Proactively Attracted chapter 10
Good Brothers?
As the homeroom teacher, Zhang Chuchu had a good impression of Lu Xingjia.
He liked making eye contact with his students during lessons and often locked eyes with Lu Xingjia, who always paid close attention in class.
Lu Xingjia had a great attitude toward learning — calm and not easily flustered. He took detailed notes and often stayed after class to ask questions. His round, amber-colored eyes were always sparkling, and he’d even joke around with Zhang Chuchu now and then.
Such bright, lively eyes — Zhang Chuchu had never once doubted his seriousness toward learning. Missing one homework assignment wasn’t a big deal. Lu Xingjia had consistently completed all his work before.
But in the competition class, grades were everything.
After the test, Zhang Chuchu went to check Lu Xingjia’s physics grades from the past year and found they hadn’t been great.
The world is cold and harsh — you can’t always get what you want. Even if you struggle and give it your all, it doesn’t guarantee success.
That’s why the phrase “cut your losses in time” exists.
Zhang Chuchu let out a soft sigh. “You have to understand, life doesn’t give you chances to make mistakes and try again. One wrong step can lead to many more. If you let competition prep affect your performance in other subjects, it’s just not worth it.”
“I want to, Chu Ge. I do want to study,” Lu Xingjia interrupted before Zhang Chuchu could say anything more to dissuade him.
“I know my past grades weren’t good. I’ve fallen behind a lot compared to others. But I genuinely want to stay here. No matter how far I get, I won’t regret it.”
His pale lips pressed into a thin line, and his tone was serious to the point of being intense: “Teacher, I know you don’t trust me yet, but give me some time. By the final exams—no, the midterms—I will get a good score.”
His soft, youthful voice landed with confidence, even carrying a bit of that classic, fearless rookie energy.
Zhang Chuchu studied him carefully.
Though he spoke boldly, the boy in front of him was clearly nervous. His fair fingers were clutching the test paper tightly, knuckles pale from the force, leaving sharp creases in the page.
Even his eyelashes were trembling, and a sheen of sweat had formed at his temples. Yet, his eyes remained clear and bright, and something about them softened Zhang Chuchu’s heart.
He suddenly felt a little reluctant.
The school had set up this competition class with high expectations. It wasn’t just about student performance — it was about the school’s reputation too. This school was known throughout the province for its competition teams, especially in physics. They’d won multiple international gold medals. The school leadership was watching closely.
Zhang Chuchu’s original intent had been to urge Lu Xingjia to cut his losses and switch to the regular class — for his own good and for the competition class’s standards. But seeing the clear and determined look in those eyes now, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
The scale in his heart started tipping. Zhang Chuchu hesitated for a long moment before finally sighing. “Alright. I’ll give you a chance. But you need to understand — lost time can’t be recovered.”
“Don’t worry, Chu Ge!” Lu Xingjia said quickly. “I won’t regret this, I promise!”
“Alright, then let’s set a small goal,” Zhang Chuchu nodded and flipped through Lu Xingjia’s past grades. After a moment of thought, he asked, “By the end of the term, can you improve your class ranking by 15 spots?”
This wasn’t an arbitrary target. Based on the school’s historical performance, only around thirty students could place in the provincial physics competition, and only a few would make it into the national training camp. Zhang Chuchu appreciated Lu Xingjia’s attitude, but if there was no progress after a whole term, it really would be a waste of time — better to change direction while he still could.
Lu Xingjia understood this. Just getting the chance to stay for this semester was already more than he had hoped for. A bright smile lit up his face. “Don’t worry, Chu Ge! I’ll work hard!”
Zhang Chuchu chuckled at how adorably fired-up he was. His own mood lightened as well. “So confident, huh? Then when are you turning in yesterday’s homework?”
Lu Xingjia choked a little — he had almost forgotten about that.
Scratching the tip of his nose, he said sheepishly, “I haven’t figured it out yet. But during evening self-study—before class starts—I’ll turn it in for sure!”
Zhang Chuchu had only asked casually, but seeing how serious Lu Xingjia was, his impression of him improved even more. “Alright, manage your own time well. And if you have any questions, come find me anytime. That’s all — go on back to class.”
“Thank you, Chu Ge.” Lu Xingjia let out a big breath of relief as he stood up, his legs feeling a little unsteady.
“Oh, by the way,” Zhang Chuchu glanced at the list in his hand, “Is Fu Haoyu in the classroom too? If he is, send him over.”
Lu Xingjia nodded and quickly escaped the office — a landmine field avoided.
The conversation had taken over half an hour. More people had returned to the classroom by now. After completing his mission from Zhang Chuchu, Lu Xingjia finally let himself relax a little.
At least… he still had a chance to stay.
As soon as he sat down, Qiu Ruifeng leaned over. “Jia Jia, what did Chu Ge want with you?”
Lu Xingjia scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and showed him the test paper. “He just wanted to talk. Said I didn’t do well on the exam.”
Qiu Ruifeng glanced over it and looked at him with concern. After a pause, he asked hesitantly, “Then… are you…”
The competition class was elimination-based. Students near the bottom were usually asked to withdraw. Qiu Ruifeng knew Lu Xingjia genuinely wanted to stay, so he was even more worried about what would happen.
“Chu Ge said he’ll decide after this semester’s results,” Lu Xingjia grinned, folded the paper, and tucked it to the side. “So I guess… I’m on probation.”
Qiu Ruifeng let out a big sigh of relief. “At least there’s still a chance.”
“Yeah.” Lu Xingjia nodded, squinting a little.
It had sounded so easy when he made that promise to Chu Ge, but in truth, he had no confidence. Everyone in the competition class was insanely smart. Every single one of them was clawing their way to the top — reaching his goal wouldn’t be easy.
He would have to work even harder than before.
Lu Xingjia pulled out last night’s unfinished homework and decided not to waste time trying to figure it out on his own anymore. He poked Qiu Ruifeng’s broad back.
“That problem from last night… Can you explain it to me?”
“This question, huh… let me take a look.” Qiu Ruifeng turned around and took the notebook.
It really was a tough one—requiring a combination of electric and magnetic field analysis, plus multiple force diagrams. Qiu Ruifeng had struggled with it for quite a while last night before barely solving it. And explaining it was a different story altogether—being able to solve a problem didn’t mean you could teach it. Now, seeing it again out of the blue, he was momentarily at a loss.
He slapped his forehead, nudged Lu Xingjia with his elbow, and whispered, “The study god is right over there—why don’t you go ask him?”
“That might not be… such a good idea.” Lu Xingjia hesitated.
Even though he had told He Xi that Qin Mudong could tutor him, he had actually never asked Qin Mudong a single question.
Not because of pride, or awkwardness. He just didn’t want Qin Mudong to misunderstand and think he was only getting close for help.
Qin Mudong only ever discussed things with classmates when it came to academic problems, and Lu Xingjia didn’t want to trap him in the world of physics 24/7 either.
“What’s wrong with it?” Qiu Ruifeng waggled his brows. “Aren’t you two best buddies? Super tight, right? If you ask him, he’ll definitely explain it.”
Lu Xingjia: “……”
He regretted everything. At this moment, he just wanted to tape Qiu Ruifeng’s mouth shut.
Qin Mudong was sitting right next to them. Qiu Ruifeng really had the worst timing.
Lu Xingjia cautiously shifted his eyes toward Qin Mudong, his heart leaping into his throat.
One second. Two seconds. Qin Mudong didn’t react at all, still calmly seated, his pen gliding across the page at lightning speed, elegant handwriting sketching formulas Lu Xingjia couldn’t even begin to understand.
He quietly let out a breath of relief. They had kept their voices low, so Qin Mudong probably hadn’t heard them.
He nudged Qiu Ruifeng’s foot and gestured with his eyes while whispering, “No way. Look how focused he is—I can’t bother him right now.”
Qiu Ruifeng chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “So you can bother me, but not him? Double standards, bro.”
“You…”
Lu Xingjia was close to falling to his knees, frantically signaling with his eyes. Qiu Riufeng finally gave in. “Alright, alright. But this problem’s really tricky. Let me think it through a bit and I’ll explain it later.”
“Thanks, man. Really.”
Lu Xingjia let out a long breath and handed over the notebook. “You can take this. I’ve got the original problem written down on my scratch paper.”
Qiu Ruifeng took the notebook and turned around to study the problem. Lu Xingjia also started scribbling on his scratch paper, trying to piece together a strategy. He was fully absorbed, chewing on the end of his pen, completely unaware that Qin Mudong was quietly watching him, his gaze deep and unreadable.
After a long pause, Qin Mudong finally looked away, casually flipping through his textbook until it opened to a particular page.
Between the pages were a few folded notes, lying there quietly.
The paper had clearly been crumpled before—then carefully smoothed out again. The edges were soft, worn thin.
His long fingers pressed down on one of them, and he closed his eyes gently.
“Good brothers”… huh?
Author’s note:
Today’s episode: Jia Jia gets caught in the act √