Qiumian discovered that someone had stepped on her beloved scarf.

If it had only been a single footprint, that would have been one thing. But one end of the scarf was nearly unraveled, and it was also smeared with several black handprints. This could no longer be explained away as an accidental misstep.

It was clearly deliberate revenge.

She first let out a heartbroken "Ah!" and looked around at her classmates, at a complete loss. The rims of her eyes were already turning red. Then, anger flooded her face. She strode to the podium, slammed the scarf down, and demanded loudly:

"Who did this? Get out here right now!"

The classroom suddenly fell silent.

At the same time, someone stood up hesitantly.

"You?!"

"No, I was just going to the restroom..."

Before he could finish, Gu Qiumian snapped at him, and he dejectedly sat back down.

The room was utterly silent. The Young Lady's fearsome reputation was well-earned; those who had been chatting in low voices now clamped their mouths shut.

"I didn't see anything..."

"Me neither..."

This was the first time anyone had seen her lose her composure like this, and everyone was a little intimidated.

After all, when she had been provoked by that boy before, the consequences had been severe, but she had merely left with a cold expression.

No one dared to make a sound, but sometimes, silence is also a form of disregard.

Aside from the few students who were still processing what was happening, there were others who, because of the previous class-transfer incident, felt she was being excessive. They believed such a small matter wasn't worth making a fuss over, but not daring to speak up, they simply kept their heads down in silent protest.

If it had been any other girl, a few good friends would have gathered around her by now, comforting her and helping her vent her anger.

But Gu Qiumian had no friends. She just stood there on the podium, all alone, lips pressed tightly together, wishing she could glare into every single person's face.

At that moment, Zhang Shutong, Du Kang, and the others were gathered together. After they exchanged glances, Ruoping was the first to act, grabbing Du Kang by the ear:

"Hey, what are you looking at me for? Even if I had beef with her, do you really think I'd do something like this?"

"Ow, ow, ow! I'm sorry, sis! I didn't mean it, really..."

Only then did Ruoping let go, pouting:

"The Young Lady's throwing a fit. Now we're in for it. Qingyi, who do you think it was?"

"Can't say. We all just got back together, and I didn't notice anyone absent. It must have been done before PE class."

"What about you, Shutong? Hm? Spacing out?"

Before he could open his mouth, another boy, one of Gu Qiumian's secret admirers, suddenly stood up and pointed a finger at him:

"It was Zhang Shutong! I saw him! After he stepped on it, he even picked it up on purpose.”

At that moment, Zhang Shutong froze.

Because from the moment Gu Qiumian walked up to the podium, he had been trying to recall one thing:

Whether he had actually stepped on it or not.

He had been the last person to leave the classroom that day; the homeroom teacher had him stay behind during the break to draw up a seating chart. It was normally the class president's responsibility, but since the president was on leave, the task fell to him.

Once he was done, he had hurried down the aisle. The scarf was lying on the floor, with only the end of its tassel showing.

He remembered not stepping on it, just picking it up as he passed. But he had been in a rush, and now, with someone accusing him, he began to doubt himself. Maybe his foot really had grazed it just a little? Even he couldn't be certain anymore.

It was the most helpless kind of situation—one where you seemed both uninvolved and slightly involved at the same time, making it impossible to explain your way out of.

Gu Qiumian then remembered this "traitor." She gritted her teeth, her voice rising several pitches, thick with fury:

"You did it?"

"I think I might have stepped on it... but I'm not the one who tore the scarf."

"Then tell me! Why would Zhou Ziheng say he saw you? Are you saying he's lying?"

The boy named Zhou Ziheng was her deskmate and was constantly doting on her. His credibility was far greater than Zhang Shutong's.

"It was definitely him! I saw it when I went back to grab something."

Zhou Ziheng's voice grew louder.

"Hey, you two can't just falsely accuse someone! For all I know, your deskmate is framing him!"

Ruoping stood up as well.

But Gu Qiumian ignored her, walked straight toward him, and threw the scarf onto his desk.

Only then did Zhang Shutong see that on top of the footprint, there was also a smear of snot.

Gu Qiumian's eyes were locked onto him:

"Zhang Shutong, did you do it or not?"

"...It wasn't me."

"Then what was that you said earlier? Are you too scared to admit it now?"

"I said, I might have actually stepped on it," Zhang Shutong said, his scalp tingling, "but this on top is definitely not me. First, just calm down..."

But Gu Qiumian was no longer listening to him:

"Why would you do this? This scarf... my mom..."

"I didn't do it."

"All I want is an apology! I won't tell the teacher. The thing I hate most is people who won't own up to what they've done!"

"..."

"Disgusting!"

"I'm telling you, this part, it wasn't me," he also said, word by word.

That's just how he was back then. He responded to reason, not force. He believed the innocent would be vindicated, and he was definitely not the type to comfort someone.

When Gu Qiumian first approached, he considered himself partially involved and naturally felt at a disadvantage. But her subsequent attitude, as if she were interrogating a criminal, began to piss him off.

From that perspective, it really wasn't wrong to call his past self "aloof." If Gu Qiumian's face was frosty, then Zhang Shutong's would only be colder.

As she spoke, the rims of her eyes turned red again:

"I've never done anything to offend you, have I?"

"And I've never provoked you."

"Why would you..."

"Will you ever let it go?"

The two of them were talking past each other, both seething with anger. Some students started trying to play peacemaker:

"Qiumian, why don't you go tell Teacher Song?"

"Yeah, class is about to start. It's useless to keep dragging this out here..."

Others took the opportunity to vent their own dissatisfaction:

"She really thinks she's all that. It's not like she's the principal's daughter..."

"What did you say?"

Gu Qiumian whipped her head around.

That person fell silent. After a long pause, they finally mumbled in a low voice:

"If you're so capable, why don't you get your dad to transfer you to another class too..."

That was the sentence that lit the powder keg.

Except the explosion was directed at him:

"...Fine. If you won't admit it, don't your parents work under my dad? I'm going to tell him!"

After saying that, she wiped her face, turned, and left.

The moment she was gone, his friends and a few other classmates swarmed around to comfort him.

Ruoping was so angry she started cursing.

Qingyi and Du Kang also got up and went over to the boy named Zhou Ziheng, complaining:

"What were you spouting just now? That's no way to play the hero. Shutong would never do something like that..."

He couldn't remember what else they said; he only remembered the intense embarrassment. In the end, he just went and spent the entire next period on the rooftop.

It wasn't because he had been framed, but because of her words about his parents. To his younger self, it felt like a deep insult that made his face burn.

His parents had originally worked for the Bureau of Geology. A few years prior, because Gu Qiumian's father wanted to develop the island, he had spearheaded a project in cooperation with the city and set up a dedicated survey office on the island.

His family was from the provincial capital, so from that angle, the reason he had transferred to the school on the island was, in fact, very much related to Gu Qiumian's family.

But it was a stretch to say they worked for her dad. Logically, her threat should have been toothless, yet for some reason, it had stuck in his mind for a very long time.

Perhaps it was because things he usually tried to deliberately ignore were suddenly laid bare in that moment.

But it was impossible not to worry at all. What if his family really did get dragged into it?

He tried to subtly probe his parents about it a few times, but the "retaliation" he expected never came. Instead, they just started to give him strange looks.

School felt heavy for the next few days. A teenager's imagination knows no bounds; he genuinely considered several possibilities, like being cornered at the school gates by Gu Qiumian's entourage, or being knocked unconscious and bundled into a car by her family's driver.

Besides, just because they couldn't touch his family didn't mean they couldn't touch him at school. Gu Qiumian's father was extremely well-connected. Considering what happened to the boy who told the dirty joke, it was entirely possible he could be transferred to another class or suspended for a few days.

In reality, however, none of those things happened.

To be honest, Zhang Shutong never figured out why, even in the end.

Gu Qiumian came to school the very next day. She didn't seek him out to settle the score, nor did she press him about the hidden details. It was as if the incident had never occurred.

She acted just like she always did: she wore the mended scarf, brought plenty of snacks to occasionally share, and drew on the windowpane, sometimes making herself laugh when a drawing turned out particularly ugly.

The only thing that changed was that whenever they passed each other, she wouldn't scowl or glare at him. Their relationship went from one of occasional small talk to one of absolute indifference.

His past self had been stubbornly principled. He had held a grudge, intending to find the real "culprit" so he could righteously clear his name.

He never imagined, however, that it would be the last conversation they ever had. The anger pent up in his chest dissipated in an unexpected manner, and the conflict became a thing of the past, sealed away in his memory.

Thinking back on it now, so many years later, anger was no longer part of the equation. He just felt that there surely must have been a better solution at the time. If there was one conclusion he could draw, it was that the scarf was incredibly important to Gu Qiumian.

There are some things you carry in your heart for years. You don't deliberately remember them, but once they surface in your mind, you can't help but rack your brains, thinking about right and wrong, about better methods... trying everything you can, all to no avail. In truth, what you're looking for isn't right or wrong, nor is it a result; it's the feeling of regret for something that can never be undone.

When Zhang Shutong was in his teens, he developed a method for categorizing people—which he no longer uses, of course. The specific process was:

When he encountered someone particularly unique or hard to figure out, he would try to match their personality and mannerisms to a character from a novel or manga. If he could find a close enough fit, he could then classify that person under a certain archetype and feel like he understood them.

He had once applied this method to Gu Qiumian and concluded that she fit the "cool and aloof Young Lady" archetype. Later, however, he realized that wasn't quite right. It was more that she simply didn't care about most things, and because she didn't care, she didn't expend any energy on them, which gave others the impression that she was reclusive.

Take this moment, for instance. He had a feeling that Gu Qiumian was glaring at him, but when their gazes actually met, it turned out he had been overcomplicating things.

There was no surprise on her face, nor any sign that she intended to take him to task. She just stood there impassively, as if she were about to state the most mundane fact in the world:

"Move your chair so I can get in."

To change seats now would seem pretentious. Zhang Shutong pulled his stool forward and felt a fragrant breeze drift past him from behind.

He looked over at Gu Qiumian. The Young Lady had returned to her old territory, only to find her new deskmate was an tactless boy with whom she also had a bit of a grudge. He imagined she couldn't be in a very good mood.

She simply placed her schoolbag on the desk and began to arrange her things without a word.

She didn't speak, and Zhang Shutong was happy for the peace and quiet. There were some girls whose thoughts he could read at a glance, and others he could never figure out, no matter their age. Gu Qiumian belonged to the latter category. For that reason, he preferred to conserve his brain cells.

Besides, he had something more important on his mind—

He wouldn't be able to keep his promise to Du Kang completely; the seats directly next to and in front of Lu Qinglian were already occupied. However, the seat in the row ahead of that was still empty.

Luckily, the top-ranked students were all girls, so for the moment, no one was eyeing that particular seat.

Although the whole thing was rather childish, he had given his word.

Besides, as long as it was still empty, Zhang Shutong had a way.

He glanced toward the front of the classroom again, just in time to see a boy who hadn't been called yet shout cheekily to the homeroom teacher:

"Teacher, can you put me next to Ding Xiaoxiao?"

Ding Xiaoxiao was the very girl sitting in the seat two rows in front of Lu Qinglian.

Song Nanshan's gaze lifted from the list, and he glanced at the boy:

"If you have something to say, say it."

"I've been having trouble seeing lately, I think I'm getting nearsighted. I'd like to sit closer to the blackboard."

"Get lost. You think I don't know what you're plotting, kid? If you can't see the board, go sit by the wall; there's an empty seat over there. If that's still no good, you can grab a chair and sit next to my podium."

The boy just gave an awkward laugh and fell silent.

Zhang Shutong almost laughed watching this. He felt that Lu Qinglian was like some kind of cultivation treasure in a sect—the closer you got, the faster your EXP went up. The seats around her had become fiercely contested territory for all the "disciples."

Just then, however, he heard Gu Qiumian finally squeeze out a sentence after a long silence:

"What are you doing over here?"

She had a habit of adding particles to the end of her sentences. Her tone was clearly indifferent, but the way she said it always managed to stir things up.

Why do girls always have to get to the bottom of things? Zhang Shutong thought to himself.

But since he couldn't figure her out, he just gave a nonchalant reply:

"I'm afraid of the cold."

"Stop pretending."

"A complete accident?"

"Tch."

Gu Qiumian made a small tutting sound, as if she were waiting for him to ask what that was for.

Zhang Shutong didn't have time to ask her.

He was paying close attention to the action at the front of the classroom. While he didn't really want to pull any strings, the homeroom teacher had just called another name—and it was a boy.

Upon hearing his name, the boy's eyes lit up, and he headed straight for the empty seat without a moment's hesitation.

He raised his hand. He knew he couldn't wait any longer; he had to pull rank.

"Teacher Song, I have something to say.”

"Ah, Shutong. Go ahead." Old Song didn't even look up, like an emperor listening to a report from his favorite minister.

Zhang Shutong rarely spoke at such length:

"I've been tutoring Du Kang lately. I want to save him a seat up close to make it easier to explain problems to him."

The homeroom teacher chuckled when he heard this:

"You two, tutoring? More like catching fish."

Despite saying this, he casually added:

"Go ahead, do what you want. Just don't be passing notes in my class."

Upon getting the okay, Zhang Shutong balled up his school uniform jacket and tossed it forward. It sailed through the air in a perfect arc and landed in the seat next to Ding Xiaoxiao, startling her.

Meanwhile, the boy whose name had just been called was only a few steps from that very seat. He froze on the spot, caught in a dilemma.

He would be resentful if he didn't go, but if he did, the jacket was already there claiming the spot. Wouldn't that just expose his own motives?

In the end, filled with resentment, he went to find another seat.

Sorry, sorry.

Zhang Shutong could only pretend not to see.

He could almost hear the supposedly nearsighted boy asking indignantly, "Then how come Du Kang can do it? Teacher, look at what Zhang Shutong is doing!"

But to Zhang Shutong, it sounded more like he was saying, "Your Majesty, this is unacceptable! These two harbor treacherous ambitions! They absolutely must not be spared; they must be executed!" And then he'd be rubbing his palms together, ready to purge the court of evildoers.

Old Song just shrugged, looking perfectly innocent.

"They have to tutor each other. How about it, should I find someone to tutor you, too? You can stay after school today?"

"Never mind..." The boy was immediately silenced.

Zhang Shutong held a few seconds of silent mourning for him.

Although it wasn't exactly what he had promised, Du Kang had wanted a seat in the rows nearby anyway, so he probably wouldn't mind being one row further up. And besides, there was always the next monthly exam.

Next time for sure, he thought. Mhm, really.