Chapter 43: Want to Come Cheer Me On, Deskmate?

Xu Yannuo shook his head. Chen Chengyi took two more burgers and had the cashier heat them up before heading back to the classroom with Xu Yannuo.

On the way back, Chen Chengyi handed the Nestlé Cornetto to Xu Yannuo, unwrapped the Bitter Coffee one himself, and held it in his mouth.

Xu Yannuo took the ice cream and asked Chen Ciyi, “How did you know who posted that and who left those nasty comments?” She was still completely baffled by his series of actions just now.

Chen Ciyi clicked his tongue. “Haven’t you noticed what your deskmate specializes in?”

Xu Yannuo thought seriously for a moment. What did he specialize in? All she knew was that when he first arrived, Sister Hua introduced him as someone representing the country in robotics competitions or something like that.

Chen Ciyi smirked, leaning closer to Xu Yannuo as he mysteriously explained, “I study computer programming and robotics. But my brain’s just too good, so I picked up a few other things along the way.”

The corners of his eyes lifted slightly, those already captivating eyes now seemingly brimming with stars. Because he was so close, the air around them was filled with the bitter-coffee ice cream scent from his breath. A summer night’s breeze brushed past, and somehow, faced with that impossibly handsome face, Xu Yannuo’s heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat, as if her gaze had been scorched. She immediately averted her eyes, no longer looking at him. Suddenly feeling her mind go blank, even though she still didn’t quite understand what he meant, she just uttered an “Oh” and didn’t ask further. She merely lowered her head to tear open the Nestlé Cornetto wrapper and took a bite. Instantly, a rich chocolate flavor spread in her mouth, so sweet it was almost cloying.

It dawned on her belatedly that the one he gave her was more expensive than his.

She turned her head to glance at Chen Ciyi. At that moment, he had just finished the last bite, holding the popsicle stick between his teeth. Noticing her glance, he made a questioning “Hmm?” sound and looked back at her.

Xu Yannuo quickly shook her head with a smile and lowered her head again to continue eating her Cornetto. Somehow, perhaps because the night was too ambiguous, the atmosphere suddenly became subtly charged. Xu Yannuo didn’t dare to look up anymore and silently ate her ice cream while stepping on her own shadow, walking back to the classroom with Chen Ciyi in silence.

Returning to the classroom, perhaps due to the overly bright lights or the disappearance of the bitter coffee and overly sweet Kakigōri flavors, Xu Yannuo’s earlier inexplicable mood dissipated, and the comfortable, familiar casual atmosphere between the two returned.

This inexplicably made Xu Yannuo feel at ease.

Back at their seats, Chen Chiyi handed one of the burgers to Xu Yannuo, who looked at the burger in his hand and then at him, “I thought both were yours.”

Chen Chiyi laughed, “Am I a pig? Our school-made burgers are so huge!”

Xu Yannuo took the hamburger, and the two of them opened the box. They glanced at each other, and an unexpected eye contact made them smile unconsciously. After that, they started eating together from the box. Halfway through the meal, Xu Yannuo suddenly let out a muffled “Mmm” with a complicated and uncomfortable expression. Shortly after, Chen Ciyi saw her holding half a piece of pickled cucumber in her mouth, hesitating to eat it.

Chen Ciyi immediately pulled a tissue from the Ultraman packet he had just bought and handed it to her.

Xu Yannuo took the note, spat out the pickled cucumber from her mouth, then grabbed a water glass and gulped down two large mouthfuls before finally feeling relieved. She let out a long sigh as if having narrowly escaped disaster, while Chen Ci beside her turned his head to look at her, asking, “Don’t like pickled cucumbers?”

Xu Yannuo nodded, “Mhm, can’t stand the taste.”

She lowered her head, opened the hamburger, picked out all the pickles inside, and carefully checked it again before continuing to eat the remaining half of the burger.

After the evening self-study session, this time Chen Ciyi didn’t immediately get up and leave. Instead, he looked at Xu Yannuo, hesitatingly asking her, “Do you need me to walk you home?” His gaze then shifted to the spot on Xu Yannuo’s back that had been stepped on earlier. “You…”

Xu Yannuo followed his gaze and glanced back, realizing he was worried about her being hurt after the beating she had just taken. She waved her hand with a smile, “No need, just a few girls—nothing serious.” Although the girls with the black eyeliner had really gone all out when they hit her, compared to the domestic violence she had endured growing up under Xu Cheng, this was truly nothing.

After saying that, she slung her backpack over her shoulder. “I’m off, see you tomorrow.”

The next morning, Xu Yannuo went to the balcony clothes rack to check. She had tossed both their school uniforms into the washing machine as soon as they got home last night. Unsure if they’d dried by now, she took down the uniforms and felt them—still good, dry. She put on her own, neatly folded Chen Yiyi’s, placed it in a clean bag, and headed off to school.

When she got to the classroom, Chen Ciyi hadn’t arrived yet. She placed the school uniform on his desk. After about another five minutes, Chen Ciyi finally sauntered in leisurely through the classroom door, looking as if he hadn’t fully woken up—though he always seemed half-asleep every morning, as if he spent his nights digging for gold instead of sleeping.

He wasn’t wearing a school uniform, just a black short-sleeved T-shirt that made his already fair skin appear even paler. As usual, he wasn’t carrying a backpack—no wonder teachers doubted the authenticity of his top-student status.

After sitting down, Xu Yannuo glanced at the teacher monitoring self-study at the front of the classroom, then lowered his voice and asked, “Why are you so late?”

Chen Ciyi sat there, his fair and clearly defined fingers opening and pressing against his temples. “I overslept,” he said. After a yawn, he sobered up slightly and saw the school uniform on the table. He took it out of the bag, and a fresh scent wafted out—Xu Yannuo had washed it for him. He had been about to say, “Just throw the clothes away,” because he was fastidious and never wore clothes others had worn before. But the words stopped at his lips.

He opened the school uniform, draped it over himself, and put it on. After that, he lay down on the desk and closed his eyes, sleeping quite soundly. The first period was chemistry again. After shooing away the girls watching him at the door, the chemistry teacher shouted several times at the top of her voice, but he still didn’t wake up. This time, however, the teacher didn’t ask Xu Yannuo to wake him, nor did she angrily yank him up to stand as punishment. Instead, she spent a good while sarcastically criticizing the class, particularly targeting Chen Ci, the top student who had transferred in later, before concluding with, “Midterms are coming up soon. Some people can keep showing off for now—I won’t bother with you now, but we’ll have a serious talk after the exams.” With that, she began the lesson.

Chen Ciyi slept all the way until the end of the second class before finally waking up—longer than usual. Xu Yannuo asked him with some concern, “Were you working as a gigolo last night?”

Chen Ciyi was a bit dazed just after waking up and didn’t quite catch it at first, asking, “What?” But he quickly realized Xu Yannuo’s teasing and let out a scoffing laugh. “Yeah, a thousand a night. Want to come support your deskmate’s business?”