Pushing the arm off his shoulder, Ji Minglun looked at Deng Feng with dissatisfaction: "Are you planning to organize a tour group?"
Deng Feng patted his shoulder and put his arm on him again: "It's more fun when there are more people. We all know each other, so what's there to be afraid of?"
After that, he looked at Jiang Lin again: "Jiang Lin has been back to China for almost a month. He works part-time in our store, but his shifts are no different from full-time. He even came early to clean up after the typhoon that day. Such an excellent employee deserves a reward."
"Jiang Lin, I'll pay for your flight and accommodation. It's decided. Let's go together."
Deng Feng waved his hand and directly paid for Jiang Lin's travel expenses. Ji Minglun's face became even uglier. Fortunately, Jiang Lin immediately refused: "No, I'll pay for it myself."
Deng Feng told him to be polite, but Ji Minglun interrupted him and said, "As the boss, you paid for his flight and accommodation, but what about the other people in the store who didn't go?"
This remark woke up Deng Feng, and he opened his mouth: "Then I'll ask others if they want to go, and if they do, we can go together."
"Goodbye," Ji Minglun interrupted him unhappily, "If you keep going on like this, it will really become a tour group."
Deng Feng didn't really mean that, so he just went down the slope: "Then it's just the few of us. I'll book the air tickets and hotels together."
This time, there was no objection, so Deng Feng went to the guest seating area at the back. Ji Minglun and Jiang Lin looked at each other, and no one spoke for a while. Soon the silence was interrupted by a customer who came to place an order, so Jiang Lin had to go and get busy first.
After closing, Deng Feng locked the electronic shutter door and turned to look at the two people beside him: "How do we leave?"
Jiang Lin came here by taxi today. His car was parked opposite Lao Yu Porridge Shop. Ji Minglun and Deng Feng were both driving. When they heard that Jiang Lin wanted to take a taxi, Deng Feng offered to give him a ride.
"No need," Jiang Lin declined, "I can go by myself."
"It's hard to get a taxi here at this time," Deng Feng said, "Anyway, I have time. I'll take you to get the taxi and then go home."
Jiang Lin wanted to refuse, but Deng Feng had already walked towards the parking lot. Jiang Lin looked at Ji Minglun, who was silent for a moment and said to Deng Feng, "I'll take him there."
Deng Feng looked back in confusion. Ji Minglun put his hands in his pockets and explained, "Didn't Deng Yi ask you to buy some midnight snacks? She'll be angry if you're late. Anyway, I'm free, so I'll go there."
"She won't be angry because of this little time, and you have to take a detour to send her off," Deng Feng smiled easily and waved to Jiang Lin, "Let's go."
Deng Feng insisted so much that Jiang Lin had no choice but to refuse his kindness. Ji Minglun also couldn't find a reason to intervene, so he could only watch Jiang Lin walk towards Deng Feng's car parked diagonally opposite.
Jiang Lin opened the passenger door and sat in. He fastened his seat belt and took out his phone. Deng Feng backed the car out, drove to Ji Minglun's side, lowered the window and asked, "Are you not leaving yet?"
"Just get some fried chicken and go."
Ji Minglun said casually, glancing seemingly casually at the person in the passenger seat who was concentrating on looking at his phone. When the car drove away, the phone in his trouser pocket vibrated.
"Lin" sent a message: [It's still early tonight, do you want to go to Lao Yu's for a midnight snack? ]
Looking up at the car that was about to turn out of the intersection, Ji Minglun unconsciously raised the corner of his mouth and replied: [Okay, see you later]
Staring at the reply on the screen, Jiang Lin tried to hide the smile by pushing his bangs down.
Leaning back in his chair, he looked out the window at the shops on the street that were constantly receding, and heard Deng Feng say, "Can I play some music?"
"good."
Deng Feng played a lyrical English song. Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment when the prelude melody sounded. Seeing his reaction, Deng Feng smiled and said, "This song was quite popular some time ago. Have you heard it too?"
This song is "Wish", which Lu Zhe had been playing on repeat in the dormitory for several days. Jiang Lin also listened to it many times when he just returned to China.
"Well, my roommate is from Hong Kong, and he really likes TVB dramas."
Deng Feng held the steering wheel with one hand, changed to a comfortable position and continued to ask: "Do you live on campus over there?"
"No, I was originally renting a house by myself, but then the landlord took it back temporarily. I couldn't find a suitable single room, so I had to share the rent first."
"It's not easy to study outside," Deng Feng sighed, "Your roommate should be easy to get along with, right?"
When talking about Lu Zhe, Jiang Lin smiled and said, "He is very easy to get along with. He not only has a good personality but also is a great cook."
Deng Feng asked: "Girl?"
"A man."
Deng Feng nodded thoughtfully: "Very few men can cook."
Jiang Lin was very grateful when he heard that Lu Zhe was good at cooking. If Lu Zhe hadn't asked him to cook with him, his stomach would never have recovered during that time. However, Ji Minglun's cooking skills were not bad either. It was a pity that he hadn't tasted Ji Minglun's food since he came back this time, and he didn't know if he would have the chance to do so before he returned.
After waiting for a while without hearing a reply, Deng Feng glanced over and saw Jiang Lin looking out the window, not knowing what he was thinking. His delicate eyebrows and eyes looked a little absent-minded under the flashing light of the street lights.
Although Deng Feng wanted to know more about Jiang Lin, he didn't want to disrupt the tranquility of the moment, so he waited until they were near their destination before asking, "Are you hungry? How about eating something before you go?"
"No need," Jiang Lin unbuckled his seat belt, "I didn't sleep well last night, so I want to rest early tonight."
"Okay, then be careful on the road."
"Thank you very much." Jiang Lin said before closing the door. Deng Feng smiled helplessly: "If you really want to thank me, just remember one thing, don't say thank you again in the future."
Jiang Lin agreed with a smile, watched Deng Feng leave, and walked towards the Lao Yu Porridge Shop opposite. After entering, he saw Ji Minglun's back in a familiar position.
Jiang Lin walked over quickly and sat down on the chair next to Ji Minglun. He looked at the empty table and said, "You haven't ordered yet?"
"I'll order when you get here," Ji Minglun put down his phone and pointed at the menu on the wall, "What do you want? The old three or something else?"
Jiang Lin said without thinking: "The old three."
Ji Minglun walked over and ordered some salty porridge, then took a plate with two fried dough sticks and six fried spring rolls and returned to his seat, handing a pair of chopsticks to Jiang Lin.
Picking up the spring roll and taking a bite, Jiang Lin said with satisfaction: "It still tastes the same as before."
Ji Minglun poured soy sauce on a small dish and picked up the fried dough sticks to dip them in. He didn't say anything, so Jiang Lin put down the spring rolls and said, "As for the trip, don't you want me to go with you?"
Ji Minglun chewed the dough sticks and said vaguely, "No."
—Then why didn’t you mention it before
When the words he wanted to say came to his lips, Jiang Lin remembered that he and Ji Minglun had just reconciled, and there was no need for Ji Minglun to tell him every detail like he did before.
The tender bean sprouts in the spring rolls were dripping with yellow oil stains. I didn't feel anything when I ate them just now, but now I feel a little greasy. Jiang Lin didn't move his chopsticks again. After the porridge was served, he scooped a bowl for Ji Minglun and himself, lowered his head and ate it in small bites.
Ji Minglun pushed another dough stick to his hand: "It will become soft if you put more."
Jiang Lin picked it up without dipping it in the dish of soy sauce. After he finished eating the fried dough sticks and salty porridge, he took out two tissues and handed one to Ji Minglun to wipe his mouth.
After leaving the porridge shop, he asked Ji Minglun where he parked his car. Ji Minglun pointed in another direction with his chin: "There is no space nearby. It's a bit far."
He said, "Then I'll go with you to get the car."
"No need," Ji Minglun stood still, "Your car is just across the street, go back first."
The fingers of his right hand at his side moved slightly, and Jiang Lin insisted: "I just ate and wanted to take a walk."
His intention to get closer was too obvious. Ji Minglun was silent for a moment, but he didn't refuse: "Then let's go."
Jiang Lin followed him and after a few steps he asked again, "When did you decide to go play?"
Ji Minglun kicked away a small stone at his feet: "Before the summer vacation."
"Do you want to go alone like the time in Qinghai?" Jiang Lin asked, and then realized that his question was abrupt. Ji Minglun glanced at him, and when he was thinking about whether to say something to cover up, Ji Minglun said with a smile: "You know a lot of things, did you find out from Deng Feng?"
"No," Jiang Lin stepped around the spilled drink in front of him, "I looked for Chen Nidan when I came back."
"What else did you find out?"
"Nothing." Jiang Lin pulled his arm, fearing that Ji Minglun would misunderstand his intentions. "Actually, the person I wanted to find the most at that time was you, but you probably didn't want to see me."
Ji Minglun said nothing, and walked forward a few steps before saying, "If you don't want to go to Xi'an, don't force yourself. I'll talk to Deng Feng for you. That guy is easy to communicate with."
"No, I want to go." Jiang Lin explained immediately, "I was just wondering why you didn't mention going out next week."
"Aren't you not interested in Xi'an?" Ji Minglun asked back, "I asked you once during the summer vacation of high school, and you said you didn't want to go."
Jiang Lin stopped and looked at Ji Minglun's back with a slightly surprised expression.
Did he ever refuse
I racked my brains to recall the memories related to this period, and soon remembered that Ji Minglun had mentioned it, but he was in a bad mood at that time because of some unspeakable things, and he was indeed not interested in Xi'an at that time.
The footsteps behind him disappeared, and Ji Minglun knew without turning back that Jiang Lin had remembered. Sighing in his heart, he took out the car key from his trouser pocket and unlocked an Aurora blue SUV opposite.
"Go back." The hand holding the car keys waved to Jiang Lin, Ji Minglun strode across the street, and just as he was about to open the car door, he was held down by a hand reaching out from behind.
"Minglun, don't get me wrong, it was because of my dad's foreign..."
Jiang Lin looked at Ji Minglun anxiously. He wanted to clarify immediately, but the headlights of a jeep suddenly flashed from behind. He closed his eyes because of the dazzling light. Then he was pulled into Ji Minglun's arms and a gust of wind blew past him.
Ji Minglun parked his car on a quiet road. The right side was full of private cars, and the remaining width of the road was just enough for vehicles to pass in parallel. It would be very dangerous if he encountered a driver driving fast.
After witnessing the scene just now, Ji Minglun was still frightened. He cursed at the car and looked down at Jiang Lin's hands and feet: "Are you injured?"
Jiang Lin was somewhat nostalgic for the feeling of being hugged, but unfortunately Ji Minglun let him go immediately. He could only shake his head and said, "It's okay, luckily you pulled me."
"Don't stand here," Ji Minglun was in no mood at all, and took him to the side, "Hurry up and get back to the car."
Jiang Lin refused to leave. When another car passed by, the headlights illuminated his face, which looked as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. Thinking of what he hadn't finished saying before, Ji Minglun asked, "What did you want to say just now?"
The mood was abruptly interrupted, and Jiang Lin no longer wanted to affect the atmosphere by mentioning Jiang Jianchen's troubles.
It was dark tonight, and the path without street lights seemed very quiet, with only the rhythmic chirping of crickets in the grass. Looking at the unclear facial features of the person in front of him, Jiang Lin suddenly realized that Ji Minglun couldn't see him clearly at this moment.
An indescribable throbbing quietly crept into his heart, and he suddenly wanted to say a few words to Ji Minglun, to tell him the secrets that he could not normally tell.
His fingers clenched the seam of his jeans, he swallowed, stared into the eyes that shone faintly in the darkness and said, "In fact, people do change."
“Just because you didn’t like a person or a city before doesn’t mean you won’t like it now.”