Looking at this thin figure, a memory that was too similar quietly emerged in my mind.
When we first moved into this house, the fingerprint lock ran out of power. Jiang Lin couldn't get in when he came, so he called him after class. He said he would be back soon, so Jiang Lin waited at the door. Later, because he didn't sleep well the night before, Jiang Lin fell asleep against the wall.
It was still winter then. Half of Jiang Lin's face was wrapped in a thick coat. The rabbit fur around his hat was fluffy and soft, making his face look even smaller than usual. His long eyelashes were naturally curled and his nose tip was red. Ji Minglun couldn't take his eyes off him. He took out his phone and took several photos secretly. He sat beside him until he woke up.
They had known each other for nearly eighteen years, which was the time from birth to adulthood for a person. Therefore, the things that happened between them and the memories they had about each other were countless, and it was almost impossible to completely get rid of Jiang Lin's influence on him.
After a moment of stalemate, Ji Minglun walked over, squatted, and reached out to push Jiang Lin's shoulder.
Jiang Lin was sleeping soundly, and after being pushed over by Ji Minglun, he fell to the side. Ji Minglun immediately supported him, and his eyelashes finally responded. But before he opened his eyes, Ji Minglun had pushed him against the wall and stood up himself.
Jiang Lin was still a little confused when he just woke up. He saw the person in front of him trying to stand up, but just as his hands reached the ground, he withdrew them, covered his stomach and lowered his head.
Ji Minglun saw his movements clearly, and thinking of how he had gone to the emergency room during the day because of the pain, he squatted down and asked, "Have you taken the medicine?"
Jiang Lin shook his head. The stomachache was not as severe as it was during the day. The pain just now was probably because he hadn't eaten anything and his stomach was a little painful.
"I haven't eaten yet. I have to take the medicine after eating."
"Then why are you sitting here instead of going back to eat?"
Hearing some impatience in Ji Minglun's tone, Jiang Lin's voice became even softer: "There are only instant noodles at home, and the doctor told me to eat some light millet porridge."
Before going abroad, Jiang Lin didn't know how to cook. Whenever he wanted to eat, he would either ask his aunt to cook, order takeout, or have Ji Minglun cook for him. Whenever he had an attack, Ji Minglun would stay in the kitchen and cook him a variety of stomach-nourishing porridge.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Ji Minglun knew why he came here, but he still said, "You can order takeout. There are porridge shops everywhere now. You can find any one and it will be delivered in half an hour."
Ji Minglun walked around Jiang Lin and reached out to press the fingerprint lock. As soon as his fingertips touched it, he felt his trouser leg being pulled. Jiang Lin looked up at him. His handsome face was still pale, but the skin at the corners of his eyes was a little red.
"Minglun," Jiang Lin's Adam's apple rolled over the fair skin of his neck. When he spoke again, his voice was a little hoarse, "What do you want in exchange for my forgiveness?"
Their eyes touched each other in mid-air, and this time Ji Minglun did not look away. But only two or three seconds later, the cell phone in his trouser pocket rang.
Deng Yi called and said that she had accidentally left her data cable on his car, and asked him to bring it to her at the library tomorrow morning.
He said he understood, and when he hung up the phone, he saw Jiang Lin covering his stomach with his other hand again, with his head hanging motionlessly.
The image of Jiang Lin in pain when he had a stomachache in the past came to his mind. Even though he wanted to keep a distance from Jiang Lin, he couldn't do it at this moment and drove him away.
Opening the door, he said to Jiang Lin, "Come in first."
Following Ji Minglun into the entrance hall, Jiang Lin held onto the wall and took off his sneakers with both feet. He looked up and saw Ji Minglun throwing a pair of slippers in front of him.
Those were not the dog cartoon slippers that used to belong to him, but a very ordinary pair of black slippers that should be for guests.
Jiang Lin stepped his foot in, and the back of his shoe protruded. He closed the door, watched Ji Minglun press a few buttons on the smart home screen on the wall, and then walked into the kitchen.
He looked around. There was no obvious change in the house during the year he had been away. However, apart from the wave art painting on the wall opposite the sofa and the gray dream catcher on the door frame of the master bedroom, there was no longer any of the things he had bought.
Walking to the large grey leather sofa, Jiang Lin wanted to sit down when he remembered that he had not only spent half a day in the emergency room, but also sat on the floor outside the door for a long time in this outfit. So he sat down on the floor in front of the sofa, leaning his face against the glass coffee table, looking towards the kitchen.
The kitchen of Ji Minglun's house is an open design. A rectangular island separates the kitchen from the living room, and the dining table is on the right side against the wall. Jiang Lin's eyes followed the figure behind the island. Ji Minglun was wearing a dark apron and washing rice by the sink.
This was a scene he hadn't seen for a long time. The heart that had been hanging in the air for the past few days finally settled down. As soon as he relaxed, his eyelids became heavy again. When Ji Minglun turned around, he found him lying on the coffee table, drowsy.
His eyes swept across the marble floor beneath him. Ji Minglun poured the scooped rice into the electric pressure cooker, then took a box of milk and heated it in the microwave. Finally, he put two eggs into salt water to boil.
After finishing all this, Ji Minglun washed his hands, took off his apron and walked to Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin's eyes were already closed. Ji Minglun wanted to ask him to sit on the sofa. Just as his hand touched his shoulder, he heard him say, "I'm covered in sweat and dust. Can you lend me the bathroom? I want to take a shower."
Without hearing a reply, Jiang Lin slowly opened his eyes, looked into Ji Minglun's eyes with his slender eyes, and moved his lips which were a little chapped due to lack of water. Without waiting for him to speak again, Ji Minglun straightened up and said expressionlessly: "Do you have a fever?"
Jiang Lin shook his head.
Glancing in the direction of the bathroom, Ji Minglun said, "Then wash quickly, don't take a bath."
Jiang Lin said: "Okay."
Ji Minglun did not delay there. After Jiang Lin entered the bathroom, he walked into the master bedroom and opened the wardrobe on the right.
In the past, Jiang Lin would often sleep at his house, and he had a lot of Jiang Lin's clothes and even half a dozen of his underwear. But after that incident, he packed up all of Jiang Lin's clothes and put them in a suitcase in the storage room.
Not wanting Jiang Lin to know that he still kept those clothes, Ji Minglun picked out his T-shirt and sweatpants and put them on the shelf next to the bathroom door. As for **, Ji Minglun did not take it.
There was a rustling sound of water in the bathroom, and the aroma of sandalwood and cedar came from the crack of the door. This scene and smell were very familiar to him. If he and Jiang Lin had not happened that night, they would still be as close as before.
After returning to the kitchen and looking at the eggs in the pot, Ji Minglun opened the lower shelf of the refrigerator, took out a box of crystal shrimp dumplings, put them on a plate, put them in the steamer, and then put the hot milk and boiled eggs on the table.
The clock on the wall had reached half past eleven. He sent a WeChat message to Su Yan: [Is your fever gone?]
Su Yan has a poor immune system and is prone to fever. His girlfriend Ji Gan is away on a business trip these days, so Ji Minglun helps take care of him.
A few minutes after the message was sent, Su Yan called back.
"I'm retired, but I'm so hungry. Are you home? Let's go out for a barbecue."
Looking back in the direction of the bathroom, Ji Minglun said, "Not tonight. Don't keep thinking about greasy food. Cook some dumplings or something."
"Ji Gan is not here again, how about you take the trouble to come and help me cook?"
Su Yan was also a person who had never done housework. If Jiang Lin had not been here, Ji Minglun would have gone over to help him.
"It's not convenient now. I'll cook it and bring it to you."
"Okay, then what kind of filling do you want to cook?" Su Yan said, counting on his fingers, "I don't eat leeks and cucumbers. Do you have anything with beef?"
Walking into the kitchen, Ji Minglun took out a bag of kimchi pork dumplings from the bottom of the refrigerator, clamped the phone between his ear and shoulder, and complained to him while unpacking: "Do you really think I'm a takeaway shop? You even specified the fillings. There's only kimchi pork flavor. If you don't like it, I won't make it."
Su Yan said, "Okay, this is it."
Ji Minglun asked him to wait. When he turned back to get something from the island counter, he caught a glimpse of Jiang Lin who had just come out of the bathroom and was standing in the living room looking at him.
After telling the person on the other end of the phone that he was hanging up, he put the phone down and continued with his work as if nothing had happened.
Jiang Lin's gaze moved from his back to the dining table on the right. He looked at the eggs and milk on the table, but what he was thinking about was the phone call just now.
The way Ji Minglun spoke to the other party was very similar to the way he used to argue with him. Could it be that during the year that he was away, Ji Minglun really fell in love with someone else
After pouring the dumplings into the boiling pot, Ji Minglun turned around again and found Jiang Lin still standing there, so he reminded him, "Sit down and eat first. The shrimp dumplings and porridge will have to wait."
After adding three drops of water into the pot, Ji Minglun used a colander to scoop the dumplings onto a plate. Then he opened the steamer next to him, took out the steamed crystal shrimp dumplings, and placed them on the dining table.
Jiang Lin had already sat down at the table. He drank half a cup of milk and was peeling an egg. Ji Minglun put the shrimp dumplings away and returned to the kitchen. He picked up the plate of hot dumplings and walked to the entrance to change his shoes.
Jiang Lin stood up and asked anxiously, "Where are you going?"
As if he didn't hear the harsh sound of the chair rubbing against the ground, Ji Minglun said "I'm going to deliver food to the neighbors" and opened the door to go out.
(Ji Minglun and Su Yan are good friends, which will be explained in the following dialogue. If you can’t see the dialogue, you can exit and click back in.)
The author has something to say:
Su Yan is the protagonist of the previous book "Xia Meng Gui Chao". Ji Minglun is Su Yan's friend in Xia Meng's book, and he also helped Su Yan chase the person he liked. There is no ambiguity between them. Don't be gay, there can be friendship in BL novels [laughing and crying]
PS: This story is independent and it will not affect your reading if you have not read Xia Meng. There will not be much mention about Su Yan and the person he likes in this book. You will understand if you read a few chapters patiently that Ji Minglun only has Jiang Lin in his heart.