His Boyfriend
After the experimental exam ended, the final results came out quickly.
Qin Mudong swept the board with nearly perfect scores in both theory and experiment, securing the top spot among the provincial first-prize winners and earning a rightful place on the list for the provincial team. Qiu Ruifeng and Ji Angran also qualified for the provincial team.
Lu Xingjia did very well in the experimental portion, but his theoretical foundation wasn’t as strong. He ultimately missed making the team by just one rank.
Still, he was very happy. He looked at his score sheet again and again, reluctant to put it down.
Achieving this result was already a delightful surprise. If it had been the version of him right after his rebirth, he would’ve never imagined he could do this well.
These two years of physics competitions gave him more than just a provincial first prize. It wasn’t just the extra 20 points for the college entrance exam, nor simply the advanced learning methods or ways of thinking.
While saving Qin Mudong, he also saved his timid and fearful former self.
But finishing the competition didn’t mean everything was over. They were competition students, yes, but also high school seniors.
After the provincial competition, students selected for the provincial team had to begin preparing for the national competition. Those who didn’t make the team had to return to regular classes and resume preparing for the college entrance exam.
That afternoon, after receiving their results, Qin Mudong helped Lu Xingjia pack his things to move to a new class.
They hadn’t changed classrooms for two years, so Lu Xingjia had accumulated a lot—thick reference books and workbooks that wouldn’t even fit in the drawer. He had even bought a storage box to keep by his feet.
Now that the competition was over, many materials were no longer needed and didn’t have to be taken to the new class.
Lu Xingjia carefully sorted through everything, pulling out the books he no longer needed. Looking at the densely filled pages, he grew sentimental—each one held memories of his youth.
After a moment of reflection, he brought them all out and tossed them into the designated trash bin at the classroom door.
After all, the past is the past. People have to look forward.
When he returned, clapping the dust off his hands, he suddenly noticed a workbook at the very bottom he’d forgotten.
It was thin and old, the cover barely hanging on. Lu Xingjia picked it up and flipped through it absentmindedly, only to realize it was the very first workbook he’d used after joining the competition class.
Not only were his own answers in there, but also full of Qin Mudong’s comments—notes like “forgot to simplify,” “redo,” “didn’t break it into cases”—all written in clear handwriting.
After his scores improved, Lu Xingjia rarely made such basic mistakes anymore, so he hadn’t seen many comments from Qin Mudong lately. Seeing them again now felt familiar and funny.
Truthfully, Qin Mudong had been good to him even back then. Otherwise, why would he be so meticulous, marking every problem?
He had always been genuinely kind to others—but those people had let him down, forcing him to build high walls around himself.
Fortunately, that was no longer the case.
Lu Xingjia breathed a sigh of relief and looked again at the old, yellowed, curling-edged workbook—suddenly, he couldn’t bring himself to throw it away.
It was a symbol of how he and Qin Mudong had grown closer.
Almost as if reading his mind, Qin Mudong took the workbook and set it aside. “Let’s keep this one.”
“Okay,” Lu Xingjia nodded. But then he noticed Qin Mudong didn’t return the workbook to him and asked curiously, “Aren’t we keeping it?”
“Yeah,” Qin Mudong nodded slightly and tucked the workbook into his own stack of books. “I’ll keep it.”
Lu Xingjia blinked. “But it’s my workbook…”
“There’s my handwriting on it too,” Qin Mudong replied calmly.
Lu Xingjia, unusually particular this time, argued, “That makes it shared property. It’s not yours alone.”
Qin Mudong paused, then dropped his gaze slightly. “I’ll miss you.”
That one sentence hit Lu Xingjia right in the softest part of his heart.
He knew what Qin Mudong was struggling with.
Qin Mudong’s journey in physics competitions wasn’t over—this was only the beginning. The national competition would be in late October, and in the meantime, the provincial team members would enter a closed training program.
Which meant they wouldn’t see each other for the next month. The training camp had strict management—they might not even be allowed to make phone calls.
Even regular friends would find it hard to be apart for a month, let alone them—they had only just gotten together and wanted to be around each other every minute.
Lu Xingjia’s voice softened, both amused and affectionate: “It’s just a month… It’s not like you’re never coming back.”
Qin Mudong lowered his eyes again. His long lashes cast a faint shadow below—he still looked downcast and dejected.
Lu Xingjia sighed and gave in. “Alright, alright. It’s yours. Take it. But you have to think of me.”
“Mm.” Qin Mudong gave a low hum and quietly tucked the workbook into his drawer. A flash of a smile passed through his eyes, hidden beneath his lashes.
…..
Lu Xingjia had way too much stuff to move all at once, but they weren’t in a hurry. After sorting everything, they each picked up a stack and headed out the classroom door.
Just a few steps out, the phone in Lu Xingjia’s pocket rang.
His hands were full with books, and just as he was about to put them down to answer, Qin Mudong said calmly, “Let me.”
Qin Mudong supported a stack of books with one hand and reached into Lu Xingjia’s school uniform pocket with the other, pulling out the phone and holding it up to Lu Xingjia’s ear.
His fingers were cold and brushed lightly against Lu Xingjia’s ear, tickling slightly.
Lu Xingjia’s face turned a little red, but he still answered the call in that position.
It was He Xi calling. As soon as the call connected, her smiling voice came through: “Jia Jia, congratulations!”
After the final results were released, the school had also informed the parents. He Xi was thrilled with Lu Xingjia’s performance, praising him for several minutes and even promising to cook him something delicious when he came home.
Lu Xingjia felt a bit embarrassed by all the praise, but his eyes still crinkled with joy.
He playfully told He Xi that he wanted to eat chicken wings and drink her homemade yogurt. She laughed and agreed, her tone gentle and warm.
When the call ended, Qin Mudong wordlessly put the phone back into Lu Xingjia’s pocket. After a moment of silence, he said softly, “Aunt Xiao Xi’s cooking is really good.”
His tone was calm, but the envy within it couldn’t be hidden.
Lu Xingjia’s heart ached a little. He immediately said, “You should come to my house for dinner tonight too! My mom would be really happy to have you! Plus, you’ve helped me so much—she’s always saying she wants to treat you.”
“Mm.” Qin Mudong gave a low response. Just then, his phone vibrated twice in his pocket.
It was a text message. He ignored it for the time being, only pulling out his phone after helping Lu Xingjia finish moving his things.
[Mudong, I wonder if I can still call you that…]There was no contact name saved, but just from the first line, it was obvious who the sender was.
Pu Shulan had sent a four-page long message. She expressed her guilt, congratulated him on his results, and finally, very carefully asked if he would be willing to come home for a meal.
The tone was no longer lofty or commanding, nor did it pressure him to make a decision. It was so gentle it bordered on humble.
Qin Mudong’s heart rippled like water disturbed in a quiet pond.
After a moment, as if he’d made up his mind, he said to Lu Xingjia, “Xingxing, I might not be able to come with you.”
He handed his phone to Lu Xingjia.
Lu Xingjia was briefly stunned, then his eyes lit up.
Pu Shulan’s message was filled with sincerity—so much that it brought a bit of wetness to the corners of his eyes.
Of course, he wanted Qin Mudong to come to his house, but even more than that, he wanted Qin Mudong to have more love in his life.
Especially the kind that came from his birth mother—something irreplaceable.
“Okay.”
He smiled and agreed, genuinely happy for him.
Except for the flash of worry that flitted through his heart—something he couldn’t quite shake.
……
The two of them took advantage of dinner time to finish moving everything. By the time they were done, it was just in time for the evening classes.
The teacher called Lu Xingjia to the front to introduce himself, and then let him join the evening study session with the rest of the class.
Qin Mudong had a train to catch the next morning and needed to go back and pack, so after a brief goodbye, Lu Xingjia sat down in his new seat.
His new deskmate was a gentle-looking girl with fair skin and a sweet smile.
She was very polite. After greeting him, she quietly returned to her own work, neither noisy nor disruptive.
The new class had a great atmosphere. The classmates around him were friendly and helpful, enthusiastically—but not overwhelmingly—guiding him on things like where to hand in homework and the class duty schedule.
Everything was going smoothly, but as Lu Xingjia leaned on his hand and worked on problems, he couldn’t help but think of Qin Mudong—who used to sit right next to him. He missed that quiet yet wordless understanding they shared.
Habit is strange—subtle, silent, and hard to notice until it’s changed. Then you realize just how much you depend on it.
Fortunately, in this life, they hadn’t missed each other. That made the time apart easier to bear.
Three periods of evening study flew by. After saying goodbye to his new classmates, Lu Xingjia slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom.
Just as he stepped past the doorway, he saw a tall, handsome figure leaning against the hallway railing.
Qin Mudong had one strap of his backpack slung over a shoulder, one hand casually in his pocket. His long legs looked even more striking under the dim hallway lights. His cold expression softened the moment he saw Lu Xingjia.
“Ready?” he asked as he naturally straightened up and walked over to him.
“Yeah.”
Lu Xingjia’s eyes lit up as he fell into step beside him.
Because they were about to part ways, their pace slowed naturally. It was the end of the school day, so the halls were crowded. Girls passed by in groups, whispering excitedly:
“So handsome!”
“Especially the tall one! He looks like a celebrity!”
“That’s Qin Mudong, our school’s genius! First place in the provincial science competition—how do you not know him?”
“He’s amazing!”
…
Hearing their chatter, Lu Xingjia couldn’t help the proud smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Unlike in the past life, this time when people talked about Qin Mudong, there were no rumors or whispers—only admiration and praise.
And best of all, this incredible person was his boyfriend.