Orange Storm chapter 43
Puppy Love
The traveling Fang Xing was not much better than a frog, sounding a bit silly. But with Jiang Zhijin’s voice full of laughter, Fang Xing couldn’t help but laugh along.
“Didn’t you ask me to send you messages when I arrive?”
“I didn’t ask you to send so many messages. Just take a picture when you arrive.” Jiang Zhijin continued with a question, “Sharing the room, right?”
“Yeah.” Fang Xing’s roommate hadn’t returned from the balcony yet. He planned to wait for the other to choose the bed first and temporarily sat on the nearby sofa.
“I’m staying with a classmate from the next class.”
“Get along well. Your temper—”
“What temper?” Fang Xing immediately countered.
“…That temper.” Jiang Zhijin laughed. “You’re usually silent, but when you’re upset, you bite people.”
“You haven’t even seen one of my classmates…” Fang Xing originally wanted to talk to Jiang Zhijin about Tan Zhuo, but he stopped halfway. “Forget it.”
Even if Tan Zhuo was an idiot, Fang Xing couldn’t talk behind his back; that was his basic principle. Although he only said half, Jiang Zhijin quickly understood what he meant. It seemed there was some conflict with a classmate, and he didn’t worry about Fang Xing getting the short end of the stick, but he still asked.
“I thought cool guys like you would strut around the school, and no one would dare mess with you. What happened?”
Fang Xing chuckled and replied, “Nothing. No one has provoked me yet.”
Although Tan Zhuo constantly tested his bottom line like a lunatic, it hadn’t reached the point where Fang Xing would actually resort to physical violence.
“You’re quite something.” Jiang Zhijin chuckled. “Rest well, and don’t keep sending photos.”
He paused and smiled, “I’m in the middle of a business discussion, and my phone has been ringing. They probably think I’m doing it on purpose.”
Fang Xing was taken aback by the comment and immediately stood up in embarrassment, “Oh, then you carry on, and I’ll hang up.”
“Okay,” Jiang Zhijin replied.
After ending the call, the timely meow from Tang Yuan made itself heard, sounding extremely impatient, wanting to pull on Jiang Zhijin’s pants. Jiang Zhijin snapped out of his thoughts, tore open the Meow Fresh Bag he had been holding, and poured it into the cat bowl.
“Alright, eat.”
Tang Yuan immediately pounced over, eating so enthusiastically that its entire head seemed to bury itself in the bowl. Jiang Zhijin, dressed in casual clothes, squatted beside it, watching the cat eat heartily.
Today, he did indeed had a business discussion, but it was scheduled for the afternoon. He took a short nap, intending to take a shower before going out. However, Fang Xing’s messages kept coming in one after another.
Jiang Zhijin replied to two messages, but for the third, he didn’t know what to say or whether he should respond.
The content was normal, and the photos were ordinary, but Fang Xing was definitely not the kind of person who would send several messages on his own initiative. In the beginning, he didn’t even want to save Jiang Zhijin’s number.
He said he was busy and asked Fang Xing not to send any more messages, just wanting to interrupt Fang Xing’s somewhat intrusive behavior.
Jiang Zhijin rubbed Tang Yuan’s head. Tang Yuan, dissatisfied with being disturbed during its meal, finally looked up at Jiang Zhijin with a displeased meow.
“What do you think your brother is thinking?” Jiang Zhijin sighed. “Seventeen or eighteen years old, with such heavy thoughts.”
Tang Yuan buried its head again. Jiang Zhijin retracted his hand, stood up, and prepared to change clothes before heading to Cloud Seven.
The contact from the wine supplier came, and they had received a batch of excellent red wine. Gu Xun called Jiang Zhijin and told him to go take a look if he was interested. Jiang Zhijin went to the supplier’s warehouse, inspected the wine, discussed the order, and by the time it was almost dinner, he had a meal with the supplier.
This time, as he drove, Jiang Zhijin didn’t drink. After finishing the meal and dispersing, he took out his phone and checked the time; it was not yet eight o’clock.
WeChat had been quiet all afternoon, and there were no messages.
Quite obedient, Jiang Zhijin chuckled, but after laughing, he felt a bit stifled. Actually, in the past, he would have sent a message to Fang Xing at this time, asking if he was doing well and when the competition was.
But in the end, he put his phone away.
He understood that he should distance himself from Fang Xing, but he was a bit unsure if deliberately keeping a distance was the right thing to do. Especially since Fang Xing was quite a sensitive kid, and if he noticed him distancing himself too often, he would definitely sense it.
Now, it seemed like there was a thread between them. If it was too far, the thread would snap, but if it was too close, it would become entangled, turning into a mess.
Jiang Zhijin sighed. He temporarily put aside these thoughts and drove the car, heading towards Cloud Seven.
It was past ten o’clock at night. Fang Xing had finished two sets of targeted exercises, reviewed his notes, and in the hotel room, he temporarily used the TV cabinet as a desk. There was only one table in the room, and he gave it to the male student he shared the room with. The other student was very grateful and kept thanking him.
For Fang Xing, where he did his homework didn’t make much of a difference. Once he entered the state of studying, it was challenging to distract him. However, if he moved away from that state during break times, he would easily think about other things.
For example, from the time he hung up the phone around noon until now, Jiang Zhijin hadn’t sent a message.
It should be past ten o’clock now, and the business discussions should have concluded. Jiang Zhijin should be at Cloud Seven now… Fang Xing wondered if Cloud Seven was busy tonight, but with Gu Xun and Zhou Hong, it should be manageable.
Should I send a message to Jiang Zhijin?
It’s still quite early, past ten, and Jiang Zhijin should definitely be awake. But I’ve sent too many messages today… What did he call me, oh, Traveling Fang Xing.
Why is this person so unpredictable? Fang Xing smiled.
He quickly spun the pen in his hand, contemplating whether to send a message to Jiang Zhijin. Before deciding, his phone rang twice, signaling a WeChat notification.
He immediately picked up his phone and glanced at it; it was from Qi Xiang.
It had been quite a while since Qi Xiang had contacted him. Initially, he would occasionally ask a question or chat a bit, but later, probably worn out by exams and revision, he stopped posting on Moments, and his WeChat name changed to “just being alive is good.”
Qi Xiang: Hey? Can I ask a question?
Fang Xing: Sure.
The other party immediately sent a picture of a chemistry question. After Fang Xing read it, instead of providing the answer directly, he explained the basic train of thought and sent it back to Qi Xiang. Qi Xiang responded with a “got it.” After a while, a WeChat call came in.
The male student sharing the room was still working on problems. Fang Xing picked up his phone, went to the balcony, and closed the balcony door.
“Last time, in the joint exam, our school didn’t surpass Wuzhong. We ranked second in the city overall, and it probably drove Lao Yang and the other teachers crazy. They’ve gone mad, adding extra classes and tests like crazy.”
Lao Yang was their grade director and vice principal. Qi Xiang’s voice indeed sounded exhausted, probably nearly driven insane.
“As if that wasn’t enough, some idiot spread the rumor that our poor performance was due to too much teenage romance. Security guards patrol the field with flashlights during evening self-study, hunting down couples. It’s driving me insane.”
Fang Xing laughed for a while on the other end of the phone and asked, “What about you and your girlfriend?”
Fang Xing remembered that Qi Xiang had a girlfriend from the liberal arts class next door. The two of them would often eat in the school cafeteria, take walks, and study together when they had free time.
“We broke up. Too busy to even catch our breath, let alone be in a relationship.” Qi Xiang sighed. “She’s in the class next door, and it felt like we were in a long-distance relationship. You, on the other hand, you’ve got a precedent to learn from; I’ve never seen you like anyone.”
Fang Xing thought for a moment. From childhood to now, he seemed to have never liked anyone. When others discussed girls they might like, he couldn’t even define the type he might be interested in.
Everything was vague until he met Jiang Zhijin.
Qi Xiang said, “I’ve figured it out. With just over two hundred days left, let’s focus on surviving until the college entrance exam. Everything else is trivial. The value of love is even higher. If for the sake of Tsinghua and Beida, both can be discarded.”
“Oh.”
When Qi Xiang got worked up, he would talk a lot. Fang Xing chuckled at the vast night outside the balcony and asked, “So, did you pursue your girlfriend first back then?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you pursue her?”
“…Why are you asking this?”
“Because I’m thinking of starting a teenage romance.” Fang Xing said.