Try Again chapter 49

You Have No Right

Jiang Jianchen had not expected, after over a year of separation, that the first sight of his son would be this humiliating scene.

Ji Minglun met Jiang Jianchen’s gaze, his hands still resting on Jiang Lin’s shoulders and waist. Jiang Lin, breathing heavily, was startled by the shout, but once he saw who it was outside the door, he calmed down. Avoiding Jiang Jianchen’s gaze, he said to Ji Minglun, “You go ahead, I’ll talk to him.”

Ji Minglun frowned. Though his current position—kneeling on one knee on the seat, pressing his whole body against Jiang Lin—was far from proper, now that Jiang Jianchen had caught them, he had no intention of hiding it. He definitely wasn’t going to leave Jiang Lin to face his father’s anger alone.

“I’ll stay with you.” He withdrew to the driver’s seat, quickly sending a voice message to his professor, explaining that he had an urgent matter and would be late. Then he and Jiang Lin both got out of the car.

The vehicle was parked in front of the building’s gate. As they exited, Ji Minglun felt a bit annoyed. It was still early evening, the sky ablaze with sunset. Even though the car had privacy film, it didn’t mean they could kiss so recklessly. He had only wanted to use the kiss to lift Jiang Lin’s spirits. Who would have thought Jiang Jianchen would show up at that exact moment?

Wasn’t he supposed to be away on a business trip?

Ji Minglun’s expression turned serious as he walked over to Jiang Lin’s side. Jiang Jianchen, seeing them get out of the car together, suppressed his anger and headed upstairs first.

The sound of three sets of footsteps echoed in the stairwell. Jiang Jianchen was furious, but when familiar neighbors greeted him, he managed to force a smile and nod back.

At the door, Jiang Jianchen stepped aside as Jiang Lin unlocked it with his fingerprint. Inside, Jiang Lin turned on the air conditioning and headed to the kitchen to pour himself some water, acting as if nothing had happened.

Ji Minglun, out of respect for Jiang Lin’s father, was more reserved. After changing into his slippers, he took out a pair of guest slippers for Jiang Jianchen and placed them by his feet before going to wash his hands.

Jiang Jianchen didn’t bother to change his shoes. Watching these two act as if everything were normal, he was so enraged that he nearly lost control again.

Because of Tang Ying’s passing, he had always felt guilty toward Jiang Lin. He could accept Jiang Lin’s indifference toward him, or even his hatred, but no matter what, they were still father and son. Nothing between them couldn’t be resolved through proper conversation.

Sitting on the couch, he crossed one leg over the other, trying to control his temper as he glanced toward the kitchen.

Jiang Lin, after finishing his water, walked out with the same indifferent expression and, without waiting for his father to speak, said directly, “What you saw is what it is. Minglun and I are together.”

For a brief moment, Jiang Jianchen felt the world go dark, his blood rushing to his head, causing it to throb with pain.

Clenching his hand tightly over his trousers, Jiang Jianchen took a deep breath to suppress the urge to lash out at Jiang Lin.

He had never been very involved in his son’s life. Jiang Lin had spent a year abroad, and perhaps this rebellious behavior was a result of that. But Jiang Lin was still young and didn’t understand the consequences. There was no need to let this mistake push their already fragile father-son relationship to the breaking point. All Jiang Jianchen needed to do was guide Jiang Lin and make him see that this path wasn’t beneficial to his future.

After getting off the plane, he had hurried over, intending to surprise his son, but it turned into a shock instead. His throat was parched. He calmed himself, stood up, and went to the kitchen for some water. During this time, Ji Minglun came out and quietly asked, “Do you think your dad will accept it?”

“No matter if he accepts it or not, it won’t change my stance,” Jiang Lin said, looking at Ji Minglun, his previously calm eyes now showing a crack of unease. “I’m just worried about being discovered so soon. It’ll be hard to explain things to your parents.”

Ji Minglun smiled at him, “If you’re not afraid of your dad, my parents won’t be a problem either.”

Before Jiang Lin could respond, Jiang Jianchen’s footsteps echoed. He sat back on the sofa, speaking for the first time in an unusually calm tone, “You two sit down. Let’s talk properly.”

Ji Minglun remained still until Jiang Lin sat down first, and then he sat on the other side.

Jiang Jianchen turned to Ji Minglun, speaking earnestly, “Minglun, I’ve always thought of you as half a son and felt reassured letting Jiang Lin spend time with you. You’re both young men, still immature. After being together for so long, you might develop some confusion, but if—”

“Uncle Jiang,” Ji Minglun interrupted, sincerely, “It’s not confusion. I’ve liked Jiang Lin since high school. I know exactly what I want.”

Jiang Jianchen, already irritated at being interrupted, was further enraged when he heard Ji Minglun confidently state what he considered rebellious. He burst out, “Do you even understand what love is? Have you thought about your future?”

Compared to Jiang Jianchen’s increasingly agitated tone, Ji Minglun remained calm, explaining, “Being with Jiang Lin won’t affect our future. We’re adults and can take responsibility for our actions.”

“How are you going to take responsibility?” Jiang Jianchen shouted, finally unable to hold back, standing up.

He put his hands on his hips, pacing in a half-circle, then loosened the first button of his shirt. He turned toward his son, who had remained silent the whole time.

Jiang Lin leaned back in his chair, his posture relaxed, and lazily lifted his eyes. Jiang Jianchen waited for a moment, seeing that Jiang Lin had no intention of speaking. Thinking it inappropriate to say more with Ji Minglun present, he said, “Minglun, go home for now. I’ll talk with Jiang Lin first.”

Ji Minglun looked at Jiang Lin, who gave him a reassuring glance. “Go help your professor,” Jiang Lin said.

Although Ji Minglun didn’t want to leave, staying would only further provoke Jiang Jianchen’s anger. He stood up, gave Jiang Lin one more look, then said to Jiang Jianchen, “Uncle Jiang, I’ll go now.”

Jiang Jianchen ignored him, only sitting down again after he left.

With no one else around, Jiang Jianchen regained his composure, trying to reason with Jiang Lin.

“You haven’t stepped into the real world yet, so you don’t know its harsh realities. I’m telling you this for your own good. If people find out that you and Minglun are in a same-sex relationship, your friends, colleagues, they’ll all look at you differently.”

“Even the neighbors in this building,” Jiang Jianchen pointed outside. “They’ll smile to your face but talk behind your back. Your life and work will become a mess, and you won’t be able to face people.”

“Do you think you’ll have time to regret it when things get that bad?”

Jiang Jianchen’s words were meant to be a heartfelt plea, but Jiang Lin started laughing before he could even finish. When Jiang Jianchen was done, Jiang Lin scoffed, “So you do know people talk about our family behind our backs?”

Jiang Jianchen was taken aback. The smile disappeared from Jiang Lin’s face, and his expression turned cold again. “Minglun and I just came back from visiting my mother’s grave. You know exactly what you were doing before she died. What right do you have to lecture me now?”

“From childhood, you’ve never fulfilled your responsibilities as a father. If it weren’t for Minglun, I don’t know what I would have become after my mom passed.”

Jiang Lin had kept these words bottled up for years, initially thinking they weren’t worth saying. But now, at this moment, he didn’t want Jiang Jianchen interfering in his life anymore, so he decided to let it all out.

Aside from giving him money, this man had never given him the love or complete family he had always wanted. His mother had died because of him.

Jiang Lin stood up, addressing him by name for the first time, “Jiang Jianchen, you never cared about me before, so you have no right to now. If you still want me to call you ‘Dad’ in the future, this ends here. Minglun and I won’t break up just because you can’t accept it.”

In just a minute or two, Jiang Jianchen’s expression shifted from rage to shock. He raised his chin slightly, looking at the son before him, who had become a stranger without him realizing it. His thoughts were still stuck on the moment Jiang Lin mentioned Tang Ying’s name.

The black-and-white photo of Tang Ying at her funeral flashed in his mind, merging grotesquely with Jiang Lin’s face. He remembered their constant arguments over women in the months before she died, Jiang Lin’s breakdown during her cremation, screaming at him to leave in front of their relatives, and how for two years, Jiang Lin hadn’t called him ‘Dad’ or even agreed to see him.

Jiang Jianchen sat there in silence, not even noticing when Jiang Lin had gone to his room. Jiang Lin, too, ignored the person outside. He locked the door to the guest room, lay on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. His heart was racing, but his breathing remained steady. After a while, he pulled out his phone and unlocked it, seeing voice messages from Ji Minglun.

“How did it go? Don’t argue with him. If reasoning doesn’t work, there’s no need to keep trying.”

“I canceled the stuff with my professor. I’m parked across from your building. Let me know when you’re done.”

“Jiang Lin, don’t worry about my parents. With me here, you don’t need to think about all that.”

After listening to all three messages, Jiang Lin imagined Ji Minglun parked across from his building, anxiously looking over. He couldn’t help but smile. But as he kept smiling, the smile faded, and his gaze lost focus.

Just now, when he said those harsh words to Jiang Jianchen, he felt an extreme sense of relief, as if a long-standing resentment had finally dissipated. However, after venting, he felt lost. That breath of anger was gone, and it seemed he had also lost the usual support he relied on, leaving his chest feeling empty, with a sense of melancholy.

Not long after, footsteps came from the living room. He listened intently and realized Jiang Jianchen had left after opening the door.

Sitting up in bed, Jiang Lin called Ji Minglun. The phone was picked up after just one ring, and Ji Minglun anxiously asked, “How did the talk go? Are you okay?”

Lowering his lashes, Jiang Lin silently smiled again.

Except for the year he went to Los Angeles, every time he encountered trouble in recent years, Ji Minglun was always the first to care about whether he was okay or not. Ji Minglun would wait anxiously for his response, making him understand that even without family by his side, there was still an embrace that was always open to him.

Gripping the phone tightly, at that moment, he suddenly felt an urgent need to return to that embrace.

Lowering his voice, he softly said to the person on the other end, “He’s gone. Come over.”

“I really want to see you right now.”