My Deskmate Chapter 76
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 76
The classroom gradually quieted down as everyone finished packing their things and took their seats.
Xu Guangqi stood at the front of the room, saying nothing, simply gazing at each student in turn.
Someone finally broke the silence, "Teacher, say something!"
"Aren't you always complaining that I talk too much, that I constantly feed you with motivational speeches?" Xu Guangqi changed his tone. "But let me tell you, life really does need motivation. When you can't take it anymore, when you're ready to give up, a single word of encouragement can ignite your potential, help you hold on and push through. So, yes, delivering a motivational speech is an important skill."
Having made his point, Xu Guangqi pulled out a chair, sat down, and leaned his elbows on the desk. "You're all about to leave. You'll be heading into the real world soon. I've been a teacher for many years, guiding countless students from their first year to their last. I’ve seen this moment many times. I often share motivating words, but today, I won’t do that. I just want to say this..."
He paused for a moment, letting the silence linger before continuing. "I hope that, in the years to come, you all will be well, safe, healthy, happy, and successful. I hope that, as you struggle and strive through life, when night falls and everything is quiet, you'll look back and remember that you were once young, full of ambition, and that you had the courage to dream big and fight for your future.
"We are all ordinary people living in an ordinary world. You’ll meet many more ordinary people in your lives. But you must remember, every ordinary person has a unique brilliance. When all these sparks come together, they form a vibrant and dazzling world. So, never close your eyes to that brilliance around you. If one day you feel lost, or afraid, just look around, see how bright and beautiful the world is. If you ever lose your way or feel disconnected, take a moment to look around and realize just how spectacular the world truly is."
The classroom remained silent.
Xu Guangqi smiled softly. "It seems I can't help myself from giving another motivational speech, can I? But don't worry, this is the last time you'll hear it. After this, you’ll have your exams, and I’ll get some rest. Once you're done, I’ll grade your papers, and then we’ll all welcome the long summer vacation. There will always be meetings and partings. This fall, I’ll have new students, and you’ll have new teachers. So don’t make it too sad."
Even as he spoke the words, Xu Guangqi felt the sting of tears welling up in his eyes.
Chi Ye leaned back in his chair, watching Xu Guangqi from a distance. He clapped his hands, and the crisp sound seemed to awaken something in everyone else. Soon, as if some emotion had been stirred, everyone started clapping until they had coaxed tears out of Xu Guangqi.
"Alright, alright," Xu Guangqi said, trying to regain his composure. "Anyway, I don’t have any other expectations. I just hope you all do well. And if you ever have a class reunion, it’d be great if you could invite me." He wiped his eyes quickly. "Now, it’s time to leave. I’ll stay here in the classroom, watching you all go. This is the starting point, and every step ahead of you is a journey!"
Some students began to pick up their bags and stand up, saying a simple "Goodbye, teacher" or "Thanks, Old Xu" before leaving the classroom. There were also girls who couldn’t hold back their tears, unable to say anything, who bowed to Xu Guangqi while clutching their bags, then hurried out of the room with tears streaming down their faces.
When it was Zhao Yiyang’s turn, he gave a sincere compliment, "Old Xu, your erhu playing isn’t bad at all!" Then his eyes also seemed to fill with dust, and he hurried out of the classroom as if escaping.
Chi Ye sat in the last row, not rushing to get up. He waited until everyone else had left before standing.
"Thank you, teacher."
Xu Guangqi waved his hand, stopping him from saying more. "Those three words are enough. If you say anything else, look, the tears I just stopped are about to start flowing again. If the other teachers see me back in the office, they'll laugh at me!"
Chi Ye joked without hesitation, "It’s too late for that. The security guard at the school entrance probably already knows you’ve been crying."
Xu Guangqi glared at him. "Can’t you tell a little white lie to make me feel better?"
Chi Ye: "I don’t know whether you’re happy or not, but I’m really happy to have had you as my teacher."
A few seconds later, Xu Guangqi replied, "I’m also happy to have had you as my student." He pointed at Chi Ye’s school uniform. "Zip it up. Last reminder."
Chi Ye lowered his head, zipping up his jacket and folding the collar neatly. He gave a quick wave. "Alright, I’m off, Old Xu."
The classroom, usually filled with noise, had grown empty. The summer breeze lifted the curtains, and Xu Guangqi sat behind his desk, watching the last student leave. "Alright, go on."
As in previous years, there were countless fruits and almost dried flowers in front of the Confucius statue. Zhao Yiyang wiped the sweat from his hands. "I’ve figured out how to make a little business off the college entrance exam. Like, if you buy fruit from me and put it in front of Confucius, your wish is most likely to come true! Xu Rui can handle the promotion, Shangguan can make sure it gets added to the imperial menu, and it’ll be passed down from generation to generation. As long as Mingnan High is around, my business will live on!"
Unfortunately, no one responded to his idea.
Xu Rui quickly seized the opportunity to ask Chi Ye how to solve a math problem. After understanding the explanation, he started reviewing on his own, muttering to himself while standing nearby. Shangguan Yu was looking at his phone, reading a news update. "The class group says that after the exam on the 8th, there’s a gathering. The place is already booked. Are you going?"
Both Xu Rui and Zhao Yiyang nodded.
Chi Ye, with his black bag slung over one shoulder, said, "I’m not going. I’ve got something else to do."
Zhao Yiyang curiously asked, "What’s so important?"
Chi Ye smirked. "A lifelong matter, don't you think that's important?"
In the legend, if one carved the name of the person they wanted to meet into a piece of wood, they would surely see them within three days of the engraving.
He was already late. He couldn’t afford to be any later.
On the morning of the 7th, before leaving, Chi Ye took a school uniform from the wardrobe. A year and a half had passed, and the bloodstains on it had faded, leaving only faint marks behind.
He could still remember how he had collapsed in the rain, how Wen Xiao had passed by and then doubled back, taking off his uniform and draping it over him.
Whether it was a chance occurrence or fate didn’t matter. Chi Ye preferred to believe it was destiny, a connection that was meant to be.
With your coat, I make my battle armor.
The college entrance exams lasted two days, equivalent to forty-eight hours, or two thousand eight hundred and eighty minutes, or one hundred and seventy-two thousand eight hundred seconds.
After leaving the exam hall, Chi Ye bypassed the crowd gathered at the door, flagged down a taxi by the roadside, and shut the door behind him. "Driver, please head to East Station."
Seeing that he had just finished the exam and was rushing to the train station, the driver assumed he had an urgent matter to attend to and stepped on the gas.
After exchanging his ID for the ticket he had bought in advance, he waited for half an hour, only to be told that due to a rainstorm, some railway sections had been buried, and the high-speed train was delayed. The display screen was a sea of red.
Chi Ye rushed to the ticket counter and bought the next available train ticket to Qingzhou.
The ticket clerk, speaking through the glass, asked, "The next train is at 6:30. But it’s a standee ticket only, so you’ll have to stand for over four hours. The one after that, at 7:00, has seats available. Which one would you prefer?"
Chi Ye answered firmly, "The earliest one."
He arrived in Qingzhou at 11:00.
The stars were sparse in the sky, and the night air was stifling. Chi Ye climbed into a green-painted taxi and gave the driver the address. "To Yuxiu Road, Qingzhou University Family Housing."
The streets outside were completely unfamiliar. Neon lights streaked past like bright rays, fading into the distance.
With his back pressed against the seat, Chi Ye closed his eyes, his fingers resting lightly on his thigh, curling slightly.
He was getting... closer.
When his grandmother returned home, she was surprised to find Wen Xiao already there. "Xiaoxiao, how long have you been back? Didn't you go to the class reunion?"
"Mm, I came back as soon as the exam was over. I didn’t go," Wen Xiao replied, taking the bag from his grandmother. It was heavy, filled with a few books and a stack of printed papers.
"Did you think the reunion was boring? Well, it's fine that you didn’t go. It’s better to come home and get a good night’s sleep. You've been so stressed for so long, it's finally time to relax..."
After his grandmother entered the study, Wen Xiao shut the bedroom door. The desk lamp was on, and he sat down in the chair, momentarily unsure of what to do next.
With the college entrance exam over, reviewing practice questions seemed meaningless, and there was nothing else he particularly wanted to do.
On WeChat, Zhao Yiyang had sent him photos from the class reunion. The first one was a video of Old Xu speaking, followed by a clip where he played a tune on the erhu, moving many of the girls to tears.
Flipping through the photos and videos that had been sent, Wen Xiao looked closely but didn’t spot Chi Ye anywhere.
After a barrage of messages, Zhao Yiyang went offline for a while. Wen Xiao placed his phone face down on the desk and stared blankly at a photo beside the lamp holder. After a moment, he grabbed his black bag, unzipped it, and pulled out a notebook.
The cover was plain, and the first section contained his notes on the knowledge framework and problem-solving methods. The following pages were a compilation of his past errors.
He randomly opened a page, and the familiar words, symbols, and numbers began to calm him down, easing some of the restlessness he had been feeling.
He couldn’t really explain why he had felt so restless, but the agitation had made it difficult for him to sit still.
Turning the pages aimlessly, his eyes skimmed the lines of text until they suddenly stopped.
In the corner of one page, the name Chi Ye had been written repeatedly.
He had always had a good memory, yet he couldn’t remember when he had written that name so many times.
Flipping further back, Wen Xiao discovered that nearly every few pages, at the bottom or in blank spaces, the name Chi Ye appeared again and again, all written unconsciously.
It was too much.
Without realizing it, that name seemed to have filled every corner of his life.
The WeChat notification sound rang again, and just as Wen Xiao unlocked his phone, he heard a faint "bang" as something hit the windowpane.
His fingers froze mid-motion.
Wen Xiao turned toward the window, a picture forming in his mind. The next second, he suddenly stood up, threw open the window, and leaned out to look down.
The buildings of the Qingzhou University Family Housing were old, their walls overgrown with ivy, and tall trees stood thick and lush. Beneath the dim streetlight, a tall, thin figure stood by a lamppost, looking up with his head tilted back.
Although he couldn’t make out any features, the image in that moment matched perfectly with the figure in Wen Xiao’s heart.
He was downstairs.
Chi Ye was downstairs.
Without thinking about anything else, Wen Xiao hurriedly opened his bedroom door, grabbed a pair of sneakers, and stepped into them. The laces weren’t even tied when he dashed out the door, already running down the stairs.
The building wasn’t high, but the stairs seemed to stretch on endlessly at that moment. The sound of his hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway, his mind going blank. He couldn’t think, his breath shaky, his heart pounding wildly.
Until the summer night breeze brushed against his face.
Standing in the shadow of the trees, Wen Xiao suddenly found himself unable to step forward.
It felt like a dream. In fact, it felt even more unreal than a dream.
A year had flown by, and yet here they were, standing at opposite ends of a straight line. The countless mountains and winding rivers that had separated them had vanished. The searing heat of tears and love surged in his chest once again, stirred by the mere presence of the other.
Seeing Wen Xiao stop, Chi Ye took a step forward, leaving the shadows of the trees and stepping into the warm light.
Stopping just half a step away, Chi Ye crouched down on one knee, his left knee bracing against the ground. He bent over and carefully tied Wen Xiao’s shoelaces into a perfect bow.
If one looked closely, they could see that his fingers were trembling.
A few seconds later, Chi Ye stood up.
From the short distance between them, he could even smell the familiar scent of the body wash that clung to Wen Xiao’s skin.
His gaze traced every line and curve of Wen Xiao’s face. Chi Ye heard his own voice, hoarse and low, asking, "Wen Xiao, do you want to date me?"
"Sure," Wen Xiao replied, his voice as rough and quiet as Chi Ye’s.