Chapter 70: Exclusive to Jinjiang 1/3

After a moment of reaction, Shi Zhang’s eyes brightened. “Really? Do you want to go?”

The surprised reaction couldn’t be concealed.

“Yes, I want to give it a try,” Song Fuzhi affirmed.

Shi Zhang took two deep breaths and reiterated, “Then you must want to go for yourself.”

“Of course,” Song Fuzhi deliberately said, “I want to participate in the show because I’m in the top three; what does it have to do with Octopus?”

Shi Zhang raised an eyebrow. “It’s best if it has nothing to do.”

Song Fuzhi said, “Now, is Octopus Teacher going to make a comeback?”

“It’s not just a simple comeback.” Shi Zhang smiled. “With you, this is a new beginning, together.”

—

With the major event roughly settled, Song Fuzhi picked up his phone and continued to check the messages he had missed in the last two days.

During the winter break, there wasn’t much going on at school, and the parents in the class group were chatting enthusiastically. Song Fuzhi quickly scrolled past them.

The most eye-catching messages were from Miss Luo Liuli.

From yesterday until today, she sent a message every one or two hours, all with the same content and a quite annoying tone.

Luo Liuli: Are you awake?

Luo Liuli: Are you awake?

Luo Liuli: Are you awake?

…

Luo Liuli: Still not awake; are you fried to death? (Laughs)

The last message was five hours ago.

Song Fuzhi’s face turned dark, and he replied to Luo Liuli: Alive.

Luo Liuli almost instantly replied with a long string of hahaha.

Song Fuzhi gritted his teeth. This person is reveling in others’ misfortune.

Luo Liuli: Actually, if you can have a blast, half the credit goes to me.

Song Fuzhi:?

Luo Liuli: Firstly, letting you two see each other’s birthday gifts was my plan, hehe. Then, last night, I was actually drunk. Before Shi Zhang came up with makeup, I accidentally…

Suddenly, Song Fuzhi had a bad premonition.

Luo Luli: I accidentally showed him the chat records about the suit assassin from before. Originally, I just wanted to prove that he made the right choice for this character.

Luo Luli: But the effect seems good.

Song Fuzhi felt dizzy. He had forgotten the details of his conversation with Luo Luli a few years ago.

But it definitely wasn’t something to be proud of!

After searching for a while, Song Fuzhi finally found it.

Looking at what he had said, “came twice,” Song Fuzhi’s face turned pale.

Scrolling down, Song Fuzhi was almost suffocating.

In his younger and more arrogant days, he shared with Luo Luli, “By the way, I tried the dark dragon you gave me. I couldn’t stand it at all. Luo Luli, can’t you give me something usable?”

Trembling, Song Fuzhi asked Luo Luli, “He didn’t see this part of the chat records, did he?”

Luo Luli: Hahaha.

Luo Luli: No, he didn’t!

Luo Luli: I even forgot about this part. I should have scrolled down and shown him. (Facepalm)

Song Fuzhi gritted his teeth in silence. Yes, she was indeed his good sister, straightforward in selling out friends, even considering a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

Luo Luli: If he really saw it, you probably wouldn’t have recovered by now.

Song Fuzhi:…

Luo Luli: So, is the dark dragon still in your original home? I thought you would have thrown it away by now, hahaha.

Song Fuzhi: I never abandon any innocent little life.

Song Fuzhi: And the dark dragon is a gift you personally gave me; of course, I’ve kept it well. [Smile]

Luo Luli sent another series of laughs.

Luo Luli: You better keep it safe and not let it be discovered.

Luo Luli: Worried about Professor Song’s old arms and legs.

They both stayed in the bedroom closet of his original home, so they should be pretty safe.

Song Fuzhi, experienced as a husband, replied generously, “This year, I’ll give you a dark giant dragon.”

Luo Luli laughed heartily, thanking him.

Song Fuzhi continued scrolling through the notification bar on his phone. Among various notifications, he paused.

Weibo had sent him a message this morning: “Octopus Teacher, whom you specially follow, has posted a Weibo!”

Song Fuzhi glanced at Shi Zhang, who was hanging clothes, and clicked into the app.

He then saw that ambiguous and artistic photo, along with straightforward birthday wishes.

The comments section was filled with various remarks, some quite explicit, almost making the old man blush.

Song Fuzhi showed the phone screen to Shi Zhang, smiling, “What’s going on with Octopus Teacher? Posting lovey-dovey Weibo without notifying this loyal fan?”

“Ah, a fan!” Shi Zhang also smiled. “I meant to notify you.”

“But I didn’t see FuFu Teacher having a Weibo account; I couldn’t notify you.”

Song Fuzhi hadn’t thought of this: “Ah, were you planning to @ me directly?”

Shi Zhang paused. “Do you mind?”

“Well, it’s fine. Fans have seen enough anyway,” Song Fuzhi said. “Besides, I haven’t created FuFu’s Weibo account. My current account is just for browsing.”

Shi Zhang sent a string of laughter.

“That means you’ve been using this account to watch my cosplays?” Shi Zhang asked.

“Yeah,” Song Fuzhi nodded.

“Have you liked or commented?” Shi Zhang asked.

“Neither. I just watch,” Song Fuzhi replied directly.

Shi Zhang fell silent, looking at Song Fuzhi, seeming somewhat dissatisfied.

Song Fuzhi felt like laughing.

“When I have time, I’ll register a new Weibo,” Song Fuzhi said. “I’ll transfer all the cosplay videos there.”

These days, Song Fuzhi discovered that Shi Zhang seemed to like things with a sense of ceremony. He was like a high school student who secretly dated but wanted to show off to the whole world, wanting everyone to know they were together.

But Song Fuzhi didn’t care much about these things. He didn’t mind whether they had a wedding or made an official announcement. Compared to the older Shi Zhang, Song Fuzhi was more like a practical, stable adult.

Upon careful consideration, it was probably because Shi Zhang lacked a sense of security from birth. Anything that belonged to him had to be marked in his territory, like marking territory for wild animals.

The previous impressions weren’t that deep, but the closer Song Fuzhi got to the “real” Shi Zhang, the more he felt that Shi Zhang seemed to have desired him for a long time.

Song Fuzhi smiled and shook his head, thinking he might be overthinking. Perhaps that’s just how old men are.

Before going to bed, when Song Fuzhi was taking a shower, he saw himself in the mirror from neck to legs, covered in bruises and marks, almost scaring himself.

He simply couldn’t look.

Song Fuzhi had always thought he had tough skin. Although he was fair, he rarely left marks when he bumped into things. Who would have thought Professor Shi could be so fierce?

Ever since Shi Zhang’s birthday, Song Fuzhi hasn’t logged into the video app.

After a few days, Luo Luli told Song Fuzhi that their ranking competition was about to end, and Song Fuzhi was steadily in second place.

Luo Luli: But I’m still not happy. How come Wen Qian is still in first place? Fans praise him in the comments. I don’t know if Wen Qian is using the Water Army to mess with your mindset.

Song Fuzhi had almost forgotten about this, but then he remembered that Shi Zhang said he had asked Mr. Zhong to investigate this matter.

So, Song Fuzhi told Luo Liuli, “Don’t worry; the platform should issue an official ruling.”

Luo Liuli pouted, saying, “I just can’t stand him, playing tricks behind the scenes while putting on a pure and innocent face in front of the fans.”

Song Fuzhi advised, “Let’s wait for the investigation results.”

On the night the competition deadline approached, Song Fuzhi received an angry call from Luo Liuli.

“Oh my god, Wen Qian is livestreaming. I casually clicked to watch and saw him thanking fans, claiming the first place. The barrage is full of praise, saying Wen Qian deserves it. Ah, I’m so angry!”

At that moment, Shi Zhang and Song Fuzhi were in the study, and the room was quiet after Shi Zhang finished a remote meeting.

Luo Liuli’s voice was loud, and Shi Zhang heard everything clearly.

Before Song Fuzhi could say anything, Shi Zhang, with a furrowed brow, opened the video software.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Song Fuzhi called out.

Shi Zhang, with a determined attitude, said, “Watching the livestream.”

Song Fuzhi held him back: “There’s nothing worth watching; let him do his own thing; it’s none of our business.”

But Shi Zhang was firm, smoothly logging into the livestream software.

Luo Liuli shouted, “Teacher Octopus, quickly check it out! This person is bullying your husband; give him a taste of his own medicine!”

“I know,” Shi Zhang said indifferently. “I’m watching.”

Song Fuzhi sighed softly, a mixture of emotions in her heart. These two were like two uncontrolled fireworks, united against a common enemy.

After calming Luo Liuli down, Song Fuzhi told her it wasn’t worth getting upset over this.

After hanging up, she turned to Shi Zhang, looking at him somewhat helplessly.

Shi Zhang had already opened Wen Qian’s livestream, listening with a cold expression while texting on his phone.

Song Fuzhi said, “Don’t watch it; there’s nothing interesting, and you’re just adding traffic to his livestream.”

“I just want to take a look,” Shi Zhang insisted, keeping the livestream on, his phone displaying messages with Zhong Ziyan.

Shi Zhang: “Has the investigation results come out? I see the voting phase has ended.”

Zhong Ziyan: “Yes, it’s out. Wen Qian not only hired a navy to set the tone but also voted for himself. It’s a clear violation. Regardless of his relationship with Teacher Song, he has to withdraw.”

Shi Zhang: “…”

Zhong Ziyan: “I even found the reason. Wen Qian signed an agreement with their company, needing to achieve a certain annual business profit. Winning first place in this competition would bring lucrative business opportunities. So, he desperately wanted the first place. With Wen Qian’s fan base and popularity, he was expected to secure it easily, but your husband is just too formidable. He directly surged to the top, and then he used every means to surpass the votes. Almost all the votes that pushed him to victory were self-funded.”

Shi Zhang: “How was the navy determined? Do you have evidence?”

Zhong Ziyan: “That took some time. I contacted some people and found transaction records and chat logs from Wen Qian’s team. It’s enough evidence.”

Shi Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Boss Zhong. When will the official announcement be made?”

Zhong Ziyan: “When do you want it? It’s up to you. I say the word, and they can release it.”

Shi Zhang was about to ask for Song Fuzhi’s opinion when he saw her casually watching Wen Qian’s livestream.

Seeing Song Fuzhi’s nonchalant attitude, Shi Zhang became a bit annoyed. He asked with an unusual emotional tone, “People are insulting you, and you’re enjoying it so much?”

Again, with this emotionally expressive tone, Shi Zhang seemed out of character.

Song Fuzhi glanced at him and, as if nothing had happened, pointed at the livestream comments, saying, “He seems to have overused the beauty filter. When he covers his face with his hand, the facial contours suddenly become larger.”

Shi Zhang:…

Observing Shi Zhang, Song Fuzhi continued slowly, “Actually, he’s already quite good-looking. Why add another layer of beauty filter?”

Shi Zhang’s expression suddenly darkened. After taking several deep breaths, he resisted the urge to pick someone up and scold them.

Shi Zhang decided not to ask for Song Fuzhi’s opinion.