Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 28

At Number 8 High School, there’s a forum where students talk about basketball, arrange fights, compare grades, recognize each other as siblings, and look for lost people. It’s bustling every day.

Recently, it’s been especially lively.

One reason is that the midterm exam results were out. Except for the seniors, both the first and second years took the exams together. Number 8 High School isn’t considered a top school in City A, with few students scoring over 700. Previously, the top ten students in each grade were usually from Class 1 of the experimental class, with only a few from other classes occasionally breaking in.

But this time, the first and second place in the grade were not from Class 1. In fact, insiders revealed that these two top scorers, both scoring over 700, took the exam in the last test room.

One of them was Shen Juan.

The famous Shen Juan.

The gossipers found it hard to believe.

Post 2: “What kind of world is this now? Even school bullies need to have good looks and good grades?”

Post 3: “I’m scared. When people ask me about our school’s graduation rate and teaching quality, what should I say? That even our school bullies score 700?”

Post 4: “What’s a top school like Number 1 High School compared to us? Nothing. Can their school bullies score 700?”

Post 5: “Didn’t Ren Liangxue also score over 700 this time? I heard his score was originally tied with Shen Juan’s, but he found a grading mistake on his paper, deducted three points from himself, and dropped to third. Such a cool guy.”

…

Post 22: “Those of you above must be first or second years. Let me tell you, as a senior, Shen Juan used to have good grades, but only to the extent of being in the top 20 or 30 in the grade. Not particularly outstanding. Now, it’s scary—first in the grade!”

Post 23: “You don’t know the whole story. I used to be in the same class as Shen Juan. He used to rank in the top 20 or 30 because there were no separate classes for humanities and sciences. Back then, exams included politics, history, and geography. He always dragged down his scores in these subjects. For politics, he could fill an entire answer sheet with ‘Our country is a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship.’ After the classes were divided, he excelled in sciences, dominating in every exam.”

…

Post 37: “700 points and only third place. A first-year student feeling proud of scoring 650 now shivers. Who is the second top scorer?”

Post 38: “No idea. Someone named Lin Yujing. Is Lin Yujing a girl? Sounds awkward.”

Post 39: “I know! I have something to say! I was in the same test room as Shen Juan during the midterms, sitting quite close. I heard him call her name and even bought her snacks… a lot of snacks… the kind a boyfriend buys for his girlfriend… and he did the ‘table thump.’ You know what ‘table thump’ is, right?”

Post 78: “Daring student from Class 10 here, secretly telling you, stop guessing. These two are very familiar with each other; they are desk mates.”

Post 79: “So, this is the difference between male and female desk mates? Male desk mates almost get beaten up, while female desk mates get snacks?”

Post 80: “Is she going to become his girlfriend next?”

Post 81: “Same test room here. After seeing their interaction, I thought they were already dating…”

Post 82: “Another daring student from Class 10 here, adding that these two are very sweet in class every day. Shen Juan is very patient and indulgent. He’s usually good- tempered, except for his love of sleeping. Our whole class doubts the truth of his notorious reputation.”

…

Li Lin silently closed the school’s forum, sneaking his phone back into his desk and looking at the backs of the two prominent figures in front of him.

He actually wanted to say, stop guessing. Even if there was a budding relationship before, now it’s likely on the verge of breaking up.

Recently, the atmosphere had been unusual, and Li Lin felt an extraordinary chill.

Lin Yujing, when you spend more time with her, you’ll find that she’s quite lively. Since she started playing games with the class, she gradually became familiar with everyone and wasn’t the aloof top student. But recently, she hasn’t been talking much.

Li Lin could feel the pressure from the two of them increasing day by day, making life very difficult.

At the end of October, the school held a sports meet for the first and second years, with the seniors not participating. Liu Fujiang advocated for the students’ overall development,

encouraging everyone to participate actively in the sports meet. He even freed up class meeting time for the sports committee member to promote each event and urge everyone to sign up.

“This will be your last sports meet in high school,” Liu Fujiang said with a smile. “When you look back at this time next year, you’ll think it was great to still be able to participate in a sports meet. Your senior classmates are now in the classroom, writing furiously. Forget about the sports meet, they barely have time to go to the bathroom.”

Lin Yujing originally didn’t want to sign up, but the tenth class had few girls and there were still many unfilled spots. Looking at the pitiful sports committee member standing on the podium, Lin Yujing sighed and casually picked a less exhausting event—the shot put.

Shot put.

After she signed up for that, even Shen Juan turned his head to look at her.

Lin Yujing pretended not to see him, not sparing him even a glance. She estimated that she might not want to talk to this jerk until Christmas.

In the first gym class that afternoon, the PE teacher asked the sports committee member about the sign-ups. After checking the list, the teacher nodded and smiled, saying, “I heard that the top two students in our grade are in our class. Who are these academic stars? Come out and let me see you.”

This PE teacher was quite young, having graduated from a sports school just a few years ago. He loved to joke around and often played ball games with the boys. He was also very humorous: “Hey, don’t be shy. I just want to see what the top students look like. The other day, your teacher Liu was bragging about you, saying you scored over 700 points? I’ve never scored over 350 in my life.”

The students in class ten laughed, looking at Lin Yujing at the front of the girls’ line, and then at Shen Juan at the front of the boys’ line.

The PE teacher noticed their gazes and raised an eyebrow: “You two, right? Aren’t you from this class? Are you the best-looking and the smartest? Come on, class flower and class grass, come over here. Why are you shy? It’s not like I’m pairing you up for a date.”

Lin Yujing really didn’t want to hear anything about the midterm exam results. Every mention brought an indescribable awkwardness, and she had to exert all her strength to control her urge to fight with Shen Juan again. With her head down, she took two steps forward, catching a glimpse of Shen Juan lazily stepping out.

In the orderly line, the two of them stood out.

The PE teacher laughed and waved them over: “Do you two have a deep-seated grudge? You’re almost standing at opposite ends. Come over here, to me.”

Lin Yujing and Shen Juan walked over, and the PE teacher hooked an arm around Shen Juan’s shoulder: “You know where the equipment room is, right?”

“Yes,” Shen Juan nodded.

“Alright, go on then, both of you, and bring the mats over.”

Lin Yujing turned and walked out.

Shen Juan followed her, his long legs easily catching up in two steps. He glanced down at her: “Do you know where it is?”

Lin Yujing paused, slowed down a bit, and ended up half a step behind him.

The two of them walked one after the other through the long corridor of the gym, arriving at the equipment room door. Shen Juan pushed the door open without turning on the lights. Inside, there was only a small square skylight, and the dim light filtered in. Shen Juan walked to the wall and picked up a long mat, dust swirling in the air and catching the light.

Lin Yujing frowned and walked inside.

Shen Juan glanced at her: “Wait there, I’ll get it.”

Lin Yujing acted as if she didn’t hear him, walking straight to his side and pulling out the mat beneath the one he held.

At 168 cm, she was quite tall for a girl, but still found it a bit strenuous to pull the mat. Shen Juan stepped back, leaning against a nearby iron basket full of soft volleyballs, watching as she tugged the mat bit by bit, finally pulling it out and dragging it toward the door.

Shen Juan grabbed her wrist.

Lin Yujing paused and turned her head.

He lowered his eyes, his thick eyelashes casting shadows: “Lin Yujing.”

Lin Yujing looked up at him: “What?”

Her voice was soft and cool, mingling with the dust in the sunlight, floating in the slightly cool early autumn air.

Shen Juan took a deep breath and said softly, “I’m sorry.”

Lin Yujing stiffened. The palm of the boy’s hand was warm against her wrist, but his fingers were slightly cool, creating a strange, uncomfortable itch. She tried to pull her hand away but couldn’t.

Lin Yujing tilted her head slightly: “Why are you suddenly apologizing to me…”

“How would I know?” Shen Juan frowned, his voice low and frustrated, “Why are you upset?”

Lin Yujing stared at him: “You don’t know why you’re apologizing to me?”

Shen Juan looked at her silently for a few seconds, then sighed, releasing her hand and leaning back against the wall, looking defeated and helpless: “Aren’t you upset?”

He said in a low voice, “What the hell am I supposed to do?” Lin Yujing felt a mix of emotions, both anger and amusement.

In all honesty, she didn’t know why she was being so petty either. To be fair, Shen Juan was quite innocent in this.

He hadn’t intentionally deceived her, nor had he hidden anything. Even the most perceptive guy had different ways of thinking compared to a girl.

Lin Yujing nodded, stepping closer to him: “Do you know why you scored two points higher than me?”

Shen Juan paused, seemingly thinking it was better to cooperate: “Why?” “Because you’re dumber than me,” Lin Yujing said.

…

Not daring to delay too long, the two of them returned with the mats. The PE teacher was squatting and chatting with the boys. The mats were laid on either side.

PE classes were usually split by gender, with the boys doing push-ups and the girls doing sit-ups. But today, the PE teacher seemed particularly enthusiastic, as if seeing top students for the first time. When the boys were ready to do push-ups, he called Lin Yujing over: “Come here, top student!”

Lin Yujing walked over.

The PE teacher grinned, showing his white teeth: “I heard you two are desk mates? Then you help him out.”

Shen Juan was propped up on the mat, looking up with a raised eyebrow.

Lin Yujing glanced at him, momentarily thinking the teacher wanted her to help adjust Shen Juan’s posture or something. She stammered, “Help with… what?”

“Count,” the PE teacher said, “Thirty, none of them can be substandard. Count for him, and if any aren’t up to standard, flick his forehead.”

Shen Juan: “…”

…

Liu Fujiang was feeling rather melancholic lately.

Their class had two students scoring over 700, which was something to be happy about. Liu Fujiang had been in high spirits for days, even eating two more bowls of rice than usual.

A close colleague jokingly said that with these two students, Liu could be promoted directly to department head.

But Liu Fujiang wasn’t thinking about that. He was genuinely happy. Years ago, he had the chance for a promotion and turned it down.

Seeing the bright futures of his students was his true reward for a lifetime of teaching.

Both students were good kids, and Liu genuinely liked them, until one day a young biology teacher saw him and…

One day, a young male teacher from the biology department saw him and said, “Hey, Mr. Liu, are those two top students in your class desk mates?”

Liu Fujiang chuckled, “Yes, they chose each other at the beginning of the term! It’s all fate,” Liu Fujiang sighed, “I always say, some things are destined. These two kids have such compatible energies; they have extra drive when they study together.”

The young teacher smiled, “I don’t know about their energies, Mr. Liu, but have you seen our school’s forum? The two top students in your class are quite popular there, they even have fan fiction written about them.”

Liu Fujiang was taken aback, “Fan fiction? What’s fan fiction?”

The young teacher shook his head, “You should check it out to understand. Honestly, you seem a bit too relaxed about this. These kids are sixteen or seventeen, right at the peak of adolescence. And you let them sit together? In my class, boys sit with boys and girls with girls. You really need to pay attention; a boy and a girl sitting together can lead to big problems.”

Liu Fujiang understood.

Thinking, “It’s impossible that these two kids, who seem to focus solely on their studies, would have anything else on their minds,” he downloaded the forum app and took a look at the posts in the school’s forum.

“818: Stories about our school’s big shot and their desk mates that you must know about” “ShenLin: ‘[ShenLin] Before Dawn’”

“Top Students’ Love Story: Things about the first and second in the grade”

“High Alert: Big Shot’s Love Affair Confirmed!!!”

“…”

Liu Fujiang’s hand trembled as he clicked into the last post.

First post: “Today during PE class!! After running laps, we had free time, so I watched our class boys play basketball in the gym. Then that Shen guy you all know also had PE class. The boys in his class were doing push-ups, and I saw a girl squatting beside him watching him!

I don’t know if that girl is the Lin you all know about because I’ve never seen her in person! But I feel like it must be her because this girl!! This girl was watching the big shot do push-ups and hitting him! She was hitting his head from time to time, really hard! I was scared just watching! It felt like the big shot was going to explode any second! But no! He didn’t! The big shot just kept doing push-ups! While looking happily beaten!!!”

Liu Fujiang: “…”

Liu Fujiang realized this might be a serious problem.

Author’s note:

Juan Ye: Painful yet happy.