On the way back, Ji Minglun finished the remaining half pack of cigarettes.
He was not a normal smoker, usually a pack of cigarettes would last him three or four days. But ever since Jiang Lin came back, the intervals between his cigarettes had become shorter and shorter, and the most exaggerated time was when he could finish a pack in one day.
The feeling of having to frequently rely on nicotine to suppress emotions is very uncomfortable, but if he doesn't smoke, he doesn't know how to relieve the boredom in his heart.
After all, he really didn't expect that Jiang Lin would go to such lengths to repair their friendship.
When the elevator opened on the 28th floor, he exchanged a glance with the two people outside the door. Seeing that he looked unwell, Su Yan let go of the hand of the person next to him and touched his forehead with the back of his hand: "Are you okay?"
"It's okay, I just drank a little too much."
Su Yan put down his hand and held the person next to him again. Looking at the ten tightly clasped fingers, he suddenly sneered as he remembered something.
Su Yan had only known him for a short time, but he had never seen him in such a bad mood, so he asked again: "What's wrong?"
Ji Gan beside Su Yan also said: "Do you need help?"
“No need,” Ji Minglun stepped aside, “Are you two going for a midnight snack?”
"I'm hungry. My brother said he would go eat Sukiyaki with me. Do you want me to bring some back for you?"
Su Yan had never known that Jiang Lin had returned. Seeing him snuggling up to Ji Gan so happily, Ji Minglun smiled again, walked around them and said, "I'm very full tonight, you guys eat slowly."
After entering the house, Ji Minglun pressed a few buttons on the smart home screen on the wall, then went into the bathroom to take a shower.
After rinsing his body under the shower, he turned on the massage button of the bathtub next to him and lay down in it to relax.
The bathtub at home was a bit too big, so when he bought it, he took Jiang Lin with him to choose it, and they both lay in it to try whether it was comfortable.
At that time, Jiang Lin was very envious of the bathtub in his new home, so he half-jokingly told Jiang Lin that he could take a bath every day if he liked. For this joke, he chose a two-meter-wide bed.
After that, Jiang Lin did come to his place frequently to take a bath, and sometimes slept with him when he was too lazy to go back. Later, he simply persuaded Jiang Lin to move in, because he was the only one in the house, and everything was new, and he didn't have to climb stairs.
Jiang Lin almost agreed at that time, but unfortunately one morning, he found out that Jiang Lin got up first to wash his body.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with it, as it was normal for boys to get up early and wash their bodies, but Jiang Lin was awkward with him for a week, and the number of times he went to his house decreased significantly afterwards.
All that was painted in his mind were scenes from the old times. Jiang Lin's every frown and smile could get on his nerves. The lines of her profile as she washed her body by the sink were delicate and moving. Her embarrassed expression after being discovered by him was vivid and natural. By the time he reacted, her right hand had already made a splash underwater.
It had been so long since I had tried to relax thinking about Jiang Lin. Once I started, I couldn't stop. When I finally got up from the bathtub, the ground under my feet felt unreal.
After drying his hair, he went to bed. He didn't go to the store for the next two days. When Deng Yi came to find him, he resisted asking about Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin had shifts these two days, and he didn't see Ji Minglun in the store. Jiang Lin also restrained himself from asking Deng Feng, but just went to the community every night to wait, and went back when he saw Ji Minglun coming back. This continued until the morning of the third day, when Deng Feng walked into the store carrying a large bag of fruit and said that he would make 40 cups of drinks and send them to Xiamen University at noon.
There were only him and Deng Feng in the store at that time. He asked and found out that Ji Minglun had a basketball team game in the afternoon, and Deng Feng did these to cheer him up.
His shift today was scheduled until three in the afternoon. Not wanting to miss the game, he discussed with Deng Feng about taking two hours off and delivering the drinks himself.
He was a graduate of Xiamen University, and Deng Feng had no interest in playing basketball, so he readily agreed. Soon after, Deng Yi came to the store to help receive customers, and he and Deng Feng started making drinks, and finally sealed and packaged all 40 cups before one o'clock.
He went to the parking lot and drove to the store entrance. Deng Feng put two boxes of drinks in the trunk and picked up a large bag of mousse cakes. When he closed the door, Deng Yi got in the passenger seat and said she wanted to go with him.
He and Deng Yi were not familiar with each other, but Deng Yi's personality was a bit like Lu Zhe's, and she could chat with anyone. On the way, Deng Yi talked about the basketball game and reminded him that he could stay and watch the game if he had time after sending him off.
He had just this thought, and when the car was halfway there, Deng Yi made a phone call.
The other party didn't answer the first time, so Deng Yi muttered something. The second time she called, the other party answered. Deng Yi said happily, "Minglun, where are you? I'm coming over to bring you coffee now."
"Still sleeping?" Deng Yi chuckled, "Don't you dare to be lazy again? Even if your opponent is not good, you have to pretend. If you do this, Liu Yi will have another reason to trouble you."
"I'm in the car," Deng Yi twisted a strand of hair on her chest with her fingertips, her smile brighter than the sunshine outside the window, "Come out to pick me up quickly, my brother made forty cups and a big bag of small cakes, I can't carry them all in for you."
"Okay, I'll be there in about ten minutes, or the south gate."
"Well, I'll hang up now. Bye."
Seeing Deng Yi put down her phone with a happy look on her face, Jiang Lin hesitated for a moment and said casually, "You and Ji Minglun have a good relationship."
"Yes," Deng Yi admitted generously, "I have known him for almost a year. He was a friend of my brother before, and we got to know each other later when we decided to open a store together."
Ji Minglun had never mentioned the idea of opening a store to Jiang Lin before, so Jiang Lin asked, "He and Deng Feng are still studying, so why would they want to open a store?"
Deng Yi said: "My brother was the first to bring it up. At that time, he was looking for someone to join the gang. Minglun happened to be in a bad state at that time, so my brother told him to find something to do to distract himself."
"Not in good condition?"
Jiang Lin repeated these words, and Deng Yi did not doubt him and took the initiative to explain: "At that time, he was dumped by the person he liked, and he was depressed for two or three months.
"During that time, he ignored everyone and spent all day in Internet cafes playing games with others. The summer vacation was not over yet, and he didn't even shave. I had a bad impression of him at first, and I thought how could he open a coffee shop when he was so sloppy."
Deng Yi sighed as she spoke, hooking her left index finger on the ring hanging at the bottom of the phone case and shaking it back and forth.
Jiang Lin was worried that he had no place to ask about Ji Minglun's past, so he asked, "What happened next?"
"Later, he finally figured it out and agreed to my brother's proposal." Deng Yi continued to sigh, "Although he still refuses to say a word, I really want to see what kind of person is the one who dumped him. He is so blind to leave such a good person behind."
The man who was criticized by Deng Yi for being blind became very nervous. Fortunately, they were about to cross an intersection, so Jiang Lin simply shut up and waited until they passed the area with heavy traffic. He wondered if asking Deng Yi directly whether she liked Ji Minglun would be overstepping her boundaries. Then he heard Deng Yi ask him, "Why do you want to ask these questions? Didn't you just talk to Minglun once?"
“I also studied at Xiamen University before.”
"You haven't seen him, then?"
Jiang Lin was not a good liar, but since Ji Minglun didn't want to show that he knew him, there was no need for him to mention it to others. He explained, "The school is so big, it's normal that we didn't meet."
Deng Yi nodded: "That's true, but..."
Before she finished her words, the phone on her thigh rang again. She spent the rest of the journey answering calls from her good friends. When Jiang Lin stopped near the school gate, she hung up and said, "I'll go down for a moment."
Jiang Lin unlocked the car door for her and watched her jog to the school gate, greet a handsome boy with a baby face, and then walked to the car with the two of them. Jiang Lin looked at the boy behind Deng Yi and thought he looked familiar at first, but when he got closer, he realized that it was the boy in pajamas he saw on the first day he went to Ji Minglun's house.
Thinking of what he said to Ji Minglun in front of him that day, he couldn't help but feel nervous, worried that the boy would say something he shouldn't. As a result, the boy just looked at him thoughtfully, then smiled at him and took the initiative to introduce himself.
The boy's name was Shen Ran, and he became quiet after introducing himself, which made him feel relieved. Deng Yi complained that Ji Minglun was too lazy. He had clearly promised to come out to pick up the customer, but now he sent someone else.
Shen Ran was not offended by Deng Yi's complaints. Instead, he smiled and explained for Ji Minglun: "The seniors are in a meeting. I'm sitting on the bench today, so I came out to take his place."
Deng Yi also realized that what she said was too much, so she quickly laughed it off and changed the subject. Shen Ran continued her words while pointing to the bend ahead, reminding Jiang Lin to drive to the Nanputuo parking lot.
Jiang Lin could drive the roads around here with his eyes closed, but he still followed Shen Ran's instructions. After parking the car, he and Shen Ran each carried a box of drinks and walked towards the indoor gymnasium under the scorching sun.
Deng Yi was carrying an insulated bag containing cakes and holding an umbrella halfway over Shen Ran's head. During this time, Shen Ran looked back at him several times, and each time he would look away awkwardly.
It only took more than ten minutes to walk from the parking lot to the gymnasium, but because a section of the road was closed for pipeline repairs, Shen Ran took them on a detour, which included walking over a section of hundreds of steps.
After walking for more than ten minutes under the hot afternoon sun, Jiang Lin's face and neck were soon sunburned, and his arms were sore and numb from holding the box. Looking at the passage that looked like a ladder to heaven, he gritted his teeth and insisted on walking up. At this time, Shen Ran put down the box in his arms first, took his box and stacked it together, and said to him: "Take a rest first."
Shen Ran was stronger than him. When he was leaning on the handrail to catch his breath, Shen Ran took out his cell phone and made a call, calling two classmates to come over for help.
When they finally arrived at the basketball court in the comprehensive gymnasium, Jiang Lin finally saw Ji Minglun, who was sitting on a bench on the side, tying his sneakers.
As soon as Deng Yi came in, she ran towards Ji Minglun. When she got in front of him, she patted Ji Minglun's strong arm. Ji Minglun looked up at her, and before he said a word, he looked towards the door and saw him standing there.
When that gaze came over, Jiang Lin's Adam's apple moved, but unfortunately his throat was so dry that he had no saliva to swallow.
Not sure if Ji Minglun would be angry that he came over without saying hello, he looked down at the two boxes of drinks at his feet, thinking that if it didn't work, he would just leave. At this time, Ji Minglun stood up, took a bottle of mineral water and walked towards him.
Deng Yi followed Ji Minglun and when she got to him, Ji Minglun said to her, "Help me distribute the food and drinks to everyone."
Deng Yi nodded, and Ji Minglun looked at Jiang Lin and asked, "Are you suffering from heat stroke? I'll take you to the bathroom to wash your face."
Jiang Lin didn't react, but Shen Ran beside him said, "Yes, senior, it was too hot on the way here, you should take him to cool down."
Jiang Lin followed Ji Minglun to the nearest restroom. After entering, Ji Minglun unscrewed the bottle of mineral water and handed it to him. After watching him drink half of the bottle in one breath, he asked, "Why are you here?"
Jiang Lin put down the bottle and was about to answer when he suddenly burped. He paused before saying, "I just happen to be free."
Glancing at the inside of his arm that was rubbed red by the cardboard box, Ji Minglun was about to speak when he heard him burp again.
Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment, and then the third hiccup came, and the fourth, and the fifth...
Ji Minglun and he looked at each other, and no one spoke for a while. The whole bathroom was filled with the sound of regular hiccups until someone pushed the door of one of the cubicles open.
Ji Minglun turned around and looked at the other person. The man also looked at them, washed his hands and went out.
Jiang Lin unscrewed the bottle cap and drank the rest of the water in one breath, but it didn't work. He covered his mouth and tried to stop the hiccups by holding his breath, but after a while, Ji Minglun pulled his hand away and said, "Don't hold it in. How can you hold it in?"
Jiang Lin was a little embarrassed. It was probably because he drank the bottle of water too quickly that he kept burping. He pounded his chest. Ji Minglun heard him pounding so hard, as if he didn't feel any pain, so he had to hold his hand again: "Go to the stands and rest for a while. You'll be fine in a while."
Jiang Lin nodded and burped at the same time. Ji Minglun let go of his hand and walked out. The moment he turned around, he seemed to see the corner of Ji Minglun's mouth raised.
The author has something to say:
There will be no tomorrow. I will remind you again that this article will be updated three times and then rested. The next chapter will be the day after tomorrow~(①ω①)