My Deskmate Chapter 15 (Part 2)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 15.2
After entering his account details from the card, the loudspeaker crackled with an announcement. "Congratulations to Player 13, who has won the first prize in the Spin the Wheel game: one pack of melon seeds, flavor of your choice..."
Chi Ye clicked the mouse, waiting for Wen Xiao to log into the game. "This boss is really up-to-date. Not only do they have the broadcast, but they also play 'Für Elise' at the beginning. Every time I hear it, it feels like the class is about to start."
The bell at Mingnan High changed several times each semester. Recently, it had been replaced with light music, specifically Für Elise.
Wen Xiao pressed the return key and replied, "It's for your own good, to help you focus."
As soon as Wen Xiao logged in, Chi Ye sent him a friend request.
Seeing the nickname "Bunnienie Loves Carrots," Wen Xiao tilted his head. "Is this your account?"
Chi Ye: "Yep, it’s mine, not borrowed. Pretty cute, right?"
Wen Xiao thought to himself that the name was probably designed to fool ghosts.
Zhao Yiyang rubbed his hands together. "Wen Xiao, hurry up and join the team. We were missing one player, and we got infiltrated by a spy from the other team. The whole match was a disaster. I honestly suspect that guy is a grade-schooler!"
Chi Ye added him to the team.
Once Wen Xiao entered the team, he saw that the other three members had relatively normal names: Zhao Yiyang was "Master Holds the Sun," Shangguan Yu was "His Majesty's Kingdom is Doomed," and Xu Rui was "I Love Studying, Studying is Fun." Only Chi Ye’s nickname was... outstanding, to say the least.
Zhao Yiyang saw Wen Xiao had joined. "Your name is so cool, VX, so flashy!"
Wen Xiao didn’t really understand what was so flashy about it. It was just the abbreviation of his name.
They were playing a game called League of Glory, a 5v5 tower defense game. When it came time to pick heroes, Wen Xiao asked Chi Ye, "I haven’t played in a while, which heroes haven’t been changed too much?"
Chi Ye: "Time frame?"
Wen Xiao: "The past year."
Chi Ye thought for a moment, then named a few heroes. "None of them have had many changes. You can just play with your eyes closed. The key is participation."
Once they had selected their heroes, Wen Xiao glanced over at Chi Ye’s screen and saw that he had chosen a little girl with rabbit ears holding a doll. Quite fitting for his nickname.
Sure enough, as soon as the game started, someone on the opposing team typed in the public chat, "Don’t be afraid, little miss, I won’t hurt you. After the match, can we add each other as friends?"
Wen Xiao thought Chi Ye wouldn’t reply, but to his surprise, Chi Ye’s fingers flew across the keyboard, typing, "Sure, sure, thank you!!"
Chi Ye even turned his head to tell him, "This is called defeating the enemy without fighting."
Five minutes into the game, Wen Xiao gradually realized that it wasn’t that an undercover agent had infiltrated their team in the previous match, but rather that Zhao Yiyang’s skills were so bad, he seemed like the enemy’s mole. He would die instantly in ways that Wen Xiao couldn't comprehend.
Chi Ye maneuvered his character through the grass. "Don’t rush."
As the game progressed, the opponents rarely targeted Chi Ye, allowing him to thrive like a plant growing safely in a greenhouse. Once he harvested enough gold and upgraded his gear, he came back into the fray. Even with half health, he could easily take down two enemies.
Zhao Yiyang excitedly crowed, "Chi-ge, carry me! Chi-ge, do you take on coaching?"
Chi Ye kept controlling his character, wiping out enemies with ease, while lazily responding, "Your Chi-ge is busy. No time to benefit the masses."
After the little rabbit-eared loli with a doll slaughtered her way to the enemy’s high ground, someone in the public chat finally typed out a row of question marks.
Wen Xiao recognized it as the same person who had wanted to add Chi Ye as a friend — the idiot.
Chi Ye, unbothered, went ahead and typed out a neat row of question marks in return.
Zhao Yiyang laughed obnoxiously, "Hahaha, that ‘This King Holds the Tower’ guy must be a fool. He’s been beaten senseless and still has the nerve to send question marks! Does he look down on our cute bunny girl’s battle power? Our first teaming up is a success!"
Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind the computer screen. "This King Holds the Tower?"
Zhao Yiyang casually answered, "Yeah, probably thinks he's Nezha’s father or something."
Immediately, a burly man with tattoos stood up on the opposing team. His gaze swept over Wen Xiao and the others before finally spitting out through clenched teeth, "Bunnienie Loves Carrots, who is that?"
There was a moment of silence.
How could this happen? Zhao Yiyang, stunned, muttered to himself, "No way, does League of Glory match teams based on distance?"
"I don’t know if it’s based on distance, but who is Bunnienie Loves Carrots?" The tattooed, burly man crossed his arms and looked down at Wen Xiao and the others. "You can discuss it amongst yourselves and figure out who should step forward."
Chi Ye lazily raised his hand. "Didn't you want to add me as a friend? Why not do it now?"
Zhao Yiyang covered his face, thinking, I should’ve covered Chi-ge's mouth. As soon as he opens his mouth, it's like pouring oil on a fire!
The tattooed man was furious. "You little brat, get out here!"
The shout was loud enough that people in the net cafe turned to look.
Chi Ye, still casual, didn’t seem to take the threat seriously. "Want to fight? Fine, but it wouldn't be good if we broke the internet cafe's screens or servers. How about we go somewhere else?"
The tattooed man growled, "Where else?"
Chi Ye shrugged. "Just downstairs, how about it?"
"Fine!"
They went to settle the bill. Zhao Yiyang clasped his hands together and started praying, while Xu Rui and Shangguan Yu were a little scared but also a little excited. The tattooed man paid first, leaving behind a threat, "We’ll be waiting downstairs!"
Chi Ye replied coolly, "If you run, you’ll be a coward."
Once they paid, Zhao Yiyang frowned. "Chi-ge, are we really going to fight? This isn’t like a game. People can actually get hurt!"
Chi Ye tucked his phone into his pocket and raised an eyebrow. "Who told you we’re going to fight?"
At that moment, Wen Xiao, standing a few steps away, spoke up. "The back door is here."
After exiting through the back door of the net cafe, Xu Rui was still in a daze. "So, we’re just... leaving like this?"
Chi Ye: "You want to fight?"
"No, no." Xu Rui quickly waved his hands, a strange sense of guilt creeping up on him. "But that guy... he’s probably still waiting for us, right?"
Chi Ye nodded. "Yeah, let him wait a little longer. Photosynthesis is good for the mind and body."
Zhao Yiyang looked around curiously. "But how did you guys know there’s a back door here?"
Chi Ye glanced at Wen Xiao. "Hey, deskmate, how did you know?"
Wen Xiao: "The Director of Discipline told us."
Zhao Yiyang was even more confused. "Cheng Xiaoning? When did he say that?"
Chi Ye sighed. "Last week, the director made an announcement. He said some freshmen were caught online and had to run out the back door to escape. They still got caught because they weren’t familiar with the route."
"You guys actually remembered that?" Zhao Yiyang exclaimed, wide-eyed. "What kind of freaks are you?"
The internet was no longer an option, and no one really wanted to go home just yet, especially Wen Xiao, who had only played one round after being called over.
Shangguan Yu thought for a moment. "There’s an escape room nearby. Want to go?"
Xu Rui: "Isn’t that the one Old Xu mentioned, the one with a name crossing over and insulting math and science?"
Shang Guanyu nodded. "Yeah, that’s the one."
Zhao Yiyang seemed intrigued and turned to Chi Ye and Wen Xiao. "How about we give it a try?"
The five of them made their way to the "Mathematics and Science" escape room, only to find that the place had a horror theme. There were only three room to choose from, and every single one was drenched in blood.
Chi Ye: "Isn’t this a bit too gory?"
Zhao Yiyang quickly said, "This one’s actually fun!" He pointed to one of the posters. "Look, this theme doesn’t seem that scary. It’s just a Sadako theme. How about we try this one?"
Shang Guanyu and Xu Rui both agreed. Chi Ye turned to look at his deskmate. "Wen Xiao, what about you?"
Wen Xiao met Chi Ye’s gaze, and under the weight of his look, he answered, "I’m in."
The staff member said, "If this handsome guy is scared, we can switch rooms—"
Chi Ye: "No need to switch. I can handle it."
Once the staff ushered them into the dimly lit escape room, the door slammed shut with a loud "bang." The next second, a woman’s piercing scream echoed throughout the room. The sound seemed distant, yet it sent an icy chill down their spines.
Wen Xiao was still scanning the room's setup when suddenly, he felt someone grip his wrist.
He turned his head and saw Chi Ye calmly studying the paintings on the wall. Wen Xiao felt the firm pressure on his wrist. Didn't he say he could handle it?