Orange storm

Jiang Zhijin didn't know how long Fang Jie had been hugging him, 2 minutes or 3 minutes... Anyway, the time was not short, and some passers-by had already looked this way secretly, probably guessing in their hearts what the relationship between the two was.

"Almost got Fang Xiaojie." Jiang Zhijin was a little helpless, "It's very cold."

The temperature at night was almost below zero, and the wind was quite strong. Jiang Zhijin felt that he was about to be blown stiff.

Fang Jie immediately let go of his hand as if waking up from a dream, and took two steps back to look at Jiang Zhijin.

"You—" Fang Jie's voice was a little hoarse as he was so shocked, "Why are you here?"

"Isn't today your birthday? 18 years old, it's quite important." Jiang Zhijin said.

Oh yes, today is my 18th birthday.

From such a long distance, Jiang Zhijin drove here just to celebrate his birthday.

Fang Jie's eyes became hot, he tilted his head slightly, and exhaled lightly, not wanting to be seen by the other party.

Jiang Zhijin saw it, but didn't say anything, just smiled: "Hurry up, what to eat, I'm exhausted after driving for three hours."

"Anything is fine." Fang Jie said, "You can eat whatever you want."

"Your birthday or mine." Jiang Zhijin sighed with a smile.The weather is too cold, and it would be too stupid for two people to stand at the intersection to blow the wind all the time. He continued: "Don't eat hot pot, didn't you just eat it at noon, can you order?"

"Okay." Fang Jie took out his mobile phone and called the team leader teacher to report. He is usually very reliable, and the teacher didn't say anything. He just reminded him to be back before 10:30 and will check the bed.

After hanging up the phone, the two got into the car.Jiang Zhijin looked around the app, and finally picked a nearby private restaurant with good reviews.

There were quite a lot of customers in the restaurant at seven or eight o'clock, and the waiter took the two of them to find a seat by the window.Fang Jie turned to look at Jiang Zhijin after the waiter walked away after ordering.

"How do you know what hotel I'm in?"

"Ask Tang Yi."

"Why didn't you tell me when I called you this afternoon?"

Jiang Zhijin slightly raised his eyebrows, looked at Fang Jie and said, "Do you know what a surprise is, Fang Xiaojie?"

"I hadn't left the city when you called in the afternoon." Jiang Zhijin said, "You didn't answer the phone when we arrived. I thought I went out to celebrate with my classmates."

"No, I didn't tell them that today is my birthday." Fang Jie said.

Jiang Zhijin stared at Fang Jie for a while after hearing the words, and finally sighed slightly.

"Shouldn't children of your age take birthdays very seriously? Especially 18 years old, a coming-of-age ceremony. At least go out for dinner with friends or something." Jiang Zhijin said.

Fang Jie smiled: "For no reason, it's a bit strange to tell others that I celebrate my birthday today."

So he didn't say anything to anyone, he took the exam in the morning, went to bed in the afternoon, and if Jiang Zhijin didn't come in the evening, he could just order a takeaway, and then call his mother, and the day would pass as usual—if Jiang Zhijin didn't come.

But Jiang Zhijin came. For Fang Jie, the 18th birthday, which could have been passed at will, has a little more meaning.

"This is Brother Cool." Jiang Zhijin said.

This person has never been serious for long, Fang Jie nodded without changing his face: "It's pretty cool to drive for three hours to celebrate someone's birthday."

The counterattack was quite fast, and Jiang Zhi relished it for a long time.

The restaurant is in an old Shanghai style, with wooden tables, candlesticks and a handful of daisies on the table, the soft lighting illuminates Jiang Zhijin's smiling eyes.Fang Jie looked at the person sitting opposite and laughed too.

Because it was already a bit late, the dishes they ordered were quite light, but the taste was really good. After the two of them left the restaurant after eating, Jiang Zhijin looked at the time, it was a quarter past nine.

"Send you back first." Jiang Zhijin said.

Now it is not as crowded as when the two went to eat, Jiang Zhijin followed the navigation and sent Fang Jie to the hotel entrance.When the car stopped, Fang Jie turned to look at Jiang Zhijin: "You—"

He originally wanted to ask Jiang Zhijin where he lived at night, but saw Jiang Zhijin turn off the car and turn on the lights in the car.

"Wait." Jiang Zhijin said.

After finishing speaking, Jiang Zhijin turned his head and leaned slightly, walked around the back of the chair, and took out a cake box from the back seat.

The box is a red and white paper box, quite small, about five or six inches.The top cover is transparent, revealing a little bit of the cake inside.A small one, piled with white cream and strawberries.

"Damn..." Fang Jie was stunned for a moment, "I...didn't see it just now."

"This observation ability." Jiang Zhijin smiled. "I originally wanted to bring it to a place to eat, but so many people are worried about your embarrassment, so take it home and eat it yourself."

Jiang Zhijin glanced at Fang Jie with a smile: "Your mother asked me to buy it for you, remember to call her later."

Fang Jie paused, and reached out to take the cake.

"it is good."

When Fang Jie took the cake, Jiang Zhijin took out a small navy blue palm-sized box from his pocket and handed it to Fang Jie.

"birthday present."

Fang Jie was stunned.

He didn't expect Jiang Zhijin to prepare a gift for himself, and he glanced at the other party in astonishment, forgetting to reach out to take it for a while.Jiang Zhijin gave a "tsk", and reached out to open the box.

In the light yellow headlights, Fang Jie saw a jade safety buckle inside, worn with red thread, lying quietly in the box.

"I got this safety button when I was eight years old, and my grandma took me to the temple to ask for it," Jiang Zhijin said.

"At that time, my parents had just left for three or four months, and I fell ill. It was quite serious. Some people said that it was because something happened to my family. I couldn't suppress the evil, and I was about to be seduced by the king of Hades."

Jiang Zhijin smiled when he said this.

"Actually, I was sick. The medical conditions in rural areas were not good at that time, and I hadn't seen it for a long time. My grandma had no choice but to believe this, so she took me to the temple and asked for a safety deduction."

He touched the safety clasp inside the box.

"It's real jade, but the quality isn't that good, and the head isn't enough. I remember it's pretty cheap."

Fang Jie's eyes then fell on the safety buckle in the box.The safety buckle is a small one, tied with a red string, it is a pendant, sapphire color, not very transparent, but perhaps because of the long time, it reveals a little warm breath.

"I remember at that time, the monk in the temple led me to recite the "Ksitigarbha Sutra" a hundred times to this jade pendant."

Fang Jie looked up at Jiang Zhijin for a moment, with a little astonishment on his face, Jiang Zhijin couldn't help laughing seeing his expression.

"Really, at the beginning he read one sentence and I read one sentence, but then I became familiar with it. I read it three times a day for more than a month. That scripture seems to have more than 1 words—"

Jiang Zhijin sighed: "During that time, I wanted to cry."

Fang Jie couldn't help laughing, and Jiang Zhijin also smiled.

"The illness got better after that. In fact, it should have been better. I have been taking medicine every day for more than a month. But my grandma thinks it is the credit of this thing, so I keep it with me all the time."

What Jiang Zhijin didn't say was that after his grandma passed away, all he had left was these things, and soldiers were not allowed to wear these things, so he took a box and put the safety buckle in it, and kept it there.

"Didn't I get injured when I was a soldier? When I went on a mission, I encountered smuggling at the border. They made their own bullets, and I was shot in the abdomen. The doctor said I was lucky, and the spleen was pierced through a few millimeters more. Then I suddenly remembered This string of safety buckles is tied, I opened it and looked at it, I don’t know when the rope broke, they said it saved me from disaster—”

Jiang Zhijin suddenly laughed while talking: "Hey, am I promoting feudal superstition?"

Fang Jie also smiled: "It doesn't count, it's just... a coincidence."

"It's quite a coincidence." Jiang Zhijin said.

In fact, he doesn't believe in strange powers and gods, but to Jiang Zhijin, this inexplicable luck and coincidence is more like a secret connection, allowing him to think about the past and his family.

"It's too far."

Jiang Zhijin closed the box neatly, and handed the box to the co-pilot Fang Jie with the safety buckle.

"I just want to say that although the jade is not very good, I have worn it for so long anyway, and I have read scriptures on it for more than a month. Now I give it to you as an 18th birthday present."

Jiang Zhijin paused.

"Just as if I read the Ksitigarbha Sutra a hundred times for you, I hope you are safe and sound," he said.