Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Li Mo ran to the basketball court, but only remembered he didn’t have a basketball when he got in front of the hoop.

“Damn it.”

Li Mo cursed and kicked the stand.

“Li Mo?” Bai Sheng walked over from behind, holding a basketball. “Aren’t you going to eat lunch?”

“So it’s Bai Yuesheng…”

Seeing Bai Sheng holding the basketball, Li Mo beckoned with his finger: “Wanna play a game?”

Bai Sheng was silent for a moment: “Whatever makes you happy.”

On the basketball court, two teenagers in short sleeves played intensely under the scorching sun. Their school jackets were discarded in some corner, and they were drenched in sweat.

“Shit…”

Li Mo waved his hand, his breathing labored: “Tired, tired. No more. Let’s rest a bit.”

Bai Sheng put away the basketball. His school vest was completely soaked with sweat, sticking to his body and vaguely showing that he had a good physique.

Li Mo lay in the shade, his fringe plastered to his forehead with sweat: “Hey, I didn’t realize you have a pretty good figure. Do you have abs?”

Bai Sheng sat beside him, taking a long moment before saying: “Yes, do you want to touch them?”

Li Mo laughed: “A guy touching another guy’s abs is a bit too weird.”

“Why are you here?” Bai Sheng tilted his head slightly, glancing at Li Mo. “Coming to the court without a ball… Did you come for the atmosphere?”

“Something like that. When I’m annoyed, I like to exercise,” Li Mo scratched his head. “The field has too many people. I don’t want to run around wildly in front of so many people. That’s so idiotic.”

Bai Sheng chuckled softly: “What’s bothering you? I always thought you didn’t seem like someone who’d be troubled.”

Li Mo rubbed his brow: “Everyone says I’m carefree… This morning, my desk-mate wanted to drop out of school. I figured he studies so well, and since I’m a good child who learned from Lei Feng since childhood, I intended to go look for him. But he told me to stop sticking my nose in his business.”

“Your desk-mate… is Xu Qing, right?” Bai Sheng paused. “I told you, he’s always been a strange person. He’s never friendly to anyone.”

“But I didn’t feel anything strange when we were interacting before. It’s like he became a different person after the weekend.”

Li Mo still couldn’t understand. Just last week, Xu Qing was fine with him. Although they often bickered, neither had truly gotten angry.

But today, Xu Qing was definitely not joking.

Feeling his enthusiasm dampened, Li Mo instantly fell into self-doubt.

Bai Sheng sighed: “Just keep your distance from him in the future.”

He then stood up, dusted the dirt off his pants, and extended his hand to Li Mo, who was still lying on the ground: “Come on, let’s go eat. It’s my treat.”

Li Mo was surprised for a moment, then smiled: “Sure.”

In the cafeteria.

By the time the two arrived, there were only a few people left queuing at the window, and many had already finished eating and were heading back to the dorms.

Tang Dawei watched Li Mo, his arm hooked around Bai Sheng’s shoulder, practically leaning against him, while Bai Sheng carried two trays and swaggered past him.

Yang Di, who also saw it, was dumbfounded: “Holy… shit…”

Lin Yi’s mouth hung open: “Didn’t Brother Mo say he doesn’t like guys?”

Tang Dawei was speechless: “Is that the point?! The point is, when did he even meet Bai Yuesheng?! And they’re already so close!!”

The two individuals in question, sitting in a part of the cafeteria, were completely oblivious and were enjoying their meal immensely.

“I love this big chicken leg the most!” Li Mo picked up the chicken leg with his chopsticks, aimed for the meatiest part, and took a big bite.

Bai Sheng touched his neck, his expression slightly unnatural: “Do you often hook arms with people like this?”

“Yeah, I especially love hooking arms with people,” Li Mo chuckled twice. “It feels like an emperor with someone on each side. It just feels great!”

Bai Sheng simply said, “Oh,” and buried his head in his food.

By the time they finished eating, the cafeteria was almost empty.

Bai Sheng placed the trays in the designated container, clapped his hands, and turned to look at Li Mo: “Going back to the dorm?”

Li Mo, still savoring the aftertaste of the chicken leg, was surprised: “I’m not a boarder…”

Bai Sheng: “…”

If you’re not a boarder, why are you eating in the cafeteria?! Where are you going to sleep during the lunch break? On the basketball court?

“Uh…”

Bai Sheng hesitated for a long time: “How about you just make do in my dorm for now? The dorm supervisor won’t come to check rooms.”

“Forget it. You have other people in your dorm. I’m afraid they’d be shy,” Li Mo scratched his head. “I’ll just squeeze into our class’s dorm. Thanks, Bai Yuesheng.”

Bai Sheng said, “Oh.” “You’re welcome.”

The two walked side-by-side toward the dorm building.

The campus was very quiet during the lunch break. The stuffiness of summer had not completely dissipated, and the sun was still a bit dazzling.

“Oh, right, do people usually call you Bai Yuesheng?”

“Mhm. They said it rolls off the tongue better, and I’ve gotten used to it.”

“I see. Then I won’t call you Bai Yuesheng anymore. I’ll call you Bai Yueguang (White Moonlight)! It’s more unique.”

Bai Sheng: “…Whatever makes you happy.”

Class 4’s dorms were usually concentrated on the third and fourth floors. Bai Sheng was in Class 12, and his dorm was on the fifth floor.

Just as they reached the third floor, the two coincidentally bumped into Xu Qing.

Bai Sheng, who usually didn’t show much expression, immediately looked annoyed when he saw him.

Li Mo, however, acted like nothing was wrong and greeted him: “Good afternoon, desk-mate~”

Xu Qing was on his way to the washroom, holding a basin. He merely glanced at Li Mo, then turned and walked away.

“I’m going to talk to my desk-mate. See you next time, Bai Yueguang.”

With that, Li Mo ran off.

In the washroom, all the passing students walked around Xu Qing, which meant the sinks next to Xu Qing’s spot were untouched.

“Desk~ mate~” Li Mo, who was not afraid of death, liked to get close. “Don’t you have a bathroom in your dorm? Why come all the way here to wash?”

Li Mo took a look. Inside the basin was a school jacket, and the white surface seemed to be stained with something red.

After just one glance, Xu Qing pressed the jacket into the foam, turned his head, and glared at Li Mo: “I spoke to you like that this morning, and you still haven’t given up on being friends with me?”

Li Mo crossed his arms and smiled at Xu Qing: “What’s that saying? It’s really popular online: ‘The one you can’t get, you love more. The one that comes too easily, you ignore.'”

Xu Qing: “…You damn non-mainstream.”

“Xu Qing, what exactly is wrong?” Li Mo suddenly changed his tone. The seriousness and concern in his voice made Xu Qing freeze.

Xu Qing lowered his eyes, his hands submerged in the water, tightly clutching the corner of the shirt: “I’ll say it again. I’m fine. Thanks for your concern.”

“How can you be fine?” Li Mo grabbed Xu Qing’s wrist. “You wanted to drop out for no reason, and you called me nosy. Did you take the wrong medicine?”

“Haven’t I cursed you out enough? What’s one more ‘nosy’?”

Xu Qing tried to shake Li Mo’s hand off. After struggling twice, he realized, This guy’s grip is so damn strong.

“I still need to wash…”

Xu Qing yanked his arm back violently. The floor of the washroom was wet, and both their feet slipped, causing them to fall to the ground in a strange posture.

Li Mo, who was holding Xu Qing’s wrist, slid right on top due to inertia, his body pressed tightly against Xu Qing.

Their eyes met, and they both froze.

“You two…”

Yu Wencheng, who rarely came to inspect the dorms, was shocked into silence by the scene before him. After regaining his composure, his face turned red with anger: “You two! Go straight to my office this afternoon! You don’t need to attend class!”

In the afternoon, the two good desk-mates appeared in unison at the office door.

Passing teachers couldn’t help but sigh in astonishment: “Why is it these two again? Even though I haven’t taught them, I already remember their names and classes.”

Yu Wencheng pushed the door open, trying to contain his fury: “Both of you, get in here.”

Inside the office, Yu Wencheng sat in his chair, while Xu Qing and Li Mo stood beside him, heads lowered.

“What are you two doing in the washroom in the middle of the day instead of sleeping? Especially you, Li Mo!” Yu Wencheng pointed at Li Mo, his mouth twisted with anger. “Why did you, a non-boarder, run into the students’ dorm building?! Don’t you know non-boarders aren’t allowed to stay on campus during lunch break?! Huh?!”

Li Mo admitted his fault readily: “I’m sorry, Teacher. I know I was wrong. I promise I won’t do it again next time. I swear, I swear on my life!”

Yu Wencheng was speechless: “It’s the same excuse every time. Can’t you come up with something new? Fine. Since you like going to the dorm so much, you and Xu Qing will clean the washroom for me every day after lunch! You two will clean the washrooms on the third and fourth floors every lunch break until the next holiday.”

“Great. Then, Teacher, we’ll be going now. We still have class.” Li Mo started pulling Xu Qing away.

Yu Wencheng yelled at them: “Hey! Hey! Who gave you permission to leave? Go get your stools, paper, and pens, and kneel down at the office door to write a self-criticism! Three thousand words, not a single one less!”

Li Mo and Xu Qing sheepishly returned to the classroom to get their stools.

Tang Dawei gloated: “Brother Mo, I already heard about what happened with you two. Don’t worry, we’ll never forget you!”

“Screw you. I’m just going to write a self-criticism.”

“Only someone as shameless as you could talk about writing a self-criticism so casually,” Xu Qing said coolly.

Tang Dawei’s eyes darted around slyly: “Did you two make up?”

Li Mo laughed: “What make up? My desk-mate and I have always gotten along great.”

Tang Dawei let out a surprised “Ew.”

“Hurry up and get lost.” Xu Qing lightly kicked Li Mo. “Don’t make a fool of yourself here.”

Outside the office door, the two handsome guys squatted down to write their self-criticisms—a truly beautiful sight.

Two classes went by, and Li Mo had only written the introduction.

Seeing Li Mo’s distressed face, Xu Qing mocked: “Already beaten? It’s just a self-criticism. Is it that big of a deal, Mo, ge (brother)?”

He emphasized the two words “Mo, ge” heavily.

Li Mo held the pen cap in his mouth, speaking somewhat indistinctly: “Although I’ve written plenty of self-criticisms since childhood… damn it, how am I supposed to apologize for sticking to a classmate in the washroom? Promise not to stick to him next time?”

Xu Qing: “…You’re planning on a next time?”

Li Mo looked sincere: “You don’t want to cuddle with me? Cuddling with Li Mo, the great handsome guy, is a rare opportunity, you know.”

Xu Qing sneered: “Then buy a full-length mirror and hug it every day. After all, good opportunities are hard to come by.”

Li Mo actually thought about it: “That makes a lot of sense.”

Xu Qing: “…”

“Get lost.”