Mo Yidong noticed that his deskmate had taken leave again.
From the first class until lunch break, Xia Yu was nowhere to be seen.
Mu Yiqiu didn’t know the reason why Xia Yu wasn’t coming to school this time either.
Taking advantage of the teacher’s inattention, Mo Yidong secretly took out his phone, staring at the chat history with Xia Yu that still stopped a few days ago.
Mo Yidong really wanted to improve the relationship between him and Xia Yu; this was the first time he felt troubled by interpersonal relationships.
During lunch break, Mo Yidong followed Zhang Wenshan to the cafeteria.
After getting their food, they casually found a place to sit.
Ever since Zhang Wenshan appeared, the surroundings had been lively all the time.
Zhang Wenshan was very good at making friends and could chat about anything.
Compared to him, Mo Yidong seemed rather dull.
Besides having good looks, he rarely spoke.
Just sitting there attracted quite a few girls from other classes.
On the way back to the classroom, Mo Yidong deliberately stopped Zhang Wenshan; he wanted to have a private chat.
“Was the cafeteria food bad today? You look distracted while eating.”
“No.”
Mo Yidong pursed his lips.
Beneath his sparse black hair, his wavering eyes flashed with a hint of determination.
He looked seriously at the relaxed Zhang Wenshan and took the initiative to ask something.
“If you want to go from strangers to friends with someone, how do you do it?”
“What do you mean ‘friends or not’? You mean the relationship?”
“Right.”
Zhang Wenshan was slightly taken aback.
This was the first time he’d heard Mo Yidong ask such a question.
His gossip instinct kicked in, and he squinted slightly, revealing a proud smile.
“Who do you want to get closer to? Could it be Qin Yixia, who went fishing for food in the river with you yesterday?”
“No, someone in class.”
“Someone in class?”
Once it wasn’t about Qin Yixia, Zhang Wenshan’s enthusiasm instantly dropped by half.
Since he joined the class, he’d rarely seen Mo Yidong talk to anyone.
He was either clutching a textbook, doing exercises, or girls in class would come to ask him questions.
But he’d never actively started a conversation with anyone.
Zhang Wenshan sized Mo Yidong up carefully: good looks, good status, and financial resources too.
If Mo Yidong just opened his mouth a bit more, Zhang Wenshan was sure there was nothing he couldn’t handle.
“Right, it’s very simple. I just want to be friends.”
Mo Yidong recalled the past few days with Xia Yu and explained his situation to Zhang Wenshan.
“But the other person doesn’t seem to want to be friends. It’s more like he’s deliberately avoiding me. He even said that if he wins the next two matches, I have to disappear from the class.”
“What matches?”
The matches had been arranged before Zhang Wenshan arrived.
Mo Yidong only briefly mentioned the last two matches, and Zhang Wenshan laughed after hearing it.
“The Comprehensive Test and the competition? Who can beat you in those?”
Zhang Wenshan smiled, looking at Mo Yidong’s calm expression, then shook his head helplessly.
“You’re not telling me you said that on purpose?”
“Winning or losing doesn’t matter anymore…”
Even if he won, Mo Yidong and Xia Yu still kept quiet in class.
Even when he asked about Xia Yu’s situation, the answers were evasive.
“Then just let him win.”
“No way. If he wins, I have to leave.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Zhang Wenshan could sense how much Mo Yidong valued this relationship, even taking the trouble to ask how to ease the awkward situation.
“I mean use your strengths to make up for his weaknesses. For example, if he’s bad at studying, you can tutor him.”
Mo Yidong thought for a moment.
Zhang Wenshan’s suggestion made sense, but the condition didn’t fit Xia Yu.
“But he doesn’t like studying.”
Since Mo Yidong became Xia Yu’s deskmate, he’d observed that Xia Yu disliked studying.
Though he slept less, he still didn’t pay attention in class.
“Then just talk about interests. Maybe play basketball together or something. Do you know what he likes?”
Mo Yidong had observed at Xia Yu’s home but couldn’t figure out his interests.
They rarely chatted, and it was almost impossible to tell what Xia Yu liked.
“No idea…”
After saying that, Mo Yidong suddenly remembered the thing most talked about regarding Xia Yu in class and described it to Zhang Wenshan:
“Maybe he likes fighting?”
Zhang Wenshan glanced coldly at Mo Yidong’s stunned expression and shook his head internally.
“Who likes to pick fights for no reason all day?”
“There is one.”
“That doesn’t count. PASS.”
Zhang Wenshan knew that since Mo Yidong’s mother passed away, his father remarried a woman who brought along a son, who even took the Mo surname.
Before, Mo Yidong still showed some smiles, but after that, he rarely showed care or affection for anything, as if he hid everything inside.
The close friends who got along well with Mo Yidong all knew his situation, so they never mentioned Mo Yaofei in front of him.
Zhang Wenshan hadn’t seen Mo Yidong care so much about someone for a long time.
From the description, he could roughly guess who Mo Yidong wanted to get close to.
Although he didn’t know the reason, as a good brother, he would help as much as he could.
“Why don’t you try asking around through his friends?”
Mentioning Xia Yu’s friends, Mo Yidong suddenly thought of someone.
Zhang Wenshan was right; only Mu Yiqiu was closest to Xia Yu in class.
“That might work.”
While Xia Yu hadn’t returned, Mo Yidong took the initiative to ask Mu Yiqiu about Xia Yu’s matters.
However, this scene was just witnessed by Xia Yu who had just returned.
After they finished talking, Xia Yu pulled Mu Yiqiu into the corridor for a casual chat:
“What did Mo Yidong want from you?”
“What?”
For the first time, Mu Yiqiu felt both innocent and helpless.
Though he didn’t know what grudge they had, at this moment he felt like a criminal, first interrogated by Mo Yidong and then questioned by Xia Yu.
He really felt wronged.
“He just asked what you usually like to do, what you like to watch, and what you like to eat.”
Xia Yu coldly stared at the obedient Mo Yidong sitting quietly at his desk, watching his every move as he asked.
“Why did he ask that?”
“I didn’t ask him, I don’t know either.”
Seeing Mu Yiqiu’s innocent expression, Xia Yu asked,
“Did you tell him?”
“Yes, I did. You like to sleep in class, eat unhealthy food, and daydream. I don’t think there’s much else.”
Hearing Mu Yiqiu’s description, Xia Yu didn’t know whether to be angry or speechless.
“Why do you tell him everything?”
“Because Mo Yidong said that if I tell him about you, he’d tutor me in my weaker subjects and help me pass.”
“So that’s it. You little rascal… secretly making deals behind my back, huh!?”
“Seeing how much Mo Yidong cares about you made me say it. He even asked me this morning where you went.”
Mu Yiqiu was timid to begin with.
Seeing Xia Yu’s anger only made him shrink back further, quickly explaining his reason for telling the truth.
“…Go back to class.”
But Mu Yiqiu’s words were essentially meaningless.
What puzzled Xia Yu even more was why Mo Yidong had to ask Mu Yiqiu about these things.
Why not just ask him directly?
Why go around in circles?
The bell rang for class to resume.
Xia Yu sat beside Mo Yidong.
They neither spoke nor greeted each other because Xia Yu’s expression clearly said, Whoever talks, I’ll snap back, making the surroundings unusually quiet.
If asked directly, Xia Yu’s answers were similar to Mu Yiqiu’s.
But unlike Mu Yiqiu, who traded information to improve grades, Xia Yu wouldn’t tell Mo Yidong anything.
Time quickly passed until school was dismissed.
Xia Yu didn’t have the habit of carrying his backpack home, but Mo Yidong packed his things and stayed seated, reluctant to leave.
There weren’t many students left in the classroom.
Even Zhang Wenshan, who often stuck with him, had left.
Mo Yidong still hadn’t gone.
Should he say something?
They hadn’t talked much since the afternoon.
They were classmates, and even if they were friends, they didn’t talk nonsense every day.
Xia Yu wasn’t the type to enthusiastically walk home with someone.
“Xia Yu.”
A calm and polite voice echoed through the quiet classroom.
The word “Xia Yu” sounded strange to him.
Xia Yu choked slightly, nervously, but tried to sound composed:
“Hmm?”
They looked at each other.
Seeing Mo Yidong’s sincere and earnest gaze, it was as if he had held back these words for a long time before finally saying them.
“Do you need a little brother?”
Mo Yidong’s words felt like a needle prick to Xia Yu’s heart, causing a small sting.
He might be missing a little brother, but in reality, he didn’t lack one, so he answered honestly:
“I don’t need a little brother.”
“You already took Mu Yiqiu as your little brother. I can get along just as well with him.”
“Mu Yiqiu isn’t my little brother.”
“He told me you’re his big brother.”
Xia Yu decided he had to have a good talk with Mu Yiqiu tomorrow.
Seeing Mo Yidong insist on wanting that little brother spot, Xia Yu refused immediately.
“That’s something he decided on his own. It has nothing to do with me.”
“Then if I call you big brother without asking, would you dare respond?”
Hearing that, Xia Yu’s fists clenched.
Seeing most of the class had left, Xia Yu exhaled and calmly said:
“Mo Yidong, to be honest, I’ve put up with you for a long time….”