Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

The reason for Yu Wenxiu’s sudden arrival in A City dated back two days.

Zhang Yi, the maid at home, was cleaning the attic and cleared out several large boxes of Li Mo’s old belongings, mostly from elementary and lower middle school. She came down with several thick photo albums and a stack of awards, asking Yu Wenxiu what to do with them.

“Madam, these are the young master’s things from when he was little. Do you want to keep them?”

Hearing the address “young master,” Yu Wenxiu took a moment to realize she meant Li Mo. Her gaze fell on the open photo album in Zhang Yi’s hand. The photo showed Li Mo in the third grade of elementary school, wearing a yellow and green school uniform and a red scarf, standing on the school stage. He was holding up a “First Prize in Mathematics Competition” certificate, grinning widely at the camera, showing a missing front tooth, mischievous and proud.

Her heart stirred slightly, and she put down the magazine in her hand. “Bring them over. Let me see.”

Zhang Yi placed the items on the coffee table. Yu Wenxiu picked up the album, flipping through it page by page. Most of the photos were from Li Mo’s elementary school days: pictures of him covered in mud from a sports meet yet grinning broadly; pictures of him on stage reciting poetry, his small face serious and composed; and even more pictures of him on various award podiums—Olympiad Math, essay writing, English speaking competitions… The awards and certificates stacked up in a thick pile.

Back then, Li Mo, though naughty and a regular in the teachers’ office, was smart and quick-witted. He never caused her any worry regarding his studies. His report cards always showed top ranks, especially in science subjects. He understood things immediately and won one competition trophy after another. He was her pride and was often referred to by friends and family as “that child of someone else’s family.”

When did things start to change?

Yu Wenxiu’s finger rested on a photo from when Li Mo entered middle school. The boy had grown taller, the baby fat on his face was gone, and he had the outline of a young man. His smile was still bright, but his eyes seemed to hold something she hadn’t noticed at the time.

It started around the second semester of the second year of middle school. Li Mo’s grades began to be inconsistent, especially in science, as if he had suddenly lost interest. His grades plummeted.

He became slightly quieter, no longer sharing every little thing with her as he did when he was a child.

When asked, he only said the schoolwork was difficult and he couldn’t keep up. Both she and Ye Zhong were busy with work. At first, she just assumed it was the rebellious phase and heavy academic pressure. She hired him a tutor, gave a few instructions, and didn’t delve deeper.

Now, looking back, those changes seemed traceable. He spent more time in his room. She occasionally saw him staring at his phone, and when she asked which classmate he was close to, he was always vague.

Once, she thought she heard him talking on the phone in a low voice, hiding in his room. His tone was cheerful, even… a bit pleading? A tone she had never heard before? When she pushed the door open, Li Mo immediately hung up, looking flustered, saying he was discussing problems with a classmate.

An inexplicable unease quietly magnified in Yu Wenxiu’s heart that day when she saw the dusty awards and photo albums in the attic.

She recalled that before the cold war started, Li Mo occasionally mentioned that “desk-mate” named Xu Qing an excessively frequent number of times when he was home or during video calls.

“Xu Qing is really good at studying,” “Xu Qing helped me with a problem,” “Xu Qing, he…” The unconscious expression in his tone was completely different from when he mentioned others…

Yu Wenxiu had heard a lot from Ye Zhong and had also seen news reports. That young man named Xu Qing was indeed remarkably handsome, cool and aloof, but the way he looked at Li Mo… and Li Mo’s deliberate attempt to conceal his nervousness when introducing him, which was still evident…

All these clues, like scattered puzzle pieces, gradually fit together in her mind.

She suddenly couldn’t sit still.

I must go and see.

Once this thought arose, she couldn’t suppress it. She almost immediately canceled her less important schedule for the next two days and booked the soonest flight to An City. She didn’t tell Li Mo, thinking a surprise visit might reveal the true situation.

She initially only wanted to confirm, perhaps she was overthinking.

Maybe Li Mo had genuinely made a good friend. Maybe the decline in grades was temporary. Maybe he was still the son who made her proud. Maybe Li Mo was just trying to provoke her out of spite.

She had even considered that if everything was normal, she could quietly visit him, give him a surprise, and check his living and studying environment to resolve this cold war.

But she never expected that what she saw was that scene—under the dim streetlight, by the wall, her son was carefully kissing another boy’s cheek. Both of them wore matching jade bracelets on their wrists.

At that moment, all the speculation, all the unease, turned into cold reality, like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, chilling her to the bone, as if her blood had frozen.

…

Li Mo leaned against the car window, his forehead against the cold glass. The black jade bracelet on his wrist felt searingly hot. He looked at the rapidly retreating night view outside the window, the city’s neon lights blurring into a cold halo, mirroring his current mood.

The car drove into the villa garage. Yu Wenxiu quickly turned off the ignition and got out. The sound of her high heels hitting the ground was exceptionally jarring in the quiet garage.

“Get out.” She ordered without looking back.

Li Mo silently followed her into the house. The light in the foyer was blindingly bright, clearly illuminating the unshed tears and pallor on his face.

“To the study.” Yu Wenxiu’s voice was cold as ice.

In the study, several of Li Mo’s childhood photo albums and awards were spread out on the heavy mahogany desk.

Yu Wenxiu walked to the desk, picked up a photo of Li Mo holding a Math Competition trophy from elementary school, and then slammed it back down. The crash of the photo frame against the desk made Li Mo’s heart jump.

“Kneel down.” Yu Wenxiu turned around, her eyes fixed on him like a torch.

Li Mo pressed his lips together, stubbornly standing in place.

“I told you to kneel!” Yu Wenxiu’s voice suddenly rose, carrying an unquestionable authority.

Li Mo’s knees finally buckled, and he dropped heavily onto the cold floor, but his back remained ramrod straight.

“Tell me, when did you and him start?” Yu Wenxiu’s voice was trembling, with both anger and pain.

Li Mo lowered his head, answering with silence.

“Speak!” Yu Wenxiu grabbed a handful of the awards from the desk and threw them violently at him. “Look at these! Look at what you used to be like! And now? For a man, what have you become?”

The scattered awards, with the words “First Prize” and “Special Award,” were particularly glaring. Li Mo’s vision blurred. The golden letters swam before his eyes, as if mocking his present state.

“What’s wrong with me liking him?” Li Mo finally looked up, his voice hoarse. “I just fell in love with a person…”

“Like?” Yu Wenxiu interrupted him, her voice filled with sharp sarcasm. “Do you understand what liking means? Two men, this is abnormal! This is perverted!”

“Mom!” Li Mo looked up sharply, his eyes full of disbelief and hurt. “How can you say that?”

“How do I say it? How should I say it?” Yu Wenxiu walked up to him, looking down at him. “Should I applaud when I see my son heading down the wrong path? Li Mo, you have disappointed me so much!”

Her voice was choked with sobs: “I raised you alone with so much hardship, hoping to see you get married, establish a career, and live a normal life, not watching you… watching you…”

She couldn’t continue. Her chest heaved violently, and tears finally slipped uncontrollably from her eyes.

Li Mo looked at the tears on his mother’s face, his heart fiercely squeezed. He had never seen his mother so distraught. All the planned defenses and resistance were stuck in his throat at this moment.

“Cut off all contact with him.” Yu Wenxiu wiped her tears away, her tone becoming forceful again. “Immediately, right now.”

“Impossible.” Li Mo answered resolutely. “I won’t leave him.”

“You!” Yu Wenxiu was furious. She raised her hand to slap him again, but seeing the stubborn yet vulnerable look in her son’s eyes, her hand froze in mid-air.

Mother and son confronted each other like this, the air filled with silent tension.

After a long time, Yu Wenxiu lowered her hand and took a deep breath: “Fine, very well. Starting today, you are not allowed to leave the house. Your phone is confiscated, and I will handle the transfer paperwork. We will talk again when you have thought things through.”

She turned and walked toward the study door. Before closing it, she added: “Throw that bracelet away.”

The study door slammed shut, the sound of the lock clicking clearly audible. Li Mo knelt there, finally unable to hold himself up, slumping onto the floor. He raised his wrist, looking at the black jade bracelet that shone with a gentle luster under the light, lightly touching its cold surface.

“I’m sorry, Xu Qing…” he murmured softly, the tears finally breaking free.

Outside the window, the night was deep. This night was destined to be sleepless for them.

…

At three in the morning, soft footsteps were heard outside the study door.

Yu Wenxiu stood by the door with a cup of warm milk, her thumb repeatedly rubbing the cold doorknob—a moment ago, through the gap, she had seen Li Mo curled up under the desk, tightly hugging the bracelet she had demanded he throw away, his shoulders still silently trembling.

The sound of the key sliding into the lock was exceptionally clear in the silence.

Li Mo looked up sharply, his red eyes full of alertness, like a trapped young animal cornered by hunters. Yu Wenxiu placed the milk on the rug in front of him, her fingertip inadvertently brushing his knee, finding it ice cold.

“Drink this first.” Her voice was softer than before bed, yet still carried an undeniable distance. “I checked on that child named Xu Qing. His father and brother are lazy, shiftless, and unreliable. He’s a solitary person and doesn’t have many friends at school.”

Li Mo’s fingers gripping the milk cup suddenly tightened. The warmth from the cup made his fingertips tingle: “Why did you check on him? This has nothing to do with us!”

“How does it not?” Yu Wenxiu sat down on the sofa opposite him, her gaze falling on the open elementary school photo album, where Li Mo was smiling brightly, holding a trophy. “Growing up in that kind of environment, children like that are all trying to attach themselves to families like ours. You’ve been overly protected since childhood, you can’t even tell if others are sincere or fake with you.”

“You don’t understand at all!” Li Mo suddenly stood up, a few drops of milk splashing onto the rug. “Xu Qing never asked about my family. He doesn’t even know my dad is Ye Zhong! Besides…” His voice suddenly choked here, “Mom, you only see that we are two boys.”

Yu Wenxiu fell silent.

She remembered the scene she had witnessed by the school gate yesterday—Li Mo taking the initiative to kiss Xu Qing, and Xu Qing not avoiding it, the tenderness in his eyes seeming genuine. The details she had deliberately overlooked were now piercing her heart like needles.