Proactively Attracted chapter 24
Malicious Thoughts
Lu Xingjia’s expression was too obvious, with emotions clearly written on his face, and it was obvious he had just heard something.
Qin Mudong, with a cold face, wanted to say that this was his private matter, to say he didn’t want to talk about it with anyone, to say he no longer cared about the attitudes of those two people. But looking at the boy’s watery eyes, all the words piled up in his throat, yet he suddenly couldn’t say a thing.
After a moment, he whispered, “Okay.”
The sky outside had already darkened, and the bell for evening self-study rang. The two boys walked toward the school’s small garden in the dark, one of them, the taller one, carrying a plastic bag.
As the sky grew darker, there were no lights in the small woods, and the two of them walked one behind the other, their clothes rustling as they brushed against the occasional branches. The distant teaching building was brightly lit, and they walked along the path toward the deeper parts of the garden.
They crossed the forest, where leaves fluttered in the wind, passed the tranquil artificial lake, and finally reached the farthest corner of the small garden—the low back wall.
In the quiet of the night, this place became a world for the animals. As soon as the two boys got close to the low wall, they heard the trembling, faint meows of a cat.
Qin Mudong walked to the usual feeding spot and opened the bag in his hand.
The fried chicken leg was peeled of its skin, leaving only the original meat’s fragrance. The white steam rose from the opening of the plastic bag.
The limping little pear blossom cat emerged from the low bushes, leaving a grey streak in the night, and obediently squatted in front of Qin Mudong, meowing, its eyes particularly bright in the dark.
Qin Mudong skillfully tore the chicken leg into small strips, just like many times before.
During their time staying at school, the two of them often came together to feed the cats. Qin Mudong would feed, while Lu Xingjia would squat beside him, not speaking a word, but the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable.
But now, Lu Xingjia seemed a little nervous.
After feeding the cat, the two of them returned to the edge of the artificial lake and found a long bench to sit down.
The design of the bench was quite interesting, shaped like a carriage. The large, round wheels were half-embedded in the ground, and the seat part resembled a swing, secured by a small, delicate mechanism on top of the carriage.
The autumn evening breeze carried a slight chill, and the two sat side by side as the seat gently swayed.
Neither of them spoke first, and it felt like time had stopped.
“Meow~”
A soft meow broke the silence of the night. The little limping cat, not knowing when it had followed them, now came to the lakeside.
It circled their legs a few times, then scratched the edge of the bench, trying to jump up to them. But because it limped on its back legs, it failed several times, eventually tumbling onto the ground, spinning around in a half-circle.
The cat had grown rounder from being fed, and it looked especially cute.
Qin Mudong bent down, picked the cat up, and it obediently lay between them, purring and closing its eyes in contentment.
Lu Xingjia finally made up his mind. “Has your family… always been like that?”
Even when he was a child, Qin Mudong rarely talked about his family.
Qin Mudong scratched the little cat’s head, replying, “Mhm.”
“Do you live alone now?”
“They’ve both remarried. I live in the old house.”
“They never come to see you?”
“They don’t want to, and there’s no need.”
Lu Xingjia asked, and Qin Mudong answered.
Through their back-and-forth, Lu Xingjia finally understood the general situation of Qin Mudong’s family.
Qin Mudong was the result of a drunken mistake, and the two people, who had no emotional connection, were forced to marry and have a child due to family pressure.
The outcome was obvious: as soon as Qin Mudong was born, he was handed over to his grandfather. His parents never came back, and soon both had affairs.
When Qin Mudong was a child, he was often bullied and would secretly cry: Why did other people have both a father and a mother, while he only had his grandfather?
His grandfather told him that his parents were testing him, and if he was good enough, they would come back and see him.
At twelve, his grandfather passed away, and his parents quickly divorced and remarried. He was taken in by his by name only mother, only to be sent to a boarding school shortly thereafter.
Lu Xingjia’s eyes reddened, tears welling up, his voice hoarse, still carrying a strong nasal tone. “That was their fault, not yours.”
“Mhm, I know.”
Qin Mudong, in turn, comforted Lu Xingjia, his tone steady.
Since he was very young, he had understood that some people were just not meant to be loved.
He had never received it and therefore never expected it. He didn’t need that so-called love, as long as… he had his own world.…physics.
His long, slender hand still rested on the cat’s back, stroking its soft and warm fur.
The little cat let out a contented purr, its tail curling around Qin Mudong’s fingers.
Lu Xingjia looked down at the interaction between boy and cat, and sighed gloomily.
Although Qin Mudong now seemed distant and aloof, from his reactions, it was clear he had already accepted the world as it was. He was far from the severely depressed state he’d been in during his past life. Something else must have happened later on that completely broke him, leading him to shut himself off from the world.
Lu Xingjia had looked up information before. Depression could be triggered by major traumatic events, but more often it came from a buildup of many seemingly insignificant things — the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
And then there was that incident in middle school… Lu Xingjia didn’t believe Qin Mudong would hit his own friend for no reason.
Silence fell around them again. Only the faint sound of wind and the occasional contented hum from the cat could be heard. It was peaceful and beautiful.
Lu Xingjia made a silent vow to protect this hard-won tranquility. No matter what happened in the future, he would stay by Qin Mudong’s side and never let him carry everything alone again.
He wiped away his tears and tried to smile brightly. “It’s okay. You have me now. We’ll always be best friends!”
As warm and passionate as ever.
Qin Mudong’s hand, resting on the cat, paused for a second.
He lowered his eyes, avoiding Lu Xingjia’s burning gaze.
It wasn’t the first time Lu Xingjia had said something like that, but on this clear autumn night, under the dim starlight, looking at the boy’s eyes that shone like stars, Qin Mudong suddenly felt something a little crazy stirring inside him.
Possession.
He wanted to possess him.
He wanted those beautiful eyes to see only him.
Dark emotions surged in his gaze as the corners of his mouth curled into a self-deprecating smile.
For just a moment, the dark part of him whispered — he wanted to know how Lu Xingjia would react if he realized his true feelings.
Would he cry out of fear?
Would those pretty, bright eyes fill with tears because of him?
Would he regret ever getting involved with him?
….
The bell for the end of the first evening class rang soon after. The two returned to the teaching building, and as they reached the classroom door, they ran into Qiu Ruifeng, who was holding his cup and about to fetch water.
“Jia Jia?!” Qiu Ruifeng’s brows furrowed as he looked them over. “Where were you during the last class?”
“Well…” Lu Xingjia hadn’t really thought of a good excuse.
“You guys are bold, skipping evening self-study,” Qiu Ruifeng said. “Chu Ge came during class and noticed you two were missing.”
“No way? You’re kidding!” Lu Xingjia’s eyes widened in disbelief. Qin Mudong’s brows also furrowed.
“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, ask Ji Angran. You always believe what he says, right?” Qiu Ruifeng huffed in annoyance. “Chu Ge said you two need to go to his office after class. I was just wondering where to find you.”
“…”
Qiu Ruifeng looked serious — no sign of a prank. Lu Xingjia’s expression drooped bit by bit.
Normally, Zhang Chu rarely came to class on Sunday evenings, which was why he had dared to skip evening self-study. Who knew he’d get caught right then.
“Alright, alright,” he sighed, “I’ll go now.”
Qiu Ruifeng patted his shoulder. “Good luck, bro.”
The bell rang again. Everyone else headed back into the classroom, but the two of them walked against the flow, heading to the office in the far corner of the building.
“Excuse me, is Mr. Zhang here?”
Lu Xingjia peeked his head in after knocking.
Zhang Chuchu was sitting near the door. When He Xiard the voice, he looked up immediately. “Come in.”
Lu Xingjia took a deep breath and pushed open the office door. The two of them stood side-by-side next to Zhang Chuchu’s desk.
Zhang Chuchu swiveled his chair to face them. “Do you know why I called you here?”
Lu Xingjia lowered his head in shame. “Yes… because we missed evening self-study.”
“Why did you skip it?” Zhang asked.
Lu Xingjia bit his lip and began to explain, “I’m sorry, teacher, I…”
“I was in a bad mood and dragged him along with me.”
Before he could finish, Qin Mudong interrupted.
Lu Xingjia froze, then quickly waved his hand. “No, no, it was me—”
“Sorry, teacher,” Qin Mudong interrupted again, his voice flat. “It was my fault. It had nothing to do with Lu Xingjia.”
Zhang Chuchu looked the two of them over.
Lu Xingjia’s face was full of surprise. Qin Mudong, on the other hand, was expressionless, standing straight with his back rigid. He even stepped forward slightly, as if ready to shield Lu Xingjia to the very end.
Thinking back to what had happened earlier that day, Zhang Chuchu could more or less guess what was going on. It left him unable to scold them.
They were both good kids — one willing to skip class to comfort a friend, the other willing to take all the blame.
“…Since it’s your first offense, I’ll let it slide this time. But if you skip class again, you’ll have to write a reflection and call your parents,” Zhang Chuchu said, tone stern, though he quickly dropped the topic.
He pulled out a sheet of paper from his drawer and handed it to Qin Mudong. “There’s one more thing. I know about your family situation. I’ve also reported it to the school, and they understand. This is an informed consent form — just have someone sign it. Your parents don’t need to be present.”
Qin Mudong didn’t even look up as he casually replied, “Mm.”
Zhang Chuchu was already used to Qin Mudong’s indifferent attitude. He sighed lightly and said nothing more.
The evening self-study break was very short, and before they could say much, the bell rang for the next class.
The next period was Zhang Chuchu’s class session, so the three of them returned to the classroom together.
Back at his seat, before the class had quieted down, Qin Mudong casually signed a name in the parent signature column with a swift motion, then stuffed the form back into the drawer without another glance.
It was obvious this wasn’t the first time—his movements were smooth, practiced, and so familiar it was heartbreaking.
Almost everyone had forged a parent’s signature before—whether it was for a bad grade or something they didn’t want their parents to know about. It was always done with a hope to sneak past unnoticed.
They all complained about how their parents cared too much. But Qin Mudong didn’t even have someone willing to care.
Suddenly, a wild and bold idea sprang into Lu Xingjia’s mind—and he quickly decided to act on it.
“Sorry, teacher! I need to go to the bathroom!”
Lu Xingjia abruptly stood up and bolted out of the classroom. His muffled footsteps echoed clearly in the quiet corridor.
He ran straight to Zhang Chuchu’s office.
Most teachers were either in class or had already gone home, so the office was nearly empty.
Lu Xingjia rummaged through the file rack by the side and found a blank informed consent form. Like it was treasure, he carefully tucked it into his clothes.
Maybe it didn’t hold much real meaning—he just wanted to let Qin Mudong know that he wasn’t alone.
Author’s Note:
Clueless Jia Jia has no idea when Mudong started to catch feelings.