Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The dismissal bell rang, and Huaying No. 1 High School welcomed the weekend break again.

Li Mo, who had slept through the entire self-study period, slowly straightened up. The sleepiness had not completely left his eyes. He smacked his lips like an old dog waking up.

The sky of City A, viewed through the classroom window, was a familiar, distant grayish-blue. Here, he was at least free, although this freedom was accompanied by the loneliness of being exiled.

After sitting blankly for a while, Li Mo slowly began to tidy his things.

Xu Qing had already neatly packed his own belongings and turned to look at him, his gaze falling on Li Mo’s movements, which were more awkward and slow than usual.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Qing asked. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a small stone dropping into Li Mo’s heart lake.

Li Mo paused his movements. The desolate feeling that had prematurely crept up due to the prospect of spending the weekend alone was slightly dispelled by the question.

He shook his head, trying to keep his tone light: “Nothing. It’s the weekend. My adult has things to do outside, so I’ll be home alone.”

He omitted the real reason—the so-called “home” far away in City C that still loomed over him like a shadow.

He didn’t want to go back. Even though Yu Wenxiu had been calling for days, desperately wanting Li Mo to return for a visit.

Xu Qing didn’t speak, just watched him struggle to stuff the heavy practice book into his backpack. He reached out, silently took it, neatly packed it, and zipped it up. The action was as natural as if he had done it countless times.

“Thank you,” Li Mo whispered. Xu Qing’s meticulousness always made his heart ache.

The two walked out of the teaching building side by side. The deep autumn wind in City A already carried a noticeable coolness, stirring the fallen leaves on the ground.

At the old pagoda tree near the school gate, Li Mo stopped.

Students, released after two weeks of being confined, surged out of the school gate, laughing and heading towards their warm weekends. He, however, was heading back to the empty house.

“I’m going back to the dorm,” he said.

“Mhm,” Xu Qing replied, his gaze lingering on Li Mo’s face for a moment. He took a small carton of milk from the side pocket of his bag and handed it over. “It’s warm.”

Li Mo was startled and took the carton of milk. The warm touch spread rapidly from his palm, comforting his slightly cool skin.

“Remember to eat when you’re alone,” Xu Qing’s voice remained level. After saying that, he gave a slight nod and turned to merge into the stream of leaving students.

Li Mo held the warm carton of milk, watching Xu Qing’s back disappear around the street corner. The loneliness in his heart was strangely diluted. He turned and slowly walked towards the busy street.

His solitary figure seemed out of place with the bustling market.

Just as he pushed open his uncle’s door, his phone rang. “Mom” flickered on the screen.

Li Mo’s heart tightened instinctively. He took a deep breath and answered the call.

“Mo Mo?” His mother, Yu Wenxiu’s, voice came through. Faint sounds of a TV and his younger brother Ye Jinlun’s playful laughter could be heard in the background, making it sound distant and noisy. “It’s the weekend, right? Have you eaten?”

“Yes, just got home,” Li Mo walked to the window, watching a few pedestrians walk by downstairs.

“How’s your hand? Does it still hurt? Have you been changing the dressing and going for follow-ups on time? What did the doctor say?” Yu Wenxiu’s tone held concern, but more of a formulaic reproach, as if his injury had caused her unnecessary trouble again.

“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt,” Li Mo interrupted her, his voice a little dry.

“Do you have enough money? Tell Mom if you don’t. You’re alone there, be careful about everything, don’t cause trouble, study hard, don’t…” Don’t be like your father. She didn’t say the last part, but Li Mo understood. Every time they talked, those words hovered like ghosts in the background.

“I know. I have enough money,” he answered mechanically.

Ye Jinlun’s sharp voice came from the other end: “Mom! I want to eat that! Get it for me!”

“Oh, coming, coming!” Yu Wenxiu quickly responded, her tone instantly becoming gentle and patient. She spoke hurriedly to Li Mo: “Don’t forget what I told you a few days ago. You have to come back.”

Her tone allowed for no refusal.

After a long silence, Li Mo mumbled, “Mhm.”

The call ended abruptly. The dial tone buzzed.

Li Mo slowly put down his phone. The last bit of daylight outside the window was swallowed by the night.

Yu Wencheng wasn’t home. The house was cold and quiet, with only the sound of his own breathing.

The momentary, contaminated “concern” from the phone call was instantly withdrawn, leaving an emptiness that was worse than before.

A few days ago, Yu Wenxiu asked him to come back for a family dinner this weekend.

This was the first formal, large gathering since Yu Wenxiu remarried, where every relative was invited. There was no reason for Li Mo, as a member, not to go.

But at the same time, he wondered if he truly belonged there.

He leaned against the windowsill. His right arm’s cast looked particularly heavy and cumbersome in the dim light.

The feeling of being exiled had never been so clear—he was sent to this unfamiliar city because his younger brother said, “I don’t like this brother.”

His mother’s new family was happy and harmonious, while he was like a redundant piece of old luggage, properly stored in distant City A, regularly tended to to prevent rust, but nothing more.

The relatives’ whispers seemed to echo in his ears again:

“Look at that gaze, exactly like his father’s, so gloomy.”

“It’s better for him to be far away, so he doesn’t negatively influence Jinlun…”

From the start, those so-called relatives never liked him. It didn’t matter if Ye Jinlun was there or not.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cold air. His left fingertip unintentionally touched the carton of milk in his pocket. It was no longer warm, only retaining a residual heat.

He suddenly, intensely wanted to hear someone’s voice.

Almost instinctively, Li Mo took out his phone and opened the number he had only recently saved but felt he had already memorized.

His fingertip hovered over the dial button, hesitating. What excuse to use? Should he say… ask about homework? Or… the milk was delicious?

As he hesitated, the phone screen suddenly lit up, accompanied by a crisp notification sound.

Sender: Xu Qing.

The message was very simple, just one line:

【What do you want for breakfast tomorrow morning? Red bean bun or custard bun?】

Li Mo stared blankly at the text. The screen light illuminated his slightly reddened eyes. Outside was the unfamiliar nightscape of City A; inside the house was cold and empty.

But at this moment, that extremely simple text message was like a shooting star suddenly lighting up the dark night, carrying an undeniable warmth that precisely shattered the cold solitude surrounding him.

He lowered his head, his fingers trembling slightly as he typed a reply, as if grasping a warm lifeline.

Li Mo’s finger paused on the screen for a moment. The complex, cold emotions were still stuck in his chest, but Xu Qing’s text was like a beam of light, forcing open a crack.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the bitterness in his nose, and typed his reply seriously:

【Red bean bun. Thank you.】

He stared at the “Sent” notification. The empty feeling in his heart seemed to be filled in a little.

He could almost picture Xu Qing’s expression—unreadable yet focused—when he saw the reply.

Just as he put down his phone, the notification sounded again.

Xu Qing’s reply was unexpectedly fast:

【Mhm. You can come to the noodle shop to find me in the morning. If you can get up, you can have it warm.】

It wasn’t a question, but a calm piece of information. As if this were a long-established, unquestionable arrangement.

This matter-of-fact certainty suddenly gave Li Mo’s drifting heart an anchor. He didn’t need to find any clumsy excuse; Xu Qing was already there.

【Okay.】 he replied, feeling his tense shoulders slightly relax.

On the weekend night, Uncle Yu Wencheng indeed didn’t return. Li Mo was alone in the large house. He casually heated up some leftovers, ate, and did some homework, but he felt a disquieting stillness.

The chaotic thoughts about City C and the family dinner kept popping up inadvertently.

He picked up his phone several times, opening the chat interface with Xu Qing. The few brief exchanges about the buns were incredibly short, yet he read them over and over.

Finally, on a whim, he clicked on Xu Qing’s profile picture—a plain, deep blue color.

He put down his phone, trying to continue with the problem, but the cast on his right hand made it incredibly inconvenient. Writing with his left hand was slow and tiring. Frustration mixed with loneliness rushed back.

Just then, his phone buzzed.

It was a video call request.

Initiator—Xu Qing.

Li Mo’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. He fumbled to sit up straight, even subconsciously smoothed his hair, before pressing the answer button.

The screen lit up, showing Xu Qing’s side. It seemed to be his room. The light from the desk lamp was warm and bright, with a neat bookshelf in the background.

Xu Qing seemed to have just showered, his hair slightly damp. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt, looking fresh and… real.

“What are you doing?” Xu Qing’s voice came through the earpiece, with a slight static sound compared to face-to-face, but equally calm.

“Doing homework, kind of… can’t focus,” Li Mo answered honestly, shaking the camera toward his open notebook. He accidentally showed his casted right arm and quickly moved the camera away.

“By the way… did your place get selected for a free home makeover show?”

It wasn’t surprising Li Mo thought that. The neat, warm background didn’t look like Xu Qing’s home at all.

“Are you an idiot?” Xu Qing’s tone was flat.

Li Mo: “…”

“It’s not my home. My mom has a fellow countryman also in City A. We’re temporarily staying here,” Xu Qing replied.

Since the intense argument, their home in the Sunshine Community had been untouched. Liu Lan didn’t dare take Xu Qing back, fearing they might run into those two bastards.

Xu Qing brought the conversation back to the main topic, asking directly: “Which question?”

“Uh…” Li Mo came back to the present and flipped through his homework. “Math. The last large function question, the second part.”

“Mhm,” the sound of paper rubbing came from Xu Qing’s side. He seemed to have taken out his own quiz or notebook. “This problem requires case discussion. Start by drawing the graph.”

He didn’t make small talk, didn’t ask Li Mo why he was in a bad mood, or why he was home alone. He went straight to the problem.

This attitude of not prying or probing made Li Mo feel incredibly comfortable and secure.

Xu Qing began to explain, his thoughts clear, his tone steady. He occasionally asked, “Got it?” or asked Li Mo to point the camera at his scratch paper to check his steps.

Listening to his voice, watching his slight frown when thinking on the screen, Li Mo felt those chaotic worries were temporarily blocked outside the small video window.

The world shrunk down to just this difficult problem and Xu Qing patiently explaining on the other side of the screen.

After finishing the problem, neither of them hung up immediately.

A brief silence ensued, but it wasn’t awkward.

“What are you…” Li Mo hesitated, then asked, “What are you doing this weekend?”

“Homework, review,” Xu Qing’s answer was as concise as always. He adjusted the angle of his phone. “Helping out at the noodle shop.”

“Oh.”

Another moment of silence.

“You…” Xu Qing seemed about to say something but stopped. On the screen, he slightly shifted his gaze, looking elsewhere. The desk lamp’s light outlined his smooth jawline.

“What?” Li Mo pressed.

“Nothing.” Xu Qing turned his gaze back to Li Mo on the screen.

Li Mo chuckled. Even now, he couldn’t help but tease: “Qing Qing, you’ve been so meticulously caring for me these past few days. My heart is completely locked for you.”

Xu Qing rolled his eyes: “What? You’re not happy unless you’re being scolded? Do you have masochistic tendencies?”

“Honestly, I quite like it when you scold me.” Li Mo’s expression was somewhat earnest. Someone who didn’t know him might actually believe the kid had some M tendency.

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow: “Then I won’t scold you anymore. Let you suffer.”

Li Mo laughed twice, instantly turning into a drama queen and clutching his chest, feigning heartache: “Qing Qing~ You really wound my heart, but I still like you so much.”

On the other side of the screen, Xu Qing looked down, writing something. He just “Oh’d” and said: “How many times are you going to say something like that?”

“You don’t like hearing it?” Li Mo paused, raising an eyebrow. “Then I won’t say it anymore.”

Xu Qing looked up. Even across the screen, Li Mo could feel his direct, cold gaze: “Looking for a beating?”

Li Mo couldn’t help but laugh: “You like hearing it too, don’t you?”

Xu Qing stuck out his tongue, his tone slightly rushed: “Hanging up. Can’t be bothered with you.”

“Alright, alright.”

The video call ended. The screen went dark, reflecting Li Mo’s somewhat stunned face. Silence returned to the room, but the cold and lonely feeling that made him uneasy seemed to have largely dissipated.

Xu Qing’s frantic attempt to hang up to cover his own cute behavior was simply adorable.

He looked down at his phone. The screen still showed the screenshot of the video call interface. His fingers moved, and he subconsciously saved that screenshot.

Then, he picked up his pen again, feeling that the difficult problem didn’t seem so intimidating anymore.

The night over City A was deep, but the desk lamp cast a warm glow on his books.