Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 30

Liu Fujing specifically emphasized the word “girl.”

Shen Juan was momentarily at a loss for words.

Liu Fujing quickly realized his mistake and hastened to explain, “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to understand kids your age better. I wasn’t just asking you,” he said, rather unnecessarily, “I also spoke with Li Lin last class.”

Shen Juan was silent for a few seconds and seemed to smile slightly, raising an eyebrow, “Teacher Liu, early romance affects my studies.”

“…”

Liu Fujing thought this kid was quite adept at deflecting. But does this mean he’s not planning to date? Or is he not planning to date girls?

Liu Fujing opened his mouth, still with a hundred questions he wanted to ask, but in the end, he didn’t say anything. He didn’t know how to broach the topic, sighed, and waved his hand, “Go back to class.”

Shen Juan nonchalantly returned to the classroom.

Inside the classroom, the sports committee member was discussing with Lin Yujing about her registration for the shot put event in the sports meet.

The sports committee member was very enthusiastic about the sports meet, and Lin Yujing was the only girl in the class willing to sign up for events other than running. The committee member was trying to persuade her to also sign up for discus and javelin.

Lin Yujing was helpless. Seeing Shen Juan return, she stood up to make room for him and said good-naturedly, “Committee member, look at me,” she pointed to herself, “do I look like someone who can throw a discus?”

The committee member looked at her wrist, which seemed fragile enough to snap, and hesitated, “But didn’t you sign up for shot put?”

Lin Yujing replied, “That’s because I’m slow in short runs and can’t handle long runs. Shot put seemed the least exhausting, just for participation.”

Shen Juan sat down and listened to her half-heartedly tricking the committee member. The bit about shot put being the least exhausting seemed genuine; he didn’t quite believe her about being slow in short runs.

He recalled the night at 7-11 when she dashed up to him in a flash and felt a slight throbbing in his temple.

She would definitely come first in a short run. –

The sports committee member persisted in asking Lin Yujing for two classes, only to be repeatedly and ruthlessly rejected.

But he was undeterred, and finally, Lin Yujing, worn down, had no choice but to sign up for the javelin event as well.

The committee member was satisfied and, during a break, watched as Lin Yujing signed her name on his list. He then happily ran to the next class to convince the English class representative to sign up for the girls’ 800 meters.

Until the bell rang.

Lin Yujing sighed as she took out her book and notes, muttering, “I really don’t get it. What’s the committee member thinking? Asking me to throw a discus? What does a discus even look like?”

“Maybe he thought you liked it since you signed up for shot put?” Shen Juan suggested, then suddenly turned to her, “What’s your weight?”

Lin Yujing turned to him, “Don’t you know it’s taboo to ask a girl’s weight?”

“I was just curious about your build,” Shen Juan said, slowly scanning her from head to toe, finally resting his gaze on her slender wrist peeking out from her uniform sleeve, “whether you’re throwing the shot put or the shot put’s throwing you.”

Lin Yujing straightened up and leaned closer to him, “With my build,” she pointed to herself, “I can take on ten people.”

Shen Juan chuckled, “With inflatable muscles?”

Lin Yujing fell silent.

So did Shen Juan.

Lin Yujing didn’t know that Shen Juan had seen her with Li Shiqi that time. He was secretly watching her.

One slip of the tongue revealed everything.

Though it wasn’t a big deal.

Lin Yujing turned expressionlessly to him, staring.

Shen Juan also stared back, saying nothing.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

“You saw it,” Lin Yujing said.

“I saw it,” Shen Juan replied.

“What did you see?” Lin Yujing asked.

“I saw you…” Shen Juan thought for a moment, lazily continuing, “throwing down the guy Li Shiqi brought.”

Lin Yujing nodded, “So you did see.”

She spoke calmly, her expression similar to when she was figuring out how to get away with murder in front of the rice noodle shop.

Shen Juan slouched, spinning his pen, reminding her, “Actually, whether I saw it or not, maintaining your image in front of me is a bit late.”

“…”

Lin Yujing thought for a moment and agreed. This person had naturally and effortlessly stripped away her façade, not even knowing when. They had fought twice already; her serene fairy persona had long since crumbled to pieces.

She sighed, turned around, rested her head on her hand, and murmured, “Alright then.”

Li Lin, sitting behind them, had mixed feelings watching their interaction.

Liu Fujing didn’t get any answers from Shen Juan but still felt uneasy. He knew Li Lin and Ye Ziang sat behind them and were probably familiar with them, so he specifically sought them out after class to ask them to help find out what was going on.

“You’re about the same age and get along well. I believe in letting you develop freely and don’t want to interfere too much, but I can’t help worrying a little,” Liu Fujing had said earnestly.

Li Lin understood. From elementary to high school, he had always been the kind of student teachers nearly gave up on: “I don’t care if you listen or not, study or not, just don’t disrupt the class.”

But Liu Fujing was different. He never gave up on any student, no matter how poor their grades. Li Lin genuinely liked him for that.

So he decided to help investigate. Li Lin soon found an opportunity.

After giving up on shooting games, Lin Yujing joined them in a new RPG game. They switched games quickly and embarked on a new adventure.

Shen Juan no longer played these silly games with them. The ID JYZJBD, after racking up dozens of kills, never resurfaced. It remained a legendary memory, with Song Zhiming staring in shock for five minutes when he found out it was Shen Juan.

Lin Yujing wasn’t good at shooting games, but she was decent at RPGs. She had fast hands and quick reactions. One noon during a gaming session, Li Lin found a chance to ask her, “Hey, I heard a girl in Class 9 got caught in an early romance and her parents were called.”

Lin Yujing, sucking on a lollipop, said nothing.

Many students napped after lunch, and Shen Juan was quietly sleeping at his desk, facing the wall.

In the quiet classroom, Li Lin continued softly, “I heard the guy was very handsome, the heartthrob of their class, gentle, the kind you’d fall for at first sight.”

Lin Yujing chuckled softly and whispered, “Can he be more handsome than my deskmate?”

Neither of them noticed Shen Juan’s ears twitch slightly.

“Probably not,” Li Lin admitted, “I definitely respect our boss’s looks.”

Lin Yujing bit into a lollipop and played her game absentmindedly, saying, “What could possibly make my heart flutter? I’m not even moved by my deskmate, who’s a big handsome guy.”

Her character, a female swordsman wielding a large blue sword, was accumulating energy to unleash a powerful attack. As she finished speaking, the energy bar was filled. The female swordsman executed a dazzling sword move, unleashing a barrage of sword light and shadows that obliterated the opponent, looking extremely fierce.

Satisfied, Lin Yujing lifted her head, “Men, they slow down my sword swings.”

She said this calmly and arrogantly, like a queen surveying her subjects.

Li Lin: “…”

After the midterms, Lin Yujing hadn’t been home for two weekends.

Guan Xiangmei called once, and Lin Yujing said her midterm results were unsatisfactory. But it wasn’t right to keep avoiding it, so she returned home with her small suitcase the weekend before the sports meet.

When she arrived home, Fu Mingxiu was also there. Seeing her, he had no reaction, merely glancing at her before turning back to his phone and fruit.

Lin Yujing dragged her suitcase, ready to go upstairs, but was called by Fu Mingxiu, “Hey.”

She turned back.

Fu Mingxiu casually tossed something to her. Lin Yujing instinctively caught it, feeling the cold, heavy object in her hand—a tangerine.

She was momentarily stunned, then looked up. Fu Mingxiu had already turned away, showing only the back of his head on the sofa.

On Saturday evening, Guan Xiangmei and Meng Weiguo were both home. This was the first time the four of them had dinner together since the family was restructured. Guan Xiangmei was very enthusiastic, and compared to Fu Mingxiu, Lin Yujing seemed more like her biological child.

“I heard Xiao Yu got second place in the exam?” Guan Xiangmei asked with a smile. Lin Yujing paused with her chopsticks, then softly replied, “Yes.”

“Was that in the grade? What about in your class? You must be first in your class. I wanted to find someone to put you in a good class, but your dad wouldn’t let me,” Guan Xiangmei shot an annoyed look at Meng Weiguo. “Getting into a good class would be great. Classmates greatly influence kids. Putting Xiao Yu in Class One, surrounded by good students, would make her perform even better. You men don’t understand anything.”

Lin Yujing poked at her rice, softly saying, “I’m second in my class too.” Guan Xiangmei was taken aback, “What?”

Lin Yujing looked up, picked a green vegetable, and slowly said, “The first in the grade is also in our class. He’s first, I’m second. You don’t need to worry. It’s the same in any class. Even in Class One, their scores aren’t higher than mine. I wouldn’t learn anything from them.”

The table fell silent. Fu Mingxiu glanced at her.

Guan Xiangmei’s face looked a bit awkward. After a moment, she forced a smile, “Ah, really? Your classmate must be very impressive. I thought you’d surely be the best.”

Lin Yujing didn’t respond. Meng Weiguo frowned, “What kind of attitude is that? Your Aunt Guan is thinking of your best interests, even considering getting you into a good class. What, you look down on that? Too high and mighty to be pleased?”

Lin Yujing looked up, “Well, it’s not my fault if Class One students can’t surpass ours.” She blinked, innocent and aggrieved, her voice soft and non-confrontational, “I didn’t expect the good class students here to score so low…”

Meng Weiguo seemed stifled, glaring at her. Just as he was about to speak, Fu Mingxiu stood up, “I’m full.”

Lin Yujing quickly followed suit, “I’m full too.”

They went upstairs one after the other. Lin Yujing vaguely heard Guan Xiangmei’s voice, “…I didn’t consider it thoroughly. I didn’t realize Xiao Yu’s grades were so good. She must blame me, thinking No. 8 High’s quality is worse than her old school…”

Lin Yujing paused.

Meng Weiguo particularly hated when people mentioned this. He feared hearing that he was worse off now, as if implying he couldn’t manage without Lin Zhi.

He was bound to get angry.

Lin Yujing looked at the large oil painting on the warmly lit wall and rolled her eyes.

Meng Weiguo did not disappoint Lin Yujing and scolded her that night.

He was different from Lin Zhi, who was cold and even her reprimands were icy. With Lin Zhi, you just had to listen silently; she disliked lingering, leaving right after speaking.

Meng Weiguo, on the other hand, needed interaction. He scolded you, and you had to respond, not hitting his anger points, but also not appearing too submissive, as he would ask if you were discontent.

It was a real test of acting skills.

Lin Yujing stood there indifferently, too tired to argue, listening to him rant for ten minutes, hoping he would finish and leave soon.

Maybe considering Guan Xiangmei was home, his mood was more restrained than last time. Just when Lin Yujing felt she might lose control and throw a vase at him, he finally shut up and left the room.

Lin Yujing’s legs were numb from standing. She closed the door, stood for a while, then sighed deeply, sliding down the door, ending up crouched at the entrance.

Her phone vibrated twice in her pocket. Lin Yujing pulled it out, finding a message in the class group chat. The sports committee member had sent two very enthusiastic emojis: 【 The sports meet is next week. Our class athletes should start practicing! Don’t forget to bring snacks!!】

Lin Yujing sighed, remembering the sports meet.

She rubbed her numb ankle, grabbed her keys from the desk, and left the house. The living room was empty, only the hallway light on. She stepped out.

When she came to her senses, she was standing at the entrance of the old alley, which was pitch dark inside.

The streetlight flickered, with moths circling it.

The sky was a murky deep purple, like heavy velvet, cut into pieces by messy black wires.

Lin Yujing opened her mouth.

Where was she planning to go?

She wanted to buy some snacks at 7-11.

She could buy food later, but for now, she really didn’t want to stay in that house.

Lin Yujing returned to the 7-11, bought a bag of snacks and a six-pack of beer, and sat by the window, sipping beer while watching the bustling street outside.

After finishing a can, Lin Yujing stood up, threw the empty can into the trash, and returned to the old alley.

Unlike the brightly lit villa area, this place was filled with an old atmosphere. Walking into the alley, she could even faintly smell the musty scent of wooden buildings.

Lin Yujing reached Shen Juan’s tattoo studio’s iron door, standing there dazedly for a while.

Then she walked over, leaning against the cold iron door, and pulled out her phone to message Shen Juan: 【Hey, Shen classmate, what time does your studio close?】

Lin Yujing wasn’t very social and had barely messaged him before. Their last conversation was after Shen Juan took her to the shooting club, asking if he needed some Yunnan Baiyao spray for his forehead.

After sending the message, she waited against the iron door for three minutes in the chilly autumn breeze, her fingertips feeling cold. Shen Juan finally replied: 【It depends.】

Lin Yujing checked the time: 【Is it closed now?】 Shen Juan: 【No.】

Lin Yujing took a deep breath, ready to push the door open, when her phone buzzed again.

She paused and looked at the screen.

Shen Juan had sent another message, repeating: 【No, come on in.】