Orange Storm chapter 58
The Person You Like Is Waiting for the Red Light
Jiang Zhijin drove from Cloud Seven to Shaojiang High School, quickly parked the car, and rushed to the administrative building. Following Tang Yi’s instructions, he arrived on the third floor, where Fang Xing was waiting outside the office.
Jiang Zhijin walked briskly to Tang Yi and asked, “What happened?”
“Conflict with a classmate, ended up in a fight,” Tang Yi looked helpless. “It seems the other party said something about Fang Xing behind his back, and he happened to overhear it. I don’t know the details; this kid is surprisingly tight-lipped.”
“Is he okay?” Jiang Zhijin inquired.
“Fang Xing is fine; the other party has some issues,” Tang Yi nodded towards the office behind him. “He’s inside; you can go in first.”
Without further questions, Jiang Zhijin entered the room.
The grade director was temporarily absent. In the room, there were several students and their parents. Fang Xing stood closest to the door, and when he heard it open, he immediately turned to look. Seeing that it was Jiang Zhijin who entered, he stood up straight, looking at him.
Since Tang Yi’s phone call, Fang Xing had been waiting for Jiang Zhijin to come over. Now that he was really standing next to him, he felt a bit nervous.
After all, from childhood to now, this was the first time Fang Xing had been called to with a parent due to a fight. And the first time it happened, it was Jiang Zhijin who was called.
He felt somewhat embarrassed in front of Jiang Zhijin.
Jiang Zhijin walked up to him and whispered, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Fang Xing replied.
Jiang Zhijin quickly scanned him from head to toe, finding no obvious injuries. Fang Xing’s clothes were neat, and he indeed seemed fine.
Jiang Zhijin sighed in relief, a bit of tension releasing. Then he turned to look at the others.
Standing next to Fang Xing was a tall boy, with slightly dark skin, looking somewhat familiar. After recalling for a moment, Jiang Zhijin remembered him; this was Fang Xing’s desk mate, whom he had seen during the parent-teacher meeting and mountain climbing activities. Next to him stood a middle-aged woman, frowning in frustration as she occasionally scolded a few words.
Standing opposite Fang Xing, a bit further away, were two boys. One was tall and sturdy, lowering his head as if lost in thought. The other looked small and wore glasses, with noticeable bruising on his face, giving him a somewhat terrifying appearance. However, Jiang Zhijin could tell that it was only surface injuries.
The one with glasses had been sneakily peeking at Jiang Zhijin since he entered. When their eyes met, he quickly averted his gaze.
Jiang Zhijin withdrew his gaze.
“Did Teacher Tang tell you outside just now?” Fang Xing hesitated for a moment, lowering his voice. “They said something nasty behind my back, and I happened to overhear it.”
Fang Xing pursed his lips. “Then I might have acted a bit impulsively.”
Causing Jiang Zhijin to stand here, facing a group of teachers and parents.
“It’s okay,” Jiang Zhijin heard the subtle panic beneath Fang Xing’s calm exterior. He placed his hand on his shoulder and gently pressed.
“We’ll talk about it later.”
Not long after, Liu Jie’s father rushed in. He carried a briefcase and seemed to have come directly from work. After confirming that his son was not injured, he scolded the other party for being foolish.
The parents from the other three sides were all present. They waited for nearly an hour before the door was pushed open again.
A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties entered. He was thin and frail, looking fragile. In the cold winter, he was only wearing short sleeves and wrapped in a cotton-padded jacket. His clothes seemed worn, not very clean, with cuffs and trouser legs stained with cement dust and yellow soil, making him appear somewhat timid.
The man cautiously looked around the room until he saw Tan Zhuo. He hurriedly walked over, checking the wound on Tan Zhuo’s face, muttering softly, “Oh, oh, what happened? Does it hurt?”
If just a moment ago, Tan Zhuo alone appeared expressionless, now, with his father present, his expression could be described as disgusted.
While avoiding his father’s attempt to check the wound, Tan Zhuo impatiently said, “Don’t touch!”
The man immediately dared not touch and recoiled, standing beside his son.
It seemed only at this moment he realized that everyone in the room was looking at him. After a moment of stupefaction, a somewhat humble smile appeared on his face. Slightly hunched, he greeted everyone with nods as if saying hello. Seeing Jiang Zhijin and Liu Jie’s father, he quickly took out a pack of five or six yuan Hongmei cigarettes from his pocket, wanting to offer them.
Tang Yi, who came in behind him, quickly spoke, “Tan Zhuo’s dad, there’s a rule in the school, no smoking, okay?”
Tan Zhuo’s chest rose and fell sharply, his face alternating between pale and blue. He turned to his father, saying impatiently, “Just stand there and don’t embarrass me, okay?”
Upon hearing this, the father hastily retracted the cigarette, not daring to say a word.
“Tsk.” Fang Xing, hearing Jiang Zhijin mutter next to him, whispered, “Your classmate seems to have never been beaten before.”
Fang Xing: …
Tang Yi, who was nearby, obviously heard it too, and gave Jiang Zhijin a glare, signaling him not to speak recklessly. Then, he turned to Tan Zhuo with a furrowed brow, “Tan Zhuo, talk nicely to your father.”
The man hurriedly said, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Tan Zhuo, on the side, remained silent.
When all the parents were present, after a few minutes, Director Gao returned to the office. In front of everyone, Tang Yi briefly explained the situation. Probably finding the term “spreading rumors about dating” inappropriate, he only used the term “slandering classmates behind their backs” without going into further details.
After Tang Yi finished speaking, Director Gao put down his teacup and continued, “The reason for inviting all parents here is to hope that together, we can manage the education of the children well. Let them understand the seriousness of their actions and firmly eliminate such behaviors…”
Director Gao spoke alone for nearly 5 minutes, finally stopping with a somewhat unfulfilled expression.
“Do any parents have something to say?”
Liu Jie and Xu Hang didn’t actually get involved, and there wasn’t much for their parents to say. Tan Zhuo’s father moved his mouth but didn’t speak. In the midst of silence, Jiang Zhijin spoke first.
“Fighting in school is indeed wrong. I apologize on behalf of Fang Xing. I’ll take care of any medical expenses.”
Fang Xing was startled for a moment, turning to look at Jiang Zhijin, who wasn’t even making eye contact with him, speaking in a calm tone, his hand still resting on Fang Xing’s shoulder without letting go.
“Fang Xing did go a bit too far, but I’m also curious about what those two students said to make him resort to violence. Fighting is wrong, and spreading rumors and slandering classmates behind their backs should also be unacceptable, right?”
Liu Jie’s father couldn’t help but say, “Maybe it’s just a joke between classmates.”
“He finds it funny, Fang Xing finds it funny, that’s what we call a joke.”
Jiang Zhijin turned and smiled at him, “Spreading rumors online and forwarding them over 500 times can lead to legal consequences in real life, should we just brush students spreading rumors as a joke? It doesn’t seem appropriate.”
While Jiang Zhijin was verbally apologizing, every time someone mentioned Fang Xing, he immediately responded with ten times more words. Tang Yi was almost suffocated by Jiang Zhijin’s obvious protection of this child and quickly intervened.
“All right, all right, after all, the kids are in the same class and parents often meet at the parent-teacher conferences. Let’s try to understand each other.”
With persuasion, the parents finally reached a resolution. Director Gao continued, “Whether it’s slandering classmates behind their backs or fighting, it violates principles. The school has decided to give each a punishment—”
Tang Yi immediately coughed and called out, “Director Gao,” indicating that he wanted to talk privately for a moment.
In fact, there was no other reason. When it came to disciplinary actions in the first and second years of high school, the punishment could be severe or lenient, and sometimes the school might consider helping you get rid of it. However, receiving disciplinary action in the third year of high school was indeed not worthwhile. Especially for Fang Xing, who had just achieved third place in the entire province, earning an extra 10 points for the college entrance exam. His student qualifications were under review, and if he faced disciplinary action, it could lead to the revocation of his award.
Not just at Shaojiang High School, but this time Fang Xing achieved the third place in the entire province of Shaojiang, making it a serious matter.
However, openly violating school discipline would be inappropriate to ignore without punishment.
Finally, two people entered from outside, Director Gao. After taking a sip of tea, he continued the discussion.
“After the school’s discussion, it has been decided that starting from now, the four of you will be suspended from classes for three days. You will be taken home by your parents for reflection, write a 2,000-word self-critique, have your parents sign it, and submit it to me when you return to school.”
After leaving the office building, Xu Hang’s mother went to fetch the car. Fang Xing apologized to Xu Hang, who had just accompanied him to the restroom, for unnecessarily involving him.
Xu Hang quickly waved his hand, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll just treat it as having a break. It’s not a big deal, at most, my mom will nag at me a bit. I’m used to it.”
He scratched his head and whispered, “Your brother was pretty cool just now.”
Fang Xing smiled and turned to look at Jiang Zhijin.
Jiang Zhijin first asked Tan Zhuo’s father if they wanted to go to the hospital together. Before the man could speak, Tan Zhuo expressed his strong disapproval.
“No need for your hypocritical concern!”
Tan Zhuo’s father quickly waved his hand to indicate there was no need. Jiang Zhijin noticed Tan Zhuo’s assertive manner when he yelled at people, showing no signs of any issues. Jiang Zhijin promptly added Tan Zhuo’s father on WeChat.
The man used a smartphone that seemed somewhat dated and had a slow response when opening apps. Jiang Zhijin patiently waited, guessing that the man felt a bit awkward. He smiled and said, “It’s okay, phones tend to be slow in cold weather.”
Once the WeChat contact was added, Jiang Zhijin put away his phone and said to the man, “If you have any medical expenses, just let me know on WeChat, and I’ll transfer the money to you.”
After a pause, he added, facing the man, “Regardless, Fang Xing was indeed at fault. I apologize.”
Fang Xing witnessed the entire process from a distance.
With a three-day suspension, Fang Xing went back to the classroom to pack his things.
Review materials, exam papers, exercise books, notebooks…
As the class was about to start, Fang Xing didn’t want to disturb others. He packed up his things, stuffed them into his backpack, and left the classroom under the watchful eyes of everyone.
After getting in the car and leaving the school, Fang Xing glanced at Jiang Zhijin, who was driving, hesitating about saying something.
At least, he wanted to apologize to Jiang Zhijin. He must be feeling quite frustrated today…
“Don’t say sorry to me,” Jiang Zhijin said.
Fang Xing was startled when he heard Jiang Zhijin speak and was silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, he burst into laughter.
Jiang Zhijin really… knew everything.
“Okay,” Fang Xing replied, then asked, “Aren’t you curious about something?”
“Sure,” Jiang Zhijin said. “I originally wanted to ask why you were fighting, but then I realized your classmate does seem quite deserving of a beating.”
Fang Xing laughed for a while, and Jiang Zhijin joined in. When the laughter subsided, Jiang Zhijin continued, “I also wanted to ask what they actually said that made you resort to violence – can you tell me about it?”
“Sure,” Fang Xing smiled. “They said I was dating a girl from our class.”
…Jiang Zhijin turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.
“Are you?”
“…No,” Fang Xing suddenly became nervous and instinctively sat up a bit, starting to explain.
“They were talking nonsense. During the physics competition, several of us were reviewing together, and that girl was one of the classmates who reviewed the problems with me.”
“I knew it was nonsense,” Jiang Zhijin couldn’t help but laugh. The traffic light turned red ahead, and Jiang Zhijin stopped the car, watching the countdown seconds ticking away.
“Why are you so nervous?” he asked.
“I’m not nervous,” Fang Xing said.
“Oh,” Jiang Zhijin said.
“…I really am not nervous.” Fang Xing turned to look at Jiang Zhijin, took a deep breath, and said softly, “I’ve said it before. I like boys. The person I like—”
All the car windows were closed, and it was very quiet inside the car. The red light in front kept jumping in seconds, and the red light reflected on the windshield, constantly flashing. Fang Xing felt that his heart was also beating with it, one after another.
The person I like is a guy. The person I like is ten years older than me, a cool guy… The person I like is you.
It seemed ready to come out, yet also felt like no matter how it was said… it was a bit hard to say.
What would Jiang Zhijin’s reaction be when he said it? Continue to evade, pretend not to understand, get angry, or maybe even scold him…
Fang Xing didn’t want Jiang Zhijin to be unhappy.
At this moment, he heard Jiang Zhijin beside him suddenly laugh very softly.
“The person you like is waiting for the red light.”
Jiang Zhijin looked at the flickering red light ahead and slowly spoke.