Try Again chapter 40
His Waist Measurement
After glancing at the boy in a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses sitting elegantly on the stands, Ji Minglun felt even more uneasy.
He had heard of Zhao Jiyu but didn’t know him personally. He was a well-known handsome guy in the History Department, with no faults in his family background, grades, or looks, but he was cold in personality and didn’t enjoy socializing. However, with a face more attractive than the school beauty and a model-like height of 183 cm, he was still quite popular among the girls.
However, Zhao Jiyu was not the sporty type; Ji Minglun had never seen him at the basketball team before and hadn’t heard Shen Ran mention his name. Why did he suddenly appear now?
Jiang Lin was also sizing up Zhao Jiyu, who was sitting alone.
There were several girls sitting a few meters away from him, each with excited expressions as they looked at him, but Zhao Jiyu seemed preoccupied, completely ignoring their eager gazes, either looking down at his phone or staring at the entrance.
When Jiang Lin was in his senior year, Zhao Jiyu was just a freshman, the same year as Shen Ran, but at that time, he was preparing to study abroad, so he had no impression of either Zhao Jiyu or Shen Ran.
“I’ll ask Shen Ran,” Ji Minglun spoke up, and Jiang Lin saw him dial the phone, only to hear it was switched off.
“This guy, what is he doing? He wouldn’t be afraid of the coach and turned it off, would he?” Ji Minglun complained.
Jiang Lin looked thoughtfully at the boxes of drinks nearby but hadn’t said anything when someone in the rest area noticed Ji Minglun and called him over from a distance.
Ji Minglun said to Jiang Lin, “You go sit in the stands; we’ll take a walk afterward once it’s over.”
Jiang Lin smiled and looked into Ji Minglun’s eyes, reflecting the brilliant sunlight outside the window. He raised his right fist and said to Ji Minglun, “You can do it!”
As Ji Minglun turned to leave, he leaned in and gave Jiang Lin a quick kiss on the side of his head. Jiang Lin held his breath, immediately looking away, while Ji Minglun seemed unfazed, smiling casually as he said, “With your support, I’m sure to win.”
Watching Ji Minglun walk away, Jiang Lin belatedly touched the spot where he had been kissed, feeling his skin heat up. He had to lower his head and slip around to find a corner to sit down.
Once seated, he noticed someone looking at him and turned to see Zhao Jiyu not far away.
The guy was crossing his legs and resting his chin on his hand, seemingly observing him, his elongated phoenix eyes hidden behind thin lenses, his expression indifferent.
Jiang Lin nodded at him, and Zhao Jiyu withdrew his gaze, turning his attention back to the entrance.
After the game started, Ji Minglun took over Shen Ran’s position as shooting guard. With four teammates he was used to working with, scoring became quite easy through their cooperation. From start to finish, Ji Minglun sank about ten three-pointers and collaborated on several mid-range shots with his teammates. Even though the opposing team had the advantage on rebounds, the final outcome was a crushing victory.
Jiang Lin sat in the stands, following Ji Minglun’s every move, just like last time. Whenever Ji Minglun scored, he would look back at Jiang Lin, and he would promptly give him two thumbs up. Seeing Ji Minglun smile made him even happier.
During the match, some girls in the stands focused on cheering for Ji Minglun. It wasn’t until the end that Zhao Jiyu left. Jiang Lin glanced at him; he seemed in a bad mood, hands shoved in his pants pockets, walking quickly and ignoring the girls calling after him.
The boxes of drinks left in the corner by the wall hadn’t been opened until Ji Minglun changed and came out. Only then did a couple of junior teammates surround him to ask about what to do with the drinks.
Ji Minglun didn’t care about that and asked them to take the drinks. After finishing the game, he left with Jiang Lin. As they passed the slope they had walked down last time, Ji Minglun, drinking electrolyte water, joked, “Last time you hiccupped all day; how did you stop?”
Jiang Lin took the bottle he handed him, took a couple of sips, and returned it: “I just fell asleep, and then I stopped.”
Ji Minglun glanced back at the slope, noticing no one around, then draped his arm over Jiang Lin’s shoulder, swaying him as they walked: “Actually, there’s another way to stop hiccups. If you start hiccupping uncontrollably again, I’ll try it next time.”
“What is it?”
Jiang Lin asked curiously, noticing Ji Minglun’s mischievous smile. Leaning closer, Ji Minglun whispered in his ear, “Kissing.”
The temperature outside was already high, and Ji Minglun was saying these suggestive things. By the time they got into the car, Jiang Lin’s cheeks and neck were still flushed, whether from the sun or for some unmentionable reason, he didn’t know.
As he bent down to fasten his seatbelt, the seat was reclined backward, and Ji Minglun leaned over, indulging in a tender moment with him.
Jiang Lin’s upper body was lying back against the seat, with the blue sky outside the window to his right. Though he worried someone might come over at any moment, Ji Minglun’s teasing was hard to resist. He soon abandoned his resistance and surrendered to the moment. When both were breathless from the kiss, Ji Minglun finally decided to stop. Jiang Lin adjusted his seat back to an upright position, only to find Ji Minglun’s gaze fixed on a specific spot. He looked down, suddenly embarrassed, and covered his face with his palm.
Ji Minglun pulled his hand over, and he clasped Jiang Lin’s five fingers tightly. With his other hand, he started the car and drove toward the hospital.
Before leaving in the morning, Jiang Lin had already broken his fever, but Ji Minglun was still worried. He took him for another visit to the dermatology department. After meeting the doctor and listening to the explanation, Ji Minglun’s expression grew heavy again.
The doctor said that the causes of repeated outbreaks were diverse. In Jiang Lin’s case, the early onset might have been due to personal stress or an inability to adapt to the environment. At this stage, apart from exposure to allergens, another part could still be stress. He advised him to rest more and relax, and if possible, to avoid uncomfortable living environments.
As they exited the hospital, Ji Minglun reached into his pocket for a cigarette but only found a metal lighter. It turned out he had forgotten the cigarettes in the car.
Seeing his furrowed brows, Jiang Lin said, “Don’t worry. This is just a small matter. Besides itching, it doesn’t have much of an impact.”
Pulling Jiang Lin back into the main entrance, Ji Minglun sat down on a chair by the wall. After a moment of consideration, he asked, “Will you come back to Xiamen after graduation?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Lin replied, sitting beside him and looking at him. “Actually, I’m not used to living abroad either.”
People hurried back and forth on both sides of the entrance, and no one noticed the two of them sitting in the shadowed corner. Ji Minglun held Jiang Lin’s hand resting on his lap. Jiang Lin glanced around and, seeing no one noticing, tightened his grip on Ji Minglun’s hand.
Staring at their intertwined fingers, Ji Minglun sighed, “Then let’s endure a little longer; we’ll be fine after graduation.”
Jiang Lin nodded. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you still going to Seoul?”
When Ji Zhuosheng called Ji Minglun yesterday, they talked about this matter, and Jiang Lin hadn’t found the chance to ask until now. Since it had come up, he wanted to clarify Ji Minglun’s thoughts. If he was indeed considering going to Seoul in the future, he could just follow him there.
“I’m not going anymore,” Ji Minglun said straightforwardly.
“Weren’t you still considering it before? How come you’ve decided not to go now?”
Playing with Jiang Lin’s fingers, Ji Minglun smiled helplessly, “I wanted to go to avoid you.”
Jiang Lin’s lips parted slightly, his expression a bit difficult to read. He then smiled helplessly and said, “I was thinking, if you really went, I’d go too. It doesn’t matter where we are.”
He looked down at Ji Minglun fiddling with his fingers, not noticing that Ji Minglun had quietly moved closer to him. “So you can’t bear to be away from me that much? Does that mean you’re ‘married to Ji’?”
Having fallen into Ji Minglun’s verbal trap, Jiang Lin found himself unable to refute it and felt a bit embarrassed instead. As he pulled his hand back and stood up to walk outside, Ji Minglun smiled and caught up with him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder as they headed into the sunlight.
“I’m so hungry after playing basketball; let’s find a place to eat.”
Playing basketball takes quite a toll, and they found a casual dining place where they enjoyed a hearty American meal. Afterward, they drove to a nearby shopping area.
It was the weekend, and there were many people out shopping. As they came up from the basement parking, Jiang Lin looked at the floor directory, and when the elevator arrived on the first floor, he pulled Ji Minglun out first.
The first floor was the jewelry section. Ji Minglun asked him what he wanted to see, but Jiang Lin didn’t respond. He followed the signs to the area with several luxury stores and dragged Ji Minglun inside.
He had returned the bracelet he had purchased last time and hadn’t bought another one, originally intending to choose one while shopping. However, after going around these stores, he still hadn’t found anything he liked.
Seeing his mood was a bit low, Ji Minglun raised his left hand and said, “Do you want to choose something else as a gift? This bracelet looks good on me; there’s no need to change it.”
Jiang Lin wasn’t necessarily set on a bracelet; he just wasn’t good at picking gifts. However, Ji Minglun’s words reminded him of the belt he had seen in Xi’an, so he took Ji Minglun up to the men’s department on the fourth floor.
There weren’t many customers on this floor. As they strolled and chatted, they passed by a clothing store. Jiang Lin took a moment to look at the mannequin in the window and said to Ji Minglun, “Let’s go in and take a look.”
This was a brand specializing in men’s formal wear. Once inside, Jiang Lin didn’t look around; he directly described his needs to a staff member who approached them. The staff took them to the accessories area and pulled out a belt from the glass cabinet, showing it to them.
The belt was a light brown checkered design, with a simple silver matte buckle that immediately stood out without being flashy, making it suitable for casual everyday outfits.
Jiang Lin took it from the staff and turned to measure it against Ji Minglun’s waist. Just as he was about to say it fit well, he saw Ji Minglun smiling at the corner of his mouth. Although Ji Minglun didn’t say anything, the look in his eyes conveyed everything.
Jiang Lin realized what was happening, quickly shoved the belt back into Ji Minglun’s hands, and turned to look at other items. Ji Minglun held his wrist and turned him back, using the belt to measure his own waist as he told the staff, “His waist is about 75, mine is 82. Please pack both together.”
Jiang Lin was slightly taken aback and, after the staff went to retrieve the items, quietly asked, “How did you know my waist size?”
Ji Minglun leaned closer to him, his gaze pointedly glancing at his waist. “I secretly checked your measurements before, and after hugging you so many times, how could I not know?”