Fang Xing’s Candy, Do Not Touch
Not long after Jiang Zhijin entered, Tang Yi rushed up from downstairs. Probably due to being a few minutes late, he was sweating and didn’t even have time to greet Fang Xing in the hallway, marching directly into the classroom.
During parent-teacher meetings, students were not allowed to stay in the classroom. After a few minutes, other students in the class also came out. Seeing Fang Xing in the hallway, Xu Hang approached, putting his hand on his shoulder and rallying everyone else.
“Let’s go, let’s play ball!”
Fang Xing glanced back at the classroom but still followed the majority to the basketball court.
Only the usual group of students played basketball. It was the big afternoon, and enthusiasm was hard to come by. After half a game, a few boys lazily tossed the ball around. Xu Hang, shooting hoops, asked Fang Xing, “Who was the one helping you with the parent-teacher meeting today?”
Fang Xing replied, “As I told you last time, it’s my—”
He paused slightly, and Xu Hang immediately added, “Oh, your brother.”
“Yeah,” Fang Xing confirmed.
Xu Hang continued, “I was talking to my mom, and he came in, saying, ‘Hey handsome, can I come over?’ Damn, he’s quite handsome.”
Fang Xing imagined the scene and the tone Jiang Zhijin used, unable to suppress a smile. “He can be quite handsome sometimes.”
The parent-teacher meeting had a similar routine. The homeroom teacher began, subject teachers discussed their respective subjects, and the homeroom teacher concluded. Occasionally, a few students’ parents would have face-to-face conversations. Eventually, it all wrapped up.
Jiang Zhijin hadn’t put away Fang Xing’s things. During the meeting, he glanced at the physics notes, the set of correctly solved problems, the pen case, the half-drunk osmanthus-flavored Pepsi in the upper left corner of the table, and a plastic-wrapped candy of an unknown brand beside it.
Jiang Zhijin, feeling a bit bored, picked up the candy, tore open the packaging, and put it in his mouth. The next moment, he made a clicking sound.
Lemon flavor, sour to the point of bitterness, a must for refreshing the mind. Jiang Zhijin remembered smelling this scent on Fang Xing one night, a faint lemon fragrance.
The larger-scale discussions concluded, and teachers began one-on-one conversations with parents. When Tang Yi came down, Jiang Zhijin hadn’t finished the candy yet. Tang Yi, looking at Jiang Zhijin with disdain, said, “Eating candy during the parent-teacher meeting?”
“It’s Fang Xing’s.” Jiang Zhijin crushed the candy, disposing of the evidence. “What’s up, Teacher Tang?”
“Nothing, just that Fang Xing did well this time. Please ask his parents to encourage him to continue, not to be arrogant, and to look at areas where he made mistakes,” Tang Yi explained.
“He’s not that kind of person.” Jiang Zhijin showed a faint smile. “I’ve never seen him being arrogant.”
Tang Yi stared at him, smiling, “Alright, he’s not your son anyway.”
At this point, Jiang Zhijin thought of Fang Xing’s dad.
In the end, Fang Xing’s father agreed to let Jiang Zhijin handle the parent-teacher meeting. Jiang Zhijin did feel a bit embarrassed because he didn’t really have the authority to replace Fang Chenglin, but he spoke up anyway.
Not only did he speak up, but he also had a strong attitude.
Because he promised Fang Xing, and he really didn’t want to disappoint him.
Tang Yi, as the homeroom teacher, was busy as a bee, and he was soon called away by other parents. Some parents had already started leaving, and Jiang Zhijin felt like there wasn’t much to do. He gestured to Tang Yi and left the classroom.
The parent-teacher meeting was only held this Saturday afternoon, and the school day would end when the meeting concluded. After going downstairs, Jiang Zhijin called Fang Xing. The call was answered after a few rings, and Jiang Zhijin said, “It’s over. Where are you?”
“At the basketball court.” Fang Xing had just finished playing and was slightly out of breath. “I’ll be right over.”
After two or three minutes, he came over from the basketball court and went back upstairs to pack his things. The two of them slowly walked toward the school gate.
On this way out, Jiang Zhijin spoke first, “Sorry for being late today.”
Fang Xing looked at him with a calm tone, “You’re here, aren’t you?”
Looking at him, Jiang Zhijin’s face showed a bit of a smile. He was about to continue when Fang Xing suddenly turned his head and gave Jiang Zhijin a glance.
Then, with great certainty, he said, “Did you steal and eat my candy?”
Before Jiang Zhijin could respond, Fang Xing lowered his head to smell it, then said with absolute certainty, “A lemon scent.”
“…What do you mean steal and eat?” Jiang Zhijin hadn’t expected the taste of the candy to linger for so long, looking quite nonchalant. “Didn’t you leave it on the table?”
Fang Xing nodded, asking in return, “So, leaving it on the table means you can eat it?”
Jiang Zhijin nodded and asked, “Next time, just put up a sign. Write: Fang Xing’s candy, do not touch.”
Fang Xing turned his head to look ahead and couldn’t help but laugh.
It wasn’t that he wanted to argue with Jiang Zhijin over a piece of lemon candy that could be found anywhere in the supermarket; he was just bored. He found it interesting to engage in these trivial matters with him. Since there was nothing else to do, why not say something interesting?
Jiang Zhijin observed for a moment and felt that Fang Xing’s mood seemed fine. So, he spoke again, “There’s something I want to tell you.”
Fang Xing didn’t say anything, waiting for him to continue.
“When I came, I mentioned going to the city center, meeting someone—”
He paused for a moment, “Your dad is here.”
Then Jiang Zhijin saw Fang Xing first freeze for a second, seemingly digesting the meaning of his words, and then his expression visibly cooled. The relaxed state he had a moment ago disappeared in an instant.
Damn, Jiang Zhijin thought, this doesn’t look good.
Seeing that they were about to reach the school gate, Fang Xing asked, “Where is he?”
His tone didn’t reveal any emotions. Jiang Zhijin sighed inwardly and answered, “At the school gate— he happened to be passing by on a business trip, taking a flight tonight, so he wanted to come and see you.”
Fang Xing didn’t say anything more.
When they reached the school gate, Jiang Zhijin’s car was parked in the roadside parking space. The window was half-open, and Fang Chenglin was sitting in the passenger seat, visible to Fang Xing.
Fang Chenglin was currently talking on the phone; he kept talking until he turned his head and saw Fang Xing and Jiang Zhijin. He quickly said a few words, hung up the phone, and got out of the car.
Before reaching them, Fang Chenglin took a few steps towards Fang Xing and called out, “Xiao Xing.”
Fang Xing didn’t respond, just nodded.
However, Fang Chenglin seemed quite happy. He incessantly said, “I passed by Shaojiang during my business trip, deliberately stopped for half a day, thinking I must come and see you. Heard you ranked first in your grade, well done. I always knew that no matter where you are—”
Fang Xing interrupted him, “Do you have something to say?”
Fang Chenglin immediately stopped. He looked at Fang Xing, as if his entire being was shrouded in a sense of disappointment, and his expression seemed uncomfortable.
Finally, he smiled at Fang Xing, “Nothing, just worried about you, wanted to see how you’re doing.”
Fang Xing didn’t want to see him like this, turned his head, and stared at the row of trees on the side of the road, speaking in a calm tone.
“It’s fine.”
More and more parents and students left together. Jiang Zhijin timely interrupted the conversation between the two.
“Let’s find a place to talk,” Jiang Zhijin suggested.
In the end, the three of them found a nearby milk tea shop. The second floor was empty, and they ordered some drinks, choosing a secluded spot.
Fang Xing hadn’t said a word all the way. He was unprepared for Fang Chenglin’s sudden appearance at the school gate, and he wasn’t ready for Jiang Zhijin to have met Fang Chenglin either.
For him, Shaojiang was a place to escape from all the mess in Chaocheng City, and Jiang Zhijin, as the person he was most familiar with here, became the dividing line between the past and the present.
With Fang Chenglin’s appearance, this dividing line was broken.
He had to face the annoying, messy, and nauseating family debts again.
Jiang Zhijin didn’t sit down. He nodded slightly to them, saying, “You guys talk. I’ll go downstairs for a smoke.”
Turning to go downstairs, he lightly pressed Fang Xing’s shoulder.
His movement was subtle, as if it was unconscious, but Fang Xing immediately detached himself from the emotions a moment ago, looking up at Fang Chenglin.
The two remained silent for a few minutes, and finally, Fang Chenglin spoke first.
“I am sorry, Xing.”
Fang Xing looked down at the lemon water in front of him.
“It’s my fault. I didn’t expect things to turn out like this, making you have to transfer schools because… staying in the hospital all the time, making a mess of everything. Really, I am truly sorry.”
After a long time, Fang Xing spoke, “You owe an apology to my mom, not me.”
Fang Chenglin nodded, smiling bitterly, “Yes, I owe an apology to your mom. I owe apologies to too many people.”
“Were you in the hospital all this time?”
Seeing Fang Chenglin nod, Fang Xing remained silent for a long time before asking, “How is he?”
Fang Chenglin was stunned for a moment before realizing who he was asking about. He covered his face, controlled his emotions for a while, then put his hand down, trying to make his tone sound as normal as possible.
“Not good. The doctor said if conservative treatment doesn’t work, they’ll start arranging chemotherapy.”
“Oh.” Fang Xing remained silent for a long time before responding.
Fang Chenglin didn’t want to linger on this topic for too long, “Don’t worry about these things. Study well, if you don’t have enough money, tell me. By the way, your 18th birthday is next month. Do you want to come back home—”
“No.” Fang Xing didn’t let him finish, immediately rejecting Fang Chenglin.
“… Alright, we’ll talk about it later.”
After saying that, silence fell between them again. The time spent in silence was several times longer than the conversation. In the end, Fang Chenglin looked at the time, sighed, and stood up.
“I have to go; the flight is at six. If there’s anything, make sure to contact me. Study hard, you hear?”
Fang Xing didn’t see him off. But he heard Jiang Zhijin and Fang Chenglin talking vaguely downstairs, probably Fang Chenglin thanking Jiang Zhijin or something specific that he couldn’t make out.
After a while, Jiang Zhijin came upstairs and sat opposite him.
Fang Xing was ready for Jiang Zhijin to ask something, like why he gave his dad a cold face, or maybe not ask anything at all, just comfort him and tell him not to be upset.
However, Jiang Zhijin just glanced at the time and said, “It’s past four. Where should we go?”
Fang Xing asked, “What?”
“We can’t just sit here, right? Should we go home?” Jiang Zhijin suggested, “But it’s a bit early to go home now.”
Fang Xing looked at him, unsure of what he was about to say. Jiang Zhijin just smiled.
“Let’s go. To reward you for achieving first place in the grade, I’ll take you somewhere.”