Chapter 37: Jinjiang Exclusive 1/2

Zhong Ziyan stopped and raised an eyebrow. “You want to smoke?”

Song Fuzhi glanced at Shi Zhang and asked, “Professor Shi, do you mind?”

Shi Zhang looked at Song Fuzhi and shook his head. “I don’t mind.”

Zhong Ziyan, after looking at Jin Xiaonan, smiled and said, “Professor Song wants to smoke.”

“Give it to him.” Jin Xiaonan looked at Song Fuzhi.

Zhong Ziyan then opened the cigarette box, tilted it at an angle, and let Song Fuzhi take one himself.

—

Song Fuzhi took one, borrowed Zhong Ziyan’s lighter, and lit it up with practiced ease.

“I didn’t expect Professor Song to smoke,” Zhong Ziyan remarked.

Jin Xiaonan couldn’t help but say, “Smoking is not good for your health; try to avoid it.”

Zhong Ziyan sighed lightly. “This guy has been trying to make me quit smoking lately.”

“Yeah, it’s not good for health,” Song Fuzhi smiled. “I only smoke occasionally.”

“Why did you suddenly feel like it tonight?” Shi Zhang asked.

Song Fuzhi didn’t answer, his well-defined fingers holding the slender cigarette and exuding a cold-toned sensuality in the night.

Unconsciously, he moved the cigarette away a bit. Although Shi Zhang said he didn’t mind, Song Fuzhi was still afraid that Shi Zhang wouldn’t like the smell of smoke.

Shi Zhang noticed and pulled Song Fuzhi’s outstretched arm, saying again, “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

Zhong Ziyan glanced at Shi Zhang and joked, “It seems that tolerance is high for one’s own people. We usually don’t dare to smoke in front of Shi Zhang. He’s a professor and doesn’t touch these things.”

Song Fuzhi paused.

Shi Zhang spoke seriously: “Ziyan, don’t exaggerate. I don’t dislike smoking.”

Zhong Ziyan laughed. “But anyway, Shi Zhang quit smoking a long time ago; I haven’t seen him smoke for over ten or twenty years.”

Song Fuzhi looked at Shi Zhang with some surprise.

This meant that Shi Zhang started smoking ten or twenty years ago, when he was just over ten years old.

“Okay, bye.” Zhong Ziyan didn’t have time to talk more with them and walked away with Jin Xiaonan.

Song Fuzhi sat at the table, smoking the slender cigarette, and apologized to Shi Zhang: “Professor, you go to sleep first. I’ll come in after finishing.”

Shi Zhang didn’t go inside but sat next to Song Fuzhi.

“I didn’t know you smoke,” Shi Zhang said.

Song Fuzhi smiled and said, “Because I don’t usually.”

Shi Zhang asked again, “Then why did you want to smoke tonight?”

Song Fuzhi looked at him and smiled without saying a word.

Shi Zhang smiled and asked softly, “Do you like ‘Cigarettes After Sex’?”

Not knowing which band he was referring to, Song Fuzhi exhaled slightly and laughed. “Strictly speaking, tonight’s doesn’t count.”

Shi Zhang said, “Then we’ll count next time.”

In just a few words, they made plans for the next time.

Shi Zhang said, “I thought you were a good kid since childhood, serving as a disciplinary prefect at school, catching others smoking.”

Song Fuzhi raised an eyebrow and said, “How did you know I used to be a prefect? It’s true, catching latecomers, catching smokers.”

Shi Zhang laughed, “I can tell.”

“But people grow up,” Song Fuzhi said. “I’m not that good.”

“It’s you,” Song Fuzhi squinted. “How long have you been smoking?”

Shi Zhang chuckled. “I wasn’t good when I was a kid, either.”

At this moment, the atmosphere was very quiet and strangely calming. Song Fuzhi’s lips slightly parted, and he exhaled a puff of smoke.

Between his slender and fair fingers was a woman’s cigarette, exuding a cold-toned sensuality.

Shi Zhang looked down, watching Song Fuzhi nonchalantly puffing smoke, and said, “Let me try.”

Song Fuzhi said, “You quit, Professor.”

The professor said, “I can smoke again.”

“Do you still remember how to smoke?” Song Fuzhi handed the cigarette to Shi Zhang. “Don’t choke.”

Shi Zhang didn’t take it, saying, “You smoke first.”

Song Fuzhi looked at him with some confusion but withdrew his hand.

Song Fuzhi bit the filter and took a deep breath.

At that moment, Shi Zhang leaned over, lifted Song Fuzhi’s chin, and kissed him.

The kiss with intertwining tongues gently took away the air and the smoke from Song Fuzhi’s mouth.

Deep and shallow, the lips separated, and both exhaled a faint blue smoke, intertwining and dissipating in the night.

Song Fuzhi chuckled. “It’s over; the professor broke the abstinence and will be addicted again.”

Shi Zhang also smiled and said, “I’ll be addicted for a lifetime.”

Back in the tent, after Shi Zhang finished arranging the sleeping bag, Song Fuzhi carefully took out the leaf from his pocket.

He originally wanted to try playing the leaf flute again but changed his mind halfway.

Song Fuzhi brought a couple of books to alleviate boredom. Now was a good time. He opened the book and tucked the leaf inside.

“I should really go to sleep,” Shi Zhang said.

Song Fuzhi placed the book, responded with a “coming,” and crawled into the sleeping bag. He casually took off his coat.

Now the two were much closer. Song Fuzhi unreservedly lay in the sleeping bag with Shi Zhang, even putting a leg over the professor’s body, and fell asleep heavily.

Sleeping in the mountains didn’t require an alarm clock at all. Before the sun came up, various birds started chirping loudly.

The birdsong in the wilderness was incomparable to that in the city—a chaotic and random chorus.

Song Fuzhi, with a frown, was awakened by the noise, turned over, and his ears were filled with two small things.

He vaguely heard Shi Zhang say, “Earplugs.”

Not completely awake, Song Fuzhi fell asleep again.

When he woke up again, the tent was filled with sunlight, warm, and comfortable. He occupied the entire sleeping bag alone, and Shi Zhang had already gotten up.

Song Fuzhi took off the earplugs, vaguely remembering that Shi Zhang had put them on him.

When he went out in neat clothes, there were sandwiches and coffee on the table. Shi Zhang was sitting in a reclining chair outside, reading a book, and smiling, “Good morning.”

The little girl had already woken up and flown a kite outside, and the tent next door was still quiet.

Close to ten o’clock, Zhong Ziyan stretched lazily out of the tent, fed Da Jin, put on light makeup, sat at the table, and started attending a video meeting. Even on vacation, she had to keep track of work, probably only for Zhong Ziyan.

Jin Xiaonan woke up the latest, and they were preparing to have lunch before he got up.

—

The adults made a few jokes in a gentle manner, and Jin Xiaonan blushed while responding. Only Xiao Yu asked seriously if his brother was feeling unwell, questioning why he woke up so late.

These days, there were no special arrangements, emphasizing a leisurely atmosphere. They engaged in activities like hiking, boating, and playing in the water—close encounters with nature, feeling free.

Shi Zhang taught the younger sister various plants along the way, and the adults found it quite interesting.

However, Professor Shi didn’t know everything. Sometimes, when he encountered unfamiliar plants, he would take pictures and send them to other experts for help.

Song Fuzhi enjoyed watching Professor Shi talk about plants. He had a professional demeanor that was quite charming. Song Fuzhi asked, “Is field research also like this?”

“It’s different. It’s not as leisurely.” Shi Zhang shook his head. “You have to bring equipment, a camera, and climb through wild mountains with no paths. When you return at night, you still have to work overtime to dry and label specimens. It’s busy.”

Song Fuzhi nodded, sounding like a physically demanding job.

Camping is fun for a while, but packing up is a hassle.

On the last day, they spent almost the entire afternoon cleaning up and packing various tables, tents, pots, pans, and other items into the car.

Against the backdrop of the sunset marking the end of the vacation, they set off on their journey back.

“Back to work again, sigh,” the adults said, showing signs of adult fatigue.

“Back to school again, sigh.” Xiao Yu also wrinkled her small face, full of sorrow.

Only the golden retriever wagged its tail happily and stuck out its tongue, “Woof, woof.”

Going back, Song Fuzhi was driving, and Shi Zhang leaned on the co-driver’s seat, listening to a remote report with earphones, occasionally saying a few words.

Adults are like this; during holidays, they may not be fully immersed, always keeping work in mind.

This time back to school, Song Fuzhi didn’t spend much time getting the kids back on track.

Because the monthly exams were approaching, and if they didn’t study well, they would be in trouble.

Every time exams were near, Song Fuzhi was quite busy because these students who temporarily sought help would line up to ask questions.

After the monthly exams, the students relaxed for a while.

In the next semester, the school would organize a club carnival, an annual event.

All clubs would have their own booths on the playground, hosting various small activities and recruiting freshmen as members.

Song Fuzhi knew the diverse preferences of their class students in popular culture. He anticipated their active participation in this event.

As expected, during the break after the exams, the classroom was lively with discussions about the upcoming plans.

The girls who liked K-pop were in the K-dance club. Before the evening study session, they would go for rehearsals, preparing for their performance on the carnival stage.

However, the anime club had not yet decided what to do; they were still in the brainstorming phase.

Fan Tong counted on her fingers, saying, “Xin Jie is amazing at drawing. Just put her drawings in frames at the booth. We can also bring some figures. It’ll be simple to decorate the booth.”

Yao Xinxin said, “What about cosplay? We must do it! We have time to prepare since it’s right after the midterm exams, and we have experience from the summer break.”

Yuan Jun said, “Of course, we need cosplay! On the carnival day, we can wear them around the venue! What should we choose?”

This question required the entire anime club to discuss it. The Class Three sub-team immediately called a meeting with other members. Other people were excited because they had nothing to do after the exams. They enthusiastically found an empty classroom to discuss the matter.

The preliminary plan was to cosplay the main characters from a series. There were both male and female characters, a considerable number, and being neatly arranged would look spectacular and stirring.

The students were excited and immediately began assigning tasks. Who would cosplay whom? Were there any ready-made fake furs or clothes they could use? Did they need any big-budget props?

Several girls claimed the more delicate male characters, and some boys wanted to try cosplaying female characters. Everyone was enthusiastic about their selections, except for one male character that no one dared to claim.

not for any other reason but because the character in the original work was tall, handsome, had a good figure, and was an elder, a senior figure. The aura was too strong.

Cosplaying such a popular character tested the coser’s hardware conditions. Everyone was reluctant to choose him because they liked him too much, fearing they would mess it up and be dissatisfied with their own performance.

“No one wants to choose him? Really?”

“Yuan Jun! You’re the tallest here; I rely on you.”

“Ah, please spare me. I really can’t do it. I can’t cosplay a mature man like him. Look at my figure and temperament, sob.”

Yao Xinxin sighed, “It’s normal if no one comes forward. Few cosers can do it well! Only the version Teacher Zhang did before seemed to be the most authentic.”

Someone immediately agreed, “Ah, yes, yes! Other cosers can’t pull it off. Only Teacher Zhang, that mature charm, so admirable. I really want to call him ‘Daddy’ in the role.”