Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 21

The monthly exam was scheduled right after the National Day holiday. When the last class ended, everyone dashed out of the school as if they couldn’t wait to get home. Everyone except Lin Yujing, who sat at her desk and sighed deeply.

Shen Juan had remarkably attended every class this week, marking the first time since the school year started that he hadn’t skipped a single lesson, not even the self-study sessions. As classes ended, he stood up with his empty backpack and, noticing Lin Yujing’s dejected look, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want a holiday,” Lin Yujing replied, her eyes downcast. “I want to keep studying. Isn’t studying such a wonderful thing?”

“…”

Shen Juan was at a loss for words; he’d never encountered a high school student with such a proactive attitude toward studying.

Seeing Lin Yujing, dejected from head to toe, Shen Juan remained silent for a moment before gently asking, “Do you want to study, or do you not want to go home?”

Lin Yujing sighed again, “I don’t want to go home.” “Why?” Shen Juan asked.

Lin Yujing sighed for the third time. Just as she was about to speak, she paused, then looked up at the boy beside her.

Shen Juan was sitting on the edge of the desk, leaning against the wall with his chin tilted up, his eyelashes low. He was casually playing with his phone.

Recently, Lin Yujing had gotten very close to Shen Juan. So close that she no longer noticed when she let her guard down around him. The change had been so natural she hadn’t even realized it.

“Because my house is in Magic Castle, and if I go home, I’ll be forced to practice magic,” Lin Yujing blurted out jokingly.

Shen Juan stared at her for a few seconds, then smiled and lightly tapped her head with his phone. “Let’s go, desk mate.”

Lin Yujing instinctively covered the spot he had tapped, watching as he stood up, yawned, and walked out of the classroom.

Rolling her eyes, she started packing her things.

At the doorway, Shen Juan suddenly stopped and turned back. “By the way,” he said.

“Hmm?” Lin Yujing looked up.

“I’ll be at the studio during the National Day holiday,” Shen Juan said.

“Oh,” Lin Yujing replied, puzzled by why he was telling her this. “Not going out to have fun?”

“Nothing fun to do,” Shen Juan said, glancing down. “If you get bored, you can come by. I’ll be there.”

“…”

Lin Yujing couldn’t help but feel that his words meant, “If you have nowhere else to go, you can come to my place.”

Despite his carefree and indifferent exterior, Shen Juan was a very considerate person. Lin Yujing’s earlier comment about not wanting to go home had clearly revealed a lot of personal emotion, which Shen Juan had picked up on.

This was something she had noticed the second time they met at the 7-11 convenience store.

Despite his fierce and ruthless demeanor in fights, Shen Juan had a deeply hidden, gentle side. For example, during their clashes, he ensured that innocent bystanders, like Lin Yujing, wouldn’t get involved, even if it meant shielding them.

Another example was when he noticed her dropped rice ball and bought a replacement for her. Or when they had hotpot, and he discerned her slight wariness, ensuring her comfort by getting her a cola.

These subtle acts of kindness reflected his upbringing and character, showing he likely grew up in a loving environment or with someone who cherished him.

Lin Yujing put down her half-packed books, leaned back in her chair, and sighed.

“How nice,” she murmured to herself, “to have someone who cares about you.”

The classroom was empty now, with only her left. The whole floor was quiet, with a few students occasionally passing by the playground outside. From the window, she could see the lit classrooms in the senior year building, resembling small, bright patches.

In the deserted classroom, the air carried the scent of ink and books, mixed with a hint of loneliness.

After a whole day of classes, her eyes were slightly strained. Lin Yujing lowered her head, rubbed her eyes, and softly whispered, “I want that too.”

Her National Day holiday was quite uneventful. Despite Shen Juan’s offer, she didn’t plan on visiting his studio. Whether he was genuinely busy or just being polite, she couldn’t say. Mainly, she wanted to prepare for the upcoming monthly exam, her first at this school. Not knowing the difficulty of the exams at No. 8 High School, she spent her holiday studying diligently.

When she returned home from school, Fu Mingxiu was finally back from school too. He was sitting on the living room sofa, playing on his phone. Hearing her return, he didn’t even look up, his face full of indifference, though it seemed unnaturally stiff.

Noticing his apparent unwillingness to acknowledge her, Lin Yujing hesitated between greeting him and not. Eventually, she chose to respect his wishes and started heading upstairs.

Ever since the incident, her feelings towards Fu Mingxiu had been complicated.

Lin Yujing was not afraid of malice or hostility, but when such feelings were mixed with a bit of goodwill, she felt uncertain and uneasy.

Just as she started walking, Fu Mingxiu looked up, frowning at her. “Didn’t you see me?” “…Yes,” Lin Yujing replied.

Fu Mingxiu’s frown deepened. “Then why did you act like you didn’t?”

“…”

Lin Yujing suddenly felt that Guan Xiangmei had a tough time over the years. Her son was quite peculiar. Despite his manly appearance, he had an inner drama as rich as a princess’s.

Fine.

I’ll humor you.

Lin Yujing greeted him, not wanting to argue, and asked patiently, “Is there something you need, brother?”

Fu Mingxiu stared at her, clearly wanting to say something, but remained silent for ten seconds.

Lin Yujing turned to go upstairs, but he called out, “Wait.”

“…”

She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and turned back.

Fu Mingxiu glared at her. “Don’t think I’ve accepted you, and don’t get any ideas.”

Lin Yujing almost laughed at his antics. She genuinely thought he needed to see a psychiatrist. Was the pressure of having a stepfather and stepsister too much for him, causing him to have a breakdown?

“What ideas?” Lin Yujing asked.

“About the Fu family company. Don’t even think about it,” Fu Mingxiu said darkly. Lin Yujing laughed.

Still in her school uniform, with a backpack and a small suitcase, her pretty fox-like eyes curved in a charming smile. “Don’t worry, brother. I don’t want your company. Why would I? Working long hours, exhausted like a dog. It’s all yours. You earn the money,” she pointed at him, then herself. “I’ll just ask you for money when I need it. After all, siblings should complement each other.”

“…” Fu Mingxiu looked at her in disbelief.

Lin Yujing snapped her fingers and cheerfully hopped upstairs, leaving Fu Mingxiu standing there, looking like he’d just swallowed something bitter.

On the day of the monthly exam, Lin Yujing woke up early.

Though there was no need to arrive at school so early for exams, Liu Fujiang, experiencing his class’s first formal exam, was both excited and anxious. He had instructed everyone in the class group chat the night before to arrive at the usual time so he could give a ten-minute biology review before the exam.

After he said that, the previously lively group chat—full of messages like “Hey, have you played the new game?” “I downloaded it last night, played for ten minutes, and deleted it. I get motion sickness from 3D games.” “Has K released their fall/winter collection?” “Yeah, and the color blocking is hideously ugly.” “The game is starting, guys. Today it’s the Outsider Ducks against the Sunflowers. Are you watching?”—suddenly fell into a deathly silence. It was as if this group chat had been inactive for eight hundred years.

Lin Yujing was quite curious about how many people would actually show up on Monday morning.

When she arrived at the school gate, she first went to the cafeteria to buy breakfast. She even bought two bags of soy milk, one with walnut flavor. After all, it was exam time, and Teacher Xiao Lin, full of love for her students, bought it for her only student, Shen

Juan, hoping it would boost his brainpower. Otherwise, if he scored below forty in physics, it would damage her reputation.

When she reached the classroom, Liu Fujiang was standing at the podium, full of energy. There were so few students that he could count them on his fingers—less than ten. Yet, this did not dampen Liu Fujiang’s enthusiasm. Seeing Lin Yujing, he beamed with genuine joy, “Great, Lin Yujing is here too. Classmates, there are nine of us in total. What does this mean? This is called small class teaching. The quality of this kind of teaching is very high. Look at the neighboring private school, they have all small classes now, and the results are excellent—”

Lin Yujing: “…”

Liu Fujiang spent seven minutes praising the nine students for their dedication, then used the remaining three minutes to explain a big biology question. After this elite small class teaching session, the group disbanded and began moving desks and chairs to set up the exam room.

The last exam room was on the first floor, in a liberal arts classroom. The atmosphere there was distinctly different from the science classrooms. The back blackboard was decorated meticulously with dense words and drawings, clearly prepared with great care.

A large calligraphic banner hung on the front blackboard, with a bold and elegant script: “Today we have the long sword in hand, when shall we capture the dragon.”

Lin Yujing recalled her class’s blackboard, which only had a few large characters written sideways in white chalk by Li Lin: “Drink chrysanthemum tea in spring and autumn, clears heat and detoxifies.” Below it, a small chrysanthemum flower was drawn in yellow chalk.

Fourteen characters and one flower occupied the entire blackboard, winning their class the undisputed last place in the monthly blackboard competition.

On exam days, the school did not require students to wear uniforms, so everyone wore their own clothes. It was one of the few days they could forgo uniforms, and they fully embraced it, especially in the last exam room, where the variety of outfits was astonishing.

The girl sitting in front of Lin Yujing even wore lace fishnet stockings, and after sitting down, she took off her long-sleeve jacket, revealing a camisole underneath. The weather had already cooled in October, and the classroom was colder than outside, damp and chilly, making Lin Yujing feel cold just looking at her.

Ten minutes before the exam, Shen Juan appeared at the classroom door, momentarily quieting the noisy exam room.

Lin Yujing looked up to see Shen Juan in a white hoodie and black jeans, his legs long and straight. The hoodie was the simplest style, completely white with no patterns, making him stand out among the many cool kids in leather jackets. He looked like the epitome of youthful energy.

However, his demeanor was anything but youthful. Even in a simple white hoodie, he exuded a casual, indifferent charm.

Lin Yujing didn’t understand why.

Maybe because Shen Juan was just that cool.

Despite his laid-back exterior, Shen Juan commanded attention wherever he went. He walked to the last row, hands empty, without even a pen for the exam, his expression cold and fitting his bad-boy image.

But Lin Yujing knew he was just tired from waking up early and still a bit groggy. Usually, he would nap during the first period, but he couldn’t do that today because of the exam.

Lin Yujing handed him the bag of walnut-flavored soy milk. The packaging was like those jelly drinks with tight lids. Lin Yujing liked soy milk in the morning but sometimes struggled to open it, so she’d ask Shen Juan for help.

Shen Juan, half-asleep, took the soy milk, opened it naturally, and placed it on her desk before sitting beside her and yawning lazily.

The other students in the room: …What?

Lin Yujing thanked him and took a sip of the soy milk, tasting the walnut flavor and feeling the bits of walnut.

She realized, “Oh, I bought this for you.”

Shen Juan, still groggy, responded, “Then leave it there. I’ll drink it later.” Lin Yujing: “…”

The other students: …What?!?

The girl in the fishnet stockings quickly turned around, lowered her head, and began typing on her phone: [I think I just stumbled upon something big with Shen Juan.]

Author’s note:

Fu Mingxiu: I am the valiant knight who fights and loses repeatedly, never able to defeat my evil sister.

Shen Juan: The girl in the fishnet stockings, you’ve got keen eyes. Go to finance later to collect double pay.