10:13 AM.
The morning sunlight bathed faces brimming with youthful energy.
The broadcast played on incessantly, its melody bright and cheerful.
From an aerial view, the winter playground was filled with just as many cheerful faces, yet some departed from this joyful atmosphere, walking quickly away.
Their class was Year Four, Class One. The advantage of being Class One was that they could go downstairs first during exercise time; the disadvantage was that they were always squeezed into the innermost position by the classes behind them.
So when three figures crossed through the orderly rows, moving from Year Four to Year One, from Class One to Class Six, walking against the flow of the crowd without looking back, some eyes began to follow them.
"Two-two-three-four, five-six-seven-eight—"
Amid the counting, many people's rhythm fell apart. They twisted their waists when they should be kicking, kicked when they should be twisting.
According to reports, on a small island in the eastern Indian Ocean more than 300 kilometers south of Java, there lives a special species of red crab. Every year in October or November when the rainy season returns, they begin their legendary mass migration. With the island's roughly 80-kilometer coastline surrounded by cliffs, they surge toward the land like a red tide, breaking through all obstacles with astonishing momentum—roads, cars, houses, tunnels... even the cliffs themselves.
The person providing this random fact walked behind Du Kang—a chunibyo boy named Qingyi. He didn't know if the other could sense such parallels, but to Du Kang, the three of them now felt like three red crabs separated from the herd.
They shuttled through the army of crabs, figures passing before their eyes, nimbly and stubbornly breaking through barrier after barrier. Amid the cheerful tune, Du Kang wasn't annoyed but smiled and waved his hands. Sometimes they encountered acquaintances from other classes, sometimes he inevitably had to shout to those beside him:
"Excuse me, coming through..."
"Hey, don't kick me, kick forward!"
"Buddy, let us through, we've got business!"
"Of course it's urgent business. You're asking what urgent business... hell if I know! I was just warming up when he dragged me along!"
"He" naturally referred to the person walking at the front of the three.
Zhang Shutong was that crab at the very front.
The music gradually faded in his ears. One foot had already stepped into the entrance hall of the teaching building where cool air rushed at him. He deliberately waited a moment.
Sure enough, Du Kang jogged up and immediately asked dramatically:
"What the hell is going on?"
"Told you already—catching someone."
"I know it's about catching someone... the problem isn't catching someone, the problem is you suddenly just know who it is?"
The three of them formed a line, feet never stopping.
"I don't know."
Du Kang choked: "If you don't know then who the hell are we catching..."
"But I know where he is right now."
"Aren't all our classmates outside doing exercises?"
"Not someone from our class." Zhang Shutong shook his head. "I spent all afternoon yesterday at Old Song's place and basically ruled everyone out."
"But if it's someone outside our class, isn't the range even bigger?" Du Kang's eyes widened.
Zhang Shutong simply said:
"The range is actually smaller."
Year Four was naturally on the fourth floor. They stepped onto the first stair, marble material that echoed crisply when stepped on.
"How did you narrow it down? Walk us through your reasoning. I've been holding back from asking since earlier." Qingyi leaned in.
"The key is the castle."
"The castle?"
"Right."
"I don't see how obsessing over that makes sense. Gu Qiumian didn't even seem to react much, did she?" Du Kang looked puzzled.
"It's not about Gu Qiumian's reaction, but why the person smashed her castle in the first place."
Zhang Shutong explained:
"Compared to this, the perpetrator's motive, identity, even the name on the divider—these are all distractions. Rather than thinking about those details, we just need to grasp what the castle represents—"
He summarized:
"What method he wanted to use to get revenge on Gu Qiumian."
"I think I'm getting it." Qingyi seemed to have an epiphany.
"What are you two even talking about? I can't follow!"
"Then listen to Shutong and stop interrupting." Qingyi glared at Du Kang.
The three turned and climbed to the second floor.
"I've been thinking about several questions since yesterday afternoon. First question," Zhang Shutong's fingers lightly tapped the metal handrail, "if you were that person, how would you get revenge on Gu Qiumian?"
"Tear up her homework?" Du Kang said reflexively.
"No good, tearing homework or books isn't satisfying enough." Qingyi already rejected it. "Think about it—forget that her family's rich, even for an ordinary student, they could just buy new ones, right?"
"Curse at her?"
"You're dumb. Wouldn't that get you caught immediately..."
"No, I mean write a letter and leave it on her desk. Didn't that A4 paper also have 'go die' written on it?"
"Still no good," Zhang Shutong shook his head. "Like I said, the key is the method of revenge on Gu Qiumian. That doesn't even count as revenge, more like impotent rage."
"Then... smash her phone or watch or something? My cousin goes to school in the city. I heard about a girl there who got bullied, kind of similar to this..."
"That'd be a big problem." Zhang Shutong said. "Don't forget who her father is. That would escalate outside the school and be hard to contain."
"So it has to hurt her enough, but the person still doesn't dare make it too big in case they get caught?" Qingyi summarized.
"Exactly, so the range narrows considerably."
"Oh, so that's why the castle?"
"Yeah, that's why the castle."
"What are you two on about again? Did the person leave a clue when smashing things? Didn't they say no handwriting was found?"
Du Kang asked curiously again.
But Zhang Shutong didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked back:
"Second question—what do you think the castle means to Gu Qiumian?"
"Should be a very... beloved toy? Didn't she specially bring it from home back then? Every time I go to the bookshelf to get books, I'm scared I'll bump into it and get blamed."
"Exactly." Zhang Shutong nodded. "The perpetrator thought Gu Qiumian would treasure it greatly, but in reality, she didn't care about it at all."
He recalled yesterday's after-school conversation with the girl:
"Forget about that person—even I didn't expect it at first. That person's understanding of Gu Qiumian is about the same as ours. No deeper, no shallower."
"Then that bastard must be pissed. He thought he had it all figured out, but Gu Qiumian didn't even give a damn."
Du Kang curled his lip, and it was only at this point that he reacted:
"But you've said all this—how do you know where that person is? The castle's already been smashed."
"So there's a third question—"
They happened to reach the third floor. Zhang Shutong stopped tapping the railing and lightened his footsteps:
"Why did this happen during the long morning break?"
This time before he could speak, Qingyi already had the answer:
"First, arriving or leaving school definitely won't work—too many people around, someone might discover you. So it has to be a time when no one's there. That leaves PE class and the two breaks. First to rule out is PE class."
"How so?" Du Kang had given up on thinking—this wasn't his forte. He might as well enjoy the process of unraveling the mystery.
"Shutong and I already ruled out people from our class at Old Song's place, so only outside classes remain," Qingyi was happy to explain. "So how could it be PE class? What, they'd just charge over while we're in class? That's why Shutong said earlier that the range actually narrowed."
"What about the afternoon long break?" Du Kang quickly asked.
The two looked at him speechlessly at the same time:
"It's been snowing these past few days. The playground's frozen—we can't go out to run."
"Oh oh, I get it," Du Kang had a sudden realization. "So that bastard ruled out those two times and realized only the morning long break was left to strike, so he went straight for Gu Qiumian's castle, smashed it and ran?"
"Wrong." Zhang Shutong interrupted. "He wasn't targeting the castle from the start."
Du Kang was confused:
"Wait, didn't you two just profoundly say 'that's why the castle'? How is it not the castle now?"
Zhang Shutong smiled:
"But don't forget, when I asked your opinion on the castle, you yourself said the castle 'should' be precious to Gu Qiumian."
At this point, he lowered his voice:
"But don't forget there's something else that's 'definitely' precious."
Du Kang froze, then blurted out reflexively:
"The scarf!"
They entered the fourth floor.
"Right! I just now remembered that scarf. Shutong, didn't you make her cry over that last time? Lots of people know about it, even I thought of it. So why didn't he just go for Gu Qiumian's scarf?
"That's why he was targeting the scarf from the beginning."
The corridor above was completely empty. Zhang Shutong simply stopped walking and signaled for the two to lower their voices.
He leaned against the corner, seemingly lost in thought, actually remembering yesterday at the flag platform, that person who made eye contact with him for a moment:
"But he didn't anticipate one thing."
"What?"
"Dumbass," Qingyi covered his face. "What were you doing during yesterday's long break? Forgot already?"
"I know we were all talking, but what's that got to do with anything?"
"Were you cold yesterday?"
"Yeah, kind of. The wind was pretty strong."
"Then do you think Gu Qiumian was cold standing in the wind listening to you talk?"
"Probably pretty cold too?"
"There you go," Qingyi spread his hands. "We didn't do exercises yesterday, so of course it was cold. So when that person ran to the classroom yesterday, they discovered Gu Qiumian had worn the scarf out. Think back to what we just said about the method of revenge on Gu Qiumian—doesn't it make sense now?"
Du Kang slapped his thigh hard:
"Holy shit, now I really get it. He originally went for the scarf, but couldn't find it. But tearing up homework and stuff wouldn't work, so he remembered Gu Qiumian also had a castle?"
"Exactly, the castle was smashed under those circumstances." Zhang Shutong took over. "So naturally comes the fourth question—did his revenge succeed?"
"I think... no?" Du Kang thought it over before answering. "Didn't we run into Gu Qiumian going to a restaurant at noon? And not just that—all her reactions spread around. That bastard must know too."
"Then what do you think he's thinking?"
"He must be frustrated as hell. He even wrote 'go die' on the A4 paper, but Gu Qiumian didn't give a damn. If it were me, I'd feel worse than Gu Qiumian... actually I'm feeling pretty frustrated right now."
The broadcast music had completely disappeared. They now leaned against the stairway window. Looking out, each class's queue was leaving in an orderly fashion, students bustling about noisily.
The exercise routine was moderately active, making people break a slight sweat without becoming breathless.
In the cold weather, some breathed out white puffs, some opened their collars, and some were so hot they took off their outer coats and swung them around carelessly.
The long break was almost over. Soon they'd see queues of students entering the teaching building.
Du Kang hadn't done the exercises, and now he was anxious enough to sweat, wishing he could sprint into the classroom to investigate:
"People are about to come back. We've discussed all this and analyzed that person's thoughts clearly, but what does coming up here now have to do with anything? Can he cause more trouble in the classroom? Gu Qiumian's castle is smashed, the scarf is worn away... wait,"
At this point, Du Kang suddenly opened his mouth soundlessly. He looked at the students outside taking off their coats, then at Zhang Shutong.
At some point, Zhang Shutong had quietly walked to the stairway entrance. He leaned on the handrail, checked the time, lowered his gaze, then looked at him and Qingyi.
Du Kang quickly lowered his voice:
"You mean..."
Zhang Shutong nodded faintly:
"Right. Today we're doing exercises."
...
"Right. Today we're doing exercises."
Du Kang's mind went blank with a buzz. He understood everything now. He cursed under his breath, "So that bastard went to find the scarf. Shouldn't we hurry up?"
But Zhang Shutong cocked his ear to listen, then shook his head slightly:
"We need to wait a bit more."
Du Kang could only wait patiently. He glanced at his watch—the second hand walked crisply, yet time seemed frozen. The half-hour long break was nearly over. What had passed quickly before now suddenly became unbearable. He quietly asked urgently:
"Shutong, are you really sure he'll dare come today?"
"Second-to-last question," Zhang Shutong held up two fingers, but then shook his head with a laugh. "Actually it's not even a question. What day is today?"
"Friday..."
"So if he's coming, it has to be today. That way tomorrow and the day after are the weekend. When we come back Monday, all the clues will be gone. Where would we even look..."
At this point, Zhang Shutong suddenly paused and whipped his head around. Du Kang followed his gaze—the view showed an empty corridor, but what came with it was a "rrrip" sound in his ears, as if fabric was being torn.
Zhang Shutong immediately waved his hand and sprinted down the corridor in one bound. Du Kang reacted at once.
That bastard made his move!
A single glance between them could convey intent. He said nothing more, putting all his questions into his two legs. He leaped up the stairs in a few steps, then began to sprint.
Actually, he ran much faster than those two. Zhang Shutong and Meng Qingyi had barely rushed to the classroom door when Du Kang had already sprinted through. His gaze instantly focused on that window-side seat. Sure enough, a boy was sneaking around in front of Gu Qiumian's spot.
One end of the red scarf that never left the girl's side was trampled under his foot. The boy had simply wrapped it around from behind and was pulling hard on the other end.
The girl named Gu Qiumian was a rich young lady with countless valuable possessions—this was common knowledge. Yet that scarf alone was an ordinary item. Du Kang remembered Ruoping saying it wasn't even a brand name, more like hand-knitted, yet it was the girl's most precious possession.
That ordinary wool scarf naturally couldn't withstand the strain. It was stretched, pulled apart, individual threads disintegrating. Accompanied by a pitiful ripping sound, it finally completely lost its shape.
But the boy seemed to feel it wasn't satisfying enough. His expression wasn't quite a smile or quite anger, but had a twisted quality of great vengeance achieved. He stomped hard a few more times underfoot, even cleared his throat and opened his mouth—
Then he was startled by footsteps. He reflexively turned his head, and in an instant, three boys appeared at the classroom door.
"You..."
The twisted expression froze on his face.
They... when did they get here?
How did they know he was here?
Did they see?
If they saw, what should he do?
Shock, panic, fear... Unfortunately, before he could speak, the boy in the lead had already sprinted over in one bound. One of the two behind him pulled out his phone and waved it:
"Got it all on video."
Then he asked the boy beside him with confusion:
"Who the hell is this guy? Qingyi, do you know him?"
"Oh, that dirty joke boy who caused Gu Qiumian to transfer classes back then. Though Shutong, I'm surprised you didn't figure it out? I guessed it on the stairs..."
What do you mean 'dirty joke boy'!
This final thought flashed through his mind. He reflexively tried to turn and run outside, but the lead boy's foot came faster:
"So it really is you, you disgusting bastard!"
The next moment, the boy fell to the ground along with the scarf. Du Kang was about to curse a few times, but the boy had actually lost his breath and sat frozen on the ground, not knowing what to say. He scrambled toward the outside, trying to run.
"Du Kang, grab him, don't let him get away."
"You got it."
Just like when he'd stomped on the scarf, Du Kang stepped directly on the boy's coat. The guy seemed scared stupid, losing all will to resist. He simply sat on the ground motionless, eyes vacant.
Du Kang let out a satisfied sigh.
Though he couldn't say he had any good impression of that young lady, who told this bastard to do something so disgusting? He even felt he'd vented some anger, and was a bit excited:
The three of them sworn brothers had undoubtedly acted heroically once again. Though they hadn't saved the world, at least they'd saved a girl their sworn brother liked. Rare, rare indeed.
His thoughts always jumped around quickly. He wondered what if they had to give another speech on the flag platform tomorrow—wouldn't that be too frequent? What if Gu Qiumian's father gave them a reward? Not that he didn't want to accept it, but what if Ruoping wouldn't let him?
And Gu Qiumian herself would be back soon—he wondered what she'd think then.
Thinking this, he zoned out and couldn't be bothered interrogating that boy. He was just about to ask whether they should hand this guy over to the office.
But Qingyi suddenly said:
"Move your foot and look—is that scarf completely ruined?"
Du Kang froze, pulled the boy farther away, then looked at the scarf pressed on the ground. Sure enough, it was as ruined as could be—not like last time with just a footprint and one end slightly frayed, but completely deformed, even nearly torn through the middle... There was no way to even repair this, right?
While he was stunned, Zhang Shutong walked over, crouched down, lifted the scarf to examine it like inspecting a corpse, then tossed it on the ground as if it were dirty and sighed:
"Ill-fated thing. What a shame."
We're screwed!
Really screwed this time!
At this moment, Du Kang couldn't think about anything else. Only this one thought remained in his mind.
Last time just a small injury to it caused such a scene—this time wouldn't it be earth-shattering?
He didn't care how Gu Qiumian made a scene, but the problem was—
This time the three of them had deliberately used the scarf as bait!
Though their intentions were good and they'd caught the "criminal," the result couldn't be worse!
Putting himself in her shoes, if he were Gu Qiumian and had to choose between the scarf and finding the truth, Du Kang felt he'd definitely choose the former.
They say ignorance is bliss... but the three of them clearly knew!
They'd even specifically waited for the guy to make his move before running out, just to record evidence.
So what should they say?
Tell the truth and beg Gu Qiumian's forgiveness?
What if they caught the transfer boy but all three brothers ended up transferring classes too?
Or lie and say they came back with diarrhea to use the bathroom and just happened to catch him? If the homeroom teacher asked if all three of them had the same diarrhea, they'd have to nod and say of course... no! Like hell that'd work. Du Kang wouldn't even believe it himself.
"So... so Shutong, what do we do?"
"Deal with it cold, I guess. Blame the scarf's bad luck." Zhang Shutong shrugged.
"But what do we say when Gu Qiumian comes back?"
"Hmm, make that little bastard hold a funeral for the scarf?"
"Come on, this isn't the time to joke around!"
"Then what else can we say?" Zhang Shutong said helplessly. "We were trying to help her too. We can only hope Gu Qiumian is understanding."
"Dude, you're way too calm about this, aren't you?"
Du Kang was practically shaking:
"Don't you remember last time she cried? Even I could tell that scarf means something special to her, right?"
"Her..." Zhang Shutong recalled yesterday's after-school conversation and the girl's indifferent expression. Though he couldn't quite figure Gu Qiumian out, his understanding should be correct. "Actually it's fine. It's just a very cheap scarf. She won't care that much."
"Alright, stop worrying. There's no other way. Those who accomplish great things don't sweat the small stuff," Qingyi sighed at this point, solemnly patting Du Kang's shoulder with determination in his eyes. "A man's purpose is just like this—to protect something, you must sacrifice something else."
"Stop right there, bro!"
Who knew that after such profound life wisdom, the previously calm young man would immediately roll his eyes.
"Am I wrong?" Qingyi looked puzzled.
"No, you're right, but I have a different perspective now..."
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled hard. In the two's stunned gazes, from his bulging pocket, a flash of bright red spilled out.
Zhang Shutong smoothed out the obviously somewhat worn scarf that had even pilled, draped it over the back of Gu Qiumian's chair, and stroked his chin:
"I feel like a man's purpose is actually to plan ahead without a hitch."
Without caring about the shock frozen on his two sworn brothers' faces, he lifted his head. A pleased smile appeared on his normally cold face as he raised a finger:
"Now for the final question—"
"What time does the clothing store on the commercial street close?"