Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 50

Chapter 50

The steam from the hot pot diffused, driving away the harsh cold of winter, and temporarily dispersing the gloom in Xu Qing’s heart.

The dinner was exceptionally pleasant. The beef was tender, the soup base sweet and clear. Li Mo joked around, and although Yu Wencheng didn’t say much, his occasional words of concern were perfectly timed, allowing Xu Qing to feel a long-lost warmth and stability that belonged to “home.”

After dinner, Yu Wencheng drove the two back to the Golden Rose residential area.

The elevator ascended smoothly, eventually stopping on the floor where Yu Wencheng’s apartment was located.

Pushing the door open, a warm atmosphere mixed with a faint scent of sandalwood greeted them. The apartment was simply and warmly decorated. Warm-toned lighting filled the living room, which was clean and tidy, but clearly showed signs of long-term habitation.

Yu Wencheng changed his shoes while gesturing toward the two adjacent rooms further inside: “These are the two bedrooms. Xu Qing, you two have slept in the same room before, so this should be fine?”

Xu Qing quickly nodded: “That’s fine, thank you, Director Yu. Sorry to trouble you.”

Li Mo had already kicked off his shoes and familiar with the place. He took a new pair of fuzzy slippers from the shoe cabinet and tossed them to Xu Qing: “Wear these, they’re warm. Don’t be polite, my uncle’s place is like home… although he doesn’t come back often, he mostly stays in the school dorm.” He winked at Yu Wencheng.

Yu Wencheng glared at him crossly: “You talk too much. Hurry up and tidy up, you smell like hot pot. I’m going to the study to deal with something. Make yourselves at home.” With that, he turned and entered the study, closing the door.

Only Xu Qing and Li Mo were left in the living room.

Li Mo stretched, flexing his still somewhat clumsy hand: “Finally completely free! Come on, I’ll show you our ‘nest.’ I added some new stuff.”

With that, he pushed open the door to the bedroom near the balcony.

The room wasn’t large but was very neat. A slightly wider single bed was placed against the wall, covered with dark blue bedding. The desk was slightly messy, piled with a few books and game cartridges. A simple wardrobe stood by the wall, the door not fully closed, showing clothes packed tightly inside. There were two pots of lush green plants on the windowsill.

“Uh, it’s a bit messy. I stayed up late playing games last night,” Li Mo quickly swept the scattered items on the desk to one side, looking a little embarrassed, then pointed to the floor, “Look, I’m sleeping on the floor.”

Beside the bed, a thick sleeping mat had been laid out on the floor, with a pillow neatly placed on it and another blanket folded beside it.

Xu Qing was taken aback: “You’re sleeping on the floor?”

“Why not?” Li Mo said matter-of-factly, “You sleep in the bed. It’s been a while since my cast came off, I’m fine. Besides, I roll around when I sleep, and the floor is spacious.”

Afraid Xu Qing would object, he added, “When I used to stay here as a kid, I often slept on the floor. I’m used to it.”

Xu Qing looked at the area, which, despite the thick padding, was still the floor, and felt a wave of discomfort: “I should sleep on the floor. Your hand…”

“Tsk, I said I’m fine,” Li Mo interrupted him, his tone brooking no refusal, “You’re the guest. It wouldn’t be right for the guest to sleep on the floor. Besides, this is my last hurrah of ‘injured person’ privileges. When the recovery period is completely over, my uncle won’t even let me sleep on the floor.”

Xu Qing looked at Li Mo’s matter-of-fact expression, and the solidly padded but fundamentally still floor bedding, and the feeling of discomfort intensified.

He recalled the only other time he had stayed overnight. The situation was urgent and chaotic, and the two had indeed squeezed onto one bed.

Now…

“Your cast is off, but didn’t the doctor say you still need to rest it well, avoid cold and bumps?” Xu Qing tried to argue, his brows slightly furrowed, “No matter how thick the padding is, the floor isn’t as good as the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Li Mo clicked his tongue, as if finding him long-winded, and simply pushed Xu Qing by the shoulders, pressing him towards the bed: “Why are you more nagging than my uncle? I said I’m fine. If we keep arguing, the sun will come up!”

His force wasn’t great, but his attitude was firm, and his recovering hand carefully avoided applying too much pressure.

Xu Qing stumbled a step from the push and sat down on the edge of the bed. The mattress was indeed very soft.

Li Mo took the opportunity to pick up the pillow from the floor, feigning to toss it onto the bed, a mischievous grin on his face: “Either you sleep on the bed and I sleep on the floor. Or… we both sleep on the bed? It’s not the first time we’ve squeezed in. This bed isn’t huge, but it’s wider than those small guesthouse beds near the school.”

His words were clearly teasing, his eyes shining as he looked at Xu Qing, seemingly eager to see him flustered.

Xu Qing instantly pictured all sorts of strange scenarios. His cheeks felt hot, and he subconsciously retorted: “Are you sick? Talking like you’re an expert…”

He realized his tone was a bit harsh and softened his voice, “…I mean, you won’t sleep well that way.”

“Then it’s settled,” Li Mo immediately decided, putting the pillow back on the floor mat, and quickly flopping into the bedding on the floor, even wiggling comfortably, “See, how comfortable? Grounded, good for bone healing.” He spoke nonsense with a straight face.

Xu Qing looked at his childish behavior, knew it was useless to argue further, and sighed in his heart, though more so with an inexpressible warmth. He quietly placed his backpack on the chair by the bed.

“There’s a new toothbrush and towel in the bathroom cabinet. The blue set is for you,” Li Mo commanded from his spot on the floor, “Turn the water heater knob to the left for hot water. You have to let it run for a while.”

“Mhm,” Xu Qing responded softly, took out his toiletries, and headed to the bathroom.

Warm water washed over him, rinsing away the fatigue of the day and the smell of hot pot. Xu Qing looked at his still slightly red cheeks in the mirror, wondering if it was from the hot water or something else. He quickly finished washing up and changed into clean pajamas—provided by Yu Wencheng, soft cotton material with a fresh, soapy scent.

When he returned to the bedroom, Li Mo was still nestled in the floor bedding, looking at his phone, his fingers rapidly scrolling.

Hearing Xu Qing enter, he looked up and said casually: “All clean? Hurry up and get warm. Is the bed cold? Did I warm it up for you?” The latter part was teasing again.

Xu Qing ignored his comment, walked to the bed, lifted the blanket, and lay down. There was a faint coolness in the blanket, but it was quickly dissipated by his body heat. He turned onto his side, facing Li Mo’s direction.

Li Mo put down his phone and yawned: “Lights out?”

“Mhm,” Xu Qing agreed.

Click. Li Mo reached out and turned off the small bedside lamp. The room instantly plunged into darkness, with only the faint light reflected by the snow outside vaguely outlining the furniture’s silhouette.

Their breathing became clearly audible in the silence.

The floor mat was very close to the bed. Xu Qing could even feel the slight movement of the air when Li Mo turned over. The air was filled with the same scents of shower gel and laundry detergent from both of them, like some invisible bond.

“Li Mo,” Xu Qing spoke softly in the dark.

“Yeah?” A muffled reply came from the floor, heavy with sleep.

“Thank you,” Xu Qing’s voice was light, but extremely sincere.

There was a few seconds of silence from the floor, then a rustling sound as Li Mo turned over. His voice was sleepy but clearer than before: “Don’t be silly… Go to sleep.”

Xu Qing smiled faintly in the darkness, closed his eyes.

The bed below him was soft and comfortable, and the sound of another person’s steady breathing was nearby. The lingering fear and unease seemed to be isolated outside this warm bedroom.

He knew the floor was hard, ultimately less comfortable than the bed. He also knew Li Mo’s hand needed a better environment for rest.

With this thought, Xu Qing rolled over, stretched his foot out of the blanket, and gently nudged Li Mo on the floor with his toes.

“Hey… are you asleep?”

“Not yet…” Li Mo’s voice was a bit muffled, carrying a hint of laziness.

“…”

Xu Qing was silent for a moment before speaking: “Do you want to… come up?”

No sound came from the floor for a long time.

Just as Xu Qing was retracting into the blanket, embarrassed and shy, Li Mo’s voice came through, laced with a knowing laugh: “I told you not to worry. Besides, it was so cramped last time. You want to squeeze again?”

Xu Qing’s ear tips instantly burned. He could feel the heat even in the dark. He buried his face in the pillow in frustration: “Who wants to squeeze! I just… I’m just afraid you’ll wake up with a sore back and neck tomorrow, and then Director Yu will scold you.”

He offered a clumsy excuse, his voice getting softer and softer.

A low laugh came from the floor, with a hint of triumphant mischief: “Oh? So you’re afraid of me getting scolded?”

“…You can come up or not, I don’t care,” Xu Qing stubbornly replied, but his hand unconsciously clutched the edge of the blanket.

After another rustling sound, Li Mo’s voice was closer. He seemed to have propped himself up: “Fine, then I’ll ‘reluctantly’ listen to you. But just so you know, if I crowd you, don’t push me off.”

Before Xu Qing could reply, he felt the mattress slightly dip, and a cool figure slipped in. A small distance separated the two, but they could clearly feel each other’s body heat. The air seemed to thicken.

“Move over a bit,” Li Mo whispered, cautiously adjusting his posture, afraid of touching Xu Qing, “This bed really isn’t as wide as I thought.”

Xu Qing obediently moved closer to the edge of the bed, his back nearly touching the wall. He could smell the faint shower gel scent on Li Mo, identical to his own, and his heart inexplicably settled down.

“Does your hand still hurt?” Xu Qing asked, thinking of Li Mo’s recovering hand.

“It hasn’t hurt for ages,” Li Mo’s voice was sleepy, “Just occasionally a bit numb. The doctor said it’s normal.”

The two fell silent again, only their steady breathing intertwining in the darkness. Xu Qing closed his eyes but wasn’t sleepy. His mind flashed with the steam from the hot pot, Yu Wencheng’s gentle gaze, and Li Mo’s joking manner.

After a long time, just as Xu Qing was about to fall asleep, Li Mo gently nudged his arm, his voice as light as a feather: “Xu Qing, if you ever feel uncomfortable again, don’t handle it alone. You can come to me, or you can go to my uncle.”

Xu Qing’s heart suddenly clenched, and his eyes felt warm. He didn’t turn around, just lightly said, “Mhm,” his voice a bit nasal.

“Go to sleep,” Li Mo said again, his tone softening, “Tomorrow I’ll take you to the soy milk and fried dough sticks place by the community gate. It’s super delicious.”

“Okay,” Xu Qing replied, the corner of his mouth unconsciously curving up.

In the darkness, Li Mo’s breathing gradually deepened. Xu Qing lay on his side, feeling the presence of the person next to him. The lingering shadows in his heart seemed to be thoroughly dispelled by the warmth in this small bedroom.

He closed his eyes, and this time, he quickly drifted off into a peaceful sleep.