Chapter 57: Exclusive to Jinjiang 1/2

This was Song Fuzhi’s first time “adding a friend.”

In a class full of students playing fervently, Song Fuzhi, an uncle at this age, was starting to dabble a bit in “2D socializing.”

But he admitted that it wasn’t purely for making friends. More importantly, he felt that they might understand Professor Shi, who was also a coworker, better than he did.

After adding this coser named Feifei as a friend, the other party didn’t send consecutive messages but happily said that if there were any activities in the future, they could play together, even suggesting offline meetings.

Song Fuzhi politely agreed and didn’t chat further because Shi Zhang had finished showering and came out.

“Shizhang only had a loosely wrapped towel around his waist, with a faint water sheen on his muscles. The mermaid lines on both sides of his lower abdomen extended below the towel, sparking infinite imagination.

“The water here is a bit unstable; be careful when adjusting the temperature.” Shizhang casually raised his hand to dry his hair, a seemingly simple gesture but exuding sensuality.

Song Fuzhi’s heart silently raced, deepening this perception once again.

This is Teacher Zhang, the octopus teacher with so many fans online; how can he just stand in front of me like this?

“I’ll go wash.”

Song Fuzhi placed her phone aside, hastily averted her gaze, stood up, and went to the bathroom.

Shizhang was a bit puzzled, wondering how many times they had done this and why he was still hesitant to look.

The next morning, Teacher Wang and Dr. Song had their own plans and were going to visit old friends, not bothering to take Song Fuzhi with them.

“You two can explore around in the morning,” Mrs. Wang casually sent the two kids away. “We’ll go to the school together in the afternoon.”

Abandoned at the hotel like this, Song Fuzhi couldn’t help but smile.

“My mom used to do the same, saying, ‘I’ll pick you up after my evening self-study,’ and then she went to her class.”

“Then didn’t I used to compete with little Fuzhi for Mom’s time?” Shizhang said, “Sorry.”

Song Fuzhi was a bit petty: “Well, now compensate me with your time.”

Shizhang smiled and said, “Sure, my time is all yours, with interest included.”

The morning was conveniently free, and Song Fuzhi remembered Shizhang’s wish from yesterday, asking him, “Shall we go see your old home?”

Shizhang nodded in agreement.

The morning sunlight was bright, and holding Shizhang’s hand, Song Fuzhi returned to the place he had once lived.

The road was already very noisy; vegetable vendors spread plastic sheets on the sidewalk to sell their goods. Motorbikes and electric scooters casually weaved through the road, and Song Fuzhi had to dodge several times, feeling a bit frightened.

The local lifestyle was rough here, and having spent a long time in a big city, suddenly returning to a small town felt a bit uncomfortable.

But this was the way of life for the locals, and they were already accustomed to it.

So, the two well-behaved gentlemen walking here seemed a bit out of place.

When passing through a narrow intersection, Shizhang pulled Song Fuzhi slightly and said, “Let’s go this way.”

Most of the houses on both sides of the road were one- or two-story, small brick houses. Some had faded couplets pasted on the front door; some doors were locked; and others clearly still had people living inside, with faint voices coming from the houses.

Several Chinese indigenous dogs lay in groups by the side, and when they saw strangers approaching, they stood up, showing their sharp teeth and barking loudly.

Shizhang protected Song Fuzhi behind him, holding Song Fuzhi’s hand and saying, “It’s okay, just don’t provoke them.”

Moving forward, Song Fuzhi saw at the entrance of one house two old chairs, shattered glass bottles all over the ground, and sharp glass pieces glinting in the cold light.

Song Fuzhi grabbed Shizhang from a distance, leading him to go around the side.

Looking at the broken glass on the sidewalk, Song Fuzhi frowned. “Doesn’t anyone care about who did this? What if it hurts pedestrians?”

Shizhang silently looked at the house.

The lock on the front door was two peeling copper locks, looking like they had been used for a long time. On the second-floor balcony, clothes and sheets were scattered, faded, and white from washing.

Shizhang withdrew his gaze, said nothing, and just held Song Fuzhi’s hand.

“We’re almost there,” Shizhang said softly.

Song Fuzhi asked, “Do you have the key?”

“I do.” Shizhang took out an old-fashioned iron key, smiling. “But I don’t know if it can open the door. It’s been a long time since I came back.”

They reached the end of the alley, and Shizhang stopped in front of a very inconspicuous door.

With a turn of the key, the lock made a slightly dull “click,” and the door opened.

The house, uninhabited for a long time, had an indescribable sense of emptiness. The lights were broken and couldn’t be turned on. The sunlight slanted in, and the air was filled with floating dust.

The space inside was very small. The stove was in the living room, and basic furniture was still there, all small and old.

Song Fuzhi walked into the house, opened the window for ventilation, and Shizhang called out from behind, “Don’t touch anything inside; it’s all dust.”

Song Fuzhi shook her head and said, “It’s okay.”

“My room is upstairs; want to see it?” Shizhang asked.

“Of course,” Song Fuzhi said.

The cement stairs were narrow and steep, making it difficult to climb.

The second floor was not very high, and now Shizhang even had to slightly lower his head, or his hair would touch the dusty ceiling.

There were three rooms upstairs: a small bedroom, a bathroom, and a slightly larger empty room.

“This is my room.” Shizhang pressed the switch, a bit surprised. “Oh, the light can still turn on.”

However, the dim light bulb in the room flashed twice and went out with a sizzle.

Shizhang laughed directly, “No face at all.”

But Song Fuzhi couldn’t laugh.

This room was too small. Inside, there was an old-fashioned stretcher bed made of brown canvas, narrow. Right next to it was a table and a chair, and nothing else, not even a window.

Shizhang said, “This was converted from a storage room, so the area is relatively small, but it’s enough for me to sleep and makes me feel very safe.”

Song Fuzhi asked, “Why like this?”

“It looks a bit shabby, but I was very happy back then, especially after going to high school,” Shizhang said.

“At that time, my mom had already gone abroad, so this whole house was mine and very free.”

Song Fuzhi pointed to the empty room next door, a bit puzzled. “This room is even bigger; why don’t you sleep here?”

“Teacher Song is really amazing; this is the story I want to tell; do you want to hear it?”

Shizhang blinked.

For some reason, Song Fuzhi felt that Shizhang’s mood had been good all along, so he relaxed too and smiled, saying, “Tell me.”

Shizhang wiped off the dust on the edge of the bed with a piece of paper, sitting at the edge while Song Fuzhi followed suit.

“Good stories always start with a bit of restraint.”

Shizhang said, “You can tell, this is not a good environment.”

“Starting from when my mom’s belly got big, nothing could be hidden. Our family affairs spread throughout the neighborhood from the beginning, becoming the topic of discussion before and after meals, chewed over many times.”

“Objectively speaking, the residents living here have a low level of education. Since I can remember, I can’t recall how many times they cursed me, and the insults to my mom were even more unbearable. In short, we were not very welcome here.”

Shizhang even managed to smile and blink. “Doesn’t it sound like Cinderella? Beautiful fairy tales always start like this.”

Song Fuzhi, with a slightly furrowed brow, lightly twisted Shizhang’s ear and silently hugged Shizhang tightly.

In fact, Shizhang had simplified a lot; he skipped many ugly and embarrassing details.

A woman trying to climb the social ladder, having a child after a one-night stand with a wealthy man, and being abandoned by the wealthy man in this place—everything was their own fault. They deserved to be scorned and mocked.

Shizhang’s mother didn’t have her own name in the neighborhood; there were only insulting nicknames. As for Shizhang, he was called “wild seed” or “fatherless” on a daily basis, and he didn’t want to recall the more offensive ones.

In elementary school, Shizhang undoubtedly faced isolation from all his peers.

Thin, gloomy, and with a dirty background, he seemed like a natural antagonist, and bullying him seemed like a just thing to do.

Children’s education mostly comes from their parents. When these parents called Shizhang a “wild seed” and said he shouldn’t exist, the children felt they had the right to punish him.

It was the age of fighting. Mischievous children surrounded Shizhang, loudly calling him “garbage,” grabbing his textbooks and snacks, taking away the plant samples he collected, and trampling them in the mud.

Shizhang couldn’t fight back, so he could only endure with gritted teeth.

When other fledglings were still waiting to be fed in their nests, Shizhang had already understood the law of the jungle, and what it meant to not advance was to retreat.

Shizhang didn’t mention these details; he glossed over them and moved on to the next chapter.

“But unfortunately, I’m not Cinderella; I couldn’t maintain my kindness and innocence.”

Shizhang admitted, “I became a bad kid.”

Song Fuzhi said, “You’re not a bad kid.”

“Then I’m a little antagonist.”

Shizhang said, “I made myself stronger and fought back when they bullied me. But at that time, we were all still small, and the fights didn’t amount to much. From elementary school to the end of junior high, I got used to the kids from the neighborhood picking on me.”

Shizhang smiled apologetically. “It also became one of the most troublesome things for Teacher Wang.”

“I chose to live in the school dormitory in high school, avoiding contact with the neighborhood to a large extent. The high school was far from our home, and students mostly lived in the town center, not knowing about my background, so my classmates treated me well.”