Chapter 57: Exclusive to Jinjiang  2/2

“But one Saturday, I brought something important back home. The group of neighborhood kids were smoking by the street; they saw me carrying a big bag and rushed to snatch my things. There were many of them, and they quickly pulled my things out of the bag, threw them on the ground, and started mocking me.”

Shizhang took a shallow breath before continuing, “Those were really important things to me at the time, so I got angry. I don’t remember specifically how I fought; I just remember the anger rising to my head, and I threw them all to the ground.”

Song Fuzhi opened his mouth but remained silent.

“Someone called the police, and I was detained. Because I was a minor, I got off lightly, but they locked me up for five days,” Shizhang said.

Song Fuzhi said, “You didn’t do anything wrong. Clearly, they should have been punished. Why was it you?”

Shizhang shook his head. “They have so many voices; I only have one.”

Song Fuzhi looked down at the ground, not knowing how many nights and days Shizhang had spent here.

All the comforting words were powerless at this moment. As a fortunate child, Song Fuzhi felt he had no right to express sympathy because he hadn’t experienced even a fraction of such hardships.

At this moment, only physical actions were most effective.

Song Fuzhi pressed Shizhang’s head and kissed him, a plundering meaning never felt before.

This kiss was deep and lingering; Song Fuzhi seemed to want to get even a tiny bit of empathy from it, to get closer to the younger Shizhang.

When they separated, both were panting heavily, and Song Fuzhi’s eyes were filled with moisture, expressing various emotions.

Shizhang, rarely being passive like this, chuckled with a husky voice, “I know what you want to express. Thank you, Teacher Song.”

Song Fuzhi wiped away the moisture on his lips, staring at Shizhang. “What do you think I want to express?”

Shizhang said, “From now on, Shizhang is mine, protected by Teacher Song in everything, and no one can bully him.”

Song Fuzhi was forced to laugh by him. “Did you get a full score in the Chinese reading comprehension test?”

The atmosphere eased at this point. Shizhang nudged Song Fuzhi with his elbow and slowly spoke, “But, hey.”

Song Fuzhi asked, “Hmm?”

“You’re not curious about what I was holding that day—so important that I had a direct physical fight?” Shizhang asked.

Song Fuzhi blinked. He really hadn’t thought to ask; he knew it was something important to Shizhang, and that was enough.

But since Shizhang asked him, Song Fuzhi cooperatively said, “What was it?”

Shizhang cleared his throat and said, “Well, it’s a kind of behavior that may seem a bit strange to some people.”

In just an instant, a flash of realization crossed Song Fuzhi’s mind, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

He looked at Shizhang, his voice slightly hoarse. “Hmm, how strange could it be?”

Shizhang gestured in the air with his fingers. “It’s the kind of anime that many young people like nowadays. I assume there are students in Teacher Song’s class who like it too. And there’s an activity where you dress up as characters from the anime, wearing wigs and costumes. This activity is called cosplay—haha, strange, isn’t it?”

“Ah—oh—” Song Fuzhi’s mind was briefly in confusion, and his gaze was momentarily vacant.

“I know, cosplay, I know. I’m not that old,” Song Fuzhi said somewhat incoherently.

Shizhang raised an eyebrow.

In a few seconds, Song Fuzhi managed to gather his thoughts.

Today, Shizhang brought him to his home, probably to confess things that happened in the past. Such as being a “bad kid,” fighting in high school, and also that he had played cosplay.

For Shizhang, this was a solemn confession, a complete opening up to Song Fuzhi.

Song Fuzhi, in addition to being touched, felt a bit uneasy.

If Song Fuzhi didn’t know Shizhang’s online identity, he would probably be puzzled right now, then pleasantly surprised, and would say something like, “You like anime too? Me too! What did you cosplay before?”

But the problem was that Song Fuzhi already knew Shizhang’s identity, and more importantly, he himself had started to play cosplay. He even planned to use his cosplay work as a birthday gift for Shizhang.

If he said he also played cosplay now, Shizhang would surely ask casually, “What’s your username?”

Then, if he didn’t answer, it would be suspicious. If he answered, it would be even more problematic. What kind of surprise would that be?

In fact, Song Fuzhi didn’t have time to conduct such a rational analysis. He just subconsciously felt that he shouldn’t touch the topic of cosplay for now. Otherwise, the more they talked, the deeper they would go, and it would be difficult to wrap it up.

Song Fuzhi quickly adjusted his expression, changing from bewilderment to surprise. “You, Professor, I really can’t tell—actually, I quite like watching anime. I didn’t expect you to.”

This time, it was Shizhang’s turn to be surprised, and the handsome professor opened his mouth wide in an ungraceful manner. “Ah? Teacher Song, really?”

“It’s true.” Song Fuzhi rubbed his ears, his gaze a bit vague. “But I usually just quietly watch some; anime and manga are quite interesting; I just haven’t delved much into other things.”

That statement wasn’t wrong at all. Until two months ago, Song Fuzhi had been like that. Although he watched cosplay, he only enjoyed it purely, treating it like a fashion magazine.

With this explanation, Shizhang seemed to have his own understanding and got it.

Song Fuzhi watched anime, knew about cosplay, but probably watched more anime and didn’t delve deeply into these derived things.

Even if it was only that, it was enough to surprise Shizhang.

Shizhang smiled and asked, “Why have you never mentioned it before?”

Song Fuzhi whispered, “You never asked either.”

Come to think of it, it was indeed the case. Teacher Song had a reserved personality, and things that could be said or not said, Shizhang himself hadn’t expressed either, so it was even more difficult for Song Fuzhi to express them.

Oh, Shizhang suddenly regretted it a bit. If he had had the courage to say it before getting married, maybe he wouldn’t have to withdraw from the circle now.

However, there were no “ifs” in everything. Even if Shizhang went back in time, he probably still wouldn’t dare.

It was because Teacher Song had given him infinite tolerance and support in marriage that he had the courage to say these things today.

Coincidentally, Teacher Song also liked the second dimension, and that was just an unexpected joy.

Song Fuzhi lifted his head and looked at Shizhang. “So, that day… the things you had in your hands were for cosplay?”

The timeline was pulled back to many years ago, and Shizhang nodded. “Yes, wigs, clothes, props. They tore them out and threw them on the ground.”

The leader of the gang laughed the loudest. He had always been the one who bullied Shizhang the most, the “boss” of the little hooligans.

He extinguished the cigarette on Shizhang’s cosplay costume, leaving a large black hole.

Then, he kicked the wig on the ground and pointed at Shizhang, laughing, “Fatherless kid, what are you up to today? Playing house? Pretending to be a monster? What a mess, hahaha.”

Song Fuzhi couldn’t breathe properly. Right now, he just wanted to go back in time and punch that stinky kid in the face.

Shizhang smiled helplessly. “I treasured this costume so much because it was the first time I officially created a work. I had tried a few times before, gradually found the method, and was ready to seriously shoot a set and upload it online—even in a dark internet cafe, because we didn’t have a computer at home.”

“That day, I just finished shooting and came back. I wanted to keep this costume, but they damaged it. I couldn’t control myself.” Shizhang’s voice became a bit soft.

Song Fuzhi felt a pain in his lungs. He opened his arms, a bit nasal, and said, “Hug.”

Shizhang hugged him, placing his chin relaxedly on Song Fuzhi’s shoulder.

“But most of the time, I really enjoy it. Look…”

Shizhang took Song Fuzhi to the larger room next to the bedroom, showing him around.

“I use this room to store cosplay costumes and props, as well as the plant specimens I made. Anyway, this is my little world. Having such a room at such a young age—actually, it’s quite happy, right?”

Song Fuzhi’s nose tingled, and he made a soft “Hmm” sound.

He suddenly understood why there was such a big room in Shizhang’s house to neatly hang all his cosplay costumes.

From childhood to adulthood, Shizhang had very few things. There were no toy ducks, no bedtime stories, only a lonely little building where everything had to be fought for by his own efforts.

So, as long as it was something that belonged to Shizhang, he would hold onto it tightly forever.

The pale golden sunlight spilled into the small building, gently floating over the two figures.

“I want to kiss you,” Shizhang suddenly said in a hoarse voice and then exclaimed, “Darling.”

In that moment, Song Fuzhi felt a surge of electric current spreading from deep within his spine, and his breathing rhythm became chaotic.

This address was too much.

In the kiss that Shizhang planted on him, Song Fuzhi closed his eyes, trembling.

In this shabby room that used to be filled with a young man’s collections, Shizhang lowered his gaze and kissed the person he loved the most in his life.

After so many years, Shizhang finally brought him to this collection room.

Shizhang had one hand hooked around Song Fuzhi’s waist and the other hand gripping his throat.

The strong pulse of the male heartbeat beneath his palm made Shizhang frown with suppressed pain, and involuntarily, his hand tightened even more.

In this kiss, Song Fuzhi felt a slight sense of suffocation, as if oxygen could only be cut off by Shizhang and given by him.

It wasn’t until Song Fuzhi emitted a muffled groan due to a lack of oxygen that Shizhang suddenly came to his senses and quickly released his grip.

“Sorry.” Shizhang reached out to comfort Song Fuzhi but was gently pushed away by him.

Without saying a word, Song Fuzhi turned and walked out of the room, waving his hand to indicate that everything was okay.

“I didn’t pay attention,” Shizhang said from behind.

In a place where Shizhang couldn’t see, Song Fuzhi’s face was very red, not from being suffocated.

There was a thin layer of sweat on his back, but it wasn’t from the heat.

The sensation in his neck was still clear. Shizhang’s palm was like a soft and warm scarf wrapped tightly around him, leaving a circle of gentle imprints.