Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The streetlights stretched their shadows long, intertwining and separating on the uneven alley road.

After the phrase “It’s a deal,” the air seemed to change.

It was still quiet, but no longer the suffocating silence from before. Instead, a subtle, unspoken warmth flowed between them.

Xu Qing felt a little heat on his face. He was the first to look away, urging in a low voice: “Let’s go, or the lights will be out soon.”

“Mhm,” Li Mo responded, quickening his steps to match Xu Qing’s. His left hand subconsciously made a loose fist, as if the warmth and pressure of the tight grip in the treatment room still lingered.

The shallow crescent-shaped marks his nails had dug into Xu Qing’s thumb web now carried a hidden sensation of burning.

The walk back to school felt shorter.

They didn’t speak much more, just walked side by side. Xu Qing deliberately slowed his pace, accommodating Li Mo’s potentially slower speed due to his injury.

Li Mo occasionally adjusted his draped school jacket with his left hand, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Xu Qing’s silent profile.

The old pagoda tree at the school gate still rustled in the wind, but the wind now didn’t seem so biting.

Standing in the shadow outside the school gate, Li Mo stopped: “This is far enough. Hurry and go in.”

Xu Qing took the school bag off his shoulder and handed it to Li Mo. In the motion, his fingers accidentally brushed against Li Mo’s cool left fingertips again, and both paused.

“You…” Xu Qing pursed his lips, his gaze falling on the cast. “Be careful going back.”

“I know, my place is just across the street, a road crossing away.” Li Mo took the bag with his left hand, awkwardly slinging it over one shoulder, trying to keep his tone light. “I’ll be back much faster than you boarders.”

Xu Qing looked at his noticeably uncoordinated movements, his brow furrowing slightly, but he ultimately said nothing, just nodded: “Then I’ll go.”

He turned and walked towards the wall, scaling it in a couple of swift motions.

Li Mo remained standing, watching Xu Qing’s slender back disappear into the light and shadows of the campus. Only then did he let out a soft sigh and turn to cross the road.

Just then, Xu Qing, who had already entered the school, suddenly stopped, abruptly turned around, and walked back to the fence by the school wall.

“Li Mo.” His voice wasn’t loud, but it clearly carried across the wrought-iron fence.

Li Mo turned back in surprise.

The shadows of the fence cut across Xu Qing’s face, making his expression hard to discern. Only his exceptionally clear voice could be heard, carrying a determined resolution: “What do you want for breakfast tomorrow morning? I’ll bring it for you.”

Li Mo was stunned. Xu Qing bringing him breakfast? This was completely unprecedented. He opened his mouth, speechless for a moment.

Seeing Li Mo didn’t answer, Xu Qing seemed a little flustered, his speech speeding up: “The steamed buns, shaomai, soy milk, or porridge from the cafeteria? Or the hand-grabbed pancake from the shop outside?”

Li Mo looked at his somewhat anxious expression across the fence, and the softest spot in his heart felt gently bumped.

He suddenly broke into a smile—not the forced lightness from before, but a genuinely open, warm smile.

“Anything is fine,” he said, his eyes sparkling under the streetlight. “Anything you bring is fine.”

Xu Qing seemed to be choked by the “anything is fine.” It took him a moment before he softly “Mhm’d,” then quickly added: “Then… I’ll just pick something. You go home quickly. Watch for cars on the road.”

After saying this, he didn’t linger. He turned almost immediately and quickly walked toward the dormitory building. His retreat even seemed a little rushed.

Li Mo watched his almost “fleeing” figure, the curve of his lips refusing to straighten. The occasional dull ache and throbbing from his right arm didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.

He crossed the road alone. The cool breeze of the autumn night blew on his face, but he felt a warm stove in his heart.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing was walking rapidly back to the dormitory. The night wind couldn’t cool the belated heat rising in the back of his ears. He didn’t know why he had suddenly turned back to ask that question, without even thinking.

It was just that the moment he saw Li Mo turn away alone with his school bag, the words had rushed out.

The next morning, ten minutes before the self-study bell rang, Li Mo had just settled into his seat and was awkwardly trying to take a book from his desk drawer with his left hand when a clear plastic bag, still steaming hot, was gently placed on his desk.

Inside the bag were a tea egg, a shaomai, and a tightly sealed cup of red bean porridge.

Li Mo looked up.

Xu Qing was already sitting next to him, taking out his English book with an unwavering gaze, as if the breakfast bag hadn’t been placed there by him.

Only his slightly pressed lips and the slightly tense line of his profile betrayed a hint of nervousness.

“Thank you,” Li Mo whispered. He picked up the warm cup of porridge with his left hand, the warmth spreading from his palm all the way to his heart.

“Eat quickly,” Xu Qing said, flipping through the pages. His voice was still level but less cold than usual.

Li Mo awkwardly tried to peel the tea egg with his left hand, but the shell kept falling apart. Just as he was getting frustrated, a slender hand reached over, silently picked up the egg, cleanly peeled it in a couple of moves, and placed it back on his desk.

The movement was smooth and natural, just like transferring the wontons last night.

Li Mo looked at the perfectly peeled tea egg, then at Xu Qing, who had already started silently reciting vocabulary. The warm cloud in his heart seemed to expand even more.

The sound of reciting spread in the self-study classroom. Sunlight streamed through the window bars, falling between their desks. Fine dust motes slowly danced in the light beams.

No one noticed the brief interaction in this corner, and no one knew what had happened last night.

But something, in this gentle dawn and silent companionship, had quietly begun to sprout.

When Yang Di entered through the back door of the classroom, this was the scene he saw—Li Mo was sipping porridge, a faint smile on his lips, while Xu Qing, who was usually solitary and cold, was surprisingly not buried in his studies. His pen was paused on the paper, and his gaze seemed to… rest on Li Mo’s casted arm.

“Alas, in this age… the handsome get together, the beautiful get together. There’s no way out for us ordinary folks…” Lin Yi stood beside Yang Di, putting his arm around Yang Di’s shoulder.

He paused: “Are they a couple?”

Yang Di shrugged: “I don’t know. I’m from the countryside. I don’t understand these city trends…”

Xu Qing and Li Mo were completely immersed in their world, oblivious to everything else.

Yang Di and Lin Yi’s whispers weren’t loud, but they drifted to the ears of the students in the front row. A few people secretly glanced back, then quickly turned away, unable to suppress their smiles.

Li Mo paused his porridge-drinking. The tips of his ears quietly turned red, but he didn’t look up. He just continued to bring the spoon to his mouth with his left hand, occasionally sneaking a glance at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing seemed not to hear the whispers. He tapped his finger lightly on the paper, then suddenly turned his head, his voice very low: “Is the porridge hot?”

“Not hot,” Li Mo shook his head and pushed the cup towards him. “Want a sip? It’s red bean, quite sweet.”

Xu Qing didn’t take it. He just looked at him: “Give me the cup when you’re done. I’ll throw it away.”

“No need, I can…” Just as Li Mo was about to say he could manage, he saw Xu Qing collecting the empty tea eggshells on his desk into the plastic bag, his movements swift and decisive, giving Li Mo no chance to refuse.

When the bell for the end of self-study rang, Xu Qing indeed picked up Li Mo’s porridge cup and the plastic bag and walked toward the back door. Li Mo sat in his seat, watching his back, feeling a sweet warmth in his heart. Even the inconvenience of turning pages with his left hand didn’t feel so bad anymore.

“Brother Mo, how’s your hand?” Yang Di came over and poked his cast. “What did the doctor say? When can it be removed?”

“We’ll see next week at the check-up,” Li Mo answered casually, his gaze still following Xu Qing.

Lin Yi squeezed to the other side, winking and smiling: “Brother Mo, Xu Qing is too good to you, isn’t he? Bringing you breakfast, cleaning up trash… Your progress is faster than my drama series.”

Li Mo glared at him but didn’t refute. He just picked up the English book Xu Qing had left on the desk and gently flipped a page—the corners were neat, without a single fold. Just like Xu Qing himself, he looked cold but was meticulous underneath.

Soon, Xu Qing returned, holding a bottle of warm milk, which he placed on Li Mo’s desk: “You have P.E. this morning, and you can’t move much. Have some milk to line your stomach.”

Li Mo looked at the bottle of milk, then at the slight sweat on Xu Qing’s temples—he must have run to the downstairs store to buy it and came back quickly. He picked up the milk, his fingertips touching the cool bottle, but his heart felt burning hot.

“Xu Qing,” he suddenly said, his voice not loud, yet the surrounding noise seemed to quiet down. “When my hand gets better, I’ll treat you to something delicious.”

Xu Qing paused, then nodded, a faint smile curving his lips: “Okay.”

The sunlight through the window fell on both of them, and even the air around them seemed to be stained with a sweet warmth.

Yang Di and Lin Yi exchanged glances nearby, silently signaling “understood,” and wisely refrained from disturbing them further.

This faint smile was subtle, yet it was like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, sending ripples across Li Mo’s heart. He held the bottle of warm milk, feeling that the cast on his right arm no longer felt like such a heavy burden.

The class bell rang in time, interrupting the brief moment of affection. The math teacher walked in with his lesson plan, and the classroom was instantly filled with formulas and theorems. Xu Qing quickly entered study mode, his back straight, fully focused. Li Mo attempted to take notes with his left hand, but his writing was wobbly, and his speed was as slow as a snail.

Just as he was getting annoyed, an open notebook was gently pushed towards his hand. It contained Xu Qing’s clear, neat, and well-organized class notes, with key points marked in different colored pens.

Li Mo turned his head in surprise. Xu Qing still looked at the blackboard, as if he had just done a trivial thing. Only his slightly trembling eyelashes betrayed a hint of unusual emotion.

“Thank you,” Li Mo mouthed softly, the warm cloud in his heart almost overflowing. He lowered his head, carefully looking at the notes, occasionally looking up at the blackboard, and supplementing the content he could manage to write.

The morning sun gradually became brighter and hotter, enveloping their side-by-side desks in a warm yellow glow through the windowpane. The air held the scents of chalk dust and sunlight, along with a faint, clean scent of soap that belonged to Xu Qing.

The third class was P.E.

As soon as the bell rang, the students cheered and rushed to the field. Li Mo stood up, looking at the cast on his right arm with some helplessness.

“You go ahead,” he said to Xu Qing, who was packing his books. “I’ll just sit on the spectator stands.”

Xu Qing’s movements didn’t stop. He tucked the last two books into his desk drawer: “Mhm, I’ll take you there.”

“No need, it’s just a few steps…” Before Li Mo could finish, Xu Qing picked up his unfinished milk and water cup and looked at him.

“The sun is strong. It’ll be exposed on the stands,” Xu Qing’s tone was flat, yet it carried an undeniable authority. “Find a shady spot.”

Li Mo swallowed his refusal and obediently followed Xu Qing out of the classroom.

The field was already lively. Basketballs thumped on the ground, and students were warming up on the track. Xu Qing settled Li Mo on the stone steps under the shade of a tree, behind the main stage. The view was good, and it was out of the sun.

“Stay here. Don’t wander off,” Xu Qing instructed, like he was talking to a child.

“Got it, Teacher Xu,” Li Mo couldn’t help but tease with a smile.

Xu Qing glanced at him but didn’t respond. He turned and ran towards the formation area. His figure was lean but straight, casting a long shadow in the sun.

The P.E. class activity was the 1000-meter run assessment.

Even though it wasn’t a formal exam, He Zheng treated everything as a high-standard assessment.

Boys passing time was less than or equal to 4 minutes and 30 seconds, and girls’ was 4 minutes and 40 seconds.

Li Mo watched Xu Qing stand at the starting line, slightly bent over, in a ready-to-run position, and felt an inexplicable sense of anticipation.

He knew Xu Qing wasn’t fond of sports. His academic results were top-notch, but his P.E. grades were usually just barely passing.

The whistle blew, and a group of people rushed out. Xu Qing started in the middle to back, running steadily, maintaining a good breathing rhythm. Li Mo’s gaze followed him the whole time.

After two laps, the group started to stretch out, and some began to slow down, panting heavily.

Xu Qing, however, maintained his original pace, even slowly overtaking a few students. His bangs were wet with sweat, sticking to his smooth forehead. His lips were tightly pressed, and the lines of his profile looked slightly cold yet extremely focused during the run.

As Li Mo watched, he suddenly felt his heart beat a little faster, either out of nervousness for Xu Qing or for some other reason. He instinctively tightened his left hand around the bottle of milk.

In the last half-lap, Xu Qing started to accelerate. He overtook one opponent after another, his stride noticeably lengthening, his breathing heavier, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, fixed on the finish line.

That look of going all out was completely different from his usual indifferent demeanor.

It was as if something was waiting for him ahead.

Li Mo unconsciously stood up, forgetting the inconvenience of his right arm, almost wanting to cheer for him.

Xu Qing finally crossed the finish line in third place in his group. He bent over, hands on his knees, panting heavily. Sweat dripped down his jawline onto the synthetic track.

Li Mo’s heart skipped a beat. He picked up the water cup Xu Qing had prepared for him, awkwardly unscrewed the lid with his left hand, and quickly walked over.

“Have some water.” He handed the cup to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing raised his head, still panting. Sweat slid down his temples, soaking his thick eyelashes. He saw Li Mo and was stunned, seemingly not expecting him to come over. He took the cup, his fingertips warm from the exercise, accidentally brushing against Li Mo’s slightly cool fingers.

“Thank you,” Xu Qing’s voice was low and hoarse from his heavy breathing. He tilted his head back and drank a few gulps of water, his Adam’s apple bobbing intensely.

Sunlight filtered through the tree leaves, casting dappled light spots on his sweaty neck and collarbone. Li Mo suddenly felt a dryness in his throat and quickly averted his gaze.

“You ran… quite fast,” he remarked, searching for words.

“Just enough to pass,” Xu Qing’s breathing stabilized, and his tone returned to its usual indifference. But seeing Li Mo’s slightly red cheeks and flickering eyes, he paused and added, “Anyway, it’s faster than you can run right now.”

The words carried a very slight hint of teasing. Li Mo took a moment to react, then glared at him with a mix of exasperation and amusement: “Xu Qing, just you wait until I’m better.”

The corner of Xu Qing’s mouth seemed to curve up again, then quickly straightened. He didn’t say anything more. He picked up the remaining water, took another sip, and looked at the other students still running in the distance.

The wind blew over the treetops, bringing a slight coolness and ruffling the sweat-dampened clothes of the teenagers.

Li Mo stood beside Xu Qing, looking at his profile. He suddenly felt that this Xu Qing, who disliked sports, who had just gone all out on the track, and who was now quietly standing beside him, was more dazzling than ever.

After P.E. class ended, Xu Qing walked back to the teaching building with Li Mo at a slow pace.

Their shadows were stretched long again. This time, in the bustling campus, they silently intertwined and did not separate again.