Proactively Attracted chapter 8
Precious Clothing
By the afternoon, the classroom had come alive again. With more people inside, even the strongest air conditioning became ineffective.
Heat spread throughout the room, but Lu Xingjia still couldn’t bring himself to take off the jacket.
He stole a glance at Qin Mudong beside him. Seeing that he had no intention of asking for the jacket back, Lu Xingjia grew bolder and reassured himself.
Wearing it for ten minutes or for the entire afternoon—what difference did it make? Qin Mudong probably wouldn’t be mad, right?
And so, he kept delaying taking it off.
By the time evening self-study ended, he was still wearing it.
Summer nights remained hot, the setting sun offering no relief.
Cicadas chirped tirelessly. The school grounds were lush with greenery, allowing even tiny needle-sized bugs to fly up to the fourth floor.
As the bell rang, signaling the end of class, the classroom erupted into chatter.
Most students had yet to shake off the laziness of summer vacation, laughing and chatting as they packed up. Within minutes, the room had emptied out.
Qin Mudong silently packed up his things and stood up from his desk.
Compared to the thick stacks of books carried by other top students, he had very little to bring—just a quantum physics textbook that had been flipped through countless times but was still well-preserved. A black gel pen was clipped to its pages.
During evening self-study, Lu Xingjia had been sneaking glances at him from time to time. When he saw Qin Mudong getting ready to leave, he quickly called out to him, finally putting his rehearsed words into practice.
“I-I’ll take the jacket home tonight, wash it, and return it to you tomorrow!”
“Do as you like.” Qin Mudong nodded indifferently, not particularly concerned.
Lu Xingjia wanted to say more, but Qiu Ruifeng turned around, tapping his desk. “Jia Jia, let’s bike home together!”
Both of them were day students and lived nearby, so they often commuted together. Lu Xingjia responded casually, “Sure.”
In the brief moment it took to say that, Qin Mudong had already slung his bag over his straightened back and strode toward the back door.
By the time Lu Xingjia turned back, Qin Mudong had already disappeared around the hallway corner.
Lu Xingjia sighed inwardly. His plan was going to take a long time to accomplish.
He turned to Qiu Ruifeng. “Wait a sec, let me pack up.”
By the time he finished, the classroom was nearly empty. The two of them locked the door and strolled toward the bike shed.
Outside was even more stifling than the classroom—the humidity was high, making it feel like they had stepped into a giant sauna.
“What the hell is up with this weather? Didn’t it just rain? Why isn’t it even a little cooler?” Qiu Ruifeng, tall and broad-shouldered, was wearing a thin tank top. He lifted his shirt to fan himself while grumbling.
He glanced at Lu Xingjia and noticed he was still wearing the school uniform jacket. “Why are you dressed so warm? Aren’t you hot?”
“Nope,” Lu Xingjia shook his head without hesitation, even instinctively zipping up the jacket. “I love wearing the school uniform.”
Qiu Ruifeng gave him a look as if he were an idiot, nearly spelling out the word moron on his forehead. “Are you serious? That uniform is baggy as hell—it’s practically covering your legs! Did Teacher Lu hit you too hard last semester? Is your fashion sense broken now too?”
“It’s not my uniform,” Lu Xingjia quickly clarified, his face flushing a little. “It’s Qin Mudong’s.”
“Doesn’t matter whose—wait, whose?”
Qiu Ruifeng suddenly processed what he had just heard and turned to stare at Lu Xingjia in disbelief.
Lu Xingjia blinked. “Qin Mudong’s.”
“…The hell?”
Qiu Ruifeng’s eyes lit up like a flashlight. He scrutinized Lu Xingjia from head to toe.
Over the summer, Lu Xingjia had clearly grown taller. He had been half a head shorter than Qiu Ruifeng before, but now, he was only just a bit shorter.
Yet the uniform he was wearing was still loose and oversized—even more so than last semester.
At first, Qiu Ruifeng hadn’t paid much attention. But now, looking closely, he realized—it really wasn’t Lu Xingjia’s.
The school uniforms at No.1 High had a white panel on the chest, which got dirty easily. Even though Lu Xingjia was usually careful, his own uniform had a few ink stains here and there from dozing off in class. He had even been punished by the teacher for it before—Qiu Ruifeng remembered it well.
But the uniform Lu Xingjia was wearing now was spotless. So clean it was almost glowing. Even in the stifling summer night, it seemed to radiate a crisp, cold aura.
In short—it carried the aura of a study god.
Qiu Ruifeng was amazed. He reached out and tugged at the hem of the jacket. “Damn, this is really Qin Mudong’s uniform?”
There were plenty of rumors about Qin Mudong—one of the most notable being his extreme cleanliness. It was said that he never lent anything to anyone. Once, a girl had taken one of his books without asking, and he had tossed it straight into the trash without even a glance.
When Lu Xingjia had been caught earlier at lunch, Qiu Ruifeng had assumed he was just bluffing. But now, it seemed like there really was something going on between them?
“Hey, don’t pull on it!” Lu Xingjia slapped his hand away protectively, as if afraid the jacket would get damaged.
Qiu Ruifeng waggled his eyebrows. “Do you know what you look like right now?”
“What?” Lu Xingjia smoothed out the wrinkles Qiu Ruifeng had made in the fabric.
Qiu Ruifeng deliberately lowered his voice and leaned in close to whisper, “Like Qin Mudong’s little wife.”
Lu Xingjia choked, coughing twice as his face turned red. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Guiltily, he avoided Qiu Ruifeng’s gaze but still felt the need to defend Qin Mudong. “Actually, Qin Mudong is really nice. Seriously, he’s not scary at all!”
“It’s not that he’s scary,” Qiu Ruifeng said as they arrived at the bike shed. He dropped the teasing, unlocking his bike and swinging one leg over it. “It’s just that he has that ‘stay-away-from-me’ vibe. You know, like he doesn’t bother dealing with us mere mortals.”
That’s not true, Lu Xingjia thought to himself.
For some reason, he suddenly recalled the lonely figure of Qin Mudong riding his bike that day.
He must be lonely too, right?
No attachments, no hesitation—maybe that’s why, in the last life, he had chosen to end his life so decisively.
But Lu Xingjia couldn’t say that out loud.
So he just hummed in vague agreement, while secretly adding another note to his mental plan.
Someday, he would tell the whole world—Qin Mudong is the best.
……
By the time he got home, it was already close to ten o’clock. He Xi was carefully checking invoices, preparing to place the first batch of orders.
There was still some warm millet congee in the pot. Lu Xingjia gulped down a bowl and quickly went back to his room to do his homework.
On the surface, Chu Ge seemed kind, but when it came to assigning homework, he was absolutely ruthless. Besides the usual practice books, he had even written a few questions himself. Lu Xingjia had spent an entire self-study period on them and still couldn’t solve them.
At eleven o’clock, He Xi finally finished her work and came to urge Lu Xingjia to go to bed.
Lately, Lu Xingjia had been acting like he was on an energy rush, much more serious about studying than before. But He Xi knew that progress couldn’t be rushed overnight, and she was worried he’d wear himself out. Every night, she made sure to remind him to sleep early.
“I know, I know. Mom, you go to sleep first. I’ll sleep in a bit.”
Lu Xingjia had just pulled an ice pop out of the fridge. He held it in his mouth while continuing to work on his homework, not even bothering to lift his eyes.
Since coming home, he had changed into a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, one foot propped up on the chair, his fair toes dangling.
“Don’t eat too much cold stuff at night. You’ll catch a chill.”
He Xi reminded him, then suddenly noticed a neatly folded uniform on the bed. She picked it up curiously. “When did you take out your spring-autumn uniform? I remember putting it away in the closet.”
Only then did Lu Xingjia realize—he had completely forgotten about that! He quickly looked up. “Mom, that’s not mine! It’s Mudong Ge’s!”
He Xi lifted the uniform for a closer look. It was indeed a size bigger than Lu Xingjia’s.
Normally, Lu Xingjia was careless, throwing his clothes around after taking them off. But when it came to Qin Mudong’s things, he treated them like treasures.
Feeling a little embarrassed, he scratched his nose. “The air conditioning in the classroom was too cold today, so he lent me his uniform for a bit.”
He Xi smiled. “So, you two made up?”
Earlier, when Lu Xingjia had stopped mentioning Qin Mudong, she had been a little worried. But now, seeing them back in the same class and even sharing uniforms, she finally felt relieved.
Lu Xingjia huffed, “We never fought! We’ve always been great!”
The more he thought about it, the more he realized how dumb he had been in his past life.
If Qin Mudong really hated him, how could he still accept his things? How could he even lend him his uniform?
“Alright, alright, you two are the best of friends,” He Xi said, shaking her head. “I’ll wash the uniform for him. You should sleep soon—just leave the unfinished homework.”
Lu Xingjia quickly protested, “Mom, Mom, you go to bed first! I’ll wash it myself later!”
After all, he had lived independently for many years in his past life—he could at least wash clothes.
This was Qin Mudong’s uniform. It was precious!
He Xi chuckled. “You’re treating it like a treasure?”
Lu Xingjia’s face turned slightly red. “I just don’t want you to overwork yourself!”
Laughing, He Xi shook her head and walked out of the room with the uniform.
Lu Xingjia had a plan: finish the two questions that Zhang Chuchu assigned, then wash the precious uniform and go to bed.
But plans never keep up with reality.
He was too sleepy, the problems were too difficult, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep at his desk. When he woke up, it was already the next day.
He had no idea how he ended up in bed, and Qin Mudong’s uniform was already washed and drying on the balcony.
Feeling a little embarrassed, he went to the kitchen. “Mom, did I fall asleep sitting up yesterday?”
“You finally realize?” He Xi was serving congee and gave him a helpless look. “Don’t stay up so late next time, okay?”
“Got it, got it!” Lu Xingjia nodded quickly, eagerly admitting his mistake.
He Xi wasn’t really angry—she just felt bad for him. She took out some warm steamed buns from the pot. “Alright, come eat breakfast.”
In the summer heat, clothes dried quickly. After breakfast, Lu Xingjia took the uniform from the balcony, folded it neatly, and placed it in a bag.
After being washed, it had a familiar scent—the light fragrance of the laundry detergent commonly used at home.
For some reason, Lu Xingjia’s face felt a little warm. He secretly wondered—did this count as marking it with his own scent?
……
At school, Lu Xingjia returned the freshly washed uniform to Qin Mudong, along with two steaming hot buns from home. He claimed it was so they’d be “even.”
Qin Mudong couldn’t argue with him, so he simply ate the buns in a few bites.
Lu Xingjia grinned, then quickly pulled out his homework.
Last night, he had fallen asleep at his desk, so naturally, Zhang Chuchu’s two assigned problems were left blank.
The morning reading bell rang, and the classroom filled with the sound of students reciting. Lu Xingjia thought he could sneakily finish his homework during this time.
But logic-based problems required proper thinking and technique. Without the right approach, even staring at them for two hours would be useless.
His exercise book was still blank.
He felt like crying. If he had just asked Zhang Chuchu for help during self-study last night, he wouldn’t be in this situation. Now, in the middle of morning reading, there was no one he could even ask.
Then, a tiny voice in his head whispered—
Of course, there is someone! He’s sitting right next to you!
Author’s Note:
If this were an ABO world, our Jia Jia would definitely be a clingy omega who insists on covering his husband with his own scent (just kidding).