บท 32: It Was Mine To Begin With
บรรณาธิการ: EndlessFantasy Translation
That day, Xu Mang was climbing through ranked. After his hard work these past few days, he had finally reached Silver rank, becoming a truly "strong player". He did have some regrets, though. He had asked Yang Xiaoman to carry him multiple times, but he was always rejected by the woman in cold blood.
Of course, she had given him a chance. The flat-chested embodiment of violence had told Xu Mang to climb to Gold first before she would play with him.
Gold…
That was a dream far, far out of reach for Xu Mang.
@LifeInPieces: [What are you doing?]
Yang Xiaoman had sent him a message through WeChat.
@TheDreamOfAllFemalesInThe Universe: [Climbing ranked. I'm gonna reach Gold soon, so you'd better be prepared to carry me!]
@LifeInPieces: [Noob, if you mess things up for me, be prepared to meet my fists!]
@TheDreamOfAllFemalesInThe Universe: [You'll find out just how good I am when you play with me.]
@LifeInPieces: [Idiot!]
After that small tiff, Yang Xiaoman had ended their little interaction. Xu Mang looked at the flat-chested one's reply and didn't know what to say either. Anytime they met at school, it never ended well for him. Aside from their first meeting, he would be left limping away from their conversation every single time.
To meet with her again…
Oh, the suffering!
Suddenly, Xu Mang received a call from their homeroom teacher.
"Hello? Mr. Lin? Why are you calling me?"
Although he was no longer Xu Mang's teacher, once a teacher, always a teacher. Xu Mang still had a few morals left in him after all.
"Xu Mang! Please come to the school, and bring everything you need to bring!" Mr. Lin ordered.
"Huh? What's going on?" Xu Mang was stunned from the seriousness in his teacher's voice. As his heartbeat steadily rose, he asked, "Did you find out who was the one who beat up the student council? It...It really was me, but they were bullying the other students! Please help me, Mr. Lin, I was also one of your students…"
Xu Mang sobbed and continued, "And also, during the end of Senior Year 2, the school's septic tank exploded, right? That was me too."
Lin Yishan choked on his water. To think that the kid really had been the one behind one of the school's most famous legends. He had already suspected Xu Mang, but he had never had enough evidence to prove it, and now, Xu Mang was admitting to his guilt himself!
"Ahem! You'd better behave when you're in school from now on!" Lin Yishan sighed, not knowing what else to say.
"Oh… Huh?"
Xu Mang finally realized what he had just heard, and he asked in surprise, "What do you mean 'from now on'? Can I once again dive into the ocean of knowledge?"
"You'll find out when you get here."
With that, the call was cut off, leaving Xu Mang staring at his camera, still trying to process what the old man had said. What did he mean by 'You'd better behave when you're in school from now on'?
'System, translate 'You'd better behave when you're in school from now on!'.'
[May the Host please increase his intelligence. If the Host is limited in that regard, please increase your 'Intelligence' trait in the skill tree, thank you.]
What the h*ll!
Xu Mang had obviously understood his teacher's words, he just wanted to double-check with the system, that was all.
Opening his drawer, not a single cent was there, and that was when Xu Mang remembered that he had invested all of his life savings into his skin and he was now penniless.
"Mom! Give me a thousand yuan to buy a jacket!"
***
Returning to school, he had been there a few times at night, but it was his first time coming in the morning. After all, in Xu Mang's books, the morning was for sleeping.
"Hmm? Xu Mang, why are you here?" The guard looked at Xu Mang with a confused expression on his face. "Are you here to officially leave school?"
"Lin Yishan told me to come, so I'm curious as well." Xu Mang laughed. "Well, I'm off."
"Wait! Let me make a phone call to confirm." The guard was doing his job. He couldn't let Xu Mang in just because they knew each other, after all… the kid wasn't usually good news.
A minute later, the guard had double-confirmed everything with Xu Mang's teachers and had let him in.
Heading to the teacher's office, Xu Mang gently pushed the door open and was met with Mr. Liang and Ms. Wang, and he then asked, "Mr. Liang, Ms. Wang, where's Mr. Lin?"
"Xu Mang! You're finally back, kiddo!" Liang Feng greeted Xu Mang with a bright laugh. "You'd better get first place in the Math olympiad this December, otherwise I won't let you graduate!"
"Xu Mang, keep working hard to win first place in the provincial essay competition!" Wang Xue smiled. "And then, we'll get first place in the entire country!"
"Huh?"
Xu Mang was completely lost.
"Hurry and get to the principal's office, there are quite a number of people waiting for you," Liang Feng added.
Leaving the teacher's office, Xu Mang turned the corner and was now standing in front of the door to the principal's office.
Xu Mang didn't really want to open the door. Every time he entered, he would always get his ears chewed off.
Knock knock!
"Anyone there?" Xu Mang called out.
"Come in!"
Xu Mang pushed the door open and stepped in, discovering a rather shocking scene. A whole bunch of people were there—the principal, vice-principal, some headteachers, including Lin Yishan, and an old man he didn't recognize, but the old man gave off the aura of a cultured individual.
"You've come?"
"Yes!"
Principal Mu said in a serious tone, "Xu Mang, congratulations. You've won first place in the city-wide high school essay composition competition!"
[Participate in Essay Competition (City Level)—Complete]
[Received: Upgrade Cards * 5]
"Really?" Xu Mang then nodded, his expression completely blank. "Oh."
"..."
"..."
"..."
What was this? Why was he so calm?
This wasn't like Xu Mang at all!
Lin Yishan couldn't take it, and urgency tinted his voice slightly. "Xu Mang, are...are you not at least a little surprised or happy?"
"Why would I be surprised?" Xu Mang shrugged. "First place was mine to begin with, why else would I enter this competition?"
Was this…
Confidence?
Or arrogance?
Everyone present was left speechless, but thinking more about it, the kid had every right to boast. After all, he had won first place.
"Come to school tomorrow." Principal Mu sighed. "Go back and tell your dad. You can leave."
"Oh…"
Xu Mang obediently left the office. Just as he exited, Lin Yishan came right up to him.
"Xu Mang! Keep up the good work!" Lin Yishan patted Xu Mang on the shoulder, his eyes full of pride.
"Mr. Lin?"
"Was me winning first place the reason I can continue studying here?" Xu Mang asked.
That was an awkward question. Lin Yishan didn't know how to answer him—answering 'yes' felt shallow, but answering 'no' would be lying. In the end, Lin Yishan decided to tell him the truth. There was nothing to hide, and this could be a lesson to Xu Mang as well. This was the realistic side of society!
"Yes. That's exactly what happened," Lin Yishan said.
"Sigh… And here I was thinking that you had finally discovered my genius." Xu Mang was a little disappointed.
In the past, Lin Yishan would have rolled his eyes at Xu Mang's bold statement, but now, things were different, he really was a genius!
"Mr. Lin? Can I go to class to brag about this for a little bit?" Xu Mang looked up at his teacher with hope twinkling in his eyes. "Please, I'm begging you!"
Lin Yishan almost fell over. This kid was anything but normal.
"You got first place just so you could brag about it!?" Lin Yishan asked in disbelief.
"Of course, what other reason could I have?" Xu Mang wore a puzzled expression.
Lin Yishan laughed through gritted teeth, suddenly remembering Xu Mang's true nature. He had always been one to show off. Back then, he could only make false claims with his poor results, but now, he was the best essay writer in the city. Lin Yishan feared for what would come.
"You'd better stay in line!" Lin Yishan scolded him, "Study hard and get into a good university."
"So, can I brag about it or not?"
"Tomorrow! The official announcement will be made tomorrow."
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