Chapter 5: Deskmate
From a professional standpoint, Yu Wanwan's singing and guitar performance and Gan Hengxu's folk song were the best. But in terms of personal preference, Pu Tong still preferred the Japanese girl's anime dance.
It couldn't be helped—such was the way of an anime fan.
This special music class would probably serve as one of the main attractions of the first episode of the show. Combined with the self-introductions on the first day of school and other elements, it already promised plenty of highlights.
But none of that had anything to do with Pu Tong. An episode only had so much screen time, and there was no way a regular student like him would get any significant footage.
After school—
"Pu Tong, you might have to stay behind and do the classroom cleaning by yourself today."
"Oh, sure." Pu Tong shrugged indifferently.
Classroom cleaning duties were assigned by groups, and today it was the celebrity students' group's turn. The problem was that after school, there were always large numbers of fans gathered outside the school gates. If the celebrity students stayed behind to clean and delayed their departure, it could easily cause chaos—something the production team definitely did not want to see.
And since Pu Tong was the only ordinary student in the group, the arduous task of doing the group's cleaning naturally fell entirely to him.
"Brother, sorry about this. I'll bring you something tasty next time!" Xie Mu patted Pu Tong on the shoulder, feeling a sharp pain in his eyes.
This ordinary student was actually more handsome than he was!
"No problem, no problem."
Watching everyone leave the classroom one by one, Pu Tong couldn't have been happier.
Being left all alone—this is amazing!
Perhaps because he'd grown accustomed to being ignored in his previous life, he actually enjoyed being alone. The feeling that both time and space belonged entirely to him was quite rare.
He wasn't in any hurry and leisurely finished cleaning the classroom.
"Finally!"
Pu Tong stretched and looked at the rays of the setting sun streaming through the windows.
The dark red glow filtered through the window panes and fell upon the young man.
"The sunset is especially gentle; the whole world is filled with romance..."
Looking around at the empty classroom, Pu Tong felt as though everything were dreamlike.
The very fact that he had transmigrated was far too surreal. Even now, he didn't understand what it all meant. But since he had already come here and been given a second chance at life, he should focus on the present.
Youth could never truly be revisited, but the twilight in the classroom would always remain there, waiting for every young person to look back.
"Huh? She forgot to take her guitar."
He suddenly noticed a guitar case beside the neighboring desk and felt a little tempted.
Maybe I should tune it for her? She probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway. Consider it doing a good deed anonymously.
After making sure there was no one around, he finally took the guitar out.
"The distance between the seventh fret and the string is a little off..."
Using his experience, Pu Tong made a few subtle adjustments and nodded in satisfaction.
He gently strummed the strings to test whether it was properly tuned now.
"Since it's my deskmate's guitar, I might as well play 'Deskmate of Yours.'"
Choosing that song was purely on a whim. After all, when people heard the word "deskmate," wasn't this song usually the first thing that came to mind?
Thinking back to his previous life, when music had been his only companion, Pu Tong decided to play the song seriously.
Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, in an empty classroom, the young man softly plucked the strings.
...
Pu Tong walked out of the school gates beneath the evening glow and happened to run into the show's director, Xu Lei, and a cameraman surnamed Yang.
"You locked the classroom, right?" Cameraman Old Yang recognized Pu Tong immediately. "There are still filming equipment inside. We don't want anything happening to it."
"It's locked. What are you doing here?"
"Adjusting some equipment."
Xu Lei sized up the handsome young man, silently plotting how to lure him into the entertainment industry.
"Well then, goodbye!"
Pu Tong hurried off. He didn't want to have too much interaction with people from the industry. He was just an ordinary high school student—studying hard was what truly mattered.
Xu Lei and Old Yang paid him no further attention and headed straight to the classroom.
"The camera wasn't turned off. Old Yang, you've been in this profession for years—how could you still make such a rookie mistake?" Xu Lei opened the classroom door with a key and glared at the cameraman.
"Things were too chaotic after school, so I forgot," Old Yang scratched his head sheepishly. "But why did you come with me, Director Xu? I could've handled this myself."
"I've got no inspiration!" Xu Lei took out a cigarette, then remembered they were in a classroom and quietly put it away again.
"The first episode is meant to lay the foundation, so it absolutely needs to be attractive. But right now, the content is too bland. There's no good theme. I thought I'd take a walk and think things through."
"Oh."
Old Yang was a simple man; he didn't understand such things.
"The camera's been recording for over an hour. Fortunately, none of it should be important footage. We can just delete it."
"True. All the celebrities had already left..."
Xu Lei sighed, then suddenly realized something.
"Wait, was that kid the only one in the classroom?"
"Yeah. He stayed behind to do cleaning for the celebrity students all by himself. Kind of pitiful, honestly. It's like we're abusing celebrity privilege."
"What was he doing by himself?" Xu Lei frowned.
"Cleaning, obviously!" Old Yang casually scrolled through the footage. "Wait, he was actually singing too..."
"What? He was singing?"
A smile appeared on Xu Lei's face.
Probably just some chuunibyou teenager yelling nonsense alone in the classroom. Ah, what a wonderful age.
"So should I delete it?"
"No, let's watch it. I think it sounds interesting."
Xu Lei found a seat and motioned for Old Yang to play it.
"Okay."
Old Yang rewound the footage to the point after Pu Tong had finished cleaning and sat down to watch alongside him.
Under a ray of sunset light, the young man took out his deskmate Yu Wanwan's guitar and adjusted it.
"Since it's my deskmate's guitar, I'll play 'Deskmate of Yours.'"
The boy said.
Xu Lei's eyes widened slightly. He felt as if he'd suddenly grasped something.
The sunset illuminated the young man's profile as he strummed the strings and softly began to sing.
"Will you remember tomorrow
The diary you wrote yesterday?
Will you still think of tomorrow
The girl who used to cry the most?"
The melodious singing echoed throughout the classroom, his gentle voice lingering long after.
"The teachers have long forgotten
The you who couldn't answer questions.
I only remembered you by chance
While flipping through old photographs.
Who married the sentimental you?
Who comforted the tearful you?
Who pinned up your long hair?
Who made your wedding dress?"
After a gentle instrumental interlude, he continued singing.
"You used to be so careful
When borrowing half an eraser from me.
You once casually mentioned
That you liked being with me.
Back then the sky was always so blue,
And the days always passed too slowly.
You always said graduation was far away,
Yet in the blink of an eye we all went our separate ways."
The beautiful melody and delicate lyrics left the two men in front of the screen dazed. For a moment, they both found themselves reminiscing about those youthful years.
"Who met the sentimental you?
Who comforted the tearful you?
Who read the letters I wrote to you?
Who threw them into the wind?"
The lyrics gradually became more sorrowful, and a touch of melancholy entered the young man's voice, as if lamenting how times had changed.
The song reached its final verses.
"The days of the past are gone,
And I too will one day have a wife.
I will show her these old photographs,
And tell her about my deskmate.
Who married the sentimental you?
Who comforted the tearful you?
Who pinned up your long hair?
Who made your wedding dress?
Who married the sentimental you?
Who comforted the tearful you?
Who pinned up your long hair?
Who made your wedding dress?"
After a simple repeated refrain, the song ended amidst soft humming.
The guitar suddenly fell silent amid a series of questions and lingering sadness.
What was this?
Old Yang and Xu Lei looked at each other, each recalling the person who had once been "their deskmate."
Time flies.
How was that former deskmate now?
Had they gotten married?
Did they still remember him?
"What do we do with this..." Old Yang's voice choked slightly. "Delete it or...?"
"Delete this? Are you crazy?"
Xu Lei's face was flushed, and he suddenly began coughing violently.
"This is treasure! Treasure, do you understand? We've discovered treasure!"
Old Yang nodded.
He considered himself someone who didn't particularly enjoy listening to music, yet after hearing this song, he had an overwhelming urge to tear up.
That alone proved the song's value.
"Old Yang..."
Xu Lei finally stopped coughing and patted Old Yang's shoulder seriously.
"Starting tomorrow, film more interactions between Pu Tong and Wanwan. Try not to let them notice. Make it look natural."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you hear it? The song he wrote for Wanwan, and what he said before singing?"
Xu Lei smiled knowingly.
"He's definitely secretly in love with her. Absolutely."
"You mean..."
Old Yang finally seemed to understand.
"A talented and handsome young man like this can't be buried under my watch!"
"I'm going to make him famous. Really famous!"
"Shouldn't we talk to him first? Broadcasting it directly doesn't seem appropriate."
Old Yang glanced at the camera, feeling somewhat concerned.
"Kids don't understand the value of a song like this. We'll talk to him after the show airs and he gets a taste of fame."
A smile spread across Xu Lei's face.
"I understand young people very well..."
"Sure you do."
Old Yang looked at him skeptically.
"Achoo!"
Walking home in the night, Pu Tong frowned.
I must've caught a cold. Getting sick would interfere with my studies. I'd better head home earlier from now on.
If Pu Tong had known everything that had happened in the classroom, he probably would have immediately destroyed all evidence.
I don't want to become famous!
Of course, for the time being, he had no idea that his spontaneous performance had been completely recorded.
"I've figured out the theme for the first episode!"
Watching the sun finally disappear below the horizon, Xu Lei let out a long breath.
"We'll call it—'Deskmate of Yours.'"
(End of Chapter)
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