My Deskmate Chapter 78
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 78
The next day, Wen Xiao's biological clock developed over three years of high school had him waking up at exactly six o'clock.
The curtains weren’t drawn properly, allowing the bright morning light to spill into the room. The furnishings were bathed in a soft glow. He instinctively tried to get up, but quickly realized — yesterday had been the end of the college entrance exam.
It felt like the weight that had been pressing on him for so long had suddenly lifted, leaving behind an unexpected emptiness.
At that moment, an arm stretched out from beside him, pulling him back into the bed and holding him close. The warmth of the other person’s body was scorching, and he could feel his breath near his neck. A low voice whispered in his ear, "Where are you going?"
Wen Xiao felt a moment of shock, but quickly relaxed. He snuggled closer to Chi Ye and asked him, "Awake?"
Chi Ye, eyes half-closed, replied, "Mm, same as you. I'm used to it. I wake up at exactly six every day."
Both of their voices carried the hoarse quality of early morning.
Chi Ye then asked, "What do you usually do at this time?"
"Get up, listen to English while brushing my teeth, eat breakfast, pack my bag, and head out to school," Wen Xiao said, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. "Then it was class, exams, practice questions... Every day was like that."
He sat alone in the back of the classroom, with no one to talk to, and no desire to speak to anyone. The world of words and numbers was dry yet complex and fascinating, never boring to him. His homeroom teacher had once tried to pair him with a deskmate, but he had refused. Some had made an effort to engage him in conversation, but he understood well enough that the emotions he could give were already thin. Chi Ye had already taken most of them, leaving little to spare.
Chi Ye: "I’m sure a lot of people liked you, right?"
Hearing the hint of something heavy in his voice, Wen Xiao replied, "I didn’t pay any attention. I ignored them all."
Chi Ye chuckled at his answer, the sound spilling out freely. "I ignored them too. I gave the same reply every time — ‘This flower has an owner. There’s someone I like already.’"
In that intimate position, Chi Ye began to talk about how, after Wen Xiao left Mingnan, he’d tried various ways to earn money. The work had been tough, but it had paid off. He was able to continuously pay for his mother's medical fees and he’d enrolled Yaya in a dance class, sending her every Sunday morning for two lessons. Yaya would come back crying, her legs sore from the stretching exercises, but she’d wipe away the tears and, stubborn as ever, would go back the next week. The teacher said she had a lot of potential.
His mother had passed away on New Year’s Eve. During that time, she had often fallen unconscious, her mental state very unstable. A week in advance, the doctor had prepared him, telling him it would happen in the next few days. At first, Yaya cried every night, calling out for her mother in her dreams. Eventually, she began to recover, little by little…
As one sentence followed another, it felt as though they were slowly filling in the gaps in each other’s lives, piecing things together, and finally, reconnecting.
Whether it was because of the person beside him or something else, Chi Ye vaguely sensed that he hadn’t been this relaxed in a long time. Wrapped in lingering fatigue, his speech wasn’t entirely clear. "Every time I felt like I couldn’t go on, like I was about to collapse, I would think... No, someone’s still waiting for me ahead. I can’t kneel, I can’t lose."
The cost of kneeling, the stakes of losing, were things he could not afford.
He smiled as he spoke, lying on the pillow with his head turned toward Wen Xiao. A faint light shimmered in his eyes. "No matter how long the winter, it always ends."
Wen Xiao’s fingers gently traced the corner of his eye. "Yes, it’s all over now."
The scratching felt a little itchy. Chi Ye grabbed Wen Xiao’s hand, his fingers slowly kneading along the knuckles. Although it wasn’t an intimate gesture, it still stirred something between them, making both of them feel a little restless.
It wasn’t long before Chi Ye suddenly stopped his small motions.
"How did you get this scar?" Chi Ye noticed the scar under his fingertip, right on the middle finger of Wen Xiao’s left hand. Before Wen Xiao could answer, Chi Ye emphasized, "Tell me the truth."
Wen Xiao lowered his eyes, watching their fingers intertwined, avoiding Chi Ye’s gaze. He took a few seconds before replying softly, "I bit it."
Chi Ye’s fingertips trembled.
Bit… it?
He almost immediately put the pieces together. "That night?"
Wen Xiao wasn’t willing to elaborate, merely responding with a soft "Mm."
Noticing the shift in Chi Ye’s breath, Wen Xiao leaned in a little closer. "It doesn’t hurt anymore."
It hadn’t really hurt that much when he bit it down. That memory was fuzzy now. When he finally emerged from his emotional turmoil, the scab on his finger had healed, revealing fresh skin beneath.
They lay together on the same pillow. Wen Xiao gently brushed his nose against Chi Ye’s, his voice softening. "Stay and sleep with me a little longer?"
Wen Xiao, in that moment, seemed like a cat hiding its sharp, cold claws beneath soft cushions. Chi Ye turned to his side, pulling him into his arms and closing his eyes. "Okay, let’s sleep."
Although they had gone back to sleep for a while, it wasn’t for long. By nine o’clock, they were both awake. Neither of them had the habit of sleeping in. Wen Xiao got up first, planning to wash up, and then called out to Chi Ye, "Coming?"
Chi Ye lazily leaned against the pillow, his hair tousled from being pressed. He glanced toward Wen Xiao at the other end of the bed. "I didn’t bring anything when I came."
Wen Xiao didn’t quite understand. "There’s a new toothbrush at my place, and you can wear my clothes."
Chi Ye was more direct this time. "Can I borrow a pair of underwear?"
Wen Xiao’s hand, resting by his side, curled in slightly. "...It’s in the wardrobe. Help yourself."
As he said that, he suddenly remembered something. "After you showered last night, were you in neutral gear?"
Chi Ye, surrounded by the scent of Wen Xiao lingering on his hair, his body, and even the pillow and blankets, felt increasingly lazy and disoriented. He answered in a relaxed, almost listless tone, "What about it?"
After responding, he saw Wen Xiao suddenly pause, as if thinking of something. His expression turned awkward, then he quickly stepped out of the bedroom.
Left in the room, Chi Ye thought to himself, I didn’t do anything last night or this morning, did I?
By this time, Wen Xiao’s grandmother had already gone to school, and in the kitchen, breakfast for two was ready. Wen Xiao started the stove before heading to the bathroom to wash up. A little while later, Chi Ye joined him.
As Wen Xiao brushed his teeth, Chi Ye wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his chin on Wen Xiao’s shoulder. He reached down to pat his waist, murmuring, "You’ve lost weight."
Wen Xiao raised his hand, took the toothpaste-covered toothbrush, and shoved it into Chi Ye’s mouth. "It’s itchy."
Letting go of the brush, Chi Ye bit down on it, following Wen Xiao’s rhythm as they both finished brushing. Then he leaned in to receive a kiss, cool with mint and damp with water.
After taking a bite of a bun, Chi Ye asked, "Did your grandmother go to school?"
"Mm, it’s Tuesday. She has classes in the morning."
The habit from their third year of high school still lingered. They ate quickly, and when they both set down their chopsticks at the same time, it almost felt as if, for a moment, they were back in the past — going to school and eating together like they had for so many days.
After washing the dishes, Chi Ye leaned against the couch and asked Wen Xiao, "What are we doing today?"
Wen Xiao didn’t answer right away. Instead, he asked, "What time is your ticket for?"
Chi Ye: "I haven’t bought it yet."
Rationality was one thing, but reluctance was another. Over the past nights and days, he had no idea how many times he had thought about this person. Now that he was finally with him, he didn’t want to let go for even a second.
Wen Xiao understood this feeling all too well. "Yaya is still at home. You should go back."
Before Chi Ye could speak, Wen Xiao added, "In a few days, I’ll come to Mingnan to see you."
After saying that, Wen Xiao paused for two seconds, then added one more word: "Boyfriend."
"Damn." Chi Ye muttered under his breath with a smile. When Xiaoxiao decides to hit the mark, he always does so without missing.
When they met up on a corner of the street, Zhao Yiyang and the others looked ghostly pale with dark circles under their eyes. Standing in the sunlight, they resembled vampires who had gone out at the wrong time.
Chi Ye took in their appearance and said, "How did you guys manage to turn yourselves into vampire trainees?"
Zhao Yiyang yawned and flashed a peace sign. "Two days and nights. I've nearly thrown up from reading manhua. I also played through a newly bought game in one go, and I almost vomited from that too. Life... it’s so boring!" He let out a loud howl before asking, "So, what are we doing as a team today?"
Chi Ye tilted his head and gestured toward the sign of the nearby internet cafe. "Team up for some gaming."
The internet cafe felt stuffy, and since it was summer, the central air conditioning was turned up full blast. As soon as Xu Rui walked in, he couldn't help but rub his arms.
After starting up League of Glory, Shangguan Yu belatedly asked, "Four-man team?"
Chi Ye put on his headphones, his profile sharp and defined. While logging into his secondary account that looked like a little girl’s, he answered, "Five-man."
Xu Rui didn’t get it. "But there are only four of us. Who’s the fifth?"
The sound effect of a new player joining the team came through their headphones. Xu Rui instinctively turned his head and saw the fifth account enter the room. The username was just two letters: VX.
His eyes widened in realization. "Damn, Wen Xiao!"
Zhao Yiyang was also surprised. "Chi-ge, you brought Wen Xiao in?"
In the team’s chat box, Wen Xiao sent a period, a simple greeting.
After a year of not playing the game, the five of them lost two consecutive rounds, both times terribly. Each game only lasted about twenty minutes before their crystal was pushed down. After a quick reset for the third round, they were up against another five-man team, likely another group of post-exam players. Both sides were full of noobs, turning the game into a chaotic mess.
Someone in the public chat complained about this year’s math questions being too difficult. Zhao Yiyang typed, "The English composition was disgusting too. What region's exam were you guys taking?"
Unexpectedly, the topic took off from there. The group quickly found common ground, and by the time they finished the game nearly fifty minutes later, they still hadn’t finished talking.
Until Chi Ye and Wen Xiao, relying on their late-game items, pushed down the enemy's crystal. As the crystal exploded, the entire enemy team typed question marks in the chat.
Zhao Yiyang grinned triumphantly and typed, "All’s fair in war. Thanks to my brothers for feeding us kills!"
He kept the conversation going, while Xu Rui and Shangguan Yu were responsible for occasionally feeding kills to lower the enemy team's guard, creating the illusion of "just some casual players enjoying the game." Meanwhile, Wen Xiao and Chi Ye took on the heavy lifting, building their gear and pushing towards the enemy’s base.
After they finally won, Zhao Yiyang was in high spirits and opened the team voice chat. "We really have great chemistry!"
Chi Ye adjusted the tiny microphone on his headphones. "Mm, Wen Xiao and I really have perfect chemistry."
Zhao Yiyang laughed out loud. "Damn, Chi-ge, don’t be so ruthless, throwing your dog away after it’s served its purpose!"
Chi Ye: "Not bad, I’m cooking you."
Zhao Yiyang: ???
After two more rounds, they finally realized they had been out of touch with the game for too long. Not wanting to suffer any more crushing defeats, they all quickly decided to quit.
Trying to find a less brain-draining game, Xu Rui opened the game list and clicked on the mini-games option. He saw the first icon and asked, "Online Truth or Dare? Want to play?"
Zhao Yiyang didn’t care. "Do you guys want to play? I'm fine with it."
The vote passed unanimously. Xu Rui created a room and pulled everyone in, then started the card draw.
In the first round, Xu Rui drew the big joker, and Zhao Yiyang drew the small one. Xu Rui rubbed his hands together, asking, "After our gathering to celebrate finishing the exams, you secretly slipped out for a few minutes in the middle of the meal. What did you go do?"
Zhao Yiyang didn’t expect Xu Rui to be so ruthless. "Benefactor, how about... a different question?"
Xu Rui: "Master, if we change the question, it won’t be fun!"
Zhao Yiyang wiped his face. "Wei Xinyan’s class was having dinner celebration next door. I took the chance when no one was looking and confessed... but got rejected."
The unexpected answer took Xu Rui by surprise. He hadn’t intended to dig into his friend's wounds. He rubbed his nose awkwardly. "Damn, I thought you were pretending to have a high tolerance and snuck out to puke."
Zhao Yiyang was unfazed. "Shangguan analyzed it for me. The success rate of confessions is under five percent. I... mostly just didn’t want any regrets from high school. Alright, enough of that. Let’s move on. Draw again!"
For three consecutive rounds, Zhao Yiyang kept drawing the small joker, getting asked question after question. He couldn’t help but suspect his position at the table had bad luck.
Finally, in the fifth round, Zhao Yiyang drew the big joker. He slammed his hand on the table and demanded, "Who’s the little joker? Come out, come out!"
Chi Ye casually raised a finger from where it rested on the table. "Me."
"Chi-ge is the little joker? Did I save all my luck just for this round?" Zhao Yiyang propped his chin and thought for a long time, but he couldn't think of a particularly exciting or interesting question, so he randomly picked a question card from the system's question bank and read the words aloud. "When was the last time you had an intimate moment with your lover, and what did you do? Hahaha, Chi-ge hasn’t even dated yet, so let’s just skip this—"
"No need to skip." Chi Ye lazily leaned back in his chair, pressing the microphone closer to his lips.
Despite the distance of several hundred kilometers, Wen Xiao could hear Chi Ye’s voice, low and playful, tinged with a slight static hum. "June 9th. We kissed."