Proactively Attracted chapter 2
Won’t Be Scared Away
The final exams had just finished, and the subject selection forms had been handed out. Although Lu Minsi still sat at the podium supervising the evening study session, there were still occasional murmurs of discussion in the class.
Summer vacation was just around the corner, and Lu Minsi, rare as it was, turned a blind eye to some things, coughing occasionally to remind students but not reprimanding anyone, like Lu Xingjia, who had been punished to write a reflection.
Lu Xingjia didn’t share the same excitement as other students, who were eagerly discussing their choices. Instead, he pulled a pen out of his desk and seriously wrote “Physics Competition” on the form.
Then, almost as if not trusting himself, he rewrote it, making sure each character was perfectly aligned, every stroke deliberate.
Anyone who knew would understand that he was filling out the subject selection form, but those who didn’t would think he was writing a love letter to some girl.
Qiu Ruifeng, who was always chatty, couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Taking advantage of the noise in the class, he immediately poked Lu Xingjia’s elbow with his pen and whispered, “Hey, Jia Jia, are you choosing humanities or science?”
As soon as he turned his head, he saw Lu Xingjia’s form, which he had placed on the desk as if it were a precious treasure. The words “Physics Competition” stood out clearly.
Qiu Ruifeng paused for a moment, and his voice unconsciously rose a few notches, “Physics competition?!”
His voice was a bit too loud, and Lu Minsi immediately glanced over from the podium. Even from a distance of more than ten meters, Lu Xingjia could still feel the weight of her gaze.
The two quickly lowered their heads, pretending to read a book, almost burying their faces in it.
Lu Xingjia had already graduated from high school more than ten years ago, but his body responded as smoothly as ever, with no hesitation.
It must have been a natural fear of the homeroom teacher.
“Ding ling ling—”
The sharp sound of the bell rang just in time, and Lu Minsi gave them another look before not pursuing the matter further. She clicked her heels and walked away. Qiu Ruifeng sighed in relief, but then he remembered what had just happened.
“Are you really going to choose the Physics Competition?” he poked Lu Xingjia again.
“Yeah,” Lu Xingjia nodded without hesitation, speaking with firm determination, “I love physics the most.”
“Really?” Qiu Ruifeng widened his eyes.
Lu Xingjia answered solemnly, “Really! I must join the Physics Competition class!”
He looked very obedient, with fair skin, delicate brows and eyes, soft, slightly curly hair, and almond-shaped eyes of light chestnut color that were round and sparkling with a determined light, making him appear completely incapable of lying.
Qiu Ruifeng choked for a moment, almost believing him.
After a pause, Qiu Ruifeng tentatively asked, “Do you remember how many points you got in the physics exam this time?”
He had already assumed that Lu Xingjia’s brain had been knocked silly by the homeroom teacher, so he kindly pointed to the score sheet on the desk. “Take a look yourself?”
Lu Xingjia suddenly remembered something, and his pale fingers grabbed the long score sheet. He quickly found the physics section and saw the first number: 61.
He immediately sighed in relief and unfolded the score sheet to show Qiu Ruifeng. “61 points. It may not be high, but at least it’s a passing grade, right?”
“…”
Qiu Ruifeng couldn’t hold back anymore, pointing to another number. “Buddy, you’re looking at your rank. Your actual physics score is 34.”
“By the way,” Qiu Ruifeng thought for a moment and added, “The full score is 100, and there are 62 students in our class, with one person absent.”
Lu Xingjia: “…”
After so many years, he almost forgot that physics was the subject he hated most in high school, so much so that he chose the humanities track just to avoid it.
Qiu Ruifeng patted him on the shoulder. “Bro, your idealism is beautiful, but reality is harsh. Physics is vast, but there’s still hope if you turn back.”
Lu Xingjia’s long eyelashes drooped, and he bit his lower lip. There was a subtle feeling in his heart, not sadness, but a sour, bittersweet sensation.
The humanities class and the competition class were far apart, and their schedules were not completely aligned. After the class division in his past life, he rarely saw Qin Mudong again.
After a moment, he gently pressed his palm and spoke word by word, “No, I must join.”
It’s just friction, it’s just a small block sliding down, compared to Qin Mudong, these things were nothing. He would crush them into the ground!
Seeing Lu Xingjia suddenly fired up with determination, Qiu Ruifeng opened his mouth, then muttered to himself in a small voice, “Can I still ask the homeroom teacher to hit me on the head now?”
…..
After school, Lu Xingjia carefully placed the subject selection form between the pages of a book, afraid of losing it, then randomly grabbed a few more books and stuffed them into his bag. He hurried downstairs, eager to get home and tell his mother about his choice. Just as he turned the corner, he saw a familiar figure.
A tall boy with one hand in his school uniform pocket, the loose uniform failing to hide his straight back and long, slender legs, his cold presence standing out starkly against the surrounding heat.
Lu Xingjia’s breath caught, and he instinctively slowed down.
This figure had appeared countless times in his dreams.
It was Qin Mudong.
To avoid the crowd, Lu Xingjia intentionally took the longer route, walking down the small staircase at the side of the teaching building. There were few people around, making the sound of his footsteps especially clear.
Lu Xingjia was sure Qin Mudong had heard his steps. First, they were hurried, then suddenly slowed down, clearly something was off. But the tall boy still walked ahead nonchalantly, with a single shoulder bag, seeming as if he hadn’t heard anything, indifferent.
Lu Xingjia remembered that in his previous life, he had met Qin Mudong here on this day, the last time he gathered the courage.
He had patted Qin Mudong on the shoulder, wanting to ask whether he planned to choose the humanities or science track.
At that time, he had already made up his mind. If Qin Mudong chose science, he would follow him, since his mother had always wanted him to study science. But he had been a little scared of physics, so he had never made up his mind.
How had Qin Mudong responded then?
The boy with black hair and dark eyes had an icy expression, continuing to walk as if he hadn’t heard, and after Lu Xingjia had persistently followed him, Qin Mudong had finally spoken indifferently: “It has nothing to do with you.”
And that was when Lu Xingjia fled, unwilling to choose science.
So it wasn’t that he hated physics so much, but that he was afraid to get close to Qin Mudong.
In this second life, encountering the same scene again, Lu Xingjia’s heart raced.
He subconsciously bit his lip, step by step, walked up to Qin Mudong, and stood beside him.
The light in the stairwell was dim. As they turned the corner, their shadows slowly overlapped.
Lu Xingjia felt like there was a little rabbit in his chest, about to leap out. He hadn’t been this close to Qin Mudong in a long time, close enough to smell the faint mint fragrance on him.
“Qin… Qin Mudong.”
The name he had whispered a thousand times in his heart passed through his throat, swirling in his mouth before finally exiting.
The tall boy seemed to have not heard. He took long strides and continued walking ahead.
Lu Xingjia took a deep breath, reached out, and grabbed the corner of Qin Mudong’s shirt, calling his name again.
“Qin Mudong!”
Lu Xingjia was too anxious, his soft, youthful voice echoed loudly in the empty stairwell.
Finally, Qin Mudong stopped.
The light fell on his high nose, casting a faint shadow. The boy’s thin lips pressed into a line, his dark, beautiful eyes as cold as stagnant water, colder than a frozen lake in winter: “What’s the matter?”
Even though he had mentally prepared for it, Lu Xingjia still felt a soreness in his eyes, and for a moment, he wanted to cry.
At this point, Qin Mudong had already begun to close himself off.
Lu Xingjia blinked, forced the tears back, and tried to put on a bright, beaming smile. “Qin Mudong, long time no see!”
It really, truly had been a long time.
After graduating from high school, the two lost contact. Fortunately, Qin Mudong was excellent enough that Lu Xingjia could still find news about him in the papers and on the internet, but it was always from a distance, through a screen or paper.
And now, he had finally touched his real presence.
“If you’re fine, I’ll go first.”
Qin Mudong’s expression didn’t change at all. He coldly pulled his school jacket from Lu Xingjia’s hand and continued walking forward.
“Wait!” Lu Xingjia, not caring about anything else, hurriedly jogged to catch up with him.
Boys generally develop later, and Lu Xingjia, even more so, only started growing taller during the summer of his first year in high school. Now, following behind the tall Qin Mudong, he was almost a whole head shorter, like a little tail.
Qin Mudong had long legs and large strides, but Lu Xingjia barely managed to keep pace, walking beside him, his eyes curving into crescent shapes, full of smiles. “Are you going to choose the humanities or the science track? I remember you were really good at physics. Do you want to join the physics competition class?”
Silence. All that could be heard were their footsteps, and Qin Mudong seemed to have not heard, continuing to walk by himself.
Lu Xingjia didn’t give up. “I want to be with you. You won’t be mad at me, right?”
“…”
He pressed on. “Even though I’m not great at physics, you’re really good at it, so you’ll help me, right?”
“…”
He pushed further. “By not saying anything, you’re agreeing, right?”
“…”
Lu Xingjia’s beautiful eyes curved into crescent moons, stars twinkling in them. “Then it’s a deal! No take-backs!”
Qin Mudong’s steps faltered for a moment, and his cold brows lowered.
“Do as you wish. It has nothing to do with me.”
They had reached the first floor garage, and Qin Mudong quickly walked to a black mountain bike. With a long stride, he easily swung his leg over the bike and began to ride off without paying any more attention to Lu Xingjia, riding out of the school gate.
Though Lu Xingjia felt a bit disappointed, he didn’t chase after him. In his heart, he had already decided that Qin Mudong had agreed to their class arrangement, and that gave him some peace of mind.
From the current situation, at least Qin Mudong was still willing to communicate, unlike in his past life during their senior year when he acted like everyone else was invisible.
The situation was already so much better than in his previous life. Everything really was still possible.
If Qin Mudong wanted to slowly close himself off, then Lu Xingjia would gradually warm up his frozen shell, bit by bit.
He wasn’t in a rush. He had time.
With that thought, Lu Xingjia stood at the entrance of the teaching building, watching Qin Mudong’s figure as it slowly disappeared into the shadows of the trees by the school gate.
In his past life, after being rejected by him, Lu Xingjia had hurriedly run off, without even the courage to look back. He never realized that, under the dim yellow light, that tall, slender figure of the boy seemed so lonely.
He stared at the direction where Qin Mudong had disappeared for a long while, making sure he wouldn’t come back. Only then did he turn back toward the garage, managing to find his bike based on memory.
With one hand pushing the bike, Lu Xingjia clenched his fair fingers into a fist, silently encouraging himself in his heart.
He could do it. He wouldn’t let Qin Mudong’s indifference scare him this time.