Orange Storm chapter 29
Wine
Xu Hang and the two other classmates greeted him and Jiang Zhijin suppressed his smile and said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you home first.”
Xu Hang hastily waved his hand, “Someone from my family is coming to pick me up.”
Jiang Zhijin nodded, “Let’s go to the parking lot first.”
The rain continued to pour, but fortunately, the parking lot was not far. By the time they arrived, Xu Hang’s family car was waiting at the entrance, and they were calling him. The other two students had come with Xu Hang, so they decided to go together.
With the rain pouring down, there was no time for pleasantries. Jiang Zhijin and Fang Xing watched the three people close the car doors, then got into the car themselves despite the rain.
Once inside the car, Jiang Zhijin first turned on all the air conditioning, setting the warm air to the maximum. He then turned to look at Fang Xing.
Fang Xing was completely soaked, his face covered in rain, and sitting in the front passenger seat brought in a mist of water vapor. Jiang Zhijin wasn’t much better, but at least his upper body was still dry, except for his pants and shoes.
Fang Xing was searching for tissue to wipe the rain off his face when he touched his wet clothes, finding a half-used tissue pack that had become a mess due to the rain. Irritated, he wrinkled his brow. Sensing Jiang Zhijin’s gaze, he turned and asked, “Do you have tissues?”
“Didn’t bring any.” Jiang Zhijin glanced at his completely soaked coat, feeling that the heating was sufficient, and said, “Take off your clothes first.”
Wearing wet clothes was indeed uncomfortable. Fang Xing was wearing a denim jacket that day, and it felt heavy and cold after getting wet. Without much hesitation, he took off his jacket and threw it into the back seat.
The next moment, Jiang Zhijin also started unzipping his jacket, revealing a black T-shirt underneath.
Jiang Zhijin was wearing a zip-up hoodie in a light gray color, looking casual as if he had put it on without much thought. His clothes didn’t get too wet. After taking off his shirt, he turned to Fang Xing, casually motioning with his hand.
“Come here.”
Fang Xing instinctively moved closer, asking, “What?”
The next moment, Fang Xing’s vision darkened.
Jiang Zhijin didn’t say anything more. He took off his jacket and casually covered Fang Xing’s head with it, helping him wipe away the rain on his head and face.
Fang Xing was stunned, not moving from his original position, only able to feel Jiang Zhijin’s actions.
Jiang Zhijin’s movements were not particularly gentle, similar to when he helped Tang Yuan bathe a few days ago, even more perfunctory. The jacket carried a faint scent of laundry detergent and the warm temperature of Jiang Zhijin himself.
With the coat enveloping him, Fang Xing’s sense of smell and touch could still perceive these details. His mind seemed to stall for a moment, feeling somewhat blank.
What is Jiang Zhijin doing?
What is he doing, what is he doing, what is he doing?
With a corner of the coat covering his sight, the light fluctuated with Jiang Zhijin’s movements, making Fang Xing only able to see Jiang Zhijin’s waist when he lowered his head. However, this didn’t last long. In the next moment, Jiang Zhijin had taken the coat away. Fang Xing, with a frown, looked at Jiang Zhijin, who had already started the car.
“Let’s go back.”
Fang Xing’s vision brightened again, and his gaze returned to Jiang Zhijin’s clear profile.
He turned to buckle his seatbelt, staring ahead for a while before slowly speaking as if he had just come to a realization.
“Oh.”
The way back was congested, taking almost an hour from the park to the residential area, and the heater was left on the entire way. When they entered the neighborhood, Fang Xing’s WeChat received a few messages. Jiang Xinxin and Xu Hang had successively reported their safe arrival home in the group chat. Xu Hang also mentioned Fang Xing, asking if he had arrived.
He replied: “Arrived.”
After entering the house, Jiang Zhijin casually tossed his coat aside and said to him, “Go take a shower first.”
“You go ahead.” Fang Xing looked at Jiang Zhijin.
“Tsk.” The damp clothes clung uncomfortably to Jiang Zhijin. He had already walked into the bedroom and, while walking, said, “Hurry up.”
“You go first.” Fang Xing stood still, his tone determined. “I’ll shower after you.”
Jiang Zhijin, not saying anything, looked at him, and after a moment, he suddenly smiled.
“Okay, cool guy. I’ll take a shower first, and you can change your clothes.”
Fang Xing acknowledged, turned and went to the bedroom.
The feeling of wet clothes sticking to the body was uncomfortable, cold, and clammy. After closing the door and taking off his clothes one by one, Fang Xing found some pajamas and put them on. When he finished and opened the door, the bathroom door had already been closed, the light was on, and there was a faint sound of water.
Jiang Zhijin must be taking a shower.
He looked at the bathroom, turned around, went to the kitchen, and boiled a pot of hot water. He poured two cups—one for himself, and another placed on the coffee table. After about ten minutes, the bathroom door clicked open, signaling the end of Jiang Zhijin’s shower. Jiang Zhijin, in home clothes with wet hair, walked out, nodding towards him.
“Go shower.”
When Fang Xing finished showering and came out, half of the hot water on the coffee table had been consumed. Jiang Zhijin came out of the bedroom, already changed back into his outdoor clothes.
Fang Xing was momentarily surprised, “Are you going out?”
He asked while turning to glance out of the window. The rain had slightly eased, but it was still falling. Jiang Zhijin nodded, walked to the entrance, and began putting on his shoes.
“I need to check on a batch of wine I ordered a while ago.”
“Aren’t Gu Xun and the others there?”
“They are, but this batch of wine is quite expensive. After checking it and ensuring everything is fine, we’ll probably have a meal together or something.”
Jiang Zhijin changed his shoes and looked up at Fang Xing, saying, “You stay at home. For lunch—”
He checked the time, 12:40.
“I’ll probably be back late. Order some takeout for yourself, alright?”
“Okay,” Fang Xing looked at him and suddenly said, “Do you want me to go with you?”
“Stay at home. You’ve been in the rain all morning and still want to go out?”
Jiang Zhijin opened the door and casually waved to him.
“I’m leaving.”
The rain hadn’t stopped. When Jiang Zhijin arrived at Cloud Seven, the delivery truck that brought the wine was already parked at the entrance. Zhou Hong was moving the wine into the store in the rain. Gu Xun, together with the wine delivery boss, stood at the store entrance, chatting and laughing. Jiang Zhijin walked over, greeted everyone, and patted Gu Xun’s back.
The wine delivery boss was a straightforward middle-aged man surnamed Zhu. He had been delivering wine to Cloud Seven for two years and was quite familiar with Jiang Zhijin. Zhu laughed, “Gu Xun said you might not come because of something you had to do. I thought Cloud Seven was getting a new landlady!”
Jiang Zhijin couldn’t help but smile, “Why are you bringing up something so far-fetched? Just had some things to take care of at home.”
“It’s time to find a partner. I have a niece, three years younger than you, working in some state-owned enterprise. She’s pretty. How about I introduce her to you?”
Jiang Zhijin smiled and listened to the proposal. He said, “You should introduce her to Gu Xun. He’s more suitable.”
Gu Xun continued with a smile, “Yeah, how come no one is introducing someone to me.”
Mr. Zhu glanced at Gu Xun, “Forget it. You are prettier than my niece.”
Everyone laughed and exchanged a few more jokes at the door. When all the wine was properly accounted for, it was close to 4 o’clock. Jiang Zhijin transferred the final payment, and the boss insisted on treating them to a meal.
It was already unclear whether it was lunch or dinner at this point, but Mr. Zhu was still in good spirits. Once at the table, he ordered some drinks first. Since Gu Xun and Zhou Hong had to watch the store in the evening, Jiang Zhijin didn’t let them drink much, so he had to accompany Mr. Zhu.
The meal lasted until around 7 o’clock, a full three hours. Even though Jiang Zhijin had a good alcohol tolerance, his mind was starting to feel a bit fuzzy when he left.
The rain had stopped, leaving wet streets. With winter’s early dark skies, neon lights reflected on the waterlogged road, creating circles of light and shadow. After Jiang Zhijin, Gu Xun, and Zhou Hong saw Mr. Zhu off, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Zhijin took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
Zhou Hong looked at him with some concern and asked, “Jiang Ge, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Because of the cigarette in his mouth, Jiang Zhijin’s tone was a bit unclear. “You guys go back to the store. I won’t be coming over tonight.”
“Alright, take a taxi back.” Gu Xun helped hail a taxi. “I’ll drive your car back for you tomorrow.”
After getting into the taxi, Jiang Zhijin sat in the back, leaning his head back with his eyes closed. He reported the address to the driver, who glanced at him worriedly through the rearview mirror before slowly starting to drive.
Actually, Jiang Zhijin wasn’t drunk to the point of being unconscious. He had indeed drunk a lot tonight, cycling through red, yellow, and white wines, combined with getting caught in the rain while picking up Fang Xing in the morning. This left his head heavy and a bit throbbing.
This feeling persisted until he returned home, entered the living room, and collapsed on the sofa. Tang Yuan, who had been curled up on the sofa, was startled by him and meowed before quickly jumping under the table.
There was no one in the living room, and Jiang Zhijin couldn’t be bothered to turn on the lights. The coat he wore during the day was still on the sofa. He grabbed it and covered his face.
After a while, he heard the sound of the door opening, footsteps approaching from a distance, and stopping beside him.
“Have you been drinking?”
Fang Xing’s voice came through the clothes.