Сhаpter 6: From Nоw Оn, I Will Alwaуs Be Fu Тinghаn’s Dеsk Маtе
Jiang Еr instаntlу loоked uр.
The bоу walkеd into thе сlаssroоm аgainst thе light. Реrhарs duе tо long-tеrm malnutritiоn, hе was painfully thin, thе lines оf his prоfilе shаrр and clеar as if саrvеd bу a knifе.
His аlreadу lооsе sсhoоl uniform hung even mоrе еmрtilу, the collаr rеvеaling hаlf of his dеeplу sunkеn соllarbonе.
Нe pаssed through thе mаnу strаnge gаzеs just like that, heading toward his own sеat.
Тhеrе lау a рushed-awaу desk аnd a kiсked-оver chair.
Jiang Er thought he would be angry, or show some other emotion.
But he didn’t.
He simply calmly righted his own chair, as if already accustomed to this.
“I’m warning you, your desk isn’t allowed to touch mine,” his desk mate, a girl, shouted.
Only after speaking did she remember he couldn’t hear, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly before turning to complain to her friend:
“So annoying. Why isn’t someone like him sent to a special school instead of coming to study at a normal school like ours? It just makes things inconvenient for everyone.”
Her friend mocked, “Weren’t you the one who thought he was handsome before? Why are you complaining now?”
At sixteen or seventeen, face matters most. The desk mate girl, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, as if this were some great humiliation, flushed bright red, her voice sharpening:
“I did not!”
What answered her was a string of jeering laughter.
The girl, both embarrassed and angry, cried, “I said I didn’t!”
As if to prove herself, she spitefully pushed Fu Tinghan’s desk even farther away, her voice already choked with tears:
“From now on, you sit alone. No one wants to be your desk mate—it’s so embarrassing!”
Fu Tinghan’s outstretched hand paused in mid-air, as if finally reacting, slowly lifting his head.
—From start to finish, he hadn’t heard a word they said.
But looking at their expressions, he could probably guess the reason, his lips pressing into a thin, straight line.
Even the usually cheerful He Tao wore a solemn expression. “Xue Ling, you’re going too far.”
But Xue Ling only cried harder, insisting on drawing lots again.
The anger Jiang Er had been holding in began to surge wildly.
She felt like she was about to explode.
Amid the crying and jeering, she looked at the boy who remained quiet all along, took a deep breath, and suddenly spoke:
“Who says no one wants to?”
“I do.”
The surroundings abruptly fell silent, everyone turning to look at her.
Fu Tinghan reacted a beat slower, also following their gazes. The moment he saw Jiang Er, he froze slightly.
“What did you say?” He Tao doubted his own hearing.
“I said, I’m willing to sit with Fu Tinghan,” Jiang Er repeated. “And we don’t need to draw lots anymore from now on.”
He Tao didn’t react immediately. “But won’t he be alone next month?”
“Next month, I’ll sit with him too.”
“And the month after that?”
“The month after that too.”
Jiang Er looked around at everyone, and finally, her gaze landed on the boy who was secretly watching her. Slowing her speech, she said word by word:
“From now on, I will always be Fu Tinghan’s desk mate.”
The boy was stunned.
Everyone exchanged glances.
“But what about the teacher…” He Tao was first happy for Fu Tinghan, then felt troubled.
“I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”
With those words, Jiang Er returned to her seat, quickly packed her things, picked up her backpack, walked to Xue Ling’s desk, and said bluntly:
“Move aside. This is my spot now.”Probably not expecting her to act so swiftly, Xue Ling was momentarily stunned before reacting. A look of delight washed over her tear-streaked face as she grabbed her backpack and made to run off:
“Don’t you dare regret this later—just so you know, even if you do, I won’t swap back with you!”
Jiang Er said, “Wait.”
Xue Ling looked wary. “Are you backing out?”
Jiang Er tilted her chin toward Fu Tinghan’s desk and said succinctly:
“Push it back.”
Xue Ling immediately shook her head. “You push it if you want. I don’t want to touch his desk again—it’s probably covered in germs.”
Jiang Er nodded without another word.
She turned and walked toward her original seat, delivering a swift, decisive kick.
“Bang—!”
Desk and chair toppled over.
A collective gasp swept through the room.
“Alright,” Jiang Er sauntered back leisurely, smiling. “We’re even.”
Xue Ling stamped her foot in anger. “Y-you—pick it back up!”
“But, but,” Jiang Er feigned reluctance, “there are so many germs on it. I really don’t want to touch it again.”
“You—!!” Xue Ling’s eyes reddened. “Stop copying me!”
Jiang Er drawled, “Oh, then call the police.”
Xue Ling: “…”
Just as she was about to say something, the warning bell rang—morning self-study was about to begin.
Dragged away by He Tao, Xue Ling wiped her tears while righting the desk and chair, not forgetting to shoot Jiang Er a fierce glare.
Jiang Er responded with a perfectly insincere smile.
Glancing over, she noticed Fu Tinghan still standing there dazed. She clicked her tongue, tossed her backpack down, placed both hands on his desk, and gave it a gentle inward push.
The two desks merged once more, leaving not a single gap.
“Done.”
She settled comfortably back into her chair, stuffed her backpack into the desk compartment, pulled out the English textbook for morning reading, and began memorizing vocabulary as if no one else were around.
Fu Tinghan’s fingertips brushed the edge of the desk, his lashes lowered, completely veiling the emotions in his eyes.
Suddenly, a tug came at the hem of his clothes.
He followed the pull and met the girl’s clear, dark eyes.
[Why aren’t you sitting? The teacher’s about to come.] She held up a draft notebook with the words written on it, signaling for him to sit.
So, Fu Tinghan slowly took his seat.
Just as Jiang Er was about to turn back to her vocabulary, he gently tugged at the hem of her clothes—
just as she had done moments before.
Jiang Er looked at him questioningly.
He gazed intently at her, turned his wrist, and made a sign in sign language.
Jiang Er: “…”
Help, she hadn’t learned that one.
She hurriedly wrote a line in the draft notebook and slid it over to him.
[Maybe you could write it down instead?]
Fu Tinghan didn’t move, only watched her quietly.
He had beautiful phoenix eyes, pupils dark like obsidian stones submerged in cold water. When he stared directly at someone like this, a subtle sense of pressure would gradually seep into the other person’s heart.
Most people would look away, feeling uneasy.
Jiang Er didn’t.
She stared back unblinkingly, waiting for his answer.
Sunlight streamed brightly into those clear eyes, as if holding two tiny, luminous moons.
Suddenly, it dawned on her. As she wrote, she said:
“You want to thank me, right? Ah, I’m just an ordinary good person—no need.”
As she spoke, she unconsciously curved her eyes, a hint of barely suppressed pride hanging at the corners of her brows.
The moons in her eyes turned into crescents.
“…”
The boy’s pen tip paused on the paper, leaving a small ink blot.
The world remained utterly silent.
Not even a whisper of wind.
He withdrew his gaze, expression unchanged, and lowered his head to write again.
[Thank you.]The force of the brushstroke penetrates the paper.