The four-school competition had been scheduled for early May. After nearly two weeks of intense studying, Bo Xinghang’s progress became evident, even to himself. He couldn’t help but mutter in disbelief, “Am I really this badass?”
Sitting beside him, Doctor Ji turned slightly and pinched the young man’s cheek with cool fingers, nodding calmly. “You’re amazing.”
Due to his upbringing, Doctor Ji instinctively ignored the crude language, but the sincerity in his tone was unmistakable.
With that encouragement, Bo Xinghang threw himself even deeper into his studies, enjoying the process until the day of the exam finally arrived.
That morning, the sun blazed through the windows, casting waves of heat and filling the room with bright light. Even the May wind felt wild and reckless.
Doctor Ji, after drying his hair with a towel, glanced out of the living room window. Deciding it was a day for light clothing, he slipped into a thin T-shirt before heading out to buy breakfast for the boy.
When he returned, he placed the breakfast casually on the coffee table and went to the bedroom to wake Bo Xinghang.
Lately, Bo Xinghang had developed a habit of sleeping in. Once, Doctor Ji had been too busy with work to wake him and later learned that he had overslept.
The young man was quite thin-skinned, his ears turning bright red as he obediently reflected on his mistake, promising he would wake up on time next time.
…But instead, he ended up waking up even later.
Today was no different. After countless attempts by Doctor Ji, Bo Xinghang finally stirred. His cheeks were flushed from sleep, and he looked dazed.
After a couple of seconds, he rubbed his eyes groggily and rasped, “What time is it?”
Ji Wenzhen crossed his arms and looked down at him. “It’s seven o’clock.”
“…Oh.”
Bo Xinghang yawned, his brows furrowing as he processed the information. Then, all of a sudden, panic flashed across his face, and he frantically searched for his phone.
He had carelessly tossed it on the bedside table the night before, but now it was nowhere to be found. Frowning, he muttered a curse under his breath and flipped the quilt over in search of it.
He looked so cute, like a stubborn dog baring its teeth at its owner but ultimately lowering its head with a soft whimper.
Doctor Ji’s heart skipped a beat.
When Bo Xinghang finally found his phone wedged in the bed, he checked the time again, and his last glimmer of hope faded. “…Shit, it’s really seven? Am I late?”
The thought of being late gave him a headache. He quickly put on his shoes and stood up, frustrated with himself. “Crap, I overslept again? How many times have I been late this week? Even though the homeroom teacher doesn’t care much, I swore I’d be a good student, damn it…”
Then, frowning, he corrected himself. “Fuck, good students don’t curse.”
Ji Wenzhen couldn’t help it; his lips curled into a slight smile, and even his voice carried a hint of amusement. “Xiao Xing.”
Bo Xinghang was reaching for his school uniform when he turned his head at the sound of his name. “What?”
Doctor Ji wanted to ask why he’d been so adorably clueless lately, but instead, his voice softened. “Today is the four-school competition, the exam you care about most.”
He emphasized the word “most,” fully aware of how much effort Bo Xinghang had put into preparing for this exam.
Ji Wenzhen knew him all too well. Despite the rivalry between the schools, the true significance of this exam lay in the fact that it was the first test Bo Xinghang had taken seriously after dedicating himself to his studies.
It was the first test to prove his abilities.
To astonish everyone.
Doctor Ji paused in his thoughts, realizing his choice of words had been too mild. What he truly meant was… for Bo Xinghang to make everyone surrender to him.
Those who despised him, who looked down on him, who feared or mocked him… Perhaps even more whispered about him behind the scenes.
Too many…
Ji Wenzhen lowered his head, rarely feeling anger.
His boy was too good to be subjected to such gossip.
But Bo Xinghang would prove his worth through this exam.
Bo Xinghang was strong. Once he set his mind to something, he gave it everything he had. Even if he didn’t say it aloud, his actions spoke volumes.
Doctor Ji admired this trait. His voice softened as he spoke again.
“The exam is at nine. There’s no need to rush. Eat first.”
“Oh.” Bo Xinghang was especially obedient, setting down his uniform and walking over to take Doctor Ji’s hand. Doctor Ji’s cool touch felt wonderfully comforting in the warmth of the room.
Bo Xinghang loved the feel of his cool skin and gave his hand a firm squeeze.
After breakfast, Doctor Ji personally drove him to school.
Doctor Ji had to be at the hospital by 8:30 AM, so he dropped Bo Xinghang off at school at eight.
At the Provincial Experimental School, most of the students were top performers. Even though it was just past eight in the morning, the school was already bustling with activity. Many students walked with their books in hand, memorizing knowledge points, seizing every possible moment to study.
Since the exam room numbers had been assigned beforehand, Bo Xinghang didn’t return to his usual classroom. Instead, he headed directly to the familiar last exam room and took his seat at the final desk.
In front of him sat a familiar old friend.
As soon as Bo Xinghang sat down, his friend turned around and greeted him. “Hang-ge! What a surprise to see you here so early!”
Bo Xinghang raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you early yourself?”
“Ugh! I had no choice. I was sound asleep when my mom barged in, smacking me through the quilt to wake me up.” Xu Yi continued his rant with a distressed look, “I told her we had exams today! But she wouldn’t listen, just forced me to get up.”
He sighed, slumping over his chair. “…Women are scary.”
Bo Xinghang couldn’t agree more.
Compared to Xu Yi’s mother, Doctor Ji was worlds apart.
Resting his chin on his hand, Bo Xinghang murmured softly to himself, “Having a boyfriend is really nice…”
“What? Did you say something?”
Bo Xinghang was sure no one had heard him, so he kept a straight face and replied calmly, “I didn’t say anything.”
“Oh.” Xu Yi scratched his head, then grumbled, “Damn, I’m already hallucinating from sleep deprivation. How am I supposed to take this exam…”
“Just let it be.” Bo Xinghang, sure of victory, responded with complete ease.
But Xu Yi, a self-proclaimed slacker, desperately wanted to teach No. 8 High School a lesson, though his abilities didn’t quite match his ambition. The frustration of having the will but not the skill was almost unbearable.
Looking up at the ceiling, Xu Yi lamented, “I wish I could just let No. 8 High be—”
“…”
Bo Xinghang didn’t respond, his slender fingers flexing gently as he absently tapped his star-shaped earring. The soft clink of the silver stud against his nail produced a crisp sound.
He thought of something but only smiled before pulling his exam supplies from his backpack.
As he looked at his pencil case, he drifted into a daze.
Not too long ago, he would randomly borrow a pen just to scribble his student number and name on the exam sheet. Now, in just over two months, he had transformed into someone completely different.
It felt almost magical.
The past two months had stretched on like two years. The first two years at the Provincial Experimental School felt like an eternity, yet he could barely recall anything from that time. In contrast, the recent days were so vivid that even the smallest details replayed in his mind over and over.
And all of it traced back to one thing.
Meeting Doctor Ji.
Since then, his world had been filled with light.
When the exam papers were handed out, Bo Xinghang instinctively scanned the questions to gauge their difficulty. He felt confident.
The questions weren’t hard, likely because the school didn’t want to overwhelm students so close to the college entrance exams. The difficulty level was on par with the entrance exams themselves.
During his intense study sessions, Bo Xinghang had worked on the problems Doctor Ji had selected for him. Doctor Ji made sure to cover a wide range of topics, from the hardest to the simplest. Bo Xinghang had tackled them all.
At the time, he had found it tedious. He often wanted to rely on his intelligence and take shortcuts. But Doctor Ji was steady, his approach grounded in gradual progress. His persistent and patient tutoring was aimed at ensuring solid results.
Bo Xinghang couldn’t bear to let Doctor Ji down, so even though it had been frustrating, he diligently completed all the work.
Within half a month, he had mastered most of the question types. By the time he reached the final question on this exam, he felt completely at ease. He completed the test almost on instinct.
When he finished, Bo Xinghang looked up and saw there were still twenty minutes left in the exam. He could have submitted his paper early.
The old Bo Xinghang would have handed it in and left without a second thought. But this time, he lowered his head and carefully reviewed his answers.
On the first pass, there were no mistakes.
On the second pass, still no mistakes.
Bo Xinghang glanced at the clock. With five minutes left, he decided to go through his answers one last time, double-checking his responses on the answer sheet.
In the final minute, he reached the last multiple-choice question. As his fingers traced the options, he suddenly froze.
The answer he had selected on the exam paper was C, but on the answer sheet, he had marked B.
“Fuck…”
He had been so focused on reviewing the test that he hadn’t noticed the mistake on the answer sheet until now.
Bo Xinghang quickly grabbed his eraser and rubbed out the error, correcting his answer just as the final bell rang.
When the exam finally ended, his tense shoulders relaxed, and he leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to catch his breath.
After a brief rest, he bent down, opened his backpack, and pulled out his phone to send a message to Doctor Ji. As his fingers touched the screen, he noticed a faint mist forming on it.
He hadn’t realized it while answering the questions, but his palms were actually sweaty.
“Damn it…” Bo Xinghang stared at his hands for a couple of seconds before casually wiping the sweat on his pants. He chuckled, ridiculing himself. “I’m being so fucking dramatic.”
But being dramatic wasn’t a problem.
Someone out there liked him just the way he was.
As soon as the bell rang, Xu Yi invited Bo Xinghang to leave together. Without thinking, Bo Xinghang declined, mumbling something vague about “Someone’s picking me up.”
Xu Yi assumed it was the person he had a thing with and immediately wore a knowing expression. He nodded, repeating, “I get it, I get it,” several times.
Bo Xinghang looked at him like he was an idiot, thinking to himself: You don’t know shit.
When he walked out of the school gate, he spotted a familiar black car parked nearby. Bo Xinghang immediately ran over and sat in the passenger seat with a big grin.
“Did you finish work?”
Doctor Ji nodded calmly. “Mm.”
In truth, Doctor Ji had become increasingly unprofessional in his role as a doctor.
He used to work late into the night, but now he left work on time every day. Even his colleagues wondered if he had a beautiful girl as a lover.
Doctor Ji had simply smiled at the suggestion, thinking to himself that, yes, he did have a lover. But it wasn’t a girl—it was a handsome boy.
A cute, handsome boy.
And he’s mine.
