"Uh..." Zhang Shutong was a bit dazed. "What?"
"A classmate of mine went shopping in the mall just now. She said she saw the two of us pushing a cart from a distance, and even saw you feeding me something..."
"She saw wrong," Zhang Shutong clarified. "That was me handing something to her."
"But didn't you guys go look for that man?" Ruoping lowered her voice. "How did you end up eating things in the mall?"
"It's a long story." Zhang Shutong explained the current situation to her.
"So he has been tailing you guys the whole way? Can I help?"
"No need for now." Zhang Shutong advised her with a few words. "If anything happens, I'll contact you."
"Then be extra careful." Ruoping also understood that it wasn't suitable to say too much at this time.
"Okay."
Zhang Shutong put away the phone.
He kept paying attention to that brown hat, but the man kept his brim pressed very low, making it impossible to see his face clearly. Zhang Shutong calculated the time in his mind; there were only a little over ten minutes before Qing Yi arrived. He took a deep breath and went up to the second floor with Lu Qinglian.
A Santa Claus stood at the escalator entrance on the second floor.
Zhang Shutong introduced casually:
"This floor sells clothes. The things on the third floor are a bit more varied—restaurants, home appliances..."
As he spoke to this point, he suddenly realized something.
This might be Lu Qinglian's first time "shopping" here, but it wasn't her first time coming to this mall.
"Almost forgot you've been here before," Zhang Shutong said.
Last time, Mr. Song had treated the few of them to a meal here. Before eating, he and Lu Qinglian had even spent some time freeloading on the television displays in the appliance center across from the restaurant.
But at that time, he had been running a fever, combined with coming and going in a hurry, it felt like official business, and many details had long since blurred.
Since that was the case, there wasn't much to introduce. Zhang Shutong stopped acting as a tour guide and walked toward the rear of the escalators. The escalators here were the old-fashioned moving walkways without steps, which could also transport goods when necessary. The up and down lanes weren't staggered front and back, but rather grouped together.
He saw shop staff wearing Christmas hats soliciting customers outside, completely changing the lifeless appearance from before. In fact, not long ago on the first floor, a specific area had been set up in the supermarket to sell Christmas apples, Red Fuji, Red Delicious, and so on, with the packaging boxes charging extra. If the timing hadn't been wrong, he might have bought a few.
When passing by an accessory shop, Zhang Shutong spotted a hat inside—not the brown one, of course, but a pink baseball cap with a Mickey Mouse pattern printed on it.
So much time had passed already.
He instinctively pulled out his phone and took a photo.
"Is there a situation?" Lu Qinglian asked from the side.
"No." Zhang Shutong would occasionally think about the matter of Christmas gifts too.
He checked the time again. The two of them took a turn around the second floor, turned around, and stepped onto the escalator.
"I remember there's an emergency exit on the south side of the third floor," Zhang Shutong recalled. "You can get to the mall rooftop from there, but I'm not sure if it's open."
If it was open, that would be the final destination of their trip.
He went directly to the south side of the third floor and checked the emergency exit door:
"It works."
Zhang Shutong gently closed the fire door.
He whispered a word to Lu Qinglian, and the two turned around to walk downstairs.
When passing by the appliance center, through the glass display window, televisions were broadcasting programs. This was also a method to attract customers. Last time, the program had been about emergency rescue measures for avalanches; this time, it was a Christmas special feature:
"Do you still remember last time..."
"I don't."
Zhang Shutong didn't know why either, but whenever avalanches were mentioned, she wouldn't give him a good look.
But it didn't matter anymore.
A new message arrived on his phone: Qing Yi had already arrived at the mall.
Zhang Shutong didn't plan to wander around any longer, plus he couldn't expose Qing Yi, so instead of taking the escalator, he walked toward the sightseeing elevator in the center of the mall.
He wanted to throw the man off for a short while.
The elevator doors quickly opened with a ding, and the two entered the elevator. While looking for the man's figure outside the glass enclosure, Zhang Shutong pressed the button.
The instant the elevator doors closed, he gave Lu Qinglian a look:
"Spotted him. Still on the second floor..."
"Mm."
Lu Qinglian merely asked:
"How are you two going to meet?"
"Oh, I agreed to meet him at..."
But before he could finish speaking, someone suddenly started shouting and yelling outside the elevator:
"Wait, wait, wait, please wait a moment!"
Before Zhang Shutong could turn his head, a kind fellow passenger helped press the elevator button.
But Zhang Shutong only felt his eyelids twitch.
Who else could the owner of that voice be but Xu Zhiruo?
Zhang Shutong hadn't expected to run into an acquaintance here either.
Actually, one acquaintance would have been fine—just a junior high school underclassman. Although she talked a lot, she was easy to deal with. However, the person accompanying Xu Zhiruo made him say uh oh in his heart—
It was a middle-aged woman with greying hair and glasses.
Their new homeroom teacher, Teacher Xu Aiping.
"You girl, stop shouting and yelling. It's not like this is the only elevator ride."
Right now, she was lecturing out of habit.
Looking closely, aside from Xu Zhiruo and her eldest aunt, there were three other adults beside them. Combined with the location where they appeared, Zhang Shutong more or less understood what was going on—
He had just happened to stumble upon a family dinner gathering of his homeroom teacher.
It was just past seven o'clock, exactly the time after finishing dinner.
Right now, the few people were walking toward the elevator. Zhang Shutong looked at the elevator control panel again; it was being held down by an auntie, and the elevator doors stayed firmly propped open on both sides, completely refusing to close.
He cursed inwardly. This time it was truly terrible. Running into a teacher outside was nothing—just offering a greeting would suffice. But what if his homeroom teacher saw him together with Lu Qinglian?
What if his homeroom teacher saw him together with Lu Qinglian wearing a wig while coming down from the third floor, which was full of restaurants, inside the elevator car?
Zhang Shutong's movements froze. Tonight, not only did he have to deal with a man, but perhaps he also had to deal with a woman.
Glancing at Lu Qinglian again, it had to be said that her curiosity was truly faint enough. The commotion made by Xu Zhiruo just now had caused Zhang Shutong to turn his head instinctively, yet she had consistently kept her back to the elevator doors, observing the movements on the second floor.
Perhaps that man had disappeared once more. Right now, just as Lu Qinglian was about to turn around, Zhang Shutong grabbed her:
"Don't move."
"Student Zhang Shutong, you'd better stop overreacting..." Lu Qinglian said displeasedly, yet stopped her movement to turn around.
"Homeroom teacher," Zhang Shutong said in a small voice.
Lu Qinglian knit her brows slightly.
It seemed that even she found it a headache.
Setting aside that getting caught would mean getting slapped with another label of puppy love, given this homeroom teacher's personality, she would absolutely never let them walk away easily tonight.
"I'll handle it. Don't show your face."
Zhang Shutong only had time to finish this single sentence before Teacher Xu's family walked into the elevator.
There were already four people in the elevator, and five more entered now, instantly making it crowded. The two were forced to move toward the corner. It would have been fine if they could take the chance to swap positions, but Lu Qinglian had been in front of him just now, and just as she was about to turn around, she had been stopped by Zhang Shutong. Right now, the two of them were pressed close together.
Lu Qinglian's exquisite face was close at hand.
Both of them lowered their eyes, simply because the homeroom teacher's aura was just different. The moment she entered the elevator, she surveyed the surroundings, appearing majestic without being angry, and even the surrounding voices grew a bit quieter. Zhang Shutong was also too lazy to play smart and offer a greeting proactively, as if doing so could clear his suspicion; he only knew that at this time, the fewer complications, the better.
Zhang Shutong wanted to pull out his phone to pretend he was busy, but the elevator was packed person-to-person. Let alone pulling out a phone, even trying to extend an arm felt like an effort.
He had no choice but to lower his head. The moment he lowered his head, what he saw was Lu Qinglian's upturned nose bridge and small, pink lips. Zhang Shutong had no choice but to shift his gaze upward a bit, never having been so grateful that this mall was so small—the distance of three floors took less than half a minute, as long as they could hold out a bit longer...
"Hey, Senior!"
In an instant, countless gazes turned toward him.
Zhang Shutong's eyelid twitched. He thought to himself: This senior has never held any grudge against you, at most giving you the nickname of a little secretary. Why do you insist on坑ing your senior?
Could it be a retribution for calling her that nickname too many times? It seemed Gu Qiumian had said yesterday not to call her that, but he, an underling, didn't listen to the young mistress's words, and retribution had truly come.
"Don't shout and scream, what does that look like for a girl." Hearing Teacher Xu chide her, Xu Zhiruo hurriedly stuck out her tongue to play dead.
But though she stopped speaking, her eldest aunt cast a scrutinizing gaze. "Oh..."
The woman drew out the sound. Zhang Shutong had never felt time pass so slowly.
"Little Zhang," the homeroom teacher finally finished her tailing sound.
Zhang Shutong offered a greeting, then said he saw her together with her family and hadn't felt comfortable disturbing them just now.
The homeroom teacher nodded:
"Out for a meal? Where are your parents? Why are you by yourself?"
As expected of a teacher—three questions right off the bat.
As Teacher Xu spoke, she swept another glance around, her gaze ultimately landing on Lu Qinglian's retreating figure.
"No, just myself."
"Is that so?" The homeroom teacher adjusted her glasses, her words carrying an implication: "Out with a classmate?"
"I agreed to meet a classmate."
Before the homeroom teacher could furrow her brows, Zhang Shutong said "sorry" to a certain person in front of him, then painstakingly fished his phone out of his pocket and directly tapped open the voice message sent by Qing Yi, which was him saying he was almost there not long ago.
"Arriving in a moment. I came up to look around first."
"Go home and review quickly once you're done. Don't wander around outside." The homeroom teacher finally withdrew her gaze.
It seemed she didn't particularly want to chat with him either, just questioning a few words out of habit upon running into him.
Zhang Shutong let out a sigh of relief. He lowered his head again and saw that there was still no expression on Lu Qinglian's face. Her eyes were cast down, looking indifferent, but her face, which was slightly turned to one side, showed that her current mood wasn't pleasant. Hearing a ding, the elevator arrived at its station, and Zhang Shutong raised his head instantly—
But it was the second floor!
Another batch of people jostled inward.
In the crowding, someone failed to stand firmly, and the crowd suddenly lurched toward the corner. Positioned in the corner, Zhang Shutong was actually fine, and even the homeroom teacher swayed. But he watched with his own eyes as the homeroom teacher's figure swayed, and she instinctively extended her hand, propping herself against Lu Qinglian's back for a moment.
Consequently, Lu Qinglian stumbled as well, and Zhang Shutong instinctively embraced her, then released his hands immediately.
"Sorry, little girl, there were too many people just now, I didn't hurt you, did I..."
Teacher Xu even said a word with apology, but Zhang Shutong would rather she had been less polite. His heart was in his throat again. Lu Qinglian naturally couldn't respond. Fortunately, before the homeroom teacher could notice anything abnormal, the surroundings had already erupted into a racket:
"What are you squeezing for, let me get off first!"
"Stop squeezing, stop squeezing, there's no more room..."
The elevator doors closed, descending toward the first floor. The only change was that it was even more crowded than before. Zhang Shutong had no choice but to hold his breath; after all, the current distance was already too close, and lowering his head brought him right to Lu Qinglian's fine eyelashes.
In the past, he had always felt she had very long legs and was naturally very tall, but when standing close, he discovered her height only reached his chin, and she wasn't as tall as imagined.
Finally, the elevator doors opened.
The crowd dispersed like a swarm of bees.
The homeroom teacher gave him a greeting before leaving, and Zhang Shutong hurriedly returned one. He had never thought a single elevator ride could be this tormenting.
He had finally sent these grand deities away, but right before leaving, Xu Zhiruo suddenly turned her head and blinked her eyes at him.
Zhang Shutong's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that one wave follows another?
"Leaving first, Senior." The young girl waved her hand and leaped nimbly out of the elevator.
Zhang Shutong couldn't guess her meaning, yet still let out a sigh of relief. However, a fair, clean palm appeared before his eyes, seemingly to block that flow of air.
"How is it?" Lu Qinglian asked calmly.
"They're gone..." Zhang Shutong took another glance, then said in a small voice, "But they aren't very far from the elevator doors yet."
Lu Qinglian turned her face away, looking faintly in a certain direction, her tone slightly cold:
"Don't speak directly facing my face."
As she lightly parted her pink lips, a faint wave of warm breath was likewise sprayed onto his cheek. Their gazes met for an instant, then snapped away. Zhang Shutong turned his face away following her lead, and once the crowd in front of them had mostly cleared out, they quickly exited the elevator.
Beads of sweat had hung onto his forehead at some point. Zhang Shutong wiped his temples, suddenly falling speechless. This was presumably Lu Qinglian's first time riding a sightseeing elevator, and it had left behind an... highly unpleasant experience.
"Fortunately, you were wearing the wig," Zhang Shutong sighed.
"He came down," Lu Qinglian, however, had already cast a glance toward the second floor.
Her tone was cold, as if the small interlude just now hadn't occurred. From beginning to end, the two of them were here to draw that man out.
"Perfect," Zhang Shutong said softly.
He led Lu Qinglian toward the supermarket entrance, where a Santa Claus statue was also set up, featuring a red Christmas hat and a speckled white beard, looking kind and benevolent.
Zhang Shutong fished a receipt out from Santa Claus's beard.
He walked slowly to the lockers, then swiped the receipt across the infrared scanner. With a bang, a locker door swung open in response.
A black plastic bag appeared before his eyes.
Zhang Shutong gripped the item wrapped inside the plastic bag in his hand:
"Let's go."
"You let him see it on purpose?" Lu Qinglian asked.
"Pretty much," Zhang Shutong nodded. "There's no hiding it anyway. It's better if he thinks we've been hiding the fox inside the locker all along."
Zhang Shutong walked straight toward the escalator. Qing Yi and the others hadn't left yet. He typed on his phone, telling them to keep a good watch outside the mall and pay attention to a man wearing a brown hat.