I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 12

Exercising Together

Do you want me to yield to you a little

The third class period began.

Shen Man listened attentively to the lecture, took notes, and automatically ignored the sticky gaze fixed on her from behind.

This was the head teacher’s class. As the Class Monitor, she couldn’t go on a small business trip¹.

As soon as class was over, Shen Man closed her textbook.

She turned sideways, placed a hand on Lin Shu’s desk, and asked with a smile, “Shushu, why have you been staring at me?”

“Who was staring at you? I was looking at the teacher.” Lin Shu retorted loudly, turning her head away in an tsundere manner. “Don’t engage in wishful thinking².”

“Wishful thinking?” Shen Man’s lips curved, her deliberately lowered voice tinged with playfulness. “Then I must have been overthinking it.”

“You were overthinking it in the first place.” Lin Shu huffed, picking up her textbook and getting up.

Shen Man watched her move to another empty seat, smiled, and turned back to look at her notes.

The girl next to her leaned over and asked, “Class Monitor, you study so diligently. You’re studying both during and after class, don’t you ever have some fun?”

Shen Man smiled but didn’t answer.

Most of the students in this class were from affluent families, rich second generation³, and those slightly less well-off were from small, comfortable⁴ families.

Only she had been admitted through an exception due to her outstanding academic performance.

No background, no connections, and no money.

Studying hard is what she should be doing.

The day’s classes ended.

Shen Man packed her schoolbag, picked up her badminton racket, and walked over to Lin Shu, asking, “Are we going to play badminton now?”

“Mhm.” Lin Shu responded coolly, stood up, and was the first to walk out.

Shen Man followed behind, heading towards the gymnasium.

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The school’s gymnasium was always very lively, and there were already quite a few people inside at this time.

Some were playing badminton, some were playing table tennis, and some clubs were here practicing dance.

Shen Man looked at those young faces full of vigor and vitality, and her lips curved into a light smile.

Lin Shu walked to the badminton court and took out her phone to make a call.

Shen Man put down her schoolbag and racket and began doing warm-up exercises on the spot.

After finishing her call, Lin Shu saw Shen Man stretching her legs, sat down to the side, and said idly, “It’s just a game of badminton, is it necessary to be as serious as in gym class?”

Shen Man, while stretching her leg, said, “If you don’t do stretching exercises, it’s easy to get injured during the game.”

Lin Shu scoffed lightly and looked down to play with her phone.

Shen Man finished her warm-up exercises and looked up to see the figures of Yan Jie and Ding Xi appear.

Ding Xi’s and Shen Man’s gazes met, and she immediately looked away guiltily.

Yan Jie turned her head and snorted disdainfully.

Lin Shu put away her phone, stood up, and said with a smile, “Yan Jie, you play with Shen Man first.”

Yan Jie smiled. “Okay, Lin Shu-jie.”

Lin Shu tilted her head to look at Shen Man, smiled smugly, and said, “Yan Jie is a badminton expert; she once won the championship in the junior division. I hope you, don’t lose too miserably.”

When she said the last sentence, she smiled, rejoicing in calamity and delighting in misfortune⁵.

Shen Man’s expression was indifferent, and she paid no mind to this mockery.

She picked up a badminton racket and stood in the service area.

Yan Jie, holding her racket and a shuttlecock, walked to the other side.

She flicked the shuttlecock in her hand up with her racket, deliberately showing off a little trick as she hit it over to Shen Man’s side, and said with a smile, “I’ll let you serve first.”

Hearing the disdain in her words, Shen Man’s lips curved slightly. She caught the shuttlecock and casually hit it over the net.

Yan Jie received it and hit it forcefully. The shuttlecock just grazed the net and flew towards the edge of the court.

This shot was beautiful; an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to return it.

Lin Shu started to laugh happily, waiting to watch a good show at Shen Man’s expense.

Shen Man ran backward, held her racket horizontally to receive the shot, and then with a light, skillful touch, the shuttlecock flew smoothly back, dropping just beside the net.

Yan Jie hurriedly ran forward, just barely managing to return the shot over the net.

Shen Man smashed it forcefully, feinting as if she was going to hit it to Yan Jie’s backcourt.

Yan Jie hurriedly ran back, but the shuttlecock ended up landing near the net again.

This rally, Shen Man won.

Shen Man flicked her wrist and spun her racket as easily as spinning a pen, and smiled faintly. “Is this the skill of a junior division champion? It couldn’t be the children’s division, could it?”

“You…” Yan Jie’s face immediately scrunched up in anger. Seeing Lin Shu’s unhappy expression, she gritted her teeth and said, “Don’t get cocky. I was just yielding to you just now.”

“No need. Bring out your real strength.” Shen Man’s lips curved, her calm eyes holding a trace of disdain.

Yan Jie got even angrier, served with all her might, but it was still returned by Shen Man.

Lin Shu watched from the side, the smile on her face gradually disappearing, changing from watching a good show at the beginning to surprise, and then to silence.

Who would have thought that Shen Man, a bookworm⁶ who only knew how to study, would have such good athletic reflexes.

“Shen Man is really amazing,” Ding Xi praised in a small, smiling voice.

Tilting her head and seeing the unfriendly expression on Lin Shu’s face, she quickly shut up.

Lin Shu stood up and said in a loud voice, “Shen Man, I’ll play with you.”

Shen Man smiled, her brows and eyes curving. “Alright.”

Lin Shu took the racket from Yan Jie’s hand and said to Shen Man, “I’ll switch places with you.”

Shen Man nodded in agreement without any objection.

The two switched places.

Lin Shu started to serve, hitting the shuttlecock over with great force.

Shen Man received it with ease and with a casual swing, the shuttlecock flew towards the spot where Lin Shu was standing.

Lin Shu received the shuttlecock and hit it lightly.

Shen Man ran forward two steps to receive it, and with a swing of her racket, the shuttlecock once again landed in the spot where Lin Shu was standing.

Lin Shu could receive the shuttlecock without having to move.

After a few rallies, Lin Shu glared at Shen Man angrily. “I don’t need you to yield to me.”

“Really no need?” Shen Man chuckled, and with a forceful hit, the shuttlecock flew directly to the edge of the court.

Lin Shu ran over with large strides.

She was still too late, and could only watch helplessly as the shuttlecock fell.

She immediately became even more furious, picked up the shuttlecock, and said forcefully, “We’ll go again.”

Shen Man chuckled lightly, no longer keeping mercy under her hand⁷.

The varying force, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, made it impossible for Lin Shu to return any of the shots.

Lin Shu, panting for breath, picked up shuttlecocks all over the court. The repeated failures caused the anger bursting from her round, almond-shaped eyes to grow ever stronger.

Her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, which trickled down her fair cheeks onto her delicate collarbones.

Her white shirt was soaked with sweat, her back and front showing two different shades.

Shen Man put down her racket and said with a smile, “I’m a little tired, let’s take a break.”

Lin Shu, drenched in sweat and gasping for air, refused to admit defeat. “Keep playing.”

“Let someone else play with you,” Shen Man said with a smile, stepping to the side to drink some water.

Lin Shu was unreconciled, looking at Shen Man, annoyed.

Ding Xi walked over with a bottle of water and a dry towel, and persuaded, “Lin Shu-jie, you’re covered in sweat. Wipe it off and have some water first.”

Lin Shu stood for a moment, and seeing that Shen Man had no intention of continuing to play, she finally handed the racket to Ding Xi and sat down to the side to wipe her sweat and drink water.

After resting for a bit, Shen Man walked to Lin Shu’s side and said with a smile in her eyes, “You guys play, I’m going back now.”

As soon as her voice fell, Tan Kai walked over holding a basketball, with Yin Ruxu following behind him.

Lin Shu looked at Tan Kai, glanced at Yin Ruxu with dissatisfaction, and asked irritably, “How come you came with her?”

“I ran into her on the way, she said she was looking for Shen Man,” Tan Kai answered truthfully. Seeing how Lin Shu’s hair was soaked through, he asked with a smile, “Since when did you love exercising so much?”

Lin Shu gave him a white eye.

Yin Ruxu walked to Shen Man’s side, her eyes full of admiration, and said in a soft and gentle voice, “I just saw you playing, you’re so amazing. I’ve never seen anyone play badminton so well.”

Shen Man smiled, accepting the praise calmly.

Tan Kai also praised with a smile, “Shen Man, you’re really amazing.”

After he finished speaking, he was met with Lin Shu’s dissatisfied anger and immediately added, “Lin Shu, you’re amazing too.”

Lin Shu snorted angrily and turned her head to look elsewhere.

“Shen Man, can you teach me how to play badminton?” Yin Ruxu said in a small voice.

“Okay,” Shen Man agreed with a smile. After speaking, she looked at Lin Shu.

Hearing this, Lin Shu turned her head, her gaze meeting Shen Man’s, and asked in a questioning tone, “Didn’t you just say you were going back?”

Shen Man let out a laugh but didn’t answer.

Seeing the situation, Tan Kai suggested with a smile, “Why don’t we play doubles? Me and Lin Shu in one team, and Shen Man and Yin Ruxu in another.”

Lin Shu immediately threw an eye-dagger⁸ at him, stood up, and said haughtily, “I’ll be on a team with Shen Man. You and Yin Ruxu will be a team.”

“Fine.” Tan Kai immediately changed his mouth⁹ and agreed, looking at Shen Man and Yin Ruxu to ask for their opinion.

Shen Man didn’t speak.

Yin Ruxu’s face flushed slightly, and she said in a small voice, “I’m very vegetable¹⁰, I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s fine, we’re just playing for fun,” Tan Kai said with a smile, borrowing a pair of rackets from a classmate nearby.

The four of them took their positions, and the match began.

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The author has something to say:

If you like it, please add it to your collection, memeda¹¹.

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