Chapter 5: The Fifth Dimension 1/2

Shi Zhang felt that fate was too coincidental. In the morning, he had just encountered Song Fuzhi, and in the evening, he learned that he would be visiting Song Fuzhi’s mother.

Actually, if possible, Shi Zhang never wanted to encounter Song Fuzhi again. However, when he did meet him, he found it difficult to control the desire to get closer to him.

Back in high school, Shi Zhang stood in the broken grove on the school grounds, practicing smoking.

Actually, it wasn’t really a grove; it was just a corner of a dirt slope blocked between two old buildings, a few sparse and bald trees, and the ground littered with discarded construction materials. In the summer, it was hot and exposed, and no one came here; the teachers couldn’t catch anyone.

Shi Zhang took a drag of the cigarette and coughed for a long time, struggling to get used to smoking.

After coughing, Shi Zhang stood up straight. Suddenly, he noticed someone standing silently behind him.

It was a junior, slender, and thin, and the school uniform looked too loose on him.

Shi Zhang had a deep impression of him because he was the most handsome among all the duty students that week.

There was a bright red mark on the junior’s right arm.

Others would directly pin the red armband of the duty student on the sleeve for a cool and breezy look. However, he meticulously wore the armband neatly, with the printed “Duty Student” three characters clear and distinct.

Squinting at him, Shi Zhang didn’t take him seriously, raised his hand, and took another drag.

This time, he didn’t choke.

The duty student stood there watching him without any action. Shi Zhang smoked on his own; the two stood there silently.

The cigarette quickly burned out. Shi Zhang pressed it on a stone to extinguish it and walked away while holding the butt.

Passing by the duty student, Shi Zhang stopped and, with a half-smile, asked him, “Why didn’t you ask about my class and name?”

The junior asked him in return, “You clearly don’t like smoking; why do you still smoke?”

A very refreshing adolescent voice, mixed with a hint of a changing voice, made Shi Zhang feel like he was being gently pierced.

Shi Zhang didn’t respond to his words, casually threw the cigarette butt into the trash can, and continued walking.

The duty student, still standing there, asked him what he was doing.

“I called you, and you came.”

Shi Zhang was a bit impatient. “Just now, mosquitoes in the woods bit you on the arm, and you’re still standing there. Are you waiting to be carried away?”

The duty student subconsciously scratched his arm, delicate fingers bending at the edge of the red armband.

Shi Zhang diverted his gaze and brought the person to the entrance of the senior three class, fished out a small round iron box from the desk drawer, White Cat Cooling Oil, and tossed it over. The junior caught it.

The duty student used his fingertips to dig out a small piece of mint-scented ointment and silently applied it to the swollen mosquito bite, spreading it. Every small movement was engraved in Shi Zhang’s memory.

Almost finished, the duty student casually spoke, “What did you just say, Wind Discipline Commissioner? What is that?”

Shi Zhang was stunned for a moment and burst into laughter suddenly, almost knocking over the water cup on the neighboring desk.

This little handsome guy was quite interesting, thirsting for knowledge.

Shi Zhang didn’t bother to tell him that he got it from an anime. When the duty student handed back the cooling oil, Shi Zhang didn’t take it.

Shi Zhang said he was giving it to him, and the duty student shook his head, placing the small iron box back on Shi Zhang’s desk.

“If you don’t like smoking, don’t smoke. I’ll remember your name if I catch you next time.”

The junior said this and left.

Many things during adolescence happen without any logic—

Since that day, Shi Zhang has repeatedly recalled the appearance of the junior in the woods, remembered his voice, and thought about the mosquito bites on his body.

The small red swell, slightly raised, looked awkward on the fair skin.

It made people want to pinch him or bite him, leaving similar marks.

I want to make him blush, make him feel pain, and hear his slightly mature teenage voice again.

Shi Zhang realized what he was thinking and unconsciously frowned.

He knew there was an extreme side to his personality, far from his carefree appearance.

Shi Zhang loves to collect fresh plants in the mountains, make specimens when he returns home, and neatly lock them in the cabinet.

He never sells the clothes he wears for cosplay only once secondhand; all of them are neatly hung in the wardrobe after ironing, with a date label attached.

When a punk snatched his game coins, he took back all the coins and then smashed the guy thoroughly.

Shi Zhang has few possessions, but if he wants something, he will make sure that thing is completely under his control.

This time, he unexpectedly wanted to collect a person, like collecting plant specimens.

Shi Zhang easily learned the junior’s name, which was Song Fuzhi.

The not-so-easy news was that his mother was his homeroom teacher, Wang Huiling.

Shi Zhang often hid in the dark to watch him. He watched his figure run in physical education class, saw his serious expression when on duty, and saw him laughing happily with classmates in the class, the sunlight pouring onto the young man’s collar.

The school area was too small, so Shi Zhang started following him home.

To put it bluntly, it was tailing.

Although he had a mother who was a teacher at school, Song Fuzhi often walked home alone. Shi Zhang walked not too close, not too far behind him, for many days.

He just followed without doing anything.

The only thing Shi Zhang did was witness a hoodlum robbing Song Fuzhi’s change, then drag the hoodlum into the alley, coldly demanding that he return the money.

Shi Zhang had fought many times, but that time was the darkest.

Thinking of how the hoodlum had cornered Song Fuzhi against the wall, his eyes turned red, and it was difficult to control the intense anger. He almost sent the guy to the hospital.

If the hoodlum hadn’t done something bad himself and dared not call the police or make a big deal out of it, Shi Zhang might have ended up spending a few days in the police station.

This kind of voyeurism became more and more addictive, like a poison that dragged people into the swamp.

Shi Zhang envied the people around Song Fuzhi.

Seeing Song Fuzhi’s friends laughing heartily around him, Shi Zhang clearly felt that his breathing was not smooth, as if someone were squeezing his neck and flames were burning in his chest.

He wanted to pull them all apart and make sure that junior’s eyes only had him in them.