My Deskmate Chapter 48
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 48
Wen Xiao snatched the soda from Chi Ye’s hands, brought it to his lips and took a sip. His gaze was fixed intently on the other person.
"F*ck." Chi Ye swallowed hard, his gaze fixed on Wen Xiao’s lips. The fire in his heart flared up.
Despite Wen Xiao giving no overtly suggestive signals, everything about his posture — the way his fingers curled around the bottle, the slight sidelong glance, even the soft sound of his swallowing — hit Chi Ye like a powerful drug.
Noticing something in Chi Ye’s eyes, Wen Xiao finished the cola and shook the empty plastic bottle before answering his earlier question. "It’s very sweet."
Xu Rui caught the scene out of the corner of his eye. "Huh? Didn’t you buy enough cola? Wait, Chi-ge, there’s a bottle right next to you that’s unopened. Why take Wen Xiao’s?"
Zhao Yiyang moved quickly, grabbing the soda and tossing it into Chi Ye’s arms. "Come on, Chi-ge, drink more. Replenish your stamina!"
Chi Ye caught the bottle. "You don't need to worry about my stamina."
At this age, people are very sensitive to certain keywords. Zhao Yiyang whistled, grinning. "Yes, yes, your stamina is great! Especially, especially great!"
Chi Ye kicked at him, laughing as he cursed, "F*ck off!"
Zhao Yiyang exaggeratedly hopped sideways, his laughter ringing through the entire court.
Worried that the court would be taken by others if they rested too long, the group quickly returned to the center line and took their positions.
Shangguan Yu suggested, “How about we split into teams and separate Chi-ge and Wen Xiao? Given the current situation, I think this is the best option.”
Xu Rui immediately disagreed, “I think we should do two against three. Chi-ge and Wen Xiao should team up, and the three of us can be one team. That seems fairer!”
Shangguan Yu raised an eyebrow in doubt. “My friend, do you really think adding one more person makes it fair?”
Xu Rui looked puzzled. “Isn’t that how it works?”
Shangguan Yu gave up trying to reason with someone who had no idea of his own skill level. He turned to Zhao Yiyang, but was surprised to find him even more clueless. “I agree with the academic officer! Or we could do two-on-two. Three of us, two at a time, taking turns. We’ll wear out Chi-ge and Wen Xiao!”
Shangguan Yu rubbed his forehead, feeling like every cubic millimeter of air around him was saturated with the word “stupid” as he stood with these two fools.
The game began, but within five minutes, Chi Ye and Wen Xiao had already scored three goals. Xu Rui stared in shock, raising his hands in surrender. “Damn it, I haven’t even touched the ball once!”
At that moment, Wen Xiao glanced over at the tree-lined path beside the court. “Isn’t that the dance team over there?”
The mention of "dance team" seemed to unlock something in Zhao Yiyang. He dribbled, jumped, and shot, in one smooth motion – except there was no ball in his hands.
Feeling proud of his recent display, Zhao Yiyang turned to Wen Xiao. “Where is the dance team?”
Wen Xiao nodded in the direction with his chin. "Over there."
Zhao Yiyang’s eyes widened as he spotted the three figures walking along the tree-lined path. Excited, he exclaimed, "What are the odds? It really is my goddess! It's totally worth carving her name into my desk! It actually worked!"
Wen Xiao was more objective. "I think it's just a matter of probability."
Watching the figures grow farther away, Zhao Yiyang said seriously, "No, this is fate. You wouldn’t understand."
Meanwhile, Shangguan Yu pointed out that anyone heading to the dance practice room would pass by the basketball court. On this side, Chi Ye moved closer to Wen Xiao, their shoulders bumping. "You have good eyesight."
Wen Xiao didn’t quite understand at first, but after a moment’s thought, he got it. "You’re so sour."
Chi Ye: "What’s wrong with being sour?"
Wen Xiao glanced at him for two seconds, then crooked his finger. "Come here, closer. I need to tell you something."
Not sure what kind of secret Wen Xiao wanted to share, Chi Ye stepped forward, his ear leaning in. "What do you want to tell your Chi-ge—"
Before the words even left his mouth, something soft brushed against his cheek, as fleeting as a dragonfly skimming the water.
It took Chi Ye a moment to process, and when he did, a thought spiraled through his mind — Shit, was I just hit on?
Wen Xiao stood up straight, as if nothing had happened. "Done. Happy now?"
Chi Ye snapped back to reality. "Not really. How about you tell me again?"
Wen Xiao: “......”
How shameless. I can't top that.
Knowing that Chi Ye was about to leave after class, Wen Xiao followed him to the back of the supermarket. "Your wound hasn’t been treated yet. Apply some medicine before you go."
Chi Ye turned his back to Wen Xiao, grabbed his shirt, and asked, "Is this good enough?"
Having just exercised, his sun-kissed skin was slick with sweat, a few droplets trickling down the crevice of his back. The bruises hadn’t faded, in fact, the color had deepened, making the sight slightly unsettling.
Wen Xiao sprayed the medicine, then gently rubbed it in with his palm. "Does it hurt?"
"No, it feels nice," Chi Ye replied, and after Wen Xiao finished, he pulled down his shirt, standing up straight. Then he tugged at the collar, revealing his collarbones and shoulder line. "What about here? Want to check this out?"
Wen Xiao glanced at it briefly. "It’s scabbed over. Just don’t mess with it."
Disappointment flickered in Chi Ye's eyes. "If my injuries were worse, would you take care of me?"
Wen Xiao’s gaze turned cold, and his voice was equally icy. "If you were badly injured, you’d be on your own."
Realizing his words might have made Wen Xiao worry, Chi Ye quickly raised both hands in surrender. "I’m very careful with my life. I’ll never do anything reckless." He looked into Wen Xiao’s shallow, clear eyes, his voice softening. "In the past seventeen years, I've met countless people, but I've only met one person like you. I'm too afraid of losing you, of not cherishing you enough."
His voice had a slight rasp from the tail end of puberty, not noticeable in everyday speech, but when he lowered it, it was especially striking to the ears.
Chi Ye rarely said things like that.
He often thought about these things, but rarely voiced them. He always felt that once he said out loud the things he had pondered over and over in his mind, it would be undeniably sentimental.
But when he saw Wen Xiao, stubborn yet soft-hearted, he couldn’t help but let the words slip out.
Chi Ye silently justified himself — this was just a moment of emotional overflow, a natural expression of feeling!
Then he saw Wen Xiao hurriedly mutter a quick "Hmm," shove the spray bottle into his hand, and turn away. There was a slight panic in his movement, his ears tinged pink.
Damn it, how could his deskmate be so damn attractive even when he was shy?
On the way back to the classroom, Wen Xiao spotted Cheng Xiaoning standing at the hallway entrance, chatting with Old Xu. Both of them were frowning, looking worried. After exchanging a few words, Cheng Xiaoning walked off with his hands behind his back, and Old Xu turned just in time to spot Wen Xiao. "Done with PE class?"
Old Xu relaxed his furrowed brows and smiled broadly. "Your Teacher Cheng isn’t having an easy time. The school is about to send out the 'Teacher Satisfaction Survey' again, and last year, he ranked dead last. This year, he’s got some trauma from that. He came to me all anxious, asking how he could improve his score."
Wen Xiao wasn’t much of a talker, but he was a good listener. Old Xu seized the rare chance to vent. "I’ve already given him a few suggestions, but the real one, I didn’t dare to say." He looked around, making sure Cheng Xiaoning wasn’t nearby, then leaned in and whispered, "If I were a student and had to deal with the Director of Discipline who always stood at the school gate, yelling on the dot, I’d secretly give him one star too!"
"......" Wen Xiao fell silent, thinking to himself, Is it really appropriate for you to say something like that to me?
"Ahem." Xu Guangqi cleared his throat, relieved to have finally gotten his thoughts out. "But, you know, Teacher Cheng is indeed a responsible, dedicated, and hardworking teacher!"
Wen Xiao decided to remain silent.
Xu Guangqi: "By the way, did that brat Chi Ye run off again?"
Wen Xiao nodded. "Yeah, he just left."
Speaking of Chi Ye, Xu Guangqi sighed and then gave Wen Xiao another piece of advice. "Chi Ye disappears every other day. You, on the other hand, can’t let that affect you! Just pretend that your deskmate is... uh, invisible! When you can't see him, he's actually in the classroom! Don't let him disrupt your studies!"
Invisible? Wen Xiao saw Xu Guangqi racking his brain and decided not to argue against this highly imaginative description.
The next day, with the Labor Day holiday giving them a full day off, the subject representatives gradually trickled into the teacher’s office to ask about assignments. The work was written on the corner of the blackboard, and then the long process of handing out the exam papers began.
One paper landed in Wen Xiao’s hands. Before he could even figure out which subject it was for, another one was handed to him, followed by more, like snowflakes falling endlessly.
Zhao Yiyang threw himself back in his chair, howling, "Do the teachers have some kind of misunderstanding? We're getting a whole day off tomorrow! A whole day! Why are there so many papers? Do they think we're getting a three-month break?"
Shangguan Yu comforted him, "If it were a three-month break, the papers would probably stack higher than you."
"I may not be quite 1.8 meters, but I'm so close!" After emphasizing this, Zhao Yiyang had to admit, "Your Majesty, you’re absolutely right, I do feel comforted."
On Chi Ye’s empty desk, stacks of exam papers quickly piled up, giving off the distinct scent of ink. After finishing his own papers, Wen Xiao casually organized Chi Ye’s as well.
On his way home with a backpack full of test papers, Wen Xiao sorted them by subject, stacking them upside down in the upper-left corner of his desk.
As he picked up his pen and signed his name on the papers, preparing to dive into the exercises, he suddenly remembered the scene from the previous night when Chi Ye had kissed him against the desk.
At this age, even the slightest tease can be overwhelming. Wen Xiao’s breath quickened, and he twirled the pen around for a few dozen times before managing to calm down.
He couldn’t allow himself to think of anything related to Chi Ye — not for a second, or he might as well give up on studying.
Time always passed quickly when doing homework. When the WeChat notification pinged, Wen Xiao instinctively checked the time. It was 2 AM.
Rubbing his tired eyes, Wen Xiao stood up to stretch and casually grabbed his phone to open it.
At the top of his WeChat message list, Chi Ye, who was marked as a special contact, had a red notification badge.
Chi Ye: "What are you doing?"
Wen Xiao: "Doing homework."
Chi Ye: "When I saw your window light still on, I knew you hadn’t gone to sleep. I thought maybe you couldn’t sleep because you were thinking about me, but it turns out you’re just studying."
Wen Xiao almost sent a string of ellipses, but then he remembered what Chi Ye had said to him behind the supermarket earlier that day. His fingers hesitated for a few seconds before typing, "I was thinking about you too."
This time, Chi Ye didn’t reply for a while.
Wen Xiao waited patiently. During the pause, he clicked on Chi Ye’s pitch-black profile picture.
Unlike Zhao Yiyang, who posted daily mood updates and photos, or Xu Rui, who flooded his moments with dozens of posts a day, Chi Ye’s moments were completely empty.
His gaze shifted back to Chi Ye’s profile picture. Wen Xiao’s eyes flickered. His fingers moved before he could think and clicked on the picture.
The dark profile picture enlarged, filling the entire screen. At that moment, Wen Xiao clearly saw a tint but extremely bright star in the pitch-black night sky background.