Orange Storm chapter 92
Extra 2
Yunnan in July was quite hot. The two of them traveled from Kunming to Dali and finally stayed in Lijiang for a few days.
When they arrived in Lijiang, the weather had cooled down slightly due to continuous rainy days. They stayed in a guesthouse in Shuhe Ancient Town, and the owner was a man in his forties, a bit chubby but very enthusiastic. During the day, he fed cats, walked dogs, and cleaned. In the evening, he played the guitar and sang songs in the courtyard, chatting with guests.
Jiang Zhijin hadn’t traveled much before. He was too lazy to move, and whenever he had time, he just wanted to stay at home sleeping or playing games. Occasionally, when he went out, he just wandered around without any plan. At first, Fang Xing was quite serious and planned the itinerary and attractions before going out. Later, Jiang Zhijin became lazier and lazier under Fang Xing’s influence. When the weather was fine, they strolled around the town, and when it rained, they stayed in the inn, playing games or chatting with the owner.
Although he was already done with high school, Fang Xing still got up quite early. It had rained the previous night, and the stone slabs in the ancient town were still wet. Fang Xing went for a run by himself and came back to find breakfast already prepared and placed in the dining room by the owner. There was boiled corn, mung bean porridge, and steamed buns. Fang Xing brought up two servings to their room.
The guesthouse only had three floors, and their room was at the end of the second floor. When he entered, Jiang Zhijin was still asleep. Fang Xing put down the breakfast, washed his hands first, and then leaned over to gently pat Jiang Zhijin’s face with his moist hand.
“Wake up, it’s time for breakfast.”
Jiang Zhijin frowned but didn’t move. Fang Xing simply sat beside him and rubbed his earlobes, then slid down along his jawline to hook Jiang Zhijin’s chin.
“Hey.” Jiang Zhijin was a bit annoyed but also amused. He grabbed Fang Xing’s hand and opened his eyes halfway.
“How come I didn’t realize before that you’re so annoying?”
“Now you’ve realized, it’s too late.” Fang Xing leaned down and planted a loud kiss on Jiang Zhijin’s forehead. “You said you wanted to go out today, so get up.”
Jiang Zhijin lingered in bed for a few more minutes before Fang Xing pulled him up to wash. He didn’t put on his shirt, and there were still some faint marks on his body from Fang Xing’s actions last night that hadn’t faded yet—during these days of intimacy, the two of them had no reservations when they got into a playful mood.
Fang Xing glanced at the marks for a while, then reached up to Jiang Zhijin’s waist and gave it a squeeze.
“… If you don’t want to go out and want to do something else,” Jiang Zhijin spat out the toothpaste foam and looked at Fang Xing through the mirror, speaking casually.
“You shouldn’t have dragged me out of bed just now.”
Fang Xing immediately understood Jiang Zhijin’s meaning and couldn’t help but laugh.
“No, I just wanted to touch you… Alright, I’ll wait for you outside.”
Since Fang Xing had now graduated and stayed at home, Jiang Zhijin was forced to pick up the habit of eating breakfast again—before, he mostly ate only one meal a day, whenever he woke up. Now, even though Fang Xing had to overcome his cleanliness and bring breakfast to Jiang Zhijin’s room for him to eat before going back to sleep, Jiang Zhijin still didn’t eat much. He said he was full after eating half a steamed bun and half a bowl of porridge. Fang Xing helped him finish the rest, and as they went out, they took the plates downstairs.
The owner had just finished walking the dog and returned, seeing them both laughing happily, asked, “Going out?”
“Yeah.” Fang Xing nodded at him and said, “We’re going to the Snow Mountain.”
It had rained last night, and today was a rare sunny day. Fang Xing had already bought tickets online, and he also bought a can of oxygen for Jiang Zhijin out of concern for altitude sickness. Although it was summer, it was quite cold on the snow-capped mountain. Originally, he saw that there were cotton jackets for rent online, but he thought that with Jiang Zhijin’s temperament, he probably wouldn’t wear clothes that had been worn by who knows how many people. So, before they left, he brought jackets for both himself and Jiang Zhijin.
Jiang Zhijin watched Fang Xing busy around, arranging everything properly, and found it interesting. Moreover, he couldn’t deny that he quite liked seeing Fang Xing like this.
Being taken care of, especially by his own partner, was a different feeling. Even though he was nearing thirty and was an independent adult male, he still felt quite comfortable.
And from these actions, he could clearly perceive that although Fang Xing was only eighteen, he was very reliable most of the time.
Fang Xing, a very reliable little boyfriend.
Correction: Fang Xing, a very reliable little boyfriend belonging only to him.
……..
When the two of them went up the snow mountain, the sun was already out, with no clouds in the sky. The deep blue sky set off the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the visible beauty and grandeur. Ahead of them was a tourist group, with a female tour guide waving a flag and loudly introducing the sights to the tourists. Fang Xing and Jiang Zhijin followed behind, listening to the tour guide’s vivid introduction of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain as a holy place of sacrifice for the Naxi people, passionately telling a bunch of love stories.
Ahead, there was a young couple embracing, the girl listening with teary eyes, turning her head and acting coquettishly with her boyfriend. Fang Xing glanced sideways, Jiang Zhijin had half his face buried in his clothes, looking lazy and indifferent.
Meeting Fang Xing’s gaze, Jiang Zhijin raised an eyebrow.
“Moved, aren’t you, kiddo?”
“…I was actually quite moved.” Fang Xing chuckled a bit. “Are you tired?”
The background was all vast snowy mountains, Jiang Zhijin wore a black windbreaker, his nose slightly red from the wind.
“It’s okay, I can endure a bit longer to climb with you. If we go further up, you’ll stay here with me for this act of love.”
“No, your stamina—”
“If you had the ability, you wouldn’t have tossed and turned last night.” Jiang Zhijin stared at him. “Or maybe tonight, I’ll make you stay lying down, and tomorrow morning I’ll wake you up to climb the mountain. Whoever doesn’t get up is a jerk.”
Fang Xing laughed heartily, reaching out to pull his zipper all the way up.
The two of them climbed a bit further, and finally, next to a stone marked with the altitude, they asked someone to take a standard tourist photo.
On the way back, at the rest area, Jiang Zhijin and Fang Xing unexpectedly encountered that tour group again. The tour guide was leading the tourists to visit a jade shop. Fang Xing and Jiang Zhijin had nothing to do, so they went in for a stroll. The salesperson was particularly enthusiastic, insisting on introducing a jade Guanyin pendant to Jiang Zhijin.
While the salesperson was busy attending to others, Fang Xing whispered, “Do you like it? Five hundred isn’t too expensive.”
Jiang Zhijin replied in an even softer voice, “Are you kidding me? You could probably get something similar for fifty on Taobao with free shipping.”
“…Such a rip-off.”
Once the two of them had strolled out, Fang Xing cleared his throat and spoke up, a bit surprised.
“Didn’t you give me jade?” He reached out, pulled out the piece hanging around his neck, rubbed his fingertips against it, then carefully put it back.
“I just wanted to buy you one too, for when I go to campus..”
“I hold onto the jade and think of the person.” Jiang Zhijin interjected, his expression somewhat speechless. “Plus, It’s not that serious. If I miss you, I’ll just come find you. It’s just a plane ticket.”
“…That’s really cool, Jiang Boss.”
Jiang Zhijin also smiled, then spoke after a pause.
“If you really want to buy me something, then go pick a reliable shop, bring it back, find a temple to bless it, and then—”
Fang Xing turned to look at him. “And then recite the scriptures a hundred times too?”
“And then recite a hundred times ‘Fang Xing likes Jiang Zhijin’,” Jiang Zhijin chuckled. “Bothering the Bodhisattva with our love, he might get tired of us and say, ‘Alright, alright, may you two grow old together.'”