Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 25

At 7:30 PM, in a 7-11 convenience store, Lin Yujing sat at a table, staring at Shen Juan’s swollen forehead.

The boy showed no expression as he tore open a packet of salad dressing, poured it over the fruits and vegetables, and mixed it with a cheap plastic fork. He pushed the salad toward Lin Yujing. “Eat.”

It was somewhat amusing to see the boy, with his swollen head, mixing a vegetable salad with a cheap plastic fork. Lin Yujing struggled to suppress her laughter, forcing herself to look serious as she said, “Why didn’t you dodge?”

“Hmm?” Shen Juan realized what she was asking after a moment and answered honestly, “I couldn’t dodge in time.”

Indeed, he hadn’t managed to dodge. The girl was too fast. One second she was glaring at him with teary eyes, and the next she had lunged at him.

Shen Juan thought he was about to get a hug. He only had time to move the arm holding the cigarette away to avoid burning her. He wondered what was happening—how a fight could turn into a hug—when suddenly, she grabbed his collar and yanked him down. Instead of a hug, his forehead collided with her knee, making a clear “thud” as bone met bone.

Shen Juan finally understood how she had knocked down the muscular guy. With her speed, it was no wonder the muscle-bound guy, who looked like he was made of butter, couldn’t react in time. By the time he raised his hand, she could slap him three times back and forth.

Lin Yujing took the fork, speared a lettuce leaf, and put it in her mouth, hesitantly asking, “Does it hurt?”

“It’s okay,” Shen Juan replied, leaning to the side with his arm resting on the table. “I don’t feel much.”

“…”

Lin Yujing cleared her throat and pointed at his forehead. “You don’t feel anything? It’s swollen. Let me…” She extended her index finger, carefully hovering it over his forehead, then withdrew it after a moment. “I think this affects your looks. Should I put a band-aid on it?”

“Sure,” Shen Juan said. “Put three side by side. That might cover it.” It was quite swollen, so one band-aid wouldn’t be enough.

“Or should I get you some bruise ointment? There’s a pharmacy across the street,” Lin Yujing suggested. “Or I could buy a roll of gauze and wrap it around your head. It’ll make you look like someone with a story, more intimidating.”

“…”

Shen Juan sighed. “I’m intimidating enough. Hurry up and eat, and then I’ll take you out.” –

In Lin Yujing’s mind, there were only a few places delinquent youths went: internet cafes for all-night gaming, arcades. Lu Jiaxing and Cheng Yi usually preferred pool halls, probably because the sport had a touch of elegance that matched their self-satisfied flamboyance.

Shen Juan took her on a ten-minute cab ride but couldn’t get one, so they ended up taking the subway for half an hour, transferring to a bus, and walking for five minutes. Just when Lin Yujing thought she might be sold to some remote area, they finally arrived.

Lin Yujing looked up at the three-story elliptical building with a strong sense of design and the sign on the top floor.

Shooting Club.

Lin Yujing opened her mouth, turning to Shen Juan. “Here?” “Yeah,” Shen Juan walked in. “Here. Don’t you like this?” “…”

Lin Yujing couldn’t remember ever saying she liked this. She recalled feeling miserable playing a shooting game, watching herself get hit repeatedly without knowing where the shots were coming from.

She followed Shen Juan inside. The club had a high-end design, exuding a cold and oppressive atmosphere. The walls were in cool tones, the floor was black marble, and the decor was metallic. A huge target hung from the ceiling in the lobby.

They walked past the target and headed inside, where a man at the front desk was on the phone. “Baby, listen to me. It’s not what you think. I was with Xiao Mei—Hello? Hello?! Baby—damn!”

The man slammed the phone on the desk, then picked it up and wiped it off. When he looked up and saw Shen Juan, he raised an eyebrow.

Seeing Lin Yujing beside Shen Juan, his eyebrows nearly reached his hairline.

The man leaned on the high marble desk and called out, “What time is it? Why are you here—” He paused, looking at Shen Juan approaching, and pointed. “What happened to your head?”

“…”

Lin Yujing looked away, her eyes darting around the room as she pretended to be interested in the decor.

Shen Juan hesitated. “Got scratched by a cat.”

The man stared at him. “What kind of cat scratches that much?” Shen Juan smirked. “A breed you’ve never seen.”

The man seemed too lazy to argue, glancing between Lin Yujing and Shen Juan before nodding. “Alright, do as you like.” He leaned back, dialing again. “Hello, Xiao Mei, I wasn’t on the phone with anyone else just now. I was talking business. There’s no one else in my heart but you. No, no, don’t hang up—Hello? Hello?!!!”

“…”

Lin Yujing turned her head and whispered, “Why do ‘baby’ and ‘Xiao Mei’ sound like two different people?”

Shen Juan glanced at her, also lowering his voice, “You’re very perceptive.”

Shen Juan seemed quite familiar with the place. They passed through two large shooting areas on the first floor and took the elevator to the third floor.

The third floor was much less crowded, divided into several smaller sections, somewhat like private rooms. Each section had multiple shooting lanes, equipped with human- shaped targets, moving targets, and rotating targets, all behind glass partitions.

Lin Yujing watched as Shen Juan entered a password, placed her backpack on a chair, and then went out. In less than two minutes, he returned with two bows and a quiver of arrows.

“…”

Lin Yujing: ?

“Aren’t we using guns?” Lin Yujing watched as he placed the bows on the table. “I saw people downstairs playing with ‘bang bang bang’ ones.”

“You should have also seen that they had instructors beside them. You can just play with the bow,” Shen Juan said, holding armguards and gloves. “Extend your hand.”

Lin Yujing obediently extended her hand, watching as he put the armguard on her. “But you are here with me.”

Shen Juan paused, looked up at her, and said, “You’re a minor.” “Minors can’t use guns?”

“Technically, no,” he replied, looking down to tighten the armguard, then handed her a bow. “This one is a recurve bow without a stabilizer, clicker, or bowstring guard.”

“Wait,” Lin Yujing interrupted. “You’re not letting me use a gun, and now you give me a bow with nothing on it?”

“You don’t need them. Without a stabilizer, you don’t need a bowstring guard, and a clicker is for maintaining a draw length,” Shen Juan explained.

Lin Yujing, using the brain that always scored first in exams since middle school, tried to process his explanation and realized she only understood the first three words—’You don’t need.’

“I see,” she nodded, then asked, “Can you give a simpler explanation?”

Shen Juan was silent for two seconds. “Because you’re a beginner.” “…”

Lin Yujing didn’t understand why she bothered to ask and embarrass herself. Wasn’t ‘you don’t need’ enough?

Holding the bow, she took a step back, looking displeased. Shen Juan couldn’t help but laugh, beckoning her with a raised hand. “Come here.”

Lin Yujing gave him a sideways glance and took two steps forward.

Shen Juan attached the quiver to her waist, drew an arrow, and stood slightly behind her.

Up until this point, Lin Yujing didn’t think anything was amiss.

Until Shen Juan, from behind her, lifted her bow with one hand and placed the arrow on the string with the other.

Cheng Yi had once said that golf and pool were essential activities for flirting—these sports created a deceptive sense of intimacy. Now, Lin Yujing felt archery should be added to that list.

Shen Juan’s low voice sounded right by her ear, slightly warm, heating her ear tips. “Straighten your arm, spread your feet, don’t move your body, turn your head—”

Lin Yujing fought the urge to elbow him, feeling a tingling sensation spreading from her ear downwards, making her fingers numb, and she could barely hold the bow.

“Don’t shake, keep your elbow up,” Shen Juan lowered his body, his fingertips on her wrist. “Focus on the target—”

His fingers were cold, and Lin Yujing’s hand trembled, causing the arrow to shoot out with a “whoosh” and hit the human-shaped target between the legs, right in the crotch.

Lin Yujing: “…” Shen Juan: “…” The air was tense.

Lin Yujing took a small step forward, distancing herself from Shen Juan, and glanced at the arrow in the crotch. Clearing her throat, she said, “You told me to focus on the target.”

“…”

Lin Yujing was quite satisfied with her first shot. “How’s my aim?”

Archery was quite exhausting, and keeping her arm extended was tiring. Shen Juan had chosen the smallest bow, but it was still heavy. Just as Lin Yujing was about to lose confidence, Shen Juan picked up the bow and shot three arrows in quick succession, all hitting the red bullseye of the human target.

Shen Juan didn’t even wear gloves, and after the last arrow, he shook his hand and leaned against the wall, giving her a lazy look, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. His casual demeanor was infuriating.

Lin Yujing’s competitive spirit was instantly ignited. About half an hour later, she finally managed to hit the edge of the target.

“Okay,” Lin Yujing was quite pleased with her progress. “These things take time. It has to be done step by step.”

Shen Juan chuckled softly, nodded, and said, “Let’s wrap it up.” “Let’s.”

Lin Yujing didn’t want to go home, so they decided to head back to school. They took a cab to the entrance of the Eighth High School, but the gates were firmly locked since evening self-study had long ended.

Standing in front of the locked gate, they exchanged glances.

Lin Yujing pondered for a moment and asked, “Is there a wall we can climb?” Shen Juan raised an eyebrow. “Probably, but I’ve never climbed one.”

Lin Yujing raised an eyebrow too. “You’ve never climbed a wall? How can you call yourself a delinquent if you’ve never climbed a wall? You’re not a true delinquent.”

“Delinquents usually don’t live on campus, so there’s no need to climb walls.”

They walked around the school until they found a section at the back with a one-person- wide gap without an iron fence, probably made by someone earlier for the benefit of future students.

Shen Juan stood beneath it, extended his arms, and turned his head slightly. “Come on.”

Lin Yujing was still craning her neck, figuring out how to climb up. When she heard him, she turned her head. “Hmm?”

The early autumn breeze had cleared the humid air. Under the sparse stars and bright moon, the boy looked at her, head tilted lazily, saying, “I’ll lift you up.”