Chapter 110: Photographer Zhang Qi [3]
“Oh my, this photo turned out beautifully!”
“Uncle Zhang Qi, take a picture with us too!”
“Uncle Zhang Qi, take ours first!”
“Everyone, don’t rush. One at a time. I happen to have nothing else to do, so I can take several pictures for each of you.”
Watching Zhang Qi surrounded by girls, Lin Xuan said with profound envy, “Do young girls these days all like pretty young men? Has a roguish old uncle like me finally lost his appeal?”
Yan Yu laughed. “Master, Zhang Qi at least has a special skill. How can you possibly compare yourself to him?”
“How can I not compare? I, Lin Xuan, understand Heaven and Earth and the mysteries of Yin and Yang. I can catch ghosts, read terrain, practice geomancy, and draw talismans. Even the local deity would have to show me some respect…”
“But he can take pictures, and that’s enough!”
Seeing Lin Xuan’s gloomy expression, Yan Yu was delighted.
“Those are all superficial things.” Lin Xuan pointed at Zhao Qingqing. “Look at your little girlfriend. She didn’t go over there, which proves she has more depth than the other girls.”
Yan Yu turned toward Zhao Qingqing, only to hear her say with her head lowered, “I wanted to go, but Uncle Zhang Qi couldn’t photograph me anyway…”
“Superficial!”
Lin Xuan scratched his hair, wondering whether he ought to keep up with the times—perhaps grow a little braid and learn how to take pictures of pretty girls.
Yan Yu patted Zhao Qingqing on the head and said with a smile, “Once we resolve your lingering attachment, your appearance will return to the way it was when you were alive. Then I’ll take lots of pictures of you.”
“Heehee, even if you take them, you’ll probably be the only one brave enough to look at them, husband,” Zhao Qingqing teased.
“Of course. My wife is for me alone to see. If anyone else wanted to look, I wouldn’t be willing to let them.”
“My husband is the best. Mwah!”
“Mwah!”
Watching Yan Yu and Zhao Qingqing flaunt their affection right beside him, Lin Xuan raised his middle finger and made a look of disgust. “This sickening yet oddly sweet smell of love! Don’t you know that couples who show off their affection die young?”
“I’m already dead!” Zhao Qingqing replied with a laugh.
“…”
Lin Xuan was speechless.
Zhang Qi seemed immensely popular with the girls. In less than half an hour, he had already mingled with the female students and met more girls than Lin Xuan had ever known.
Now that was a true friend to women!
Among all the girls, Deputy Class Monitor Ji Mengjie spoke with Zhang Qi the most. He seemed to be exactly the kind of older man she liked.
Seeing that it was getting late, Ji Mengjie asked Zhang Qi where he planned to spend the night.
“I brought my own tent. Wherever I walk, that’s where I sleep,” Zhang Qi said with a smile.
“It’s windy outside. Why don’t you stay with us, Uncle Zhang Qi? There’s still plenty of room in the courtyard.” The girls were hoping Zhang Qi would take their pictures for several more days.
“This… wouldn’t that be inappropriate?” Zhang Qi said awkwardly.
Lin Xuan, standing nearby, nodded. “Exactly. We can’t just let someone of unknown origins join us whenever he pleases.”
Ji Mengjie blinked at Lin Xuan. “Teacher Lin, none of us had ever seen you at school before. Aren’t you the one of unknown origins? Uncle Zhang Qi has at least had photographs published in many National Geographic magazines!”
“…”
Lin Xuan was heartbroken. Before Zhang Qi arrived, Ji Mengjie had called him Uncle Lin at every turn.
Hmph! Women!
With the girls’ enthusiastic welcome, Zhang Qi pitched his tent in the courtyard.
Yan Yu, Fatty, and the others sat outside the tent resting. Yang Xuefei carried a bowl of hot soup over to Yan Yu.
“For me?” Yan Yu asked, puzzled.
Yang Xuefei nodded and said softly, “About what happened at Su Garden last time… I never properly thanked you.”
“Ahem, well, Big Guy and I will go take a little walk,” Fatty said tactfully, dragging Hao Zhuang away. Before leaving, he even winked at Yan Yu.
A moonlit field of flowers was the perfect place for affection to blossom!
Unfortunately, Yan Yu also had an invisible Zhao Qingqing beside him.
Zhao Qingqing made a face at Yan Yu, then crawled without a word into the plush toy inside his backpack.
Yan Yu took the hot soup from Yang Xuefei and said with a smile, “I only helped you on the spur of the moment. Once you become a major star, just don’t forget your old classmate. Remember to give me a few autographed photos—they might fetch quite a bit of money.”
“Stop teasing me,” Yang Xuefei said, her face flushing.
“Everyone’s lining up to have Uncle Zhang Qi take their pictures. Why aren’t you going?” Yan Yu asked curiously.
Yang Xuefei frowned. “I’m not particularly fond of Zhang Qi.”
“Why? Do you like pretty young men like me?” Yan Yu asked shamelessly.
“Yes.”
“Huh?”
Seeing Yan Yu’s embarrassed expression, Yang Xuefei covered her mouth and giggled. “It’s actually just a woman’s sixth sense. I simply don’t like Zhang Qi. It feels as though… he approached us with some ulterior motive.”
Hearing this, Yan Yu could not help looking toward Zhang Qi.
Zhang Qi was sitting beside the bonfire, carefully wiping his digital camera.
Ji Mengjie walked over and curiously picked up the film camera Zhang Qi had set beside him. “Uncle Zhang Qi, what era are we living in? Why are you still carrying an old-fashioned film camera like this? Isn’t it heavy?”
When Zhang Qi saw her touch the camera, he frowned, snatched it back, and carefully wiped it once more. “It was a gift from my older sister.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.” Only then did Ji Mengjie understand why Zhang Qi had reacted so nervously.
“It’s all right.”
“Um… your sister…”
“She died many years ago. This was the first—and last—gift she ever bought for me. Because of it, I fell in love with photography. I treasure it dearly. Unfortunately, I never managed to take a single photograph of my sister.”
Zhang Qi took out his wallet. Inside was a small black-and-white portrait of a girl wearing an especially radiant smile.
Just then, a large group of villagers arrived outside the courtyard. Leading them was the ugly man Yan Yu and the others had seen at the entrance to the village that morning.
“What’s going on?” Lin Xuan promptly stepped forward and spoke with the ugly man.
The ugly man forced an unpleasant smile. “I’m Wang Yong, the village chief’s son. My father said that it’s rare for visitors to come to Windgate Village, so he sent me to organize a bonfire party with everyone.”
“A bonfire party?” Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow. “Is there alcohol?”
“Plenty!”
“Then it’s settled!”
The moment Lin Xuan heard there would be alcohol, he agreed without hesitation. The male students all looked surprised and excited. They had never expected Teacher Lin, their leader on this trip, to be so agreeable—he was actually going to drink with them!
The bonfire party was met with an overwhelming response. Wang Yong had the villagers build a bonfire outside the courtyard and bring out plenty of the village’s own homemade liquor. The boys immediately erupted in howls like hungry wolves.
Everyone gathered around the fire, singing and dancing. As a future major star, Yang Xuefei was coaxed into taking the stage and singing a song.
There was no denying that Yang Xuefei had been born to become a star. Even beside such a small bonfire, she somehow managed to sing with the commanding presence of a concert performer.
Everyone was lost in Yang Xuefei’s singing. Meanwhile, the village chief’s son, Wang Yong, leered at her, sizing her up from head to toe and refusing to miss the slightest detail.