When Ultraman appears in reality, however:

Chapter 768 Leaving

Yue Ji remained silent, his figure increasingly blurred by the torrential rain. Qin Haoyu stared at him, his voice choked with sobs and a hint of stubbornness. "I'll keep watching you... As long as I can keep fighting, I'll definitely come back. You... You must survive."

After saying this, he staggered and turned around, dragging his almost broken body. Every step seemed to be dug out of blood, but his back remained straight, as if he was struggling against the boundless rainy night.

Night fell completely over the wilderness, but the alien beasts did not appear as expected. Yue Ji leaned against a tree stump, his damp clothes clinging to his body. He finally relaxed his tense nerves and fell into a deep sleep amidst the cold rain and mud.

When the thunder roared, his eyelashes didn't even tremble, as if he wanted to make up for the peaceful sleep he had missed in all these years in this eerie silence.

Fast forward to August 8th, the end of summer vacation. Qin Haoyu returned home, like a puppet drained of strength, curling himself up in the dark for days. No alien beasts attacked at night; the cool air of the air-conditioned room enveloped him. The hot water in the shower washed over his old wounds, causing him to gasp in pain. Yet, that pain felt like the only proof that he'd fought.

He was staring blankly at the ceiling when his phone suddenly rang, a dark patch beneath his eyelids. He answered it, and his friend's cheerful voice boomed out, "Hello? Haoyu, are you there?" He muttered a muffled "Yeah," and the other end immediately launched into a barrage of questions: "There's a cosplay event tomorrow, collaborating with the cafe. Lin Yue and I are both going. Are you coming?"

"No, I..." Just as he started to refuse, the other party interrupted him directly: "If you don't go, you are my son."

Qin Haoyu sneered at the familiar nonsense. Gu Chunqiu had no idea what kind of blood and rain he had gone through to become the man he was today, who couldn't even smile.

But after hesitating for a moment, he compromised: "Okay, I'll go." As if this way, he could temporarily deceive himself that those horrible and heavy things were really just an absurd dream.

……

On the 27th, the lingering summer heat still clung to the corners of the city. Qin Haoyu stood outside a cafe, gazing at the bustling crowd within the glass walls, his fingers unconsciously stroking the hem of his shirt. He wasn't cosplaying any characters; his simple T-shirt and jeans made him seem out of place amidst the crowds of outlandish costumes.

Lin Yue wore a carefully prepared cosplay costume, and when her skirt was lifted up, it made the sound of tiny silver bells. Gu Chunqiu followed beside her, holding props in his hands, helping her to adjust her hair accessories from time to time. The two soon fell into play and laughter.

Qin Haoyu looked at them, and forced a smile on his lips - he should have guessed that he was called here just to make up the numbers, to be part of the "threesome" in this youth farce.

He had no intention of participating. Lin Yue and Gu Chunqiu were soon attracted by other cosplayers, dragging them to take pictures. The sound of shutter clicks was filled with carefree smiles, as if widening the boundary between reality and fantasy a little bit.

Qin Haoyu sat in a corner, his fingertips circling the rim of his glass. The lively music playing in the cafe was at odds with the heavy emotions in his chest.

His phone vibrated as a new message popped up from the SAM unit, but he didn't click on it. He just stared at the clouds outside the window, wondering if Yue Ji was still under the tree stump, being drenched by the rain, bullied by the night, guarding the past that no one understood.

"Qin Haoyu!" Lin Yue suddenly jumped over, holding a Polaroid camera in her hand. She and Gu Chunqiu were smiling brightly in the photo. "Come and take a picture!"

Qin Haoyu was about to refuse when Gu Chunqiu squeezed over and pulled him in front of the camera. He frowned the moment the flash went on.

After the photo was printed out, Lin Yue stuffed it into Qin Haoyu's hand and scolded with a smile: "You look like you've been kidnapped!" Qin Haoyu lowered his head and looked at his stiff face in the photo. He didn't say a word.

At this moment, Lin Yue found another cosplayer, who was obviously a character from a game. Lin Yue was quickly attracted to it, and even Gu Chunqiu exaggerated its cuteness.

Xiao Xiaobai was very distressed by this. He kept holding onto his skirt and said with some difficulty, "Sorry, I can't take a photo right now. There's something wrong with my cosplay costume..."

"what?"

Lin Yue was puzzled for a long time after hearing this, and then patted Gu Chunqiu on the back, "Don't worry, you can leave it to him boldly!

Oh no, you can't go into the women's locker room or something to help her fix it, right?"

Gu Chunqiu, who carried sewing materials with him, was naturally puzzled. He had rich experience in cosplay, but when faced with a coser who needed to put on and take off clothes, he really couldn't provide help in the first time.

Qin Haoyu leaned against the wall and watched the scene, and inadvertently closed his eyes to rest.

Two girls and one boy, these interactions have nothing to do with me.

At this moment, Xiao Xiaobai said, "It's okay, the men's locker room will be fine."

"Ok?"

Looking at the cute and charming Xiao Xiaobai with white hair and wearing a skirt, Lin Yue and Gu Chunqiu both fell into a state of brain shutdown.

"Wait, you're a boy?"

Gu Chunqiu asked in some surprise.

Xiao Xiaobai was also a little frightened when he heard this.

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

The scene fell into a moment of silence, and after a moment, Lin Yue exclaimed in surprise, "That's too amazing!"

"Yeah, I can't tell at all!"

Gu Chunqiu and Lin Yue couldn't help but praise Xiao Xiaobai, and the threesome quickly turned into a foursome.

On the way, they even saw cosplay characters who played the same game as Xiao Xiaobai. No one cared about the fact that Xiao Xiaobai was dressed as a woman, after all, this was quite common in cosplay.

"Xiao Xiaobai, your eyeshadow is pink, it looks so good!"

"Thank you, they sell it at makeup shops."

"That's it."

"There's one more thing, and this is the most important one."

"Orange concealer?"

"This is for covering up beards, right?"

Gu Chunqiu quickly responded, and Xiao Xiaobai agreed.

The four of them quickly returned to the cafe and ordered some food. After seeing the dessert on the table, Qin Haoyu was a little dazed.

Before meeting Yue Ji, he only ate instant noodles during his journey. After meeting Yue Ji, his food was even only compressed food and freeze-dried vegetables.

This is still good, because since he can't taste food, Yue Ji doesn't care about the taste of food, he only cares about whether the food can fill his stomach.

He even ate worms and drank rainwater during the most difficult times.

All these sweet snacks in front of me seem out of place at this moment.

"By the way, what was the inspiration for you to cosplay?"

Lin Yue asked the question suddenly, and the topic changed again. Xiao Xiaobai was silent for a long time before responding.

"The first time I put on makeup was in my second year of high school, right? That was when my sister first got the urge to do it."

Damn, what are these guys talking about...

Qin Haoyu didn't care about the content of the chat.