Orange Storm chapter 24
You are making it hard for me to pursue you
The pet hospital Fang Xing found was right at the intersection of Cloud Seven Street, with a quite mainstream name, “Pet House.” The glass door was closed, but lights were on inside.
Fang Xing pushed the door open and walked in. Inside, there was a woman in a white coat, wearing a mask, making her features unclear. When she saw Fang Xing entering, she glanced up.
Fang Xing handed the cat to her, saying, “Found a stray cat, can you help take a look?”
He added, “Seems like it was kicked by someone before.”
The female doctor furrowed her brow, carefully taking the cat from Fang Xing’s school uniform. The little cat meowed softly.
Next came various examinations, lasting about twenty minutes before the cat was returned to Fang Xing.
“Fortunately, no internal bleeding, limbs are normal, no major issues. Just take good care of it for a few days. Keep an eye on it and bring it here if anything seems off—”
She paused and remembered something, then said to him, “Oh, forgot to ask, do you want to adopt it?”
“Don’t know,” Fang Xing hesitated for a moment and said, “I need to ask my family.”
Taking care of a high school student alone was troublesome enough for Jiang Zhijin, and now Fang Xing wasn’t sure if he would agree to bringing a cat home.
“Well, you’re still a student, right?” The woman nodded, “If you can’t adopt, you can bring it here.”
She spoke very straightforwardly, with a bit of a heroine style. Fang Xing smiled, “Sure, how much does it cost?”
The female doctor casually waved her hand, “Just did an examination, no need to pay. But if you decide to adopt, remember to come for vaccinations and deworming as soon as possible, that part is a bit expensive.”
Fang Xing nodded, “Thank you.”
After leaving the pet hospital, Fang Xing stood at the door holding the cat for a while, took out his phone and checked the time.
It was already past 10:40, and Jiang Zhijin hadn’t called or messaged, indicating he hadn’t gone home yet and was probably still at the bar.
Since he was already here, he might as well go back together and maybe catch a ride—Fang Xing turned, holding the cat, and walked towards the street.
This street had many shops, mostly eateries, bars, and cafes, becoming livelier as the night progressed. Cloud Seven was in a prime location, about two-thirds down the entire street. After walking for about ten minutes, Fang Xing could clearly see the sign for Cloud Seven.
The cat in his arms was lying still, its head tilted in his hand, its fur rubbing against him, a bit itchy and somewhat comfortable. He slowed down a bit, still hesitating whether it was appropriate to bring the cat inside, and at that moment, he suddenly heard Jiang Zhijin speaking on his right.
“Thank you.”
Actually, it was a bit noisy on the street, and Jiang Zhijin’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was so familiar that Fang Xing decoded it in an instant, subconsciously turning his head to look to the right.
On the right was a pedestrian alley not much wider than an alley, with Jiang Zhijin leaning against the wall, holding a half-burned cigarette in his right hand, smiling and talking to someone in front of him.
Fang Xing scanned over, and the person on the other side was a man wearing a shirt, looking somewhat familiar.
After a few seconds, Fang Xing remembered—this was the guy he met last time when he had barbecue with Jiang Zhijin. What was his name again? Oh, Li Xingyan.
He stood still, not sure whether to go forward and say hello. After all, it seemed like they were discussing something…
Just as he hesitated, Li Xingyan also smiled and spoke.
In fact, according to common sense, Jiang Zhijin should have been able to come and pick up Fang Xing after school tonight. Cloud Seven had a normal customer flow tonight, and both Gu Xun and Zhou Hong should be able to handle it.
But just as he was about to leave, there was suddenly a commotion in the bar. Two adjacent tables of customers stood up, speaking loudly, mixed with various curses, instantly attracting the attention of the entire bar.
Jiang Zhijin, behind the bar counter, muttered a “damn,” stood up efficiently, and walked over there. Zhou Hong and Gu Xun quickly followed, pulling people apart.
Jiang Zhijin stood in the center, separated the two groups, and scanned around. His face showed a bit of frustration, asking, “What’s going on here?”
The two groups were not very old, mostly in their twenties, both men and women, looking like most of them had drunk a lot, with flushed faces and muttering curses.
Jiang Zhijin barely pieced together the situation from their countless foul language descriptions. It was probably that both tables had been drinking a lot, and one table thought the girl at the other table was pretty and wanted her contact information. However, the girl’s boyfriend was sitting right next to her, and after a few insults, the other table got annoyed as well…
A trivial matter, Jiang Zhijin thought.
But both teams were young and impulsive, plus with the influence of alcohol, Jiang Zhijin patiently persuaded them for a while. By the end, even he was a bit annoyed, as both sides were still unyielding. The guy who wanted the number insisted that the other side bow and apologize, and the other table, not to be outdone, returned a string of curses.
The guy, embarrassed and angry, kicked the chair away, picked up a bottle on the table, and Jiang Zhijin promptly grabbed the guy’s hand.
“Buddy,” Jiang Zhijin sighed, “I still need to run a business here.”
The guy’s voice was loud, filled with strong alcohol odor, “I can afford to compensate!”
Dressed in a mix of Prada and GUCCI, he did seem like he could afford to compensate. Jiang Zhijin smiled a little and didn’t let go, looking into the guy’s eyes, “It’s not about whether you can afford it or not. There are other customers in my shop. If you want to fight—”
Jiang Zhijin pointed to the door, “Take it outside.”
The guy’s face instantly turned red. He retorted to Jiang Zhijin, “You—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a hand was placed on the guy’s shoulder, and a calm voice rang out neither fast nor slow.
“Young Master Zhou, what a coincidence.”
Everyone turned their heads at the same time, and Jiang Zhijin was no exception.
It was Li Xingyan.
Li Xingyan wore a light gray shirt, a black windbreaker draped over his left arm, and his right hand rested on the shoulder of the young man, with a smiling face.
“Having a drink?”
Jiang Zhijin, seeing the young man, paused for a moment, “Brother Li?”
Li Xingyan nodded, “How’s Uncle Zhou? I haven’t seen him since a month ago. He said he got a bit of an autumn cough due to the change of seasons.”
His tone was quite gentle, sounding like casual chit chat. But when he mentioned his dad, this young master softened noticeably, stammering in response, “My dad… is doing fine…”
The conversation started to veer off course, and Jiang Zhijin decisively turned his attention to another table, offering a few words of advice and even giving them a discount on their drinks, efficiently escorting them out.
Meanwhile, the guy from earlier lost his momentum, chatted briefly with Li Xingyan, and then made an excuse to leave, claiming he had something to attend to. Li Xingyan didn’t stop him and, along with Jiang Zhijin, escorted the group of young men and women to the entrance of the bar.
After the group left in taxis, Jiang Zhijin redirected his gaze toward Li Xingyan.
Li Xingyan looked at him and smiled, “What’s wrong?”
“I think you’re quite impressive,” Jiang Zhijin chuckled, “knowing all kinds of people.”
Li Xingyan smiled and took out a cigarette from his pocket, lighting one and offering another to Jiang Zhijin.
“Not just knowing him, I also know his dad. We’ve had quite a bit of business dealings. Back when this young master owed five to six million in credit card debt and private loans, his dad sold a property to help him pay it off, and I handled the whole process for him.”
“No wonder,” Jiang Zhijin remarked.
The wind blew at the entrance, and the two walked a few steps into the nearby alley. Jiang Zhijin lowered his head, took out a lighter, and lit the cigarette.
Li Xingyan held the unlit cigarette in his mouth, felt his pocket, and then made a clicking sound, realizing he had forgotten his lighter. He leaned in slightly, gesturing for Jiang Zhijin to help him light it.
Raising an eyebrow slightly, Jiang Zhijin tossed his lighter directly to him after a few seconds.
“Hey,” Li Xingyan chuckled, amused, “got any conscience?”
Jiang Zhijin laughed for a moment before saying, “Thanks for earlier.”
“Don’t mention it.” Li Xingyan lit his cigarette and returned the lighter to him. “If you really want to thank me, take some practical action.”
Jiang Zhijin smiled, looking at Li Xingyan without saying anything.
The two locked eyes for a moment, and Li Xingyan sighed first, “Alright, what I mean is, if you have time, join me for some fishing or mountain climbing.”
“…Hobbies are quite healthy,” Jiang Zhijin laughed. “You’re making me sound like I’m heartless.”
“Well, you are kind of heartless, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” Li Xingyan sighed and laughed.
“You are making it hard for me to pursue you.”
At a distance of three or four meters, with no cars passing on the road temporarily, a momentary quiet gap made this sentence particularly clear.
Fuck.
Beyond three meters, Fang Xing’s mind was filled with these words.h