My Deskmate Chapter 15 (Part 1)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 15.1
After saying that, Chi Ye felt a strange unease, but then again, what he said was the truth. Wen Xiao was indeed good-looking. Coupled with his usual cold expression, it was no surprise that many girls would deliberately take a detour to the classroom door during breaks just to look at him. They didn’t just look. They often made a racket, gossiping and occasionally bursting into strange laughter, making it impossible for him to take a nap during breaks.
If those girls ever saw Wen Xiao smile...
Thinking about this, Chi Ye added, "Don’t smile so easily at school."
To this nonsensical statement, Wen Xiao replied, "Idiot."
Wen Xiao found the winding paths of Jiuzhang Road annoying. As he followed Chi Ye ahead, he asked, "What if those people come after us again?"
Chi Ye, holding Yaya with one hand and shoving the other into his work pants pocket, shrugged nonchalantly. "If they can pay someone to block me, they should know I won’t just sit back and let them. Our ancestors taught us that a noble man governs others using their own methods. I’ll deal with them the noble man's way."
Wen Xiao was silent for a moment. "What about Yaya? Will she be okay?"
Chi Ye: "She’ll be fine. The truth is, they only bully the weak and fear the strong. They’re upset because an eighteen-year-old snatched their business. They want to vent, maybe threaten me, try to scare me into submission so I’ll back off."
But once he fought back, they’d no choice but to swallow their anger and stay away.
Chi Ye had learned early on that in order to live well, mere tolerance was useless. If he took a step back, his opponent would only push him two steps forward until there was no space left for retreat.
His mother was still in the hospital, and his younger sister was still so young.
Right now, he couldn’t retreat, not even a single step.
In that moment, Chi Ye’s eyes were sharp, like a wolf’s.
Wen Xiao: "When are you planning to confront them?"
Chi Ye smirked mischievously. "Better sooner than later. Today."
Everyone living on Jiuzhang Road had been neighbors for ten or twenty years, so basically everyone knew about anything that happened.
In the evening, Wen Xiao went downstairs to buy some fruit and overheard the shopkeeper chatting with the neighbor. He heard that a hardware store a few streets away had its doors blocked off that afternoon. The glass display case and the feng shui fish tank at the door were completely smashed, leaving shards of glass everywhere, without a single safe spot to step.
The people inside were fine, but they were shaken up, so terrified that their legs gave out, almost collapsing. No one knew who they had offended.
Wen Xiao picked out a few bananas his grandmother liked. "Boss, I’ll pay now."
"Back again to buy fruit for your grandmother?" The shopkeeper made small talk before placing the bananas on the scale. "Seven yuan and four cents, just give seven."
Wen Xiao handed over the money. "Did the hardware store owner call the police?"
"Ha, for broken glass? No one was hurt. Besides, some people say that the owner was just guilty himself. That's why he didn’t even dare to call the police when people suggested it. He's so cowardly. It's almost like he has something to hide."
After receiving the bananas, Wen Xiao nodded in thanks.
He hadn’t walked far when he vaguely overheard the shopkeeper sighing, “Professor Lu's grandson is so pitiful...”
Wen Xiao didn’t stop walking. He lowered his head slightly, pulled the hood of his black jacket over his head, and zipped it all the way up to his chin. For a moment, he thought to himself, there was a time when he had been happy too.
The next day was Sunday. Wen Xiao lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. For a brief moment, he felt lost. Where was he?
He had grown up with his parents. Although their jobs were demanding, they would still often see each other because the research institute was close to home. After his retired grandmother was rehired, she was busy too, so he only came to Mingnan once or twice a year.
When he had just moved here, he would often wake up in the middle of the night and then couldn't fall back asleep. During those times, Wen Xiao would get up and do some practice problems, as if solving questions was the only thing that could temporarily distract him from his emotions.
Ding. The notification sound broke the silence. Wen Xiao picked up his phone and saw a black profile picture popping up in the mostly empty WeChat chat list, with a small red notification dot in the upper right corner.
After a two-second pause, Wen Xiao remembered that he had indeed exchanged WeChat contact with Chi Ye.
He opened the conversation. The message from Chi Ye was short and direct: “Gaming at the internet cafe, need one more player. You coming?”
Wen Xiao: “Where?”
Chi Ye replied almost instantly: "Next to the school, Shuxiang Internet Cafe."
After briefly recalling the location of Shuxiang Internet Cafe, Wen Xiao sat up and typed, "Coming."
The shops around Mingnan Affiliated High School all had elegant names, like the internet cafe called "Shuxiang Internet Cafe," the claw machine arcade named "Xuehai Arcade," and an escape room called "Mathematics and Science Escape Room."
Old Xu had mentioned several times that he wanted to suggest to the shop owners that they change their names. How could an escape room be called "Mathematics and Science"? After all, math and science were much harder than any escape room. It was a clear case of cross-field comparison and belittling.
He walked through the entrance of the snack street, then took a right turn at the end where he saw a sign with the words "Shuxiang Bar" written on it.
At first glance, it looked like one of those 24-hour places where people gather to study or do homework, with hot water available for everyone.
As he pushed open the door, a cacophony of keyboard sounds filled the air. The owner was sitting behind the counter, playing Tetris on a retro handheld game console. Seeing Wen Xiao for the first time, he said, "We've got melon seeds, juice, peanuts, beef jerky, and if you want instant noodles, just shout. Hot water is free." Then he pushed a black card forward, "Here, pay when you leave."
Wen Xiao took the card. He had just taken a couple of steps inside when he spotted Chi Ye.
Chi Ye saw him too, raised a hand, and gestured for Wen Xiao to come over.
The internet cafe had been open for many years. The sofa seats were half-peeled. The level of wear showed that the place was almost always packed.
Chi Ye stretched out his foot to kick the chair open for Wen Xiao, then pressed the power button to turn on the computer.
Zhao Yiyang, wearing headphones around his neck, leaned forward and said, "The power button on the computers at this internet cafe is impossible to find. The first time I came here, I couldn't get the computer to start up, and I had to embarrassingly ask the manager for help. It was so humiliating."
The screen displayed a blue login interface, the blue light reflecting on Wen Xiao's face as he prepared to sit down. "Thanks."
Chi Ye smirked. "Welcome to the Lightning Team!"
Wen Xiao paused mid-motion.
Seeing the look on his face, like he was about to walk out the door the moment he heard such a ridiculous team name, Chi Ye laughed. He took off his headphones and pointed to Xu Rui, who was sitting at the edge. "Ask him. He’s the one who came up with that stupid name. It’s so ridiculous, even the middle-aged women at the Mahjong parlor two streets over could start a team called Lightning."
Wen Xiao processed the absurdity of the team name, just as Chi Ye continued, "So, I suggest we call it the LT team."
Wen Xiao had a sinking feeling. "Why?"
Chi Ye grinned. "The initials of lightning team, LT. Doesn't it instantly feel more high-end and foreign."
Wen Xiao: "......"