Try Again chapter 8
Welcome Jiang Jiang
After Jiang Lin stepped out of the café, Deng Yi withdrew her gaze from him and nudged her brother Deng Feng with her elbow: “Ge, you’re really mixing business with pleasure.”
Deng Feng lowered his head to save Jiang Lin’s phone number and said absently, “How is this mixing business with pleasure? I’m just hiring someone normally.”
“Normal my foot,” Deng Yi called him out. “You signed the contract without even letting him try out. Are you sure he can handle it?”
Deng Feng put his phone back in his pocket and turned back to the sink to continue washing the avocado and apple he hadn’t finished washing before.
“He used to work as a waiter in a fast-food restaurant, and our job doesn’t require much skill.”
Deng Yi scoffed but chose to let her brother have some face instead of continuing to argue.
“Forget it; it’s good to have someone to help, so I don’t have to come here every day to be your free labor.”
“You think you’re here to help me?” Deng Feng laughed, placing the washed avocado aside in the clean sink, giving his sister a sideways glance. “I thought you were here to help Minglun.”
“You and he are both bosses; what’s the difference in who I help?”
Deng Yi patted Deng Feng on the back, deciding not to bicker with him anymore.
Meanwhile, Jiang Lin, unaware he had become a topic of discussion, sat back in his car. Once his emotions settled, he pulled out the contract and carefully reviewed its terms.
He still couldn’t understand why he had impulsively gone for an interview earlier; he was sure Ji Minglun would be angry when he found out.
However, last night Ji Minglun had shown resistance towards him but was still willing to care for him, especially when he drove him home. Although the reasons he came up with didn’t hold water, he couldn’t think of any other possibilities, especially since he heard the driver’s pickup voice prompt on Ji Minglun’s phone.
Focusing on the signature in the lower right corner of the contract, he thought about how this guy Deng Feng was about the same age as Ji Minglun and was the other owner of 【Chaka】. He figured Deng Feng would tell Ji Minglun about his interview, but even if he did, Ji Minglun wouldn’t have a say, since the contract was already signed.
After neatly stacking the thin papers and putting them in his bag, Jiang Lin put on his sunglasses and headed to the residential complex where Ji Minglun lived. As he drove into the underground parking, he noticed Ji Minglun’s parking space was empty, indicating he wasn’t home.
After leaning back in his seat for a while, he decided to go back and do his own things.
Once at home, he took a shower, began preparing the materials needed for his next paper, ordered takeout from a nearby congee shop for dinner, and opened Ji Minglun’s WeChat window.
As he contemplated what to send that would elicit a response, the person he was thinking about had already been lost in thought for quite some time, staring at his own chat window.
Throughout the day, Ji Minglun had been immersed in group assignments at the university library and only closed his notebook around 7 p.m., tidied up, and returned to his car.
By that time, dinner had already passed, but he didn’t feel hungry; he just felt tired from using his brain all day. Especially when he picked up his phone and saw a slew of unread notifications on the WeChat interface, it made him feel more frustrated.
He pressed his thumb against the screen to scroll, and when he finally found Jiang Lin’s name among the “vast sea of people,” he didn’t know what to do next.
After dropping Jiang Lin off at his building last night, he turned around and left. Although he acted indifferent in front of Jiang Lin, he had been pondering the question Jiang Lin had asked all the way home.
Would they have the chance to meet again?
Hearing that made him want to ask Jiang Lin what he was thinking—did he really believe they could just act as if nothing had happened and continue to be good friends?
Yet, the words almost spilled from his lips but he swallowed them back.
In truth, whether Jiang Lin said yes or no, it wouldn’t change his feelings, so why should he make himself uncomfortable and put Jiang Lin in a difficult position?
After staring at the screen all day, his eyes were starting to feel heavy, and just as he was about to swipe left to go back, he saw Jiang Lin’s name at the top of the screen change to “The other party is typing.”
Startled, he stared at those words, guessing what Jiang Lin might send him. But after waiting for a while, the status changed back to Jiang Lin’s name, and for several minutes afterward, it didn’t change again.
Putting his phone in the storage compartment by the car door, Ji Minglun pressed his hands against his temples, which were throbbing slightly.
After getting home, he made himself a pack of instant noodles to fill his stomach. Before going to bed that night, he saw a WeChat message from Deng Yi saying that Deng Feng had hired a new employee that day, and they could start working tomorrow, which meant she could be free now.
“Chaka” was a business that Ji Minglun and Deng Feng started together, each contributing half of the funds. Deng Feng chose a profession that was much easier than Ji Minglun’s, so the management of the store was largely handed over to Deng Feng. Ji Minglun never involved himself in small matters like hiring staff.
He was too tired to talk that night and simply replied with “Got it” before switching on Do Not Disturb mode and going to sleep. The next day, he woke up to find that Deng Yi had sent several more messages.
He didn’t listen to Deng Yi’s voice messages and instead searched through his unread messages for Jiang Lin, realizing Jiang Lin still hadn’t contacted him. He put down his phone and pulled the blanket up, trying to sleep some more. Unfortunately, his nap didn’t go well, and he dreamt of Jiang Lin for the first time in a while, the content of the dream being absurd.
In the dream, Jiang Lin had taken off the sweatpants he had borrowed and was standing there in front of him without anything on underneath, only the pants resting at his knees.
When he woke up, Ji Minglun was drenched in sweat, not to mention the embarrassing situation below. Frustrated, he got up and walked into the bathroom to take a shower, then washed his underwear clean before hastily eating a pack of crackers and heading out.
The group assignment this time was somewhat challenging, and it took him three days in the library to finish it. During these days, he hadn’t participated in any activities, not even going to “Chaka.” He even turned down Deng Yi’s invitation to dinner. Other than the computer screen and piles of documents, only one thing could distract him.
After he sent Jiang Lin home that night, five whole days passed without Jiang Lin contacting him again.
Turning his phone face down on the table, Ji Minglun leaned over his arms and gradually calmed down amid the frantic rock music blasting through his headphones, then lifted his head to continue researching.
After packing up his things that evening, he stepped out of the library and was surprised to find it was drizzling outside.
Holding his bag over his head, he ran back to where he had parked. He didn’t answer the call from Deng Feng halfway there and returned the call only after he had settled into his car.
Deng Feng asked if he had time that evening. A new part-time employee had joined the café, and Zhu Zhu had just scored 7 points on her IELTS again. Everyone suggested going to an izakaya to celebrate.
Ji Minglun initially didn’t want to go, but Deng Feng insisted they had ordered a big cake from a cake shop next to Xiamen University and mentioned that he hadn’t seen anyone in a few days, urging Ji Minglun to come celebrate.
Unable to refuse Deng Feng’s persistent requests, he agreed. When he arrived at the shop, he found the cake was a combination of two different flavors. The left side was a cheese cream cake with a cat design, inscribed with “Zhu Zhu is awesome, long live Zhu Zhu,” while the right half was a white forest style with just “Welcome Jiang Jiang” written on it.
The name “Jiang Jiang” inevitably reminded him of Jiang Lin. Glancing outside at the light rain, his thoughts began to wander again until a staff member reminded him that his order was ready for pickup.
He took the cake and opened his umbrella to return to the car.
Driving from Xiamen University to Shapowei only takes about 20 minutes, but it was raining, and several roads were congested. By the time he arrived, it was nearly 9:30.
Deng Feng was waiting outside the café with an umbrella, while Zhu Zhu and Deng Yi stood under another umbrella. Hearing the sound of the car, everyone turned to look. Deng Yi was the first to smile and wave, pulling Zhu Zhu toward his car. Deng Feng also nodded at him. Just as he unlocked the car door and watched Deng Yi and Zhu Zhu get in, a tall figure emerged from the café.
Deng Feng stepped forward, holding the umbrella over the person’s head. Once the person took the umbrella from him, Deng Feng pulled out a remote control for the electronic lock and lowered the electric rolling door.
As Ji Minglun recognized the back of that figure, he froze. After Deng Yi got into the passenger seat, she laughed and said, “What are you staring at?”
He didn’t answer, his gaze fixed on that silhouette until Deng Feng took the umbrella and turned to walk over. Only then could he see Jiang Lin’s face clearly through the car’s lights.
Jiang Lin was also looking at him in the driver’s seat, their eyes meeting across a pane of glass. Before he could examine Jiang Lin’s expression closely, Deng Feng grabbed Jiang Lin’s arm and stepped aside to avoid a puddle in front of them.