Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The city was shrouded in rain, which had been falling since noon.

Li Mo raised his umbrella and got off the bus through the back door.

He held his phone in one hand, texting Yu Wencheng. Only after learning his uncle wouldn’t be back until the day after tomorrow did he put his phone away.

Walking in the rain for a while, Li Mo once again passed the familiar alley entrance. He subconsciously glanced inside: “Holy crap.”

In the corner of the alley, a person was leaning against the wall, barely alive. Though no blood was visible, they looked like they were on the verge of death.

“What the—buddy, are you okay? I’ll call 12…” Li Mo stopped mid-sentence.

He lifted the person’s face. It was actually Xu Qing.

Xu Qing, barely alive, collapsed in an alley in the heavy rain.

The sheer amount of information made Li Mo take a moment to recall that he needed to call 120.

As soon as he pulled out his phone, his hand was pressed down. Xu Qing looked up and slowly said: “No need…”

“Are you sure ‘no need’?”

“No need. I’m tough.”

“…”

Xu Qing pushed himself up. His face was covered in rainwater, with several bruises, especially at the corner of his mouth, where a little blood was still seeping.

“Good Samaritan, what are you doing here?”

“I have to walk this way from the bus station to the complex.” Li Mo held the umbrella over Xu Qing’s head, lowering his gaze and slowly saying: “Did you get into a fight? How about I take you home first, or just take you to the hospital?”

“No need…” Xu Qing paused, his eyes drifting away. “I argued with my family. I can’t go back.”

Li Mo chuckled: “It’s nothing shameful. Why are you embarrassed to say it? So what are you going to do? Continue lying here pretending to be a corpse and randomly scaring a passerby to death?”

Xu Qing didn’t speak. He also didn’t know where he should go.

“Let’s go.” Li Mo held out his hand to Xu Qing.

After a long silence, Xu Qing finally took his hand.

In Jinmei Rose Complex.

Li Mo pushed the door open, casually turned on the light, tossed the dripping umbrella into the corner, and pulled out two pairs of slippers from the shoe cabinet: “Don’t be shy. No one is home. It’s just me.”

Xu Qing hummed, lowering his head to change his shoes.

“You go take a shower first. I’ll look for some clothes you can wear.” Li Mo said. “Don’t be polite with me, bro. Bro has been a good Samaritan since childhood.”

“You really like being all buddy-buddy, huh.”

Xu Qing was led to the bathroom door by Li Mo. He paused and continued: “Thank you…”

Li Mo smiled: “I told you not to be polite with me.”

The bathroom door closed, and the sound of running water could be heard inside.

Li Mo then went back to his room, rummaging through his closet. He pulled out a few pieces of clothing kept at the bottom—new clothes Yu Wenxiu and Ye Zhong had bought for him before coming to A City, never worn once.

“Xu Qing, I put the clothes outside the door. Are you hungry?”

Without waiting for Xu Qing to reply, Li Mo went straight to the kitchen and took out two packs of instant noodles from the cabinet.

To be honest, he wasn’t very good at cooking, and there wasn’t much food in the house, only a few packs of instant noodles left.

After the water boiled, he put the noodles in. Li Mo then took out two eggs from the fridge and cracked them in.

Li Mo was impressed with his own noodle-cooking skills and meal arrangement.

After bustling around in the kitchen for a while, Li Mo placed two large bowls of instant noodles with poached eggs on the dining table. He felt a little depressed about what he had been busy with.

By this time, Xu Qing had finished showering and changed clothes.

The somewhat oversized clothes didn’t look too awkward on him. His washed hair was soft and limp, and steam still lingered around him.

Li Mo was fully engrossed in tasting the noodles he cooked. He took a bite and almost made an expression that belonged in an emoji for how salty it was.

Seeing his strange expression, Xu Qing asked: “Is instant ramen that bad?”

“No… I thought it was too bland, so I added a few extra spoons of salt. Turned out I added too much salt…”

Xu Qing didn’t speak, quietly sitting down at the dining table.

Li Mo could barely manage the saltiness, but he didn’t know if Xu Qing could.

After much hesitation, he said: “How about I cook another pack…”

“No need.” Xu Qing interrupted. “This is fine.”

On a night of pouring rain, the two quietly ate their noodles face-to-face, saying nothing to each other.

“What happened with your family?” Li Mo cleared his throat. “I’m not being nosy, but you’re out so late. Aren’t they worried about you coming home?”

“They’re the ones who hit me like this. Of course, they won’t care how late I’m out or if I come home.” Xu Qing paused, seemingly pulling at the wound on the corner of his mouth. He frowned. “They’d rather I die outside.”

“That vicious?”

Xu Qing didn’t speak again.

He didn’t know if he should tell Li Mo the truth. He was afraid that after saying it, he would receive a roll of the eyes or contempt from Li Mo.

I respect you.

That sentence suddenly popped into Xu Qing’s mind. It was what Li Mo had told him personally when his crush on Bai Sheng was exposed.

He seemed to have forgotten that Li Mo was never the type to mock someone without reason for certain things.

“You should have seen me before.”

Li Mo was stunned: “When have we met?”

Xu Qing said: “At the Gan Bugan Lai Chi (Dare to Come Eat) restaurant. I was the waiter.”

Li Mo gradually recalled the events of that day at the restaurant. The handsome waiter was wearing a mask. Thinking about it now, he did look a lot like Xu Qing.

“Then… Xu Daning…”

“He’s my older brother. Biological.”

This time, it was Li Mo’s turn to be silent.

After a long while, Li Mo looked shocked: “That big beast is actually your biological brother?! Holy crap, you two don’t look like brothers at all.”

“Hey, wait, wait. Since Xu Daning is your biological brother, then Sister Liu and that old beast… aren’t they your biological parents?!” Li Mo was hit by a shock trifecta.

So the smart, cold, well-behaved, sensible younger son Sister Liu mentioned was Xu Qing! He had even told Sister Liu earlier that the younger son didn’t care about the family and was a bit of an ingrate!

Li Mo raised his hand and slapped himself: I’m sorry. I’m guilty.

Xu Qing looked at him with a strange expression: “Do you have masochistic tendencies?”

“No…” Li Mo took a deep breath, calming down slightly. “These injuries… were they inflicted by those two beasts?”

Xu Qing nodded: “My mom wanted a divorce. They rushed home and smashed everything they could. They absolutely refused to divorce unless my mom left with nothing, and all the assets went to them.”

“Are those two idiots crazy?” Li Mo continued to ask: “Then what happened?”

“Then my uncle arrived, and they took my mom away.”

Meeting Li Mo’s somewhat bewildered gaze, Xu Qing said directly: “No one was taking care of me, and I couldn’t stay at that house, so I just ran out, found a decent place to lie down, and a good Samaritan came along when I was about to die.”

“You’re also quite miserable… uh, I mean, you’re very strong.”

Xu Qing glanced at him: “Thanks. I’ve always been pretty strong.”

After finishing the meal and tidying up the dishes, it was already ten o’clock at night.

Li Mo and Xu Qing lay on the bed. Fortunately, his bed wasn’t small, and it didn’t feel cramped with both of them.

“Xu Qing.” Li Mo lay on his side, staring at Xu Qing’s profile. “I heard from Bai Sheng that you used to fight a lot. Is that true?”

“Mhm.” Xu Qing admitted openly: “Those people whose mouths are like public restrooms never say anything nice. It’s too much trouble to argue with them one by one, so it’s better to just beat them up.”

“What about… that thing about stealing?”

Xu Qing pursed his lips: “That was a long time ago. Bai Sheng remembers it clearly, but it’s not surprising. His family also lived in that neighborhood when we were kids. His cousin stole my bracelet and stubbornly refused to return it. Fighting didn’t work, yelling didn’t work, so I went and stole it back.”

Li Mo opened his mouth: “Bai Sheng’s cousin, stole your bracelet, brazenly refused to return it.”

Xu Qing hummed: “Bai Sheng and his cousin aren’t much different. They’re all self-centered and shameless. I don’t know if a donkey kicked my head back then to make me like such an idiot.”

Li Mo was speechless.

He only knew Bai Ziqi had a terrible temper, constantly throwing tantrums and hitting people. Li Mo had always been at odds with him. He hadn’t expected such a shocking piece of gossip.

“But Bai Sheng said you stole his stuff… Oh my goodness.”

“He also said that my liking him was just me fantasizing about him. Do you believe that?”

“No.”

“Anyway, aside from good grades, that guy has nothing going for him. Only you would treat him like a prized possession.” After saying that, Xu Qing rolled his eyes.

“Damn, and I thought he was a good fellow…”

The atmosphere was quiet for a moment. Li Mo poked Xu Qing: “Look at me.”

Xu Qing turned over, the impatience on his face not seeming entirely genuine.

“Have you ever considered liking someone else?”

Xu Qing paused slightly, then smiled faintly: “Such as?”

Li Mo pointed to himself: “Such as me. I’m much handsomer than those smelly men. Plus, I don’t smell. I have money, looks, and personality. My grades aren’t great, but bro’s a package deal. You won’t find another one in ten thousand miles.”

Xu Qing was amused: “Could you be less self-obsessed? Handsome man.”

Li Mo raised an eyebrow: “Think about it?”

“Do I still need to think about it? Should I secretly follow you at school, feel elated every time I see you, occasionally slip you a love letter, secretly text ‘I like you,’ and then recall it?”

“…”

Why does this story sound so familiar?

Li Mo realized: “Isn’t that the secret crush story I made up? You knew that Mr. Handsome was me?”

Xu Qing snorted: “Anyone with a brain could recognize it was you, Mr. Self-Obsessed.”

“Heh heh… I thought that story was very emotionally rich.”

“True. Being able to hype yourself up like that is a talent in itself.”

After Xu Qing fell asleep, Li Mo quietly took out his phone and opened a search engine, typing: How to be the top, essential conditions and skills for being the top, how old is too young for dating…

One highly upvoted answer: A top who is shorter than the bottom has no future! You’ll have to jump up just to corner-kiss! How embarrassing!

Li Mo secretly glanced at Xu Qing. He was half a head taller than Xu Qing. Heh heh.

The second highly upvoted answer: I think a qualified top should have an eight-pack, long legs, and broad shoulders. How great would that be to hug… Also, I’m 174, waist 79, a professional bottom, welcome to DM to find out more~ Muah~

Hmm… Li Mo subconsciously felt his stomach: Not bad, I have abs, eight of them.

The third highly upvoted answer: BL fanfiction, various positions and play for you to choose and learn~

Li Mo abruptly closed his phone, shoved it under the pillow, closed his eyes, and forced himself to sleep.

What would I become if I kept looking…