Daydreaming about Me

Chapter 93

Lin Yujing didn’t understand why she had to provoke Shen Juan.

This guy, who had kept himself restrained for twenty years but still had endless tricks up his sleeve, clearly had a wealth of experience. He must have watched quite a few adult films. Lin Yujing thought that the half-open door she had once ventured through was the limit of what they could do. Even if things progressed further, it wouldn’t be much more exhausting than using hands.

Lin Yujing realized she was still too young.

The night was long and endless. Shen Juan, with unwavering dedication, used his actions to show her the weight behind his words, “Don’t mess with me.”

In the misty bathroom, he hugged her from behind, his chest pressing against her back as he leaned over. “Tired?”

She couldn’t even speak, whimpering as she pressed her forehead against the shower’s glass divider, trying to escape forward. Just when she thought she was about to break free, his hand hooked around her waist and pulled her back.

Lin Yujing let out a pained cry, her voice so pitiful it sounded like a chicken, duck, or goose being slaughtered at a farm.

Shen Juan kissed the skin behind her ear, his hot breath brushing against her flushed earlobe. He bit down lightly on the thin skin of her slender neck, his voice hoarse, “Why are you running? Didn’t you ask for it? Teasing me with your words? Hmm?”

Her voice was already hoarse. “No, I was wrong, I was wrong. I didn’t say that. I won’t say it again…”

Lin Yujing turned her head and kissed him messily, surrendering and showing weakness to appease him. What did pride matter when her life was on the line? “Gentler, please, brother, Shen Juan-ge, stop…”

“For the last time,” Shen Juan said, pressing his hand on her leg and grazing the scar there. He coaxed her, “Spread your legs wider, be good.”

“Like hell I will,” Lin Yujing’s legs were so weak she could barely stand. Her pleas and whimpers were useless. She was completely overwhelmed, leaning against him, crying and cursing, “Shen Juan, you don’t love me at all, you just want my body.”

Shen Juan acted like he didn’t hear her.

“I’m only eighteen, eighteen, you beast.”

She sobbed, “You said you’d cherish me forever, but you don’t care about me at all. You tricked me out of my home just to—ah!”

Shen Juan pinned her wrist down and pressed her against the cold glass, his voice raspy, “Call me nicely, sweetheart. I’ll be gentle.”

…

At nine in the morning, Shen Juan wheeled a breakfast cart to the bedside. The red bean porridge was cooked to a soft mush, and the aroma of braised liver filled the air.

Shen Juan went to the bathroom to freshen up, came back, and sat by the bed. He picked up a boiled egg, cracked the shell, and carefully peeled it.

After peeling two eggs and placing them on a plate, he patted the blanket, “Get up and eat something.”

Lin Yujing drowsily opened her eyes, glanced at him, then turned her head to bury it back into the pillow, continuing to sleep.

She was utterly exhausted. Her whole body ached, not a single spot felt free from soreness. Last night, Shen Juan had been like he was on some sort of stimulant. She had only dared to say a couple of words, and he went completely crazy, forcing her to say all sorts of shameful things before finally letting her go.

Lin Yujing swore she would never provoke Shen Juan again.

The hotel room was warm with the air conditioning. She lay on the bed, sinking into the soft mattress, her delicate shoulder blades and upper back exposed above the blanket, faint marks on her wrists from his grip.

Shen Juan leaned over, kissed her ear, “Eat something before going back to sleep?”

Lin Yujing’s ears turned red, and a new wave of post-incident embarrassment washed over her.

She couldn’t sleep anymore. She opened her eyes, turned her head, and looked at him, calling out hoarsely, “Shen Juan.”

Shen Juan handed her a glass of warm water, his voice calm and gentle, a man satiated, “Yes?”

Lin Yujing took the glass and sat up, wincing as the movement pulled at her sore waist and legs. She looked at him with a mixture of grievance and resentment, “You should become a male escort.”

“…”

Shen Juan narrowed his eyes, “Are you saying you haven’t had enough?”

Lin Yujing shrank back in fear, “Enough, it’s more than enough.”

Shen Juan looked at her in silence for a while, then leaned back, sighing, “I’ve been holding back so much that I nearly went insane without touching you, yet you had to come and provoke me. Lin Yujing, don’t you think you brought this upon yourself?”

Lin Yujing nodded, saying nothing, and searched around before looking at him, “Where’s my phone?”

Shen Juan stood up, went to the door, and picked up the clothes scattered on the floor. He found her phone in the pocket of her coat and handed it to her.

Lin Yujing took it and fiddled with it for a while.

Shen Juan glanced at the screen; it was a shopping app.

He casually scooped a bowl of red bean porridge, stirring it to cool it down. “What are you buying?”

“Firecrackers,” Lin Yujing didn’t even look up, “to commemorate this significant day.”

“…”

Shen Juan: “?”

Lin Yujing’s fingers continued to swipe across the screen, “I reckon five hundred bangs wouldn’t do justice to your…performance. I might need two thousand.”

“Oh, right,” she said, suddenly looking up, “Shouldn’t you go knock on the door of the next room?”

Shen Juan was puzzled, “Why would I do that?”

Lin Yujing looked at him calmly, “To let them know you’re no longer a virgin.”

Shen Juan: “…”

He almost thought he’d really gone overboard last night, bullying her into a fever. But after she finished speaking, she lazily buried herself back under the covers, probably just mocking him.

Though, he wasn’t exactly sure what she was teasing him about.

He hadn’t planned on doing it last night. He had bought tickets to return to City A in the afternoon, but seeing Lin Yujing clinging to the bed, so exhausted and languid, he couldn’t bring himself to make her travel.

So, he rescheduled the tickets, delaying their return by two days.

They ended up spending the New Year in the capital together. On New Year’s Eve, they even video-called He Songnan.

When the video call came in, Lin Yujing had just finished her shower. Wearing a bathrobe, she walked out while drying her hair, her robe loosely tied, revealing patches of fair skin, her waist slender and legs long, her damp black hair cascading down her back.

It was just a glimpse, a fleeting shadow, but Shen Juan immediately turned the phone face down on the sofa.

He Songnan exclaimed, “Shen Juan?!”

He hadn’t expected Shen Juan to move so quickly. He had been pursuing a girl from senior year of high school through sophomore year of college without any progress, while Shen Juan, after a year and a half apart, was already celebrating New Year’s together just six months after reuniting.

He Songnan immediately posted on social media: Shen Juan, you’re amazing [fist bump emoji] [fist bump emoji].

Jiang Han, Li Lin, Wang Yiyang, and the others didn’t know what had happened but didn’t hesitate for a second before joining in the comments:

Jiang Han: Shen Juan is the strongest.

Song Zhiming: Shen Juan is wise and mighty.

Jiang Han: Shen Juan is peerless.

Wang Yiyang: Shen Juan is talented and learned.

Li Lin: Shen Juan’s legacy will live on forever.

He Songnan: …

These guys, who couldn’t even score eighty on their Chinese exams, had an impressive vocabulary when it came to bragging, with a rhyme scheme and all. How absurd was that?

Shen Juan had no idea the group chat was already buzzing. He ended the call and looked at Lin Yujing.

Lin Yujing froze for a moment, “Were you on a video call? With He Songnan?”

Shen Juan grunted in acknowledgment.

Lin Yujing was stunned, “Then just now—”

“He didn’t see, it was just a quick glimpse,” Shen Juan said, looking at the exposed patches of fair skin on her chest, still marked by faint traces left by him. His eyelid twitched.

He set the phone down, walked over, and tugged at her bathrobe’s belt, looking down, “What’s wrong? Is the robe too big?”

Despite everything, he couldn’t help but feel tenderness towards her. For the past two days, he hadn’t touched her. Now, he untied her bathrobe, slowly peeled it off like unwrapping a present, kissed and caressed her gently before withdrawing.

Lin Yujing’s eyes were still a bit red.

Shen Juan leaned down and kissed her scar.

Lin Yujing shivered. For some reason, Shen Juan had a peculiar obsession with this spot when he acted roguishly. He seemed to be a leg fetishist, always starting at her ankle and ending at the scar.

In exceptional situations, Lin Yujing didn’t even want to recall the details.

She pushed his head away and sat up, pulling the blanket over herself as she looked at him, “Shen Juan, I know my legs are beautiful, but that’s no excuse for your perversion.”

Shen Juan chuckled, biting her lightly on the corner of her lips and hugging her through the blanket.

Lin Yujing raised her head and suddenly called out to him, “Shen Juan.”

“Hmm.” Shen Juan responded lazily, his eyes closed.

She reached out from under the blanket and traced her fingers along the lines of his abdomen, “When are you going to give me a tattoo?”

Shen Juan paused and opened his eyes, “Not afraid of the pain?”

“Of course I’m afraid,” Lin Yujing pouted, turning over and propping her head up as she looked at him, her other hand playing with his Adam’s apple, “But why did you get yours done if your mom didn’t allow it? If she gets really angry, would you have to get it removed?”

Shen Juan smiled, “I got it with the intention of keeping it until the day I die. I had designed the tattoo a long time ago, and when I got it, I didn’t think much of it. I just wanted to leave a mark, a bit of you, on my body.”

Lin Yujing froze for a moment.

Shen Juan caught her hand, gently biting her fingertip, and whispered, “From now on, no matter if I’m alive or dead, Lin Yujing, I belong to you.”

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Yujing and Shen Juan returned to City A.

The university student world championship was scheduled for mid-March, held in Toronto this year. Shen Juan’s break for the New Year was already a luxury, and as soon as they got back, he was immediately dragged back to training by Rong Huai. Lin Yujing stayed home, doing her homework, coding, and working with two senior classmates on a small company’s web design project. Initially, it was just for the experience, but they managed to make a little money.

At the end of February, the new semester at A University began. Shen Juan had already taken a leave of absence from his courses and spent his days entirely focused on training, often staying in the training room for over ten hours.

A week later, Shen Juan left for Toronto with several senior members of A University’s shooting team.

They departed on a Saturday. The day before, Lin Yujing had a full schedule of classes. In the evening, Shen Juan waited for her downstairs at her dormitory. When Lin Yujing and Gu Xia returned from class, they saw him standing under a tree, leaning back and looking up.

Shen Juan noticed her out of the corner of his eye and turned to look.

Lin Yujing walked over, blinking, “Oh, whose boyfriend is this?”

Shen Juan laughed and reached out to pinch her cheek, “You heartless girl, if I hadn’t come to find you, would you have looked for me?”

Lin Yujing unhesitatingly slapped his hand away, “Did you pack everything?”

Shen Juan: “Yeah.”

Lin Yujing asked, “How many days will you be gone?”

“Ten days,” Shen Juan said, “The event ends on the 19th.”

“Oh,” Lin Yujing looked at him, “oh…”

“What?” Shen Juan raised an eyebrow slightly, leaning in closer to look at her, “Are you already starting to miss me?”

“Yeah,” Lin Yujing cooperated with a low voice, “just thinking about not seeing my boyfriend for ten days makes my heart feel like it’s being torn apart. Ten days, is that enough time for me to have a thrilling romantic encounter?”

After speaking, she paused, turning her head expressionlessly, “There must be plenty of beautiful girls in Toronto, right?”

Shen Juan curled his lips, “Probably.”

Lin Yujing nodded, glancing around to ensure no one else was around before lowering her voice in frustration, “Shen Juan, tonight I plan to get into bed with you and use all my charms to make you completely obsessed with my body, so that when you get to Toronto, you won’t even glance at any other girl. Every time you loosen your belt, you’ll think of me.”

“…”

Shen Juan couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking with mirth as he leaned back.

His girlfriend was just too adorable.

Every day, she seemed even cuter than the day before—there was no way around it.

Although Lin Yujing talked about using all her charms to seduce him, it was more of a joke; she wasn’t actually worried about Shen Juan. She planned to return to the dormitory that night.

But Shen Juan had other plans. After dinner, he picked her up and carried her straight to bed to begin his “main course.”

Early the next morning, Shen Juan left.

When he departed, Lin Yujing was still fast asleep, her face nestled in the pillow, breathing softly and steadily, her brows slightly furrowed as if dreaming about something.

Shen Juan raised his hand and gently rubbed her furrowed brow with his fingertip. She had been thoroughly exhausted the previous night, and since there was still time, he slipped his hand under the blanket to gently squeeze her leg and massage her lower abdomen.

The next second, the girl rubbed her face against the pillow, her sleepy eyes barely opening a sliver. She glanced at him through her lashes, then wrinkled her nose, pouted, and burrowed deeper under the blanket to avoid his hand, landing a crisp slap on his face.

“…”

Shen Juan, who got slapped by his girlfriend every few mornings, felt that his patience had reached the point where he could serve as a UN peace ambassador.

For instance, after being slapped, he could still act as if nothing had happened, with no anger at all, and gently coax her.

He leaned down, kissed her lips, and whispered, “Don’t move, let me massage you.”

Lin Yujing didn’t want it. Her eyes were still closed, and half-awake, she dodged his hand, her voice sticky, “No, I don’t want it… I just want to sleep…”

Shen Juan: “…”

Shen Juan suspected that in Lin Yujing’s mind, he was probably seen as some kind of pervert.

By the time Lin Yujing woke up, Shen Juan’s plane had already taken off. Toronto had a thirteen-hour time difference with their location, and by the time Shen Juan landed, it was already early morning back home.

Enjoying a rare weekend without the need to wake up early for self-study or classes, Lin Yujing lazed in bed for a while, thinking about what she had to do that day.

Her mind quickly went through her plans, and at the top of the list was getting a tattoo.

Shen Juan had a tattoo of a whale on his body, with just an outline and a beautiful line of English letters at the base—it was her name, forming part of the whale’s design. The font and lines blended harmoniously, as if they were one.

But when it came to what she wanted, Lin Yujing still didn’t have any ideas.

She searched online for some tattoo designs but found none that could compare to Shen Juan’s. Even the random sketches lying around his studio were better than what she found online.

Lin Yujing thought that maybe she should just go to his studio and pick one.

She sent a message to Shen Juan to let him know and got out of bed to start her day.

As soon as her feet touched the floor, the muscles in her thighs tensed, aching painfully. Lin Yujing held onto the edge of the bed, gasping, “Oh, my god…”

That beast, Shen Juan.

Shen Juan had given her the key to his studio, but Lin Yujing wasn’t in a rush to go. She spent the morning doing her homework, then spent the afternoon reading. In the evening, after dinner, she finally grabbed the key and headed out, taking the subway.

It had been a while since she’d last been there. After getting off the subway, she walked to the studio, unlocked the iron gate, and then the smaller inner door to enter.

The room hadn’t changed much since she last visited. Jiang Han would come by a few days every week, claiming, “Shen Juan, this place shouldn’t be a restraint but a home. Whenever you feel like it, just come back and stay for a few days. It’s good to have a place you can call home.”

That was the day Lin Yujing’s impression of Jiang Han finally changed from the idiot she first met, who was hugging a pillow with a tattooed arm exposed.

Many people looked one way on the outside but were completely different on the inside.

Lin Yujing turned on the lights, walked to the long wooden table in the workroom, and started tidying up Shen Juan’s scattered sketches and papers. She then went to the bookshelf, pulling out several sketchbooks that were haphazardly placed, stacking them together and tapping them neatly on the table.

As she stood the books upright, the pages loosened, and a train ticket fell out of the top sketchbook.

Lin Yujing picked it up without really looking at it, ready to put it back, but then her eyes caught a glimpse, and she froze.

She lowered her gaze, her attention focusing on the train ticket.

—City A to Huai City.

Lin Yujing paused for a few seconds, almost instinctively flipping open the top sketchbook.

Some pages had random

sketches, while others were blank. The one constant was the small, penciled Arabic numerals in the lower left corner of each page.

89

90

91

…

Lin Yujing was all too familiar with Shen Juan’s handwriting. He had this habit of curling the final stroke of his numbers inward slightly.

After flipping through a dozen pages, a second train ticket fell out.

—City A to Huai City.

Lin Yujing’s fingers stiffened, and her mind momentarily went blank.

Suddenly, she realized what those numbers represented.

They were days.

Days passing by, one by one, through the time they were apart.

That night, Lin Yujing sat on the floor and went through every sketchbook on the shelf, flipping through each page.

She found dozens of train tickets between City A and Huai City.

-Chapter End-