The First
When Jiang Zhijin saw Li Xingyan looking over, the surprise on Li Xingyan’s face turned into a smile as he walked towards them.
“What a coincidence, meeting here of all places.”
Li Xingyan hadn’t been to Cloud Seven for some time, and unexpectedly, they didn’t run into each other at the bar but instead at a barbecue stall. Jiang Zhijin nodded at Li Xingyan. “Quite a coincidence.”
“I just finished work and invited my colleagues to grab something to eat.” Li Xingyan gestured towards three or four men and women selecting barbecue outside the door, then his gaze shifted to Fang Xing.
“You’re…”
Li Xingyan looked at the person sitting across from Jiang Zhijin.
Fang Xing still wore a blue sweater. He was almost as tall as Jiang Zhijin, and they locked eyes for a few seconds.
Li Xingyan took a quick glance and quickly assumed their relationship. Moving his gaze away, he joked, “No wonder I never had a chance.”
… What does that mean?
Fang Xing glanced at Li Xingyan, and Jiang Zhijin, who was beside him, immediately interrupted him with a clearing of his throat.
Li Xingyan paused, not quite sure about the relationship between the two, so he quickly changed the topic. “Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Cloud Seven. Is Gu Xun and the others doing well?”
“They’re doing fine.” Jiang Zhijin replied, “Just a few days ago, they mentioned that you haven’t come in a while.”
Li Xingyan smiled, “Work’s been too busy. I’ll come over in a few days for sure.”
After a few casual remarks, the people who were outside ordering had all come in. Seeing that Li Xingyan was talking to someone, they didn’t call him and found a table to sit down, ordering a few cans of beer.
Li Xingyan took a glance and said to Jiang Zhijin, “I’ll go over there.”
Jiang Zhijin nodded, “Sure.”
The table they chose was in the last row opposite Fang Xing’s table, and they were diagonally across from each other, a bit far apart. Laughter and conversation from the other table faintly reached them. Fang Xing heard someone call the person who had just spoken to him “Director Li.”
He looked at Jiang Zhijin across from him, who was currently focused on playing with his phone. By the sound of it, he had opened the game “Happy Elimination” again.
“Who was that just now?”
“Li Xingyan.” Jiang Zhijin didn’t even lift his head, “A customer from Cloud Seven.”
“Oh.”
The aroma of grilled skewers wafted in, and the table diagonally across from them was drinking. Fang Xing remained silent for a moment, unable to help looking at Jiang Zhijin, then whispered, “What did he mean by that sentence just now?”
Jiang Zhijin dragged on his phone, and his indifferent voice accompanied the sound effects, “What sentence? Which one?”
“Tsk,” Fang Xing frowned and stared at him, “Are you pretending to be dumb here?”
Jiang Zhijin smiled, exited the game, and also looked up at him.
In their gaze, he replied, “Nothing, just a private matter between him and me. If you want to know, I can tell you.”
Fang Xing looked at him for a while and finally said, “Forget it.”
He just felt that Li Xingyan’s sentence was a bit strange, as if something had happened between him and Jiang Zhijin. However, since Jiang Zhijin said it was a private matter, he didn’t plan to ask further.
It wouldn’t be polite, and it wouldn’t respect the person.
Jiang Zhijin seemed to anticipate Fang Xing’s response, smiled, and didn’t bring up the topic again.
During the slightly awkward moment, their ordered food arrived. Two steaming plates of grilled skewers with dipping sauce, and the owner placed the iron plate on the table with a hearty voice.
“Everything’s here. If you need anything else, just let me know!”
Jiang Zhijin thanked him, and gestured to Fang Xing, “dig in.”
Fang Xing picked up a skewer of small melons and took a bite. Jiang Zhijin, familiar with this shop, assuredly knew that the taste was indeed good.
He picked a skewer of ribs and asked, “Is it good?”
Fang Xing nodded and asked, “Do you come here often?”
“I used to come with Zhou Hong and Gu Xun. The owner of this shop is also a veteran.”
Only then did Fang Xing remember that Jiang Zhijin was also a veteran.
He joined the army at eighteen and left at twenty-three. This period should be long enough to be promoted to sergeant. After finishing a skewer of small melons, he asked, “Why did you leave the army back then?”
Seeing Jiang Zhijin looking up at him, he added, “If it’s still a private matter, forget it.”
Jiang Zhijin couldn’t help but smile, “No, I got injured during a mission and had to retire.”
… Fang Xing felt like he had said a lot.
He hesitated whether to apologize to Jiang Zhijin for asking too much or felt that it was a bit deliberate, so he didn’t know how to start. Jiang Zhijin tapped the table a few times.
“What are you spacing out for? Eat your skewers.”
The tone was neither tight nor angry, and there was no hint of annoyance. Fang Xing breathed a sigh of relief.
When the two of them had eaten almost enough, Jiang Zhijin asked the owner to grill another portion to take back to the bar for Gu Xun and Zhou Hong.
When they left, Li Xingyan’s table hadn’t finished eating yet. Jiang Zhijin didn’t go up to say goodbye, and he only received a WeChat message from Li Xingyan when he got home.
【Li Xingyan】: I’m sorry, I seemed to have caused you trouble today.
Jiang Zhijin subconsciously looked back at the bathroom, where Fang Xing was taking a shower.
Actually, he didn’t mind Fang Xing knowing about his affairs. When Fang Xing asked him earlier, he hesitated for a moment, just feeling that there was no need to tell a high school kid these private matters. However, if he insisted on asking, he would still answer.
But Fang Xing didn’t ask further.
He replied, “It’s okay.”
【Li Xingyan】: I thought that was your boyfriend.
Jiang Zhijin didn’t know how to introduce the relationship between himself and Fang Xing. Relatives didn’t seem right, and they weren’t family members. The kid who temporarily stayed at the neighbor’s house before…
Tsk, there’s no need to explain so much to outsiders.
So he just replied with a “No.”
Li Xingyan, being a person well-versed in various situations, didn’t inquire further. He just replied, “Oh, maybe I still have a chance?”
Jiang Zhijin glanced at his phone and decided not to respond further. At that moment, Fang Xing came out after finishing his shower, saying, “I’m done washing up.”
“Alright.” Jiang Zhijin got up from the sofa and walked into the bathroom. “You have exams tomorrow, so get some rest and sleep early.”
“Okay.” Fang Xing responded.
It was already midnight, and in preparation for the exams, Fang Xing decided to spend another hour reviewing. When he entered, he picked up the bag that had been thrown on the sofa and intended to take it back to his room.
Just then, Jiang Zhijin’s phone, placed on the coffee table, rang.
Fang Xing swore he didn’t do it on purpose; he just subconsciously looked up when he heard the message notification sound.
Jiang Zhijin’s phone was already dimmed because of a new message. A solitary WeChat message hung on the screen, with just a few words that Fang Xing could easily read.
【Li Xingyan】: Rest early, sweet dreams.
Fang Xing hesitated for a moment, realizing that this might not be appropriate, and quickly averted his gaze.
It wasn’t until he entered his room and sat down at the desk that he absentmindedly opened his chemistry notes, thought about it. He found himself questioning whether it was normal for two guys to wish each other sweet dreams.
After a few minutes of contemplation, he felt that he might be overly sensitive.
Everyone has their own habits and ways of speaking. Just because he didn’t send messages didn’t mean others couldn’t. Besides, this was Jiang Zhijin’s business – private matters.
As he thought about this, he slowly exhaled, clearing his mind of all the chaotic thoughts, and focused on reviewing.
The two-day exams, covering Chinese, mathematics, physics and chemistry, and English, were more or less the same nationwide. Morning and evening self-study continued as usual, but for some, as long as there were no classes during the day, it felt like a relaxing time. The parent-teacher meeting would come after the exams.
This created an atmosphere of relaxation throughout the entire senior year.
In the exam room where Fang Xing was assigned, this atmosphere became even more pronounced.
The entire exam room was unusually relaxed. Some people hadn’t written a single word after half an hour, staring at the exam paper with their thoughts somewhere else. Some people began sleeping as soon as they entered – the male classmate in front of Fang Xing even snored loudly while taking a nap during the math exam, and the exam invigilator had to wake him up three times.
As a result, Fang Xing became a unique case – as the last and least ranked in the last exam session, he was the only one who was seriously working on his test paper. The invigilator circled around him for nearly ten laps and finally decided to sit in the empty seat behind him.
Fang Xing didn’t mind; once he entered a state of concentration, he was not easily disturbed by external factors.
The two days of exams passed quickly. With not much homework for the week, Fang Xing stayed at home, and Jiang Zhijin, apart from going to Cloud Seven at night, didn’t bother going out much.
Until Sunday night, when Jiang Zhijin had something to attend to at the bar, Fang Xing went to school alone by bus.
The road was a bit congested, and when he arrived at the classroom, it was almost time for class. However, everyone wasn’t seated at their desks; instead, they crowded around the blackboard at the back of the classroom. The noise was chaotic, and when he put his bag on his seat, he glanced over there. Coincidentally, he made direct eye contact with Xu Hang in the innermost part of the crowd.
Seeing Fang Xing, Xu Hang widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Damn!” Then, with his trumpet-like voice, he roared, “Desk mate, you’re awesome! First in the grade!”
Fang Xing was momentarily stunned, and he walked over to that side. Due to Xu Hang’s exclamation, the crowd shifted slightly outward.
Fang Xing didn’t get too close and used the gap to see clearly the list of A4 papers taped to the back blackboard.
The list began with bold black letters – the results of the first monthly comprehensive test for the senior year. Under the title, the first line started with his name.
Fang Xing, Chinese 122, Mathematics 139, English 136, Physics and Chemistry 271, Total 668, Rank 1 in the grade.