Orange Storm chapter 40

Parting Ways?

The time in senior year flowed like a waterfall, rushing forward and never turning back. After October passed, the provincial physics competition arrived in early November. Therefore, the physics test papers were graded quite quickly. Just as the second segment of Monday’s evening self-study began, the physics teacher walked in with a stack of answer sheets.

“Let’s use this evening self-study to go over the test we had on Friday,” the physics teacher said.

Immediately, a few quiet moans could be heard from below.

The physics teacher had sharp ears and a strong temper. He raised his voice, “What’s all this noise? Don’t want to listen? Do you think you did well?”

His voice was quite loud, echoing like a bell, and the classroom immediately quieted down. Unrelenting, he continued.

“I’ve taught so many classes, and your class is the most worrisome. The college entrance exam is coming up soon, yet some of you are just playing around. Some students even think they’re still in their freshman and sophomore years and aren’t in a hurry at all.”

Halfway through, he raised his voice again, “Some students are quite in a hurry. In a ninety-minute exam, they handed in their papers half an hour early, thinking they’re pretty cool.”

Silence followed.

All eyes immediately gathered on Fang Xing. In his heart, Fang Xing sighed deeply, didn’t lift his head, and pretended to be engrossed in his textbooks.

The physics teacher glanced at him, withdrew his gaze, and shook the stack of answer sheets in his hand.

“Alright, take out your test papers. Those I call out should come up and collect their answer sheets—Fang Xing.”

Fang Xing immediately stood up and went to the front of the classroom to collect his answer sheet from the teacher. The teacher glanced at him and spoke calmly.

“Quite impressive, handed in your paper early and got a perfect score.”

Fang Xing was stunned. Before he could say anything, the classroom erupted into chaos.

There were exclamations and discussions everywhere. Xu Hang’s loud voice stood out, and Fang Xing could hear him saying, “I can’t believe it!”

“What’s all this noise!” The physics teacher slapped the table. “So excited, did everyone get a perfect score?”

The noise subsided, and the teacher turned his head to look at Fang Xing.

“Just this once, don’t be proud, understand? If you hand in your paper early again next time, even if you get ten perfect scores, I’ll call your parents.”

“Understood,” Fang Xing nodded.

“You can go back.”

Fang Xing, holding his answer sheet, returned to his seat amid the students’ gaze. The physics teacher had already moved on to the next student, and Xu Hang stared at Fang Xing with wide eyes, murmuring to himself.

“I can’t believe it. What am I even praying for? Desk mate, take a selfie for me. I’ll worship you every day.”

“Are you normal?”

Although Fang Xing didn’t expect to get a perfect score, he felt that he had done well in the exam. The answers flowed smoothly, with almost no pauses, and he was unusually focused during the test.

Even after days of text message bombardment, Zhai Wan waiting for him outside the school, and a bunch of family matters still unresolved, Fang Xing remained remarkably focused.

Because Jiang Zhijin was there.

As long as Jiang Zhijin was present, it seemed like any troubling matters were inconsequential. Jiang Ge was always reliable in handling things.

Fang Xing smiled to himself.

On the way back that night, he couldn’t help but tell Jiang Zhijin about the exam.

“The results for the test on Friday are out, and I did okay.”

Jiang Zhijin glanced at him while driving and asked, “What does ‘okay’ mean?”

“Full marks,” Fang Xing replied briefly.

“Hey,” Jiang Zhijin couldn’t help but laugh. “Is this what you call ‘okay’? Why do you sound so smug?”

Fang Xing also laughed, “Smug? I just thought it was a bit shameless to directly say I got full marks.”

“This way is even more shameless,” Jiang Zhijin said with a smile. “But it’s pretty impressive, Xiao Xing. That day, with so many things going on, I was worried you might not do well.”

This time, Fang Xing remained silent for quite some time. It wasn’t until the car was about to enter the residential area that he hesitated and spoke.

“I was quite anxious before the exam, worried that the past might happen again. But when I called you, and you said you would come right away, I suddenly felt… like it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“Anyway, it’s just a feeling. It seems like no matter what happens, you can handle it, and you’re someone worth trusting. Even if you really can’t handle it, I’ll go out with you. If that’s not enough, let her do whatever she wants. It doesn’t matter. After all, I’m with you—”

Fang Xing’s mind was in a whirl, saying whatever came to mind. It wasn’t until he reached that sentence that he paused, feeling that his words sounded a bit strange—both in tone and content, veering towards an inexplicable direction.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he turned to look at Jiang Zhijin.

The car had already reached the underground parking lot of the residential complex. Jiang Zhijin had just parked the car and was looking at Fang Xing. Seeing Fang Xing staring at him, Jiang Zhijin’s face remained calm. He nodded and said, “Being together—what else?”

Fang Xing didn’t know if Jiang Zhijin had sensed that something was off. He felt a bit flustered, spoke without thinking, and said, “I just feel— I just think you’re reliable, more like a dad than my dad.”

… That sounded really stupid.

Fang Xing sat in the passenger seat, watching Jiang Zhijin beside him leaning on the steering wheel, laughing so hard that his whole body was shaking, and he hadn’t stopped for several minutes.

“That’s enough.” Fang Xing was originally quite embarrassed, but seeing Jiang Zhijin laugh like this, he also felt like laughing, “Is it that funny?”

Jiang Zhijin straightened up, a smile on his face. “Not funny, just quite touching.”

After a pause, he added, “Thanks, son.”

“Tch.” Fang Xing frowned at Jiang Zhijin, unable to help but laugh again. “Is this supposed to be touching?”

Jiang Zhijin smiled and unlocked the car. “Let’s go upstairs.”

When they arrived home, Fang Xing suddenly remembered something and looked at Jiang Zhijin, saying, “This exam was for selecting candidates for the provincial physics competition. If I get selected, I’ll probably have to go to the provincial capital for a few days to participate.”

Jiang Zhijin was momentarily stunned, then said, “Oh,” followed by, “How long will you be gone?”

“Considering the round trip, about six or seven days,” Fang Xing replied.

Tang Yi and the physics teacher had both mentioned that the competition consisted of a written test, two rounds, and a practical operation competition, all adding up to about a week.

Fang Xing knew he would probably get selected. This meant that he and Jiang Zhijin would be completely separated for about a week, unable to see each other.

He thought he should have this time to calm himself down a bit. Every time he saw Jiang Zhijin now, he felt a bit at a loss. Perhaps being apart for some time would clear his mind a bit. At least he wouldn’t say random and confusing things like tonight.

But the thought of not being able to see Jiang Zhijin for a whole week made him feel a bit uneasy.

He didn’t really want to be separated from Jiang Zhijin.

“Go ahead,” Jiang Zhijin answered decisively.

“This is the kind of thing that gives you extra points in the college entrance exam, right? Go try it; it’s good.”

“Ah, yes.”

Fang Xing didn’t expect Jiang Zhijin to respond so decisively. He hesitated for a moment, feeling unsure of what to say. Following Jiang Zhijin’s words, he continued, “It’s quite good.”

“What’s with your reaction?” Jiang Zhijin laughed and said.

“No reaction.” Fang Xing paused and, holding his backpack, walked towards the room. “I still need to do some homework. You go take a shower first.”

“… Alright.” Jiang Zhijin watched Fang Xing’s back, seeing him lift his backpack with one hand and open the bedroom door with the other, then casually close the door.

Click.

The smile on Jiang Zhijin’s face disappeared, and he furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

Fang Xing’s mood seemed off. Whether from tonight in the car or from his recent reactions, Jiang Zhijin could tell that something was bothering him.

To make a studious person like him act so unusually, it couldn’t be something minor.

Jiang Zhijin’s initial thought was that it might be related to his family issues, but he quickly dismissed it. The family matters had been going on for a while, and it shouldn’t suddenly cause Fang Xing to be so emotionally disturbed, nor should it make him say those things in the car…

Jiang Zhijin could sense the trust Fang Xing had in him from his words, the subtle emotions, and the sudden panic when he abruptly stopped speaking.

Fang Xing excelled in academics, effortlessly securing the top spot. However, in the realm of understanding others’ emotions, Jiang Zhijin, who had learned to read people’s expressions to survive since the age of seven or eight, was evidently more adept.

Jiang Zhijin sighed, feeling a bit unwilling to delve deeper into his thoughts.