Chapter 67: Exclusive on Jinjiang 2/2

But the person in front of him was Teacher Octopus, the person who appeared countless times in his dreams.

In a suit, handsome and cold.

Song Fuzhi looked at Shi Zhang, smiling with his eyes bent, and said the answer that Shi Zhang already knew: “My favorite is Teacher Octopus.”

The impact of hearing this sentence was unimaginable.

Professor Shi, who had always been calm, remained silent for a while, then suddenly pressed down for a kiss.

Passionate and dangerous enveloped them together, and Song Fuzhi grabbed his sleeve garter, pushing it up lightly and blurting out, “Wait, Octopus, I’ve prepared a gift for you. Your birthday is about to pass!”

If he didn’t stop, Song Fuzhi was afraid his gift would be late!

But Shi Zhang seemed not to have heard until Song Fuzhi’s chest rose and fell, and then he calmly let go, his voice husky. “Where’s the gift?”

At least, he stopped.

Song Fuzhi turned his head to look at the TV screen, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed.

Teacher Octopus’s live cosplaying was more powerful than he had imagined. From inside to outside, it was all faithful to the original. This made Song Fuzhi suddenly feel a bit inadequate with his own work.

“Don’t laugh at me,” Song Fuzhi said.

Shi Zhang smiled. “How could I laugh at you?”

Song Fuzhi slowly picked up his phone and flipped back to the first video.

Before playing it, Song Fuzhi reminded her again, “It might not be done well. Teacher Octopus, please bear with me.”

When Shi Zhang came in just now and saw the paused screen, he probably had a guess in his mind.

At a glance, he recognized the person on the screen as Song Fuzhi, cosplaying a character he had also cosplayed before.

At that moment, Shi Zhang thought, with a huge surprise, that his professor Song had recreated his previous work. However, he didn’t know that Song Fuzhi had done much, much more than he thought.

The two sat closely together on the sofa, and Song Fuzhi pressed the button, saying, “These are some videos. I’ll start playing them.”

Shi Zhang held Song Fuzhi’s wrist and said, “Mm.”

The first video was of the last character, Shi Zhang, who cosplayed.

Song Fuzhi, with long silver hair, strode across the street, exuding a cold and domineering aura. Suddenly, the scene changed, and a magnificent fantasy palace emerged, splendid and grand.

“This is the character I cosplayed at the last comic convention,” Shi Zhang said, his breath brushing against Song Fuzhi’s ear. “You look handsome in the cosplay.”

“I know.” Song Fuzhi smiled. “I went to the comic convention that day, but I didn’t recognize you.”

Shi Zhang raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you recognize me?”

Song Fuzhi said, “It was too far away, and there were too many people in line. I couldn’t see clearly.”

“But Professor Song actually went to the scene,” Shi Zhang said, somewhat surprised.

“I rarely go to comic conventions,” Song Fuzhi said. “But when I heard that Teacher Octopus said it was his last event before leaving the cosplay community, I decided to go.”

“That’s really…” Shi Zhang didn’t finish the sentence, probably feeling the coincidence.

Shi Zhang chuckled. “If you had recognized me then, maybe we would have met openly long ago.”

Thinking about that scene, Song Fuzhi also found it amusing: “Although we were already married at that time, we weren’t very familiar. If I had really recognized Teacher Octopus as my husband at the comic convention, I probably would have gone crazy on the spot. Then, I wouldn’t allow other fans to call you ‘husband,’ only I could.”

But upon further thought, discovering that Shi Zhang was Teacher Octopus after truly getting to know him was actually a better scenario.

Because regardless of Shi Zhang’s identity or whether he was the cosplayer Song Fuzhi liked, his feelings for him wouldn’t change.

Shi Zhang laughed for a while, somewhat embarrassed. “After going back that time, I caught a fever. Professor Song actually came to take care of me. I didn’t tell the truth, just said I was on a business trip.”

Song Fuzhi didn’t have a strong impression of their conversation at the time. After recalling it for a while, he felt that there were indeed clues.

Then, they jumped to the second video, featuring a muscular male character with a strong ethnic style, jewels, and precious stones falling along the defined abdominal muscles of Song Fuzhi.

Shi Zhang’s eyes gradually reddened, and the fingers pressed on Song Fuzhi’s waist became slightly stronger.

Song Fuzhi laughed, trying to escape, but Shi Zhang wouldn’t let him.

Shi Zhang’s voice was fierce. “They all saw it.”

This statement was filled with a strong sense of jealousy, and Song Fuzhi retorted, “You exposed yourself many times before.”

Shi Zhang said, “That was before I got married. I won’t do it anymore.”

The third video shifted the timeline back several years.

It was the gangster character Shi Zhang currently cosplayed.

However, Song Fuzhi’s work was completely different from his.

Watching the video, Song Fuzhi, blindfolded, sat in a chair while Shi Zhang’s back stiffened, holding the person tightly in his arms.

Song Fuzhi clearly felt that the person behind him had a sudden change in breathing rhythm.

Suddenly, a bad premonition arose in his heart.

This time, Shi Zhang didn’t say a word, silently watching it to the end.

But the more silent he was, the lower the pressure around him.

Song Fuzhi’s body suddenly stiffened because he keenly felt the danger. Damn, Shi Zhang.

Song Fuzhi tried to break free but was firmly held in his arms, with nowhere to escape.

Shi Zhang stopped him and said, “Watch it.”

After a pause of two seconds, it jumped to the fourth video.

The fallen angel spread its wings in an iron cage, chasing after freedom.

Shi Zhang watched for two seconds and said, “This was the character I cosplayed for the championship at the cosplay competition more than ten years ago.”

Song Fuzhi softly said, “Mm,” with a smile, “I thought it was stunning at the time.”

Shi Zhang took a deep breath. “I advise you to say a couple of words less.”

Song Fuzhi was puzzled. “Why?”

Shi Zhang said, “I can calmly watch the fourth one, which is already not easy.”

Song Fuzhi suddenly fell silent, trying to move a bit farther away.

The fifth video was from a long time ago.

Shi Zhang himself watched it for quite a while before remembering, “This is a piece included in my photobook.”

Song Fuzhi dared not praise him anymore, remaining silent.

As a result, Shi Zhang asked him, “Did you buy my photobook?”

Song Fuzhi nodded reservedly and said, “I bought it.”

“How many copies did you buy?” Shi Zhang asked calmly.

Song Fuzhi felt nervous for a moment, whispering, “All of them…”

Shi Zhang remained silent again.

In the gradually compressing silence, the last video began to play.

This was unforgettable—the first time Shi Zhang seriously cosplayed a character in his life.

It was also that time when his clothes and props were thrown all over the place by the neighborhood hooligans, and a cigarette butt was ruthlessly ground into his beloved outfit.

Song Fuzhi handled it warmly, with warm-toned scenes, a long melody, and him smiling in the flowers, covering up all the unspeakable shadows.

Song Fuzhi was so good, so good. The moment he appeared, decades of shadows disappeared without a trace.

After all the videos were played, the screen plunged into darkness, stopping at the small “replay” button.

For a long time, no one spoke. Song Fuzhi could only hear the heavy breathing behind him, as if someone was desperately suppressing something.

Song Fuzhi hesitated for a moment, slowly opening his mouth. “In the storage room in your hometown, you told me about your first formal cosplay experience. I found this character on your first Weibo post.”

Song Fuzhi twisted his body to look back, facing Shi Zhang.

To his surprise, Shi Zhang’s eyes were actually red, with a layer of translucent light covering them.

Six videos, spanning over ten years of timelines, retraced Teacher Octopus’s entire journey.

Shi Zhang turned his head slightly, blinked his eyes, and forcibly turned Song Fuzhi back.

He tapped the “replay” button on the screen, saying, “Watch it again.”

Song Fuzhi wanted to say, “No need,” but Shi Zhang didn’t give him the chance to refuse.

This time, when Shi Zhang watched it again, he noticed the captions beneath each video.

Shi Zhang softly read them out: “You walk in my boundless reality and dreams.”

Song Fuzhi felt embarrassed and told him not to read it, but Shi Zhang insisted.

The man’s voice was magnetic and pleasant, and as he recited, it had a flavor that gradually drew Song Fuzhi in.

“May the vast universe be in the palm of your hand.”

“Snipe me.”

“In the dust world’s cage, you have my wings.”

“After we grow old, let’s cosplay as old men together, okay?”

…

“I come to your starting point.”

After Shi Zhang finished reading, he teasingly asked, “Are all these messages meant for me?”

Song Fuzhi said, “I don’t know.”

Shi Zhang smiled, his eyes moist, and his voice somewhat hoarse. “Okay, let’s grow old together; let’s cosplay as old men together.”

These videos, from the latest works back to the beginning, seemed to trace Shi Zhang’s cosplay journey over the years, like a devout pilgrimage. Every sentence felt like communication across time and space.

Shi Zhang opened his arms and tightly hugged Song Fuzhi, feeling a profound and indescribable sense of awe and gratitude.

“In fact, there’s one more thing I haven’t finished saying.”

Song Fuzhi suddenly turned around and stubbornly sat face to face on Shi Zhang’s lap.

“Since today is still your birthday,”

Shi Zhang looked deeply into his eyes.

“I came to your starting point.”

After Shi Zhang finished speaking, he knowingly asked, “Is this all directed at me?”

Song Fuzhi said, “I don’t know.”

Shi Zhang smiled, with a touch of embarrassment in his eyes. “Well, let’s grow old together and cosplay as old men.”

Such a simple sentence, yet it sparked like a spark, igniting the entire field.