Chapter 341 - 147: A Door Is Revealed

Chapter 341: Chapter 147: A Door Is Revealed

"Someone from Gu Qiuyan’s family."

"How did you know?"

"Her family’s people all dress so flashily," Zhang Shutong joked. "And I’ll let you in on a little detail: if he were just a bodyguard, he’d only be wearing a suit. But a chauffeur would also wear a pair of white gloves. Look at his hands."

"But he isn’t the driver, is he? Wasn’t the guy who picked us up for lunch really young? He seemed nice, too. He even gave us Kunlun Mountain water to drink."

"They probably just have a lot of drivers."

Ruoping pursed her lips and said no more.

Zhang Shutong complimented her on being so magnanimous, earning him a glare from Ruoping:

"When have I not been magnanimous?"

Zhang Shutong thought about it and realized she was right. This time, Ruoping had accepted the chocolate, and her handling of the situation had been flawless from every angle.

"But what were you thinking at the time?" He was still a little curious about this butterfly effect.

"What do you mean, ’what was I thinking’? That’s a weird question. Are you saying I have to be petty with Gu Qiuyan?" Ruoping flashed a mischievous smile. "Fine, then. I’ll start by being petty with you. I’m only treating the two of them to dinner tonight. You’re on your own."

Zhang Shutong quickly backed down. After all, he’d spent his last bit of money on medicine and was now genuinely broke.

Ruoping was also the type to never carry an umbrella. As they walked out of the academic building, Zhang Shutong held the one he’d borrowed from the hospital over her.

"Get closer, you’ll get your shoulder wet."

Ruoping scooted closer to him. She was a very pretty girl, the dashing, heroic type. The only reason he noticed was because someone had pursued her back in ninth grade.

He couldn’t remember the details, just that the guy had failed and things ended unpleasantly.

He decided not to dwell on unpleasant things and asked:

"How’s the relationship between your mom and the owner of that Ken’s Fried Chicken place?"

"They used to do business together. Why?"

"I don’t think this promotion is eye-catching enough," Zhang Shutong said seriously, pointing at the coupon. "Could you have your mom suggest she change the name to ’Crazy Wednesday’?"

...

This Wednesday was, indeed, crazy.

Crazy enough that the four of them braved the rain just to eat at a knock-off KFC.

Zhang Shutong remembered that the shop’s salad dressing was very sweet. Every time he went, he’d tell the owner "no sauce" and eat the two pieces of the bun separately. Ruoping had even asked if she should get him a knife and fork.

It wasn’t that it was delicious, not really. The so-called "taste of childhood" is like that one-yuan sausage you bought from a street stall. You didn’t buy it back then because it was some kind of delicacy. Who knows what the hell the reason was? Maybe you lost a bet and had to treat someone. Maybe the stinky tofu stand next to it wasn’t open. Or maybe it was just a habit to stuff something in your mouth while shooting the breeze with your best friends.

Years later, you still remember the taste of that sausage, but you can no longer find the people who walked home from school with you.

It was dark by now. They walked into the hospital lobby and shook the water from their umbrellas in unison. A flash of lightning lit up the space behind them, making for a rather cool entrance.

"Anyone have any gum?"

Everyone said they didn’t. Zhang Shutong tied up the umbrella and returned it to the receptionist.

"You’re becoming a regular here, Shutong," they teased.

"Next time you get admitted, feel free to drop my name," Zhang Shutong replied. "Though it won’t do you any good."

They went up the stairs. The three of them wanted to follow him to the ward, but seeing all of them trying to go, Zhang Shutong stopped them.

"Be careful, you might get infected. I’ll go by myself. I’ll be back soon."

"We’ll wait." Du Kang started wandering the hallway. He first ran over to the room Zhang Shutong had stayed in before and carefully peeked inside, finding it empty.

"What are you doing?"

Du Kang explained to Ruoping:

"Just curious, no other reason."

"So boring..."

"This is nothing," Qingyi said, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He saw what was happening and interjected, "Lately he’s been randomly jumping up to shoot imaginary baskets. It’s completely unpredictable and pretty scary."

"You can stop trying to act cool, too. Isn’t that wall dirty? Stop leaning on the hospital walls."

"That sounds like something my mom would say..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Qingyi took off his headphones and went over to the hallway window. He looked out for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I’ve finally figured something out. About Shutong."

"You mean why he was acting so weird at noon?" Du Kang asked.

Ruoping looked over as well.

"Ah, no." Qingyi shrugged. "Didn’t you guys notice the bandage under his arm is almost completely black?"

"What about it?"

The young man carefully observed the windowsill:

"Look. You notice how these windowsills have all been wiped clean? He must have been leaning on them a lot while he was here."

"So? Pretty detailed observation, right?" Qingyi turned his head, grinning, only to find them both staring at him speechlessly.

"Uh, am I wrong?"

"You’re no better than the guy who jumps up to shoot baskets."

"Hey, can you not always hit me with the friendly fire...?"

The three of them stood at the window watching the rain. Qingyi studied the scene outside again:

"I bet Shutong was looking at that house."

Ruoping followed his gaze. In the darkness, she saw a very old house. There was no telling how long it had been there. Weeds grew wild all around it. The most desolate places aren’t the ones littered with trash, but the ones where no one even bothers to throw trash anymore.

That old house was one such case. Maybe its owner had neglected it, or maybe it had long been abandoned. An occasional flash of lightning would reveal the dense ivy clinging to it, looking like grotesque, exposed blood vessels in the dark.

"Why’s that? How could you possibly deduce something like that?" Although she always acted uninterested, she always wanted to ask.

"Because I gave him a copy of *Ghost Blows Out the Light*."

Qingyi said, full of confidence.

"Seriously, just stop. That’s really not what you call deduction..." The girl sighed and put a hand to her forehead. ’When did I learn how to snark like this?’ she wondered. ’But hanging around these chuunis, it’d be weirder if I didn’t.’ She glanced at the old house again. The wall of ivy swayed in the wind and rain like a man-eating net, or a shadow magnified countless times.

Ruoping looked away, unwilling to admit she was a little scared, and muttered:

"There’s nothing to see."

But just as the words left her mouth, another flash of lightning was followed by a loud clap of thunder. BOOM! The girl cried out in fright, even catching a glimpse of her own pale face in the reflection on the glass.

The wall of leaves finally peeled away.

Revealing a door in the old house!