While washing up in the bathroom, Jiang Lin received a call from Deng Feng.
He thought Deng Feng had something to inform him about the store, but when he picked up the phone, he heard Deng Feng asking him if he was okay.
He felt puzzled: "I'm fine, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I saw on the news this morning that there were two areas near you where the power was out. I wanted to ask how you were doing."
Jiang Lin said: "My house has electricity now, thank you for your concern."
"You're welcome," Deng Feng said with a smile, "Actually I wanted to send you a cake yesterday, but then Ming Lun said he happened to be there so I asked him to send it. Is the cake still edible?"
Deng Feng still didn't know that Jiang Lin and Ji Minglun knew each other before. Jiang Lin replied with a guilty conscience: "The cake is very good. He also told me. Thank you for bothering me and thinking of sending it to me."
"Everyone has a copy. You can't be left out."
Jiang Lin said "hmm", and the atmosphere became quiet. He was not good at chatting with others, especially with people he was not familiar with. However, Deng Feng did not find the silence awkward and continued to ask, "By the way, can you come to the store to work tomorrow afternoon?"
"no problem."
"Okay, then I'll schedule your shift tomorrow. Remember to be safe on the road."
Before hanging up, Deng Feng reminded Jiang Lin again. After putting down the phone, he thought that Deng Feng was really kind-hearted. He didn't act like a boss in the store and always competed with him for work. No wonder he had such a good relationship with Ji Minglun.
After finishing his hot breakfast at the table, Jiang Lin was stopped by Ji Minglun when he was cleaning up the dishes.
"Your eczema has gotten worse again," Ji Minglun reminded him as he took the chopsticks from his hand, "Remember to take your medicine."
He looked at his hands and found that there were more small blisters on his fingers, but because they didn't itch, he didn't notice it. Unexpectedly, Ji Minglun noticed it first.
A warm feeling flowed through his heart. He walked to the cabinet where the medicine was kept, found the medicine for treating eczema, took two pills, then opened the curtains to see what was happening outside.
The heavy rain that had been falling all night showed signs of slowing down, but the wind was getting stronger, and the fierce whistling sound could be heard through the glass window.
Downstairs was a mess. A phoenix tree was blown down in the green belt in the middle, and all the landscape flowers were knocked down and lay limp in the water. Plastic bags, branches and leaves were left on the roof of Ji Minglun's car. A shared bicycle next to it was blown down, but fortunately it didn't hit the car.
"Do you want to put a cover on your car?" Jiang Lin asked towards the kitchen.
"It's okay," Ji Minglun said, "We have insurance, so we can claim compensation if it gets smashed."
Thinking about the accident he almost encountered yesterday, Jiang Lin didn't say anything more. However, Ji Minglun's words gave him reassurance. Even after a night, this man didn't think about leaving.
Entering the second bedroom, Jiang Lin turned on his laptop and just as he logged into the information website he was going to use, he saw Ji Minglun coming in. The man opened the French window, went out, lowered the clothes drying pole, and touched the ** hanging there.
Jiang Lin's washing machine is a washer-dryer. Last night, he threw all of Ji Minglun's underwear into it, intending to turn on the drying mode after washing. Unfortunately, the washing machine had not been used for more than a year, and the drying function never responded, so he had to hang the underwear to dry. But this weather is very humid, and even after a night, the underwear cannot be worn.
Looking at Ji Minglun's frowning expression, Jiang Lin felt guilty. Then he remembered the place where his knees hit when he got up. A feeling of restlessness came over him and his face became hot.
Patting his cheeks twice, he focused his attention on the computer screen.
Ji Minglun passed by him again, and his footsteps stopped at the sofa. Then he heard the TV turned on. Ji Minglun turned down the volume so as not to disturb him. For the next two hours, one of them was looking up information while the other was watching an English movie on the screen. Although they did not disturb each other, this long-lost comfortable atmosphere made Jiang Lin feel very relaxed and unexpectedly focused on his studies.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Ji Minglun knocked on the door of the second bedroom: "What do you want for lunch?"
Jiang Lin turned his head, but before he could take off his silver-rimmed glasses, Ji Minglun walked over to the desk and asked, "Why are you wearing glasses again?"
Jiang Lin raised his chin and looked at him: "This is just to block blue light."
Glancing at the four rows of densely packed windows on the status bar at the bottom of the computer, Ji Minglun asked again, "It must be very stressful over there."
Jiang Lin leaned back in his chair and pounded his shoulders: "It's not bad, it feels about the same as back home, you should not be having an easy time either."
They are in the same major. Even though the environment and teaching methods at home and abroad are different, they are basically the same. Ji Minglun leaned on the edge of the table and was about to answer when he heard his stomach growling.
They were both stunned. Jiang Lin adjusted his glasses and said awkwardly, "Studying makes you hungry."
"Do you have any soda crackers?" Ji Minglun turned and walked out, not letting Jiang Lin see the curve of his mouth. "If you have any, eat some first. I'll cook them now."
While Ji Minglun was cooking, Jiang Lin chewed a few biscuits and contacted the pet shop owner to ask about the situation of Cheese in the past two days.
The boss replied that there was no big problem, except that a row of awnings opposite were blown down last night, causing a loud noise, and the cats and dogs in the store were frightened, but they have been calmed down now.
He wanted to video chat with Cheese, but his boss asked him to wait until the video request was sent over. He picked up the call immediately and saw Cheese's familiar, slightly silly little face.
As soon as he saw him on the screen, Cheese straightened his back and stuck out his tongue to blow on him. The boss stroked Cheese's head and taught Cheese to say hello to him. He felt very sad when he saw Cheese wanted to jump onto the screen several times.
Leaving Cheese behind when going abroad was a decision I had to make. Now that he has finally come back for the summer vacation, I cannot take Cheese home because of his eczema, so I have to keep him in the pet store.
He teased Cheese through the camera for a while, but since his boss had other things to do, he had to put down his phone. He leaned back in his chair for a while, looking at the bedroom door. It would be great if he could put Cheese in Ji Minglun's place as they had agreed before going abroad.
He wanted to speak several times during the meal, but when he thought that they had just reconciled and Ji Minglun would be annoyed if he had too much to do, he held back. In the afternoon, he continued to look for information on the computer, while Ji Minglun answered several phone calls.
The man spoke in a low voice, and even if he pricked up his ears, he could only vaguely hear some activities and topics such as where to go for fun.
He only heard it intermittently and had no idea who he was going to play with. After dinner, Ji Minglun looked at the sky outside. The rain had eased a little, but the wind was still very strong.
The street lights in the community were dim, only illuminating a corner of the rain curtain, and occasionally residents holding umbrellas could be seen walking by. Seeing him standing outside the balcony for a long time, Jiang Lin was afraid that he would say he wanted to leave, but he just lowered the clothesline again to check if a few clothes were dry.
Finally, he came in empty-handed, opened the closet on the left, took a set of clean pajamas from the old place, and walked to the bathroom.
Jiang Lin withdrew his gaze from his back, and even though he bit the pen cap with his teeth, he couldn't hide his happy expression.
After hearing the sound of water in the bathroom, Jiang Lin got up and walked to the living room, and took out a brand new box from the cabinet above the TV.
Last week, Deng Feng bought a projector for the store, which reminded him that he also had one of these machines at home. Jiang Jianchen brought it to him when projectors first became popular for home use and said it was a gift from a customer.
It was before the final exams, and he was in a bad mood to review, so he had no mood to play with this kind of thing. Jiang Jianchen brought it to him, so he stuffed it into the cabinet. He didn't mention it to Ji Minglun later, and he forgot about it after a long time. Now it has been four years, and he doesn't know if he can still use it.
Wiping off the dust, Jiang Lin tore off the plastic film on the outside, took the machine out, first studied the appearance and sockets, then picked up the instruction manual to read.
The projector that Jiang Jianchen brought was a high-end product with many functions. He ignored the exaggerated parameters and took it back to the room after figuring out how to use it. He connected it to the power supply and the computer, adjusted the resolution, and randomly clicked on a video to play.
The computer screen went black. He looked at the wall facing the projector and waited for a while but saw no movement. He then reset it according to the instructions in the manual, but it still didn't work.
Looking at the machine helplessly, he thought it must be broken. He curled his lips and stood up to clean it up. Just as he unplugged the wire, he heard the bathroom door open and Ji Minglun walked out.
Seeing him kneeling on the bedroom floor with the machine and box beside him, Ji Minglun came in and asked, "What is this?"
"Projector," Jiang Lin patted the box in his hand, "I've never used it. I wanted to try to play a movie, but it seems to be broken."
"Let me see." Ji Minglun walked over to Jiang Lin and squatted down, picked up the small machine to check it, then took the instruction manual handed to him by Jiang Lin, studied it, and set it up again.
After he set it up, it still couldn't play. Jiang Lin gave up completely, supported himself on the floor and stood up and said, "Forget it, I'll buy another one tomorrow."
Ji Minglun said nothing, sat down in front of Jiang Lin's desk, opened the browser and searched for the brand and model. Jiang Lin watched from the side, and soon he found a post that solved the problem. He tried it and the projector responded. The light flashed, and a bright beam of light shone on the white wall opposite.
Looking at the smooth pictures on the wall, Jiang Lin was convinced: "You are the best."
Ji Minglun asked: "Do you want to watch online classes with this?"
Jiang Lin shook his head and turned to look at him: "I can't see it anymore."
Jiang Lin did not say the second half of the sentence right away, but Ji Minglun could sense that he had not finished speaking, so he waited for him to continue.
Being stared at by that gaze, Jiang Lin retracted his fingers that were supporting himself on the table a little, and then he said what he really wanted to say.
"How about watching a movie?"
In the past, when they stayed at home, they would pick movies to watch, but because Jiang Lin liked art films and Ji Minglun liked to watch gunfights and fighting, they basically didn't see each other. But after going to college, Ji Minglun suddenly changed his taste and would watch art films with Jiang Lin.
Although he often dozed off while watching, and Jiang Lin had told him many times that he didn't need to do that, he used the excuse of "cultivating one's sentiments", which anyone with a discerning eye could see at a glance. Unfortunately, Jiang Lin was a blockhead at the time, and even though he found it strange, he didn't think about it in other ways.
However, Jiang Lin now understands what he was thinking, which he couldn't see at that time.
Worried that Ji Minglun would refuse, Jiang Lin planned to pick a gunfight movie that suited his taste, but before he could open his mouth, Ji Minglun asked, "What do you want to watch?"
A while ago, a Hong Kong movie about rescuing hostages was released. Lu Zhe went to the theater to watch it and said it was very enjoyable. Jiang Lin still remembered the name of the movie, so he told him. Ji Minglun was a little surprised and moved his eyes from the screen to his face: "Have you changed your taste now?"
"I've watched a lot of these movies this year, and I think they're pretty good."
Ji Minglun smiled and said, "It's a rare thing." Jiang Lin watched him search for the source of the movie. After pressing play, the movie was projected onto the white wall beside the bed. As the music started, the dragon logo appeared at the beginning of the movie.
"Do you want to take a chair or sit on the cushion?" Ji Minglun asked.
"The futon," Jiang Lin turned and walked out, "I'll get it."
Ji Minglun followed Jiang Lin out. Jiang Lin thought he was going to help, but he went towards the kitchen.
Jiang Lin took two futons from under the coffee table, put them in his room, and sat on the one on the right. The film began with a car racing scene. He paused it and waited for a while before Ji Minglun came in.
The man held two cans of beer in one hand and a plate of cheesecake in the other. After he took the plate, he turned off the lights.
The room suddenly became dark, with only the light projected on the wall illuminating each other's faces.
Ji Minglun sat down next to Jiang Lin, opened the pull ring and handed a bottle to Jiang Lin like he used to do, then picked up the remote control to continue playing.
The protagonists of this movie are a pair of young police officers and their lovers. Since it starts with scenes of car racing and explosions, the pace is very tight. After watching it for half an hour, the plot has progressed to the kidnappers hijacking a bus.
Biting the mouth of the can, Jiang Lin secretly looked at the person next to him in the dim light.
Compared to his absent-mindedness, Ji Minglun watched very attentively. He only occasionally took a sip of beer and did not touch the cake he handed over.
About fifty minutes into the performance, Ji Minglun's phone rang. He looked at the screen, stood up, and told Jiang Lin to answer the call.
The bedroom door closed behind him. Jiang Lin pressed the pause button and leaned on the edge of the bed to rest with his eyes closed.
I used the computer all day today and just watched a movie in dim light. My eyes are sore and dry.
Ji Minglun's call took a while. He could hear voices from time to time, but couldn't make out the content. When Ji Minglun came in, he saw him sleeping on the edge of the bed.
Thinking that he was sleepy, Ji Minglun walked to him quietly and tried to turn off the projector. He was pulled by the back of his pajamas. When he turned around, he saw that he was awake and said, "I'm not asleep. Keep watching."
Ji Minglun asked: "Aren't you sleepy?"
Jiang Lin sat up straight and said, "My eyes were just a little dry. I feel much better after a rest."
After pressing the play button, Ji Minglun sat down and continued watching. After a while, he heard Jiang Lin ask, "Someone wants to chat with you this late?"
Ji Minglun hummed, picked up the beer and took a sip: "My friend was heartbroken and came to me to complain."
The word "broken heart" stirred Jiang Lin's nerves. Staring at the tearful heroine on the wall who didn't want her boyfriend to get on the bus for hostage exchange, Jiang Lin paused before saying, "To talk to you about this, you must be a very close friend."
"It's quite good."
Ji Minglun said indifferently, and just when Jiang Lin was a little depressed because he did not deny it, he looked at the movie and said, "But you also know him."
Looking up at him again, Jiang Lin asked, "Who is it?"
"Shen Ran," Ji Minglun sighed, "This guy is a bit unlucky. He got the girl he liked the first time he dated her, but he found out that his girlfriend was gay within two months of dating."
Jiang Lin opened his eyes wide, and Ji Minglun said helplessly: "It was caught by several classmates in his class. This is really embarrassing."
Jiang Lin and Shen Ran were not familiar with each other, but Shen Ran had taken good care of him when they played basketball and ate at the buffet last time. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Is his girlfriend bisexual?"
"I'm not sure about that, but he was drunk just now and said that they only held hands, but they didn't do that."
"That?" Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was going on when Ji Minglun turned around and looked at him. He stared at the movie screen awkwardly, "So you want to go out and comfort him?"
"He said he wanted to go to a gay bar to broaden his horizons, and he didn't need me because he had someone to accompany him."
When Jiang Lin heard the word "gay bar", he remembered another thing.
During the year that I was away, would Ji Minglun also frequently go to places like that
Thinking that Ji Minglun might be drunk and leaning on the sofa, joking or hugging someone casually, that image seemed to have taken root and could not be shaken off. For the remaining forty minutes, he had no idea what the movie was about and did not even notice the two thunders outside the window.
Ji Minglun also noticed that Jiang Lin was distracted. Thinking about the topic he had deliberately talked about just now, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
Knowing clearly that Jiang Lin could not accept homosexuality, he still insisted on saying these things to provoke Jiang Lin.
When the ending song sounded, Ji Minglun used the remote control to turn off the projector, stood up and said, "It's late, go to bed early."
The only light disappeared, and the room became even darker than before. They could only see each other's silhouettes. Just as Ji Minglun was about to turn on the light, Jiang Lin pulled the hem of his pajamas.
"Ming Lun," Jiang Lin's voice was very soft, and in the case of unclear vision, it felt like someone was holding their breath and pressing it against his ear.
"The sofa is too uncomfortable to sleep on. Can I sleep on the bed with you tonight?"
The author has something to say:
This book will be published the day after tomorrow. Since I am running out of time, I will update more chapters today. I will not update tomorrow, but two chapters the day after tomorrow.
In addition, after updating for a while, I feel everyone's love for Jiang Lin and Ming Lun and their pity for their silence. In fact, I also hope that they will break the window paper immediately and hug each other to fight, but their situation is different from the couple who are together and separated. There is still a misunderstanding between the two. Jiang Lin has made mistakes before, and now he can't just say what he wants regardless of Ming Lun's thoughts. I hope to give him a little more patience and tolerance. He is getting closer to Ming Lun in his own way and opening his heart. I won't let you down in the future. [wink~]
Thank you for following this far, and thank you for liking this story. It's not long, and if you continue to follow it, you can feel more intense sweetness and excitement.