Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After finishing the running laps, He Zheng indeed glared at Li Mo unhappily.

He Zheng raised his hand: “Come, come, the few boys in the back two rows, step forward!”

Li Mo, Xu Qing, Shen Shuyi, and Meng Tang walked to the front of the formation. He Zheng then pointed at Bai Sheng: “Did you talk?”

Bai Sheng lowered his head and deliberately walked around to stand next to Li Mo.

He Zheng stared sternly at the five people in front of him and dropped a bombshell: “The monthly exam is coming up, so I won’t punish you. But! You five must all participate in the sports meeting the week after next!”

Li Mo tentatively raised his hand: “Teacher… is participation mandatory?”

He Zheng glared at him: “Who is the squad leader for Class 4? At the sports meeting, this boy must sign up for two events.”

Li Mo: “…” I really should have kept my mouth shut.

It wasn’t that he lacked athletic ability, but Li Mo was incredibly lazy. Since getting addicted to novels in junior high, he rarely exercised. Participating in the sports meeting was much less appealing than secretly reading novels in the spectator stands. That’s true bliss!

Now, he not only had to participate but also sign up for two events. He had brought this disaster upon himself.

During free time, Lin Yi, the squad leader, approached Li Mo with a mischievous smile, his hand on Li Mo’s shoulder: “Brother Mo, to thank you for your contribution to the sports meeting, I’ll treat you to lunch tomorrow.”

“Screw you. I don’t eat in the cafeteria.” And I have to clean the toilet… Li Mo instantly lost his appetite.

Meng Tang patted him: “Cheer up, Brother Mo. Brother Zheng probably remembers you now. Be sure to perform well at the sports meeting.”

Wow, I’m just so thrilled.

“Sports meeting… and the monthly exam. Just let me die.” Li Mo frustratingly scratched his hair, falling backward to lie spread-eagle on the field.

“Xu Qing doesn’t look nervous at all…” Meng Tang scooted over to the aloof Xu Qing. “Brother Xu, can you save me for the monthly exam?”

Xu Qing glanced at him: “The exam is the day after tomorrow. Now you’re trying to make last-minute efforts.”

Meng Tang scratched his head awkwardly: “Aiya… I kept thinking there was still plenty of time, and now it’s only three damn days left…”

“Go, go, go. He’s my desk-mate. I haven’t even used him yet.” Li Mo squeezed between Meng Tang and Xu Qing, forcefully separating them.

Xu Qing was speechless: “There’s so much space over there. Why do you insist on squeezing in here?”

“I just like being with you.” With that, Li Mo rubbed against Xu Qing in a deliberately affected manner.

Xu Qing: “…Spit it out.”

Li Mo: “Please save me for the monthly exam.”

Meng Tang rolled his eyes on the side: “Brother Mo, do you understand ‘first come, first served’? Move over. I asked Xu Qing first.”

Li Mo was immersed in his dramatic persona when a pair of hands suddenly gripped his back, startling him: “Bai Yueguang, you almost scared me to death.”

Bai Sheng hummed: “I can teach you the material. Xu Qing is going to teach someone else anyway.”

The implication in that statement was pointed.

Xu Qing ignored him, raised his hand, and pulled Meng Tang closer: “What are you having trouble with? I’ll teach you.”

The atmosphere seemed to have frozen just a little bit.

Lin Yi leaned close to Shen Shuyi’s ear and whispered: “Are Bai Sheng and Li Mo that close?”

Shen Shuyi shrugged: “How should I know? Li Mo calls him Bai Yueguang. Could they be…”

…

This is a big, bold, capitalized shock!

Meng Tang instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Suddenly, he wasn’t so keen on being saved anymore…

Bai Sheng didn’t even look at Xu Qing, simply pulled Li Mo away, and dragged him to his class’s spot.

Lin Yi: “…He just let himself be dragged away like that?”

Shen Shuyi: “…Li Mo didn’t even try to refuse.”

Xu Qing still had his arm around Meng Tang’s neck, his expression frighteningly gloomy.

Why should I care who Li Mo hangs out with? Right, he didn’t care. It was fine for Li Mo to hang out with anyone, but he chose to be friendly with his mortal enemy, giving his enemy a chance to stand above him and trample him with impunity.

And Li Mo, that idiot, didn’t even know how to refuse. He had just said he needed Xu Qing to save him.

…Damn it, why am I thinking about this?

Xu Qing slowly got up and walked to an empty area to sit down.

Meng Tang instantly felt his breathing become much smoother: “Oh my goodness… Brother Xu really can’t stand Brother Mo going off with someone else.”

“You make them sound like a couple,” Yang Di paused. “Didn’t Xu Qing always hate Bai Sheng? It’s probably because of Bai Sheng.”

Lin Yi held his forehead: “The love-hate entanglement of the straight-A students.”

Li Mo was extremely outgoing. As soon as he sat down, he started chatting with the people in Class 12.

Bai Sheng leaned in toward Li Mo’s ear, his eyes still glancing at Xu Qing: “I told you, his temper is really bad.”

“He seems fine. Why don’t I see it?” Li Mo glanced at the zoning-out Xu Qing, shrugging. “But you really don’t have to teach me, okay? Xu Qing and I are desk-mates, so it’s more convenient.”

Bai Sheng didn’t answer. He couldn’t understand why Li Mo insisted on clinging to Xu Qing.

After P.E. class, Xu Qing arrived at the classroom before Li Mo, sitting in his seat and drawing out of boredom.

Li Mo bounced into the classroom, sat next to Xu Qing, and greeted him: “Good afternoon~ Desk-mate~”

Xu Qing snorted coldly: “I’m not good. Go be good with your Bai Yueguang.”

Li Mo looked at Xu Qing with amusement: “The internet says that people acting like you are jealous. Don’t be jealous. We’re the ones with the good relationship.”

Xu Qing’s expression was normal, but his tone held some impatience: “What relationship do I have with you? What reason is there to be jealous?”

Although he knew Xu Qing didn’t truly dislike him, hearing these words still made Li Mo feel a fleeting sadness, though he’d forget about it completely within a minute.

“Qing Qing, I know you love me. Stop being so contradictory.” Since junior high, Li Mo often joked with male classmates, deliberately using terms of endearment to disgust them. He’d even playfully call them “husband” and “darling.”

This type of playful banter came naturally to Li Mo.

However, it hit a nerve for Xu Qing. His expression was very poor: “Does humiliating me make you happy? Then you really have a twisted sense of humor.”

Suddenly being reprimanded in such a serious tone, Li Mo was momentarily stunned: “…What? I’ve never humiliated you.”

Li Mo used those offensive terms not just on Xu Qing but also on Lin Yi and the others. Everyone treated it as a joke, as no one considered genuinely dating someone else who also had a male organ.

Xu Qing knew Li Mo was joking, but he still felt uncomfortable hearing those words.

Li Mo saw this, pursed his lips: “If you don’t like it, I won’t talk to you like that anymore. We’ll interact normally.”

“That would be best,” Xu Qing turned his face away, not wanting his look to be seen by others.

Li Mo didn’t know about Xu Qing’s past, assuming he had accidentally touched a sore spot. Xu Qing’s anger was understandable.

With the monthly exam in three days, P.E. class, music class, and others were canceled. Self-study periods were personally supervised by Yu Wencheng, forcing Li Mo not to sleep or chat during class. Of course, he couldn’t focus on studying either, just staring blankly at the book cover.

In addition, Bai Sheng came to Class 4 to find him almost every break.

He brought food, drinks, and notes. If one of them were a girl, the CP rumors would have been flying everywhere already.

After accepting another offering from Bai Sheng, Li Mo walked back with yogurt. Yang Di in the first row couldn’t resist: “Brother Mo, are you and Bai Sheng so close? It’s a bit… suggestive.”

“Suggestive of what?” Li Mo completely missed Yang Di’s point. “We’re both from City C, and our little brothers are classmates. It’s normal to get familiar.”

Besides, free snacks and notes were being handed to him. Why refuse?

Yang Di was arguably the only one in the class who read BL, so he naturally understood the dynamics between guys. He had never shipped the boys and girls in the class before.

Even though he had a ready-made pair of CPs right in front of him, Yang Di just couldn’t bring himself to ship them.

He dared not say these things out loud. It would be too sickening if he did.

Li Mo returned to his seat, humming a tune and copying Bai Sheng’s notes, seemingly in a good mood.

Xu Qing watched Li Mo’s interactions with Bai Sheng closely these past few days. He hated Bai Sheng, and at the same time, he disliked Li Mo for getting so close to him.

After copying notes for a while, Li Mo felt suffocated. He rested his chin in his hand, tilting his head to look at Xu Qing, “Xu Qing, are you still planning to eat lunch?”

Xu Qing shook his head.

The exam was tomorrow. Eating lunch and then cleaning the toilet every day left no time for sleep. If he didn’t get good grades, Xu Qing could forget about continuing school.

“Then should we go clean the toilet directly at noon? I’m dead tired every afternoon during class.”

Xu Qing hummed in agreement. His conversations with Li Mo had decreased these days. Without him having to deliberately avoid him, Bai Sheng had almost completely monopolized Li Mo’s attention.

I really dislike Bai Sheng more and more.

“Guys! The exam rooms and seats are out!” Meng Tang brandished the two sheets of paper in his hands, acting like an ancient town crier shouting “Extra, extra!” “This time it was randomly assigned by computer. Brothers, be careful to check the level of the guy next to you when you cheat.”

People instantly crowded around Meng Tang, everyone wanting to see their exam room and seat number.

“Wait up, I’ll go check yours for you.” Li Mo stood up, using his height advantage to squeeze through the crowd.

“Xu Qing—you’re in room 16, seat 29. We’re right next to each other,” Li Mo shouted to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing tensed up: Just my luck to be next to Li Mo…

There were only sixteen classes in the sophomore year. Room 16 meant 30 people per exam room in Class 16, so he and Li Mo were at the very, very end.

Li Mo ran back to his seat, smugly: “Fortunately, I’m tall. I saw it right away. Xu Qing, we’re really close. You’re number 29, and I’m number 30. Front and back desk.”

Xu Qing said softly, “Mhm, that’s good.”

“Good my foot,” Tang Dawei had just returned after checking his seat number and shook his head when he heard Xu Qing say it was good. “The invigilators for that room are Director Yu and Wu Xiuxiu. Brother Xu, you know Wu Xiuxiu, right?”

Xu Qing nodded: “I know. Early menopause at only thirty-something.”

Li Mo’s eyes darted around: “What, what? Another legendary story?”

Tang Dawei immediately began to educate him: “Wu Xiuxiu was the homeroom teacher for Class 2, and now teaches Class 15. She’s notoriously crazy, with early menopause. She’s always cursing people and constantly bragging about how great her class is, showing off everywhere.”

“I ran into her in the hallway before. She was wearing clothes that didn’t suit her face, wiggling her butt as she walked. Let me show you.”

Tang Dawei put his hands on his hips and perfectly imitated Wu Xiuxiu’s wiggling walk. Watching a big, burly guy do that was truly an eyesore.

Xu Qing couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “A very accurate imitation… spot-on.”

Li Mo also laughed: “Wei Wei, stop, please. It’s too much of an eyesore.”

“I was just imitating Wu Xiuxiu,” Tang Dawei sat back down and continued. “Wu Xiuxiu is also very protective of her students. Before, someone spoke badly about one of her students, and Wu Xiuxiu relentlessly harassed the person and even called the parents, even though her student was the one being shameless, looking down on people…”

“How’s the invigilation?” Li Mo cared more about this. He usually had no interaction with Wu Xiuxiu, so he didn’t care what kind of person she was.

“If you’re not in the same room as her class, it’s just regular invigilation,” Tang Dawei paused. “But if there are any of her good students in that room, she’ll treat everyone else like they’re cheating, biting like a mad dog.”

Li Mo narrowed his eyes. This teacher’s grading based on favor seems quite serious.

“Just take the exam honestly. Who cares if she’s a mad dog or a mad donkey,” Xu Qing said, so seriously it was funny.

Li Mo smiled: “Brother Xu is right.”