Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 17

The claim of never getting hit was a boast. Lin Yujing actually got beaten quite a bit as a child.

Back then, she was young, had a big temper, always wore a cold expression, and had a stubborn and rotten personality. No one looked after her, so she behaved like a little wild child, always treating herself like a boy and often coming home covered in bruises.

When Lu Jiaheng and Cheng Yi weren’t around, she’d fight with a group of kids all by herself. Even when pinned to the ground, she wouldn’t yield, biting anyone she could like a little wild beast.

She was a very stubborn child, completely different from now.

The accumulation of experience leads to qualitative changes; fighting is no different. After getting beaten up enough times, the body remembers.

When Lin Yujing realized that she was truly unloved by both parents, her personality began to change. Her rough edges softened, and she gradually retracted her spikes. At twelve, she learned judo for a year with Lu Jiaheng, and since then, she was the one chasing others down.

After that, Lin Yujing kept a low profile. They were all mature middle schoolers; there was no need for fighting anymore. What could violence solve? Nothing was more important than studying; only studying brought her joy.

So when Lu Jiaheng and Cheng Yi went out to fight, Lin Yujing usually didn’t join. The boys, full of youthful vigor, engaged in fierce brawls, while she squatted nearby reciting classical texts:

“The performer sits behind the screen, with just a table, a chair, a fan, and a ruler…”

Lu Jiaheng would knock someone down with a punch and then turn back to yell at her, “Lin Yujing, are you crazy? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Lin Yujing would passionately recite, “With hair rising in rage, he leans on the railing as the rain showers end, raising his head, roaring to the sky, with intense fervor!”

Lu Jiaheng: “…”

Despite keeping a low profile, sometimes trouble found her. Some people, out of sheer recklessness, couldn’t be stopped even if you tried.

Most of the lunch break had passed. Lin Yujing glanced at the time, realizing there was no chance for a nap, which annoyed her slightly.

Not wanting to drag it out, she and her group marched out of the school, walked through a street full of restaurants, and entered a residential area into an old neighborhood.

The neighborhood was old, with a dirty blue roofed bike shed, signs of weathering everywhere, broken tiles on the flowerbeds, and a calico cat lazily lying in a corner that meowed upon hearing them.

Little Marshmallow was now too scared to speak, clutching Lin Yujing’s sleeve tightly, trying to pull her back.

Lin Yujing gently patted her hand to comfort her, pulling her behind her, and quickly surveyed the scene.

She understood now. Li Shiqi came looking for her today because her “brother” was only available today. As fierce as she might be, facing a guy who looked like a fitness coach would make any girl hesitate. She was also wary of Lin Yujing and didn’t want to confront her alone, so she needed someone to back her up.

As long as the muscle guy was there, her attitude would remain aggressive. If he were out of the picture, she’d be just for show.

“Let’s settle this today,” Lin Yujing said, looking at the muscular guy. “Whatever the outcome, no carrying grudges.”

Li Shiqi didn’t speak, instinctively turning to look at the person beside her.

The muscle guy was there mainly to back her up, not intending to actually fight a girl. Fights between girls were something he thought Li Shiqi should handle herself. Venting her anger was fine, but if he beat up a little girl and word got out, it would be embarrassing.

The muscle guy looked at her and nodded, “Alright.” As soon as he spoke, Lin Yujing charged.

The muscle guy still thought she would let Li Shiqi handle it, not expecting Lin Yujing to come straight at him.

Lin Yujing was quick. They weren’t standing far apart, and in a flash, she was by his side. He was tall, and she couldn’t reach his head, so she grabbed his collar and kneed him hard in the groin.

The man froze instantly, unable to make a sound, bent over with his legs clamped together. Lin Yujing swiftly turned around, locked his elbow, and with a shoulder throw, slammed him to the ground.

Little Marshmallow screamed.

The muscle guy lay flat on the concrete tiles, his head hitting the ground with a dull thud, making a daunting noise.

He couldn’t get up, curling up on the ground, clutching his crotch and shaking.

Lin Yujing rubbed her right shoulder. She wasn’t very confident just now, uncertain if she could handle someone twice her size. Shen Juan made it look easy, but that didn’t mean she could do the same.

Li Shiqi’s face turned pale, speechless. Lin Yujing, still calm, tilted her head and said, “I still offer the same two solutions,” she said softly. “You can lie there with your brother — don’t think just because you have more people, you have an advantage. None of you have

legs as thick as his arms. Either you all lie down one by one and apologize to my friend, or you apologize now, and we can all go back to our studies and be happy.”

Shen Juan had been drawing until four in the morning. Since school started, he had little time and had a backlog of work at the studio. This client had ordered a large back piece, and he planned to sketch it out in two hours and then sleep. But once he started, he lost track of time.

He woke up at eleven, took a shower, and decided not to go to school, thinking he would just have lunch and continue drawing. But as he stepped out of the bathroom, he got a call from He Songnan.

With a toothbrush in his mouth, Shen Juan answered without speaking.

“Hey, brother, stop sleeping. Get to school,” He Songnan said.

Shen Juan rinsed his mouth.

“Li Shiqi brought people to block your desk mate. They’re at the entrance of the teaching building,” He Songnan continued.

Shen Juan paused, put the toothbrush back, and asked, “Who?”

“No idea, doesn’t look like students. Probably some vocational school kids. I don’t know if you’ll make it in time, but your desk mate hasn’t come back yet. I guess she will in ten minutes at most. You—”

“Keep an eye on them for me,” Shen Juan said, hanging up.

Listening to the busy tone, He Songnan put down his phone and sent him a photo.

Shen Juan arrived half an hour later.

Lunch break was over, and the campus was empty. He Songnan was waiting by the school gate, and turned to see a Ducati parked behind him.

The boy sat on the heavy bike, one long leg propped up, wearing the Eight High’s dorky uniform, a mix of stylish and rural non-mainstream campus fashion.

At least he looked good.

He Songnan watched as Shen Juan took off his helmet, shook his wet hair, and asked, “Where are they?”

“They went that way. I had someone follow them. They couldn’t stay in the school,” He Songnan said. “Why do you have to wear the uniform on a heavy bike? Can’t you dress a bit cooler? You’re off to play the hero.”

Shen Juan started walking, “I’m a good student. Good students wear uniforms.”

He Songnan laughed, “Did you see the video I sent you?”

“No.”

“Why not? Your desk mate is a queen. She was so cool, I couldn’t close my legs. If she stays in Eight High, the title of school bully will be out of your hands.”

They walked quickly, Shen Juan’s strides so long that He Songnan had to hurry to keep up. They passed the restaurant street and walked another block before He Songnan stopped at a residential area entrance and waved Shen Juan over.

Shen Juan walked over, entered the courtyard, and saw a group of people standing by the bike shed in the distance.

Li Shiqi and a few girls stood beside the shed, and a guy was lying on the ground, clutching his groin.

He Songnan was stunned by the scene in front of him. Just as he was about to take a step forward, Shen Juan grabbed him and stepped aside, standing at the door without going in.

“Wait, that big macho guy was taken down by her?” He Songnan lowered his voice, pointing at the muscular guy on the ground, his expression exaggerated as he mouthed, “A little girl—”

Shen Juan said nothing.

Xu Ruyi stood with her back to the door in front of them, and Li Shiqi was apologizing to her in a very soft voice, so quiet they couldn’t hear it from where they stood.

“Miss, can we speak louder?” Lin Yujing was squatting on the flowerbed tiles, lazily propping her head up as she glanced at her watch. “I really don’t have time. Our class has physics in the first period this afternoon. You know Wang Konglong, right? Have you heard of him? He’s really strict.”

Li Shiqi glared at her.

Lin Yujing touched her lips with her fingertips and raised an eyebrow. Shen Juan leaned against the wall at the entrance of the community.

The pale yellow wall was damp and peeling, with a spider web in the corner, and a tiny spider was slowly climbing up a thread.

Shen Juan stared at it for a while, listening to the girls’ voices inside, and sighed. He suddenly felt like a fool.

He knew she wasn’t the type to be easily bullied. Even if she couldn’t win, she wouldn’t be one to take unnecessary risks or let herself suffer.

Still, he dropped everything, not even bothering to dry his hair, threw on some clothes, and rushed over. Why?

Afraid of traffic jams, afraid the subway would be slow, he rode his bike all the way from another district. For what?

Even his pants were on backward.

By the time Lin Yujing returned, the first period in the afternoon was already half over. She encountered Shen Juan and He Songnan at the school gate.

The main gate of No. 8 High School was not locked, but after lunch break, there was an entry and exit registration. The security guard inside had sharp eyes and wouldn’t let any little chick slip by.

Lin Yujing and Little Marshmallow Xu Ruyi went to register and sign in. Once inside, they saw the two of them strolling leisurely, slowly walking across the playground without any sense of urgency despite having already missed half a class.

He Songnan was still chatting and laughing, turned around to see them, and greeted them.

Lin Yujing had never seen such a carefree senior student. At her old school, seniors would bury their heads in textbooks even while eating.

Xu Ruyi and He Songnan were in the same class in another building. Shen Juan and Lin Yujing were together, heading towards the sophomore teaching building.

Lin Yujing was in a good mood. She glanced at the boy beside her, who also seemed quite happy, probably well-rested.

After observing him for a while, Lin Yujing noticed her deskmate had three states: awake, not awake, and asleep.

They entered the teaching building, which was quiet inside. The sound of teachers lecturing came from the classrooms. Lin Yujing tilted her head: “I thought you weren’t coming today.”

“Hm?” Shen Juan seemed lost in thought, climbing the stairs absentmindedly, “Oh, that was the plan.”

Class 10 was on the fourth floor. Lin Yujing took three steps at a time up the stairs. The physics teacher, Wang Ran, had a temper that matched his name, easily ignited, nicknamed “Wang Konglong” (Wang the Dinosaur). He was their deputy head teacher.

Lin Yujing really didn’t want to be late for his class, and now they were more than halfway through.

Sure enough, when they reached the classroom door and knocked, Wang Ran turned from the podium: “Really? You two lovebirds, why didn’t you just come back after class? You dare to skip my class?”

Lin Yujing said nothing, head down, hands behind her back, standing obediently to be scolded.

She usually took her studies seriously, sitting in the front row, leaving a good impression on her teachers as a quiet girl.

“Skipping class in the second week of school, I blame your teacher Liu for spoiling you. If it were up to me, I’d show you how to behave,” Wang Konglong slapped his triangle ruler with a loud “snap.” “Speak up, one by one, why are you late? What’s the reason? If you can’t explain, write Ohm’s Law five hundred times.”

Lin Yujing’s hand shook, she raised her head, and turned to look at Shen Juan. Shen Juan also looked down at her, slightly raising an eyebrow.

The girl’s eyes were full of emotion, and Shen Juan read six words and a punctuation mark in them—”Sorry, buddy.”

Shen Juan hadn’t figured it out yet.

“Teacher Wang, he wanted to skip class,” Lin Yujing quickly turned her head, pointing at Shen Juan, and said seriously, “As his deskmate, I felt it was my duty to bring him back.”

Author’s Note:

Shen Juan: Huh??