Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

In the evening after school, Li Mo went to Sister Liu’s noodle shop as usual.

“Liu…”

As soon as he stepped inside, a fierce, intimidating face shoved itself in front of him.

Li Mo shouted and retreated: “Holy cow! Xu Daning, what are you doing here?!”

Xu Daning crossed his arms, his eyebrow slightly raised: “So it’s you. I’m helping my mom look after the shop. Got a problem with that?”

“Your mom? Your mom… your mom… your mom…”

Xu Daning raised his fist: “Are you asking for a beating?”

“Do you want to go back to the station again?” Li Mo rolled his eyes. “Is your mom Sister Liu?”

“Hmph, so what if it’s that old woman?” As he spoke, Xu Daning strutted over to the counter and plopped down onto a stool with an air of arrogance.

Damn it, how could such a nice auntie have given birth to such a shameless son?

Li Mo pouted unhappily, found a random seat, and asked Xu Daning: “Where is Sister Liu?”

Xu Daning looked down at his phone, answering impatiently: “She went out.”

Li Mo was exasperated: “Then come over and give me a menu.”

Xu Daning angrily slammed his hand on the table: “Are you looking for trouble, you bastard?”

“Hey, is this how you run a shop? No wonder there aren’t many people today.”

“Why so much nonsense? Eat it or don’t. If you don’t eat, get out!”

Considering he had already caused Yu Wencheng enough trouble, Li Mo had no choice but to shut up obediently.

Li Mo asked for a bowl of zhajiangmian. Xu Daning played on his phone as he walked into the kitchen.

In less than ten minutes, Xu Daning brought the noodles out. His attitude was terrible; he practically slammed the bowl and noodles onto the table. A lot of soup spilled out. He then turned and walked away.

“Hey, hey, hey! Where does zhajiangmian get so much soup?!” Li Mo was so angry he banged the table. “Also! Are these noodles even cooked?! Where’s the sauce? Where are the shredded cucumbers?!”

Xu Daning looked utterly impatient: “I don’t like zhajiangmian.”

Li Mo: “What the hell does your dislike have to do with me?? I’m the one paying for the order! It’s not for you to eat.”

“I’ll cook what I want. If you don’t eat it, get lost and pay the money.” Xu Daning leaned back on his chair, acting like a big boss.

A young man behind Li Mo tugged at his sleeve and whispered: “Bro, we often meet at this noodle shop. I advise you not to provoke him. This guy is a notorious rascal who extorts people even after beating them up. You’re a student. Don’t mess with him.”

Adding the previous two “bad connections,” Li Mo absolutely couldn’t swallow his anger: “I don’t care about him! I can extort people too!”

Xu Daning slammed his phone down with a “snap,” walked up to Li Mo with a menacing look, and cursed: “You pale-faced bastard, do you think I won’t dare to hit you? I’m telling you, I, Xu Daning, am not afraid of going to the station!”

Li Mo rolled up his sleeves: “Damn it! Do you think I’m scared? If a tiger doesn’t show its might, you think I’m Hello Kitty?”

Seeing that the two were about to fight, a few people quietly eating in the noodle shop came forward and held Li Mo back. No one dared or was willing to restrain Xu Daning.

A kind-hearted woman held firmly onto Li Mo’s jacket: “Young man, you’re wearing your school uniform. Don’t fight, don’t fight! It’ll look bad. Listen to your auntie, let’s not bother with him, okay?”

Pushed out of the noodle shop by the crowd, Li Mo’s clothes were a bit messy, and his carefully maintained hairstyle was slightly tousled.

“Shit!” Li Mo cursed several times, smoothing his hair while walking toward the residential area.

I didn’t get to eat and got needlessly angry. Why am I so unlucky?

As soon as he got home, before he even had time to change his shoes, a call came in—

It was from Yu Wencheng: “Li Mo, where are you right now?”

Li Mo answered while changing his shoes: “Just got home. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to remind you that the exam is in a couple of days. You are not allowed to go out and fool around anymore, understood?”

“Got it, got it.” Li Mo yawned, slipped on his slippers, and went to his room. “Don’t worry, I guarantee I won’t score last.”

He didn’t need to guess to know Yu Wencheng must have rolled his eyes: “If you really score last, then you’ll have to go back and repeat junior high.”

“I know, my dearest Uncle. I’m going to sleep. Tomorrow I have to study hard, strive for progress, and clean the toilet.”

“Don’t talk like I’m targeting you. Cleaning the toilet is your own doing.”

“Okay—”

Li Mo intentionally dragged out the final syllable and hung up the phone without ceremony.

The next day, inside the school dorm building during lunch break.

The lunch break bell had already rung. Only Li Mo and Xu Qing, the two unlucky ones, went to the washroom with mops.

The washroom had a row of sinks opposite the toilet stalls.

“Oh my God.” Li Mo opened the door of the first stall and shut his eyes, startled by the scene. “What did this guy eat for lunch?”

Xu Qing, in the stall next to him, joked: “Want to come over here and take a sniff?”

Li Mo: “…You have a powerful nose. It’s so smelly, and you don’t even frown.”

“I often cleaned toilets when I was little. You get used to it.” With that, Xu Qing took a squatting posture and started scrubbing with practiced ease.

Li Mo, who had barely done any housework since childhood, stared at the horrific scene in the toilet, unable to process it for a long time.

Xu Qing had finished one stall and saw Li Mo still frozen there. He curled his lips: “The mighty Brother Mo is scared by this? If you’re like this, how are we supposed to clean four washrooms in one lunch break?”

Li Mo pointed a trembling finger at the stall: “Damn it, how can we clean it when it’s like this? I suggest we just replace the whole thing.”

Xu Qing glanced at it: “Kick it down?”

Li Mo: “Are you stupid or am I?”

“I’m joking.” Xu Qing waved his hand. “Leave that stall to me. You go clean the sink area.”

Li Mo immediately hugged Xu Qing: “Wuwuwu~ Brother Qing, from now on, you are my only true brother!”

Xu Qing pushed him away with a look of disgust: “Get lost.”

The two divided the labor. It was a division of labor, but the more experienced Xu Qing worked very fast. They split the sinks, cleaning one half each.

In class that afternoon, Tang Dawei silently gave a thumbs-up: “Awesome. You two cleaned four washrooms in one lunch break. Did you guys really not sleep at all?”

Li Mo yawned: “Luckily, the second class is P.E. I’ll catch up on sleep then.”

“That might be a bit risky,” Tang Dawei paused. “That P.E. class is shared with Class 12, and their P.E. teacher is a psycho.”

Li Mo: “What about our P.E. teacher?”

Xu Qing: “He went to have a baby.”

“…”

Xu Qing waved his hand: “Seriously, he went to have a baby.”

Tang Dawei nodded: “I can vouch for that. It’s true.”

Li Mo: “Awesome.”

The P.E. teacher for Class 12 was a strong man, 1.85 meters tall and all muscle. He always wore a black hat, pulled low over his eyes, making him look very fierce.

He was indeed very fierce.

First, he didn’t allow his P.E. class to be taken over by other subjects. If anyone dared to, he’d confront them. Over time, no one dared to cross him.

Second, his class required students to be on the field and lined up three minutes early. If anyone dared to skip or be absent, being forced to run dozens of laps was considered light punishment.

Under the blazing sun, the two classes stood in formation.

Li Mo stood at the back, sweating profusely: “I’ve never seen such a hardcore P.E. class… Doesn’t the school intervene?”

Shen Shuyi secretly pulled out a tissue from his pocket and wiped his sweat: “He graduated from a professional sports academy. The school finally managed to poach him. Who dares to defy him?”

“Your choice of words is a bit off…”

“Attention!”

A sharp, powerful shout came from the front.

Li Mo and Shen Shuyi, who were just whispering, instantly stood straight, their mouths sealed shut.

He’s so intimidating…

The burly man circled the formation a few times, his piercing gaze sweeping back and forth between Li Mo and Shen Shuyi several times, raising goosebumps.

“Those in Class 4 probably don’t know me. I’m He Zheng. Starting today, I will be taking over your class’s P.E. lessons.” He Zheng suddenly raised his voice, and the ground seemed to vibrate. “Did everyone hear me!”

Li Mo was startled and shouted with the rest: “Yes, we heard you!”

“Did you all skip breakfast!”

“YES, WE HEARD YOU!!!”

“Squad leaders, step out! Run five laps around the field! One—Two—One!”

The Class 4 formation ran in front, with Class 12 running behind. Everyone was running close together.

Li Mo was burning hot: “Holy crap, do we have to run this close? Whose stinky armpit is this pungent?”

“Brother Zheng’s training method has always been like this,” Shen Shuyi sighed. “Also, holy crap, whose armpit smells so bad? Do they even shower?”

Xu Qing, running in front of Li Mo, couldn’t help but turn his head and curse: “Li Mo, are you listening to the chant? How many times have you stepped on my shoes?”

“Sorry, Brother Xu.” Li Mo immediately lowered his head to apologize.

Shen Shuyi chuckled: “Little Li Mo runs like an old grandpa taking a walk. Brother Xu, please understand. Ouch, my side is cramping…”

Li Mo seized the chance to retort: “That’s what you get for laughing, that’s what you get for laughing.”

“Cough…”

Bai Sheng, as the squad leader for Class 12, ran at the very front of the team, very close to Li Mo.

Li Mo spotted the familiar face and greeted him cheerfully: “Yo, Bai Yueguang, I didn’t realize you were a squad leader.”

“You better stop talking,” Bai Sheng glanced toward He Zheng, and realizing He Zheng was staring at them with his eyes wide open, he instantly withdrew his gaze. “He Zheng is watching.”

“So what if he’s watching? We’re not flirting.”

“…”

Xu Qing cursed at him: “Can you even talk properly?”

Li Mo laughed twice: “I’m just making a comparison.”

Shen Shuyi: “It’s a very good comparison. Don’t make it again next time.”

“You guys are really brave…” Meng Tang, next to Xu Qing, gave a thumbs-up. “When He Zheng taught us before, anyone who talked while running would be pulled out for extra drilling. Even now, thinking about it makes my calves cramp. Ouch, that pain!”

Li Mo: “It’s fine. I believe that with my good looks, he won’t have the heart to punish me.”

Xu Qing rolled his eyes: “Can you stop being so shameless?”

Shen Shuyi chuckled: “I didn’t see Director Yu hesitate to punish you.”

Li Mo waved his hand: “That’s different.”

Meng Tang: “Are you saying your looks aren’t to Director Yu’s liking?”

Li Mo, who was actually his uncle’s nephew: “…”

Weird. So damn weird! This is why I never read step-family stories.