Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

At noon, Li Mo originally planned to play with his phone in the classroom and then take a nap, too lazy to go eat.

However, Yu Wencheng kept passing by Class 4 more than ten times. Since Li Mo had already violated a school rule, getting caught by Yu Wencheng would definitely not end well.

Li Mo reluctantly put away his phone and slunk off to the cafeteria.

The moment he walked in, he saw an incredibly long line, instantly killing Li Mo’s appetite.

Remembering the small convenience store next to the athletic field, Li Mo headed there without hesitation.

Coincidentally, he ran into Xu Qing, who had also been deterred by the long queue.

“Yo, desk-mate, what a coincidence.” Li Mo bought a bottle of AD Calcium Milk and plopped down next to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was sitting on the curb, munching on a large loaf of bread, and gave a faint “Mhm.”

“So aloof even when eating.” Li Mo twisted off the cap, and the sweet-and-sour milk slid into his mouth. “You’re just eating a big loaf of bread? You must be choking.”

Saying that, Li Mo offered the AD Calcium Milk in his hand to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing glanced at it and refused: “No need. You’re only drinking milk for lunch; you should worry about yourself.”

Li Mo shrugged and pulled his hand back: “Brother here just doesn’t have an appetite today.”

Neither of them spoke again.

By the time Xu Qing finished his bread, Li Mo returned, holding his fourth bottle of AD Calcium Milk.

After being asked for the sixth time if he wanted a drink, Xu Qing finally lost his patience: “Li Mo, you don’t need to ask me every time you buy a bottle of AD Calcium Milk. I don’t like milk.”

“Oh—” Li Mo drew out the sound, it was unclear if he had actually registered the information. “That won’t do. It’s very easy to stay short if you do that.”

Xu Qing: “…”

“Hey, hey, wait for me to go back together!”

Li Mo tossed his empty bottle into the trash can and quickly caught up with Xu Qing, who was walking toward the dormitories.

Xu Qing glared at him: “I’m going back to the dorm for a midday rest. Why are you, a day student, following me to the dorm?”

Li Mo was dead serious: “To sleep together.”

Xu Qing: “Don’t make me smash that face of yours.”

Li Mo: “Would you really dare? Such a handsome face.”

Xu Qing only cursed: “Beat it.”

“Hey, hey, I’m serious, desk-mate.” Li Mo quickly grabbed Xu Qing, who was trying to walk away. “I can’t go home at noon… You’re alone in your dorm, right? I promise I won’t bother you.”

Xu Qing shook off his hand and simply gave a soft “Oh.”

…

Dorm 318.

All the other dorms were packed with four residents, but only 318 had a single occupant, Xu Qing, who slept on the lower bunk. The other three bunks were empty, just bare wooden boards.

Sitting down on a chair, Li Mo pulled out his phone and started a conversation: “Xu Qing, can you even choose to live alone in a dorm here?”

Huaying No. 1 High School was very progressive. After assigning the dorms to each class, the students in the same dorm could choose their own bunks, and students in the same class could swap dorms.

“You wish,” Xu Qing said, lying on his bed, one leg dangling and swinging. “No one wants to live with me, so I live alone.”

Li Mo was taken aback: “Huh?”

“Go ask Tang Dawei this afternoon, and you’ll find out.” Xu Qing yawned and rolled over, turning his back to Li Mo, clearly intending to sleep.

Li Mo pouted. He had just found Tang Dawei’s WeChat and sent a message, then realized Tang Dawei might not have his phone.

Unexpectedly, Tang Dawei replied instantly:

[Want to ask about your desk-mate?]

Li Mo couldn’t hold back: Seriously, you brought your phone too? Why is everyone stabbing me in the back! (Referring to Yu Wencheng’s strict rules.)

Tang Dawei chuckled on the other end: You never asked if I brought it.

[Li Mo The Great Handsome Guy: …]

[Tang Dawei: Your desk-mate is legendary. Typing can’t express how legendary he is. Is it okay to send a voice message?]

Li Mo looked up at Xu Qing, who seemed to be asleep, and quickly typed:

[My desk-mate is asleep. What’s your dorm number? I’ll come find you.]

[Tang Dawei: [Bow][Bow] Truly touching desk-mate affection! My dorm is 315, quite close to Brother Xu’s.]

Li Mo yawned as he left the dorm, thoughtfully pulling the curtains shut for Xu Qing before he went.

The four occupants of Dorm 315 were all people Li Mo was fairly familiar with: Tang Dawei, Lin Yi, Yang Di, and Shen Shuyi.

When the five of them got together, it was like a meeting of gossiping village aunties; the day would just fly by with their constant chatter.

“Xu Qing, I was in the same class as him in 10th grade,” Yang Di said.

His name had been joked about when they first met. Li Mo almost died laughing at the time: “Are you a TV host?” (The Chinese name, Yang Di, sounds like a famous TV personality’s name).

Yang Di: “No, I’m Di Renjie.” (A famous detective/official).

“…”

Since then, everyone called him Di Renjie.

Li Mo asked: “Di Renjie, what heroic deeds does Xu Qing have?”

“Oh, there are tons,” Yang Di said, gesturing with overly exaggerated movements. “First of all, Xu Qing was last year’s top scorer in the high school entrance exam. Can you believe he scored 624.5 out of 630? This year’s top scorer didn’t even get that high.”

Li Mo’s mouth dropped open. He knew Xu Qing was the top scorer but didn’t realize the score was so high. His own score in the exam was only around four hundred, which was average in City C. Compared to Xu Qing, he was mere bread crumbs.

“I still have his placement test score sheet from when he entered high school!” Lin Yi rummaged through his book holder until he found a wrinkled score sheet.

Li Mo took it and nearly fainted: Xu Qing—Math: perfect score, Chinese: 145, English: 147. He was practically a perfect score existence.

“After that, Xu Qing monopolized first place,” Tang Dawei sighed. “The second-place student was always dozens of points behind him. All the various competitions and scholarships? Xu Qing got them all. I really wish I had a brain like Almighty Xu’s.”

Lin Yi rolled his eyes at him: “Stop dreaming. Who doesn’t want a brain like Almighty Xu’s? If I were even half as smart as Almighty Xu, I’d wake up laughing from my dreams.”

Li Mo closed his mouth, which was wide open in surprise, and asked again: “Then why doesn’t anyone live with Almighty Xu? It’s a great opportunity to get close to the top student. Doesn’t anyone want to seize it?”

Everyone fell silent.

“I know why people don’t want to live with him,” Shen Shuyi said. He seemed somewhat socially awkward even among them.

He had a nickname, “Roasted Grass Jelly,” because of a famous dessert shop (Shuyi Shaoxiancao). Haha, what a cold joke.

“In 10th grade, I had a friend who was in the same dorm as him. They thought the top student would be easy to get along with, or at worst, a bookworm. But it turned out Xu Qing had a huge temper,” Shen Shuyi recounted slowly. “After lights out, if anyone made a slightly loud noise, Xu Qing would go over and beat them up. He also wouldn’t allow anyone to touch his things. If you accidentally touched them, he’d scold you. Sometimes, when Xu Qing was in a bad mood, he’d just curse anyone he didn’t like.”

Li Mo was skeptical: “Is his temper really that volatile? He’s never done that to me.”

Shen Shuyi shook his head: “Maybe because you don’t live in the same dorm as him.”

That made sense. Although he constantly ran to Xu Qing’s dorm, he had never touched any of Xu Qing’s belongings.

“But I feel like Almighty Xu is pretty easy to talk to,” Tang Dawei scratched his head. Thanks to Li Mo being the intermediary, he had spoken to Xu Qing a few times, and he didn’t seem as scary as the rumors suggested.

Lin Yi made a sound of disgust: “Every time I see him, he looks like someone owes him eight million yuan. It’s so scary. I don’t dare talk to him.”

“Wait, you all say Xu Qing is scary and you don’t dare talk to him. Does that mean I’m just too familiar?” Li Mo pointed to himself, resembling a certain popular emoji.

Yang Di chuckled: “You are indeed extraordinarily familiar.”

Li Mo leaned back in his chair, putting his legs up on the desk: “So, Xu Qing has no one willing to live with him because he has a volatile temper and likes to hit people.”

“That’s definitely it. School is annoying enough, and then you have to watch the top student’s mood in the dorm, like a servant,” Lin Yi couldn’t help but complain.

Noticing the slightly wistful look on Li Mo’s face, Tang Dawei narrowed his eyes: “Brother Mo, I know you’re righteous and outgoing, but you’re not… feeling sorry for Almighty Xu, are you?”

Yang Di gave a look of disdain: “I didn’t realize Brother Mo was into that kind of guy.”

Li Mo rolled his eyes dramatically: “Get out of here, both of you! He’s my desk-mate, after all. There’s bound to be some class affection involved.”

Tang Dawei laughed: “Then why don’t you board too, and share a room with Xu Qing?”

Li Mo shook his head: “I won’t board. Dorm life is a hassle. Being at home is much more comfortable.”

“That’s true,” Shen Shuyi sighed. “Right now, I have to crawl under the bed to charge my phone. It’s so damn sneaky.”

Li Mo laughed: “Buddy, your sneakiness has nothing to do with crawling under the bed.”

“Get lost.”

Li Mo and the others chatted endlessly until the end of the midday break. The first class in the afternoon was the rare Music class, which predictably turned into a self-study session.

The class monitor, who was also the English representative, Ji Lin, sat at the podium. One moment she was promising the teacher she’d maintain discipline, and the next, as soon as the teacher left, she was chatting with her best friend, not forgetting to cover for the other students.

A truly great class monitor for China!

Li Mo yawned. Having pulled an all-nighter and skipped his nap, he was now dead tired. He turned his head and looked at Xu Qing: “Xu Qing, aren’t you lonely being alone in the dorm?”

Xu Qing was doodling on a scrap piece of paper and didn’t look up: “No, I’m not lonely. When I get bored, I play ghost stories for myself.”

“…”

Li Mo was so tired he couldn’t keep his eyes open. He yawned loudly, put his head down on the desk, and fell asleep instantly.

Xu Qing propped his head up with one hand and drew a few small comics on the scrap paper with the other. Soon, he also grew bored. He pulled out a study guide and worked on some problems for a while, then his gaze settled on Li Mo’s face.

Li Mo was usually very narcissistic, but it had to be said that he was indeed very handsome. His features were defined, his eyebrows sharp, and his eyes bright—a face that was immediately pleasing to look at.

Li Mo was only a few dreams into his nap when he was woken up by Xu Qing.

Still drowsy, Li Mo thought he saw Yu Wencheng’s face appear at the classroom door.

He immediately sat up straight.

The classroom was deadly silent.

Yu Wencheng stood at the doorway for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction and left.

Li Mo sighed in relief: “You scared me to death… Thank you for that, my dear desk-mate.”

“What is your relationship with Director Yu?” Xu Qing asked.

“Director?”

Li Mo was stunned: He knew Yu Wencheng was a teacher, but he didn’t realize he was a director! Holy crap!

Remembering Yu Wencheng’s instruction not to reveal their relationship, as it could easily lead to unnecessary trouble, Li Mo scratched his head: “I don’t know him.”

Xu Qing didn’t believe it: “He looked very concerned about you.”

Li Mo shrugged: “Maybe it’s because I’m handsome and I’m the new transfer student.”