Chapter 243 - 111: An Account to Myself (Part 2)

Chapter 243: Chapter 111: An Account to Myself (Part 2)

It was lunchtime. The hospital didn’t have a cafeteria, and Zhang Shutong belatedly remembered he needed to eat. He went over to Lu Qinglian and asked what she wanted, offering to go buy it. But she just gave him a look.

"Don’t push yourself."

Zhang Shutong understood what she meant. He nodded. "Alright, I’ll take a nap then. Wake me up at twelve. If I get any calls or texts, wake me up then too." Before the words were even out of his mouth, his eyes were already closed.

He felt like he was floating on a cloud, but he didn’t feel cold. Zhang Shutong knew this was a good sign; it meant his temperature wouldn’t keep rising.

He was usually a light sleeper who had trouble in unfamiliar beds. Footsteps shuffled all around him, and light flickered through his closed eyelids, but his consciousness slowly drifted away.

He slept soundly.

When Lu Qinglian woke him, Zhang Shutong was dazed for a moment before he heard his phone ringing.

"Teacher Song," Lu Qinglian said curtly. "It’s 11:58."

’Oh, it’s just Song... No need to rush for him.’

He blinked his drowsy eyes. It felt like he’d been asleep for three or four hours, but in reality, it had been less than thirty minutes.

Zhang Shutong answered the call.

"Hello? Shutong, you’re not up yet?"

"Just got up." He touched his forehead. It was cool and smooth; the fever was gone.

"See? I told you that you just needed a good sleep! You sound a lot more energetic."

’Do I?’

Hearing that, he took a moment to assess himself and realized he really was back to full health. Zhang Shutong was so surprised that he stood up and took a few steps.

His body no longer felt heavy, and his head wasn’t dizzy anymore. Although a faint trace of fatigue remained, he felt so much better than before the shot.

’That fever-reducing shot really worked.’

Zhang Shutong asked Song what was up. The man boomed over the phone:

"Are you at home? I’ll come pick you up right now. I’ve already booked a restaurant..."

’Wait, what restaurant?’

Zhang Shutong thought back and remembered that when they parted ways yesterday, Song had said he’d treat them to a meal. He had dismissed the "I’ll treat you another day" line as a polite platitude, but he hadn’t expected his homeroom teacher to be serious.

"It’s in Qiumian’s family’s mall! A big private room. The five of you can order whatever you want," the man said with a chuckle. "And it’s all thanks to Qiumian’s dad. When I went to get my car, I was just planning on finding a place on the commercial street. But he insisted on giving me a prepaid card. I said, ’I can’t possibly take this,’ but he told me it was to treat you kids. He said you all ran around so much for Qiumian yesterday, and if he wasn’t tied up right now, he would’ve wanted to treat you personally..."

Zhang Shutong’s mind was a mess. It felt like he’d woken up to a different world, almost as if he’d jumped to another timeline.

He quickly asked a few more questions and finally got the full picture.

It turned out that Song had also gone home and slept in. Around noon, the sun came out and melted a good deal of the snow on Ring Mountain Road. The Gu family’s bodyguards picked him up from the staff dorms, took him and the car tires to the villa, and then Song was able to drive his beloved car back.

Boss Gu had wanted him to stay for a meal, but Song said he had to treat a few students as he’d promised yesterday, which led to this phone call.

’No wonder he said he was driving over to pick me up.’

Zhang Shutong had only been focused on the restaurant and hadn’t thought about how Song had gotten his car back.

Then he remembered Song saying, "The five of you can order whatever you want." ’Could it be...?’

A thought struck Zhang Shutong.

"Is Gu Qiuyan coming too?"

"Regrettably, no." It was as if he could see the man shrugging. "I swear, you kid. When she used to invite you, you’d find every excuse not to go. Now that she’s not asking, you’re the one who’s eager. It’s the complete opposite."

"But I heard you say there were five people," Zhang Shutong said sheepishly.

"When I said five, I meant the four of you plus Qinglian," Song said, exasperated. "Qinglian ran around with you all day too, have you already forgotten?"

Zhang Shutong hadn’t forgotten about Lu Qinglian. It was just because they’d been together all day that he had subconsciously not counted her in the group.

"So, give me a straight answer, are you home or not? After I pick you up, I still have to go up the mountain to get Qinglian," Song urged him.

But Zhang Shutong hesitated.

Eating was eating, no matter where he went. And although he felt fine now and a meal out wouldn’t be a problem, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his own "mission" wasn’t over yet.

That was why he had instinctively refused when the doctor suggested an IV drip earlier. He had told Lu Qinglian his plans that morning, but he still had this nagging guilt, as if he were neglecting his duties.

"Oh, right, you don’t have to worry," Song added. "I saw Qiumian when I was there. She’s doing fine. She was just about to invite some friends... some underclassmen girls over to her house to hang out. After all, she doesn’t know Ruoping and the others that well yet. They only just had a meal together yesterday, so they need some time to warm up to each other. So don’t overthink it. Tomorrow, Sunday, I’ll ask her if she wants to come out..."

Zhang Shutong could pretty much guess what Gu Qiuyan was up to. It was the same as always: the young miss was calling her little posse over for a party, singing karaoke in the downstairs media room. The driver would probably even have to go to the Pizza Hut in the city to buy a few pizzas. Even though she wasn’t planning on leaving the island, her life at home was no different from when she was out.

Song was a thoughtful person. He specifically explained that she had her own circle of friends, so it was perfectly normal for her not to come out to eat with their group of close buddies. Besides, they could always ask her again tomorrow.

Just then, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Gu Qiuyan.

This time, she had sent a photo on her own initiative. The picture was dark, with colorful lights flashing from above, but Zhang Shutong could recognize the background as the media room. He saw a sofa—the very one where he had just watched a movie with her.

Gu Qiuyan herself wasn’t in the picture, but three younger girls were. One of them, with short hair, looked a bit familiar to Zhang Shutong. She was holding a microphone, jumping around in front of the screen. He thought she might be that "little secretary" who was always with Gu Qiuyan. When the photo was taken, she was playfully making a V-sign at the camera.