Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 46

Class 7 organized their attack quickly. As Shen Juan shouted, the five players on the opposing team had already swiftly pressed into the three-second zone. Wang Yiyang cursed and sprinted towards the basket.

There wasn’t enough time; Ning Yuan’s shot was beautifully executed. A wave of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the opposite stands, and Class 7’s cheerleading mermaids jumped up and down in excitement.

The score was tied as soon as the third quarter began, prompting Class 10 to call a timeout.

By then, Shen Juan was already standing, showing no signs of discomfort apart from his pale face. Wang Yiyang was the first to reach him, bending over with a furrowed brow: “How are you?”

Shen Juan raised his hand to rub his stomach: “I’m fine.”

Wang Yiyang nodded, straightened up, and started charging towards the opposing team, ready for a fight.

Shen Juan grabbed his arm: “What are you doing? Are we not playing anymore?”

Wang Yiyang, with a dark expression, turned around: “Who the hell is that No. 13 to mess with us?”

“Ning Yuan,” Song Zhiming said. “I played against him once. He’s dirty. I was just warning you guys about him, but who knows what you two were listening to.”

Wang Yiyang spat: “Who knew he was such a bastard.”

He was completely enraged, even more so than the time Lin Yujing saw him at the 7-11 before school started.

Song Zhiming was talking to Shen Juan on the side. Lin Yujing hesitated but stayed quietly nearby, watching him.

After a few seconds, Shen Juan suddenly turned his head.

Their eyes met, and Lin Yujing froze, saying nothing. Liu Fujiang came over, placing a hand on Shen Juan’s shoulder: “How are you? Need a sub?”

“No,” Shen Juan said, averting his gaze towards the opposing team. Ning Yuan was staring at him.

Ning Yuan had a very gentle-looking face, but from that earlier elbow, Shen Juan had experienced how ruthless he could be.

It wasn’t entirely fine. Shen Juan’s stomach was still twitching. That elbow had nearly made him vomit.

From what Song Zhiming said, Ning Yuan wasn’t specifically targeting him. He just habitually played dirty.

Mentioning Luo Qinghe was probably just a tactic to distract him and create an opening. But the key question was, how did he know about Luo Qinghe?

Calming himself, Shen Juan tried to recall anything about Ning Yuan or anyone with the surname Ning. He came up empty.

He truly didn’t know this person.

Noticing Shen Juan’s gaze, Ning Yuan turned his head, smiling gently.

As the timeout ended, Song Zhiming kept advising: “Watch Ning Yuan. Don’t let him get another chance to play dirty. This guy is good at finding blind spots.”

“I just don’t get it,” Yu Pengfei said, puzzled. “Why does he do that? Does he want to win that badly?”

“Are you stupid?” Song Zhiming glared at him. “Of course he wants to win. Who doesn’t? I want to win too. Wang Yiyang, don’t you think he’s an idiot?”

Wang Yiyang walked beside them in silence, not saying a word. Lin Yujing sensed something was off.

Sure enough, at the start of the game, Wang Yiyang was like an agitated little monster, his uncontrollable anger fixated on Ning Yuan. Whenever Ning Yuan got within a meter of Shen Juan, Wang Yiyang would charge over.

Shen Juan called out to him several times, but it was as if Wang Yiyang didn’t hear him.

This was the first time Lin Yujing saw Wang Yiyang ignore Shen Juan.

He was like an over-wound toy robot. Once he got the ball, he flew past the midline, bypassing two players, stepping into the three-point line, only to be blocked by Ning Yuan.

The two clashed from a distance, with Wang Yiyang’s fiery red jersey and Ning Yuan’s navy blue one. Ning Yuan’s back, with the large, bright yellow number 13, was glaring.

Lin Yujing felt a sudden panic. She ran a couple of steps to get a better view of Wang Yiyang’s expression, and in the next second, she saw Wang Yiyang clutching his knee, falling to the ground.

Song Zhiming was still close to Xu Jie, but after a few seconds, he reacted, turning around and roaring: “You motherfucker!”

Li Lin jumped up from his seat: “No whistle! Is the ref blind?! Referee!!”

Liu Fujiang quickly called a timeout. Everyone on Class 10 jumped up, and the stands erupted in curses.

Yu Pengfei helped Wang Yiyang over, and everyone wore grim expressions, suppressing varying degrees of anger.

Shen Juan walked last, his eyelashes lowered, his jawline taut.

Wang Yiyang sat down, Liu Fujiang squatted to check his knee, and Song Zhiming scanned the bench players. Before he could say anything, Li Lin jumped up: “I’ll go.”

Liu Fujiang pressed his fingers on the side of Wang Yiyang’s knee, making him wince: “I can still—”

“You can do nothing!” Song Zhiming smacked his head. “What did I just tell you? Why did you go head-to-head with Ning Yuan? Can you play dirty like him? Get to the nurse’s office!”

Song Zhiming turned back, reluctantly scanning the bench players again. Finally, with a pained expression, he looked at Li Lin: “Brother…”

Li Lin stood there, shivering, with the look of a brave warrior about to be executed. He patted his chest, so nervous he started to stutter: “Don’t worry, leave-leave-leave it to me!”

Song Zhiming: “…”

Lin Yujing sighed: “Captain, let me do it.”

Song Zhiming nodded: “Fine, you do it. We can lose the game, forget about the award, but we can’t—” He stopped mid-sentence, turning to her, “You do what?”

“Substitute,” Lin Yujing said succinctly.

Everyone stared at her, Wen Zihui’s mouth gaping open, and Yu Pengfei looked dazed, as if his mind was wandering.

Song Zhiming snapped back to reality: “Boss Lin, you play basketball? You can play basketball??”

Lin Yujing turned to him: “Do you have anyone else? Li Lin’s snail speed would take three minutes to sprint from the three-point line to the basket, wouldn’t it?”

Li Lin, no longer caring about Lin Yujing’s harsh insults, said diplomatically, “But you’re a girl…”

“Is this a men’s basketball game? Are women not allowed?” Lin Yujing asked. “No…” Li Lin said blankly, “I’m just… I’m just amazed…”

Ignoring him, Lin Yujing threw down the small flag with Class 10’s carefully designed logo, pulled off the loose hair tie with her teeth, and redid her hair: “Class 7’s center has strong defense. He’s like a giant pillar, but he’s slow and clumsy on offense. Number 8, the jumper, Xu Jie, is just a show-off monkey. He jumps high but is otherwise useless, a low-budget Wang Yiyang.”

Scanning the opponents, she continued: “Their point guard is good. They’ve switched players several times, but he’s always stayed on. Though he doesn’t stand out, all their key motivating plays are organized by him.” She turned to Song Zhiming, “Look at their point guard, then look at yourself. Use your brain to play, will you? Stay calm, act like a captain.”

“I wasn’t originally a point guard, okay! I only play because we have no one else!” Song Zhiming was thoroughly flustered. “Lin, wait, Sister Lin, let me confirm, you want to play?”

Lin Yujing stared at him: “Do I look like I’m joking?” Song Zhiming: “No.”

Lin Yujing nodded, calmly saying: “You might not see it, but I’m quite angry right now. I’ve always had a bad temper.”

The girl, with long eyelashes and slightly upturned fox-like eyes, blinked her big eyes softly.

Song Zhiming thought he really couldn’t tell.

Shen Juan chuckled.

Wang Yiyang was the first to react. He grabbed Lin Yujing’s wrist and handed her his wristbands: “Lin, pass these on.”

Lin Yujing, actually a bit disgusted, didn’t mind now. She accepted them with thanks, but before she could put them on, Shen Juan took them.

Shen Juan removed his own wristbands and handed them to her, putting on Wang Yiyang’s instead, looking down at her: “No. 4 player, Lin?”

Only then did Lin Yujing remember they both wore number 4.

She responded, circling around him: “Then you change yours. Explain to the referee?”

“Alright,” Shen Juan said, pulling at his jersey, “Get me a No. 3.”

Wen Zihui quickly responded, rummaging through a large bag: “No. 3… Let me find it, how about No. 2?”

“No,” Shen Juan replied.

“Why No. 3?” Lao Gao asked practically. “Is it a lucky number?”

Song Zhiming looked at him, speechless: “How did you grow up so clueless? Because Allen Iverson is No. 3.”

“Oh…” Li Lin pretended to realize, smirking, “Who’s Allen Iverson again?” “That NBA star, the shooting guard,” Song Zhiming replied.

“Oh, him. Which girl in our class is a big fan of his?” Li Lin continued.

“Right, I forgot. What was her name? She just mentioned it,” Song Zhiming said. Lin Yujing: “…”

The two of them bantered until the game resumed, Wen Zihui finally found the No. 3 jersey, and Shen Juan put it on as they entered the court.

Initially, no one realized what was happening until they saw a long-haired player on the court.

A long-haired player with a ponytail!!!

The gym was like a boiling kettle, the lid rattling with bubbles, the stands buzzing with noise.

Someone nearby Class 10 laughed loudly: “What’s happening? Did Class 10 run out of players and put a girl on?”

“Guess they gave up.”

“I give up, a girl playing basketball? What a joke.”

Wen Zihui turned, grabbing an empty water bottle and throwing it, just missing Liu Fujiang’s head. With hands on her hips, she yelled, “Now men gossip like women. Why can’t a girl play basketball?”

Liu Fujiang was startled.

Wen Zihui, fuming, turned back: “Mr. Liu, ignore them. We have to trust Lin Yujing.”

Though she said that, she wasn’t confident. Lin Yujing looked so small and thin, her legs not even as thick as the opponents’ arms…

Liu Fujiang proudly declared: “Of course, no one trusts our students more than I do.” “…” Wen Zihui thought, well, optimism is good.

Class 7 had sent off Wang Yiyang, and now Xu Jie seemed extremely excited, living up to his nickname as he almost burst with pride: “Hey, does your class not have any substitutes left? Do you need us to lend you one?”

“He really looks like a rocket about to take off.” Song Zhiming said as he ran past Shen Juan.

Shen Juan smirked.

Wang Yiyang played as a small forward, and Lin Yujing took his place. As the game started, Ning Yuan got the ball and passed it to the ‘rocket’ Xu Jie.

Perhaps he saw that there was a girl playing as a forward on the opposing team, so he dribbled towards her without any hesitation.

Class 10 went on defense. Shen Juan was guarded by two people, Yu Pengfei and Song Zhiming, each taking one opponent. Song Zhiming didn’t even look back: “Old Gao!”

Xu Jie’s movements were confident and elegant as he drove straight from the midcourt to the basket. As he stepped into the restricted area, he glanced sideways, searching for the girl forward from Class 10.

In the next second, Lin Yujing brushed past him, saying softly, “Stop looking at me, watch the ball.”

Xu Jie was stunned for half a second, and the ball was suddenly gone from his hands. Lin Yujing had already taken the ball past the three-point line.

Xu Jie: “Damn!”

Song Zhiming: “Damn!”

Xu Jie couldn’t react in time to understand when the ball was stolen. He didn’t even see when she came over, and no one expected the ball to be stolen, not even Song Zhiming, who had placed all his hopes on Old Gao.

Class 7 was stunned for a second, and Ning Yuan shouted, realizing they needed to defend. The center of Class 7 lunged in front of Lin Yujing.

The size difference between them was enormous, one was like a mountain, the other like a small, swaying sapling at the foot of the mountain, seemingly powerless.

But Song Zhiming suddenly remembered what Lin Yujing had said earlier.

What did she say?

She said the center of Class 7 was slow and clumsy.

He turned around, running back, and saw the sapling already past the center, with Ning Yuan in front of her.

Song Zhiming felt a tightness in his chest and shouted: “Lin Mei!” Lin Yujing dribbled the ball, licked her lips, and shifted her weight. Ning Yuan stared at her intently.

She was fast and skilled with her dribbling, looking like she knew how to play.

But after all, she was a girl. How skilled could she be?

If she was very skilled, would this be a fake move?

If it wasn’t a fake move, she might not be that skilled, just heading in this direction? Even if it was a fake move, could she react in time?

In half a second, Ning Yuan couldn’t think it through, and his body leaned quickly to the left.

The next second, Lin Yujing took the ball and dashed to the right.

It really was a fake move!

Ning Yuan cursed, turned his head to run back, and Lin Yujing dashed under the basket in a flamboyant manner. Ning Yuan dared not relax, quickly moving close. Then he saw her look back, glancing at Shen Juan’s position.

Everyone understood Lin Yujing’s intention instantly. She wanted to use the old tactic of passing the ball to Shen Juan for a three-pointer to boost everyone’s morale.

Shen Juan coordinated with her, quickly moving outside the three-point line, raising his hand, the large number 3 on his fiery red jersey.

They had used this tactic countless times in the first half with Wang Yiyang. Now, it seemed, switching partners posed no problem at all.

No way!

The problem was the height difference between her and Wang Yiyang, sister! Look at the mountain-like center behind you!

This pass would be intercepted within three centimeters.

As Lin Yujing scanned with her eyes, Ning Yuan and the center both raised their hands, blocking her passing route completely.

Song Zhiming was already desperate, ready to intercept the ball or fall back on defense. He glanced at the timer, only a few seconds left in the third quarter.

Even if the pass was intercepted, the opponent wouldn’t have time to organize an attack.

But in the next second, Lin Yujing suddenly jumped, making an unanticipated jump shot.

No one expected her to shoot directly. Her hand pressed down in the air, then she flicked it forward, and the ball went in at a sharp angle, hitting the hoop with a clang.

Simultaneously, the referee’s whistle blew.

The entire basketball court fell silent, then the atmosphere reignited the next second.

Song Zhiming’s scalp tingled.

Honestly, Song Zhiming didn’t have high hopes for Lin Yujing. He had already assumed they would lose this game.

Lin Yujing’s beautiful steal and fake move had already made him ecstatic and surprised. He didn’t expect more surprises to come.

This pass turned out to be another fake move!

And it went in!

A buzzer-beater!

Lin Yujing heard even more intense screams and cheers than when Shen Juan made his arrogant three-pointer.

Wen Zihui’s voice seemed to penetrate the universe, crying out something inaudible.

Liu Fujiang’s voice was unexpectedly clear. Lin Yujing never knew that the usually gentle and soft-spoken teacher Liu could burst out with such a loud voice: “What a great kid!” Liu Fujiang said, “Did you see that, Teacher Wang? That’s Lin Yujing from our class! Our Lin Yujing!”

She turned around, her ponytail flicking Ning Yuan’s chin. Ning Yuan turned his head.

Lin Yujing smiled at him, “Want to make a bet?”

Over there, Song Zhiming and the others ran towards her excitedly, Yu Pengfei shouting all the way: “Lin Mei! Your Majesty!!”

Ning Yuan asked, “What’s the bet?”

“If you win, whatever you want. If you lose, you run around the basketball court naked for ten laps, then slap yourself twice in front of everyone. Oh, and for you, one more thing,” Lin Yujing paused, gesturing towards Wang Yiyang, “You call our great injured forward dad and serve him until he’s bouncing around again.”

Ning Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled and looked at Shen Juan: “What’s up with your class, so many guys standing here, but no one steps up, letting a girl bet with me?”

Shen Juan lifted his chin slightly, looked at him indifferently, and smiled: “Our girl is in charge, we listen to our queen.”

Author’s Note:

Lin Yujing: Haven’t shown off in a while, feeling a bit rusty.