บท 13: Forced to Participate

บรรณาธิการ: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hearing what Xu Mang had to say, Lin Yishan might have just ended it all right there. The kid was a troublemaker alright… What kind of student would talk that way to their homeroom teacher? Only Xu Mang had the audacity to do so… Just because his old man was friends with the school's headmaster, did he have no concept of the word respect?

"Nonsense!"

Lin Yishan glared at Xu Mang, leading his student into the office.

Stepping in, Xu Mang noticed that Ms. Wang was present as well. Xu Mang winced, it was obvious what had happened… She had most likely complained about him to Mr. Lin again, it looked like he had failed the test again!

But that was impossible!

He should've gotten full marks for that essay, had he gotten too excited and written out of topic?

"Xu Mang! Be honest with me now, are you playing dumb on purpose?" Wang Xue questioned him sternly. "In reality, you're a hidden genius, but you hide your talents in hopes of being able to live out a normal life, is that it?!"

Xu Mang teared up.

'Finally, someone understands… that I'm a genius! I've waited far too long for this moment!'

"Ms. Wang… You are absolutely correct!" Xu Mang suddenly puffed out his chest, his head and ego already floating high above the clouds, and he proudly exclaimed, "I am a one in a mil… No, a one in a billion genius, not to brag or anything, but my intellect exceeds even the likes of Albert Einstein."

"..."

One thing was for sure, he definitely wasn't modest.

Lin Yishan and Wang Xue both let out a sigh, you just couldn't praise this kid at all. Give him a little time in the spotlight and suddenly he thinks that he's the Sun… If he found out that his essay got full marks, the entirety of China might not be able to contain his ego.

"I'll skip the pleasantries, Xu Mang… The Chinese test we had last Saturday, only a total of three people from Class 1 and 2 received full marks on their essays, and you're one of them!" Wang Xue said seriously. "In fact, yours was the best out of the three!"

"Oh…"

Xu Mang didn't give much of a reaction, after all, he had already expected that outcome.

Yet, his calm response stunned both Lin Yishan and Wang Xue. Although his voice was flat, there was a slight hint of confidence in his tone. Without the proper strengths to back him up, there was no way Xu Mang could be as expressionless as he was now.

"Xu Mang, could you please tell us a little about your essay 'Past, Present, and Future'?" Wang Xue asked.

"Sure." Xu Mang nodded, relaying the information the system had given him to Lin Yishan and Wang Xue. His memory wasn't the best but he still somewhat remembered the basic plot of the story, even adding onto that a few of his own expositions here and there, and a gleam of approval flickered in his teachers' eyes.

After Xu Mang had finished speaking, he looked more closely at his teachers' expressions which were a mixture of shock and excitement, and Xu Mang couldn't help but laugh.

"Mr. Lin! The city-wide secondary school essay writing competition is accepting submissions starting from next month, correct?" Wang Xue suddenly asked Lin Yishan. "I think… since Xu Mang won't be able to get into a good university through his exams anyway, why don't we let him get noticed through this competition and help him build his bright future on the path of literature!"

"That's…"

Lin Yishan was deep in thought. Indeed, if they were to let Xu Mang take the national exam, there was no way he could perform well enough to achieve anything big, so why not help him nurture his talent, perhaps they could even help create the second Shakespeare.

"Well, then…"

"No, no, no!"

Just as Lin Yishan started to speak, Xu Mang suddenly jumped from his seat. "Ms. Wang, you can't take away my own freedom of choice! My next goal is to enter Tsinghua University¹."

'What?

'Tsinghua University?!

'You?!'

Lin Yishan and Wang Xue smiled, automatically ignoring what he had just said.

"Xu Mang! I'm giving you a mission as your teacher! In the city-wide secondary school essay competition next month, you must win an award. If you are successful in doing so, if you are able to help earn glory for your school and your class, I will personally make a request to the headmaster to grant you immediate graduation!"

Lin Yishan chose to grow this hidden potential, because at the very least, it seemed like the more feasible option.

'What… What about my monthly exams?

'I spent all that time accumulating points so I could do well in the next exam to prove those teachers wrong, but now… my dreams are ruined!'

"Mr. Lin! Can I still take the monthly exam that's coming soon?" Xu Mang asked. "If I can't take it, I'm not participating in the competition."

What was he talking about? Did he swap bodies with someone?

Lin Yishan knew Xu Mang's personality like the back of his hand. He was the laziest person Lin Yishan knew, and if they didn't need to at least write their names on the exam, he might not even pick up his pencil… So, why was he, the infamous 'cancer' of the class, so eager to take his next exams?

"Of… Of course." Lin Yishan nodded.

For the rest of his time there, Wang Xue gave Xu Mang a brief overview of what the competition was like as well as telling him to go to Block 5 during their nightly self-study period to take part in the so-called training.

"That's right! Stay low-key about your talents," Lin Yishan told Xu Mang as he left the teacher's office.

"Got it!"

[Mission acquired: Participate in the Essay Competition (City level)]

[Description: How would a life be won lying down without a first-place prize in an essay competition? Please achieve First-Place]

[Reward: Upgrade Card * 5]

A new mission from the system, with some pretty handsome rewards too, five Upgrade Cards all at once.

***

"Hahahahaha! Ya' boi got full marks on the essay from last Saturday's test!"

Xu Mang shouted from the front of the class.

"..."

He was crazy!

Maybe his rabies had finally reached his brain.

In response to Xu Mang's outrageous claim, mostly everyone just chose to ignore him. It wasn't that they didn't think highly of him, however, Xu Mang saying that he had gotten full marks on an essay was basically the same as him saying the world would end the very next day—the probability was basically non-existent.

Getting the cold shoulder from everyone in the crowd, Xu Mang slumped his shoulders and hobbled back to his seat. Looks like he would have to hire better actors to play along with him next time. His classmates… they lacked a lot of that professional flair.

Even if they weren't shocked, they could have at least said "No way, that's insane!" or something to that effect. The silence they gave was just…

"Huh? Did you forget to take your meds this morning?"

Yang Xiaoman didn't even need any probing from Xu Mang this time, immediately asking him with a face full of curiosity.

"You could've just said I'm crazy you know…did you really have to go through all that trouble?" Xu Mang replied blankly. "Even if your essay got full marks as well, mine's way better than yours!"

"... Idiot!"

Yang Xiaoman rolled her eyes at Xu Mang, turning her attention back to scrolling through Weibo on her phone.

What a coincidence, the first class they had was Chinese.

Wang Xue walked into class with a stack of Saturday's test papers in hand, but she wasn't in a rush to hand them back.

"The results of last week's test were less than satisfactory, and excluding Xu Mang, our class scored an average of 3 points lower than Class 2!" Wang Xue said expressionlessly. "I hope everyone will continue to work even harder!"

"Now I'll hand your tests back, when I call your name, please come forward to take your papers."

"Yang Xiaoman, 149."

"Li Hua, 142."

"Wang Liang, 138."

Soon enough, almost everyone had received their tests—some were happy, some were sad, and among the saddest of those was their assistant class monitor, Wang Liang, because Yang Xiaoman was just as good as the rumors had said she was!

"Here, I'd like to specially praise Xu Mang!" Wang Xue suddenly said. "His scores have seen a huge increase, leaving only a few points left between him and passing, and also… Xu Mang's essay received full marks!"

...