Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The bell for the early reading class finally rang, temporarily dispersing the air of ambiguity and scrutiny surrounding the two of them. The English teacher walked into the classroom right on the bell and began the routine inspection.

Xu Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, trying to concentrate fully on the textbook.

However, Li Mo’s presence beside him hadn’t diminished in the slightest. Although the person also had his English book out, his posture was very relaxed. He spun a pen with his left hand, and his gaze would drift from the book to Xu Qing’s profile from time to time, filled with undisguised appreciation and amusement.

Xu Qing could feel the stare, like the focus point of a magnifying glass under the sun, making the spot where it landed burn. He forced himself not to look away, his back ramrod straight, as if enduring an extremely difficult test of self-control.

During the break, the classroom became noisy again. Many people were still secretly observing their corner, but deterred by Li Mo’s usual intimidating presence, which now carried an extra “this person is under my protection” aura, and Xu Qing’s inherent “do not approach” coldness, no one dared to come over to tease or ask questions directly.

Tang Dawei and Yang Di squeezed over, winking at them.

“Brother Mo, Brother Qing, how was breakfast?” Tang Dawei rubbed his hands together, his face ingratiating.

Li Mo leaned lazily against the back of his chair, crossing one leg over the other: “Of course it was good, our Qingqing graced me by eating it.”

Xu Qing shot him a cold look: “Whose ‘our’?”

“The one I bought breakfast for, the one who ate it, belongs to me,” Li Mo stated matter-of-factly, then winked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was choked by his shamelessness and simply turned his head away, ignoring him and taking out the textbook for the next class from his desk.

Yang Di leaned in closer to Li Mo, lowering his voice: “Brother Mo, I sent you the photos, absolutely high-definition! But… Brother Qing seemed to notice I took a picture; his glare nearly froze me solid.”

Li Mo contentedly took out his phone and opened the images. The photos were indeed well-captured. In the morning light, he was smiling as he handed the milk, and although Xu Qing’s profile prevented a full view of his face, the action of reaching out to take it and his slightly flushed earlobe were clearly documented.

An indescribable sense of satisfaction instantly filled Li Mo’s chest.

He quickly tapped his screen and set the photo as the chat background for his conversation with Xu Qing.

“Well done, drinks are on me tonight,” Li Mo generously promised.

“Aw! Thank you, Brother Mo!” Tang Dawei and Yang Di cheered.

Shen Shuyi, standing nearby, coolly scoffed: “Hush money and a bribe.”

Li Mo raised an eyebrow: “This is called sharing joy.”

Although Xu Qing didn’t turn around, their conversation drifted clearly into his ears, causing the veins in his temples to twitch repeatedly. He took a deep breath, telling himself to be patient.

The second class was Math. It was Xu Qing’s strongest subject and the field most capable of calming him down.

Yet today, even math formulas seemed to carry a certain person’s shadow.

The teacher was explaining a solid geometry problem, which required spatial imagination. Xu Qing was listening intently when suddenly, a hand reached over and lightly drew a line on the desk.

It was Li Mo’s left hand. His fingertip touched the edge of Xu Qing’s scratch paper spread on the desk, then lightly pointed to an auxiliary line in the geometric figure.

“How did you think of this line?” Li Mo’s voice was very low, posing a genuinely puzzled question, as if he was truly seeking help. However, his pinky finger, subtly and very lightly, brushed against the back of Xu Qing’s right hand, which was resting on the desk.

It was like a feather brushing past, or a faint current running through.

Xu Qing abruptly retracted his hand, the movement large enough to make Li Mo and the student in front turn their heads.

The math teacher also noticed the movement and pushed up his glasses: “Xu Qing, do you have a question?”

“…No, teacher,” Xu Qing felt his face flush, answering with forced composure, his gaze fixed on the blackboard, not daring to look at the culprit beside him again.

Li Mo lowered his head, his shoulders subtly shaking, clearly trying to stifle a laugh.

Under the desk, Xu Qing unreservedly stomped on Li Mo’s sneaker.

Li Mo winced, sucking in a sharp breath, but he laughed even harder. He even took it a step further, subtly using his agile left foot under the desk to lightly nudge Xu Qing’s shoe, as if responding or provoking him.

A silent, childish “war” that only the two of them were aware of unfolded beneath the desk. A stomp here, a nudge there, the actions hidden but filled with sticky, irritating ambiguity.

Xu Qing never thought he would one day engage in such childish behavior during a serious math class, something even elementary school students would disdain.

More terrifyingly, deep down, besides the shame and annoyance, there was a feeling of… inexpressible joy.

This emotion made him even more frustrated. For the rest of the half-class, he almost used sheer willpower to force himself to ignore the major distraction beside him, just barely keeping up with the teacher’s train of thought.

When the bell rang, Xu Qing almost instantly stood up, wanting to escape the source of his abnormal heart rate.

“Qingqing, where are you going?” Li Mo immediately asked.

“Restroom,” Xu Qing curtly threw out the two words and quickly walked out the back door.

Li Mo watched his retreating back, smiled, and didn’t follow, merely tidying his pencil case in a slow, deliberate manner.

He knew he couldn’t push too hard. Even a cornered rabbit would bite, and this one of his, while an iceberg on the surface, was probably a firecracker inside, ready to explode at any moment. He had to stroke the fur in the right direction.

Xu Qing stood by the window at the end of the hallway for a while, letting the cool breeze dissipate the heat from his face. He watched the students running on the field below, and his mood calmed down slightly.

When he returned to the classroom, he saw Li Mo sitting in his seat, holding his pen and writing something on his scratch paper.

“What are you doing?” Xu Qing walked over quickly.

Li Mo looked up, wearing an innocent expression: “I didn’t quite understand a problem, so I borrowed your scratch paper to see your thought process.” He said, pushing the scratch paper towards him.

Xu Qing looked down. Next to the math problem, Li Mo had written a big “LX” in his slightly unrestrained handwriting, and a crooked heart was drawn around it.

Xu Qing felt a “boom” as blood rushed to his head. He snatched the scratch paper, crumpled it into a ball in his hand, and angrily whispered: “Are you an idiot? What’s with the disgusting habit.”

“I do have one,” Li Mo stood up, leaning close, his voice amused, but his gaze was unusually earnest, “Lovesickness, and only you can cure it.”

Xu Qing was speechless, feeling his heart was about to explode from beating so fast.

He glared fiercely at Li Mo, pushed him away, and sat back in his seat, gripping the crumpled ball of paper tightly in his palm, as if holding a scorching heart.

He wanted to throw it away, but his fingers delayed releasing it.

The third period was P.E. Since Li Mo had a cast on his hand, the teacher assigned him to do simple activities or rest on the sidelines.

The boys were doing basketball drills. Xu Qing wasn’t usually fond of sports, but his basketball skills were decent, and he usually played with composure. Today, however, he was a little distracted, his eyes constantly drifting towards the leisurely figure on the sidelines.

Li Mo was sitting on the base of the basketball hoop, one leg bent, his right hand resting on his knee, his gaze consistently following Xu Qing as he ran on the court. The sunlight shone on him, making him look like a supervising young master, the kind whose sole job was to watch Xu Qing.

It was Xu Qing’s team’s turn to attack. Xu Qing made a beautiful crossover move, created space, jumped, and shot.

The ball arced through the air.

Almost simultaneously, a loud, unreserved cheer full of pride came from the sidelines: “Great shot!”

Xu Qing’s hand twitched. The ball hit the front of the rim and bounced out.

“Aww!” Tang Dawei, on the same team, yelled in regret.

Xu Qing landed, his lips tightly pursed in frustration, his earlobes red, this time purely out of anger. He spun his head and glared at Li Mo.

Li Mo seemed oblivious to his glare, instead smiling and giving him a thumbs-up, silently mouthing: “Beautiful.”

Xu Qing felt that if this continued, he would eventually suffer a nervous breakdown because of this guy.

During free activity time, Xu Qing went to the sidelines to get a drink, trying to stay as far away from Li Mo as possible. He unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back, and took several large gulps, his Adam’s apple bobbing rapidly.

Before he could catch his breath, Li Mo walked over, naturally holding out his water bottle—”My left hand is awkward, can you help me?”

Xu Qing looked at his self-entitled expression and his arm in the sling. A breath caught in his chest, neither moving up nor down. With a dark expression, he finally took Li Mo’s water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and rudely shoved it back into his hand.

“Thank you, Qingqing,” Li Mo’s eyes curved in a smile, and even the way he drank conveyed a sense of smugness.

Xu Qing looked away, refusing to watch anymore.

Just then, a few girls from their class walked by, chatting and laughing. Their eyes scanned the two of them, and they nudged each other, emitting small, ambiguous giggles.

“See, see, I told you it was real!” “Li Mo is so clingy…” “Xu Qing looks like he can’t do anything about it, so cute!”

The whispers faintly reached his ears.

Xu Qing’s body instantly tensed, even his fingers rigid.

This feeling of being the focus and subject of everyone’s gossip made him extremely uncomfortable, even a little panicked. He was used to being alone, used to hiding behind quietness and indifference. Li Mo, however, was forcefully dragging him into the spotlight.

He seemed… not ready yet.

Li Mo keenly sensed the sudden shift in his emotions. Beneath the shell of forced composure, a hint of helplessness and resistance leaked out.

The playful expression on his face subsided slightly. He put down his water bottle, subtly shielding Xu Qing from the incoming gazes with his body, and quietly asked, “Ignore them. Should we go sit under the trees over there?”

His tone was no longer teasing or mocking, but carried a rare thoughtfulness and inquiry.

Xu Qing was taken aback, lifting his eyes to look at Li Mo. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting alternating light and shadow on Li Mo’s face. In the eyes that were usually full of smiles, his own reflection was clearly visible, carrying a sense of understanding that reassured him.

The sudden panic in his heart was instantly soothed.

He was silent for a few seconds, then gave an almost imperceptible nod.

The corner of Li Mo’s mouth curved into a gentle arc. He didn’t say any unnecessary words, simply nudged him lightly with his shoulder to indicate the direction, then walked first towards the shade of the trees nearby.

Xu Qing looked at his back, then looked down at his right hand, which he had been tightly clutching. He slowly opened his palm. The paper ball with “LX” written on it was slightly damp with sweat.

He hesitated, but ultimately didn’t throw it away, instead silently and carefully putting it into his school uniform pocket.

Then, he took a step and followed the figure ahead, the one shielding him from the clamor.

Under the shade of the trees, the two figures sat side-by-side in silence. Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, scattering dappled light on the ground, and a gentle breeze brought a hint of coolness.

The restless youth and the surging feelings seemed to have found a temporary, gentle haven in this small patch of quiet shade.