Chapter 299 - 129: The Four-Leaf Clover Pendant Never Falls (Part 2)

Chapter 299: Chapter 129: The Four-Leaf Clover Pendant Never Falls (Part 2)

But he ended up letting it slip. It wasn’t that he enjoyed keeping secrets, but some things were a much bigger headache when spoken than when left unsaid. Father Gu and the police would surely question him relentlessly.

Life was truly dramatic.

Either no one knew what he’d done and he remained in obscurity.

Or someone would follow the clues and get close to the truth. It didn’t have to be the whole truth; plenty of people already thought he was some heroic young man who’d acted for a just cause. The entire day had been a whirlwind. He was the center of attention—school administrators came, the police came, even a big-shot CEO came. Maybe tomorrow, TV reporters would show up for an interview, and his room would be filled with commendation banners and prize money.

But once something like this started, it was bound to spread like a spiderweb, eventually weaving a massive net that would trap you inside. It wasn’t just his own circumstances that would change—a single missing suspect could actually change a lot of things.

He expected Gu Qiuyan to be shocked by his answer, but she just asked:

"Keep talking. I want to know."

Zhang Shutong braced himself and explained as much as he could:

"You could say that... the man couldn’t fall into your family’s bodyguards’ hands. He’s... how do I put this? You know there’s a Cyan Snake Temple on the island. He’s the person they’re looking for. But there’s a lot more involved, things even I don’t fully understand. So I had to do my best to intercept him."

Gu Qiuyan nodded noncommittally. She simply closed the window in the hallway.

"It’s too windy. You’re not well. We should talk back in the room."

Fate was a funny thing. This time, it was Zhang Shutong following her back to the observation room. He sat on the bed and told Gu Qiuyan to find a chair, but she acted as if she hadn’t heard him. Instead, she locked the door behind her and stood before the bed, looking down at him.

"From now on, you will only nod or shake your head in response to what I say."

Zhang Shutong nodded.

"You said that man was caught?"

Zhang Shutong nodded.

"The reason you hid it from me is because he was also someone else’s target, and you didn’t want him to fall into the hands of the police?"

Zhang Shutong continued to nod.

"So that’s why you and your friends snuck around in the middle of the night?"

Zhang Shutong nodded again. ’And Song, too,’ he thought.

But then he caught a flicker of a smile on Gu Qiuyan’s lips, which she quickly smoothed away with a frosty expression.

"Is there anything else you need to confess?"

"No—"

"Why are you so disobedient? Didn’t I tell you to only nod or shake your head?"

Zhang Shutong shook his head.

Gu Qiuyan fell silent. She just stared down at him coldly, as if trying to discern whether he was telling the truth.

Her gaze made Zhang Shutong feel guilty. To be honest, he thought the whole situation was a bit absurd. She hadn’t been this cold at noon when she was asleep. ’I’d rather be dealing with the motorcycle from my dream,’ he thought. But this was clearly not the time for jokes.

Gu Qiuyan stared at him without blinking. Soon, a mist began to form in her beautiful eyes. ’Whether you’re disappointed or angry with me, please just blink,’ Zhang Shutong thought. ’Your eyes must be tired.’

But he soon realized it wasn’t because they were tired. Her eyes were visibly turning red. Zhang Shutong was suddenly at a loss. He didn’t know why Gu Qiuyan would suddenly start crying out of the blue. He was always a blockhead when it came to things like this. He grabbed some tissues from the bedside and pleaded, "Don’t cry, don’t cry."

But Gu Qiuyan just snatched the tissues from him.

"Just one last thing." He held up a finger. "I don’t expect you to believe what I just said, nor do I expect it to convince your father. In fact, I’m hoping you can keep it a secret. I only told you so you would worry a little less. But it’s best if you don’t tell anyone else."

At this point, this wasn’t just his problem anymore. At the very least, he couldn’t sell out Lu Qinglian.

Zhang Shutong didn’t know what else to say, so he could only try to console her.

"I think your father is just looking out for you, making you transfer schools. So..."

But to his surprise, she suddenly laughed through her tears.

"You idiot. What transfer? This is the first I’m hearing of it."

Zhang Shutong froze, his hand still reaching for more tissues. He was completely stunned.

"What was the first thing you said to me when you saw me?"

"That you’re a dummy." She sat down on the edge of the bed, glaring at him. "I don’t think you’re smart at all. You’re hopelessly stupid."

Zhang Shutong had never thought of himself as stupid before, but now he was starting to feel like it. He was baffled.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I was lying about all that. It’s your fault for not telling the truth." She kicked her boots high in the air, her body trembling with laughter. "And you fell for it! Oh my, who was it that heard I was transferring and immediately blurted out that the man had actually been caught!"

"That’s not..." Zhang Shutong tried to defend himself. "I just didn’t want to hide it from you."

"Then why did you run off last night?" she retorted, quickly turning back to glare at him.

Zhang Shutong obediently shut his mouth.

He listened as Gu Qiuyan continued:

"Did you really think I’d believe the ’truth’ the police came up with? If you had really just run into that bad guy by accident, why would you call your friends out in the middle of the night? I knew you were lying again, and that there was a lot you weren’t planning to say.

"But I finally figured it out today. If I just asked you like I used to, all I’d get is ’sorry, sorry, sorry.’ Let me tell you, I’m so sick of hearing that word my ears are about to fall off!"

After saying her piece, Gu Qiuyan continued to glare at him.

Zhang Shutong whispered a "sorry," and only then did she turn back, satisfied.

"You’re just that kind of idiot. So I tried a different method, and you fell right into my trap."

She hummed.

"You’re a little bit of a dummy, Tongtong."

Zhang Shutong was stunned once again.

...

The young woman gently tossed her long hair, revealing eyes that never betrayed a hint of emotion.

Night had begun to fall. She walked to the front of the temple in the last rays of the setting sun and pushed open the wooden doors, their lacquer peeling.

The interior was dim. The faint light of a candle illuminated her face as Lu Qinglian looked at the altar before her.

Eight candlesticks stood on the altar, but half of them were already extinguished. The remaining light barely illuminated the statue enshrined above.

"I’m back," Lu Qinglian said calmly to the empty hall.

A soft rustling sound came from a side hall. An old woman emerged and looked at the small, clay figurine clutched in her hand.