Orange Storm chapter 49
Let’s Talk About Love
Outside the car was the street, and the night market across the street was still lively, with many people coming and going. In reality, it was quite a noisy environment. However, because the car doors and windows were tightly closed, it formed a completely quiet space.
So Fang Xing clearly heard Jiang Zhijin say, “Consider it as me reciting the ‘Ksitigarbha Sutra’ a hundred times for you, hoping you’ll be safe and sound.”
Fang Xing took the small box from Jiang Zhijin in this quiet environment. It seemed like he could hear his own heartbeat, one after another, quite urgent and distinctly audible.
“You—” Fang Xing cleared his throat, trying to make his tone sound casual. “What does it mean to give me this?”
“What does it mean?” Jiang Zhijin asked.
“It’s quite precious, and I’m a bit…” Fang Xing hesitated for a moment, then spoke honestly. “I don’t dare to accept it.”
The precious thing wasn’t the gift itself but the significance this item held for Jiang Zhijin.
“It’s not that serious,” Jiang Zhijin chuckled. “I think it’s appropriate, so I’m giving it to you, just that.”
Jiang Zhijin had remembered Fang Xing’s birthday at the last minute, and it was too late to carefully choose a gift. He also didn’t want to casually buy something for the occasion—gifts for an 18th birthday, even if not expensive, shouldn’t be perfunctory.
In the end, he thought of this safety button.
Peaceful and smooth, quite suitable for Fang Xing at this moment.
After saying this, Jiang Zhijin retracted his hand, glanced at the time, and said, “It’s ten o’clock. Aren’t they going to check the rooms?”
“Ah.” Fang Xing responded, also checking the time.
It was exactly ten o’clock.
“Time to go in,” Jiang Zhijin said.
Fang Xing sat without moving, just looking at Jiang Zhijin and asking, “And you, where are you staying?”
“Do you need to worry about me?” Jiang Zhijin smiled, glanced at him, and continued, “I’ll just find a hotel and stay for the night. I’ll go back tomorrow morning.”
“Can’t you stay here?” Fang Xing said.
“…Sure.” Jiang Zhijin looked at him, “Adults can stay anywhere, but for seniors about to have a room check, go back to your room first.”
Although he said that, Jiang Zhijin was also too lazy to go elsewhere. After parking the car, he followed Fang Xing into the hotel and booked a room at the front desk. Fang Xing, holding the cake, waited beside him and took a glance at the room card.
Room 912, three floors away from his own room.
The two of them took the elevator together. Fang Xing pressed the button for the sixth floor and then helped Jiang Zhijin press the button for the ninth floor. When the elevator stopped on the sixth floor, the door opened, and Fang Xing glanced at Jiang Zhijin. The latter slightly raised his head toward the door.
“Go on, good night.”
When he returned to the room, Fang Xing had just placed the cake when he encountered the teacher’s roll call. Seeing both of them in the room, the teacher went out and reminded them to “rest early.”
Fang Xing called Zhou Ling first.
Zhou Ling’s tone over the phone sounded a bit weary but overall normal. She first wished Fang Xing a happy birthday and then asked about his recent studies.
After hanging up the phone, it was already past eleven. Perhaps due to the rare relaxation after the exam, Luo Rui went to bed quite early. Fang Xing had slept a lot in the afternoon and now found it difficult to fall asleep, lying in bed playing with his phone.
He wanted to send a message to Jiang Zhijin but worried that the other person might already be asleep, considering he had been driving for so long and might be tired.
It wasn’t until midnight that Fang Xing was about to put down his phone and sleep. WeChat flashed, and a message popped up.
Jiang Zhijin: “Hello, 18-year-old Fang Xing.”
Fang Xing was taken aback, then immediately got up, walked quietly to the bathroom, locked the door, and called Jiang Zhijin.
Jiang Zhijin answered almost instantly.
“Haven’t slept yet?” Jiang Zhijin smiled.
“Slept too much in the afternoon.” Fang Xing lowered his voice. “Why haven’t you slept?”
“Just finished showering.” Jiang Zhijin said. “It’s exactly twelve o’clock, so I sent a message to congratulate you officially entering adulthood.”
Fang Xing laughed for a while before saying, “Is it necessary?”
It is necessary,” Jiang Zhijin said. “The officially adult Fang Xing can now do some things he couldn’t do before.”
“Such as?”
“Such as having a little drink, starting to go to bars or internet cafes, learning to drive, or…” Jiang Zhijin continued with a playful tone, “getting into a romantic relationship with a girl you like.”
The smile on Fang Xing’s face slowly faded.
Jiang Zhijin said this casually, as if it were a simple chat. But Fang Xing instantly grasped the meaning behind his words.
Getting into a romantic relationship with a girl you like.
A girl, not a boy, and certainly not Jiang Zhijin.
If it were a usual situation, Fang Xing might have speculated whether Jiang Zhijin had noticed something or knew about something. But at this moment, Jiang Zhijin was being too explicit, and Fang Xing didn’t need to guess his intentions.
He didn’t want to pretend to be clueless with Jiang Zhijin any longer.
“I won’t be dating a girl,” Fang Xing suddenly stated.
Jiang Zhijin paused for a moment, immediately thinking of diverting the topic. However, Fang Xing didn’t give him the chance and continued speaking.
“I don’t like girls.”
After this statement, there was a prolonged silence on both ends of the phone.
After Fang Xing said those words, he suddenly felt relieved, and he wasn’t in a hurry. After a while, he said again, “Hello?”
“…Who you love is your business, are you from my ancestors’ generation?” Jiang Zhijin finally spoke, sounding somewhat helpless.
Fang Xing had been a bit annoyed at first, but upon hearing this, he couldn’t help but laugh. His muffled laughter reached Jiang Zhijin’s ears through the phone, and Jiang Zhijin couldn’t help but laugh as well.
“Really… If you were in front of me now, I would definitely slap you,” Jiang Zhijin said.
Fang Xing laughed and looked up, the light above his head a bit glaring. He used his arm to shield his eyes.
Jiang Zhijin understood.
Although neither of them explicitly stated it, they both knew it. One knew what the other was thinking, and the other knew that the other knew what he was thinking—it sounded like a tongue twister, Fang Xing thought.
He felt a sense of relief, but he couldn’t describe the feeling. It was like a stone dropping into a deep well, making a “thud” sound, sinking endlessly, and an indescribable lightness.
Anyway, it was already like this.
On the other end of the phone, Jiang Zhijin remained silent. He sighed, feeling like he had never found it so difficult to speak.
He knew that Fang Xing liked him, and his intuition told him that he should keep some distance. However, due to the complex relationship between the two, practice and thoughts couldn’t completely align.
Like the time before, he had tried not to run into Fang Xing, not to send messages or make calls. But when Fang Xing really needed him, such as during his 18th birthday, he easily fell short.
He indeed didn’t want to disappoint him.
Perhaps it was because he felt a sense of responsibility, or maybe because he really, truly liked Fang Xing.
Whether it was just a liking for a smart and diligent kid, or a liking for a decisive and straightforward man, or perhaps a liking based on his own orientation…
Jiang Zhijin had never thought about it before, and today he realized that maybe all of these factors were at play.
But none of these were enough to justify entering into a romantic relationship with a kid of a trusted friend, a 18-year-old high school student.
Jiang Zhijin remained silent for a while, finally saying, “The composition of feelings is quite complex, Fang Xing.”
As he spoke, he slowly continued, “People have various types of likes, such as friendship, family love, romantic love… Sometimes what you think is a certain type of feeling might be an illusion due to distance. How old are you—”
“18,” Fang Xing interrupted.
…Jiang Zhijin was choked.
Fang Xing smiled and continued the words Jiang Zhijin had started.
“The composition of feelings is indeed complicated, including friendship, family love, romantic love. However, as an adult, I have the basic judgment to understand my own feelings.”
“…What kind of adult are you?” Jiang Zhijin frowned, feeling a bit annoyed. “You just turned 18 five minutes ago.”
“Yes, just-turned-18 Fang Xing can now do some things he couldn’t do before,” Fang Xing laughed. His Adam’s apple rolled slightly as he laughed.
“For example, getting into a romantic relationship with a boy I like.”
There was a long silence on the phone, which eventually turned into a busy signal, “Beep, beep, beep.”
Jiang Zhijin directly hung up the phone.