Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 47

Lin Yujing grew up with Lu Jiacheng and Cheng Yi, playing with them since childhood, so her toys were different from those of other girls. She played everything boys played, including basketball.

She wasn’t very accurate at first and often got beaten badly, but she had a competitive nature. Coupled with Lu Jiacheng’s highly effective, albeit childish, taunting strategy that worked only on Lin Yujing, she kept losing and fighting, fighting and losing, never knowing the meaning of giving up.

It was like fighting: getting beaten enough times, she gained experience and skills, and over time, she could beat others.

Gender had nothing to do with it. There was no rule that girls couldn’t play basketball; it was just that there had never been a girl in the school basketball competition.

Compared to the boys, Lin Yujing was shorter and not as strong; she couldn’t compete for rebounds, so she simply didn’t try and left it to her teammates.

But she was quick and had good reflexes, making her excellent at steals and using her brain.

Shen Juan had noticed earlier that she was good at playing to her strengths and using all her advantages.

This included her innocent-looking face.

On the court, her fake moves were flawless. If you defended the left, she’d dribble right past you. Even if she looked ready to shoot, she’d drop her hand in the next second and pass the ball.

Every glance and small action seemed to be a guide, making it hard to judge what was real and what was fake.

This agile and somewhat unorthodox playing style threw Class 7 off at the start of the fourth quarter. Though a large part of it was because they weren’t expecting it.

Even her teammates couldn’t predict her next move, struggling to keep up but still scoring a few times in three minutes, forcing Class 7 to call a timeout.

Perhaps out of some remaining conscience, Ning Yuan restrained himself against a girl and didn’t make any excessive moves. At this point, Class 10 was leading by 9 points.

It was already the fourth quarter. If they could extend the lead to double digits, the other team would become desperate, on the brink of collapse.

Liu Fujiang was still on the adjacent stand, chatting with Teacher Wang, his chubby, kindly face beaming with a bright smile and teary eyes: “Our students are so excellent, Teacher Wang!”

Teacher Wang’s expression had gone from cooperative to stiff and forced.

Liu Fujiang didn’t mind, happily chatting away, oblivious to what was happening on the court.

“They’ll likely assign someone to mark me, probably the Rocket,” said Lin Yujing, already feeling tired as basketball was physically demanding. She drank some water and quickly adjusted her breathing, looking at Shen Juan. “One person can’t guard you, right?”

Shen Juan glanced at her: “Not necessarily, depends on who it is.” “Who?” Lin Yujing frowned.

“You, just standing there, can shut me down,” Shen Juan said flatly. Lin Yujing: “…”

Song Zhiming: “…”

Yu Pengfei: “…”

Song Zhiming pretended to be angry, throwing his water bottle to the ground with a loud “bang,” sounding very imposing.

He turned to leave: “I’m not playing anymore.”

Li Lin played along, rushing over to hug his waist: “Captain! Calm down, the team needs you, think it over!”

The two of them were enthusiastically performing, but no one paid attention. Yu Pengfei, puzzled, looked at Old Gao: “Did we miss something? Shen wasn’t this blatant a couple of hours ago…”

Old Gao, always naturally confused, was even more baffled: “Huh?”

Song Zhiming picked up his water bottle angrily: “Miss what? Guess what? Just ask him what he did during halftime, and you’ll know.”

Wen Zihui felt like they were making a mountain out of a molehill: “Are you guys really aware of who you’re teasing?”

Class 10 was still in a relaxed mood, not wanting to pressure their teammates. Before going back on the court, Shen Juan walked beside Lin Yujing and asked in a low voice: “What if we lose the bet?”

“Play dirty,” Lin Yujing replied without hesitation. “I’m a girl, our class has nothing to do with it. What’s the big deal about a girl playing dirty against such a rogue?”

Shen Juan was stunned by her brazen attitude, then smiled slightly, speaking softly: “Forget it, if you play dirty, it’s like flirting. Who are you trying to seduce in front of me?”

Lin Yujing: “…”

Ever since Shen Juan had revealed his feelings to her, he seemed to have assumed his position, hitting her with one straight ball after another, flirting without any restraint.

Lin Yujing couldn’t bear it: “Shen, we’re just desk mates. Watch what you say, okay?”

Shen Juan chuckled, placing his hand on her head and ruffling her hair: “Alright, let your desk mate help you win.”

“Ah,” Lin Yujing moved sideways, clapping without expression, praising him half- heartedly: “Shen Juan is amazing, Shen Juan can do anything.”

Shen Juan paused, then suddenly stopped and turned around. Lin Yujing stopped too, looking up at him.

Facing her, Shen Juan walked backward, looking at her while raising his index and middle fingers to his brow, then flicking them up.

The bright lights of the basketball court shone down, the boy in his bright red jersey standing tall and striking, dazzling and eye-catching.

He smiled lazily, his expression relaxed and confident: “Shen Juan can do anything.”

Lin Yujing admitted that at this moment, she was indeed struck by Shen Juan’s handsomeness, almost to the point of fleeing the scene in embarrassment.

In the fourth quarter, Shen Juan fully cemented his reputation as “Jordan of the Eighth High” and “Mitsui Hisashi of the Tenth Class.” The opposing team assigned someone to mark Lin Yujing, but one person simply couldn’t stop him.

His three-point shots seemed to have eyes, the orange basketball intimately connecting with the hoop from all angles. In the last few minutes of the game, Shen Juan scored three consecutive baskets.

Effortlessly, he brought the score up by more than fifteen points.

The final score settled at 59:41, with the Tenth Class eliminating the Seventh Class, successfully defending their title in the relay race of the sports meet.

Although everyone had forgotten about this, old grievances were set aside, and the new issue was that Ning Yuan’s play was too dirty, offending the wrong person.

Despite Shen Juan’s low profile since the beginning of the semester, with no one having seen him cause trouble or get into fights, his legend still lingered. Indeed, no one dared or thought to cause any unpleasantness with him.

However, Ning Yuan clearly wasn’t afraid of him.

Shen Juan, suppressing his anger, took three strides to stand before Ning Yuan at the sound of the final whistle, bluntly asking, “Do you know me?”

Having lost the game, Ning Yuan looked a bit grim and dryly replied, “You’re quite famous; who wouldn’t know you?”

“What’s your relationship with Nie Xinghe?” Shen Juan asked in a low voice.

Ning Yuan finally steadied himself, raising his eyes, “It’s impressive you still remember his name.”

Shen Juan’s lips tightened, his gaze darkening, “I don’t care who you are, who you know, or what you know. I’m giving you two choices now: apologize,” Shen Juan paused, nodding toward Wang Yiyang, “or I’ll return the favor and make you end up like him.” They stood under the basketball hoop, speaking in low voices.

No one around noticed the commotion.

The Seventh Class was fuming, while the entire Tenth Class was celebrating, jumping and hugging each other.

“Shen Juan, do you sleep well at night?” Ning Yuan asked softly, “Do you have dreams? Are you afraid that someday Luo Qinghe might really—”

“Mr. Liu!” A girl’s voice interrupted him, “Mr. Liu! Ning Yuan just confessed to Shen Juan that he hit Wang Yiyang and feels extremely guilty. He wants to apologize and even bow to say sorry!!”

Lin Yujing, at some point, had run over to them, pointing at Ning Yuan and shouting loudly.

“…”

Ning Yuan turned his head.

Her voice was loud enough to carry across half the court, making the Tenth Class turn their heads. Liu Fuxiang, who had been enjoying the victory, quickly ran over, his short legs moving quickly, with an uncharacteristically serious expression, “What’s going on?” Shen Juan and Ning Yuan both turned their heads. Before Ning Yuan could speak, Lin Yujing quickly said, “Just now, Ning Yuan apologized to Shen Juan, admitting his disgraceful behavior of hitting him and Wang Yiyang during the game. He felt too excited at the time but now feels deeply remorseful and too ashamed to admit his mistake in front of everyone.”

Lin Yujing’s serious expression made her words seem very credible, “However, Ning Yuan feels that a mistake is a mistake. So, he wants to run ten laps around the gym and then bow to apologize to Wang Yiyang and Shen Juan because he feels very regretful.” “…?”

Ning Yuan looked stunned.

Liu Fuxiang was also taken aback. He thought the kids these days had really wild ideas, “Running ten laps naked?”

Lin Yujing, showing great understanding, said, “Mr. Liu, although Ning Yuan is eager to atone, I think running naked might be inappropriate. Maybe he should just run ten laps.” Ning Yuan’s face looked very ugly, and as he was about to speak, Lin Yujing tilted her head, her gaze shifting behind him.

Ning Yuan turned around and saw Xu Jie running over.

He suddenly felt something was wrong.

Xu Jie was a simple, fiery, naive, and loyal boy, who believed he could conquer the world and was extremely righteous.

Seeing several people surrounding Ning Yuan, he thought his classmate was being bullied, so he rushed over, stood beside him, ready to back him up, looking very imposing, “What’s going on?”

Before Ning Yuan could speak, Lin Yujing asked quickly, “Xu Jie, are you Ning Yuan’s friend? Are you two in this together?”

Without thinking, Xu Jie stood tall, shielding Ning Yuan and said firmly, “Of course I am!”

“…”

Ning Yuan closed his eyes in despair.

Lin Yujing quickly turned to Liu Fujing and said, “Teacher, look, they admitted it. They are organized and premeditated, bullying our classmates.”

Xu Jie: “…Huh?”

Liu Fujing also fell silent.

He was very protective of his students. Though he usually joked around and was easygoing, he became extremely angry when it came to his students being bullied. Especially since Wang Yiyang’s knee was indeed injured, and Shen Juan…

He glanced at Shen Juan.

Shen Juan suddenly placed one hand on Lin Yujing’s shoulder, the other clutching his stomach, bending over slightly.

“Shen, are you feeling unwell?” Lin Yujing asked with concern.

“My stomach is a bit uncomfortable… I thought I could hold on until the game ended,” Shen Juan said in a muffled voice.

“…”

Xu Jie finally understood what was going on and was astonished. He had never seen such a maneuver before.

Mr. Liu, Shen Juan is lying!!!

Shen Juan looked completely at ease after making those three-pointers and even taunted him with a look of satisfaction!

Xu Jie turned around, trying to explain, but Liu Fujing suddenly shouted, “Who taught you not to greet your teacher when you see them?! I’m standing right here, didn’t you see? Is this how your teacher taught you?”

“What you did today is extremely malicious! Severely injuring our classmate! All for victory! You have no limits!!”

Liu Fujing was extremely angry, so furious that his words were mixed up, “What kind of behavior is this? What kind of atmosphere is this? Get your class teacher here, now! Immediately! I must talk to them about moral and ethical education!!”

The head teacher of the Seventh Class didn’t usually care much about things other than academics. She was known for being a fanatic about studying, always immersed in making her top students even better. So, she hadn’t even attended the basketball game.

Liu Fujing was determined to stand up for his students. Parents entrusted their children to the school and to him, so he had to be responsible. Lin Yujing never lied; since she said this, Liu Fujing believed it mostly.

Moreover, Xu Jie had run over and admitted it himself.

When the Seventh Class teacher arrived, Liu Fujing took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and explained the situation as calmly as possible.

Xu Jie was usually a troublemaker, causing problems every few days. The grade director had talked to his teacher countless times. Although Ning Yuan was usually well-behaved, she still needed to ask her students, “Xu Jie, Ning Yuan, is this true?”

“Teacher Jiang, he admitted it to me just now,” Liu Fujing said.

Teacher Jiang turned to her students, looking serious, “Is this true? Did you really hit the students from Class Ten?”

Xu Jie was about to go crazy. He really hadn’t hit anyone. Although he saw it happen, he didn’t take part! He instinctively wanted to explain, blurting out anxiously, “Teacher, I didn’t! It wasn’t me! I was just watching—”

Ning Yuan quickly glanced at him.

Xu Jie realized his mistake and fell silent.

Lin Yujing’s lips curled slightly, “Teacher Jiang, it wasn’t Xu Jie, it was Ning Yuan who did it. Ning Yuan admitted it to us just now.”

Lin Yujing quickly added, “He said it was a moment of impulse; he wanted to win so badly and bring honor to the class. Now, he regrets it and wants to formally apologize to our classmates in front of everyone. Please forgive him.”

The girl’s voice was soft, her eyes dark and clear, standing there obediently. Her words sounded very considerate.

Shen Juan had one hand on her shoulder, the other on his stomach, bending over, his shoulders shaking.

Teacher Jiang liked students with good grades the most. She had often regretted that Lin Yujing, a good and likable student, wasn’t in her class. Moreover, Lin Yujing’s best subject was English, which Teacher Jiang taught.

Plus, Lin Yujing was second in the grade. Then she looked at Shen Juan beside her. Oh, the first in the grade.

And his stomachache seemed quite severe.

Teacher Jiang sighed, turned to Liu Fujing, and said, “Mr. Liu, I’m really sorry. I wasn’t there, and I didn’t expect my students to cause such trouble. How about this, I’ll have them apologize to your students. I’ll definitely talk to them back in class. They acted impulsively. Please give them a chance.”

Ning Yuan: “…”

Author’s Note:

Liu Fujing: For victory! At all costs! What kind of behavior is this? This is extremely malicious!

Liu Fujing says, I teach biology, not Chinese. Why does it matter if my Mandarin isn’t perfect?