I Don’t Want to Win Lying Down - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Wang Xue’s Breaking Point

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There were thirty minutes until the start of the competition, and because Xu Mang had checked in the latest, he was seated at the most side of the hall. From a positioning perspective, this placing was extremely beneficial for Xu Mang.

“Are you nervous?” Xu Mang asked Yang Xiaoman as he hurried to stand beside her. “If you are, I have a trick to relieve that particular emotion.”

Yang Xiaoman gave him a blank look and said impatiently, “What is it?”

“Pull both your cheeks.” Xu Mang said, smiling. “Let the pain overtake the nervousness.”

“…I think you’re nervous. Why don’t I give your face a punch?” Yang Xiaoman replied in disdain. She was already familiar with Xu Mang’s attitude. When he itched to do something, it was normally a call for a beating.

“Haha…forget it then.” Xu Mang replied awkwardly. He had wanted Yang Xiaoman to hurt herself, not him. It was unfortunate that she had seen through him.

At this time, Wang Xue had taken a pack of six water bottles to her team, and after distributing it, she once again emphasized, “The results are not important as long as you all do your best out there!”

“Yawn…so tired.” Xu Mang couldn’t help but yawn, and he quietly asked, “Mrs. Wang? Is there a prize reward for getting the first place?” 

“What? Is the prize reward the only thing in your mind?” Wang Xue was quite speechless with this ticking time bomb. At this point, scolding or talking wouldn’t be enough, all she could do was to quietly endure him.

Xu Mang shook his head. “I was just asking. If there is, will the school take half of it?” 

“Just concentrate on the competition! Don’t think too much about other things,” Wang Xue said, smiling bitterly. “If you get first place, I will give you a red packet with 5,000 out of my own pocket!”

“It’s such a huge cost to yourself…thank you.” Xu Mang said, bowing his head in appreciation.

Yang Xiaoman was feeling disgruntled. Did this guy think that he was a shoo-in for first place? He hadn’t even asked her opinion.

There were still ten minutes to the start of the competition, and the contestants had all started entering the venue.

Xu Mang swept through the security check and brought three black pens to his own seat. Glancing around his seat, there was a fatty on his right and a thin bamboo in front of him.

“Bros? Which school are you guys from?”

“Chengxi Academy.”

“Oh?”

Xu Mang was startled, but then he recovered and said cheekily, “I heard there was a spy from your school going around, mingling in other people’s teams and trying to feel them out. Was there such a thing?”

“That…I’m not very sure.” The student shook his head. “Perhaps it’s slander toward our school, we are the top in the whole city after all. It’s possible that it’s a rumor that other schools have spread to discredit our school.”

“Uh…”

“Oh…”

Xu Mang mentally added this guy into his blacklist, the reason being he was too smart and not fun to play with.

In the following minutes, the staff was distributing the papers to the students. After finishing, there were five minutes left to the start, giving the participants time to read the question and think about it.

The title was simple, it was ‘Love And Fire’, expanding the content from the title. Although they were told that there was no limit to whatever genre, there was a final word count limit of 1,000 words.

Fire?

What did that mean?

Xu Mang looked at the title and went into deep contemplation.

At his current level, he could only think of the so-called ‘drill wood to get fire’, adding oil and vinegar, describing the difference from a small fire to a bigger fire, and then with another scene change, churning out a chicken soup filled with love.

The bell rang, and the competition officially started.

The scribbling of pen against paper sounds echoed throughout the hall. Xu Mang was infected by the atmosphere of the place and decided to sleep first to avoid the pressure.

This action drove Wang Xue to her breaking point.

The venue was divided into an inner and outer field—the inner field was where the contestants were sitting, while the outer one was where the teachers of their respective schools were observing. There was a partition between the two, and Wang Xue noticed this scene in the inner field.

Everyone was writing their essay, but there was an idiot in the corner who was sleeping.

She…

Had she actually gone around the bend in the start, having harbored hope toward Xu Mang?

Wang Xue began to seriously doubt her own intelligence, feeling as though her brain had been hit by a door. It was the only plausible explanation for this, otherwise, it would have been impossible to trust and insist on Xu Mang participating in this competition. At one point, she was even sure that Xu Mang would be the one to win the championship.

“Eh?”

“Why is that guy sleeping?”

“Isn’t he from Chengxi Academy? He was wandering all around the place earlier.”

“He’s from Chengxi? Have their standards dropped so low?”

“No, no, no!”

“We don’t have a student like that in Chengxi Academy, don’t slander our name!”

Xu Mang’s prior actions were causing a small commotion in the outer field, and indeed…in a competition like this that was initiated and acknowledged by the Municipal Education Bureau, it was a first to see someone casually sleeping in it.

As the time passed, minute by minute, Wang Xue’s heart felt as though a knife was stabbing into her with each second…there were not even 30 minutes left and this idiot Xu Mang was still not awake, did he plan on submitting a blank paper?

A blank paper…

Submitting a blank paper in school was fine and could be forgotten, but if you handed in a blank paper here…you really didn’t value your life!

Wang Xue was already thinking of the scolding she would be getting from the leaders in school, and when she thought of the reason for it, she couldn’t help but feel angry. A teacher was also still a person. She still needed to eat to live, and if she didn’t do well today, she would lose her job.

Xu Mang.

Xu Mang!!!

I’m begging you, hurry and wake up!

Perhaps Xu Mang had heard Wang Xue’s prayers because his eyes fluttered open.

Seeing this, Wang Xue was so excited she thought she was going to tear up.

However, Xu Mang sat in his chair, his head cradled in his left hand as his right hand held onto one of the black pens. His eyes were looking upward toward the light as he…fell into a daze.

Whatever small amount of hope that was ignited was finally put out by Xu Mang’s piss.

Wang Xue sat paralyzed in her chair, her eyes full of anguished despair.

‘System, how many points for a full mark here?’

[The System has detected, a full mark essay will require: 500 points (Chinese Skill)]

Pay!

Xu Mang’s hand began writing, but his attitude and actions formed a strong contrast against the students around him.

The other students were nervous, serious, and meticulous.

On the other hand, Xu Mang was calm, relaxed, and slightly mischievous.

Wang Xue felt alive once again, thinking that she might not lose her job at this rate. Instead of feeling resentment toward Xu Mang, she felt grateful now. This small act that he had done had probably saved her entire family.

In less than twenty minutes, Xu Mang had finished writing his essay. After writing his name and participant number, he once again lay on the table. This time, he didn’t sleep. Instead, his eyes were focused on Yang Xiaoman in the distance.

To be honest, this flat-chested violent girl’s back was very attractive, especially with her double braid…

Although Xu Mang was not attracted to Yang Xiaoman, there were times when he felt something, but those moments were few and far in between and had only happened once or twice. More often than not, Xu Mang was filled with resentment toward her.

That’s right!

It was resentment!

Ring, ring, ring!

“All contestants, please put your pens down!”