Orange Storm chapter 46
Adorable
Once the longing opened a tiny gap, it surged like waves in Fang Xing’s mind. He glanced at his phone; it was already midnight.
Jiang Zhijin might be at Cloud Seven, or he might have gone home. At this time, he generally wouldn’t be asleep yet, perhaps watching a movie, having a beer, or playing Happy Elimination. Last time, he had already cleared more than three thousand five hundred levels. How could someone be so boring…
He thought about calling him or sending a message. Really wanted to.
He opened Jiang Zhijin’s WeChat chat, and the conversation was still on their last chat. Hesitating for a moment, he sent a message, “Tomorrow is the finals.”
Because the finals were imminent, he messaged his temporary guardian to prevent him from worrying— a very legitimate reason.
After about four or five minutes, Fang Xing started to doubt if Jiang Zhijin had already gone to sleep. Then suddenly, a message came back.
When Jiang Zhijin received the message, he was still at Cloud Seven. That night, there were quite a few customers at Cloud Seven, and Jiang Zhijin was worried that Gu Xun and Zhou Hong wouldn’t be able to handle it, planning to stay until closing time.
When the message came in, some customers had just left, and Jiang Zhijin was resting at the bar. He casually took out his phone and glanced at it, surprised to see it was from Fang Xing.
“Tomorrow is the finals.”
Jiang Zhijin subconsciously checked the time. It was 12:15 AM. He raised an eyebrow slightly and replied, “Are you so nervous that you can’t sleep, Study god?”
Fang Xing could almost imagine the tone in which Jiang Zhijin said these words— with a hint of a smile, a bit cheeky. He couldn’t help but silently laugh.
Fang Xing: “Study gods don’t get nervous.”
Jiang Zhijin instantly replied: “Impressive.”
Fang Xing smiled, and on the other side, Luo Rui was still studying. Fang Xing got up, walked to the bathroom, and, while closing the door, dialed Jiang Zhijin’s number.
Jiang Zhijin answered, laughing, “Still not sleeping?”
“Studying,” Fang Xing paused, hearing some noise from Jiang Zhijin’s end, a mix of music and voices.
“Are you still at Cloud Seven?”
“Yeah, quite a few people tonight.” Jiang Zhijin replied while walking out of the bar to the entrance, and the noise was suddenly cut off. The surroundings became much quieter.
“What’s up?” Jiang Zhijin asked. “Calling at midnight.”
Nothing, just can’t sleep and wanted to hear your voice… This kind of reason definitely couldn’t be said.
Fang Xing paused for a few seconds, then replied, “Tomorrow—”
He initially wanted to mention that tomorrow was his birthday, turning 18, and after tomorrow, you can’t say I am a minor anymore, or I’ll take a picture of my ID and slap it on you.
But, in the end, Fang Xing didn’t say it.
Since Jiang Zhijin didn’t know, deliberately bringing it up seemed a bit strange.
“I thought you were at home and wanted to see Tang Yuan,” Fang Xing replied. “Miss him quite a bit.”
“…You’re quite something,” Jiang Zhijin chuckled and sighed, “Thinking about a cat in the middle of the night.”
I wanted to say I miss you, afraid you’d scold me.
Fang Xing sighed softly.
He wasn’t sure if Jiang Zhijin knew about his feelings. Logically speaking, with Jiang Zhijin’s level of insight, he should be able to immediately sense something was off. But during this period, Jiang Zhijin’s conversations had been normal.
“Still have a few hours before I can go home; Tang Yuan is probably asleep by now,” Jiang Zhijin said. “I’ll take a few photos for you tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Fang Xing replied.
“Go to sleep, do well in the exam tomorrow, and send a message after it’s over.”
Fang Xing smiled, “Got it. You go back soon.”
“Good night,” Jiang Zhijin said.
“Good night,” Fang Xing replied.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Zhijin didn’t immediately return to the bar.
He stood there for a while, took out a cigarette box, pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it. In the faint smoke, his brows furrowed slightly, showing a bit of helplessness and a hint of amusement.
Calling him in the middle of the night just because he missed a cat—this kind of lie was something children over six years old shouldn’t be able to come up with. However, he didn’t dislike it; he found it amusing and even thought it was a bit… adorable.
It turns out that the IQ for studying doesn’t equate to emotional intelligence. Jiang Zhijin felt that Fang Xing, who told such a clever little lie, was genuinely cute.
On that day, Jiang Zhijin was busy until after three in the morning. When he finally got home, it was almost four. After washing up, he went straight to sleep, planning to sleep until the next afternoon and have a seamless transition to dinner. However, he was awakened by a phone call midway.
Jiang Zhijin was in a daze at first, thinking that Fang Xing had called him after finishing the exam. It wasn’t until he saw the continuously flashing name on the phone screen.
Zhou Ling.
Jiang Zhijin, still a bit groggy, cleared his throat and answered the call.
“Hello, Sister Ling?”
Zhou Ling on the other end sounded relatively quiet, probably in the office. “Zhijin, are you busy?”
“No.” Jiang Zhijin smiled a bit. “Go ahead.”
When Fang Xing transferred to Shaojiang, Zhou Ling almost called Jiang Zhijin every three to four days, inquiring about Fang Xing’s situation. Later, probably because she trusted Jiang Zhijin and had too much official business, it gradually became a call every one or two weeks, but the inquiries were just as detailed.
“Is Xiao Xing still going to school today?”
Jiang Zhijin was momentarily stunned, realizing that Fang Xing hadn’t told Zhou Ling about the competition, and he himself had forgotten to mention it.
However, before he could speak, Zhou Ling continued talking on her own.
“Today is his birthday. I originally wanted to go to Shaojiang, but Fang Chenglin said he made an appointment with a lawyer to talk to me.”
Zhou Ling paused for a moment, her tone a bit weary. “I can’t leave. When Xiao Xing finishes school, can you please celebrate his birthday for him? Buy a cake or something and wish him a happy 18th birthday for me.”
Jiang Zhijin was instantly awakened, silent for a long time without speaking.
After a while, Zhou Ling repeated, “Zhijin?”
“…Uh-huh,” Jiang Zhijin replied, “Sure.”
“Thank you.” Zhou Ling sighed in relief. “The 18th birthday is quite important. Fang Chenglin and I are not qualified parents. I hope at least someone can accompany him.”
“I understand,” Jiang Zhijin said.
Fang Xing, alone in a strange city preparing for a competition, probably wanted to say more during that call yesterday. Perhaps he was reminding Jiang Zhijin about his upcoming 18th birthday.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Zhijin glanced at the time; it was already 2:10 PM.
In fact, he could have sent a message, made a call, or even ordered a cake to be delivered to Fang Xing’s hotel, making it a more extravagant celebration.
But in the end, he spent a few minutes rummaging through the bedside drawer and finally took out a small blue box, about the size of a palm.
Shaojiang was a three-hour drive from the provincial capital.