Desk-mate, Do You Like Me? - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next day.

“Hey! Wake up now! How much longer are you going to sleep!”

“Go away… don’t bother my sleep…”

Ye Jinlun was lying on top of Li Mo, shaking him and shouting for him to wake up.

Li Mo had only gone to sleep past one in the morning and was now dead tired.

“Wake up quickly!”

Finally, being annoyed beyond tolerance, Li Mo got out of bed, radiating resentment.

Seeing the time on his phone, Li Mo couldn’t help but curse: “Shit! Are you sick?! It’s only a little past eight!”

“Get out of bed quickly and eat.” Ye Jinlun, dressed in a white shirt and suit shorts, looked like a miniature adult. “We’re going out soon.”

Li Mo scratched his messy hair: “What? Who’s going out with you?”

“Of course, it’s you.”

“Mo Mo, are you up yet—”

Ms. Yu Wenxiu’s voice floated up from downstairs.

Li Mo let out an annoyed yell, rolled over, and got out of bed.

In the dining room, the family of four sat neatly at the table. Except for Ye Jinlun, almost no one looked happy.

“We’re going to find Xi Xi later. Hehe, I’m definitely going to win against him!” Ye Jinlun gesticulated wildly while eating breakfast, talking excitedly about the upcoming schedule.

Li Mo, sitting next to him, got splashed with milk: “You kid, no dancing while eating.”

“Who’s dancing!”

“Put your hands down! You’re spraying milk on my face!”

To an outsider, the brothers’ relationship must have seemed really good.

Li Mo: Good my foot.

However, thanks to the two of them, the atmosphere at breakfast was somewhat eased.

After breakfast, Ye Jinlun told Li Mo to get dressed.

Li Mo sat on the sofa, looking at Ye Jinlun as if he were an idiot: “Why should I get dressed?”

Ye Jinlun put his hands on his hips: “To go out with me.”

“Go where? I’m not going.”

“Please come with me~” Ye Jinlun suddenly changed tactics, hugging Li Mo’s arm and acting spoiled. “Pwease~ Big brother~”

Li Mo got goosebumps from the disgust: “Fine, fine, I’ll go, I’ll go, okay. Where are we going?”

Ye Jinlun covered his mouth and giggled: “Hehe…”

As per Ye Jinlun’s request, Li Mo changed into an all-black outfit: a black tank top exposing his two white arms, black cargo pants, and a black hat.

Most crucially, the tank top was printed with a ridiculously silly, chuunibyou-esque large skull.

The whole outfit was as “non-mainstream” as it could be.

Li Mo stared at himself in the mirror, dumbfounded: “Seriously, where did you find this vest from the last century?!”

Ye Jinlun looked innocent: “In your closet. Mom said they were your junior high clothes.”

“…”

Li Mo looked in the mirror again: “It’s a wonder my mom could dig up such an antique.”

“Stop looking in the mirror. Let’s go!”

Li Mo was dragged by Ye Jinlun into the car.

Once in the car, Ye Jinlun told the driver: “Uncle Zhang, take us to the basketball court on the east side, the one I told you about before.”

Uncle Zhang adjusted his cap: “Yes, Young Master.”

…As expected, no matter how many years passed, Li Mo still felt that “Yes, Young Master” was a phrase that belonged only in novels. His embarrassment meter was spiking.

Uncle Zhang stepped on the gas, and an hour later, they arrived at the basketball court Ye Jinlun had mentioned.

This court was very remote, looking more like two hoops installed on some deserted open ground.

The vicinity was desolate, not even a single tree. It was a miracle that Ye Jinlun knew about such a remote place.

Li Mo sat on the base of the hoop, boiling hot: “Hey, you little brat, where did you find this dump? What are we doing here? Are we standing on the street like ‘spiritual youths’?”

“You’ll see in a bit!” Ye Jinlun nervously looked around. “And, you can’t call me little brat anymore! It makes me lose face.”

“Oh, so you care about face now.” Li Mo stroked his chin, looking at Ye Jinlun with amusement. “You’re not trying to compare brothers with your little friend, are you?”

Li Mo was half right.

“I made a bet with my classmate, Bai Xixi. He insists his brother is handsome, tall, and good at basketball. I can’t let him one-up me,” Ye Jinlun explained the reason. “So, we agreed to have our brothers meet this weekend to see whose is cooler.”

It was kind of hilarious.

Li Mo confidently touched his face: “Don’t worry, your brother definitely crushes everyone in the looks department. But why did I have to dress like this nightmare?”

Ye Jinlun explained: “Because it’s cool! Like a triad boss!”

Li Mo: “…”

After waiting for a while under the scorching sun, Bai Xixi and his brother finally arrived.

Li Mo’s mouth dropped open: “Xixi is a boy?”

Given the name and Ye Jinlun’s matter, he thought it was a little girl Ye Jinlun was trying to impress.

Ye Jinlun stood up and introduced Li Mo with immense pride: “This is my brother, Li Mo! Look! My brother is much handsomer than yours!”

Bai Xixi countered defiantly: “No way! This is my brother, Bai Sheng! He’s not only handsome but also great at studying!”

Bai Sheng? The name sounded familiar.

“My brother…” Ye Jinlun turned to Li Mo. “How are your grades?”

Li Mo was dumbfounded: “Huh?”

Bai Xixi scoffed: “You don’t even know your own brother, and your last names are different. Did you hire an internet celebrity?”

Is he complimenting me by saying I look like an internet celebrity? Excuse me, little brother, your brother is much handsomer than an internet celebrity.

“No way! My brother’s grades are great too! He’s always first in the class!”

Hearing this, Li Mo quickly covered Ye Jinlun’s mouth and whispered: “You little brat, it’s a miracle if I’m not last. How dare you exaggerate like that?”

Ye Jinlun complained: “But his brother is the second in the grade.”

Li Mo looked over.

Bai Xixi’s brother, Bai Sheng, was wearing a white tank top and a white baseball cap, making their outfits look like matching couple’s wear.

Bai Sheng was staring intently at Li Mo.

Bai Xixi yelled: “My brother is the coolest!”

Ye Jinlun also yelled: “My brother is the coolest!”

“My brother is the coolest!”

“My brother is the coolest!”

Two primary school students arguing was truly boring.

If it weren’t for the fact that this remote place didn’t have taxis, Li Mo would have hailed a cab and fled, leaving Ye Jinlun to embarrass himself alone.

Li Mo and Bai Sheng sat on the base of the hoop, boredly watching the two little boys argue.

“Hello, brother, nice to meet you.” Li Mo flashed a bright smile and extended his hand toward Bai Sheng.

Bai Sheng was wearing a mask. After a moment, he extended his hand.

Li Mo stretched: “Brother, you were also dragged here by your little brother to be a backdrop, weren’t you? Kids these days, first it’s comparing dads and moms, and now they’re comparing brothers.”

Bai Sheng nodded and spoke: “You… and that little boy aren’t real brothers, are you?”

“We’re brothers, but not by blood,” Li Mo paused. “He’s my mom’s son with my stepdad, and he took my stepdad’s surname, Ye.”

Bai Sheng gave an “Mhm.”

Li Mo continued: “Brother, your voice is really nice. Have you considered becoming a voice streamer? You’d be huge.”

“Mhm… I will consider it.”

Seeing Bai Sheng actually thinking seriously about it, Li Mo laughed: “Brother, you’re really interesting.”

“Brother!”

Ye Jinlun and Bai Xixi yelled simultaneously.

“Time to go home!” Ye Jinlun pulled Li Mo away.

Bai Xixi also pulled Bai Sheng and walked in the opposite direction: “Brother! We’re going home too!”

Li Mo was speechless: “Hey, hey, Uncle Zhang hasn’t arrived yet. Where are you going?”

“Doesn’t matter! Just go first!”

…Little brat.

On the other side, Bai Sheng was being pulled along, turning back to look at Li Mo several times.

Once in the car, Bai Sheng asked: “What happened?”

Bai Xixi said angrily: “Jinlun said his brother knows breakdancing!”

“…”

Bai Sheng leaned against the car window, interlocking his fingers: “That classmate’s brother of yours…”

“Hmph! His brother isn’t his real brother. They have no blood relation,” Bai Xixi said. “I heard he moved away and only came back yesterday.”

“Moved away?”

“Yeah, they say it was for school. He went to City A.”

Bai Sheng lowered his gaze. He had heard classmates mention that a very handsome transfer student had moved to the school. He was also said to have transferred from City C.

“Do you have your classmate’s contact information? I want to ask his brother out to meet tomorrow.”

Bai Xixi thought the two brothers were going to fight. As soon as he got home, he called Ye Jinlun.

To save face, Ye Jinlun immediately agreed.

Li Mo, who overheard the whole conversation nearby, was even more speechless: “Who’s going to fight with that Bai Sheng? If you want to fight, go yourself.”

“Aiya~ I already promised him! Please, big brother~”

Seeing Ye Jinlun hugging his leg and acting spoiled again, Li Mo had no choice but to agree.

…This kid really found my weakness.

Bai Sheng arranged the meeting place for Sunday afternoon at a certain plaza.

When Li Mo arrived, Bai Sheng was already waiting there.

Bai Sheng was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Li Mo, however, had changed into his usual casual wear.

“Good afternoon, brother~” Li Mo greeted him.

There weren’t many people in the plaza, mostly elderly people exercising.

The two sat on a bench in the shade.

Bai Sheng spoke first: “Are you attending Huaying No. 1 High School?”

Huaying No. 1 High School?

Li Mo finally remembered who he was: “Ah! You’re that famous, handsome, rich, second-in-the-grade student people talk about!”

Bai Sheng looked embarrassed: “Is that what they call me…”

“Then do you know Xu Qing?”

“Xu Qing?” Hearing the name, Bai Sheng clearly looked unhappy. “I really dislike that person.”

Li Mo immediately grew interested: “Why do you say that?”

Bai Sheng frowned: “Are you very interested in him?”

Li Mo: “Yes, yes. Well, maybe not that interested.”

Bai Sheng glanced at him: “Xu Qing is the top student in the grade. He was admitted to Huaying No. 1 High School with a full scholarship because of his excellent exam scores and gets a scholarship every year. Although his grades are excellent and he’s not bad looking, he has a terrible personality. He’s very aloof, extremely volatile, and likes to hit people. He has no friends.”

Li Mo noticed that everyone’s evaluation of Xu Qing included the traits of having a volatile temper and being prone to physical aggression.

“Is Xu Qing… really that kind of person?”

“I was in the same class and dorm as him in Grade 10, and yes, he is,” Bai Sheng said. “Once, I just accidentally touched his water cup, and he yelled at me very loudly.”

Li Mo gave a soft “Ah”: “I don’t believe it.”