My Deskmate Chapter 77
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 77
The Qingda Family Housing was a building from decades ago, designed in the style of a small Chinese bungalow. Climbing roses grew at the corners of the walls, blooming in varying shades. Walking along the rose vines, at the end of the flower bed stood a cascading rockery, beside which was a stone pedestal. It had once held a stone flowerpot, but that had been moved long ago, leaving the pedestal standing alone.
Wen Xiao was sitting on top of it.
His other long leg was planted on the ground, the lines of his body lean and youthful. The back of his shoulder blades was supported by a palm, his chin tilted slightly upward as he kissed Chi Ye.
Between their breaths, Wen Xiao panted, his voice breathless. "How—"
Sensing his subtle reaction, Chi Ye bit Wen Xiao's lower lip, his breath trembling as he asked in a low, husky voice, "Does it feel better than before?"
Wen Xiao didn’t answer right away. His eyelids drooped, and the coolness in his eyes blurred into the glowing light of a midsummer night. "A little bit of improvement."
Chi Ye kissed him fiercely, then pressed his lips close again. "I’ve practiced so many times, I’ve kissed you in my dreams countless times..."
During the most exhausting and wearying period, Chi Ye would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Often, he slept so deeply that when the alarm clock woke him up, he couldn't tell if he had slept for a few minutes or a several hours.
Sometimes, he would dream of Wen Xiao.
In his dreams, Wen Xiao was as tall and slender as bamboo, dressed in the blue-and-white school uniform of Mingnan High. He wore a black backpack slung over one shoulder, his expression distant as he stood on the side of the street. His pale lower lip was slightly taut, looking fragile yet hiding a subtle sharpness.
Perhaps they were sitting in the last row of the classroom, their elbows brushing against each other. Old Xu was at the podium lecturing, some students were asleep, others taking notes. Wen Xiao lowered his head, focused on his practice problems. The side of his face was intent, revealing a small stretch of his pale neck. At the back of his hairline, there was a short stubble, so soft to the touch, it wouldn’t prick at all.
Every time Chi Ye awoke from such dreams, he would feel a bit dazed.
So much so that now, holding Wen Xiao so tightly in his arms, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was just a beautiful dream he’d had while asleep in an exam hall.
When he woke up, the desk and exam paper would still be right in front of him.
To his surprise, Wen Xiao asked the question first. "Are really here?"
Chi Ye smiled. His hand pressed against the curve of Wen Xiao’s shoulder blade, feeling the warmth through the fabric, and he answered, "Mm, really."
It wasn’t an illusion. It wasn’t a dream.
Chi Ye gently brushed his lips against Wen Xiao’s, careful not to apply too much pressure.
But Wen Xiao spoke up. "That’s too light."
"Shit." He cursed softly, and in the next instant, Chi Ye felt every inch of his body burn with heat. His fingers tightened around Wen Xiao’s chin as he kissed him fiercely.
Even though it had been a year since they last parted, their lips still fit perfectly together. Wen Xiao was overwhelmed by the intensity of the kiss, his breath stolen away. In the storm of sensations, he instinctively turned his head to catch his breath. Noticing his small movement, Chi Ye pressed the back of his neck to pull him closer. Reflexively, Wen Xiao tilted his head, letting his nose lightly brush against Chi Ye’s.
In that moment, Wen Xiao suddenly realized that even though an entire year had passed, he hadn’t forgotten a single thing. His body remembered it all, as though branded with an indelible mark.
It had become instinct.
All the previous restlessness turned into a soft ache deep in his heart. The name he had written over and over in his notebook had finally taken form before him, standing as a real person.
Noticing how Wen Xiao had gone from tense to relaxed, Chi Ye’s throat tightened with pain.
Thankfully, he finally made it here, in front of this person.
He hadn’t been broken. He hadn’t been knocked down. He had kept moving toward the light.
He had never been defeated by life.
How wonderful.
Under the streetlights, Wen Xiao ran his fingers over his chapped lower lip and asked, "How did you get here?"
The final exam had only ended at five, but now, Chi Ye was already standing right in front of him.
Chi Ye skipped over the details. "Taxi, high-speed rail, taxi."
Wen Xiao tilted his head to look at him, the light of the streetlamp reflecting in his clear eyes. He asked again, "Are you going back tonight?"
Chi Ye raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you really want me to leave?"
After two seconds, Wen Xiao replied, "I don’t want you to leave."
Chi Ye smirked, his hand habitually slipping into his pocket. "Then I’m not going. You tell me where to stay, and that’s where I’ll be."
Although Wen Xiao had been in Qingzhou for a year, the city still didn’t feel like home. It was just like Mingnan — tall buildings, bustling streets, the same crowded energy.
Unfamiliar with his surroundings, he pulled out his phone to check for nearby hotels. But instead, he saw a message from his grandmother.
He looked up and met Chi Ye’s gaze. "Grandma says you should stay at our place tonight. Those were her exact words."
He opened the door, grabbed a pair of spare slippers from the shoe cabinet, and handed them to Chi Ye. The living room light was on, but the door to his grandmother’s bedroom was closed.
As they passed the kitchen, Wen Xiao turned to ask, "Have you eaten dinner?"
Chi Ye followed behind, honestly admitting, "No, but I bought a bottle of cola while waiting for the high-speed rail at the station."
From the moment the exam ended until now, his mind had been taut like a bowstring, completely suppressing his appetite. He hadn’t felt hungry at all. It wasn’t until Wen Xiao asked him that he finally felt a sharp pang in his stomach.
Wen Xiao turned on the kitchen light. "There’s some noodles in the cupboard and eggs in the fridge. Shall we cook some noodles?"
Chi Ye didn’t hesitate. He walked into the kitchen, turned on the stove, and started boiling water.
Leaning against the doorframe, Wen Xiao watched Chi Ye as the water in the pot began to bubble. A layer of fog seemed to form in front of his eyes as he said, "Add a little more water. I want some too."
"Are you hungry now?" Chi Ye asked, in a good mood as he poured in more cold water, expertly frying two eggs while the noodles boiled.
They ate in silence, just like before. Afterward, Wen Xiao stood to wash the dishes, telling Chi Ye to wait in the bedroom.
Outside, the faint sound of running water drifted in. Chi Ye stood on the wooden floor of the bedroom, observing everything carefully. This was the place Wen Xiao had lived for a year. In fact, he had lived here longer than he had at the place on Jiuzhang Road.
The room wasn’t cluttered. There was a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a bookshelf that stretched up to the ceiling. Everything was neatly arranged, nothing out of place.
Chi Ye’s gaze swept across the room, then suddenly fixed on the desk.
A black backpack was carelessly placed on the chair, several notebooks sprawled across the desk, their pages fluttering in the breeze from the window. Beside the lamp’s base, there was a photo frame.
When Wen Xiao finished washing the dishes and entered the bedroom, he saw Chi Ye standing by the desk, holding the photo frame and studying it closely.
A sense of unease stirred in his chest, as if a secret had been discovered.
Chi Ye shook the photo frame in his hand. "Who took this photo? I remember that day — at the study exchange, everyone from the building went to the auditorium. You dragged me back to the classroom, telling me to nap while listening to white noise."
"Mm," Wen Xiao casually closed the bedroom door behind him and explained, "It was taken by Old Xu. He went to the office to get something, passed by the classroom, saw us, and snapped the picture. On the day I transferred, he gave it to me as a keepsake."
"Old Xu should try photography instead of erhu," Chi Ye said, carefully putting the photo frame back in place. He continued, "Before the college entrance exams, when we were about to leave for vacation, Old Xu gave us a long pep talk. He ended up making most of us cry. One by one, everyone said their goodbyes to him. Old Xu sat at the podium, eyes red from crying, like he hadn’t slept in days.
"Cheng Xiaoning arrived half an hour early that morning. He blocked many people at the school gate, loudly reminding them to zip up their uniforms, to stop reading while walking, to get their hair cut if it was too long. He even caught someone with a phone hidden in their school uniform pocket. But that day, everyone went along with it and didn’t argue. When the bell rang, someone saw Cheng Xiaoning standing at the school gate, wiping his eyes with a tissue. And then—"
"Chi Ye." Wen Xiao interrupted him.
Chi Ye fell silent, realizing why he had been rambling on about the school. After the initial heat of their first meeting, a whole year of separation stood between them. Their lives had no intersection, like two parallel lines, gradually extending forward in different cities.
He had instinctively, impatiently, wanted to talk about things they were both familiar with to break the distance, to erase the gap that year had created between them.
But Wen Xiao told him, "We don’t need to do this."
At that moment, the unease in Chi Ye’s heart vanished like a receding tide.
Wen Xiao pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants from the wardrobe and tossed them to Chi Ye. "Want to take a shower?"
Chi Ye caught the clothes in his hands. "Sure."
Half an hour later, they were lying in bed.
Chi Ye inhaled the familiar scent of shampoo and body wash on his skin. He and Wen Xiao were about the same height and build, so the clothes fit him perfectly. Every tense nerve in his body slowly unwound, bringing with it a belated sense of fatigue.
Wen Xiao reached over and dimmed the bedside lamp, enveloping the room in a warm, golden glow.
After a few seconds, he simply turned off the light, shifted closer to Chi Ye, and lay down next to him, closing his eyes.
A long while passed, and in the darkness, Wen Xiao called softly, "Chi-ge?"
Chi Ye’s voice, heavy with drowsiness, was hoarse yet gentle. "Mm, your Chi-ge is here."