My Deskmate Chapter 71
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 71
On the way back to the classroom, Zhao Yiyang fell two steps behind and walked up to Wen Xiao's side. He whispered, "I think I saw Chi-ge just now, but I'm not sure. I didn’t dare to approach him."
The main thing was that when Wen Xiao had gone to pick up a ball, he had been much closer to Chi Ye than Zhao Yiyang had been, but Wen Xiao didn't react at all. Zhao Yiyang suspected he had just imagined it. "It probably wasn’t Chi-ge. How could he be there? Haha!"
Xu Rui overheard bits of their conversation and turned around, asking, "What are you talking about? Why didn't you dare to approach him?"
Zhao Yiyang jumped up in place and made a shooting gesture. "We were talking about studying!"
Xu Rui rolled his eyes. "You guys are so boring."
As they passed the second floor, Wen Xiao’s gaze drifted beyond the railing. He stared distantly at the sports field and carefully recalled the image of Chi Ye he had just seen, mentally tracing each detail of his appearance. He didn't see any injuries, no weight loss, and his spirit seemed fine.
That was good.
On the bus after 9 PM, heavy rain suddenly poured down outside. The raindrops slapped against the glass with a sharp "tap," and the thunder rumbled loudly. The trees lining the streets swayed, bent by the fierce wind.
Wen Xiao received a call from his grandmother, telling him she was on her way to bring him an umbrella and asking him to wait at the bus stop. He replied, "Okay," then reminded her to be careful and not slip.
Under the streetlights, there weren’t many people waiting at the bus stop. Some were quietly complaining about how suddenly the rain had come and how long it might last. The advertisements on the bus shelter’s board had been changed several times, and the sound of car wheels grinding over the wet road was loud. Wen Xiao adjusted the strap of his black backpack and, in a daze, saw Chi Ye standing in front of the poster, smiling lazily at him like usual. But when he blinked, Chi Ye was gone.
Wen Xiao suddenly regretted blinking just then.
Not long after, his grandmother arrived, holding a checkered umbrella. She handed him another umbrella she was holding. "Have you been waiting long?"
Wen Xiao opened the umbrella and held it over his head as he answered, "Only a few minutes. The last evening self-study session was taken over by the math teacher. We didn’t finish the problems, so it was extended by ten minutes."
His grandmother nodded. "When I was a student, I hated when teachers dragged on the lesson. I still remember how hungry I felt while taking notes at noon. So, after I became a teacher, I never ran over time. Once the material was covered, I’d let the students go two minutes early. It may not have been much, but the students always appreciated it."
As they walked forward, Wen Xiao listened and his heart skipped a beat. He felt a strange sense of realization and turned his head to glance back at the bus stop.
Through the heavy rain, he saw a large black umbrella by the bus stop sign, which quickly disappeared from sight. The person holding it... seemed to be... Chi Ye.
When he got home, he hung the umbrella to dry and went to the wardrobe to find clean clothes, preparing to take a shower.
With his hair still wet, he reached for the shampoo bottle on the shelf, but his hand froze in mid-air. He raised his voice and asked, "Grandma, has the old shampoo run out?"
From behind the door, his grandmother answered, "It’s finished. I bought a new one. Why?"
"Nothing," Wen Xiao lowered his hand and set the shampoo down. He didn’t notice the hoarseness in his voice. Instead, he asked, "Do we have any left at home?"
"There should still be some. You can check the cabinet. There should be one more bottle. If you like it, I’ll buy a few extra next time and keep them on hand."
It wasn’t until the scent of shampoo filled the air that Wen Xiao’s mind finally settled. Water poured over his head, and his eyes grew slightly dry. He closed them, unsure why he was so fixated on a bottle of shampoo.
Maybe it was because, in the past, someone had leaned in close to his neck and, with an exaggerated flair, said, "It smells so good."
After drying his hair, Wen Xiao ate his late-night snack while replying to Zhao Yiyang’s message.
Zhao Yiyang: I just finished a plate of egg fried rice, and my stomach’s so full I’m freaking out! I was just thinking, if Old Xu finds out about your transfer, he might spend a whole month in the office playing the erhu! And Cheng Xiaoning, I have a feeling he’s going to turn into a fire-breathing dragon and vent all his anger on the poor little sheep! By the way, with you be transferring this late in your third year, do you think you can catch up with the pace over there?
Wen Xiao paused with his chopsticks and typed back: I can. My grandmother asked her former student who teaches at Qingda Affiliated High School, and their progress is the same as ours.
After sending the message, Wen Xiao realized that both schools could be called "Affiliated High School."
Zhao Yiyang: Qingda Affiliated High School? Damn, that school’s top-tier, the kind that can reach the sky! My parents once wanted to buy a house there, transfer our household registration, and make a big donation to get me in. This test-taking machine trembled at the thought! It’s full of academic gods and big shots, totally out of my league. You know, if you wore a Qingda Affiliated High School uniform in Qingzhou, you could basically walk through any of the city’s schools and have the power to dominate! Go for it, Xiao-ge!
Wen Xiao: Okay.
Zhao Yiyang: Sigh, Chi-ge’s gone, and now you’re leaving too. It’s just going to be me, Shangguan, and Xu Rui left struggling. The fun’s halved! Have you decided when you’re leaving?
Wen Xiao: After the final exams.
Zhao Yiyang: Are you going there to take the summer classes? That works too. It’s better to get into their rhythm early than to still be struggling after third year starts.
The chat box indicated that the other person was typing, and it took a while before the message appeared on the screen.
Zhao Yiyang: Does Chi-ge know?
Wen Xiao’s finger hovered over the keyboard for a long moment before he replied, "He doesn’t know yet."
Zhao Yiyang: Are you going to tell him? None of us have mentioned it to him yet.
Wen Xiao’s fingertip rested on the keyboard as he typed his final reply, "I’ll tell him."
The final exams were scheduled for June 30th, with two subjects each day for three consecutive days.
The night before, Wen Xiao helped his grandmother pack.
In the study, his grandmother pretended to be angry. "Tomorrow’s the final exam, and you’re still not going to review?"
After stacking the heavy professional books neatly into a box, Wen Xiao looked up. "No need to review," he said, recalling the jokes Zhao Yiyang and the others often made. "I need to leave some face for second place."
His grandmother laughed, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepening. "You can only say that in front of me. Don’t go around telling others."
"I—" Wen Xiao instinctively began to speak, but then stopped himself.
He could say it in front of Chi Ye, he understood that.
His grandmother noticed the brief moment of distraction. "What is it?"
After placing a German textbook carefully into the box, Wen Xiao lowered his head again. "Nothing."
His gaze fell on a box tucked beneath the bookshelf, covered by a picture frame. Wen Xiao sat on the floor, reached out, and carefully wiped away the dust. He glanced at the photo inside — his parents and sister, all smiling brightly — and then placed it gently into the box with everything else.
He remembered when he had first moved to Mingnan. That photo frame had been turned face down, and no one had had the courage to set it upright.
His grandmother’s gaze softened, and she sighed. "Xiaoxiao has grown up."
Wen Xiao didn’t stop what he was doing. "I grew up a long time ago."
"Yes, yes, our Xiaoxiao is already like an adult," his grandmother said, sitting in the chair. The warm light in the study cast a soft glow around Wen Xiao, highlighting the thin line of his neck.
"As you grow, you learn to forget. Forgetting, perhaps, is a gift of being human. Forget yesterday's sorrow, forget last year's pain, and life becomes much easier." Her eyes fell on the scar on Wen Xiao’s finger joint, and she softened her tone. "But some regrets are meant to be remembered for a lifetime. Some feelings can’t just be forgotten, no matter how much you try. Xiaoxiao, do you agree?"
Wen Xiao sensed something in her words. His hands stilled, but he didn’t look up.
His grandmother’s gaze softened. "It’s that boy, Chi Ye, right?"
In the quiet study, Wen Xiao finally looked up. His voice was hoarse as he whispered, "Yes, it’s him."
"Did you break up?"
Wen Xiao nodded, his lips tight. His voice was barely audible, but he said with quiet determination, "I broke up with him."
His grandmother sighed softly and asked, "Do you still like him?"
Wen Xiao’s throat ached, his voice so hoarse it was barely a sound, but he answered with unwavering sincerity, "Yes, I still like him."
How could he not like him?
His grandmother’s eyes turned red too.
The coldest and most indifferent of people, once they fall in love, could never return to who they were before.
Taking Wen Xiao’s hand, his grandmother gently traced the thick scars on his knuckles with her fingertips. "Then go and say a proper goodbye. Say what you need to say. There are still many years ahead, you will always have the chance to meet again, right?"