My Deskmate Chapter 57 (Part 2)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 57.2
In the afternoon, PE class was overtaken by the English teacher, who spent the entire time lecturing on fill-in-the-blank exercises. By the time the first evening self-study session began, the chemistry teacher arrived. Just ten minutes before the bell rang, the physics teacher entered the classroom. "Students, stop what you’re doing. I missed a question earlier, and it’s highly likely to appear on the exam. Let’s take a look together..."
The school day was extended by another fifteen minutes.
As they stood up to pack their bags, Zhao Yiyang looked utterly stunned. "Why does today feel like it’s dragging on forever?"
Shangguan Yu yawned. "It’s not your imagination."
Xu Rui leaned in. "I’m not even nervous about tomorrow’s exam anymore. Right now, I just want to escape the school. I’m terrified that the biology teacher is going to burst in at any second, saying, ‘Let’s hurry up and go over a question that’s definitely going to be on the test!’"
The group walked downstairs, their bags slung over their shoulders, as they passed classrooms where desks were being rearranged for the exam. Wen Xiao listened as Zhao Yiyang and the others discussed potential test questions, occasionally adding his own thoughts.
Once they got on the bus, their WeChat group buzzed with more discussion about the exam.
Wen Xiao, distracted by a series of chemical formulas, switched his attention to his phone. He opened Chi Ye’s profile and typed, "Where are you now?" After writing it, he deleted the message and reworded it, "Have you had dinner?" He hit send.
It wasn’t until Wen Xiao had eaten a late-night snack and finished writing one page of practice problems in his bedroom that Chi Ye finally called.
There was some background noise on the other end. Chi Ye was probably walking to a quieter place. He asked as he moved, "Are you doing homework?"
Under the soft light, Wen Xiao’s lashes caught the rays, casting delicate shadows across his face. His profile was outlined in fine, sharp lines. He instinctively glanced out the window. "Mm, and you? Have you had dinner?"
"I just finished," Chi Ye replied casually. "I almost forgot because I’ve been busy." His voice lowered, taking on a more tender tone. "It’s been four days since I’ve seen you."
Wen Xiao’s hand, which had been absentmindedly spinning his pen, froze for a moment. "Didn’t we just have a video call?"
Chi Ye laughed. "That’s a huge difference. When we meet, I can kiss you. Can I do that over video? When we meet, I can hug you. Can’t do that either. The two are completely different. They can’t even be compared."
Wen Xiao listened quietly, not interrupting. He paid careful attention to the smile in Chi Ye’s voice, even picturing his appearance and smile in his mind as he listened.
He missed him too, and he longed to see him — but he couldn’t say that out loud.
So, instead, Wen Xiao responded with, "Deskmate, don’t ask for too much. A video call is already pretty good."
"Damn," Chi Ye negotiated, "So, can we save it up?"
Wen Xiao was puzzled. "Save up what?"
Chi Ye: "If we’re going by the normal frequency of seeing each other once a day, next time we meet, we can clear out all the hugs and kisses we’ve missed over the past few days."
There was a brief pause before Wen Xiao replied, "Okay."
The conversation had reached a point where both of them were breathing a little heavier. Wen Xiao's pen spun faster in his hand. He stood up, walked over to the bedroom window, and opened it wide, letting in a few gusts of cool air before he felt a little better.
Hearing the wind, Chi Ye asked, "Did you open the window?"
Wen Xiao leaned against the window frame. "Mm, it's hot."
"Xiaoxiao, you're doing this on purpose," Chi Ye’s voice came through the signal, tinged with a hint of hoarseness. "I'm hot too, you know."
Between them was the purest kind of teenage sensuality.
Wen Xiao inhaled sharply, his eyes fixed on the pitch-black window across from him. "Go buy a bottle of iced cola to cool off and—"
Chi Ye: "And what?"
Wen Xiao: "And kill some sperm."
After a few more exchanged words, the call ended. Wen Xiao sat at his desk, lost in thought for an unknown amount of time. Just then, his phone rang. He opened the message from Chi Ye and saw a picture of his hand holding a bottle of cola.
Enlarging the image, Wen Xiao could make out the slim wrist and the droplets of water on the bottle.
He studied it carefully for a few moments before typing out a message: "How does it feel?"
Chi Ye replied with a voice message, his tone laced with laughter, "Next time I miss you, I'll just buy a bottle of cola."
The next day, Cheng Xiaoning started the campus broadcast early, reading out the exam instructions. He emphasized certain points, like "No whispering, no using mobile phones or other communication devices."
Zhao Yiyang, Shangguan Yu, and Xu Rui were all in the first exam room. The moment Wen Xiao stepped through the classroom door, the three of them locked eyes on him. "Finally here! This question! We each chose a different answer, and only you can save us from this three-way deadlock!"
Wen Xiao took the exam paper from them. "Math?"
"Yes! A, B, C, D... We have A, B, and D. Which one is right?" Shangguan Yu asked.
Wen Xiao quickly glanced at the question, then grabbed his pen and worked it out. "C."
"Damn, again?" Xu Rui cursed under his breath. "That's it, from now on, if we don't know the answer, we're just picking C!"
Zhao Yiyang: "Makes sense, I’m not bothering with it anymore. C it is!"
Shangguan Yu suddenly remembered, "Has Chi-ge come in yet? Just now, Old Xu was walking by our exam room, and he said he didn’t see Chi-ge in the last room."
Wen Xiao set his exam paper down and lowered his gaze. "I didn't come with him."
Zhao Yiyang spoke with a carefree tone, "Chi-ge is probably going to be the last one in, as usual. The gatekeeper knows him by now. He just needs to show his face."
Wen Xiao’s seat was in the first row, by the window, where he could see the main street outside. The exam room was on the first floor. Teachers hurried past, and students walked by, some eating breakfast while memorizing their notes. Wen Xiao wasn’t in the mood to review or solve problems. Instead, he found himself lost in thought, gazing out the window.
Several people in the exam room seemed like they wanted to ask him questions but nobody dared to approach. One guy even took a couple of steps toward him before chickening out. Despite being the same age, they felt a bit intimidated.
The bell rang, and the invigilator entered with a brown paper envelope, starting to open the exam papers. Wen Xiao kept his eyes fixed on the window. He didn’t see Chi Ye.
Even half an hour after the exam started, Chi Ye hadn't passed by the main road.
Wen Xiao didn’t look again and lowered his head to focus on his paper.
When the exam was over and the papers were collected, Zhao Yiyang stood up excitedly and called out, "Should we call Chi-ge? Do we head to the cafeteria or the snack street? Both places are probably just as crowded, and anyway, we’ve already missed the best time to cram!"
The three of them waited for Wen Xiao to make the call.
When he turned on his phone, a string of "ding-ding" notification sounds immediately filled the air. Wen Xiao opened the messages — every one of them was from Chi Ye.
Chi Ye: I’m not coming to school for the exam. Yaya has a fever, I’m taking her to the hospital.
Chi Ye: High fever, 39 degrees Celsius. The doctor says it’s pneumonia, and she needs to be hospitalized.
Chi Ye: The doctor asked how long she’s had the fever, but I couldn’t answer. I wasn’t home last night, and I didn’t get back until 7 AM today. Yaya said she felt a little hot when she went to bed last night, but I didn’t know.
Chi Ye: I didn’t know she was running a fever.
Chi Ye: I didn’t even know.
Chi Ye: I called Yaya's homeroom teacher and took a leave. The hospital admission process is done. Yaya didn’t cry when they gave her the IV drip.
The last message was just two characters: "Xiaoxiao."
It wasn’t until his chest felt tight and constricted that Wen Xiao realized he had been holding his breath. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure of what to type.
No matter what words he considered, they all felt hollow and powerless.
Finally, Wen Xiao typed, "Should I come over?"
Several minutes passed before Chi Ye replied: "Wait until the exam is over, then come."
The pediatric hospital was within the 1st Ring Road, which was not far. The lights inside were bright, and there were still many people lined up.
Following the signs to the inpatient department, he matched the bed number and found the right room.
Standing at the door of the hospital room, Wen Xiao stopped.
There were two beds in the room — one was empty, and on the other, Yaya was lying back against the pillow, engrossed in a cartoon. Her little braids and the pink hairpins in her hair were neat and orderly.
The television was mounted on the wall, the volume turned low.
By the bedside, Chi Ye was leaning back in a narrow, short chair, already asleep. The chair was too small to fit him comfortably, so he could only settle into an awkward position, with his long legs dangling off the ground, his whole body exuding exhaustion.
Wen Xiao quietly stepped inside. When Yaya turned her head to look at him, he raised a finger to his lips.
Yaya glanced at her brother before narrowing her eyes into a smile and mimicking Wen Xiao’s "shh" gesture.
Approaching the bedside, Wen Xiao reached out to gently feel Yaya’s forehead — it was still hot to the touch. He whispered, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Yaya whispered back, her bright eyes sparkling. "Cola-gege, I’m not unwell, and I don’t have to do homework anymore!"
As she spoke, she coughed twice, her face flushing red.
Chi Ye woke up.
He opened his eyes, his gaze landing on Wen Xiao standing by the bed. For a moment, he was dazed, then he snapped out of it. "You’re here?"
His voice was hoarse.
Wen Xiao set his bag down. "You should go back to sleep."
Chi Ye instinctively responded, "I—"
Wen Xiao repeated, his tone even more insistent, "You go back. Take a shower, eat, and sleep. It's seven in the evening. You can come back at two in the morning."
Chi Ye stood still, not moving. He stared at Wen Xiao, and a torrent of emotions surged in his eyes, only to be buried deep within, suppressed in the end.
"Okay." Chi Ye's voice was hoarse as he spoke, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Wen Xiao's throat tightened in response. When he spoke again, his voice softened a little. "I'll stay with Yaya. Don't worry."
Chi Ye’s gaze never left Wen Xiao, his eyes almost greedily taking him in. He nodded. "I’m not worried."
When Wen Xiao met his eyes, he felt as if a spark of fire had scorched him, and he quickly looked away. "Then you should go back. Be careful."
After Chi Ye took a few steps toward the door, Wen Xiao called out to him. "Chi Ye."
Chi Ye turned back, walking over again.
Up close, the bloodshot veins in his eyes were even more evident. Although he tried to hold himself together, the exhaustion he carried was impossible to hide.
The two of them stood very close.
Chi Ye realized that some instincts could not be restrained.
It was as if just standing this close to Wen Xiao made his heart race more than usual. He instinctively wanted to reach out and hold him, to get even closer, to talk to him, even to spill all the tangled, chaotic emotions and thoughts that had built up over the day.
He didn’t know why he felt this way about him.
Even when he was jolted awake from a light sleep, and the first thing he saw was Wen Xiao standing there, the joy that erupted in his heart grew wildly, like grass spreading across a field.
His peripheral vision caught sight of the zipper of Wen Xiao's blue-and-white school uniform sliding down. Chi Ye lowered his eyes and instinctively reached out to pull it up a little.
That simple action seemed to break some delicate balance. In the next instant, Wen Xiao reached out to cover Yaya’s eyes with his hand. At the same time, he leaned in and kissed Chi Ye on the lips.
It was a deep kiss. Although it lasted only a few seconds, it left a painful sting for both of them.