Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 22

“I’ve taken exams from middle school to high school in the last test hall for so many years, but I’ve never seen such an explosive display of public affection in an exam room. You know our school’s big shot, Shen Juan, right? The one who beat his deskmate into a coma and took a leave of absence. He’s in his second year now, and we happened to be in the same exam room this time.”

“Wait, didn’t he almost beat his deskmate to death?”

“What’s the difference between beating someone to death and putting them in a coma? But is that the main point here? Can you stop interrupting me?”

“Okay, go on.”

“Anyway, that Shen Juan, he just now opened a soy milk for a girl!”

“…”

“After he opened it, the girl took a couple of sips and said he bought it for her!” “…”

“And the big shot calmly said, ‘Just leave it there, I’ll drink it later.’”

“…”

The invigilator hadn’t arrived yet, so everyone in the exam room should have been making last-minute preparations, but some had given up and were playing on their phones, not even intending to cheat.

A girl in lace stockings took advantage of the time before the invigilator collected the phones to rant to her friend: “What kind of reaction is that? Don’t you think it’s terrifying that Shen Juan managed to find a girlfriend?”

Friend: “Why wouldn’t he? He’s so handsome, incredibly handsome.” Friend: “And opening a soy milk is just a romantic gesture?”

Girl in lace stockings: “He’s handsome, but I’m still scared. What if he gets mad while we’re dating and throws me against the wall?”

Girl in lace stockings: “You weren’t there, you don’t know. You don’t know how naturally he opened that soy milk! It was so practiced! Like he does it every day. He didn’t even open his eyes, just took it and opened it.”

Girl in lace stockings: “And then he told the girl to leave it there because he’d drink it later! Isn’t that practically indirect kissing?”

Friend: “So, did the big shot drink it in the end?”

The girl in lace stockings turned around silently. Lin Yujing rolled her eyes, ignoring Shen Juan completely. Sitting behind him, she drank the rest of the walnut soy milk and threw the empty carton into the trash can at the back of the classroom.

Girl in lace stockings: “…”

The girl in lace stockings turned back around silently: “No, that girl was too cool. She drank the soy milk herself and threw it away.”

Friend: “She ignored the big shot, drank the soy milk, threw it away, and survived? Now I’m starting to believe this romantic involvement you’re talking about.”

Lin Yujing didn’t realize that the drama in the last exam hall had already spread to every exam room via phones, nor did she think it was strange that everyone was looking in her direction.

For a big shot, being the center of attention was natural. Lin Yujing still remembered the first time Shen Juan appeared at the door of their class 10 classroom. The whole class fell silent instantly; it was far more shocking than now.

She finished drinking the soy milk and threw the carton into the trash can, which made a light sound. Shen Juan’s ears twitched, and he looked up at her: “You drank it all?”

“Huh?” Lin Yujing replied, “Oh, yeah, I drank it all.”

Shen Juan: “Wasn’t it for me?”

“…”

Lin Yujing looked at him strangely: “I drank it, and you still want it?”

Shen Juan stared at her silently for five seconds, then slowly said, “Ah,” and leaned back in his chair.

He frowned at the corner of the desk for a while, looking like he had just woken up.

The pre-exam bell rang, and the invigilator entered the exam room, collecting phones and urging students to put their bags at the front.

Lin Yujing took two pens out of her backpack, intending to give one to Shen Juan. As she turned with the pen in hand, Shen Juan lazily yawned, slowly leaning to the left. He took a pen out of his jeans pocket, spun it twice in his hand, then leaned back and took a folded blank piece of scratch paper out of his hoodie pocket.

“…”

A tough guy.

The exam subjects followed the same order as the college entrance exam, but the schedule was tighter: Chinese and math in the morning, science and English in the afternoon, with a fifteen-minute break between each subject.

Lin Yujing had never experienced the exam conditions of the last test hall before, and this was an eye-opener. The classroom was so quiet that even the sound of writing was barely audible. One invigilator sat at the front playing on his phone, while the other roamed the room, though he seemed to be daydreaming.

The first subject was Chinese. About half of the students in the front rows were still writing vigorously, trying to make an effort, while many in the back had given up and were sleeping on their desks. Lin Yujing noticed a guy sitting diagonally in front of her who wrote his name, filled out all the multiple-choice questions in thirty seconds, and then started sleeping.

His writing was fluid and bold, making it hard not to notice him.

The difficulty of the test was moderate, less challenging than those at her previous school. Lin Yujing finished quickly and didn’t bother to check her answers since the questions were easy for her.

She put down her pen and leaned back, glancing at Shen Juan beside her.

Shen Juan had his head down, writing his essay slowly. Lin Yujing glanced over and saw his densely filled answer sheet.

She raised an eyebrow.

She had thought he was the type to be too lazy to write so much in an exam, like Cheng Yi.

Among her childhood friends, Lu Jiacheng had decent grades, while Cheng Yi fit all the criteria of a typical poor student at his age. If he were here at Ba Zhong, he would definitely be one of the guys in the back row, wearing a studded leather jacket and sleeping on the desk.

This person would never write more than necessary. In other subjects, it was fine, but when it came to Chinese exams with large blank spaces, he wouldn’t even bother adding extra punctuation marks. Often, he would just write the title for his Chinese essay and leave it at that, not even pretending to care.

At their strict school, after being scolded by the homeroom teacher, subject teacher, and grade director in turn, Cheng Yi finally started writing his essays. He wrote dialogues.

“Have you eaten today?”

“I have.”

“What did you eat?”

“The food was pretty good.”

—Writing one sentence per line, in this way, he quickly reached the 800-character limit on a blank essay sheet.

At that time, Lin Yujing thought, “I’m really lucky to have such a clever friend.” –

Once she finished her exam, Lin Yujing didn’t see the point in submitting it early. Since there was nothing to do afterward and she couldn’t stay in the exam room, she just put her head down and went to sleep.

After finishing the last math test in the morning, she looked up and saw Shen Juan finally revealing his true colors.

He had his paper on the desk with a pen lying across it, his hands in his hoodie pockets, leaning back casually in his chair. The front legs of the metal chair were off the ground, with only the back legs touching, and he rocked slowly with his movements.

Lin Yujing felt a slight urge to kick the chair leg, curious to see what it would look like if the school bully fell flat on his back. But for her own safety, she decided against it.

The bell signaling the end of the exam rang, and the invigilator came to collect the papers. Shen Juan got up quickly and walked out. Lin Yujing stayed behind to organize her desk, placing her pens and scratch paper together. As she stood up to get her backpack from the front, a shadow fell over her desk.

She looked up.

Shen Juan was standing there with her backpack, leaning against the desk. “Want to grab lunch together?”

Lin Yujing glanced up at him.

Shen Juan usually had lunch with his former classmates from his senior year, like He Songnan. This was the first time Lin Yujing received a lunch invitation from her deskmate, and she felt somewhat flattered.

After thinking for a moment, she seriously asked, “Did you forget to bring money?” “…”

“I brought money,” Shen Juan sighed deeply. “You don’t need to pay. What do you want to eat? I’ll treat you.”

His sigh was meaningful, but Lin Yujing didn’t understand it. She suddenly remembered him saying before, “I don’t charge much, just enough to make a living.”

Lin Yujing felt a bit sorry for him. A school bully who had to rely on tattooing to make ends meet, who still found time to do homework even during summer fights, and who

filled out exam papers diligently despite not listening in class, didn’t seem very well-off. Yet, he was offering to treat her.

What a positive and diligent attitude towards learning! He even brought pens and scratch paper for the exam!

“No need, I’ll treat you,” Lin Yujing quickly said. She packed her pen and paper into her backpack, zipped it up, and stood up. “What do you want to eat?”

Shen Juan raised an eyebrow, looking at her for a moment before looking away and walking out. “Nothing in particular. Anything’s fine.”

Lin Yujing had eaten at most of the small restaurants around the school by now. She knew which ones had good food, which ones were just okay, and which ones would make you sick right after eating. She wanted to show some sincerity for her first time treating her deskmate to a meal.

As they walked out of the exam hall, Lin Yujing counted off on her fingers, “Let’s skip the stir-fried rice noodles and the beef noodle place next door. They’re not very clean. Hot pot and barbecue have too strong a smell, and we don’t have enough time. Do you eat stir-fried dishes?”

“Mm,” Shen Juan seemed in a good mood, his lips curving slightly as he lazily replied, “Anything’s fine with me.”

Having settled on stir-fried dishes, they left the school gates. Lin Yujing nodded and looked up. “Then—”

She paused, her words trailing off.

Across the street from the school gate was a familiar car, Meng Weiguo’s beloved vehicle, which he had specially brought over from the capital.

A man in a casual suit stood by the car, with sharp, handsome features that showed little sign of aging. He looked young but carried a distinguished presence that starkly contrasted with the high school students around him.

Many girls walked by, turning their heads to look at him and then whispering and giggling in groups.

The school gate was crowded with students rushing out after exams or class, and Lin Yujing suddenly stopped in her tracks. Someone behind her, irritated, pushed her: “Are you moving or not?”

Shen Juan raised his hand, hovering it over her back, and glanced back.

The person behind them was a tall boy who shrank back after meeting Shen Juan’s gaze, withdrawing his hand.

Lin Yujing abruptly turned around and tried to walk back, but the crowd behind her blocked her way.

Annoyed, she frowned, her whole demeanor showing a kind of oppressive frustration. She turned to Shen Juan, “Let’s eat another day. Not today.”

Shen Juan raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“Not today,” Lin Yujing said. “Another day, I’ll treat you. You can eat whatever you want, okay?”

Shen Juan raised an eyebrow. “No.”

Lin Yujing took a deep breath. “I don’t feel like eating today. I want to go back to the dorm and study for the science exam this afternoon. I’m not confident. I’ll treat you to something good another day. I promise.”

Shen Juan stared at her with dark, ink-like eyes. “Today is today.”

Lin Yujing almost felt like hitting him. She couldn’t understand why someone usually so perceptive and considerate was being so difficult today.

Most of the students had already left the school gate, and everyone was moving out. The two of them stood there, and with one of them being a notorious school bully, they attracted quite a bit of attention.

Lin Yujing glanced across the street. Meng Weiguo, leaning against the car, had already noticed her.

She quickly turned around, backing up to the school gate, and grabbed Shen Juan’s hoodie, pulling it down forcefully. Caught off guard, Shen Juan bent forward, his back arching slightly as their faces came close to colliding.

He blinked in surprise.

“Shen, do me a favor.” Lin Yujing’s voice was soft, almost a whisper, her lips close to his face. Shen Juan could see her eyelashes flutter slightly.

Her actions were aggressive, like she was about to fight, but her voice was soft and pleading. “Please.”

“…”

Damn.

Author’s Note:

Shen Juan: “A thousand words condensed into one—Damn.”

Note: Cursing is wrong, kids, don’t learn from Shen Juan.