Try Again chapter 14

Swollen Up

When Ji Minglun’s message was sent, Jiang Lin was already lying on the pillow, asleep, and his hiccups had finally stopped unconsciously.

That night, he dreamt of what had happened during the day. However, in the bathroom, when Ji Minglun saw him hiccuping uncontrollably, he didn’t let him go to the stand to rest but instead pressed him against the wall and kissed him for a long time. Until he was short of breath and almost couldn’t keep up, the hiccups naturally stopped.

The next day, looking at the simple four words on WeChat and thinking of the dream he had, a wave of shame and annoyance crept up his cheeks.

Ji Minglun’s concern for him was at most that of an ordinary friend, yet he fantasized about such things in his dream. If Ji Minglun knew about it, Jiang Lin wondered what he would think of him.

In the afternoon, when he arrived at the café, Deng Feng was fiddling with a projector.

There was a wide white wall in the café, which used to have three landscape paintings hung together, but they had all been taken down and placed in the corner, replaced by a quite large projection screen.

He tied on an apron to help Zhu Zhu with orders, and not long after, a burst of laughter came from the guest area. Zhu Zhu went to take a look and called him over to see.

Deng Feng had already set up the projector, and the thick rural-style curtains were drawn over the surrounding windows, making the light in the café dim, but the images on the screen became very clear, showing a variety show.

The customers in the shop were all watching. Deng Feng chatted with them for a while, then returned to the food preparation area and heard Zhu Zhu say that this idea was really good, asking how he thought of it.

Not long ago, Deng Feng visited a friend’s café, and it was decorated like this. Although it wasn’t particularly novel, the atmosphere and feeling of the café felt completely refreshed. He wanted to try it, so he discussed it with Ji Minglun.

Ji Minglun also thought it was feasible, so he chose a popular projector model, which took about a week to arrive.

While Zhu Zhu and Deng Feng were chatting about the projector, Jiang Lin was focused on preparing orders and didn’t say anything. Deng Feng walked over and asked, “Deng Yi said you were hiccuping all day yesterday; are you okay?”

Jiang Lin didn’t look up and vigorously crushed ice and lemons in a jar: “I’m fine now.”

“I’ll do it.”

Deng Feng reached out to take over, and Jiang Lin gave it to him, turning to the nearby cabinet to grab what he needed. Since they were close, and Jiang Lin wasn’t wearing his baseball cap, Deng Feng caught a faint, familiar scent.

After hesitating for a moment, Deng Feng asked, “Are you using sandalwood and cedar shampoo too?”

Jiang Lin paused momentarily as he closed the cabinet door, looking a bit unnatural: “Yeah.”

“What a coincidence,” Deng Feng said with a smile, “Minglun uses this one too.”

Jiang Lin didn’t respond further and took two dragon fruits to wash by the sink. He usually didn’t talk much, and Deng Feng didn’t think much of it, continuing to crush the ice and lemon slices in the jar.

As the café’s projector continued playing the variety show, the business improved more than before in the afternoon. The three of them were too busy to keep up, and in the evening, Deng Yi came to help, and around seven, Ji Minglun also arrived with two big bags from Dongtang.

The two met in the café. Ji Minglun still didn’t take the initiative to speak to Jiang Lin, who was busy with a dozen orders. It wasn’t until Deng Feng came over to remind Jiang Lin to take a break and eat that he noticed.

Jiang Lin was focused on the several iced coffee smoothies that needed whipped cream and said without looking up, “I’m not hungry yet; let Zhu Zhu and Deng Yi eat first.”

Deng Feng turned to call Zhu Zhu, and after a while, while Jiang Lin was confirming the order details at the register, someone walked up to him and whispered, “You should go eat; I can handle it here.”

The voice was deep and rich, and when they spoke closely, the warm breath tickled Jiang Lin’s ear. He turned to look at Ji Minglun, who didn’t meet his gaze. Ji Minglun stretched his arm to block him from behind, smiling broadly at the customers outside, asking them to repeat their request.

Jiang Lin had said he wasn’t hungry, but in reality, he genuinely wasn’t very hungry; he had eaten quite a bit at lunch. Remembering that Ji Minglun had just said he hadn’t eaten either, he tugged at the hem of Ji Minglun’s T-shirt: “Let me handle it; I’m not hungry. You go eat first.”

Ji Minglun ignored him, tearing the receipt for the customer, then glanced back at him: “You have a stomach condition. If it acts up, the café will lose a helper.”

After Ji Minglun said this, he continued to attend to the next customer. Jiang Lin watched him for a moment and had no choice but to head toward the break room.

When he pushed the door open, he saw Deng Yi and Zhu Zhu sitting around a round table, enjoying their meal. When they saw him come in, Deng Yi patted the chair beside her: “Sit down quickly! Minglun bought Dongtang’s private dishes today; you’re in for a treat.”

Zhu Zhu handed him a box of rice and a pair of chopsticks: “Yeah, we’re really lucky today. But is there something good going on with Minglun? He’s treating us for two days in a row.”

Zhu Zhu hadn’t been there for yesterday’s basketball game but had heard that Ji Minglun treated everyone to a buffet. Today was another meal. Looking at the twelve rich dishes on the table, Zhu Zhu, who hadn’t eaten enough at lunch, had stars in her eyes.

Before going abroad, Jiang Lin often ate at Dongtang. He picked up a piece of fried mantis shrimp with his chopsticks. Although he hadn’t tasted it for over a year, it still had the same flavor as before. Just as he was about to pick up the braised abalone and pork, Deng Yi said, “This abalone isn’t cooked well.”

Zhu Zhu, chewing on a piece of abalone meat, puffed her cheeks and asked, “What’s not cooked well?”

Deng Yi looked somewhat disdainful: “The abalone isn’t fresh enough. Last time, when Minglun and I went to their shop, the abalone was very tender.”

“I think it’s pretty good. If you’re not eating, I’ll take a couple more pieces,” Zhu Zhu swallowed the abalone in her mouth and said to Jiang Lin, “Jiang Lin, you should try it too; Deng Yi is too picky. I think it tastes great.”

A few days ago, Jiang Lin had brought up various matters regarding studying abroad in Los Angeles, and Zhu Zhu had gotten familiar with him. During these days, she had been taking care of him with good food and drinks.

But Jiang Lin seemed lost in thought, staring at the plate of abalone and braised pork without making a move. It wasn’t until Zhu Zhu poked his arm that he finally reacted.

He didn’t comment on the dish, and he looked like he had a poor appetite, only eating half a bowl of rice before going out to help.

That day was the weekend, and the café’s closing time was extended to ten o’clock. Around nine o’clock, Ji Minglun received a phone call and told Deng Feng that there was an urgent matter at home and he had to leave. At that moment, Jiang Lin was tidying up in the guest area behind, and he didn’t know Ji Minglun had left until half an hour later.

Ji Minglun’s parents divorced when he was in middle school, and later both remarried. However, Ji Minglun’s relationship with his parents wasn’t as strained as his and Jiang Jianchen’s. Although he had also started living alone early, Ji Minglun had a good mindset; as long as his parents provided enough money, he didn’t bother with adult matters.

Jiang Lin pondered what could be so urgent that Ji Minglun left in such a hurry. After closing the café, he walked out and noticed the wind outside had picked up significantly, with the palm trees across the street swaying violently. Deng Yi held her straw hat down and looked at the cloudy sky, wondering if another typhoon was coming.

Zhu Zhu was behind her, putting her water cup back into her canvas bag while saying that the weather forecast had mentioned yesterday that a typhoon would make landfall in a couple of days.

Xiamen was a coastal city, and those who lived here year-round were accustomed to typhoons. After saying their goodbyes, Jiang Lin returned to his car and sent a WeChat message to Ji Minglun: 【Deng Feng said there was an urgent matter at home, what happened? Do you need me to help?】

After sending the message, he leaned back in his seat and waited. After ten minutes, Ji Minglun still hadn’t replied. Unable to resist, he called, only to hear that the phone was off.

After sitting in the car for a while, he was still worried, so he drove to the community where Ji Minglun lived. When he arrived at the basement parking, he didn’t see Ji Minglun’s car, indicating he hadn’t returned yet. So, he waited in his car, and ended up sitting there for over two hours. During that time, he was tired enough to take a nap. When he woke up and looked around, Ji Minglun still hadn’t come back.

He called again, but this time it went to voicemail. Just as he was considering whether to check on Ji Minglun’s parents’ house, two beams of headlights shone through the upcoming turn, and a bright blue Nio slowly drove in.

A stranger was sitting in the driver’s seat, while Ji Minglun was in the passenger seat, eyes closed, leaning against the headrest without moving. After the car slowly backed into the parking space, the driver turned off the engine and woke the person beside him.

Ji Minglun, looking as if he had been drinking, squinted and said something to the driver before fiddling with his phone. The driver opened the driver’s door and took out a foldable electric bike from the trunk and rode away.

Jiang Lin waited for the driver to leave before getting out of the car and standing by the passenger door, waiting for Ji Minglun to get out.

Ji Minglun didn’t move; after finishing with his phone, he leaned against the headrest and fell back asleep, completely unaware that another car had parked next to him. Jiang Lin tapped on the window twice, and when Ji Minglun opened his eyes again, he said, “Open the door.”

Ji Minglun squinted, recognized the person outside in the backlight after a moment, and lowered the window, displeased, “What are you doing here?”

“What happened at home? Why did you drink?”

Ji Minglun lazily glanced at Jiang Lin, not wanting to answer, but Jiang Lin took advantage of his distraction, reached in to unlock the passenger door, and opened it.

The two stared at each other, both seemingly unwilling to move. Jiang Lin simply leaned in and unbuckled Ji Minglun’s seatbelt, intending to pull him out. However, Ji Minglun grabbed his hands and impatiently pushed him back.

Jiang Lin was already bent over, and when Ji Minglun pushed suddenly, his head bumped against the car roof with a loud thud.

Jiang Lin immediately covered his head; the hit was painful enough that he almost saw stars. Ji Minglun heard the noise and, seeing Jiang Lin had bumped his head, he instantly sobered up a bit, unbuckled his seatbelt, got out, and checked the spot on Jiang Lin’s head where he had hit it.

Ji Minglun untied Jiang Lin’s little braid at the back of his head, rummaged through his hair a few times, and confirmed there was no broken skin and no signs of swelling before he sighed in relief. When Jiang Lin turned around, Ji Minglun said somewhat apologetically, “I didn’t mean to.”

Jiang Lin looked quite displeased, and Ji Minglun thought he was angry. However, Jiang Lin asked again, “What happened at home?”

Given the recent incident, Ji Minglun could no longer maintain a tough attitude and had to close the car window and door, “It’s nothing, just go back. I’m going to sleep.”

Jiang Lin didn’t stop him, locking his car and following him. When they entered the elevator, Ji Minglun didn’t want Jiang Lin to come in. The two were at a standoff, and Jiang Lin suddenly had a clever idea. He covered the spot where he had bumped his head and said, “My head really hurts. Can you find some ice for me to put on it? It seems like it’s swelling.”