My Deskmate Chapter 13 (Part 1)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 13.1
On Monday morning, the students of Class 1 were unusually quiet. No one was reading during morning study. Some students were napping at their desks, while others were chatting listlessly.
Zhao Yiyang spoke weakly, "I stayed up late last night finishing Arly’s new game. I’m done for. But my long-cherished wish has been fulfilled. Now, I'm not afraid of any storm!"
Someone asked, "Did you bomb the exam?"
"Of course I did." Zhao Yiyang clenched his fist in frustration. "I didn't even have time to check my math paper before the bell rang! I didn't do very well this time. I didn't even get to the last question of the last big question. My science scores are probably shot. What about you?"
"I just checked the answers, and I got two fill-in-the-blank questions wrong in English. Forget it, I'm not expecting much from this exam..."
Shangguan Yu, sitting nearby, adjusted his glasses. "You guys sound like it’s the end of the world."
The grading process at Mingnan Affiliated High School was excruciatingly slow. Papers took forever to be marked, and the results were even slower to be entered into the system.
Zhao Yiyang would often turn around and lean against Wen Xiao's desk throughout the day. He wouldn't say anything, just sigh deeply in a world-weary manner.
Seeing that Wen Xiao was completely ignoring him and writing his English paper, Zhao Yiyang tried to get his attention. "Wen Xiao, has Chi-ge not come in yet today, or did he come and go without me noticing because I was too absorbed in my studies?"
Wen Xiao glanced up briefly. "He hasn’t come yet."
Zhao Yiyang was puzzled. "Chi-ge has been coming to school almost every day last week. I thought he has found a love for studying. Why is he missing again?"
Until the afternoon of the next day, Chi Ye still hadn’t shown up at school. Wen Xiao felt a little unaccustomed at first, but soon adapted to the spacious seat that took up two desks.
The bus ride home felt humid, typical for mid-March in Mingnan, where it often drizzled. It wasn’t heavy enough to require an umbrella, but the dampness was a bit unpleasant.
Wen Xiao pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head with one hand. After walking a few steps, he spotted a little girl in a white beanie squatting by the roadside, seemingly doing something.
"Yaya?"
The girl looked up, her eyes lighting up. "Cola-gege!" She tossed aside the stick she had been fiddling with and quickly ran up to Wen Xiao, asking in a rather grown-up manner, "Did you finish school?"
"Yeah, finished school," Wen Xiao replied, then asked, "Where’s your big brother? Why are you here alone?"
Yaya pointed across the street. "My gege’s over there."
Just then, a car drove by, and as the white blur passed, Wen Xiao finally saw Chi Ye standing on the curb. He was talking to a middle-aged man wearing a khaki jacket. The man was holding a red plastic bag in his left hand, and his right hand had a glowing ember, likely from a cigarette.
Yaya followed Wen Xiao’s gaze across the street. "Gege took me to help deliver something. After we finished, we ran into that uncle. Gege told me to wait here while he talked to him. He said that man is a... a chain smoker. He smokes a lot, and if kids breathe it in, they’ll become stupid!"
Wen Xiao withdrew his gaze. "You don't like that man?"
Yaya's brows were almost furrowed into a little wrinkle. She shook her head, and her small braids swayed along with the motion. "I don't like him. He always makes gege drink with him, and after drinking, gege feels sick."
Wen Xiao didn’t say anything more, and just stood still beside Yaya as they waited.
He wasn’t one to engage in much conversation, but fortunately, Yaya was good at finding things to occupy herself. After half a minute, she squatted down again, poking at an ant with a twig.
It was nearly ten at night, and many of the shops on Jiuzhang Road had already closed. Looking around, the whole street was cloaked in darkness. The streetlights were still on, but the lampposts were old, with some sections of the iron sheeting peeled off.
After living here for nearly a month, the place had become familiar, yet sometimes, Wen Xiao would wonder if it was all just a dream. Did he really come to Mingnan City to live with his grandmother? Did he really transfer to Mingnan Affiliated High School?
He should be living in his old neighborhood, in that old house, with his parents and his younger sister.
But people had to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
The trees here were real. The people were real. The things that had already happened were real.
There was no room for any hope of a miracle.
Across the street, the man in the khaki jacket pulled two square bottles from the red plastic bag he was carrying and handed one to Chi Ye, who took it without a word.
The man didn’t immediately open the bottle. He said a few words to Chi Ye, then held up the bottle.
Chi Ye twisted the cap off the glass bottle with a couple of turns, and unhesitatingly took several quick swigs.
The man in the jacket patted Chi Ye on the shoulder, laughing heartily as he seemed to compliment him, then took a drink himself.
When the man had walked far enough away and was out of sight, Chi Ye leaned against the rough trunk of a nearby tree and spat.
Yaya, no longer interested in the ants, worriedly fiddled with the dry twig in her hands. "Is my gege feeling sick? Should we go over and check on him?"
Wen Xiao turned slightly, blocking her view. "We’re not going."
Yaya didn’t understand why they weren’t going, but she trusted Wen Xiao’s words and stood there, continuing to wait for her brother to come to them.
Several minutes passed before Chi Ye finally crossed the street. When he saw the schoolbag hanging off Wen Xiao’s shoulder, he seemed momentarily distracted. "Finished with evening study?" he asked, his usual relaxed smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Thanks for looking after Yaya."
"Yeah, just finished." Wen Xiao didn’t ask any other questions. Instead, he pulled a bottle of water from his bag and offered it. "Want to rinse your mouth?"
Chi Ye didn’t hesitate. He reached out to take the bottle and rinsed his mouth.
Yaya quietly snatched the remaining half-bottle of liquor from her brother’s hand and ran to the farthest trash can to throw it away.
When she returned, Chi Ye ruffled her hair. "You threw it so far. Worried I’d go pick it up again?"
He turned to Wen Xiao. "Got anything to do when you get home?"
Wen Xiao: "Nothing much."
"Then how about we grab a bite? That alcohol was strong, and my stomach’s burning. I could use something to eat."
Wen Xiao adjusted the strap of his bag. "Let’s go."
Most of the restaurants on Jiuzhang Road had already closed. The ones that were still open were mostly barbecue places.
They picked one that seemed clean enough. Chi Ye pulled out a plastic stool and sat down, calling toward the back. "Boss, bring us a plate of fried rice."
"Coming right up!"
At first, Chi Ye felt a bit awkward — not exactly awkward, more like strange. But Wen Xiao was so cold and indifferent, not sparing him any glance, so he felt a little better inside.
He pulled out his phone and found a children’s English-learning cartoon for Yaya, making sure she’d be entertained and settled on the stool for at least half an hour. Only then did he pick up the heavy teapot and pour two cups of tea.
"This place makes great grilled pork belly and eggplant. You should try it." He paused, then asked, "Do you eat spicy food?"
Wen Xiao gave him a quick glance. "I do."
Chi Ye couldn’t help but feel like Wen Xiao’s eyes were silently mocking him, as if saying, You've already brought me here, and you're still asking me if I can eat spicy food? He chuckled. "Pick whatever you want. I’ll order."