Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 90

No matter what, Shen Juan is still Shen Juan. When he spoke words of affection that sounded straight out of a domineering CEO romance, it felt like a life-threatening threat. Especially when he fixed his dark, intense gaze on you and lowered his voice deliberately—his presence and oppressive aura were as strong as ever, reminiscent of his school bully days.

But Lin Yujing wasn’t having any of it. She was already in a foul mood that was hard to bear. She hadn’t washed her hands and couldn’t touch anything, so she just fanned her face with her hand a couple of times, pointed at him expressionlessly, and said, “Break up, Shen Juan, right now.”

Shen Juan didn’t react. He took some erythromycin ointment from a nearby cabinet, squeezed a bit onto a cotton swab, and carefully applied it to her earlobe and the small silver stud. After thoroughly cleaning the area, he finally looked down and asked, “Do you want me to pierce the left or the right?”

Lin Yujing’s interest was piqued.

She imagined Shen Juan with a pierced ear, wearing a stud, and couldn’t help but stare at him, licking her lips.

Shen Juan noticed her expression and raised an eyebrow slightly.

“I was thinking,” Lin Yujing drawled slowly, “once you get your ear pierced—”

You’d look even more provocative.

Lin Yujing wisely shut her mouth before finishing the sentence. Regardless, her curiosity was undeniable. She jumped off the bed, went to the sink to wash her hands thoroughly, and when she returned, Shen Juan had already handed her the sterilized ear-piercing gun.

Lin Yujing took the gun, her eyes lighting up as she saw him sitting on the bed.

She usually considered herself a fighter, but she was no match for Shen Juan. The difference in strength due to their gender was significant; he would overpower her so completely during their intimate moments that she could barely speak.

Lin Yujing had been frustrated about this for quite some time.

This was the first time she could control him at her will.

“Shen Juan,” she called his name.

Shen Juan responded, “Hmm?”

“I’m so excited right now,” Lin Yujing said.

Shen Juan: “…”

“I feel like I want to do everything.”

“…”

Shen Juan burst out laughing.

He leaned back against the bed with one hand, lazily looking at her, his expression suggestive and playful. “Go ahead, do whatever you want.”

Lin Yujing ignored his teasing. She had pierced many ears and seen this process countless times, but her hands were still a bit clumsy when it came to actually doing it. After fiddling with the gun for a while, she squeezed a little ointment onto her fingertip, then gently rubbed his ear. “Let’s do the left one. I heard there’s a saying that if a man only pierces his right ear, it means he’s gay.”

“…”

Shen Juan glanced at her. “Where did you hear such nonsense?”

“The lady who pierced my ears the first time told me,” Lin Yujing said, lightly pinching his earlobe and leaning close to his ear, “Say you love me.”

Shen Juan slightly turned his head. “I love you.”

As his words fell, Lin Yujing pulled the trigger, and the earring stud pierced through his earlobe. There was a distinct sensation, as if she could feel the metal puncturing through flesh right down to her fingertips.

“It didn’t bleed. Am I better at this than you?” Lin Yujing set down the piercing gun and leaned over to examine his ear. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s nothing,” Shen Juan replied.

Lin Yujing nodded, lightly tapping his slightly reddened ear before leaning closer to gaze into his deep, dark eyes. In a soft voice, she said, “Shen Xiaojuan, I’ve sealed your promise in there.”

“You have to remember it forever.”

It didn’t take long to pierce the ear. After they lingered for a bit, they left. As they exited, a cool-looking girl was still sitting on the sofa playing with her phone. Hearing them, she looked up and saw the newly pierced ears. “Just one? Want me to add another pair somewhere else?”

Lin Yujing was intrigued. “Somewhere else?”

The girl, sporting smoky eye makeup, raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, free of charge. Where do you want it?”

Shen Juan shot her a warning look. “Chen Xiang.”

The girl shut up immediately and got up to escort them downstairs.

It was late November, and the deep autumn made the days shorter and the nights colder. Shen Juan went to get the car while Lin Yujing waited at the door.

While waiting, she chatted briefly with Chen Xiang. The shop wasn’t just a tattoo parlor; Chen Xiang was also a professional piercer, with a personality as unique as her profession.

As they talked, Chen Xiang pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of her pants, which looked like a piece of fabric wrapped around her. The black box had white lettering—Russian brand.

She naturally tapped out a cigarette and offered it to Lin Yujing.

Lin Yujing just as naturally took it, holding it between her lips, and waited for Chen Xiang to retrieve a lighter from her pocket to light it. She murmured a vague thanks.

Chen Xiang looked at her in slight surprise. She hadn’t expected Lin Yujing to accept it, thinking it was just a test—after all, not every girl could win over Shen Juan.

A delicate-looking girl, Lin Yujing didn’t seem like the type.

Yet with the fluid motion of lighting up, red lips and slender fingers holding the cigarette, her demeanor instantly shifted from a Venus to a seductive Daji.

Chen Xiang laughed, “I really like you.”

Lin Yujing’s eyes curved into a smile. “I like you too.”

“Hey,” Chen Xiang took a puff, leaning closer, “if you’re not that into Shen Juan, you should break up with him now. He’s got a bad temper. I can introduce you to my brother instead. You’d make a great sister-in-law. What kind of guy do you like?”

Lin Yujing seriously thought about it. “Cool ones.”

Chen Xiang gave a thumbs-up. “My brother is the coolest guy I know. Even his cat is the coolest in the neighborhood.”

When Shen Juan returned, he saw the two girls squatting by the door, surrounded by a haze of smoke. He got out, opened the door, and heard one of them complaining about him: “You should really reconsider. Shen Juan isn’t that great.”

“…”

Shen Juan leaned against the doorframe, looking down at them with a calm expression. “What’s wrong with Shen Juan?”

“…”

Chen Xiang’s voice abruptly stopped, and they both looked up.

Lin Yujing let out an “ah,” her expression unreadable as she asked, “Ready to go?”

“Let’s go.” Shen Juan started walking out.

Lin Yujing bid Chen Xiang goodbye, then followed him outside. As soon as they stepped out, Shen Juan snatched the cigarette from her hand and sighed. “You always choose the strongest ones, don’t you?”

Lin Yujing blinked.

Before she had come to City A, she had tried smoking on occasion but wasn’t particularly fond of it. The only time she smoked heavily was back in Huaicheng.

She let Shen Juan take the cigarette from her hand and snuff it out in a nearby trash can. They got into the car, and as they were almost home, Shen Juan suddenly stopped by a convenience store and went inside. A few minutes later, he came back with a bag in hand.

It was dark outside, and Lin Yujing squinted to make out what he was holding.

A bucket of lollipops.

A large, transparent bucket with a red lid, filled to the brim with colorful, fruit-flavored lollipops.

Shen Juan got into the car and tossed the bucket into her lap, fastening his seatbelt.

Lin Yujing held the bucket, turning it around to look at it, then turned to him, puzzled. “Why did you buy so many lollipops?”

“To quit smoking,” Shen Juan said, his hand resting on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. His lips curved down slightly, betraying no emotion. “I’ll quit with you.”

Lin Yujing hadn’t even processed his words. “You’re quitting smoking?”

“Yeah,” Shen Juan reached over and ruffled her hair. “I don’t want to set a bad example for my girl.”

After hearing what Yan Heng had said to him, he had a pretty good idea why Lin Yujing had picked up the habit.

It made him feel uneasy.

Knowing what she had gone through in the past year and a half, every little issue she revealed pricked at his heart like a needle.

It wasn’t the smoking itself that bothered him, but the reason she had started.

Lin Yujing didn’t really have a strong addiction. In fact, she had already quit before, only smoking occasionally. But Shen Juan did.

Before this, quitting smoking had never even crossed his mind.

When Shen Juan brought the bucket of lollipops back to the dorm, Sun Mingchuan was stunned. He followed Shen Juan to his desk, picked up a lollipop, examined it in the light, and confirmed that it was indeed real candy. “I was wondering why you’ve been sweeter lately. You’re quitting smoking?”

Shen Juan didn’t have time to respond before Sun Mingchuan exclaimed again.

This time, he was even more shocked. Shen Juan turned

around.

Sun Mingchuan pointed at his ear, leaning in closer. “Is that real? Did you get your ear pierced?”

His expression was as if he’d seen a ghost, his eyes nearly bulging out. Shen Juan found it amusing. “Why can’t I?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Sun Mingchuan carefully chose his words, “Boss Shen, we all have girlfriends now, so give the rest of us a chance. With that piercing, your level of charm just skyrocketed.”

“…”

Shen Juan paused and said calmly, “My temper has improved a lot. If you had known me in high school, you’d probably be in a vegetative state by now.”

Sun Mingchuan laughed, “But honestly, you look good with it. I bet from tomorrow, the number of girls hitting on you on your way from the dorm to the classroom will double.”

“Alright, shut up.” Shen Juan couldn’t be bothered to respond further. He casually tossed a handful of lollipops to him, grabbed one for himself, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. Then, he pulled out a textbook and scanned the pages quickly, immersing himself in his studies.

He had spent the entire weekend with Lin Yujing, and happy times always seemed to pass by quickly.

So quickly, in fact, that he barely had time to glance at his books. He didn’t even attend training on Sunday, choosing instead to cuddle with his girlfriend at home, only to be bombarded with calls from Rong Huai.

As Shen Juan’s mind drifted over the pages, he suddenly began to understand King Zhou of Shang and King You of Zhou. He grasped the meaning behind “the king no longer attended court.”

Forget attending court.

Just looking at her made him want to do nothing else.

That autumn had been especially short. After a rainstorm, temperatures plummeted, and winter arrived at the tail end of November.

With finals approaching, everyone was busy, barely having a moment to spare. Shen Juan’s time was stretched so thin that he was hardly ever seen. Lin Yujing decided to move her study sessions from the library to his training room.

The shooting range training room wasn’t a quiet place; gunfire and conversation filled the air. But Lin Yujing wasn’t picky about her environment. Once she settled in to study, the surrounding noise gradually faded away until she heard nothing.

This kind of concentration was a basic skill for a top student. Moreover, Lin Yujing’s determination to succeed was strong.

She had entered as the top student in her class. What if she failed the finals?

It wasn’t just about academics.

She had fought with Lin Zhi numerous times, eventually even bringing in the patriarch of the Lin family to get permission to attend university in City A. She had made a promise back then: her GPA would be the highest in the class.

If she didn’t achieve that, what would Lin Zhi say? Would she bring up Shen Juan again, claiming that he was a bad influence?

Lin Yujing couldn’t accept that.

She burned the midnight oil for nearly half a month, and only after finishing her finals did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. It felt comparable to the college entrance exams.

After her last exam, Lin Yujing pulled out her phone as she walked down the stairs, preparing to call Shen Juan. But as soon as she exited the building and looked up, she saw him standing under a tree.

This was Lin Yujing’s first winter in City A. Unlike the capital, it didn’t snow here. The cold was wrapped in a damp wind. Shen Juan wore a long, dark gray coat, his eyes downcast as he leaned lazily against the tree, like a warm flame.

Lin Yujing’s lips curved into a smile, and she walked toward him.

Sensing her approach, Shen Juan looked up.

Lin Yujing stopped in front of him, just about to speak, when her phone buzzed in her hand.

She glanced at the caller ID and hesitated, not answering.

Noticing the change in her expression, Shen Juan lowered his gaze to the screen.

Lin Zhi.

It was rare for a daughter to have her mother’s contact saved under just a full name.

A name like that spoke volumes.

The phone kept buzzing, and neither of them spoke. Finally, Shen Juan broke the silence. “Are you going to answer it?”

Lin Yujing looked at him, uncertain. She didn’t want to answer it in front of Shen Juan, but avoiding him felt too deliberate.

Shen Juan sighed. “Do you want to talk to her?”

Lin Yujing opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.

“If you don’t want to, then don’t,” Shen Juan said softly, his gaze steady. “Lin Yujing, from now on, the things you don’t want to do, the people you don’t want to see, the words you don’t want to say—you don’t have to do, see, or say any of it. You don’t need to hide or endure.”

“Leave it all to me. I’ll handle it for you.”

-Chapter End-