Try Again chapter 39
Buying Two Dozens
When Jiang Lin finished showering and came out, he noticed a dreamcatcher hanging on the master bedroom door frame. Ji Minglun stood at the desk and, seeing him come in, beckoned him over, placing a bracelet in his palm.
Jiang Lin looked at the bracelet and listened as Ji Minglun said, “The clasp broke a while back. I had it repaired; can you tell?”
After examining it for a moment, Jiang Lin replied, “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have noticed.”
With his right hand resting on the edge of the desk, Ji Minglun turned slightly and raised his left hand: “I used to wear it all the time, but it broke just over a week before you came back. Otherwise, when you suddenly came to my house that morning, you would’ve seen me wearing it.”
Jiang Lin undid the bracelet and wrapped it around Ji Minglun’s wrist, fastening it with a smile. “If you had been wearing it then, maybe I would have said something.”
“Said what?” Ji Minglun asked, lowering his gaze.
Jiang Lin felt embarrassed under Ji Minglun’s gaze and turned his head aside, his ears, flushed from the hot shower, slightly visible among his hair. Ji Minglun gazed at his side profile, noting his delicate, smooth skin, making him unable to resist leaning in and kissing his cheek.
Jiang Lin took a slight breath, turning to face Ji Minglun, feeling a bit flustered. Then, his line of sight was blocked, and Ji Minglun’s breath enveloped him. Ji Minglun’s palm cradled the back of his head as their lips met.
Jiang Lin closed his eyes, his heart racing faster with Ji Minglun’s invasion, and he gradually became unsteady, needing to grasp Ji Minglun’s arms for support.
Thinking about Jiang Lin’s lingering fever, Ji Minglun only quenched his thirst for a moment before letting him go. He went to the bathroom to get a hairdryer to help dry Jiang Lin’s hair. After drying it, he told him to lie down. When he finished showering and came out, he found Jiang Lin sitting up again, responding to messages on his phone.
Turning off the lights in the bedroom, Ji Minglun asked, “Who are you chatting with so late?”
Jiang Lin held his phone with both hands, his expression somewhat serious as he replied, “Deng Feng.”
Ji Minglun sat down next to him, propping up a pillow. After listening, he looked at the phone screen. “What did he say?”
“He asked if I’m still going to the café.”
“How did you refuse him before?”
Thinking about the last time Deng Feng confessed to him, Jiang Lin felt frustrated. He didn’t even understand why Deng Feng liked him and even bought the bracelet he wanted to give to Ji Minglun.
“When he approached me, I was too surprised and didn’t think much about it at the time. Later, when I calmed down, I called him to clarify.”
“Did you tell him that the person you like is me?”
“No,” Jiang Lin shook his head, leaning back as Ji Minglun supported his shoulder. Seeing Ji Minglun pull the blanket to his chest, he actively raised his arm to let Ji Minglun tuck it in, “I felt it wasn’t the right time, so I didn’t say anything.”
Ji Minglun took the electronic thermometer from the bedside table and lifted Jiang Lin’s shirt collar to tuck it under his armpit. After timing it, he asked, “So he believes you have someone you like now?”
“He probably does. He hasn’t said anything else, and he hasn’t contacted me in the past few days.”
After pondering for a moment, Ji Minglun said, “Actually, I noticed something off about Deng Feng as soon as we arrived in Xi’an. I even asked him about it face to face, but he denied it.”
“You asked him? What did he say?”
“He said I was overthinking it.” Leaning back against the pillow, Ji Minglun intertwined his fingers behind his head. “I guess he didn’t want others to know, so he denied it.”
The time Jiang Lin spent with Deng Feng was not long, and his understanding of Deng Feng was limited. He asked, “So Deng Feng doesn’t know what happened at the pool?”
That day, Jiang Lin didn’t see Deng Feng, and when he later tried to clarify things with Deng Feng, he didn’t hear him mention the pool either.
Ji Minglun said, “He probably doesn’t know. I had a serious talk with Deng Yi that day; she probably couldn’t face him, so she didn’t bring it up.”
Unlocking his phone screen and looking at the message from Deng Feng, Jiang Lin hadn’t decided how to refuse when he heard Ji Minglun say, “Don’t go to the café anymore. Your hands can’t handle working right now.”
Jiang Lin’s fingers were still red and swollen, so it was indeed not suitable for him to go to work at the café. Moreover, he couldn’t face Deng Feng; if he also ran into Deng Yi, it would only be more awkward. He nodded and typed a message: [Sorry, I can’t work at the café anymore.]
After sending the message, he set his phone to silent and placed it on the bedside table. Then Ji Minglun reached over, slipped his hand inside Jiang Lin’s collar, and took out the thermometer to check.
“37.6,” Ji Minglun frowned. “You’ve had a low fever all day. You should take some medicine before going to bed. If you still have a low fever tomorrow, I’ll go with you to the hospital to get it checked.”
Jiang Lin didn’t feel unwell, but he nodded obediently. After taking the medicine, he lay down. Ji Minglun turned off the bedside lamp, and the blanket made a rustling sound. Then Jiang Lin felt Ji Minglun’s body press against him, lifting his head to rest on Ji Minglun’s arm, while Ji Minglun’s other arm wrapped around his waist.
As he sank into darkness, unable to see anything, the warmth of the person next to him felt very real. Jiang Lin relaxed his body and let himself melt into Ji Minglun’s embrace. After a while, he felt Ji Minglun’s lips touch the corner of his eye and then remain still. He couldn’t help but laugh and opened his eyes to look at the person beside him.
The room was dark with the blackout curtains drawn, so he could only vaguely see Ji Minglun’s eyes staring at him. The darkness concealed the shyness, but it magnified the vulnerability and desire. Unable to hold back, he turned to face Ji Minglun, reaching out to hug his waist.
The sound of the air conditioning was faint, even less noticeable than their breathing. He couldn’t remember who initiated it first, but their lips met again. Ji Minglun held Jiang Lin’s wrist, and when Jiang Lin’s fingers brushed against the back of his hand, Ji Minglun let go of his wrist, intertwining their fingers instead. They kissed deeply until Jiang Lin was out of breath, only stopping when they could no longer suppress the sensations in certain areas.
Foreheads pressed together, Ji Minglun said between breaths, “You still have a fever.”
Jiang Lin couldn’t muster a response, his face was burning hot.
Just now, he had leaned closer to Ji Minglun but hadn’t intended to do anything; he simply wanted to hold Ji Minglun a little tighter, wishing this cozy and intimate moment could last longer. However, Ji Minglun misunderstood, thinking he meant—
Before he could gather his thoughts, Ji Minglun continued, “I forgot to wash your underwear. What will we do tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow I’ll go home,” Jiang Lin replied. He realized his voice was hoarse and cleared his throat, casually pushing Ji Minglun aside and turning to face the wall.
Ji Minglun wrapped around him again from behind, his hand moving on Jiang Lin’s lower abdomen. Jiang Lin tensed, thinking Ji Minglun was going to reach down, but Ji Minglun merely curled his fingers. After a long while, he said, “If your fever goes down tomorrow, let’s go out for a bit.”
“Where to?”
“To buy you two dozen new underwear; you’ll be changing a lot, and having too few isn’t enough.”
Pretending not to understand Ji Minglun’s words, Jiang Lin buried his flushed face into the pillow and fell silent.
Thinking about how shy Jiang Lin looked, Ji Minglun cheerfully said, “Goodnight.”
After a moment, Jiang Lin replied hoarsely, “Goodnight.”
Although they were supposed to go on a date the next day, when Jiang Lin woke up in the morning, Ji Minglun received a call from Shen Ran, asking for his help.
That afternoon, the school basketball team had a practice game. Ji Minglun had not been in form recently, so he had taken a half-month leave. The main player was Shen Ran, but this guy said he accidentally slipped and twisted his waist in the bathroom last night and couldn’t get up in the morning. Fearing the coach’s scolding, he asked Ji Minglun for help.
When Ji Minglun called back, Jiang Lin had also woken up, holding the blanket with half his face buried in the pillow, looking at him.
Looking at Jiang Lin’s sleepy eyes, Ji Minglun couldn’t think of what to say next. The person on the other end didn’t wait for his response, thinking he had refused, and continued to plead with him. He, however, moved the phone slightly away, sat on the bed, and leaned down to kiss the corner of Jiang Lin’s mouth.
Jiang Lin smiled, raised his left hand to push him away, and Ji Minglun took the opportunity to lean down again, this time kissing him on the lips.
Covering his mouth to stop Ji Minglun from kissing him again, Jiang Lin pretended to get up and said softly, “I’m going to brush my teeth.”
Jiang Lin slid down from the foot of the bed, and Ji Minglun reached out but missed. Seeing Jiang Lin walking out without even putting on his slippers, he grabbed the slippers at his feet and followed him, waiting for him to finish getting ready before answering the person on the other end of the phone.
“Okay,” Ji Minglun replied. “Just tell coach, and I’ll be there on time this afternoon.”
“Thank you, senior!” Shen Ran breathed a sigh of relief, hung up without any more chit-chat, and Jiang Lin squeezed out some toothpaste, glancing at Ji Minglun in the big mirror. “Do you have something to do this afternoon?”
“Yeah,” Ji Minglun tucked his phone back into his pocket and wrapped his arms around Jiang Lin’s waist. “Shen Ran wants me to help him in a practice game. He twisted his waist and can’t play, fearing the coach’s scolding.”
Jiang Lin nodded and said after finishing brushing his teeth, “Shen Ran is a pretty good guy; he took care of me before, so if you can help him, please do.”
“Then our date can only be postponed,” Ji Minglun looked at Jiang Lin. “You’re not disappointed?”
Wringing out the towel to wash his face, Jiang Lin peeked at Ji Minglun through his fingers and smiled. “I can accompany you to the basketball court; watching you play is good too.”
Ji Minglun turned Jiang Lin to face him, lowered his head, and gave him a warm kiss that smelled of lemon and mint.
…
After lunch, the two went together to the school gym. Although it was just a practice game, there were even more girls cheering than the last time Ji Minglun played as the main player. Several boxes of support drinks were also placed in the corner, but every box had Shen Ran’s name written on it with a marker.
Looking at the pile of boxes, Ji Minglun initially thought Shen Ran felt guilty, but then he realized something was off. Buying so many drinks would cost a lot of money, and Shen Ran’s family wasn’t wealthy enough to spend like this for no reason.
Just then, a first-year junior walked by, and Ji Minglun called out to him, asking about the situation with the pile of boxes.
The junior first covered his mouth and smiled, then pointed to the left side of the stands. Once Ji Minglun looked over, he said, “Did you see, senior? Zhao Jiyu is here; these are the drinks he bought for senior Shen Ran.”
Author’s note:
There won’t be any subplot involving side CPs taking up the main character’s screen time, so everyone can rest assured.