Chapter 3

After hearing the full story, Song Wenzhou’s lips twitched twice as he summarized, “That’s really outrageous.”

“Right?” Qi Ling, sitting cross-legged on the floor, gnawed on a chicken foot and chuckled, “Brother Chi’s life is like a drama.”

Song Wenzhou asked, “A comedy?”

“A farce,” Qi Ling replied.

Song Wenzhou couldn’t help but laugh, thinking it was quite accurate.

It’s a lesson in not speaking ill of others behind their backs, as just as Song Wenzhou finished laughing, he received a message from Mu Chi.

【Mu Chi: Deskmate, have you returned to the dorm?】

It was Sunday afternoon, and after attending morning classes on Saturdays, students could go home, but had to return to school by Sunday evening for evening study sessions.

Over the past few weeks, Mu Chi had usually been the last one to return to their dorm, and Song Wenzhou had only just arrived at the dorm. Since then, he’d been listening to Qi Ling recount Mu Chi’s legendary experiences from childhood.

Song Wenzhou casually replied to Mu Chi’s message, asking if something was wrong, and continued chatting with Qi Ling. “How do you know so much about him?”

“Don’t mention it,” Qi Ling sighed, “Since kindergarten, I’ve always been at the same school as Brother Chi, and somehow, we’ve always ended up in the same class. It’s crazy.”

【Mu Chi: I think I left my key in the dorm. If you’re not here, I can’t get in.】

While typing, Song Wenzhou responded, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

【Song Wenzhou: We’re all in the dorm. But I remember you had the key when you left for home yesterday.】

“What’s good about it?” Qi Ling said, “Look at me.”

Song Wenzhou’s gaze shifted from his phone to Qi Ling’s face. “Hmm?”

“Who do you think is better-looking, me or Brother Chi?”

【Mu Chi: So I lost it.】

“Uh,” Song Wenzhou put down his phone, thinking for a moment before answering, “You’re both handsome, but in different ways, so it’s hard to compare.”

Mu Chi’s handsomeness was the kind that was bold and eye-catching. At first glance, you could tell he was a handsome guy. As for Qi Ling, next to Mu Chi, he wasn’t as noticeable, but when viewed on his own, or after appreciating Mu Chi’s beauty and then looking at the person next to him, you’d see that Qi Ling had attractive features too—he was more of a fresh-faced, cute type of handsome.

“Come on,” Qi Ling pursed his lips, “Brother Chi’s better-looking than me, and talks more than me. Since we were kids, my shine’s always been overshadowed by him.”

Song Wenzhou thought, leaving aside who was better-looking, it was hard to compare who talked more between Mu Chi and Qi Ling. Qi Ling just wasn’t as bold as Mu Chi during class, so he came across as quieter.

“I could’ve had the lead role in a drama too,” Qi Ling said, looking up and meeting Song Wenzhou’s clear eyes. He sighed, “But as soon as I appear with Brother Chi, I’m just the sidekick. Now with you in our dorm, it’s even worse.”

Song Wenzhou: “…Sorry about that.”

In reality, Song Wenzhou knew that although Qi Ling said this, he didn’t actually care much about it. On the contrary, he and Mu Chi had grown up together, and their bond over the years was something no one else could compare to.

Later, when Song Wenzhou started dating, Qi Ling also got a girlfriend. One day, Song Wenzhou remembered Qi Ling’s “sidekick theory” from years ago and joked about it to Mu Chi.

Mu Chi snorted after hearing it: “If it weren’t for Qi Ling’s dad pulling strings every time he advanced a grade, do you think he’d be lucky enough to always end up in the same class as me? And he says I overshadowed his shine. I never complained about how he lowered the average IQ of my friend group…”

Of course, Qi Ling didn’t know about the class assignments behind the scenes. One of his favorite things during his school years was sharing embarrassing stories about his good friend Mu Chi.

“You know why Brother Chi always bothers you?” Qi Ling finished a packet of chicken feet and pulled out a bag of dried fish, holding it up in front of Song Wenzhou and asking, “Want some?”

Song Wenzhou shook his head, thinking that Mu Chi didn’t exactly pester him, it was just that every day, he’d ask about his well-being, walk with him to and from school, want to stand together during physical education class, invite him home on weekends, always send him personal messages even when there was a dorm group chat, and often ask to borrow his key.

“……”

He hadn’t noticed before, but now that he summed it all up, it was indeed a bit intriguing.

If they weren’t both guys, there’d probably be gossip about them.

Qi Ling said, “Because for Brother Chi, having a deskmate is like having a goddess.”

Song Wenzhou said mildly, “Please don’t use ‘thing’ to describe it.”

“Ah, sorry, sorry,” Qi Ling gestured apologetically, “A goddess, you know? The kind that’s rare and hard to find.”

Song Wenzhou honestly said, “I don’t know.”

He had never had a goddess.

“Before you transferred here, Brother Chi had been alone at an empty desk for a long time,” Qi Ling said with a mischievous smile. “He was lonely, empty, restless, and…”

At that moment, Mu Chi pushed the door open and walked in, immediately joining the conversation. “Who? Who’s lonely and empty?”

Caught in the act of talking behind someone’s back, Qi Ling quickly swallowed the words in his mouth and lowered his head to gnaw on his dried fish.

Song Wenzhou casually picked up a book and flipped through it.

Mu Chi tossed his bag onto the upper bunk, then naturally sat down next to Song Wenzhou. Seeing that no one was answering, he asked again, “Who is it? Tell me, and I’ll help him get rid of his loneliness.”

Qi Ling offered the dried fish. “Want some, bro?”

Mu Chi took it without hesitation, speaking with certainty, “Little Qirin, you’re the one who’s lonely.”

Qi Ling shook his head vigorously.

“There’s only you two in this room, right?” Mu Chi’s eyes bounced between Song Wenzhou and Qi Ling. “If it’s not you, then is it… Deskmate, are you feeling empty?”

Song Wenzhou closed the book, intending to snap back with a “Aren’t you human?” but hesitated and instead looked up to ask, “What do you plan to do about it?”

However, Mu Chi didn’t respond immediately. He stared at the cover of the book Song Wenzhou was holding for a long while, then, with a slightly worried look, said, “Song Wenzhou, so it really is you.”

Mu Chi rarely called Song Wenzhou by his full name, and Song Wenzhou paused for a moment before glancing back at the book he had casually picked up.

The cover clearly read One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Song Wenzhou: “…”

“Why?” Mu Chi muttered to himself, “We go in and out together every day, eat together, sleep together, share a bed but not the same pillow, so why would you still feel lonely?”

Song Wenzhou opened his mouth and helplessly said, “Well, although the title of this book has ‘lonely’ in it, I don’t think it has much to do with ‘loneliness’… right?”

But Mu Chi didn’t care about Song Wenzhou’s explanation. It seemed like whatever he was thinking, he had convinced himself in the end.

“No wonder!” Mu Chi hit the bed, looking at Song Wenzhou with firm determination. “No wonder when I talk to you, you always ignore me.”

Song Wenzhou smiled. He simply felt that most of the things Mu Chi said to him didn’t really have much meaning.

Mu Chi continued, “No wonder when I text you, we chat for a while, then you disappear.”

Song Wenzhou kept smiling. He just thought that once the topic had been exhausted, there was no need to reply further.

“No wonder it’s so hard to get in touch with you after you go home on the weekends.”

He just spends the weekends accompanying his mom, whom he hasn’t seen all week, to go shopping, and doesn’t often check his phone.

Mu Chi couldn’t help but ask, “Are you…”

When I’m not around, are you alone, being consumed by loneliness, quietly hiding in a corner to wipe away your tears?

Song Wenzhou calmly replied, “No.”

Mu Chi gazed deeply at Song Wenzhou, wanting to say something but holding back, then eventually seemed to come to a decision and confidently said, “I get it.”

Under Mu Chi’s gaze, which seemed to be waiting for him to speak, Song Wenzhou finally lost his composure, “What is it that you think you understand? I’m telling you it’s not what you’re imagining, so stop thinking such nonsense.”

This was the first time Mu Chi had seen Song Wenzhou lose his temper. He thought to himself that he had probably hit a sore spot with Song Wenzhou, and his concern grew even more.

“Okay, okay,” Mu Chi quickly nodded, gently rubbing Song Wenzhou’s hair in a comforting way, “I’m not thinking anything. Be good, don’t be mad, it will all pass.”

Song Wenzhou took a deep breath, trying to suppress the curse words almost rising in his throat. “Don’t touch my head.”

What a weirdo.

Mu Chi reluctantly withdrew his hand from Song Wenzhou’s head, his hand lingering as if he could still feel the soft touch of his hair. Unable to resist, he rubbed his fingers together. When he turned his head, he saw Qi Ling looking at them with an expression that looked like he had a toothache.

“…What are you doing?” Mu Chi rarely felt guilty, but now there was a hint of it.

“Nothing,” Qi Ling shifted his gaze away. “A fishbone got stuck in my throat.”

Mu Chi didn’t hold back his laughter. “You can get a fishbone stuck even from dried fish? You really are something else.”

That evening, during the last period before the evening self-study session, Mu Chi sat at his desk, shifting around restlessly.

His presence was so strong that Song Wenzhou couldn’t ignore it. After a while, he couldn’t help but ask, “Did something grow on your butt?”

“Song Wenzhou, you…” Mu Chi gritted his teeth.

Song Wenzhou tilted his head slightly.

Mu Chi sighed quietly and said helplessly, “Good job, you’ve really gone bad.”

Song Wenzhou smiled slightly as a courtesy.

A little while later, Mu Chi stood up from his chair. Song Wenzhou had already swapped seats with him recently, so Mu Chi was now sitting on the aisle side. But as he stood up, he still explained his whereabouts to Song Wenzhou: “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Song Wenzhou gave him a confused glance. “Go ahead.”

What, does he need to find someone to accompany him like the girls in the class?

Just as Song Wenzhou had thought, Mu Chi did look for two companions. He kept looking back to see Song Wenzhou quickly lowering his head to read after he left, so Mu Chi changed his course, pulling Qi Ling and Zhang Feiyu along, and they all left the classroom. But they weren’t headed toward the bathroom.

“Are we going to an internet cafe, Brother Chi?” As they got closer to the school wall they usually used to sneak out, Qi Ling rubbed his hands in excitement. “We haven’t been in a while.”

Mu Chi kept walking forward, “No, I have something important to discuss with you guys.”

Hearing this, Qi Ling immediately deflated and muttered, “What’s so important that we need to come all the way here to talk about it?”

When they reached the corner of the wall, Mu Chi called for the other two to get closer and said, “Not only is it important, but the person involved is also quite… good-looking.”

Qi Ling and Zhang Feiyu’s interest piqued, and they asked in unison, “Who?”

“My deskmate,” Mu Chi said.

“…” Qi Ling immediately had an idea of what Mu Chi was about to say.

Earlier, Zhang Feiyu hadn’t been in the dormitory and was unaware of what had happened, so he asked, “What happened to him?”

Mu Chi briefly summarized the situation.

Zhang Feiyu: “Uh…”

“So I think as his roommates, we should spend more time with him,” Mu Chi said seriously. “Although we might not be able to completely cure the loneliness in his heart, at least we can let him feel the warmth from his roommates. This way, when he feels down, he can think of us and feel a bit happier.”

“Brother Chi,” Qi Ling raised his hand weakly, “I… I need to say something…”

“If you think it’s not worth saying, then don’t say it,” Mu Chi decisively cut him off.

Qi Ling remained unfazed: “Oh, I was just going to say I need to tell you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“I feel like you are the one who actually needs the warmth from your roommates,” Qi Ling said, suddenly coming up with an idea, “Are you trying to hint that we should spend more time with you?”

Mu Chi gave him a half-smile, with a look that said, figure it out yourself.

Qi Ling quickly waved his hands in surrender, but then, unwilling to give up, added, “No, Brother Chi, don’t you think you’re a bit… too clingy with Song Wenzhou?”

“Am I?” Mu Chi didn’t feel that way at all.

Zhang Feiyu silently nodded.

“Yeah,” Qi Ling continued, “You two are basically inseparable at school. Even when we asked you to play basketball, you kept making excuses. You weren’t like this before, it’s really not normal now.”

Zhang Feiyu gave an approving thumbs up.

Mu Chi crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.

“But I get it,” Qi Ling, for the first time, managed to outtalk Mu Chi, speaking with a confident tone, “After all, you’ve got a deskmate after a long time. It’s inevitable that you’d spoil him a little.”

“Shut up, what a ridiculous description,” Mu Chi laughed. “But, you’re not entirely wrong. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“Oh?” Qi Ling and Zhang Feiyu exchanged a glance, both surprised to see Mu Chi being so “obedient.” “What are you going to be careful about?”

“Be more diligent about playing basketball with you guys,” Mu Chi raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to keep things balanced, so you two won’t fight over who’s my deskmate.”

Qi Ling and Zhang Feiyu: “…”

Before leaving, Mu Chi solemnly added, “Seriously, you two should be nicer to my deskmate. I heard he just moved here from another province and doesn’t have many friends. It’s only natural for him to feel lonely.”

Qi Ling and Zhang Feiyu nodded in agreement. “We’ll do that, but it mainly depends on you, Brother Chi, to bring him warmth.”

Mu Chi wore a face that clearly said Of course, since his deskmate was his responsibility.

The bell rang for class a long time before Song Wenzhou saw Mu Chi strolling back into the classroom, moving leisurely.

After Mu Chi sat down, Song Wenzhou casually remarked, “You were gone for so long.”

“Don’t ask me what I went to do,” Mu Chi made a gesture he thought was cool, and, truthfully, it was cool, raising an eyebrow. “It’s a secret.”

Song Wenzhou blinked. “Constipated?”

“I f**king…!” Mu Chi instantly turned red, gritting his teeth, and said, “Only you, Song Wenzhou. If it were someone else, I’d make sure they couldn’t get away with it and force it down their throat.”

Song Wenzhou suppressed a laugh. “Sorry, I might have heard wrong.”

“It’s also possible that you did hear wrong,” Mu Chi thought to himself.

Mu Chi then remembered Song Wenzhou’s “condition,” and changed to a fake smile, saying thoughtfully, “It’s my Mandarin that’s not standard, not your fault.”