Orange Storm chapter 37
Tea House
After hanging up the phone, following Jiang Zhijin’s instructions, Fang Xing sent the few photos that Zhai Wan had sent him a few days ago to Jiang Zhijin. After a while, Jiang Zhijin replied: “Delete them all.”
Fang Xing replied with a “Got it.” He swiftly cleared all the text messages. Just as he was about to put his phone back in his pocket, he heard someone call his name from behind.
“Fang Xing.”
He turned around, and Tang Yi climbed up from the stairwell, panting. His hair was disheveled, probably getting up from bed and rushing over without even bothering to tidy up.
He quickly reached Fang Xing’s side, still catching his breath as he spoke, “What exactly happened?”
“Family matters. I… can’t explain it clearly for the time being,” he said.
He didn’t really want to talk about it.
Fortunately, Tang Yi could tell and didn’t press for details. He just patted him on the shoulder.
“Do you need a teacher to help you deal with it?”
“No need.” Fang Xing smiled, “Jiang Zhijin is already here.”
Tang Yi breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good. Jiang Zhijin is reliable. Just focus on preparing for the exam and don’t worry about other things.”
“Yeah, I know,” Fang Xing said.
He didn’t need Tang Yi’s comfort; he genuinely trusted Jiang Zhijin unconditionally now.
Even though he initially thought Jiang Zhijin was both unreliable and irritating…
“Can I leave the school early after finishing the exam later?” he asked.
Seeing Tang Yi looking at him in shock, Fang Xing had to add, “Under the condition that I finish the exam.”
“After all, it’s something related to me, and Jiang Zhijin is alone outside. I’m a bit worried.”
“…Fine, fine.” Tang Yi sighed, looking helpless. “Take the exam seriously. If you do poorly, Jiang Zhijin will have to answer to me.”
Fang Xing chuckled, “Ask him to treat you to a meal.”
“Who cares!” Tang Yi jokingly scolded, then added, “Write a note; I’ll sign it for you right now.”
The afternoon exam started at two o’clock. At quarter to one, the preparatory bell had already begun ringing. Tang Yi handed Fang Xing the signed note, saying, “Hurry into the exam room.”
Afterwards, he couldn’t help but remind Fang Xing, “Do well, okay?”
Fang Xing took the note and put it in his bag, replying, “Rest assured.”
His seat was in the first exam room, the first position. The distribution of test papers began from his seat. Five minutes before the exam, the invigilator raised his voice to remind everyone.
“Take a look at the exam paper first. Only start writing when the bell rings. You must develop the habit. During the college entrance exam, you absolutely cannot start writing before the designated time…”
As the invigilator gave instructions, students around him were flipping through their papers. The sound of rustling paper echoed throughout the classroom. With this background noise, Fang Xing closed his eyes slightly, temporarily pushing away all the people, things, and miscellaneous thoughts in his mind.
Ding ling ling—
The bell signaling the start of the exam rang.
He opened his eyes and began looking at the first question.
Jiang Zhijin drove quickly today. When he arrived at the school gate, it had only been about ten minutes since Fang Xing called him. He didn’t get out of the car immediately, instead, he opened the message Fang Xing had sent him and read it again.
The photos were all of the same person, a young boy wearing hospital clothes. Sometimes sitting, sometimes lying down, he would smile at times and cry at others, his expressions full of pain.
Even when Jiang Zhijin looked at these photos, his chest felt like something was blocking it, making him feel a bit stifled. He didn’t know what Fang Xing felt when he saw these pictures.
After looking at the photos, he put down the phone and looked towards the school gate through the car window.
There was a woman at the school gate wearing a beige woolen coat. Because she had her back to Jiang Zhijin, he couldn’t see her face, only her loosely tied hair at the back of her head. Although she was wearing light-colored clothing, she sat openly on the edge of the flower bed, always facing the direction of the school gate, like a statue.
Jiang Zhijin opened the car door and walked towards her.
At this time, there were almost no people at the school gate. Zhai Wan, fixedly gazing at the school gate, was oblivious to everything around her and didn’t notice someone approaching.
It wasn’t until Jiang Zhijin stood in front of her, looking at her, that he spoke, “Are you Ms. Zhai Wan?”
Zhai Wan then reacted and lifted her head, looking at Jiang Zhijin.
“Who are you?”
Her voice was low, with a soft tone.
“I’m Jiang Zhijin.” Jiang Zhijin paused and continued, “You want to see Fang Xing, right?”
Upon hearing Fang Xing’s name, Zhai Wan’s expression immediately changed. From the numbness she displayed earlier, it turned into a somewhat excited look. She grabbed Jiang Zhijin’s arm tightly, staring at him intently, her tone becoming more intense.
“Do you know Fang Xing? Where is he? Is he in this school?”
Zhai Wan exerted a considerable amount of force on Jiang Zhijin’s arm. Since he hurriedly left, wearing only a hoodie, her nails seemed to have pinched into the flesh of his arm.
But he didn’t react, just looked at Zhai Wan and said, “He lives with me. If you want to see him, let’s find a place to talk first.”
In the private room of a tea house, calming incense wafted through the air, creating a smoky atmosphere between Zhai Wan and Jiang Zhijin. The room wasn’t large, but it had good soundproofing. Closing the door made it seem like a completely different world outside. Jiang Zhijin brewed a cup of Biluochun tea and pushed it towards Zhai Wan.
“Have some tea.”
Zhai Wan didn’t take it, nor did she look at the tea. She just stared at Jiang Zhijin.
“Where is Fang Xing?”
Jiang Zhijin looked at her and said in the same calm tone, “I won’t let Fang Xing meet you.”
Initially, Zhai Wan was willing to sit down and talk with Jiang Zhijin because he mentioned that Fang Xing lived with him. However, when she heard this, her face immediately darkened.
Jiang Zhijin continued, “Whether there’s an affair, someone falling ill, or someone wanting a divorce – none of these matters have anything to do with him. He came here to study. Neither you nor anyone like Fang Chenglin has the qualifications to disturb him.”
His words were quite blunt. Zhai Wan’s chest rose and fell violently. She looked at Jiang Zhijin and said, “Who are you? What right do you have to intervene in this matter?”
“Your affairs don’t concern me,” Jiang Zhijin smiled. “But Fang Xing is with me now, and he is under my protection. No one should bother him with anything.”
“What do you mean by bothering him? It’s about his younger brother—”
“More precisely, it’s the son of you and Fang Chenglin,” Jiang Zhijin knocked on the table twice, interrupting her. “Fang Xing didn’t even know he had such a younger brother.”
“Don’t bring up Fang Xing’s brother when there’s trouble. Did you inform Fang Xing when you gave birth to this child? No, right?”
Jiang Zhijin paused for a moment, then sighed while looking at the woman in front of him.
“You went to the school to look for him before during his exam – oh, thanks for not finding someone during the college entrance exam. He already made his stance clear at that time. Don’t keep bothering him, let him focus on his senior year.”
Zhai Wan took a deep breath, staring at Jiang Zhijin, and said, “What else can I do? My little An is still so young, not even eight years old, and is living in the hospital every day. Haven’t I tried to contact the bone marrow registry? Haven’t I thought of other ways? Every matching attempt has failed, do you know that? Every time, it fails! Every time!”
Zhai Wan wiped her face. Most of her hair fell down, some behind her ears and shoulders, and some messily sticking to her tear-stained face. She looked extremely disheveled, but she didn’t care. She continued talking in a rapid-fire manner.
“What else can I do? My life’s meaning is all on An. People say I’m a mistress or whatever, but why treat my son like this? What did he do wrong?”
Jiang Zhijin patiently listened to her, then asked, “So what did Fang Xing do wrong?”
He looked at Zhai Wan, and his tone remained calm, showing no change.
“You and Fang Chenglin did something wrong, and you feel sorry for yourselves. Then you calmly wait for an eighteen-year-old kid to sacrifice himself to clean up your mess?”
“He is An’s brother,” Zhai Wan repeated the same words. “He has to save his brother.”
Jiang Zhijin almost burst out laughing. He looked at Zhai Wan and suddenly asked, “Does your child know your relationship with Fang Chenglin?”
This sudden question caught Zhai Wan off guard, and she instinctively asked, “What?”
“At the age of seven, just starting elementary school, can he understand the concepts of legal marriage and illegal cohabitation?” Jiang Zhijin continued, “Seven years old, do they understand what it means to have a legal marriage or illegal cohabitation?”
Zhai Wan was stunned for a moment, then asked, “What do you mean?”
Jiang Zhijin recalled the information on the photos Fang Xing sent him earlier and quickly continued.
“His name is An, and he should share your surname, right? Otherwise, he wouldn’t be registered – Zhai An?”
“What are you trying to—”
“He is in the hospital. Leukemia, probably in the hematology department. The hospital gown in the photos is embroidered with Chaocheng Hospital, and the bed is labeled 113.”
Jiang Zhijin looked at Zhai Wan, maintaining the same calm tone, “Chaocheng Hospital, Hematology Department, Bed 113. Zhai An, seven years old, right?”
Zhai Wan stood up abruptly, her voice slightly breaking due to excitement.
“What are you trying to do?!”
“Just learning from you. Since you always like to guess Fang Xing’s school, class, and address one by one.”
Jiang Zhijin stared at Zhai Wan, “I just want to tell you that finding someone is indeed very simple. If you can find Fang Xing, I can find your son.”
So shameless, Jiang Zhijin.
Jiang Zhijin looked at Zhai Wan, who was trembling with anger, and sighed in his heart, scolding her silently.
Of course, Jiang Zhijin would never actually go and find a sick child, but he had more than enough to scare Zhai Wan, who treated her son as her life. Sure enough, Zhai Wan was visibly trembling and couldn’t say anything for a while.
“Don’t disturb Fang Xing. I won’t bother Zhai An,” Jiang Zhijin said. “Adults make mistakes, and adults should deal with the consequences. Don’t bring children into this. Do you really think no one will care if you go crazy in front of a child?”
Jiang Zhijin looked at Zhai Wan, suddenly smiled, but there was no smile in his voice.
“If you think like this, I have no way to change it. But rest assured, if you really go crazy, I’ll definitely be crazier than you. Give it a try if you don’t believe me.”