Orange Storm chapter 25
I Don’t Mind
Fang Xing stood still, countless thoughts instantly swirling in his mind.
What did he mean by “pursue”? Is it the same meaning I’m thinking of? In this situation, there shouldn’t be any other interpretation—Jiang Zhijin would just punch him on the spot, right? If he does, do I have to step in and intervene?
Well, probably not. Jiang Zhijin and he are friends… Does he know that the other person is gay, or has he known about the fact that the other person wants to pursue him?
… He probably knows. Fang Xing looked at Jiang Zhijin not far away. The expression on his face didn’t change much upon hearing this statement; instead, he even smiled a bit.
“That’s about enough,” Jiang Zhijin said with a smile, his tone becoming slightly more serious as he looked at Li Xingyan, “There’s no way; you’re just not my type.”
Li Xingyan asked a bit reluctantly, “What’s your type then?”
“Definitely not the type that can run into ex-boyfriends, ex-ex-boyfriends, and ex-ex-ex-boyfriends at any time in a bar,” Jiang Zhijin replied.
Li Xingyan, hearing only half of it, immediately raised his hand in a gesture of surrender, half-smiling and half-helpless, “Alright, alright, don’t scold me anymore.”
Jiang Zhijin also laughed; the cigarette he was holding was almost burned out, flickering intermittently.
Li Xingyan sighed, “I get it.”
Jiang Zhijin thanked him again, “I’ll treat you to a meal another day.”
Li Xingyan nodded.
Seeing the two about to finish their conversation, Fang Xing belatedly realized that he was standing there awkwardly.
Unexpectedly witnessing a confession scene and hearing the entire process, although unintentional, was quite strange. But leaving now seemed intentionally eavesdropping on a private conversation… he hesitated for a moment, and the cat in his arms, probably feeling a bit cold, shook its head and meowed.
Fang Xing: …Damn.
This cat’s meow was particularly loud in the night. Jiang Zhijin subconsciously turned his head to take a look, not only seeing the cat but also making eye contact with the person holding the cat.
Jiang Zhijin obviously didn’t expect to see Fang Xing here. His expression froze for a few seconds, and his smile faded. He extinguished his cigarette and walked briskly towards him.
Fang Xing sighed inwardly; he didn’t move and watched as Jiang Zhijin approached and stood in front of him.
“School’s over?” Jiang Zhijin asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why did you come here?”
“Picked up a cat, brought it to the pet hospital for a check-up,” Fang Xing explained and raised the cat in front of Jiang Zhijin to show him. “There happens to be one nearby.”
Jiang Zhijin looked at the cat and smiled, “You’re quite compassionate.”
In his usual tone, Jiang Zhijin then turned to Li Xingyan, who had approached, and said, “Fang Xing, you’ve met him.”
Considering they were adults, Li Xingyan adjusted quickly. He smiled without changing his expression and nodded at Fang Xing. Jiang Zhijin walked to Fang Xing’s side and patted his shoulder gently.
“Let’s go back.”
On the way back, the two didn’t speak. Jiang Zhijin focused on driving, while Fang Xing sat in the passenger seat, occasionally glancing at Jiang Zhijin.
Jiang Zhijin’s expression was calm, and Fang Xing couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. He shifted his gaze away, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.
He didn’t know what to say in this situation, and apologizing seemed awkward. When they returned home, Jiang Zhijin took out a delivery box from the balcony and found some old clothes, creating a simple nest in the corner of the living room.
“Let’s go with this for now,” he squatted in front of the cardboard box, looked up at Fang Xing, and said, “If there’s anything you need tomorrow, I’ll go buy it.”
Fang Xing also crouched down and carefully placed the cat inside.
The cat wasn’t shy. After being put in the box, it meowed a couple of times, pawed at the old clothes underneath, and then obediently lay down.
“Are we going to keep it?” Fang Xing asked.
“If we picked it up, might as well keep it,” Jiang Zhijin reached out and rubbed the cat’s head. “It’s quite cute.”
He withdrew his hand, looked at Fang Xing, and suddenly spoke, “Did you finish your homework?”
This topic took Fang Xing by surprise, and he hesitated for a moment before answering, “Yes.”
Jiang Zhijin nodded, checked the time on his phone, and said, “It’s 11:10 now. Take a 20-minute shower. Then we’ll talk for half an hour, and aim to sleep by 12. Okay?”
His tone was calm, with a negotiating tone. Fang Xing breathed a sigh of relief and nodded quickly, “Okay.”
He took a quick shower in less than 20 minutes. Jiang Zhijin sat on the sofa, not even finishing a cigarette by the time Fang Xing opened the bathroom door.
Fang Xing sat across from Jiang Zhijin. Jiang Zhijin extinguished the cigarette, and to dissipate the smoke, the window on the balcony was open, letting in a cool breeze. Jiang Zhijin coughed lightly and asked, “You stood outside for quite a while when I was talking to Li Xingyan, didn’t you?”
“Uh,” the situation was so awkward that Fang Xing didn’t know what to say, “I didn’t mean to. I just happened to pass by and saw you there—”
He paused, chose to abandon the explanation altogether, and simply said, “I’m sorry.”
Seeing him like this, Jiang Zhijin showed a slight smile, “It’s alright. I was just asking casually.”
He paused for a moment, quickly considering his words in his mind and how to tell Fang Xing about what happened tonight. He wanted to explain things clearly, but not too seriously, considering Fang Xing’s likely complicated feelings, and the fact that he was still a student.
While contemplating, Jiang Zhijin looked up at the person in front of him. Fang Xing slightly tilted his head, looking out the window as if lost in thought. Sensing Jiang Zhijin’s gaze, he immediately turned his head to meet his eyes, his expression calm.
Jiang Zhijin, making eye contact with him, suddenly felt relieved.
Even if he was still a student, he was almost an adult, and he was already as tall as him. Thinking about it this way, Jiang Zhijin no longer hesitated, “Anyway, it’s similar to what you overheard. Li Xingyan likes guys and is currently pursuing me.”
He sighed after saying this— it was indeed awkward. Not for any other reason, but just telling Fang Xing that someone is pursuing him…
Fang Xing probably sensed the awkwardness and responded with a perfunctory “Oh.”
Jiang Zhijin smiled and continued, “As for why he’s pursuing me, it’s probably because I also like guys.”
He said it as casually as asking, “What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?” he couldn’t help but sigh after saying it himself— it was really awkward.
Fang Xing remained silent for a long time after hearing this.
Jiang Zhijin didn’t rush; he waited for a while before continuing, “I should have apologized to you earlier. I always thought it was a private matter and had nothing to do with you. If you mind—”
Before Jiang Zhijin could finish, Fang Xing immediately interrupted, “I don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind,” Fang Xing repeated, “I just… didn’t react for a moment.”
Because in his eyes, Jiang Zhijin wasn’t the type of person who would be interested in the same sex—sometimes gentle, sometimes fierce, sometimes seemingly indifferent, the whole person exuded a “I’m cool” vibe. In short, he seemed quite straight.
“Understood,” Jiang Zhijin smiled, “Did I scare your fragile little heart?”
“Shut up,” Fang Xing admired Jiang Zhijin’s ability to switch between seriousness and playfulness at any moment. Considering what Jiang Zhijin hadn’t finished saying earlier, Fang Xing thought for a moment before speaking.
“This is indeed your private matter, and today’s incident was mainly my fault. You don’t need to worry about whether I mind or not… It’s fine.”
Jiang Zhijin looked at him for a moment, then suddenly burst into a smile.
Jiang Zhijin squinted and smiled, “What I mean is, even if you mind, you can only hold it in. After all, besides me, you have nowhere else to go.”
Fang Xing and Jiang Zhijin stared at each other, and finally, Fang Xing cursed, “Fuck.”
Jiang Zhijin couldn’t help but laugh.
Of course, Jiang Zhijin didn’t mean it that way. Originally, he wanted to suggest helping Fang Xing find a place to stay if he minded, but Fang Xing’s reaction was beyond his expectations yet within reason.
This might be what they call a cool and accomplished student.
The conversation went smoothly, and Jiang Zhijin glanced at the time, not yet reaching midnight. He was in a good mood and couldn’t help saying, “Actually, what Li Xingyan said today was quite sudden for me too. He’s not a bad person, you don’t have to mind.”
He paused and joked, “What if I agree later?”
Hearing the playful tone, Fang Xing glanced at him and replied calmly, “Better not.”
“Why?”
“I fear that you might run into his ex-boyfriend, ex-ex-boyfriend, and ex-ex-ex-boyfriend at the bar—”
Jiang Zhijin laughed heartily, leaning back on the sofa and laughing for a while. Fang Xing, on the opposite side, felt a bit helpless, “Wasn’t that what you said?”
Jiang Zhijin laughed for a long time, finally saying, “Indeed.”
Fang Xing glanced at him, remembering his rejection of Li Xingyan, saying, “You’re not my type.”
Fang Xing felt he was getting a bit curious about what type Jiang Zhijin liked. This thought came up but he immediately suppressed it. One, because it was too straight forward, and two, he felt that asking Jiang Zhijin this would probably result in being teased for three days and nights.
The conversation came to a temporary end, and Jiang Zhijin stood up and stretched lazily. The shirt rode up a bit due to his movements, exposing a section of his waist, right in front of Fang Xing.
Jiang Zhijin’s skin was fair, and his waist was well-proportioned and sturdy. Fang Xing looked for a while, suddenly realizing something wasn’t right, and quickly turned his head.
Fuck… Fang Xing thought, why does it feel so awkward?
It didn’t seem so awkward before, did it? Did it? Probably not, after all, he had helped Jiang Zhijin apply medicine once, and the latter was shirtless at the time… But at that time, Fang Xing just thought Jiang Zhijin was quite fair…
fuck.
Perhaps tonight’s shocks were too much for him, making him feel a bit silly.
Jiang Zhijin didn’t notice his movements. He put his hand down and rubbed Fang Xing’s head, using the same technique as when petting the cat, “Time to sleep, young man. You still have to go to school tomorrow.”