Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 35

Wen Zihui didn’t dare to say no; she was scared out of her wits and nodded frantically, finally leaving in tears.

Shen Juan didn’t move. He leaned against the wall, smoking, and casually glanced at Lin Yujing, who was standing by the door.

Outside on the sports field, the 200-meter race was underway, and the sound of the starting gun was followed by a thunderous cheer.

Inside the dimly lit room beneath the bleachers, it was cold and gloomy. Lin Yujing stood in the doorway, backlit by the sunlight, making her expression hard to discern.

Shen Juan stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into a nearby trash can. He waited for the smoke to clear before beckoning her over.

As she approached, he asked, “Still hurt?”

“It’s alright,” Lin Yujing replied. “I just got here and saw Wen Zihui running out crying. What did you do to her?”

Shen Juan lazily responded, “I never bully girls.”

Lin Yujing raised an eyebrow, took a step back, and looked him up and down.

He leaned lazily against the wall, having just put out his cigarette. With one hand in his pocket and his eyes half-closed, he looked both tired and unruly.

Lin Yujing nodded. “Well, if you say so.” She started to walk outside.

The two of them returned to the tenth class area just as Wang Yiyang finished his 200- meter race. He was bent over, hands on his knees, catching his breath, while enjoying the cheers and applause from his classmates.

It seemed he had done well.

Lin Yujing returned to her seat and tried to check the time on her phone. Both her palms were covered with medical tape and gauze, making her movements a bit clumsy.

Shen Juan sat in the row behind her, at the far end. He glanced at the boy sitting behind Lin Yujing and patted his shoulder. “Hey, mind switching seats?”

The boy was taken aback but quickly nodded, moving his bag of snacks to the side and standing up to switch places with Shen Juan.

Shen Juan now sat directly behind Lin Yujing, leaning on the back of her chair. He bent down and whispered in her ear, “What do you need?”

Lin Yujing was struggling to find her phone under two large school uniforms. Just as she finally found it, Shen Juan’s sudden voice startled her. She turned to meet his gaze.

By now, it was close to noon, and the sun was shining brightly. The morning chill was long gone. Lin Yujing squinted against the glare, leaning back slightly to shield her eyes in Shen Juan’s shadow. She handed him her bag. “My phone. I need to check when my friend is arriving.”

Shen Juan hesitated for a moment.

He was about to naturally take her bag, but Lin Yujing’s hand slipped, almost dropping it. Shen Juan caught it in time, pulling out two school uniforms before handing her the phone.

Lin Yujing thanked him. Just as she took her phone, the noise around them grew louder.

The girl in front of her pointed to the sky and asked the boy beside her, “What’s that? Is it a drone? Our school must be pretty well-off to have aerial photography for the sports meet.”

Lin Yujing looked up too.

Indeed, three silver-gray flying devices that looked like giant spiders with four legs and eight claws each flew into the stadium, one after another. They circled the bleachers slowly, as if searching for something, then hovered over the central track.

With a swoosh, the leftmost drone unfurled a large vertical banner, matching the colors of the sports meet slogans tied to the railings. It had a red background with yellow text in standard calligraphy.

— The wind blows, the rain falls, I’m waiting for your call. This caught everyone’s attention.

Lin Yujing’s first thought was that the school was quite creative.

Then she realized something was off. This didn’t seem like something the school would arrange for the sports meet.

As she was thinking this, the rightmost drone dropped another vertical banner. It was so heavy that the poor little drone wobbled a bit.

— Crazy for you, mad for you, crashing into walls for you. Lin Yujing: “…”

Nobody thought this was school-sanctioned anymore. Everyone was guessing which boy was passionately declaring his love, so boldly and publicly at the sports meet.

The boy who switched seats with Shen Juan seemed interested in such things and stood up clapping. “Wow, this is amazing! A DJI INSPIRE 2, costing 20,000 yuan each.”

Not only bold but also quite extravagant.

The stadium erupted in applause, with whistles and cheers all around.

Everyone waited to see what the middle drone’s banner would say.

Lin Yujing, not particularly interested, looked down to check the time.

It was 11 o’clock. Cheng Yi and Lu Jiacheng should be arriving soon.

She was about to call them when the previously noisy surroundings suddenly fell silent.

It took Lin Yujing a few seconds to notice. She looked up and saw that everyone was staring at her.

She blinked and exchanged a look with the girl next to her, asking, “What’s going on?” The girl didn’t respond.

Lin Yujing turned to look at the central track where the middle drone had finally lowered its banner.

The largest and shortest message, with just four characters. — To Lin Yujing.

Lin Yujing: “…”

Lin Yujing knew right away that this was definitely Cheng Yi’s doing. Under the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, she stood up abruptly and hobbled down the steps while calling Cheng Yi. Just as she reached Gate 3, Cheng Yi answered the call.

As soon as Lin Yujing opened her mouth, she scolded him, “Are you out of your mind?”

“The wind is blowing, the rain is falling, I’m waiting for your call,” Cheng Yi recited loudly upon answering, “For you I’m obsessed, for you I’m crazy, for you I’ll bang my head against the wall! To Lin Yujing, isn’t this romantic?”

“Romantic,” Lin Yujing replied sincerely, “I find it strange though. Did I take your brain with me when I left, making you a complete fool now?”

Cheng Yi laughed on the other end like a lunatic, “I see you. Are you by Gate 3? Not bad, little sister, you look outstanding in the uniform of No. 8 Middle School.”

Lin Yujing looked around but couldn’t spot him due to the glaring sunlight, “Where are you? How did you get in?”

As she spun around searching for him, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her head to see Cheng Yi grinning at her while speaking into the phone, “We brought some hometown specialties for the security guard at the gate, a couple of packs of Zhongnanhai cigarettes.”

Lin Yujing mocked him, “You really know how to socialize, little darling of the elders.”

Cheng Yi modestly waved his hand, “Not at all, just keeping a low profile in unfamiliar places.”

She couldn’t be bothered to banter with him anymore and glanced behind him, “Where’s my son?”

“Your son was hungry and went to find a restaurant. His mom complained about the airplane food and didn’t eat a bite,” Cheng Yi said with his hands down, “Let’s go eat. It looks like your morning activities are almost over, and half the people from the other classes have already left. Leaving ten minutes early won’t hurt.”

Lin Yujing nodded, “I’ll go get my bag.” She paused and glanced towards Class 10.

Gate 3 was close to Class 10’s position, and everyone was still looking over. Liu Fujiang was hanging on the railing, trying to be sneaky but failing miserably, also staring at them.

In the center of the sports field, three large vertical banners flapped wildly in the wind, desperately vying for attention.

Lin Yujing couldn’t bear it any longer, “Can you take down those ridiculous banners? If you keep this up, my teacher will call me in this afternoon to ask if I’m in a relationship.”

Cheng Yi stood at attention and saluted her solemnly, “Yes, ma’am.”

She went back to get her backpack, while Cheng Yi pulled out a remote control, and three small drones wobbled out of the sports field, dragging the long vertical banners behind them.

High-profile in their arrival, high-profile in their departure—very impressive.

Lin Yujing sighed, turned around, and walked back to the steps, climbed up, and returned to her seat.

Even a girl like her, who was unafraid of any attention, felt a bit uncomfortable under the intense, unified gaze.

Her backpack and other things were with Shen Juan, who was lounging lazily in his seat, staring at her expressionlessly.

Lin Yujing lowered her eyes and met his gaze. For some reason, she felt a subtle sense of guilt.

She didn’t understand why she felt guilty, but her mind was already starting to feel uneasy before she could figure it out.

She steadied herself, carefully holding the back of the chair with both hands, leaned forward slightly, and asked him, “Wanna grab lunch together?”

Shen Juan raised an eyebrow, his tone flat, “With your little boyfriend?” “…”

Lin Yujing felt a surge of annoyance at Cheng Yi.

She explained in a low voice, “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Shen Juan nodded, playing with his phone, “A pursuer then.” “…”

Lin Yujing reached out and grabbed his phone, straightening up, “Are you coming or not?”

Shen Juan paused, his hand empty.

Her backpack was still on his lap. He grabbed the strap and stood up, smirking, “Sure.”

The last event of the morning had ended, and there were a few minutes left until the lunch break. Some students had already left, as teachers were more relaxed about the schedule during the sports meet.

Cheng Yi waited at the gate, and Lin Yujing and Shen Juan walked over one after the other.

At first, Cheng Yi didn’t react and leaned over to Lin Yujing, saying, “The guys at your school are quite good-looking.”

Lin Yujing laughed, “Which one are you talking about?” “The one behind you,” Cheng Yi said.

“Oh,” Lin Yujing responded calmly, “This is Shen Juan, my deskmate. We’re having lunch together.”

Cheng Yi’s steps faltered for a moment, “A friend?”

Lin Yujing nodded.

Cheng Yi felt a mix of emotions.

He knew what kind of person Lin Yujing was. He had even prepared to help her socialize in her new class.

She took a long time to warm up to someone. She was close with Lu Jiaxing because they’d known each other since childhood, and she got along with Cheng Yi because he was thick-skinned enough.

Shen Juan didn’t seem to fit either category.

Yet, in just two months, he had become close enough with Lin Yujing to join them for lunch.

Her world was silently opening up to him. Cheng Yi genuinely admired this guy.

Lu Jiaxing is very picky about food. There are only a few small restaurants near No. 8 Middle School, and the largest is a hotpot restaurant at the end of the street, which is relatively bigger. So, when Cheng Yi hailed a cab and took them to the Zhongda Plaza shopping area next to No. 8 Middle School, Lin Yujing wasn’t surprised at all.

The sports meet allowed for a more relaxed schedule, and there were quite a few students in No. 8 Middle School uniforms in the mall. The three of them took the elevator, and Cheng Yi pressed the button for the fifth floor. He then enthusiastically introduced himself to Shen Juan, “Brother, I’m Cheng Yi, Lin Yujing’s childhood friend. Meeting is fate; we’re friends from now on.”

Shen Juan, showing no interest in making friends, simply said, “Shen Juan” with no expression.

Cheng Yi raised an eyebrow. This guy was really cool. And it seemed like he had some inexplicable hostility towards him. Fortunately, it was Cheng Yi, who had a good temper. If it were someone else, they might have already started a fight.

The fifth floor was entirely filled with restaurants. Lu Jiaxing chose a Sichuan restaurant. Generally, restaurants in malls don’t have private rooms, and this Sichuan restaurant didn’t either. However, each table was separated by high wooden screens, providing some privacy. The three of them walked along the tables on the left and saw Lu Jiaxing behind the last screen.

He was slumped in his chair like he had no bones, casually flipping through the menu. When he saw them out of the corner of his eye, he raised his head and quickly focused on the only unfamiliar face present.

Shen Juan stood by the screen, looking back at him, chin slightly raised, eyes downcast. Lin Yujing and Cheng Yi took two steps back in unison.

She finally understood the phrase: “Aura clashes.”

The two of them stared at each other for several seconds. Just when Lin Yujing wondered if they had developed some romantic spark, Lu Jiaxing finally looked away and resumed looking at the menu.

Cheng Yi lowered his head and whispered, “What’s going on here, a passionate collision of the school bosses from the north and south? Ah, it’s you, the one destined for me.”

Lin Yujing was speechless and pointed at Shen Juan, “This person is an expert at ‘Beijing Slouch.’ I suspect his lineage isn’t pure; he has completely overturned my perception of southern people over the past decade.”

Cheng Yi nodded, “He’s overturned mine too.”

At the square wooden table, Cheng Yi and Lu Jiaxing sat on one side, while Lin Yujing and Shen Juan sat on the other. The waiter brought three more menus. Shen Juan didn’t look through his but instead tapped the table and asked, “What do you have that’s not spicy?”

The waiter flipped to the back of the menu, and Shen Juan nodded, thanking them as he scanned the non-spicy dishes.

Cheng Yi, eager to show friendliness, gave him a nickname, “Brother Shen, can’t you eat spicy food?”

Lin Yujing almost dropped her menu, shocked by the nickname.

Shen Juan didn’t react much, casually flipping the menu, “My deskmate doesn’t eat spicy food.”

Cheng Yi, who knew a bit about Lin Yujing’s eating habits, was puzzled, “She does eat spicy food. We used to eat out together, and she could handle it.”

Shen Juan looked up, “She doesn’t eat it now.”

Lin Yujing felt like Shen Juan was competing with something. Cheng Yi looked bewildered, “Huh…”

Lu Jiaxing also looked up.

Lin Yujing opened her hand, revealing thick bandages on her palm, “I accidentally fell on the steps today.”

Lu Jiaxing glanced at her bandaged hand and frowned, “How do you even manage to fall on the steps? Are you an idiot?”

Lin Yujing, used to this, quickly retorted, “You’re the idiot.” Shen Juan paused in flipping the menu.

He looked up at Lu Jiaxing, pushed the menu forward with his finger, leaned back in his chair, and squinted, “Who’s the idiot?”

Lu Jiaxing raised an eyebrow but hadn’t spoken yet.

After two seconds of tension, Cheng Yi suddenly raised both hands and shouted, “Me!” Lin Yujing was startled.

The three of them turned to look at him.

“…I’m the idiot,” Cheng Yi sighed wearily.

Author’s note:

Applause for the first meeting of the northern and southern school bosses! Cheng Yi: I’m really exhausted, am I taking care of three kids?