My Deskmate Chapter 12 (Part 2)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 12.2
Wen Xiao’s seat was at the very back of the last exam room. The exam was at eight, and he arrived at seven-fifty, only to find that he was among the earliest to arrive in the room.
However, most of the early arrivals weren't reviewing. Some were eating steamed buns and drinking soy milk, others brought dumplings and porridge, and some even had packed zhajiangmian and fried dumplings. For a moment, the classroom smelled more like a cafeteria.
Wen Xiao tuned out the noise of slurping noodles around him and pulled out a math paper from his bag. Not long after, the random chatter in the classroom quieted down, and soon whispers began again, but this time, they were a little different.
Wen Xiao looked up and saw Chi Ye slowly walking in through the front door, holding his uniform. He had just passed the podium.
Many people in the classroom knew him. They greeted him enthusiastically, but Chi Ye remained indifferent, responding with nothing more than a casual "Mm."
Stopping at the second-to-last row, Chi Ye grinned. "Deskmate, what a coincidence. Now we're sitting in front and behind each other."
Wen Xiao glanced at the desk in front of him, where the exam number was clearly marked with Chi Ye's name.
Chi Ye kicked the chair back with his foot, sitting down casually. "I bought this soy milk at Yaya’s school gate. It smells really good. Want some?"
Wen Xiao: “Aren’t you going to drink it?”
With a “I knew you’d ask that” expression, Chi Ye nodded toward his left hand. “I bought two cups — one for each of us.”
Wen Xiao accepted the soy milk without asking how much it had cost.
Their casual back-and-forth didn’t seem out of place, but it caught the attention of others. Whispers spread quickly, and people couldn’t help but wonder about the identity of the person sitting behind Chi Ye.
“Who’s the guy sharing soy milk with Chi Ye? What kind of big shot is he? Why haven't we seen him before?”
“He's so thin and frail, doesn’t look like a big shot. Could he... be Chi-ge’s real brother?”
“It’s possible. They both have good-looking faces. Maybe they really are related.”
Wen Xiao hadn’t eaten breakfast, so he took a sip of the soy milk. It was warm and really did smell good. Just then, a voice shot over. “You! Yes, you! I remember you! You’re the one whose school uniform got stolen by a dog!”
Before Wen Xiao could react, Chi Ye choked on his soy milk, coughing several times in quick succession.
Wen Xiao looked up. He searched his memory and finally placed the person. It was the tall guy from the time he had been forced to stand under the status of Confucius, the one who said that when friends come from afar, one must first test his strength, starve his body, and empty his mind.
Chi Ye was facing away from the classroom door, so the tall guy hadn’t seen him yet. When he walked closer, he asked, “Chi-ge, you’re sitting behind me again?”
“Zhao Yunhao?” Chi Ye recovered from his coughing fit and answered casually, “Yeah, that’s right.”
Someone next to them tugged on Zhao Yunhao’s uniform. “Zhao Yunhao, how many points did you get in Chinese last semester?”
Zhao Yunhao grinned. “Seventy-eight!”
“Impressive! That score is insane! Once you’re done with the multiple-choice, don’t forget to toss the answers. The rest of us are counting on you, brother.”
“No problem,” Zhao Yunhao said eagerly, then turned to Chi Ye. “Chi-ge, since we’re sitting so close, do you want me to pass you a copy?”
Chi Ye put down the straw and declined. “No need, I’ll manage on my own.”
Wen Xiao: “So, sticking with sixty again this time?”
“Yep, sixty,” Chi Ye replied, his tone casual. “After all, I'm dedicated and loyal to sixty.”
Wen Xiao paused for a moment, then, breaking from his usual habit, asked, “What about trying for ninety this time?”
Chi Ye looked at him with a meaningful expression, his eyes unreadable. After a brief pause, a hint of a smile flickered in his gaze. “No thanks. A score that high doesn’t really suit me.”
Just then, the invigilator entered the room with a frown. “If you’re still eating breakfast, head to the hallway. What’s that smell? Who’s eating leek dumplings?”
Wen Xiao had just finished his soy milk. He picked up Chi Ye’s empty cup and tossed both of them into the trash together.
When the invigilator opened the exam paper packets and began counting the test sheets, Chi Ye turned to Wen Xiao again. “Deskmate, can I borrow a pen?”
The monthly exam at Mingnan Affiliated High School spanned two days, with Chinese scheduled for the morning session. After finishing his essay, Wen Xiao looked up and saw the invigilator standing at the door of the podium, wearing headphones, gesturing with his hands as if listening to Peking Opera. Below the podium, a game of Chinese whispers seemed to be unfolding.
As far as Wen Xiao knew, passing answers was usually done by writing them on notes. But perhaps because there was a lack of paper in this exam room, everyone had skipped the usual method and opted for whispering the answers instead.
"Multiple-choice! AACBDCD!"
"Got it! ...I’m telling you, the multiple-choice answers are AACBBDCB!"
"Understood! Got it... Answer’s here, the multiple-choice is ACBDDCB!"
"Done! Wait, hold on, brother, you missed one answer!"
"Oh, no worries. The last one is D!"
"Alright, filled it in. I’m definitely going to score seventy in Chinese this time! Wait, what about the essay? Is there an answer for that?"
"The essay is all words, how can there be an answer? You’ve got plaster in your brain or something?"
"Then... then I’ll just write a modern prose poem. Let the grader experience the charm of literature!"
Chi Ye, shortly after the exam began, put down his pen and fell asleep. Despite the noise around him, he remained undisturbed.
After Zhao Yunhao had called out to Chi Ye several times with no answer, he shifted his gaze to Wen Xiao. "Brother, do you need the answers? I’ll give you my paper!"
“......” Wen Xiao paused for a moment before responding, “Thanks, but no need.”
At that moment, Wen Xiao wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but it seemed like — Chi Ye’s shoulder twitched?
With fifteen minutes left before the exam ended, the voice of the Director of Discipline came through the intercom, “Students, there are fifteen minutes left in the exam. Please follow the rules and avoid whispering.”
This same message was repeated in the afternoon during the physics exam. Fifteen minutes later, the bell rang for papers to be collected. Wen Xiao stood in place and asked Chi Ye, “Are you taking the math exam next?”
Chi Ye stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall, relaxed like a noodle. His voice was a bit hoarse, perhaps from not getting enough sleep during the exam “Yeah, I am.”
Wen Xiao: “Then who’s picking up Yaya?”
“I've asked her classmate's parents—” Chi Ye stopped himself, then looked at Wen Xiao. “Trying to get information out of me?”
Wen Xiao: “I’m neither blind nor stupid.”
He still remembered that primary school always ended around three or four in the afternoon.
For some reason, Chi Ye suddenly recalled what Zhao Yiyang had told him, about how Wen Xiao had retorted to Li Pei that he had eyes and could see.
Feeling inexplicably interested, Chi Ye leaned a little closer to his deskmate. “What do I look like in your eyes?”
As he leaned in, Wen Xiao could smell a faint scent of shampoo. He guessed that Chi Ye must have washed his hair this morning before leaving the house. A thin copper-colored metal chain hung around Chi Ye’s neck, swaying slightly between them due to his posture.
Not used to being this close, Wen Xiao resisted the urge to step back, answering, “Like a person.”
—
Zhajiangmian - commonly translated as "noodles served with fried bean sauce", is a dish consisting of thick wheat noodles topped with zhajiang, a fermented soybean-based sauce. Variations may include toppings of fresh or pickled vegetables, beans, meat, tofu, or egg.