My Deskmate Chapter 36 (Part 2)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 36.2
In the end, Chi Ye and Wen Xiao’s desks were piled high with game magazines, celebrity photo albums, fan magazines, and a huge stack of manhua.
"Classmate, besides our desks, the entire class is a pristine sanctuary," Chi Ye leaned against the wall and laughed, the shadows under his eyes deeper than usual.
Wen Xiao noticed the exhaustion Chi Ye was trying to hide. "What time did you go to bed last night?"
"Five or six, I'm not sure." Chi Ye shrugged, indifferent. "Anyway, I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I might as well do something."
Just as they were talking, Xu Rui darted over like a monkey. "Did Wang Haoxuan’s expensive magazine end up hidden here too?"
Chi Ye raised an eyebrow. "What magazine?"
Xu Rui grinned. "What else could it be? He spent over two hundred yuan having it imported from abroad. It's a photo album of a female idol, wearing a sailor suit with twin ponytails, flashing two little tiger teeth when she smiles. Super cute. That tightwad wouldn’t even let anyone peek at it. Chi-ge, interested? Want me to dig it out so we can take a look?"
Chi Ye rejected him outright. "Not interested. If you want it, go find it yourself."
Xu Rui leaned over to look at the cluttered mess on Chi Ye and Wen Xiao’s desks, his eyes widening in surprise. "Damn, we’ve got a lot of contraband in this class. There are even three Switch consoles!"
Zhao Yiyang turned around. "Hey, one of those is mine. Keep your dirty hands off it, or I’ll chop them off."
Xu Rui quickly pulled his hand back, pretending to be terrified. "Savage. Inhumane!"
The radio switched to a new song, and when they looked out the window, they saw parents slowly trickling in through the school gate.
The desks had already been tidied up. Zhao Yiyang and Shang Guan Yu turned around. "Old Xu's keeping his mouth shut this time. Not a single hint about my score. I still don’t know how well I did."
Xu Rui exposed him. "Master, you clearly checked answers with Wen Xiao, don't you know your score in your heart?"
"Can you stop talking like that? Knowing the score is useless if we don't know our class rank!" Zhao Yiyang glared at Xu Rui. "Aren’t you worried?"
Xu Rui scratched his nose. "Hey, isn't your housekeeper coming to the meeting? What are you afraid of?"
Shang Guan Yu butted in, "His parents are ruthless. They made their housekeeper keep the video call on during the meeting, so it would be live-streamed."
Zhao Yiyang nodded, looking like he was about to give up.
The three of them exchanged a look, each sharing the same helpless feeling.
Then, they turned to look at Chi Ye and Wen Xiao, almost as if seeing enemies. "You guys are so lucky! No parents showing up!"
Chi Ye lazily replied, "Yeah, don’t be too jealous. Just keep your cool and don’t panic."
Easier said than done. Xu Rui turned to Wen Xiao. "What about you? Any words of wisdom for us poor souls?"
Wen Xiao: "Chi Ye said it all."
"Damn it!"
Gradually, parents filled the seats, and the only desks still empty were the two at the back of the classroom.
Some parents, curious about the two empty seats, overheard the explanation and couldn't help but comment, "How irresponsible, not even showing up to the meeting" or "These poor kids, stuck with such careless parents."
Ignoring these remarks, Wen Xiao closed the study guide he had been reading. He noticed Chi Ye leaning against the wall, hands in his school uniform pockets, looking utterly bored.
"Let’s go. Old Xu’s been urging us."
The students were all kicked out of the classroom. Since there were always a few people peeking through the back door or eavesdropping through the crack, Old Xu, fed up, simply shouted for everyone to head to the sports field or library.
Zhao Yiyang bounced on his heels. "Hey, looking at it this way, it’s not so bad. The parent-teacher meeting is two hours long. Does that count as a two-hour break? We're lucky!"
"As expected, Master is broad-minded and enlightened. I feel so comforted now." Xu Rui, too, seemed to relax. "Nothing changes whether we face it or avoid it. I'm happy again! Let’s go, let’s head to the sports field!"
Chi Ye and Wen Xiao walked at the back, shoulder to shoulder, attracting the attention of several girls along the way.
Hearing Zhao Yiyang and Xu Rui’s conversation, Chi Ye commented, "That’s what happens when people have it rough. Once they taste a little bit of sweetness, they’re easily satisfied."
The sports field was crowded with people, and the basketball court barely had enough room. Fifteen-on-fifteen, a ball was tossed into the air, and a crowd of people scrambled to catch it, resembling a game of "Eagle Catching the Little Chick." Zhao Yiyang and the others were especially fired up, shouting as they rushed in, eager to join the chaos.
Chi Ye and Wen Xiao exchanged a glance and simultaneously decided to pass on the game.
The school was packed with people everywhere. The library was overflowing, and there wasn’t even room in the cafeteria. After grabbing two cans of cola from the supermarket, Wen Xiao and Chi Ye walked around the campus for a while before finally finding a spot to sit by the edge of a flower bed.
Chi Ye sighed. "It’s rare to find some peace and quiet. I finally have a clear idea of how many people actually attend this school."
Wen Xiao took a sip of cola, his lips briefly moistened. He picked up a twig that had fallen from a tree, with a small white flower still attached, and handed it to Chi Ye.
"What’s with the sudden display of affection?"
Glancing at Chi Ye, Wen Xiao replied, "The pear blossoms calm the heart. You've been a bit restless ever since you came to school."
Chi Ye paused for a moment, then smiled. "Probably just the restlessness of adolescence."
Wen Xiao wasn’t convinced.
The delicate yellow petals looked fragile. Chi Ye twirled the twig a few times, and almost immediately, a large portion of the petals fell off, leaving the branch bare.
Chi Ye: "Do pear blossoms really calm the heart?"
Wen Xiao: "I made that up on the spot."
With nothing to do and no teachers around to keep an eye on them, Chi Ye and Wen Xiao decided to try the mobile version of League of Glory together.
Time passed quickly while they played. After three matches, the parent-teacher meeting finally came to an end.
Cheng Xiaoning's voice echoed over the school’s PA system: "Thank you to all the parents for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend the parent-teacher meeting. On behalf of the entire school..."
With so many people, it took a while for the parents to leave the school. Wen Xiao and Chi Ye started another game.
Beside the flower bed, there was a small path, with a few trees scattered along the way. People passed by constantly.
Some were on the phone, shouting, "You teach your son! I can't handle him anymore! What kind of grades are these? He's ranked over 300 in his year. How’s he ever going to get into college?" Some were contacting tutoring centers, others were sharing good news. A few parents walked together, taking turns complimenting each other's children — one praised her son’s math skills, while the other boasted about her daughter’s high science scores.
"...Did you notice that the last row is always empty? I told you, with a kid like that, the parents probably don’t want to get upset, so they just give up... I’ve seen plenty of cases like this. In the first year of high school, he beat someone up during evening self-study in the classroom. Who knows, one day he might end up overdosing on drugs and die in a public restroom."
Wen Xiao paused his finger on the screen.
The middle-aged woman’s shrill voice oozed with smugness. "Unlike my child, I’m strict with him. I would never let him go down the wrong path."
"That's true. He ranked first in the high school entrance exam, his grades were amazing, and now look at him. He’s at the bottom."
Wen Xiao turned his head, noticing Chi Ye was running his character all over the map.
He seemed like he hadn’t heard the conversation at all, but how could he not have heard? How could he not care?
For a moment, Wen Xiao gripped his phone, losing all desire to continue the game.
Chi Ye didn’t look at Wen Xiao, his gaze fixed on the screen, speaking nonchalantly. "I’ve gotten used to it."
Wen Xiao didn’t respond, only stared at Chi Ye’s profile, a simmering anger glimmering in his eyes.
"For those who don’t care about me, I don’t care how they see me either. As for the people I care about," Chi Ye turned his gaze, meeting Wen Xiao’s clear, piercing look. He plucked a white pear blossom from his shoulder and said, "As someone said, he has eyes and, and he can see what kind of person I am."