Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The weather had turned cold in early October.

The playground of Huaying No. 1 High School was filled with students. Parents sat in the surrounding stands, holding up their phones, searching for their children.

Li Mo stood at the back of the formation, hands in his pockets, looking very cool.

Tang Dawei rubbed his arms: “Brother Mo, aren’t you cold?”

Li Mo glanced at him and said: “Cold. I want to crawl under the covers.”

Tang Dawei: “…”

This guy loves to show off too much.

“Holy crap, I see my mom! She’s holding a big sweet potato!” Lin Yi shouted excitedly.

Li Mo laughed: “The sweet potato will be cold by the time it’s over.”

Tang Dawei waved his hand: “Maybe it’s not even for him.”

Lin Yi: “Both of you, get lost.”

This sports meet was held for both Grade 10 and Grade 11. The broadcasters from both grades first read an opening speech, followed by the entrance of each class’s formation.

With over fifty classes combined from the two grades, walking a lap around the track marked the official start of the sports meet.

First up was the sprint.

Class 4’s runner was Meng Tang. He cycled to and from school every day, so his speed and stamina were decent.

He took second place.

“Oh my god, oh my god…” Meng Tang walked back to the class formation from the track, exclaiming “oh my god” the entire way.

Tang Dawei gave a thumbs-up: “Tangtang, your strength is recognized, bro.”

Meng Tang collapsed onto the grass, panting heavily, completely unwilling to speak.

Next was the long-distance run.

Li Mo took off his jacket, casually tossing it to Xu Qing beside him, and fixed his hairstyle: “Bro is going on stage now. Don’t be mesmerized by me.”

Xu Qing didn’t even spare him a glance.

Also on the track was Bai Sheng.

While warming up on the track, Li Mo struck up a conversation with Bai Sheng: “How’s your relationship with your cousin Bai Ziqi?”

Bai Sheng said faintly: “It’s alright. I didn’t know you knew him.”

“Bai Ziqi and I have a ‘from-rivals-to-friends’ kind of relationship, I guess…” Li Mo subtly changed the subject. “I won’t go easy on you later.”

Bai Sheng scoffed: “I’ll return that comment to you.”

Bang

The referee’s gun went off, and the athletes instantly dashed out.

Li Mo temporarily took the lead, leveraging his height advantage. Bai Sheng followed closely behind him.

Go eat my exhaust, you! ε=ε=ε=ε=┌( >_<)┘

“Go, Brother Mo!”

“Charge, Brother Mo!”

The students of Class 4 were cheering loudly for Li Mo in unison. Only Xu Qing, holding a sketchbook, sketched Li Mo running with a pencil.

In the stands, Yu Wenxiu held a small camcorder, the lens constantly following Li Mo’s figure.

Yu Wenxiu felt a little emotional. The Li Mo she remembered was always a child of few words, either cooped up in his room or running off to mess around.

The sight of him running on the track now was the epitome of youthful exuberance.

Ye Jinlun pouted: “If it were me, I would have already reached the finish line!”

Yu Wenxiu smiled and ruffled Ye Jinlun’s small head: “Our Xiao Lun will grow as tall as his brother.”

Only the last five hundred meters remained.

Only Li Mo and Bai Sheng were running in the lead.

The moment Li Mo crossed the finish line, the piercing whistle and cheers erupted.

Running too fast across the line, Li Mo was carried forward by inertia for a distance before slowly coming to a stop.

He smiled, looking at Bai Sheng: “Bai Yueguang (White Moonlight), bro’s long legs aren’t just for show.”

Bai Sheng took a couple of breaths and smiled: “Mhm.”

This person is as tight-lipped as ever.

One thousand five hundred meters was no joke. Li Mo was sweating and completely flushed with heat.

“How was it? Am I mesmerizing you?” Li Mo sat back down beside Xu Qing, raising an eyebrow at him.

Xu Qing, who had been focused on drawing, replied dismissively: “Mhm, very handsome.”

“…” Li Mo leaned in to see what he was drawing, then paused. “Holy crap, I’m too handsome.”

Xu Qing couldn’t help but laugh: “Egomaniac.”

“Brother Qing, Brother Qing, the relay race is about to start. Come prepare.” Lin Yi shouted.

Xu Qing closed his sketchbook and was about to take off his school jacket when Li Mo reached out his hand: “Let your boyfriend hold it for you.”

He didn’t notice that Yang Di in front of him stumbled, almost face-planting on the ground after hearing that.

Xu Qing was the first leg of the relay race, followed by Yang Di, and the last leg was entrusted to Shen Shuyi.

“Grass Jelly, whether we win this one depends on you!” Lin Yi’s expression was heavy. He patted Shen Shuyi’s shoulder dramatically. “You must take first place!”

Shen Shuyi was speechless: “Get lost.”

It turned out that Xu Qing was truly not good at sports. His speed was much slower than the others.

Lin Yi opened his mouth: “Oh my goodness… is Brother Qing just taking a stroll?”

Li Mo kicked him: “Hey, you were the one who said earlier it didn’t matter how he ran.”

Lin Yi waved his hand and sighed: “Of course, it doesn’t matter for me… We’ll have to rely on the later legs.”

After handing the baton to Yang Di, Xu Qing walked back like an old man, picking up his school jacket and putting it on.

“You ran well, deskmate.” Li Mo’s smile was genuine and endearing, sounding like a sincere compliment rather than a consolation.

Xu Qing hummed and picked up his sketchbook to draw again.

Li Mo leaned on his shoulder and asked: “Why are you drawing this?”

“For collection. I’ll take it out and punch it a couple of times when I’m in a bad mood,” Xu Qing said lightly, not sounding like he was joking.

Li Mo narrowed his eyes: “Do you have the heart to lay a hand on this handsome face?”

Xu Qing: “I do.”

Li Mo: “…”

On the track, Shen Shuyi didn’t disappoint, overtaking the first-place runner at the last moment to secure the new first place.

“Nice one, Grass Jelly.” Lin Yi nudged Shen Shuyi with his shoulder. “I’ll treat you to roasted sweet potato later.”

“Can you treat me to something more expensive?”

“Roasted sweet potatoes are five kuai each! That’s very expensive, okay?”

“…”

“Alright, alright, enough rambling. I have to go get the mats.” Lin Yi stood up, walking toward Bai Sheng under his seemingly murderous gaze.

Soon after, Lin Yi ran back and squatted beside Xu Qing, putting his hands together and pleading: “Brother Qing, Brother Qing, can you please help me bring the mats over? Bai Sheng and I can’t carry them all, and he went to call people from his class too.”

Xu Qing hesitated for a moment but put down his sketchbook and hummed in agreement.

“Thank you, Brother Qing.”

Lin Yi had planned to call Li Mo and the others too, but Bai Sheng came over and said there were enough people, so he dropped the idea.

Li Mo was sitting in the crowd, snatching snacks with Yang Di and the others. When he returned to his spot, Xu Qing was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a sketchbook behind.

“Hey, where did your Brother Qing go?” Li Mo shook the snack crumbs off his hand. He had specifically wrapped a portion in a napkin for Xu Qing.

Meng Tang said: “He seemed to have left with Lin Yi. Can’t you be apart from your deskmate for even a second?”

“You don’t understand.”

Yang Di, with a deep knowing look, mimicked: “We don’t understand~”

The large mats and stands used for the high jump weren’t heavy. Xu Qing could drag two mats by himself. He didn’t understand why those two grown men couldn’t carry them.

Xu Qing dropped the mat in his hand onto the ground. Bai Sheng spread the other mat on top. The two didn’t speak a single word the entire time, even deliberately avoiding eye contact.

After finishing the task, Xu Qing immediately returned to the class.

“Deskmate, why are you doing things in silence?” While saying this, Li Mo handed over the snacks wrapped in the napkin.

Xu Qing symbolically took a bite and said faintly: “You were just too busy eating to notice.”

Li Mo laughed: “You make me sound like a food lover.”

The sports meet was nearing its end with the high jump event.

Li Mo took off the jacket he had been wearing, stood at the front of the line, and stretched his body, not forgetting to show off to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing simply closed his eyes, unable to bear looking at him.

Li Mo jumped twice in place, then took a few steps back, sprinted forward suddenly, and his body traced a beautiful arc in the air.

The sound that erupted when he landed on the mat was not cheers, but a resonant “Holy crap.”

Whether it was the parents in the stands or the students and teachers on the field, everyone was stunned.

Li Mo rolled off the mat, his body curled up in a ball, clutching his arm in pain.

Yu Wencheng was the first to react, rushing over in a stride: “Li Mo! What happened to you?”

“F***…” Li Mo squeezed out a word through gritted teeth. Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and tears were welling up in his eyes.

The school doctor, who had been on standby outside the field, rushed over and knelt down to examine Li Mo.

The boy’s exposed arm was already somewhat contorted. The situation looked serious.

Li Mo was surrounded by people. Bai Sheng stood on the outer edge, reaching out to touch the mat on top: “There seems to be something inside.”

The person closest to him suspiciously felt the mat and actually felt a hard object.

Li Mo jumped at a height of 1.8 meters. When he fell from mid-air, his arm hit that hard object precisely. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

After examination, Li Mo had a mild comminuted fracture in his right arm, requiring an external fixator for at least four months.

Yu Wenxiu held Li Mo’s hand, tears streaming down her face: “Mo Mo, why didn’t you tell Mom you were participating in these activities? It’s too dangerous.”

Li Mo leaned against the hospital bed as if nothing had happened, comforting Yu Wenxiu by patting the back of her hand: “Mom, I’m fine. I’ll be better in a few months. I’m not going to die.”

Yu Wenxiu slapped his back: “You child, what are you saying?”

Ye Zhong pushed the door open and walked into the ward, his expression somewhat grave: “I just spoke with Mo Mo’s homeroom teacher. There was something inside the high jump mat. It seems someone deliberately placed it there.”

Yu Wenxiu was stunned, then cried even harder: “What sin is my son suffering… He was fine when he was sent here for school. It’s been less than two months. How can there be people with such wicked intentions?”

Li Mo was also stunned.

He thought he had good relationships with people. He hadn’t had any conflicts since coming to Huaying No. 1 High School. Why would someone deliberately harm him?

“The school is handling it,” Ye Zhong sighed. “It’s unbelievable that something like this would happen in Huaying No. 1 High School, an elite school.”

“I don’t care if it’s elite or not! I won’t let Mo Mo continue studying there!” Yu Wenxiu wiped her tears, tightly grasping Li Mo’s good hand. “Mo Mo, you’ll come back to C City with Mom and Dad in a few days. Now that something like this has happened to you, you can’t be away from Mom.”

Li Mo wanted to persuade her otherwise, but Yu Wenxiu’s tone was firm, and Ye Zhong fully supported the decision.

He was the person with the least say in the family and knew that no matter what he said, Yu Wenxiu wouldn’t change her mind.

Li Mo stayed in bed until nightfall.

He heard people talking outside. By the sound of their voices, it seemed to be Yu Wenxiu and Yu Wencheng.

“Sister, this is my responsibility. Please take the medical expenses.”

“What are you saying? You didn’t harm Mo Mo. It’s not easy for you to make a living here alone, and I’m not short of this money.”

“Even though I didn’t do it, Mo Mo came all the way here to stay with me, and yet I, as his uncle, failed to take good care of him…”

Yu Wencheng kept taking the blame, stubbornly insisting on paying the medical expenses like a mule.

Li Mo didn’t catch what they said later, and he wasn’t in the mood to listen.

His mind was preoccupied with whether this was an accident or truly intentional harm by someone.

Bang

Regardless of what was said outside, the ward door was suddenly kicked violently.

Li Mo was startled and kept staring at the doorway.

Yu Wenxiu tried to control her surging anger, but her voice still trembled with fury when she spoke: “How can there be such a child! How were their parents educating them!”

“Sister, calm down… calm down…” Yu Wencheng wiped his sweat. “That child usually has good grades, doesn’t talk much, and doesn’t look like he would be that wicked…”

“What good are good grades! A bad character is just bad! Wencheng, stop talking. Mo Mo is definitely transferring schools!”

They seemed to have started arguing, followed by a flurry of footsteps.

Ye Zhong pushed the ward door open and walked in, smiling as he placed a boxed meal on the bedside table: “Mo Mo, you must be hungry, right? Come eat something.”

Li Mo pursed his lips: “About… my situation…”

Ye Zhong waved his hand, cutting him off directly: “Mo Mo, you don’t need to worry about these things. You have Mom and Dad here. Just focus on recovering. Getting your arm better is the priority.”

“Oh…”

But he was still curious.

In the middle of the night, Yu Wenxiu was sleeping in the empty bed next to him. Li Mo secretly climbed up, pulled out his phone, and slipped into the class group chat.

[Lin Yi: Holy crap, we got a day off today. What’s going on???]

[Tang Dawei: @Lin Yi You’re asking? Didn’t you go get the mats?]

[Lin Yi: Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. I swear to God this has nothing to do with me! And Bai Sheng went too!]

[Yang Di: Bai Sheng doesn’t seem like the kind of person to do that either. Besides, isn’t his relationship with Brother Mo pretty good?]

[Ji Lin: I heard others say it was about Xu Qing.]

[Yang Di: Xu Qing is even less likely…]

[Shen Shuyi: Shouldn’t we be concerned about Brother Mo’s situation right now?]

[@Handsome Li Mo]

[…]

Li Mo ignored the string of mentions, his attention fully focused on the message from Ji Lin.

How could it be… Absolutely impossible!

Li Mo shook his head. He must have injured his brain as well. Get some rest, yes! Get some rest! Maybe I’ll be better tomorrow!