Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 7

A place’s natural environment nurtures its people, and at this moment, Lin Yujing felt that the people here were truly peculiar. What kind of environment could produce such individuals?

She originally thought the most awkward thing about the first day of school would be the self-introduction. However, Liu Fuxiang showed her through his actions that it could be even more awkward.

He asked her to introduce her seatmate whom she met for the first time. Smart, isn’t it?

The rebellious soul of the delinquent girl in Lin Yujing, which she had long suppressed and almost forgotten, was now stirring.

In the past, when she was younger, she might have just quit in such a situation. But this wasn’t the past.

No one can always live in the past.⊕Si⊕Tu⊕Net⊕

She took a deep breath and began to recall who Shen Juan was.

When was the first time she saw him?

Three days ago.

The boy had a blanket over his head, sleeping on the sofa, seemingly dead to the world. He had long legs, a perky butt, and questionable sexual orientation.

That’s all.

Obviously, she couldn’t say that.

So Lin Yujing decided to start from today. She put herself into the mindset of an ordinary high school girl who transferred to a new school. On the first day, she was assigned to sit next to a school heartthrob-level handsome guy.

Ah, how exciting.

Lin Yujing thought with a blank expression.

Liu Fuxiang meant that everyone should introduce themselves along with their first impression of their seatmate. But since Lin Yujing had already introduced herself as a transfer student, she only had to introduce her seatmate, whose reputation as either the school bully or the school heartthrob was yet unclear.

On the podium, Liu Fuxiang raised his hand: “Alright, time’s up. Let’s welcome Lin Yujing.”

Claps resounded warmly from the students below.

Lin Yujing stood up, glanced back, and saw Shen Juan finally change his posture, sitting up and leaning against the wall, watching her.

Seeing her turn back, perhaps thinking she needed his encouragement and support, Shen Juan hesitated for two seconds, then lazily clapped his long hands twice.

Giving her plenty of face. Lin Yujing: “…”

Thank you very much.

She walked to the podium. The room fell silent, and the eyes watching her seemed a bit sympathetic, as if she would be sliced by a large cleaver Shen Juan would pull out from under the desk once she finished speaking.

Lin Yujing was silent for a few seconds before she began: “My seatmate—”

She thought for a moment, “—loves studying very much. On the day before school started, he stayed up all night to finish his homework, which caused him to be late and catch a severe cold.”

Silence. The only sound in the classroom was breathing.

“He even forgot to bring his homework after finishing it.” Lin Yujing couldn’t help but add.

“…”

Deathly silence. Not even breathing could be heard now.

Chrysanthemum Tea looked at her with a mix of horror and admiration, as if she were a warrior carrying explosives to blow up a fortress.

No one dared to applaud now, fearing any mistake might anger the big boss. Lin Yujing calmly walked back down amid the admiring gazes of the students.

The second to go was supposed to be Shen Juan, but just as Lin Yujing sat down, a teacher knocked on the classroom door. Liu Fuxiang went out to talk with her for two minutes.

Upon returning, he asked, “Who’s next?”

No one moved or spoke, and all eyes fell on Shen Juan.

Shen Juan, with half-closed eyes, yawned indifferently and lazily: “I just finished.”

Then, he glanced at Chrysanthemum Tea sitting at the back.

Chrysanthemum Tea quickly understood, standing up with a look of resigned duty: “Teacher, it’s my turn.”

Starting was hard, but once Lin Yujing began, everyone else went much smoother. By the time the class had painstakingly finished introducing themselves and their seatmates, the morning’s two consecutive classes were over. As the dismissal bell rang, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and rushed out of the classroom.

Shen Juan had already fallen asleep again midway through the introduction activity. As class ended, Liu Fuxiang reminded Lin Yujing to pick up her uniform at the art and sports building. Fearing she might get lost, he grabbed Chrysanthemum Tea, who was about to run out, and asked him to take her, showing her around the campus as well.

Chrysanthemum Tea’s real name was Li Lin. He was actually quite nice, though he talked a lot.

The campus of No. 8 High School was indeed large, with excellent greenery. There was even an artificial lake to the left of the main gate. Li Lin first took her to the library. The library had two floors with a substantial collection. The first floor was the reading room and study hall, and a large natural stone stood at the entrance with the words “Cultivate Virtue, Encourage Learning; Promote Resolution, Achieve Distant Goals” carved in black ink.

After the library, they headed to the cafeteria. Compared to the library, Li Lin was obviously more familiar with the cafeteria. It was still morning, so the cafeteria was empty. Li Lin led her through it: “This is the cafeteria. The food here is actually decent,

but not many people eat here. The school tricks freshmen into eating here initially, but later, everyone goes out to eat.”

Leaving the cafeteria, they headed to the art and sports building, passing a large green area and basketball courts. There were three outdoor basketball courts, each with boys playing basketball. Several girls sat under the basketball hoops and around the courts, some watching, others chatting.

The school uniform was a tracksuit. During summer, it was replaced by a short-sleeved version. Girls also wore uniform pants, so the campus was filled with students in white tops and black pants.

Without a uniform, Lin Yujing stood out in her own white top and black pleated skirt, her long, straight legs making her nearly 1.7 meters tall, drawing much attention.

Especially since she was also quite beautiful.

Several boys dribbling the ball looked her way and whistled.

Lin Yujing ignored them. Li Lin glanced back, swore under his breath, then whispered, “New student, your seatmate is over there.”

Lin Yujing paused and turned around.

Shen Juan was sitting under a basketball hoop, legs spread wide, arms resting on his knees, holding a bottle of water.

He seemed to have just woken up, his eyes still unfocused.

A boy sitting on a basketball next to him looked at Lin Yujing and said something to Shen Juan.

Shen Juan glanced at her.

After a brief moment of eye contact, Lin Yujing turned and continued walking. “Let’s go. Is the art and sports building far?”

Li Lin was amazed and respectful of her calmness, following her closely. “New student, you’re really something. Do you know who your seatmate is?”

Lin Yujing answered seriously, “Shen Juan.” “No, I mean, do you know who Shen Juan is?”

“No.” Lin Yujing noticed his eagerness to talk, so she cooperated, “The school heartthrob?”

Li Lin nodded, “Yes—correct.”

Then he shook his head, “But not entirely.”

“Those guys playing basketball over there are seniors.” “Oh,” Lin Yujing nodded.

Li Lin added, “Shen Juan’s former classmates.”

Lin Yujing paused and looked up, “Former?”

“Yeah, normally he should be a senior now,” Li Lin whispered. “But Shen Juan got into some serious trouble in his sophomore year. He nearly beat his seatmate to death; the guy was carried out covered in blood. Many students saw it. His aura and expression at that time were said to be terrifying.”

“Ah, I see,” Lin Yujing remembered what the boy looked like when fighting and asked casually, “Why did he do it?”

“I don’t know why, and probably not many people do. Even those close to him didn’t dare to ask. Anyway, he didn’t come to school afterward. I thought he got expelled or transferred. But he just took a year off and ended up in my class, sitting right in front of me. Every time I badmouthed him, he heard it,” Li Lin’s face showed utter despair. “New student, do you think I’ll survive until the Dragon Boat Festival?”

“…”

Lin Yujing seriously corrected him, “The Dragon Boat Festival is in May. The next one is Mid-Autumn Festival.”

On the basketball court, He Songnan stared at Lin Yujing’s back and clicked his tongue, “Looks like the new freshman girl is really pretty. She could be the best-looking one this year.”

Shen Juan ignored him, unscrewing his water bottle and drinking, his neck stretching, Adam’s apple moving.

“Did you see her look back just now? Like a queen, her whole vibe said ‘You’re nothing,’” He Songnan said excitedly, then thought for a moment, “Wait, freshmen are still in military training, so is she a sophomore or a senior? I would’ve remembered seeing her before.”

Shen Juan slowly capped the bottle and casually tossed it towards the trash bin, hitting it perfectly with a light sound, “Sophomore.”

“Transferred?”

“Yeah.”

“No wonder I haven’t seen her before,” He Songnan clapped his hands. “You’re always up-to-date with the news. Just got back and already know which grade the pretty girls are in. Do you know her class?”

“Yeah, Class 10. She’s my seatmate.”

He Songnan froze, taking five seconds to process the news, “Your new seatmate?” “Uh-huh.” Shen Juan leaned back a bit.

“Damn, repeating a grade doesn’t seem so bad for you,” He Songnan said, watching Lin Yujing walk away with envy, “Your new seatmate is something. Those legs, you’ll have fun this year, Master Juan.”

Shen Juan gave him a look.

He Songnan stretched his neck, still watching her, and gestured with his hand, “See, between the skirt and the over-the-knee socks, that’s called the ‘absolute territory.’”

Shen Juan calmly called his name, “He Songnan.”

“Huh?” He Songnan responded, not looking back, his gaze still glued to the ‘absolute territory.’

Shen Juan raised his foot and kicked the basketball He Songnan was sitting on, sending it rolling far away.

He Songnan fell on his butt and yelped, finally turning around and whining, “Master Juan! What the hell!”

Shen Juan looked at him, “She’s my seatmate.”

“I know she’s your seatmate,” He Songnan said, rubbing his butt and grimacing in pain, “So what?”

“She’s not your seatmate.” Shen Juan replied.

The author’s note:

Master Juan: Can you have a bit of decency? Is she your seatmate for you to be looking?