Chapter 215 - 93: The Clue Is Lu Qinglian’s Foot

Chapter 215: Chapter 93: The Clue Is Lu Qinglian’s Foot

The woman’s one good quality was her politeness.

"It’s nothing," Zhang Shutong said casually, walking behind her. "On the other hand, you were injured because of that pit, so this is only fair."

The two of them entered the house. He put a kettle on to boil and told Lu Qinglian to sit on the sofa while he went to the TV stand and pulled open a drawer.

’If I remember correctly... there should be some.’

He squatted down, quickly found something, and tossed it backward.

"Catch."

Zhang Shutong turned his head and saw Lu Qinglian subconsciously catch the small bottle with both hands. He added:

"Safflower oil. You know how to apply it, right? You just rub it on your foot. It improves circulation and helps with bruising."

Lu Qinglian nodded.

Zhang Shutong returned to the sofa as well. ’Just a short while ago, this room was a battlefield,’ he thought. ’And now that same girl is injured, bending over slightly to take off her shoes and socks.’

Of course, he wasn’t in great shape either. ’I wonder if safflower oil works on injuries from a kick?’ Zhang Shutong mused. ’Maybe I should rub some on my chest later.’

Then he noticed Lu Qinglian unscrew the cap, pour out a little oil, and was about to rub it on her foot. He quickly stopped her.

"Hold on."

"What is it?" She tilted her head.

’What do you mean, "what is it"?’ Zhang Shutong thought.

"You don’t just rub it on directly. You should at least soak your foot in hot water first. Why else do you think I’m boiling water?"

’Where did that mature, terrifying demeanor you had on the mountain go? Could you be any less of a handful?’

He stood up and tested the temperature of the kettle with his hand. It was just right, though a little hot to the touch.

Zhang Shutong wasn’t a particularly meticulous person and couldn’t be bothered to add cold water bit by bit. He just brought a washbasin from the bathroom, poured the water in, and placed it in front of Lu Qinglian.

"This will have to do."

Lu Qinglian thanked him again.

"I would’ve thought someone with your skills would have used this stuff plenty of times," he said, opening his phone and scrolling through his messages.

"I rarely use it." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Then have you ever taken a medicinal bath, the kind you see in wuxia novels?" Zhang Shutong wasn’t sure if she’d ever read those kinds of books.

"That kind of thing doesn’t exist," Lu Qinglian said, her tone a bit exasperated.

Zhang Shutong noticed she seemed to be enjoying herself now, her almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly.

She got the same expression when she was eating something delicious—or what she considered delicious—like Oreos or sour apples.

"I just thought of a question," Zhang Shutong said. "I used to think Gu Qiuyan’s murder was an act of revenge, that someone wanted to stop her father from developing the island. Why else would they target her specifically? But now it doesn’t seem so simple. Let’s assume the killer is someone like you. Could there be other reasons? You know what I mean—something more... supernatural?"

"Not that I know of."

"How much do you know?"

"A little more than you think."

"You’re cuter when you’re soaking your feet and not talking."

"You’d better not be so flippant."

Zhang Shutong was left speechless.

’He wasn’t a smooth-talker, but she was definitely a serious person. He really needed to think before speaking... wait, was she really that serious?’

"It just occurred to me, you’ve asked me several times if I like you. You don’t call that being flippant?"

"Do you have a towel?" Lu Qinglian asked instead.

"I’ll get you some tissues."

’A point for me,’ Zhang Shutong thought, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Back to the topic at hand. Since Lu Qinglian had ruled out one possibility, he was left to ponder the question himself.

Judging by the results—the island’s development had indeed been halted.

And according to information from eight years in the future—the police records also mentioned someone wanting to stop the island’s development.

But Lu Qinglian didn’t know who this person was, which was a headache. ’Is there something else hidden here?’

Just then, his phone rang. Zhang Shutong snapped back to reality. It was a call from Qingyi.

"How’d it go? Did she fall in?"

"It’s a long story."

"Shutong, don’t tell me she caught you and beat you up?" Qingyi asked, sounding puzzled.

"Er... where are you guys now?"

"That’s a long story too. We hung out for a while longer and just came down from the mountain. The other two are waiting for a car; Ruoping’s dad is on his way," Qingyi explained. "As for me... Whoa, so expensive. How is a bottle of water two yuan? I’m at the little shop buying a drink... Okay, I’m outside now. I just asked the greedy old lady inside, and she said two students had come down from the mountain a little while ago, so I figured I’d call and see how things went on your end."

"It’s fine. The misunderstanding has been cleared up..." Zhang Shutong glanced at Lu Qinglian and saw her staring back at him, expressionless. "I’ve recognized the error of my ways."

The girl looked away and went back to soaking her feet with her eyes narrowed, like a lazy cat.

"You’re really something else..." Qingyi couldn’t help but laugh. "This is the first time I’ve ever seen you afraid of a girl."

’You’d be scared too if you got kicked like that,’ Zhang Shutong grumbled internally.

"Anyway, she’s on our side now."

"Want to grab lunch together to celebrate?"

"Probably won’t have time."

"Then the three of us will go eat."

"Okay, call me if anything comes up."

Zhang Shutong hung up.

"So you didn’t hide it from them," Lu Qinglian finally said.

"Just Qingyi. It’d be too much trouble with Ruoping. You know, she already thinks of you as her best friend. If she found out I dug a pit for you, she’d bury me in it. As for Du Kang, well, his situation is also..."

Zhang Shutong didn’t know how to explain, so he decided it was best to leave it at that.

"Oh, that kid who likes me," Lu Qinglian said after a moment’s thought.

Zhang Shutong’s eyelid twitched.

"What do you mean, ’kid’?"

’You at least pretended before, calling him "Classmate Du Kang."’

"I tend to call anyone I find very childish a ’kid’."

"Are you really sixteen?"

"Of course."

"Well, you’re just so mature then."