My Deskmate Chapter 26 (Part 1)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 26.1
The next day, Chi Ye headed to school. From the moment he stepped onto the third-floor hallway, he found himself the subject of unrelenting stares. For a moment, he wondered if he’d put his clothes on backward in his rush that morning, or if he had slept in such a strange position that his facial features were now crooked.
As soon as he entered the classroom, only a few people noticed him. But as if some strange device had been activated, a low hum of discussion started, and suddenly more than half the class turned to look at him. A few seconds later, as if on cue, they all turned to look at Wen Xiao who was sitting at the back of the classroom.
Chi Ye, with his bag slung over one shoulder, pulled out his chair and sat down. Ignoring the attention, he greeted his deskmate as usual.
“Good morning.”
“Morning,” Wen Xiao replied curtly, not even looking up. He was absorbed in solving a math problem.
Chi Ye glanced over and couldn’t help but marvel. Wen Xiao was, without a doubt, a study freak. He clearly had his own effective methods. A month ago, he was still following the teacher's review schedule, but now he was already ahead, tackling advanced material.
Chi Ye paused to consider. If he had taken a break from school during the second semester of his freshman year like Wen Xiao had, would he be able to reach this level of mastery?
After a brief two-second reflection, he came to a conclusion — impossible. How could that be?
Reaching into the pocket of his school uniform, Chi Ye fished out two lollipops. “Want one?”
Wen Xiao, focused on solving the final problem, didn’t pause for even a moment as he replied, “Sure.”
“Here, strawberry flavor for you.” Chi Ye unwrapped the candy, his fingers deftly peeling back the colorful plastic. Holding the lollipop by the stick, he casually placed it near Wen Xiao’s mouth.
Wen Xiao was in the middle of writing, "Let the equation of line AB be y = x + m," when a burst of strawberry milk flavor hit his nose, a bit too sweet. Too lazy to reach for it himself, he simply leaned forward and bit the lollipop off the stick Chi Ye was holding. With the candy in his mouth, he mumbled, “What flavor’s yours?”
“Coffee.”
Wen Xiao: “Why’d you give me such a girly flavor?”
Leaning back against the wall, Chi Ye sat sprawled on his chair, his long legs spread wide. He laughed and answered, “Of course it's because I don't want to eat such a girly flavor.”
Wen Xiao fell silent for a moment before saying, “You didn’t have to admit that out loud.”
Up front, Zhao Yiyang, who had been eavesdropping for quite some time, was visibly conflicted. He glanced at Xu Rui, seated diagonally in front of him, who was busy making exaggerated gestures — pointing at the corner of his eye, clutching his chest, and miming a dramatic collapse. At this point, Xu Rui was only a few steps away from outright flailing like a gorilla.
When Zhao Yiyang still didn’t react, Xu Rui grabbed a highlighter and scribbled on his notebook: “The burden of socialism rests on your shoulders!” Flipping to a new page, he added: “We must pursue the truth!”
The truth, the truth, damn it, Zhao Yiyang was also very curious about how Chi Ye got the injury on the corner of his eye! Could it be that they really got into a fight last night?
After a deep breath to steel himself, Zhao Yiyang finally turned around. It took him a good moment to muster up the courage before he asked, “Chi-ge... did you and Wen Xiao... have a fight last night?”
Chi Ye, meanwhile, had a brand-new workbook open in front of him. No notes, no scribbles, no highlighted answers, just blank pages. Zhao Yiyang noticed that Chi Ye’s eyes skimmed through seven or eight multiple-choice questions before casually picking one to answer.
And, unsurprisingly, he got it wrong.
Chi Ye twirled the pen in his hand a few times before nodding. “That’s right. We arranged it.”
Zhao Yiyang hesitated, then carefully asked, “And... did you fight?”
Chi Ye: “Yeah, we fought.”
Zhao Yiyang’s gaze drifted to the faint bruise near Chi Ye’s eye. Swallowing nervously, he pointed to the corner of his own eye. “This... was it Wen Xiao who hit you?”
“Yep, all him,” Chi Ye said with a grin. Beneath the desk, he nudged Wen Xiao’s leg lightly with his foot. “He didn't care about our friendship at all. He hit me without any hesitation.”
After getting his answer, Zhao Yiyang turned back to his seat and quickly scanned the room to ensure no teachers were around. Satisfied, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Xu Rui: “Chi-ge said that last night, Wen Xiao hit him.”
Xu Rui’s reply came almost immediately: “Understood!”
Later, after lunch, the group made their way back to the classroom. Along the way, Shangguan Yu was engrossed in drafting his latest culinary report. “Window #2’s braised chicken with potatoes is officially removed from the Imperial Menu. The potatoes were deliberately disguised as chicken pieces, and the so-called chicken? Only two pieces, both of which were just bones!”
Walking beside him, Zhao Yiyang glanced over and commented, “Your Majesty, when we graduate, you should publish this Imperial Menu and sell it to the underclassmen. Your benevolence will benefit generations to come!”
Adjusting his glasses with an air of authority, Shangguan Yu replied, “Sell? How dare you? This is an imperial gift.”
Zhao Yiyang nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. Do you need any help organizing the list?”
Shangguan Yu held up an expression of royal dignity. “From today onward, I appoint you as the Imperial Chief Eunuch. You're responsible for writing the imperial meal reviews. How about that?”
“F*ck off!” Zhao Yiyang burst into laughter. “I’m not taking that job. The cost is way too high!”
Chi Ye, walking beside them, said, “You might as well settle for becoming the State Preceptor. Your specialty could be online cooking lessons?”
Remembering their midnight adventure together, Zhao Yiyang suppressed his laughter, clasped his hands together, and said, “Amitabha Buddha, the benefactor speaks with great wisdom. I could totally be the State Preceptor!”
As they entered the second academic building and climbed the stairs to the second floor, Chi Ye suddenly felt something was off. He turned to Wen Xiao and asked, “Have you noticed? A lot of people are staring at you.”
Wen Xiao: “I haven’t noticed.”
Chi Ye knew immediately that his question was pointless. He nudged Zhao Yiyang with his foot. “Master, have you noticed? A lot of people are staring at Wen Xiao.”
Both Zhao Yiyang and Shangguan Yu had already picked up on it. They turned around and began scrutinizing Wen Xiao. “It's unscientific. When Wen Xiao first transferred here, sure, people looked at him, but that’s because he’s good-looking. Beauty is justice. How long has it been now? Why are they still staring?”
Seeing the curious and excited looks from passersby Chi He guessed, “Could it be that you made the headlines? Did some big story come out, revealing that you’re actually the long-lost heir of a billionaire family and you’re about to inherit a fortune worth billions?”
Behind his clear glasses, Wen Xiao shot him a simple response. “Get lost.”
As soon as the four stepped into the classroom, the chatter immediately stopped. Chi Ye, not wanting to bother with more speculation, casually picked someone at random and asked, “What were you all talking about just now?”
The student who had been singled out glanced between Chi Ye and Wen Xiao, looking a bit flustered. “We, uh... we were talking about what might be on the midterm exam.”
Chi Ye didn’t buy it. “What were you really talking about?”
The student, recalling Chi Ye’s notorious reputation, sighed and shut his eyes. “We were talking about the bitter feud between you and Wen Xiao!”
The words hit Chi Ye like a punch. His first instinct was to turn to Wen Xiao. “What the hell kind of feud do I have with you?”
Wen Xiao: “How should I know?”
Just then, Zhao Yiyang rushed over, grinning widely. “I know, I know!”