Gentlemen of the past would set aside a specific time and space at home to enjoy cigars, a practice elegantly known as "cigar time." Of course, this is merely an old custom from the gentlemanly era, long gone now. For a seasoned cigar smoker, smoking a cigar is a private spiritual experience, one that even battlefields and large ships cannot deter them from, like Castro and Hemingway.

Duanmu Ci held the cigar between his fingers without crushing it, as crushing a cigar is considered vulgar and essentially a waste of time. True cigar smokers treat unfinished cigars by letting them extinguish naturally, then cutting off the butt and storing them in an aluminum tube—this is exactly what Duanmu Ci did.

“I’m not a teacher, I’m an adult,” Duanmu Ci said jokingly.

...

...

"You want to go to Japan, sir?" Bu Tongxun paused, a piece of sweet and sour pork rib falling back onto her plate. "No, absolutely not!"

Duanmu Ci picked up the sweet and sour pork rib and put it in Bu Tongxun's bowl, chuckling softly, "Why not?"

Bu Tongxun took a bite. "Too dangerous, and unnecessary."

"Too dangerous" means the gang is too violent and will do anything except good deeds. "Not necessary" means this matter is not worth the Duanmu family leader's personal attention. Even if the deal falls through, it's fine; the loss, even with penalties, is just a drop in the ocean compared to the family's financial strength.

Duanmu Ci put down his chopsticks. "You know I don't like being idle. When I was in America, I often went to Europe. Now that I'm back in China, I've been teaching at the school for the past few months and haven't gone anywhere. I'm getting a bit bored. This trip to Japan isn't entirely for work; it's more about relaxing."

"Even a relaxing trip won't work!" Bu Tongxun said firmly. "I heard that the playboy from the Rothschild family is going to throw another champagne swimming party. Why don't you go there for fun, sir? If that doesn't work, you could go boating on the Mekong River in Thailand. Actually, Beijing is also a lot of fun. The Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven are all very nice!"

“The emperors in the Forbidden City have all abdicated, what’s the point of going there?” Duanmu Ci pushed the plate of sweet and sour pork ribs in front of Bu Tongxun’s bowl. “I heard that there is still an emperor living in the Japanese Imperial Palace who hasn’t abdicated, I want to go and see him.”

His tone was as if he were visiting a zoo to see gorillas.

Bu Tongxun ignored the plate of sweet and sour pork ribs. "What's so interesting about a constitutional monarchy? Isn't there one living in Buckingham Palace? Do we need to go to Japan to see one?"

Duanmu Ci said softly, "The ones in Japan are different; those are more visually appealing." So you really are going to see the gorillas!

"Stop being so cheeky!" Bu Tongxun scolded. "You can't go. It's too dangerous for an adult to venture into the lion's den alone. If the old butler finds out, he won't agree either. If I call him, he'll definitely come all the way from Chicago to dissuade me!"

“Who said I’m alone?” Duanmu Ci laughed. “Wei Yue, Yuan Wei Yue, he will come with me.”

"Young Master Yuan?"

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P: I recommend a friend's book, "God-Level Summoning." Feel free to check it out; I won't compensate you if you rip off badly.

Thank you to the readers [星官1969], [安迪熊], [心碎·梦醒], [流水低吟], [白幽默], and [frak34] for their generous donations!

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