His Note
The apartment building had six floors in total. According to school arrangements, the students from No. 1 High were assigned to the top two floors.
Lu Xingjia dragged Qin Mudong up four flights of stairs in one go, only stopping at the stairwell landing.
“Don’t pay attention to him,” Lu Xingjia said angrily. “He’s the real nutjob!”
“Mm.” Qin Mudong nodded slightly, not bothered. “I know.”
There were students coming and going around them. Standing still at the stairwell like this made them very noticeable, and quite a few passing students cast curious glances their way.
Lu Xingjia self-consciously rubbed the tip of his nose. His burning anger finally began to subside.
Qin Mudong asked, “You heading back?”
They both stayed on the fifth floor, but one in the east wing, the other in the west—their rooms weren’t next to each other.
“…Wait!”
Now that he’d calmed down, Lu Xingjia remembered the important thing.
He pulled Qin Mudong aside into the hallway, away from the passing students. “Hey… what time do you usually go to bed at night?”
“Why are you asking?”
“I want to study with you some more at night.” As he spoke, Lu Xingjia clenched his fist in front of him and smiled. “Didn’t I say? I’m going to compete with that Xu Feilong guy!”
Although part of it was just part frustration and bickering, he truly had made up his mind. He wanted to defeat Xu Feilong.
What they did to Qin Mudong—lying, deceiving—was detestable. The harm they caused couldn’t be erased. But to outsiders, it was often dismissed as just kids being immature, with no real consequences. Even if you called them out, people might scold you in return for being petty or oversensitive.
Xu Feilong cared about face and his image as an outstanding student—popular, admired, well-liked. So beat him at his own game—right at the root.
Let him stomp and fuss all he wanted.
Lu Xingjia was going to prove with action that no matter how tight their clique was, no matter how good they looked on the surface, they were nothing but rats in the gutter, vultures feeding on rot. And the people they bullied, mocked, and looked down on would live a thousand times better, their lives shining with brilliance at every turn.
High school students have simple goals and the purest minds. In the context of the fiercely competitive physics olympiad, academic achievement becomes the most powerful weapon.
Lu Xingjia thought, I want to win first place in the province and crush those people under my feet!
At this moment, Lu Xingjia was completely fired up, like a little fireball that could spit flames, and the glow he gave off was brilliant and dazzling.
Qin Mudong was momentarily stunned.
“What?” Lu Xingjia pouted. Seeing that Qin Mudong hadn’t spoken for a while, he grew a little discouraged. “You don’t think I can do it?”
The truth was, one reason he was so fired up was because Qin Mudong had once told him that Xu Feilong had asked for his tutoring help more than once—and not only did he want it for free, he also treated him with a terrible attitude.
Lu Xingjia was angry and dissatisfied, and from that, he inferred that Xu Feilong’s grades weren’t actually all that great.
Now that Qin Mudong was silent, Lu Xingjia couldn’t help but feel anxious.
He puffed up and said a bit aggrievedly, “Is that guy Xu Feilong really that good at studying?”
“No,” Qin Mudong calmly withdrew his gaze. “He’s not as good as you.”
“Really?” Lu Xingjia lowered his eyes. He had barely scraped into the second round of the competition—his preliminary scores weren’t particularly good.
“It’s true,” Qin Mudong said seriously.
Compared to Lu Xingjia, Xu Feilong had been studying for physics competitions for longer. His parents had high expectations for him and started training him from middle school.
But correspondingly, he was very self-centered. He disdained listening to teachers, disliked discussing with classmates, and though his grades were only slightly better than Lu Xingjia’s, he always thought he knew everything and blamed any poor performance on bad luck.
If Lu Xingjia was willing, he completely had the potential to surpass him.
“Alright, I believe you!” Lu Xingjia gave himself a silent pep talk, then looked up at Qin Mudong and blinked. “So… would you be willing to study with me a bit more in the evenings?”
Qin Mudong paused, a barely noticeable smile flickering across his face.
How could he not be willing?
He wished he could stick to Lu Xingjia twenty-five hours a day.
Besides, he knew that Lu Xingjia only wanted to compete with Xu Feilong because of him.
“Mm.” Qin Mudong agreed.
….
When lights-out came, the entire dorm building fell quiet. Lu Xingjia crouched and snuck out of the room, workbook in hand, and slipped into the nearby washroom.
Under the dim lighting, Qin Mudong was already there waiting for him.
Lu Xingjia smiled and greeted him, then stood beside him and began working on problems.
The training camp didn’t cut electricity at night—students could turn on lights as needed for studying. But to ensure others could rest, talking was not allowed after lights-out.
Since their study involved discussing problems, they naturally couldn’t do it inside the dorm.
The washroom had a simple layout: two sections, with the outer area for washing up and the inner part being the toilet.
The dorm auntie was very diligent and cleaned several times a day. There was only a thin wooden door between the two areas, but it didn’t smell.
Lu Xingjia stood directly under the overhead light doing problems, while Qin Mudong picked up his past test papers and flipped through them one by one.
The second round of the competition had eight long-form questions—no multiple choice or fill-in-the-blanks. Students had to show their full process and reasoning, and Lu Xingjia’s steps were written clearly.
Solving physics problems was like breathing for Qin Mudong—it had become instinctual. After reviewing a few test papers, he quickly identified where Lu Xingjia’s problems lay.
Physics includes five branches: classical mechanics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, electromagnetism, relativity, and quantum mechanics.
The physics competition required using high school-level knowledge, and relativity was rarely involved. Lu Xingjia had a solid grasp of classical mechanics, but he got confused when it came to quantum topics.
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand them—he’d just spent so much time on classical mechanics that his brain struggled to shift gears.
In fact, high school physics textbooks often have unreasonable arrangements—some theories don’t show students the derivation process, yet expect them to master the conclusions. It’s like building a tower in the sky—maybe it won’t collapse, but every step forward feels shaky and hollow.
Qin Mudong thought for a moment and decided to help Lu Xingjia lay a solid foundation in those weak areas.
It might seem like a tedious and thankless job, but once the ground was firm, walking on it wouldn’t be so painful. It wouldn’t feel like drifting in the eye of a storm, with nothing solid to land on.
Lu Xingjia trusted Qin Mudong one hundred percent. He stood beside him, serious and attentive, listening to everything he said, occasionally raising questions and discussing them.
Physics was Qin Mudong’s forte, but their exchange wasn’t one-sided; it was collaborative.
Despite their grade gap, their thoughts somehow clicked in perfect harmony. As they discussed, both couldn’t help smiling—the joy that comes from minds being completely in sync.
When Lu Xingjia was deep in thought, Qin Mudong casually flipped through his textbook.
It was an interesting book—full of colorful notes, scribbles from moments of drowsiness, and strange, quirky questions.
Qin Mudong turned the pages one by one until he suddenly found a small slip of paper tucked between them.
He casually flipped it over, and the moment he saw what was written, his body stiffened slightly, and a deep shadow filled his eyes.
Lu Xingjia was still muttering to himself beside him when he suddenly smacked his forehead: “I got it! This question…”
Qin Mudong’s thin lips moved slightly. Holding that small piece of paper in his hand, he fixed his gaze on Lu Xingjia, wanting to call his name—but in the next second, the sound of hurried footsteps in slippers came closer and closer.
The two immediately fell silent, and the footsteps became louder and more distinct.
—The dormitory matron was coming!!!
Talking at night was strictly forbidden. If they got caught, a scolding and a written self-criticism were inevitable.
It was definitely too late to run now—the footsteps were already right outside. Lu Xingjia’s heart leapt into his throat. In the next moment, a cold hand grabbed his wrist.
Before he could react, he was pulled into a narrow gap.
The matron stormed in wearing slippers. “Who’s talking in here?!”
Behind the thin wooden door, the two boys were pressed tightly against each other.
In front of them was the wooden door, and behind Lu Xingjia was Qin Mudong’s burning-hot body. With the matron still outside, Lu Xingjia held his breath, his heart pounding wildly.
Qin Mudong held his wrist and gave him a look, signaling not to be afraid. But the sudden closeness of their bodies made Lu Xingjia’s heart beat even faster.
“Where are they? I clearly heard someone talking just now!”
Outside, the matron paced around, opening the cubicle doors one by one, trying to find signs of anyone hiding.
The sound of doors opening and closing echoed in the small washroom, along with the repeated footsteps.
After checking every cubicle, she happened to miss the one where the boys were hiding behind the thin wooden door.
“Ran off pretty fast,” she grumbled, hands on her hips. “Just wait till I catch you next time!”
The boys continued to hold their breath. In the small washroom, only the sound of dripping water could be heard.
After a while, when she still didn’t find anyone, the matron finally gave up and stomped off in her slippers.
Her footsteps gradually faded, and finally, the empty corridor returned to silence—so quiet, even the sound of the wind seemed loud.
As the tense atmosphere began to ease, Lu Xingjia let out a small breath of relief, only then realizing their current position—
In the cramped space, he was half-leaning on Qin Mudong, while Qin Mudong’s arm rested across his chest, as if holding him in an embrace.
Their hearts were both racing, and their breathing was erratic.
Hot breaths tickled the side of his neck, and a wave of heat surged in Lu Xingjia’s chest.
“Ahem—”
He had no idea where to put his hands and feet. He quickly jumped out of Qin Mudong’s arms, pinching his burning earlobe with one hand, eyes darting around. “N-no worries! The matron’s gone now!”
“Mm.”
With his arms suddenly empty, a trace of disappointment flashed quickly through Qin Mudong’s eyes before he calmly withdrew his hand.
Seeing Qin Mudong’s indifference, Lu Xingjia’s earlier heat faded, replaced by an odd sense of frustration.
He forced a grin and complimented, “You’re really smart.”
“Mm.”
Qin Mudong’s response remained indifferent.
Lu Xingjia finally calmed down completely.
He cursed himself inwardly—he wasn’t even a real high schooler anymore, so why was he more flustered than Qin Mudong, who actually was?
Taking two deep breaths, Lu Xingjia picked up the exam paper again and continued discussing the questions with Qin Mudong.
Since the matron had already come by, they didn’t dare mess around anymore. After another short round of discussion, it was getting late.
After finishing one last question, Lu Xingjia tentatively asked, “Maybe… we should call it a night?”
Qin Mudong nodded slightly, his gaze never leaving Lu Xingjia.
He watched those fair fingers gently grasp a pen and saw him gather the stack of exam papers into his arms.
Qin Mudong asked, “Continue tomorrow?”
“Mm-hmm!” Lu Xingjia nodded eagerly, still a bit nervous. “We’ve got to be more careful tomorrow—can’t let the matron catch us again!”
Qin Mudong said nothing, silently watching Lu Xingjia sneak back to his dorm before returning to his own.
“Hey, dude,” the boy sitting by the door tapped his arm and asked in a low voice, “Was the matron outside just now? Did she catch you talking to someone?”
“No.” Qin Mudong replied coolly, then went to wash up quickly and climbed into bed in a few steps.
“This guy’s kinda cold…” the boy muttered, retracting his curiosity and getting back to his own studying.
The other students in the dorm were still burning the midnight oil. Each desk had a small lamp, making the whole dorm room appear bright and lively.
Lying in bed, Qin Mudong slowly spread his fingers.
In his palm was a small note, folded and refolded, the corners soft and crumpled.
Carefully, he unfolded it. On the note was a doodle of a little cartoon figure—ugly, really ugly. The hair was drawn like a spiky explosion, the lines all crooked, and even the nose was off-center. Only the narrow eyes bore some resemblance to the real person’s features.
“So this is what I look like in your eyes?” Qin Mudong chuckled quietly.
But even so, the little crooked character had a mouth that had been thickened and curved up again and again, exaggerated into a checkmark-like smile. At the bottom of the drawing was a line of text, written with great force, every stroke deliberate.
[Hope you’re happy.]Qin Mudong looked at the note again and again, then carefully folded it and held it in his hand, slowly closing his eyes.
He recalled the boy’s chaotic breath, just inches away, eyes so bright and lips so close they almost touched his.
His heart pounded powerfully, surging like a tide, threatening to drown him.
A sudden thought rose from the depths of his heart, but it was one he didn’t dare dwell on.
Author’s Note:
Jia Jia: I think I drew it really well! Hehe!‖
Mudong: It’s really ugly. I almost didn’t recognize it was supposed to be me.