Their relationship continued to heat up. After the placement test, Qiu Ruifeng directly asked Ji Angran if he wanted to continue sitting together, and of course, Ji Angran was more than happy to agree.
Once the seats were reassigned and students from other grades and classes began their school year, school life gradually settled into its regular rhythm.
The coursework in the second year of high school wasn’t too intense yet, and even students in the competition class still had plenty of recreational activities. About two months into the semester, the school held an innovation competition.
This was a long-standing tradition at No.1 High School and extremely popular among students. Since it had a bit of a connection to physics, more than half the class signed up.
Qiu Ruifeng also casually grabbed a registration form to fill out for fun. While doing so, he asked Ji Angran, “Did you sign up?”
Ji Angran lifted his head from a desk full of practice papers, hesitated, and shook his head. “N-no… I think I won’t. Midterms are coming, and I want to focus on preparing for them.”
“Alright then.” Qiu Ruifeng didn’t take it to heart, muttering “What a pity” under his breath, and forgot all about it soon after.
But the next evening, after dinner, as soon as he walked into the classroom, he saw Ji Angran staring intently at the event flyer, like a kid eyeing candy—he couldn’t bear to look away.
“If you want to, just do it.”
Qiu Ruifeng sat down at his seat and said this casually.
Hearing his voice, Ji Angran’s first reaction was to quickly try and hide the flyer in his desk, only to realize halfway through that Qiu Ruifeng had already seen it. His fingers awkwardly froze mid-motion, and he stammered, “I-I was just looking…”
“If you want to, then do it.” Qiu Ruifeng repeated. “Studying nonstop every day is exhausting. Participating in activities like this is good. Besides, it’s an innovation competition—it helps with your thinking and hands-on skills too.”
“I…”
Ji Angran was clearly hesitant. He stared at the flyer again and again, his lips parting slightly. “But… I’m afraid I won’t do well on the midterms…”
Qiu Ruifeng asked, “Do you like physics competitions?”
Ji Angran was taken aback and instinctively replied, “I guess… I do.”
He probably did like them.
Every time he solved a difficult problem, joy would naturally bloom from his heart. It wasn’t the kind of happiness from eating candy or watching a movie—it was a deeper, more satisfying kind of fulfillment.
“Then why are you treating it like a burden?” Qiu Ruifeng asked.
He genuinely didn’t understand Ji Angran. Often, he could see the look of longing in Ji Angran’s eyes—like a hamster seeing a peanut, or a puppy spotting a bone—his eyes would practically sparkle. But whenever asked, Ji Angran would just shake his head and bury himself back in his books.
Qiu Ruifeng thought Ji Angran was living too hard a life.
Speaking unusually seriously, Qiu Ruifeng looked him in the eye and said, “Something you like should bring you happiness. Otherwise, what’s the point in liking it?”
Ji Angran was momentarily speechless. After a while, he mumbled, “I-It does…”
“Then why are you afraid of doing badly?” Qiu Ruifeng continued, “So what if you don’t do well once? Just figure out what went wrong and do better next time. The more nervous and scared you get, the easier it is for the thing you like to become something you hate.”
Crude words, but reasonable logic. Qiu Ruifeng always seemed carefree, but on this matter, he was surprisingly perceptive. Ji Angran, who had been confused and hesitant, suddenly felt a burst of clarity—like a beam of light cutting through the fog.
He didn’t respond, just nodded lightly. On the surface, he seemed calm and unbothered, but the next day when Qiu Ruifeng went to hand in his form, he noticed another form underneath it—one carefully filled out with Ji Angran’s name.
Each stroke was written with determination.
Qiu Ruifeng looked at the form, and a smile crept across his face.
Later, Ji Angran advanced through round after round and made it all the way to the finals. On the stage in the lecture hall, he held his invention in one hand and a laser pointer in the other. As he explained the project with a calm voice and confident presence, he stood tall like a graceful crane.
The lecture hall was packed, full of people whispering admiration. Qiu Ruifeng stood in the crowd below, eyes locked on Ji Angran, lips curved unconsciously in a smile, completely captivated.
This was what Ji Angran should look like.
Radiant, and shining.
After the thrilling innovation competition, life returned to the usual rhythm of studying.
During the midterm exams, Ji Angran performed steadily—not only did he not fall behind, he even rose a few ranks.
Study life was calm and fulfilling, and the few moments of disruption in his otherwise quiet world always had something to do with Qiu Ruifeng.
Qiu Ruifeng was always a popular figure in the class.
He was handsome and had a good temperament—the type of guy girls would stop in the hallway to ask for his contact info. He got along well with everyone in class too.
There were quite a few girls in class who liked him. He often went to play basketball after dinner, and those girls would bring him food and water, gathering around the court to cheer him on.
Ji Angran would watch too.
The basketball court was on the path from the teaching building to the cafeteria—just a slight turn of the head and you could see it.
Every evening when passing by, reason told Ji Angran not to go—he had many things to do. But as soon as he heard the cheers from that direction, heard someone calling Qiu Ruifeng’s name, he couldn’t help but be drawn toward it.
It was the same that day.
Ji Angran didn’t stand too close—he stayed on the outer edge, watching from behind the wire fence. From a distance, he watched Qiu Ruifeng weave through the crowd with the ball, jump, and shoot. The ball arced through the air in a perfect arc, and as it swooshed through the hoop, Qiu Ruifeng landed solidly on the ground.
“Ahhhhhh!!! So handsome!!!”
“God! God! God!”
As the crowd screamed, Ji Angran’s heartbeat skipped a few times.
He really was handsome.
Qiu Ruifeng was already used to the attention. He casually wiped the sweat from his face, walked behind the hoop, picked up his half-finished bottle of water and drank it all in one go. As he tilted his head back, the curve of his neck was graceful, and the sweat on his throat glistened visibly as his Adam’s apple moved.
Ji Angran suddenly felt a little thirsty.
Qiu Ruifeng finished the water, crushed the bottle into a ball, and tossed it into the trash can with a shooting gesture. As he turned around, he happened to catch sight of a familiar figure.
“Ji Angran!” He raised his hand and called out with a smile in his voice.
Ji Angran froze, not yet reacting when Qiu Ruifeng had already started walking toward him in big strides.
Standing on the other side of the railing, Qiu Ruifeng handed him his meal card. “Perfect timing, help me get a bottle of water, thanks.”
Looking at Qiu Ruifeng’s bright smile and sparkling eyes, Ji Angran instinctively nodded.
The meal card had been on the ground, still warm from the sun. It felt hot in his hand. Ji Angran went to the little shop near the playground, bought a bottle of water, and hugged it tightly to his chest.
But when he returned, there was a girl standing beside Qiu Ruifeng.
She seemed to be from the school’s basketball team—Ji Angran found her somewhat familiar but didn’t know her name.
She wore a tracksuit, her high ponytail swaying, her face lit up with a bright and confident smile.
“Qiu Ruifeng,” she said boldly, tossing him a bottle of water, her tone casual. “Here, for you.”
“Thanks,” Qiu Ruifeng accepted the water without hesitation, twisted the cap off and took a few gulps. He smiled and asked, “Senior, coming to play with us?”
“Nope, nope—Grade 12, too busy,” the girl replied with a smile, looking him over. “But you’re doing pretty well now, huh? You’ve really improved!”
“Still not as good as you, though.”
The two chatted happily. Ji Angran stood there holding the bottle of water, not knowing whether or not he should approach.
“Wow, is that Qiu Ruifeng’s girlfriend?”
“Probably, look at how they’re staring at each other, so full of affection.”
“Handsome and beautiful—they’re a perfect match!”
“I don’t even know who to be jealous of.”
A group of girls whispered behind him, and their voices just happened to reach Ji Angran’s ears.
His… girlfriend?
Ji Angran’s mood sank for no reason. It felt like a heavy stone had dropped into his chest, dragging his heart down. He hesitated, wanting to ask Qiu Ruifeng about it—but another strange thought suddenly rose in his mind:
What does it matter to you if she’s his girlfriend?
What, are you planning to date him?
The moment that thought surfaced, Ji Angran’s mind went completely blank. He stepped forward and shoved the water and meal card into Qiu Ruifeng’s arms, then turned and ran back to the classroom without looking back, ignoring Qiu Ruifeng’s surprised gaze.
Ji Angran felt like he had lost his mind.
He actually wanted to date Qiu Ruifeng.
…..
That weekend, after going home, Ji Angran carefully searched on the computer behind his parents’ backs.
[What should I do if I fall in love with someone of the same sex?]
[Is being gay a disease?]
[Can it be cured?]
He clicked through message after message on the screen, reading them one by one, until finally, he slowly closed his eyes.
He had finally admitted something he hadn’t wanted to face.
He had fallen for Qiu Ruifeng.
He was gay.