My Deskmate Chapter 16 (Part 2)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 16.2
The second class in the afternoon was PE. Throughout the break, Zhao Yiyang couldn’t stop worrying. What if Old Xu barged in, holding a textbook and lesson plan, and said that the PE teacher had a fever, diarrhea, and wasn’t in the mood for class?
Once they gathered successfully on the sports field, many students let out a sigh of relief.
The PE representative approached the teacher. “Teacher, did you really have diarrhea earlier?”
The PE teacher flicked his whistle, which was tied with a black string. “There’s a condition called ‘your homeroom teacher thinks I’m sick,’ understand? Ahem, alright, let’s take attendance!”
After the warm-up exercises and two laps around the track, the PE teacher asked, “We were supposed to practice volleyball today, but we don’t have enough balls, and the new ones haven’t arrived yet. So, what do you want to learn instead?”
Someone shouted loudly, “Teacher, we want to learn how to breathe air!”
The entire class burst into laughter.
“If you want to mess around, just say it. Don’t say nonsense,” the PE teacher thought for a moment. “Alright, subject rep, get a few mats for everyone. Each of you will do a few sets of push-ups — 21 sets for the guys, 20 for the girls. Once you're done, you can do whatever you want.”
Someone quickly dropped to the ground and got into position. “Teacher, the ground’s so clean. We don’t need mats, we can just do it here!”
The push-ups were done in pairs, with one person doing the push-ups and the other counting.
Chi Ye turned to his deskmate. “You first or me first?”
Wen Xiao: “You.”
“Alright.” Chi Ye rolled up his sleeves, placed his palms on the grass, and pushed his body up.
Chi Ye's skin wasn't the pale kind from staying indoors all year. It was a natural, healthy tone. When he rolled up his sleeves, the muscles on his arms were visible. They weren’t exaggerated, but the lines were smooth and well-defined.
Noticing Wen Xiao’s gaze lingering on his arm, Chi Ye spoke up. “Deskmate, don’t get distracted by my muscles. Focus on counting.”
Wen Xiao glanced at the smile tugging at Chi Ye’s lips. “I only know how to count from one to ten. Anything beyond that, you’ll have to count yourself.”
Fifteen minutes later, the PE teacher blew his whistle. “Alright, dismissed. Free activity time. If you need sports equipment, go see the subject rep to sign it out. Last week, we found two soccer balls missing from the equipment room. God knows who kicked them out of school. Maybe the culprit is one of you...”
Any class where a student didn’t have to take notes was a blessing. Zhao Yiyang ran like the wind to the equipment room, grabbing a basketball. He tossed it up as he called out, “Anyone for basketball, come together! We have less than twenty minutes, so let’s get started once we have enough players!”
“One, two, three, four,” Zhao Yiyang looked toward Chi Ye. “Chi-ge, are you and Wen Xiao playing? If you are, it’ll be three-on-three!”
Chi Ye glanced at Wen Xiao, and when he saw him nod, he raised his hand. “We’ll both play. Save us a spot.”
Since Wen Xiao transferred to the school, he’d never played basketball in front of others. But everyone assumed that he was only there to participate. After all, anyone who could get into the top ten of the class wasn’t likely to be good at basketball too. Otherwise, life would be too unfair!
The teams were divided, with Chi Ye and Wen Xiao on opposing teams.
Chi Ye bounced the ball a few times, talking to his deskmate. “I won't show mercy later.”
Someone nearby, thinking Chi Ye was talking to Wen Xiao, quickly interjected, “Don’t joke around, we’re all counting on Chi-ge to show mercy on us!”
Wen Xiao, however, didn’t show the slightest bit of modesty. “Sure.”
Chi Ye was good at basketball. In the entire second year, he could hardly find anyone on his level, especially not someone like Shangguan Yu, who only played to stay fit. That sense of superiority felt pretty good, but after playing for a while, it did get a little tiring.
He had never seen Wen Xiao play basketball, but he’d seen him fight. He figured that if he was that good at fighting, there was no way he’d be bad at basketball.
He was right.
When Wen Xiao first entered the game, he didn’t rush in aggressively. Instead, he circled the perimeter, observing the other five players on the court. After sizing them up, he unzipped his school jacket with one hand, took a quick step forward, grabbed the ball, and with a swift dodge past the two defenders under the basket, he leapt up and dunked the ball with ease. The ball slammed through the net and dropped to the ground with a loud thud.
Zhao Yiyang was stunned by the series of moves. “Holy shit, holy shit! Who the hell said Wen Xiao couldn’t play basketball? I’ll smash their head in!”
Shangguan Yu: “You. You said it yourself. Go on, smash your head now.”
Zhao Yiyang: “......”
Chi Ye scooped the ball up and twirled it a few times with his middle finger, smiling. “Let’s go again!”
At first, no one had paid attention to the basketball court, but soon, a crowd had gathered, and half of them were girls.
Xu Rui loved the feeling of being the center of attention. He casually tugged at the hem of his shirt. Zhao Yiyang shot him a look. “Even if you wear a flashy peacock outfit, no one would look at you. Do you see where all those excited girls are looking? All on Chi-ge and Wen Xiao.”
Xu Rui sighed dramatically. “Although it’s true, could you not say it out loud?”
Handsome players always attract a lot of attention, and when two good-looking guys play together, especially with such intensity, the focus only grows.
Chi Ye faked a move, slipping past Wen Xiao's side. As his shoulder brushed past him, he grinned. “Sorry, but I’m taking this one!”
The moment his words left his mouth, Chi Ye planted his left foot firmly, spun around, and leapt into the air, slamming the ball into the hoop with a powerful dunk.
With a fine layer of sweat on his forehead, he casually wiped his face with the hem of his shirt, revealing his well-defined abs and waistline. He then turned to Wen Xiao and said, “Thanks for going easy on me, deskmate!”
They were so close that Wen Xiao could feel the heat radiating off Chi Ye’s skin and the strong masculine scent that seemed to linger in the air. It even felt like a drop of sweat had landed on his arm.
Wen Xiao stepped back a couple of paces, creating some distance between them. “Let’s go again!”
There was a sharp gleam in Wen Xiao’s eyes, a kind of intensity he usually didn’t show, as if he had decided this time he wasn’t just going to play for fun. He was in it to win.
Chi Ye hadn't had this much fun playing basketball in a long time. He wished they could play another three hundred rounds. “I’m game for as many rounds as you want.”
“You two are having a blast, but we’re dying over here!” Zhao Yiyang walked over with a few bottles of drinks. Chi Ye grabbed two bottles of mineral water from him, handing one to Wen Xiao.
Wen Xiao took the bottle, twisted off the cap, and poured a little over his head. When he straightened up, his collar was soaked through, sticking to the smooth, pale skin of his neck.
Chi Ye’s gaze briefly swept over the water droplets clinging to Wen Xiao's eyelashes, now misting over like fog.
Zhao Yiyang gulped down half a bottle of cola. “Five minutes left. The score is tied now. Are you two going to settle it?”
Chi Ye twisted off the bottle cap. “What else?”
Zhao Yiyang lowered his voice, “I’ve noticed that the girls on the sidelines are about to lose their voices from screaming so excitedly. And it’s all because of you two.”
At this, Wen Xiao spoke up, correcting him. “Not 'you two.'”
Zhao Yiyang didn’t quite catch on, but Chi Ye understood. “They’re watching me?”
Wen Xiao nodded.
Chi Ye finally pieced together what his deskmate meant. He thought no one was paying attention to him?
Chi Ye had always known he was good-looking. But today, he realized there were actually people who were handsome but didn’t know it. It was probably because Wen Xiao had always been as cold as a high-powered air conditioner, with only few people daring to compliment him to his face, that his deskmate had such a misunderstanding.
But it was hard to explain. Chi Ye didn’t bother to try. He twisted the cap back on, then gripped the neck of the bottle, pressing the cool, damp surface against his deskmate’s face. “Last five minutes?”
Wen Xiao didn’t dodge. “Mm, let’s go.”
In the final few minutes, Zhao Yiyang could truly feel the battle intent and killing aura radiating from the two of them. Panting, he turned to ask Shangguan Yu. “Don’t you think Chi-ge's been incredible this game? Look at those moves. Do you think he’s been hiding his skills all along?”
Shangguan Yu gave him a “get real” look. “Why don’t you consider that it’s because a diamond’s playing against a bronze, and not even half of his power can be unleashed? It’s not that he’s hiding his strength, it’s that we’re too weak.”
Zhao Yiyang glanced down at the two of them battling fiercely under the hoop and suddenly had an epiphany. “So this is what a high-level match between diamonds looks like?”
After running nonstop for more than ten minutes, Wen Xiao’s breath was ragged, his back drenched in sweat, his whole body feeling as if it were on fire.
Chi Ye’s hand brushed past his ear, and he still had the leisure to say, “Your ear’s so hot.”
Wen Xiao unconsciously shot him a glance, but in that brief moment of distraction, Chi Ye tried to snatch the ball from his side. Shameless!
Sweat streamed down the lines of his neck muscles. Chi Ye had missed the ball, but there was no disappointment on his face. Instead, he curled up the corners of his lips and said, “Deskmate, all’s fair in war.”
At that moment, Wen Xiao turned his back, planted his right foot on the court, and jumped! Chi Ye, almost at the same time, leapt to block him, stretching out his arm. But Wen Xiao didn’t go for a dunk. Instead, he tossed the ball high into the air, right over the hoop.
Both of them landed, and just three seconds later, they heard the unmistakable “thud” of the ball going in.
After such an intense game, Wen Xiao’s pale face was tinged with a flush. His sweat-soaked clothes clung to him, outlining the youth’s slender and toned frame. Ignoring the basketball that had landed on the court, he approached Chi Ye, his voice hoarse from rapid breathing. “I won.”