My Deskmate Chapter 53
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 53
Chi Ye and Wen Xiao walked back side by side. Zhao Yiyang, who was drenched in sweat, threw the basketball toward Chi Ye, saying, “Chi-ge, are you guys still playing? Shangguan and I are exhausted to death. Damn, I believe in global warming now. It's only May, and it feels like June already!”
His gaze swept over the two of them, and his eyes narrowed in curiosity. “Wen Xiao, why is your school uniform zipper pulled up so high? Aren’t you hot?”
Chi Ye caught the basketball thrown at him and casually tossed it in his hand before answering, “You should try standing in the science building for a minute. The temperature will drop instantly.”
Thinking of how Wen Xiao’s lips had looked darker than usual, and the faint teeth marks at the edge of his collar, the fire in his heart ignited a little. He absentmindedly fiddled with his fingers, recalling how, when they left the science building, he had been the one to pull up Wen Xiao’s zipper bit by bit, securing it all the way up to cover his collarbones completely.
Unable to help himself, Chi Ye glanced at Wen Xiao again. Unexpectedly, Wen Xiao seemed to sense his gaze and shot him a cold, sharp look.
Chi Ye felt a bit guilty for no reason and didn't dare to continue looking at Wen Xiao.
Unaware of the silent tension between Chi Ye and Wen Xiao, Zhao Yiyang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said thoughtfully, “You know, now that you mention it, the science building is always cold. Xu Rui was saying just the other day that people dug up a lot of bones when they were building the foundation for the science building. It's so spooky!” He rubbed his arms, shivering. “Damn, why am I scaring myself in broad daylight?”
Every school had its share of ghost stories. Some were passed down from previous generations, while others were made up on the spot. But they all seemed to revolve around themes of old bones being unearthed, ghosts haunting classrooms, or shadows appearing in the middle of the night. Mingnan Affiliated High School had such a long history that the rumors were abundant enough to fill an entire book. With the recent discovery of an ancient tomb, it was certain that even more ghost stories would crop up in the next school year.
Successfully changing the subject, Chi Ye deliberately balanced the basketball on his fingertips and showed off his advanced ball-handling skills to Wen Xiao. Then he suggested, “Want to head back?”
Zhao Yiyang: “Let’s go, let’s go! I’m going to melt in this heat!”
During lunch break, the classroom was quiet. Chi Ye had his head down, playing a mobile game, but every few minutes, he would look up at Wen Xiao, almost as if he was checking to make sure he was still there.
After finishing today’s physics homework, Wen Xiao asked, “What game are you playing?”
Chi Ye: “It’s an RPG. I saw some good reviews, and the battle modes seemed interesting, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m just picking a character. Are you interested?”
The two of them leaned closer together.
The first part of character creation was choosing the gender. Wen Xiao didn’t think too much about it. After all, the character’s gender didn’t matter — both male and female characters had the same skill set and controls. The system defaulted to a female character, and he didn't change it, ready to move on to the next step.
Chi Ye: “You’re using a female character?”
Wen Xiao gave a quiet “Mm,” signaling he was listening. “Is there a problem?”
“No way, you can’t use a female character,” Chi Ye insisted, switching the gender to male. He watched as the character on screen effortlessly spun a weapon in hand, and suddenly realized something was wrong. Damn, which gender was he supposed to feel jealous about?
After hesitating, he decided that he would be jealous of everyone except himself.
So, Wen Xiao watched as Chi Ye chose a male character with a crew cut, spun him around on the screen a few times, and, satisfied with the character’s appearance, locked it in. Then he changed the character’s name. He didn’t keep the default “Sima Fenfen,” instead opting for “Chi-ge.”
Chi Ye was in a great mood. “Alright, now you can take ‘Chi-ge’ into the game and go on a killing spree!”
Wen Xiao: “......”
Once they were in the game, Chi Ye kept chattering beside him. “Team up? No need, we’ll go solo!”
“What’s with that villain’s outfit? His back’s exposed! Don’t look, your eyes will go blind.”
“This female NPC keeps trying to talk to you. Something’s off. Don’t get caught up in it. Come on, let’s move away.”
After twenty minutes of gameplay, the only thing they learned was that the grass in this area of the map was unusually fresh, and there was a river where they could drink water. Other than that, they gathered no useful information.
Chi Ye was still complaining, “This lousy game is too hard to play.”
Manipulating “Chi-ge” to jump a few times in place, Wen Xiao asked, “Something on your mind?”
Chi Ye hesitated for a moment before casually responding, “You're on my mind.”
So, there was something on his mind.
Wen Xiao paused his fingers, looked up, his gaze sharp and clear. “What did Old Xu say to you after he called you to the office?”
“Nothing much, just the same few lines repeated over and over.” Chi Ye rested his head on the desk and glanced at his deskmate. “Why do you want to ask about that again?”
Wen Xiao: “You’re not quite normal.”
Chi Ye pulled at the corner of his mouth but couldn’t come up with a retort.
He knew he wasn’t quite right. He had realized it himself. After all, he was getting worked up over a game with a bunch of 2D characters. Why was he getting jealous? And what about when he pinned Wen Xiao against the wall of an empty classroom, biting down on his collarbone like he was marking territory?
Now that he thought about it, Wen Xiao had just indulged him without any hint of impatience or starting a fight. That, he realized, was true love.
Finally, Chi Ye spoke, “I don’t know.”
Didn't know? He knew perfectly well.
He was just a little panicked, a little scared, not knowing where the path ahead would lead, or which direction it would take.
He just didn’t dare to say it.
It was as if all the happiness of these past few days had been an illusion, and once he said it, everything would shatter like paper cut by a knife, revealing the cold, pale, powerless reality beneath.
Wen Xiao logged out of the game.
He locked the phone and slipped it into Chi Ye’s school uniform pocket, then gently took hold of Chi Ye’s wrist. “One step at a time. Don’t be afraid.”
Wen Xiao’s voice was clear and bright, like the sound of spring water, and his eyes were as transparent as a deep, flowing spring.
In that moment, Chi Ye couldn’t quite put into words what he was feeling. He understood, he understood it all.
He grasped Wen Xiao’s hand in return, and a wave of long-suppressed exhaustion surged through his bones. He closed his eyes, holding onto Wen Xiao’s cool fingers, and whispered softly, “Alright.”
Xu Rui hadn't expected to run into Xu Guangqi when he left the classroom for a bathroom break during nap time. He wanted to turn around and slip away, but to his surprise, Xu Guangqi was quicker than him. “Xu Rui, come here!”
Standing in the office, Xu Rui felt uncomfortable from head to toe.
He was already thin, and he swayed back and forth like a bamboo pole that hadn't been planted firmly. Xu Guangqi felt his eyes hurting from watching him.
“I hear from your classmates that you know everything that goes on in Mingnan Affiliated High School?”
Xu Rui didn’t expect the conversation to start with such flattery. Feeling smug, he boasted, “Of course, I know everything. Even the camellia flower blooming in the corner of our great school, I know which bee helped pollinate it!”
Xu Guangqi, holding a thermos, gently steered the conversation, “Since you know everything, then tell me — who is Chi Ye dating?”
“Chi-ge? Dating? Come on, Old Xu, you’re messing with me, right? Chi-ge is in a relationship?” Xu Rui was startled, then quickly leaned over the desk, cupping his hand over his mouth. “Shh, keep your voice down. This is a scoop. Old Xu, you can only tell me. The more people know, the less exciting the news is.”
“Get lost. I’m the one asking you!” Xu Guangqi waved his hand dismissively, then gave him a careful once-over. “You're not acting, are you? Your acting is pretty good, kid.”
Xu Rui lowered his voice. “What kind of act am I putting on? No, Old Xu, is it true that Chi-ge is really dating someone? Is this news reliable?”
“He said it himself. Can it be fake? Just don’t know who the person is, so I came to you to ask around.” Xu Guangqi tightened the lid of his thermos and probed, “I didn’t expect you didn’t know, though. I thought with such a big thing, you’d definitely be in the loop.”
Xu Rui’s competitive spirit kicked in as he pondered deeply. “Hold on, let’s not jump to conclusions. Give me a second to think! Dating? That doesn't fit Chi-ge at all. He’s clueless about it all. He doesn’t even notice girls. Who would he be dating? Could someone be chasing after him? No, that doesn’t make sense either. Chi-ge’s barely at school five days a week, and he’s only here for four of them. He vanishes out of nowhere all the time. The difficulty of chasing him is way too high!”
That was the part that puzzled Xu Guangqi as well. Dating Chi Ye could easily turn a school romance into a long-distance one. He twisted the cap on his thermos again. “You think it’s impossible, too, right?”
Xu Rui frowned. “It really doesn’t seem likely. Chi-ge eats with us at school, unless—”
Xu Guangqi’s interest piqued. “Unless what?”
“Unless Chi-ge’s dating someone outside of school! Or maybe he’s just messing with people. Personally, I think the chances of him messing with people are way higher than him actually dating someone.”
Xu Guangqi pondered for a moment. “Messing with people, huh? That does seem more likely. Alright, you can go now. Get some rest, or you’ll be nodding off in class this afternoon.”
Xu Rui waved cheerfully and said goodbye.
In the classroom, many students were already napping. After sitting down, Xu Rui glanced toward the back row.
Chi Ye and Wen Xiao were sitting close together, heads bent low, seemingly absorbed in something.
Imagining the two big shots discussing which turf to hit up tonight, or how to take care of some scum, Xu Rui clenched his fist, further solidifying his belief — big shots live in a world filled with passionate, fiery action, not romance!
Outside, the soft sound of raindrops began to fall. Wen Xiao remembered that the weather forecast said it would rain in the evening. He stood up and closed the bedroom window, glancing out through the glass. As a habit, he looked across to the opposite building and noticed the light was still on in Chi Ye’s room. He was probably still inside.
After standing there for a moment, leaning against the wall, Wen Xiao withdrew his gaze and returned to solving problems.
His grandmother asked from outside the door if he was hungry or wanted more fruit. Wen Xiao replied, “No, thanks,” through the door. She went on for a moment about how he should get to bed early. He responded with a brief “Mm,” and she finally shuffled off in her slippers to rest in her room.
He picked a small tomato from the glass plate and popped it into his mouth, then turned his pen in his hand, continuing to solve equations on his scratch paper. After writing a few lines, he suddenly stopped. Looking down, he realized the paper was scattered with "Chi Ye."
Staring at the name, Wen Xiao calculated that it had been almost eight hours since he had seen Chi Ye.
It wasn’t exactly longing or worry, just... he couldn’t help but think about him a little.
After a while, the sound of rain outside had nearly stopped. Wen Xiao looked across again and saw that the light was still on. Without hesitating this time, he got up and left the room.
Chi Ye was sitting with Yaya’s exam papers in front of him. Her Chinese score was impressive, and her handwriting neat and orderly, with red marks all over the pages that made him feel at ease. When he turned to the math paper, Chi Ye didn't dare to look at the second page after finishing the first. He decided to prepare himself mentally for the night and talk about it tomorrow morning.
Tossing the pen he had been using to sign her papers, Chi Ye walked to the bathroom, stripping off his shirt as he went. After a quick shower, he grabbed a blue towel to dry his hair when his phone rang.
Opening WeChat, he saw a message from Wen Xiao: “Open the door.”
The hand holding the towel paused. Chi Ye muttered a curse under his breath, then he tossed the towel aside as he walked toward the door.
Gripping the cold metal door handle, his throat went dry. “Why didn’t you say anything and just come over?”
As he spoke, he took in Wen Xiao’s appearance. No umbrella, his hair slightly damp, and his pants were splattered with mud. He must’ve been in a hurry when he came.
The dim, old hallway lights made it hard to see the emotions in Wen Xiao’s dark eyes.
Wen Xiao had run down to the building, but only began walking slowly when he started heading upstairs, taking one step at a time and regulating his breathing, not wanting to seem too rushed or eager.
His fingers, hanging by his sides, curled slightly as he answered Chi Ye’s question. “There’s no water at my place.”
When those words hit his ears, a fire flared up inside Chi Ye, and in an instant, every part of him felt scalding hot.
His gaze darkened, fixing on Wen Xiao with the intensity of a hawk eyeing its prey.
In that moment, the hallway lights flickered out.
The next second, Wen Xiao found himself yanked by his wrist and pressed against the wall by Chi Ye.
In the darkness, only the rough outline of each other was visible.
Chi Ye's breath scorched his skin as he leaned in, his voice hoarse, gravelly, and dangerously low. “Are you f*cking inviting me to kiss you?”
Affected by the heat, Wen Xiao's fingertips, despite the cold wall against his back, quickly grew hot, as if ignited.
Unable to suppress the tremor in his hand, Wen Xiao tightened his grip on Chi Ye’s solid arm and answered in the same low tone, “So much talk, are you going to kiss me or not?”
A low laugh rumbled in Chi Ye’s throat. Without a word, he tightened his hold on Wen Xiao’s chin and kissed him fiercely.