Try Again chapter 25
Feeding It Into His Mouth
On his way to the nearest restroom, Ji Minglun encountered more and more audience members leaving, and someone even stepped on his foot. But such a small incident didn’t dampen his mood; his mind was entirely focused on where to go for a late-night snack with Jiang Lin.
Following the signs, he found the nearest restroom and almost bumped into a guy coming out. Without looking at the person’s face, Ji Minglun stepped aside, but the other person recognized him from behind and quickly made a phone call. Soon after, a figure rushed out of the women’s restroom next door.
After using the restroom, Ji Minglun adjusted his hair in the mirror and even hummed the last song. As he stepped outside, he suddenly stopped.
A few steps away stood Deng Yi, who asked, “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming?”
Glancing at the buzz-cut guy behind Deng Yi, Ji Minglun responded expressionlessly, “I finished my work, and since another friend had tickets, I decided to come.”
“Why didn’t you invite me?” Deng Yi stepped closer. “There were several interactions that involved my row.”
Ji Minglun replied, “Isn’t Yang Hao with you?”
The buzz-cut guy, Yang Hao, raised his hands from his pockets and said, “I’m just accompanying her. She couldn’t reach you, and I happened to be free.”
Deng Yi looked up at Ji Minglun with eyes full of grievance, making it hard for him to say anything harsh. However, remembering that Jiang Lin was still waiting for him, he said, “It’s good that you had company. I have something to do, so I’ll leave first. You should head home early too.”
As he finished speaking and was about to turn away, Deng Yi quickly grabbed his arm. “Who did you come with?”
“We took a taxi, and there are so many people now that it’s hard to leave. Can we take your car?”
Yang Hao chimed in, “Minglun, look at Deng Yi’s feet. You can’t expect her to walk in high heels through this crowd, can you?”
Deng Yi was wearing 4 inch high heels. Ji Minglun stood there speechless for a moment. He pulled his arm away, and just as Deng Yi was about to grab it again, he said, “My car is in Zone B.”
Deng Yi’s face lit up, and she immediately followed him. Feeling a bit irritated, Ji Minglun took out his phone and sent a message to Jiang Lin.
【Something came up. Let’s meet at Lao Yu’s Porridge Shop near your place later.】
Once the message was sent, his phone vibrated again. He pulled it out and saw Jiang Lin’s reply on the lock screen: 【Okay】
He patiently walked with the crowd for over ten minutes and finally got into his car. Deng Yi opened the passenger door and climbed in, while Yang Hao leaned against the window and said, “I’ll pass. You two go ahead.”
Deng Yi smiled at Yang Hao, showing her white teeth. “Thanks a lot for today.”
Yang Hao tapped the car door and stepped back with a smile. “Drive safe.”
Ji Minglun fastened his seatbelt, rolled up the windows, and turned on the air conditioning. After a few cars left the parking lot ahead of them, he slowly drove out with the flow of traffic and stopped at the road junction.
There were too many people leaving at once, and several exits were clogged with cars.
After waiting for a while, Ji Minglun couldn’t even see the end of the line of cars behind him. Deng Yi noticed his fingers tapping repeatedly on the steering wheel and tentatively suggested, “How about some music?”
Ji Minglun picked up the phone from the compartment, opened his music app, and just as he was about to hit play, he stopped. Instead, he opened the search bar at the top and typed in a song title.
Familiar music filled the car, and Deng Yi, feeling more at ease, commented, “The atmosphere during that last song was amazing. I heard the band is releasing an album soon. Are you interested?”
“Interested in what?”
“Their album signing. I’m sure they’ll hold some small fan meetings.”
“I don’t do music,” Ji Minglun absentmindedly replied. Even through the car window, he could still hear the music and cheers coming from inside the venue. He wondered if Jiang Lin had come out yet or if he was also stuck in one of the traffic jams.
Deng Yi watched him, sensing that he had been in a bad mood since earlier. Although she really wanted to know who he had come with, she held back and didn’t ask again.
After a short wait, the cars ahead started moving. Unfortunately, once they reached the bridge, traffic slowed down again, and the red taillights stretched across the sea bridge, making Ji Minglun dizzy after staring at them for too long. He set the song to repeat and occasionally closed his eyes to rest. By the time the road ahead cleared up, he realized Deng Yi had been silent the whole time.
He glanced over and saw Deng Yi staring out the window, lost in thought.
His attitude earlier hadn’t been great, but considering Deng Yi’s feelings for him, he felt that no matter what he said, it wouldn’t be appropriate. So, he decided to remain silent the entire way until they arrived downstairs at Deng Yi’s apartment complex.
The car stopped by the roadside, and Deng Yi, unusually, didn’t linger. She thanked him briefly, unfastened her seatbelt, and got out of the car, walking through the gate of the residential complex.
Picking up the phone in the compartment, Ji Minglun called Jiang Lin.
It had been an hour and a half since they parted. Not long ago, Jiang Lin had sent a message saying the porridge shop would close soon, asking if they should go somewhere else.
“Are you feeling tired?” Ji Minglun asked after the call connected.
“I’m fine,” Jiang Lin said. “Just really hungry.”
“Where are you now?”
“Across from the porridge shop, I’m parked in a spot by the road.”
“Do you feel like having hotpot?” Ji Minglun thought of a hotpot place. “There’s a new place that opened half a year ago, open all night, with some special dishes.”
“Sure,” Jiang Lin’s voice brightened. “Where is it?”
“Not far from you. I’ll come pick you up, wait for me.”
After hanging up, Ji Minglun made a U-turn ahead, taking a shortcut toward Jiang Lin’s location. What should have been a half-hour drive took only a bit over ten minutes.
Jiang Lin got out of his car and sat in Ji Minglun’s passenger seat, catching a faint scent in the air.
Deng Yi had a habit of wearing perfume, most frequently Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. After being around her for some time, Jiang Lin had become familiar with the scent. He glanced at Ji Minglun, “Did you just run into Deng Yi?”
Ji Minglun didn’t plan to hide it. “She didn’t have a car and it wasn’t convenient for her to get one, so I gave her a ride.”
Jiang Lin had been stuck in traffic for a while after leaving, so he just nodded after hearing this. They fell silent, and the music in the car regained its presence. After a while, Jiang Lin listened to the lyrics and couldn’t help but ask, “Did she also invite you to the concert tonight?”
Ji Minglun, staring ahead at the road, replied with a simple “Yes,” without much expression.
After that, Jiang Lin didn’t say anything more. Ji Minglun glanced at him twice out of the corner of his eye. Jiang Lin leaned against the seatback, his right elbow propped on the car door, his palm covering his lips, lost in thought.
“Are you tired?” Ji Minglun asked.
“No,” Jiang Lin turned down the music a bit with his left hand. “How long until we get there?”
“Just two more blocks.”
Ji Minglun paused the music, and when they arrived at the restaurant, he parked the car. Together, they went upstairs and sat at a window seat.
The night was deep, and most customers had finished eating. Ji Minglun ordered a clear broth hotpot, handed the menu to Jiang Lin to pick out dishes, but Jiang Lin pushed it back to him. “You know what I like. You order.”
Ji Minglun picked up the pen, efficiently circling over a dozen items, mostly vegetables and mushrooms, without any seafood or meat. Jiang Lin asked to add beef and oysters, but Ji Minglun tapped his finger with the pen cap. “Watch your diet.”
Jiang Lin had just had an eczema flare-up that afternoon, and though the medication had suppressed it, his fingers were still red. He took a sip of tea and said dejectedly, “Might as well just have full vegetarian spicy soup.”
Seeing the downturn of his mouth, Ji Minglun stifled a laugh, called the waiter over, and asked if they still had the taro eight-treasure rice. When the waiter said yes, he ordered a portion to be brought out first.
Upon hearing the dish’s name, Jiang Lin’s gaze followed the waiter’s retreating figure. Ji Minglun added two bottles of Wanglaoji to the order and, while putting the pen down, heard Jiang Lin ask, “Is the taro eight-treasure rice here any good?”
“If it wasn’t good, why would I bring you here?” Ji Minglun handed the menu to another waiter to place the order. “This place’s taro eight-treasure rice is really popular. A lot of people come here just for it.”
Jiang Lin loved anything taro-flavored, especially taro paste. But eating just taro paste could be a bit overwhelming, so he preferred eight-treasure rice with taro filling.
The food arrived quickly, and before long, a plate of steaming hot taro eight-treasure rice was served. The black sticky rice was sprinkled with fragrant sesame seeds, and breaking it open revealed the soft, smooth taro paste. Jiang Lin scooped a spoonful, blew on it lightly, and sent it into his mouth, too reluctant to spit it out even though it was burning hot, alternating between blowing and chewing.
Ji Minglun hadn’t seen him eat this ravenously in a long time. He opened a bottle of Wanglaoji and handed it to him. “Drink some. Don’t burn your mouth.”
Not wanting the drink to affect the taste, Jiang Lin pushed the bottle aside. Once he swallowed that mouthful, he handed the spoon to Ji Minglun. “You try it. It’s really good.”
Neither of them had even unwrapped the plastic around their cutlery yet. The spoon Jiang Lin was using came with the dish. Staring at the round, stainless steel spoon, Ji Minglun hesitated for a moment. Jiang Lin, sensing his pause, suddenly realized they were no longer in the kind of relationship where sharing utensils was normal.
Gripping the spoon handle tightly, he tried to appear casual as he retracted his hand, but before he could move, Ji Minglun grabbed his hand, scooping a spoonful just like that.
Jiang Lin’s slightly cool hand was wrapped in Ji Minglun’s warm palm. He watched as Ji Minglun opened his mouth and ate the spoonful of eight-treasure rice without avoiding contact with the spoon.
Ji Minglun’s lips brushed against the silver surface, and Jiang Lin’s attention fixated on those oil-slicked thin lips, the memory of their kiss from a year ago flooding his mind.
Back then, he had been too shocked to recall the process of exchanging saliva, only remembering how warm Ji Minglun’s breath was, how soft his lips had been as they pressed against his, the breath urgent but the movements not rough.
The sweet taste still lingered in his mouth when the warmth left his hand. Ji Minglun let go of his hand, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said, “The taste is the same as last time. Eat it while it’s hot.”