Chapter 84: Exclusive on Jinjiang 2/2

As the start of the school year approached, Teacher Song’s phone and messages gradually increased, coming from both parents and the school. Shi Zhang was busy with experiments every day, and Song Fuzhi wasn’t much less busy than him.

So, on the last weekend before the start of the school year, the two of them finally squeezed out a day to meet with the college student who had expressed interest in renting a room.

In fact, more than one person expressed interest in seeing the room. After this student, there were quite a few others who came one after another. Since this student was the first to contact them, they decided to show him the room first.

On the way back to Song Fuzhi’s house, Song Fuzhi teased that maybe this student is studying at their university, and Shi Zhang might even know him.

Shi Zhang said it was possible, but the probability of encountering someone he knew was very low. With so many students at their school, it wasn’t that easy to run into someone, and even if he did, he probably wouldn’t remember.

Before the car entered the parking lot, Song Fuzhi saw a slim male student standing at the entrance of their neighborhood, carrying a loose bag on his left shoulder.

Despite the cold weather, the student only wore a black overcoat with a loose zipper. His pants were cropped, exposing his knees and two fair legs, dazzlingly white.

Song Fuzhi frowned at the sight, recalling the words many elders would say about dressing warmly to avoid rheumatism when getting older.

Song Fuzhi called the tenant and was about to tell him they were almost there.

Then he saw the student at the entrance raise his phone to his ear.

“Hello, are you there?”

Song Fuzhi heard a young voice coming from the earpiece, and the student was also speaking.

“Hello, are you at the entrance of the neighborhood? I think I see you,” Song Fuzhi said.

The student lifted his head and looked around, and Song Fuzhi knew it was him.

“Wait a moment; we’ll be there after parking.”

Song Fuzhi hung up the phone, and Shi Zhang also glanced at the student. “He came quite early.”

Although they arrived more than ten minutes earlier than the agreed-upon time, they didn’t expect the student to be even earlier. He must have been waiting here for quite some time.

Renting a room also depends a lot on first impressions. The first impression was that this young man was very punctual and should be a reliable tenant.

“Hello, Mr. Lin, right?” Song Fuzhi asked.

The student looked at the two men in front of him and hesitated for a moment.

“Yes, I am.”

Song Fuzhi smiled slightly and said, “Follow me.”

Actually, Song Fuzhi was a bit surprised in his heart.

This young man was very handsome, tall, and thin.

He probably just graduated from high school not long ago, looking about the same age as his students, but his temperament was different. If he wandered around the high school, he would probably cause a lot of screams.

Seeing that the young man was still standing there without moving, Song Fuzhi waited for him.

He saw the young man glance at Shi Zhang and then at Song Fuzhi.

Song Fuzhi mentally thought, ‘Oh.’

Although same-sex marriage is legal now, there are still many people who cannot accept it. Seeing this young man hesitate, Song Fuzhi thought he might have difficulty accepting it.

Song Fuzhi pointed to Shi Zhang and introduced, “This is my husband, who came with me today—do you mind?”

The young man quickly said, “I don’t mind.”

The polite yet slightly awkward conversation ended, and the three of them didn’t say much afterward, walking quietly.

While walking, the young man typed on his phone quickly, like many young people nowadays, proficient in operation. The phone was never far away, and he could chat with friends anytime, anywhere.

His hair swayed with his steps, and Song Fuzhi saw a tattoo behind his ear. The specific image was not very clear, and there was also a black stud on his ear bone.

Hmm, quite cool.

Song Fuzhi felt Shi Zhang nudging him, and following his finger, Song Fuzhi saw a round badge hanging on the young man’s backpack, featuring a handsome anime character.

Song Fuzhi immediately raised an eyebrow.

Oh, he’s also a fan of anime.

Being young is great; you can openly display any attribute.

They soon arrived at the house. After the three entered, Song Fuzhi took the young man from the living room to the bedroom, introducing various facilities and the surrounding environment, occasionally nodding his head and asking for some information.

The process of viewing the house went smoothly. The young man said he would go back to consider it again, and Song Fuzhi readily agreed. The two returned to the car, watching the young man walk away, and Shi Zhang pointed to his backpack from a distance.

“The character on his badge, I cosplayed it before,” Shi Zhang said with a smile. “Meeting a fellow enthusiast.”

“How about giving him a discount?” Song Fuzhi joked, and suddenly a thought flashed in his mind, remembering something.

Song Fuzhi remembered vividly that Shi Zhang had cosplayed that character not only because he had seen Octopus Teacher’s previous works but also because he had once bought a blind box of that character’s anime.

It was the day Song Fuzhi accidentally entered Shi Zhang’s collection room, saw his room full of cosplays, and shockingly discovered that his husband was an Octopus Teacher!

It was a long time ago, and Song Fuzhi still remembered his excited anticipation that day. He had planned to give the blind box trinket to Shi Zhang, telling him that he also liked anime. However, unexpectedly, he saw Shi Zhang’s biological father coming to find him in college, and his original plan was interrupted by the sudden reality.

On that afternoon, Song Fuzhi not only saw Shi Zhang’s hidden glory but also witnessed his unforgettable past.

Many things happened later, and the blind box remained in Song Fuzhi’s car, never given away. Today happened to be the day Song Fuzhi was driving.

While Shi Zhang was suggesting advice on house viewing and renting, Song Fuzhi responded and opened the drawer in front of the car.

“Once school starts, you’ll be busy. If this guy doesn’t want to rent, we can wait a bit and invite others to view the house later… Huh?”

Shi Zhang paused suddenly, looking at Song Fuzhi as he took out a small box from the drawer and handed it to him.

“A blind box; I should have given it to you long ago,” Song Fuzhi said with interest. “Open it; maybe you’ll get the character you cosplayed.”

Shi Zhang quickly caught on: “You bought it a long time ago?”

Song Fuzhi explained what happened that day. Shi Zhang had long known that Song Fuzhi had accidentally entered his collection room, but he didn’t know that he later bought a small gift just to gently convey that he knew about his secret identity.

Shi Zhang was silent for a while, struggling to find words. He always felt that Song Teacher was too good, yet he could always discover that he was even better than he realized.

On the way back home, they laughed, asking whether there was an end to it. They always managed to discover some past little joys, like picking up gear from the ground and fitting perfectly with a delicate clock.

Both initially thought their meeting and marriage were more coincidental than rational, but gradually they discovered that their story seemed to have started a long time ago, their lives interwoven early on, and then each holding a needle and thread, sewing and mending, sketching and mending.