Orange Storm chapter 7
Son
Fang Xing’s alarm clock was set for 6:05 a.m., with the default ringtone, a mechanical “beep beep” sound. As soon as it rang, Fang Xing, frowning, reached over and turned it off.
After turning off the alarm, he lay on the bed without moving, without even opening his eyes.
After a while, estimating that he had been lying down for almost five minutes, he silently counted in his mind, “Three, two, one.”
When the countdown ended, he opened his eyes, swiftly got out of bed, and grabbed the clothes next to him. Checking his phone, the time had just jumped to 6:15.
Sure enough, Jiang Zhijin hadn’t gotten up yet. After finishing his morning routine, Fang Xing went to the kitchen, took the bread and milk they had bought together a few days ago with Jiang Zhijin. After he finished eating and got ready to leave, Jiang Zhijin’s bedroom door opened.
Jiang Zhijin’s hair was quite messy, wearing pajamas, standing at his own bedroom door, staring at Fang Xing, who was preparing to leave. After a few seconds, he finally asked, “Do you want me to drive you?”
His voice was still hoarse, and he looked all over like someone who hadn’t fully woken up.
“No need,” Fang Xing turned the doorknob, “I’ll go by myself.”
“Do you know how to take the bus? Cross the road to the opposite bus stop, then wait for bus 113—”
Fang Xing sighed and turned his head to look at Jiang Zhijin with an expressionless face.
Jiang Zhijin stopped, and the two stared at each other for four or five seconds before he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Alright, the high school senior who’s about to become an adult, go ahead.”
The early self-study at Shaojiang High School started at 7:10 a.m., 10 minutes later than in Chaocheng. When Fang Xing arrived in the classroom at exactly 7:00 a.m., only about half of the students had arrived, and more were still coming in.
Xu Hang belonged to the group that came in just in time. When the bell rang, he rushed to his seat, panting heavily.
The English teacher happened to come in right behind him, giving Xu Hang a stern but amused look.
After catching his breath, Fang Xing took out the notebook Xu Hang had lent him last night and handed it over.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Xu Hang took back the notebook. “But some of my notes are incomplete, and you may not understand them.”
Fang Xing had noticed it last night. Some of the notes were illogical, with some missing segments, and some were obviously written to resist sleepiness, with characters twisting into outer space. Fang Xing guessed for almost five minutes and still couldn’t figure out what was written.
Without waiting for Fang Xing’s response, Xu Hang patted the back of the chair in front of him.
The girl in front turned around, a slightly chubby little girl with a baby face and fair skin. She glanced at Xu Hang with a playful expression but smiled.
“What’s up?”
“My most respected student committee member, Miss Jiang Xinxin, may I borrow your comprehensive science notes?”
“The sun rises from the west, and you also know how to study.”
“No, it’s for my deskmate.”
Jiang Xinxin glanced at Fang Xing without saying much and handed over the notes.
“Take your time; no rush.”
Fang Xing took the notes and said, “Thank you.”
The last class was Physics, with five minutes left until the end of class. Students from the next classroom had already rushed out, heading to the cafeteria. When passing by the windowsill, they shouted at Fang Xing’s class, adding a touch of presence to the early dismissal. In Fang Xing’s class, the physics teacher had just started a new topic.
“It’s over, it’s over,” Xu Hang muttered lowly while looking at the blackboard, “those guys have already gone to the cafeteria, my sweet and sour pork is in danger.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the physics teacher on the podium immediately spoke, “Xu Hang, how about you explain it?”
Xu Hang immediately fell silent, bowing his head to play dead until the end of class. Fortunately, this teacher explained the topic quickly, and after a two-minute delay, the class ended efficiently with the teacher saying, “Alright, class dismissed.”
When the teacher left, Xu Hang, feeling like he had been granted amnesty, quickly jumped up and shouted, “Comrades, it’s mealtime!”
Afterward, he turned enthusiastically to Fang Xing, “Let’s go, deskmate, let me show you the holiest place at Shaojiang High School—the cafeteria.”
Fang Xing: “…Oh.”
Next, with the same enthusiasm, Xu Hang invited neighboring classmates to join them for lunch. Four or five boys walked towards the cafeteria side by side, blocking half the way, looking like they were up to some mischief.
Fang Xing figured it out; Xu Hang seemed to be the kind of easygoing and somewhat silly good guy. While he usually avoided trouble, he didn’t resist this kind of goodwill—having someone actively show kindness in a new environment was quite rare.
The cafeteria had two floors with a variety of food options. They didn’t go to the food counters; instead, they went upstairs to get rice bowls. The group of four or five boys, all in their adolescence, naturally had a lot to talk about while eating. From the last basketball game to the start-of-school exams, the conversation eventually shifted to Fang Xing.
The boy sitting opposite Fang Xing probably had average grades and wore a troubled expression when talking about exams. “I never knew that in the third year, there would be exams every month. It’s too inhumane. Why did you transfer in your senior year? Doesn’t it affect your studies?”
Fang Xing picked at the scallions in his tomato and scrambled egg dish without looking up. Nonchalantly, he replied, “I heard the teaching quality is better here.”
The other guy nodded understandingly, “Oh. Your parents must be quite determined to move for your college entrance exam.”
“They didn’t come.”
“Huh?” Xu Hang, sitting beside Fang Xing, was shocked. “You’re in your senior year and studying remotely, and your parents aren’t worried about you?”
“They know someone here—an…”
Fang Xing originally wanted to say “uncle,” but recalling Jiang Zhijin’s serious warning about not mentioning that word, he found it amusing. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke again, “…a brother.”
Having said that, he felt a bit choked up. He thought calling him “brother” was even more suspicious than calling him “uncle,” but everyone was looking at him, so he forced himself to repeat it.
“A brother, ge.”
The legendary brother, Jiang Zhijin, slept until the afternoon after sending Fang Xing off. When he woke up hungry, he ate two slices of bread, took a shower, lingered for a while, and around 9 PM, he drove to the bar.
The door was already open, and business was good today. Zhou Hong was speaking to a table of customers, while Gu Xun, sitting behind the bar, was playing with his phone. Hearing the door open, he looked up at Jiang Zhijin.
“Only coming now? How’s the cool kid, Fang Xing?”
“…Going to school,” Jiang Zhijin glanced at him. “What’s with that nickname?”
Gu Xun smiled, “It’s really cool. When he came to find you, both Zhou and I were a bit startled.”
Jiang Zhijin sat at the bar, “Startled? Why?”
“What do you think?” Gu Xun put down his phone, glanced meaningfully at Jiang Zhijin, and smiled slightly. “Later, when I found out he’s a high school student, I figured you probably wouldn’t be that shameless.”
During their gaze, Jiang Zhijin squinted his eyes and cursed, “Get lost.”
Gu Xun rolled his eyes and went to pour him a glass of lemon water.
“Are you really planning to bring him all the way through high school?”
“Yeah.”
Seeing Gu Xun looking at him, Jiang Zhijin took a sip of water and replied slowly, “His mom called me, sounding genuinely troubled. Probably some family issue that forced them to seek help.”
For Jiang Zhijin, the care he received during those years was not as simple as a favor; it was a debt of gratitude that needed to be repaid.
“Not afraid of others misunderstanding?”
“Not many people know about my affairs.” The two spoke like solving a riddle, and Jiang Zhijin chuckled. “Besides, he’s just a kid. What’s there to misunderstand?”
Gu Xun burst into laughter as if he had been tickled, laughing for a full minute. Then he suddenly stopped laughing, raised his head, and gestured behind Jiang Zhijin. “I certainly won’t misunderstand, but someone who might, just arrived.”
Jiang Zhijin, with a light curse, turned around to see a tall man in a black windbreaker walking toward him.
Jiang Zhijin sighed quietly, maintaining a polite expression on his face. “Li Xingyan.”
The man in the windbreaker, surnamed Li, named Li Xingyan, was a regular customer at Jiang Zhijin’s bar. He seemed to be a high-ranking executive at some bank, and Jiang Zhijin didn’t know much else, nor did he ever ask. The first time they met was at this bar where Li Xingyan was drinking with someone. Somehow, in front of everyone, that person suddenly slapped Li Xingyan and walked away. It was Jiang Zhijin who had Gu Xun fetch an ice pack for him.
Later, Jiang Zhijin found out that was Li Xingyan’s ex-boyfriend, and they had just broken up. Li Xingyan remembered Jiang Zhijin from that incident and occasionally came to the bar when he had time.
Li Xingyan nodded at Gu Xun, greeted him, ordered a glass of black beer, and then looked at Jiang Zhijin with a smile.
“Long time no see, Boss Jiang.”
Being a customer, Jiang Zhijin remained polite. “Really? I might have been a bit busy lately.”
Li Xingyan propped his hand on the bar counter, looking at Jiang Zhijin with focused eyes when he turned his head. “Oh, I thought you didn’t want to see me.”
“Not really.” Jiang Zhijin smiled and replied, “We’re friends.”
Taking a sip of his drink, Li Xingyan changed the topic. “Thinking of climbing a mountain this weekend, Want to join? The autumn scenery on Xishan is quite nice.”
“I won’t be able to join you. I have something this weekend.”
Li Xingyan seemed to have anticipated Jiang Zhijin’s response. He shrugged slightly with a touch of helplessness, looking at Jiang Zhijin with a coaxing tone. “It’s boring to go alone. Why not give yourself a chance to meet new people?”
Jiang Zhijin’s expression remained unchanged. “I have to stay home to take care of the kid this weekend.”
Li Xingyan raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “What?”
“The kid at home is still in school. I have to be with him on weekends.”
Li Xingyan: “…”
After these years of reading people, Li Xingyan couldn’t believe he had misjudged the situation. With a somewhat disbelieving smile, he said, “Whose kid? How come he’s living with you?”
“Our family’s kid.” Jiang Zhijin looked at Li Xingyan, with a hint of a smile. “My son.”
The bartender, Gu Xun, made a loud noise as he almost dropped his glass. Li Xingyan was a bit unsure whether Jiang Zhijin was joking or not. Suppressing a laugh, he spoke in a natural tone, “are you joking with me, or did I really misjudge the situation?”
Jiang Zhijin didn’t answer. He smiled, glanced at the time, and nodded slightly to the other side. “Enough talking. I have to pick him up from school.”
Standing up from his seat, he waved to Gu Xun. “This drink is on me, Li Xingyan.” With large strides, he walked out of the bar.