Try Again chapter 7

 Part-time 

Standing on the corner platform of the second floor, Jiang Lin watched as Ji Minglun’s car drove away, disappearing around the bend at the end of his sight.

When he asked if they could meet again, Ji Minglun had responded with a long silence that left no space for further thoughts, making him realize that there couldn’t be any other answer.

After leaning against the platform for a while, his phone rang. Once he answered, he heard Lu Zhe’s cheerful voice: “Lin, I just got home. Sorry, my phone was off during the day.”

He replied, “It’s fine, as long as you’re home.”

“Why does your voice sound hoarse?” Lu Zhe asked, puzzled. “Did you catch a cold?”

“No,” Jiang Lin cleared his throat. “Just a bit tired.”

“Are you going to sleep?”

“Yeah, I’ll sleep soon.”

“Then I won’t keep you for long. By the way, did you meet him? Did you reconcile?”

Listening to the only person who knew the situation express concern, Jiang Lin stared at the empty space where Ji Minglun had parked earlier, remaining silent.

He heard a sigh from the other end of the phone. Lu Zhe comforted him, “Don’t lose heart; you were prepared for this from the start.”

Smiling faintly, he looked up at the starless night sky, “I’m not losing heart.”

“That’s good. How have you been getting along these past few days?”

As the only friend who saw through his sexual orientation, Lu Zhe had helped him a lot with his pursuit of Ji Minglun after returning home. Although he couldn’t talk about it with anyone else, he really wanted someone to chat with at that moment, so he continued talking while walking up the stairs. When he got inside and turned on the air conditioning, he heard Lu Zhe ask, “Does your stomach still hurt?”

“Much better.”

Jiang Lin leaned back on the sofa. The fabric of his sweatpants rubbed against a sensitive area, reminding him that he was wearing Ji Minglun’s pants without any underwear.

His fingertips tugged at the fabric on the inner thigh, and he felt his face inexplicably heat up.

“I think everything is going as expected,” Lu Zhe analyzed. “Think about it; you’ve been cold to him for a year. He’s just been using words to block you, but when you really needed him, didn’t he come right away?”

Closing his eyes, Jiang Lin said, “I know, that was my mistake. He can’t forgive me that quickly.”

“You can’t blame it all on yourself,” Lu Zhe still leaned in his favor. “You’ve done well; at least now you can respond to his feelings. Compared to me, he’s very lucky.”

Even though Lu Zhe tried to speak positively, Jiang Lin knew that Ji Minglun might not need him right now, nor his response.

“You have two months; don’t give up easily.”

Before ending the call, Lu Zhe encouraged him one more time. Jiang Lin curved his lips, laid back on the sofa, and stared at the light on the living room ceiling.

Lu Zhe was saying all this because he cared, but in truth, even without Lu Zhe’s reminder, he didn’t want to give up.

Getting up, he walked into the bathroom; he wanted to take another shower and then sleep. As he took off his sweatpants, his fingers paused on the elastic waistband as he looked at himself in the mirror.

These sweatpants were an old style; he had seen Ji Minglun wear them before and had worn many of Ji Minglun’s clothes himself. It seemed that their past relationship wasn’t as “straight” as it had appeared.

Thinking about the bold actions he took today, he wondered how Ji Minglun would feel. He wore his sweatpants without underwear; should he return them?

His mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts, to the point where he realized the embarrassing situation when he took them off. Recently, his impulses had become more frequent. He raised his hand to turn off the light, not wanting to see himself in the mirror, and relaxed once under the sound of the shower.

The next day, he slept until noon. Waking up still feeling tired, he ordered takeout from a porridge shop, ate, and continued to sleep. By evening, he woke up again to have another bowl of porridge before going back to sleep.

He had been back in the country for almost a week, and his body still hadn’t adjusted to the time difference. Even taking melatonin didn’t help. It wasn’t until today that he slept soundly, waking up completely around four in the morning.

A good amount of sleep restored his body; although his stomach was still a bit uncomfortable, he felt much better mentally.

He got up, washed up, and went to a nearby breakfast shop for some salty porridge and buns before taking a taxi to Huandao Road to walk on the wooden plank road, enjoying a long-awaited sunrise.

When the dazzling morning sun shone on the sea, he took a few pictures and posted them on his Moments without any captions, but he did set a location.

This post was only hidden from Jiang Jianchen. Once it was posted, many people liked it, with comments asking when he returned to Xiamen. Even his middle school class monitor sent him a WeChat message asking if he was free in two weeks since they were organizing a class reunion.

By almost noon, he still hadn’t received the likes or comments he most wanted to see.

He didn’t know if Ji Minglun hadn’t woken up or if he had seen it but didn’t respond. He didn’t want to think about the second possibility. He touched the Corgi quietly lying by his feet with his finger, saying, “Cheese, should we go back?”

The Corgi, with its soft, shiny yellow and white fur, lifted its head, licked his finger with its tongue, and looked at him with its big, round eyes, letting out a “woof.”

He walked toward the car while holding the dog leash. Once in the car, Cheese lay down in the passenger seat. Whenever he turned his face during the drive, he could see Cheese staring at him, sticking out its tongue.

He had brought Cheese home when he was twenty. After raising it for less than a year, he decided to go abroad for graduate studies. Initially, he planned to temporarily leave it at Ji Minglun’s house, but unfortunately, they had a falling out, and he could only send Cheese to a pet shop for boarding, checking in via video call each week to see how it was doing.

Maybe it was the pet resembling its owner; Cheese was much quieter than the average Corgi and looked particularly obedient. At first, when Ji Minglun raised it with him, he worried that such a quiet dog might have issues, so he took it to a pet hospital for a psychological test, which confirmed that Cheese was just naturally quiet, allowing him to relax.

Pushing open the door to the pet shop, he handed Cheese to the shop owner. Cheese kept looking back at him as it walked away, and that gaze made his heart ache, but he could only stand there.

His eczema had been recurring for almost a year. The doctor said it was due to his body not adapting to the environment in Los Angeles and that the stress intensified it. He advised him to relax and avoid any potential allergens, including pets.

After stepping out of the pet shop, he took off his disposable medical gloves and drove to Shapowei.

The bright noon sun beat down, and waves of heat rolled visibly in the air. He walked to the entrance of the “Chaka” café and peered inside, realizing Ji Minglun still wasn’t there. He went in and found a corner table by the window to sit down.

A beautiful girl in a short plaid skirt approached him with a menu and said, “What would you like? We also have light meals here.”

He took it, glancing through the menu filled with greasy fried foods or cold salads. His stomach wasn’t well, so he couldn’t eat those. He replied to the girl, “A cup of hot cocoa, please.”

Now it was July, and hardly anyone ordered hot drinks in the café. The girl returned to the counter and poked the tall guy who was busy with his head down with the menu, saying, “Ge, grab a new bag of cocoa powder for me.”

Deng Feng took a bag of skim cocoa powder from the highest shelf and handed it to Deng Yi. After Deng Yi prepared the hot cocoa, he was just about to bring in a cup of iced smoothie when Deng Yi handed him a cup, saying, “Take this with you, to table 5.”

Deng Feng took it, first heading to table 1 to deliver the iced smoothie, and then approaching table 5, pausing slightly before setting down the cup.

Jiang Lin was sitting sideways to the window, staring blankly outside. His profile, illuminated by the bright light from the window, appeared soft, with fair, delicate skin. A slightly longer strand of hair curled against his ear. Deng Feng’s gaze slid from the corner of his eye down to the collarbone at his neck, pausing slightly at the prominent Adam’s apple before he looked away.

“Hello,” Deng Feng said with a smile. “Here’s your hot cocoa.”

Jiang Lin snapped back to reality, glancing at Deng Feng’s handsome face, nodding casually before returning to look out the window. Deng Feng returned to the counter, and over the next several minutes, he frequently glanced towards table 5, only to be blocked by Deng Yi with a tray during the last look.

When Deng Yi moved her hand away, he saw the mischievous smile on his sister’s face: “That guy looks pretty good, huh?”

Deng Feng didn’t respond to her comment. Deng Yi didn’t take it seriously either; she was about to ask him what time the bread would arrive in the afternoon when they were interrupted by a voice at the door.

Both siblings turned to look, realizing someone was there for a part-time server interview.

The job posting at the café had been up for about half a month, and around ten applicants had come in, but either they were not suitable for the role or their schedules didn’t match.

Deng Feng led the girl who came for the interview inside and chose a table in the corner for her to sit down, starting a conversation.

There was an empty table between her and Jiang Lin’s position, so their conversation occasionally drifted over. The girl was not quite satisfied with the salary and said she would consider it further. Deng Feng stood up, shook her hand, and escorted her outside before returning to the counter to get busy. After about ten minutes, a person stood in front of the counter. When Deng Yi looked up, she heard him say, “Can I have an interview, please?”

Deng Yi turned back to shout “Ge,” and Deng Feng looked over, surprised, saying, “You want to interview for a part-time job?”

“Yes,” Jiang Lin said seriously, looking at him. “I just happen to be on summer vacation, and my schedule is pretty free.”

Deng Feng washed his hands, pointed to table 5 where Jiang Lin was sitting, and smiled, “Let’s go sit and chat.”

Jiang Lin followed him over, and they sat down facing each other. Deng Feng extended his hand, and after Jiang Lin shook it, he revealed a bright smile: “I’m Deng Feng, ‘Feng’ as in maple leaves. What do you go by?”

“Jiang Lin.”

“Which ‘Lin’?”

“The ‘Lin’ of cold and piercing.”

Deng Feng chuckled: “That’s a nice name; it suits you.”

Jiang Lin didn’t pursue the topic further and asked, “Is there a contract for this part-time job?”

“Of course,” Deng Feng thought he was concerned about job security and quickly explained, “Let me go over the salary and job responsibilities with you. If you’re okay with everything, we can sign the contract right away, and you can start your shifts tomorrow.”

Jiang Lin nodded and attentively listened to Deng Feng describe the job details. He said, “I have no issues with what you’ve mentioned. I used to help a friend with a part-time job as a cashier in a Western-style fast-food restaurant while I was abroad.”

“That’s great,” Deng Feng said cheerfully. “I’ll show you around the store, and if you feel comfortable, we can go to the office to sign the contract.”

“Sure.”

Jiang Lin readily agreed. After taking a tour with Deng Feng, they entered the back office, where Deng Feng pulled out a part-time contract and handed it to him.

After a quick glance, Jiang Lin signed it without hesitation. It was the first time Deng Feng had seen someone so decisive, skipping discussions about work hours and salary. However, he said nothing. After Jiang Lin finished, Deng Feng signed it too and stamped it with the store’s official seal.

As he handed a copy of the contract to Jiang Lin, Deng Feng wanted to remind him to bring a copy of his ID tomorrow. However, he noticed Jiang Lin staring intently at the signature and stamp on the contract, seemingly delighted, his whole demeanor brightening up.

Author’s note:

Boss Ji: ????