Proactively Attracted chapter 18
Secretly in Love with the School Study god
The moments spent studying may feel long and grueling, but once they’ve passed, it all seems like a blur.
Before anyone realized it, three months of the school year had already flown by.
After the opening ceremony, the annual rush of freshmen grabbing lunch, and other beginning-of-year traditions, everything gradually settled into routine.
The sweltering summer quietly slipped away, leaving not even a trace of its tail. Golden autumn spread across the land, the days shortened and the nights grew longer. The school schedule switched from summer to winter mode.
The winter schedule cut half an hour off the lunch break. Classes now started at 2 p.m., but dismissal time in the evening remained unchanged. That extra 30 minutes became time for evening reading.
The weather was getting colder, and the number of layers under their school uniforms kept increasing. Lu Xingjia, born in summer and naturally sensitive to cold, didn’t even need his mom to remind him—he wore thermal pants, a sweater, and a padded coat. He looked chubbier than usual, like a fluffy little polar bear.
But he quickly realized this wouldn’t work—dressing too warmly made it way too easy to fall asleep.
Scientific studies show that some people need more sleep to restore brain function, and Lu Xingjia felt this deeply.
He considered himself diligent, but he always felt tired, and it only got worse as the weather got colder. Qiu Ruifeng had even joked once that he was like a hibernating animal—always sleepy in the winter, always bundled up like a puffball.
Back in his previous life, he studied without much purpose. If he got tired, he’d nap. If he couldn’t finish homework, he’d just not do it. If he didn’t understand a problem, he’d just give up. But now, it was different. Every second mattered—dozing off was a waste.
That morning, with cold winds howling outside, Lu Xingjia finally made up his mind.
He resolutely took off his thermal pants, wearing only a thin sweater and a hoodie.
When he walked out of his room, He Xi frowned as she noticed that her son looked visibly “thinner” and asked, “Why are you dressed so lightly? It’s cold outside.”
“I’m not cold!” Lu Xingjia’s eyes darted slightly as he gave the excuse he had prepared beforehand, “Besides, isn’t there a saying, ‘Keep warm in spring, endure the chill in autumn’?”
He Xi sized him up for a couple of seconds, then smiled helplessly. “Where did you learn that? That’s exactly what your grandfather used to say to me when I was your age.”
Lu Xingjia let out a sheepish “hehe” laugh and scratched his head.
But as the saying goes, “The arm can’t twist the thigh” (meaning: you can’t win against authority), and under He Xi’s insistence, Lu Xingjia reluctantly took a light jacket with him as he left the house.
Still, he was determined not to wear it. As soon as he stepped outside, he stuffed the jacket into his backpack.
The sky outside was still dark and misty. Just as he stepped out of the building, a gust of cold wind howled past, rustling the trees and sending yellow leaves fluttering down. Two of them landed squarely on his head.
He brushed the leaves off his hair and flicked at the remaining ones on his shoulders. For a moment, he started to regret his decision.
The wind left no trace but seeped silently into his sleeves. He couldn’t pinpoint where he was cold, but it was definitely uncomfortable.
But how could he just give up like this?
Lu Xingjia gave himself a silent pep talk, then hopped onto his bicycle in a “no turning back” kind of way.
As he pedaled, the wind only grew fiercer. His loose school uniform flapped in the wind, and the wide-necked dark green hoodie underneath let all the cold air in through his collar.
Lu Xingjia’s teeth clenched involuntarily from the cold.
Thankfully, the school wasn’t far—only a ten-minute ride. He hopped off his bike, pushed it into the parking shed, and hurried into the teaching building.
Inside was much more sheltered, blocking out the cold wind from all sides. Lu Xingjia finally breathed a small sigh of relief.
And the classroom was even warmer. With over fifty students packed into a small room and desks placed less than a meter apart, it was cozy enough that the cold was barely noticeable.
Lu Xingjia secretly praised himself for making the right call. He slung his backpack off and walked to his seat, taking the breakfast he’d brought for Qin Mudong out of his bag.
He’d done this so many times now that it was second nature. After discussing it with He Xi, he brought food for Qin Mudong every day.
At first, Qiu Ruifeng, who sat in front of them, used to grumble about it—asking why Lu Xingjia only brought food for Qin Mudong and not him, saying stuff like “Only new friends get your smile while old ones cry in the corner.”
Lu Xingjia replied confidently, “If you help me with questions, I’ll bring you food too.”
“Forget it,” Qiu Ruifeng backed off immediately, “Let the study god handle that.”
Since starting his second year of high school, Lu Xingjia seemed to have turned into a different person. He became far more curious and determined to understand everything thoroughly, refusing to give up on even the hardest problems.
Qiu Ruifeng was smart and relied a lot on his natural talent. He could solve problems with all kinds of clever tricks, but when it came to explaining them, it was honestly a struggle.
Lu Xingjia would glance at him and complain that he was “watching someone drown and doing nothing.”
Still, even though he joked around, Lu Xingjia never actually left him out.
He Xi loved making snacks at home, and Lu Xingjia would always bring some to school to share with his classmates. After a while, Qiu Ruifeng stopped complaining about favoritism.
That morning, He Xi had made pan-fried dumplings—plump little dumplings fried to golden crispness on both sides, their slightly oily skin glistening with a translucent sheen. They were fragrant and delicious, but not greasy.
“Thanks.”
Qin Mudong took the lunchbox from Lu Xingjia and immediately noticed his unusual outfit.
Lu Xingjia was very slim—his thin wrists could be circled by just two fingers. Even when he wore thick padded jackets, he never looked bulky. But now, in an oversized hoodie, he looked like a drenched kitten—slouchy and pitiful.
Qin Mudong frowned slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he said nothing.
………
The weather was nice that morning. After the morning study period, the sun came out completely.
Autumn in the north was always like this—it felt cold in the early morning and at night, but once the sun was out, it was like being thrown back into a steaming summer day.
They opened the windows, and a gentle breeze drifted in from outside. Lu Xingjia once again praised himself internally for making the right decision.
Without the bulky layers of clothing, he no longer felt restricted or stiff, and his study efficiency really did improve.
But his happiness didn’t last long. After lunch, the weather suddenly changed. Dark clouds swallowed the blazing sun, and by the fourth period of the afternoon—the self-study period—rain that had been building in the clouds finally began to fall.
If summer rain brought refreshing coolness, autumn rain brought a biting chill. Every time it rained in autumn, it was accompanied by a sudden drop in temperature.
Not wanting to catch a cold, Lu Xingjia quickly pulled the thin jacket from his backpack and threw it on. But it still wasn’t enough—the cold carried by the rain cut right through him. Raindrops slammed against the windows, and even with the windows and doors shut tight, the chill seeped through every crack.
Before long, someone in the class was complaining about the cold and wanted to go to the teacher’s office to get the air conditioner remote.
But the timing was awkward. The scorching summer had just passed, and it was still too early for the central heating. The school had already cut power to the entire teaching building’s air conditioning system. Even with the remote, it was completely useless.
The classroom was in a state of chaos and noise. A few boys took the lead, taking off their jackets and handing them to the girls beside them.
They were all at an age when first love started to stir. The boys and girls blushed, averted their eyes awkwardly, and pretended not to care as they continued working on their assignments, though their minds were already running wild.
However, the class had always had more boys than girls, and around Lu Xingjia were only boys. Such a warm and touching scene had nothing to do with them.
Boys seemed naturally more resistant to the cold than girls. Everyone continued writing as if nothing had happened. Lu Xingjia didn’t want to be the odd one out, so he tugged his zipper up a little more and forced himself to stay focused on his work.
Spring insulation, autumn chill. Spring insulation, autumn chill.
He kept telling himself that.
“Cold?”
Just as Lu Xingjia was busy fighting the cold air, a cool and calm voice rang out.
“Not cold,” Lu Xingjia quickly shook his head.
But the words clearly weren’t very convincing.
Qin Mudong stared at him quietly for a while. He watched Lu Xingjia rub his hands and face, the flush on his cheeks fading, and his lips—already pale—turning nearly transparent.
Qin Mudong stared at those jelly-like pink lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing involuntarily.
A strong gust of wind blew the classroom door open with a loud bang, startling everyone.
As the door blew open, the cold wind rushed in even more fiercely. Someone quickly closed the door and wedged a chair against it, but the remaining bit of warm air in the room had already been scattered, and the temperature dropped another couple of degrees.
Qin Mudong frowned, then swiftly took off his jacket and tossed it to Lu Xingjia. He looked away, avoiding eye contact with the shocked boy. “Put it on.”
A faint minty scent drifted into Lu Xingjia’s nose. Holding the school jacket in his hands, he froze, a little at a loss.
This wasn’t like last time when the jacket had been left in the drawer—this time, Qin Mudong had taken it off his own body to give to him.
Qin Mudong didn’t say anything else, just looked at him with that same calm gaze.
Lu Xingjia’s face flushed two shades deeper. Dizzy with emotion, he put on the school jacket.
“…Thanks.”
Underneath the jacket, Qin Mudong wore a navy-and-black sweater and a fleece-lined shirt underneath that.
This style—popular in later years as a cliché “college look”—looked perfectly suited on him, highlighting his great figure.
He rolled his sleeves up slightly, revealing a metal wristwatch and clear veins on his wrist, exuding both coolness and a subtle allure.
Lu Xingjia’s face was still warm. After a delay, he finally asked, “Aren’t you… cold?”
“No,” Qin Mudong replied.
Then he lowered his head and continued working on his assignments. Lu Xingjia didn’t want to disturb him further and obediently continued doing his own homework in the jacket.
With that thin jacket and Qin Mudong’s school jacket layered over his own, Lu Xingjia now had three jackets on.
His school jacket was large and puffy. On his slim frame, it made him look bulky—like he was wearing several sacks, which gave off a comical vibe.
Soon the bell rang—it was time for dinner.
Students headed out in twos and threes under umbrellas. Qiu Ruifeng turned around and called out to Lu Xingjia to go eat.
Seeing all the layers Lu Xingjia had on, Qiu Ruifeng couldn’t hold back a shout: “Holy crap, how many layers are you wearing?! Is this some fashion trend I don’t know about?”
“No,” Lu Xingjia quickly waved his hand, his fingers struggling to poke out from the thick sleeves. “I wore too little this morning and got cold, so I borrowed a jacket.”
“So you do know you dressed too thin,” Qiu Ruifeng added, clearly enjoying rubbing it in. “I saw you this morning wearing so little and thought I must’ve misread the weather forecast.”
“Did the forecast say it’d rain today?”
“Yeah,” Qiu Ruifeng nodded. “Said it would get a lot colder and reminded people to layer up.”
Lu Xingjia looked a little embarrassed. “…Really? I didn’t notice.”
Qiu Ruifeng gave the now-rolly-polly Lu Xingjia a once-over, then suddenly asked, “That’s the study god’s jacket, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Lu Xingjia nodded, not sure why Qiu Ruifeng was suddenly asking, though an uneasy feeling crept up in his heart.
Sure enough, Qiu Ruifeng grinned wickedly and raised an eyebrow. “You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”
“…?”
“You’ve worn his jacket more than once, right?” Qin Mudong hadn’t left yet, and Qiu Ruifeng deliberately dragged out his words. “Hey Jia Jia, that reminds me—my cousin likes this guy in her class and always looks for reasons to wear his jacket. She says it has this comforting smell or something. Kids these days, I swear—OW! Why’d you kick me?!”
Under the table, Lu Xingjia had kicked Qiu Ruifeng hard, then grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the classroom. “I don’t know about your cousin, but I do know that skipping dinner will make you stupid. Let’s go eat—now!”
His exaggerated reaction completely exposed his inner nervousness.
Of course he hadn’t done it on purpose. He wasn’t some love-struck fool. Finals were coming up—he wouldn’t mess around with his own health.
But once something passed through Qiu Ruifeng’s mouth, even black could become white. If he didn’t stop him now, the next thing out of his mouth would probably be—
“Do you have a crush on him?”
“Do you have a crush on the study god or something?!” Qiu Ruifeng teased with a goofy grin as Lu Xingjia dragged him out of the classroom.
Lu Xingjia: “.”
At times like this, he wished he didn’t have such a prophetic ability.
The two of them gradually walked away. Qin Mudong also stood up, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a black umbrella, and walked out of the classroom.
He wore a fitted sweater shirt on top and loose school uniform pants on the bottom, which somehow didn’t look odd at all. Instead, it gave him a unique, aloof aura.
The tall boy walked alone under the umbrella toward the cafeteria, the black umbrella quickly blending into the curtain of rain.
Thinking back to what happened in the classroom, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
High school students are always at a restless age, often joking around with those around them. Many playful boys like to corner their buddies against a wall, grab their butts, or bump them with their hips through their clothes, teasingly asking if they liked it.
Jokes like that were common. No one took them seriously, and of course, neither did he.
But strangely enough, he was in a really good mood.
Author’s Note:
Mudong: Honestly, if he wanted to rub against me, I wouldn’t exactly say no (foggy confusion).