A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

After announcing the results, the referee immediately left, leaving Su Bei and Qi Huang lying on the ground in the ring.

"Aren't they going to help take her away?" Su Bei looked at the girl lying on the ground, feeling a bit confused. After thinking for a moment, he bent down, wrapped an arm around Qi Huang's waist, and with a strong lift, carried her over his shoulder.

As he reached the door, Su Bei suddenly realized something. He gently placed Qi Huang back on the ground.

From his years of reading manga, he knew that carrying someone out like this was a move that suited those hormonally charged adult males or the cheerful, fitness-enthusiast types, but it definitely didn’t suit someone like him, whose appeal was rooted in mystery and charm.

To fit his persona, a princess carry was more in line with his "cool" image.

But there was another option—leaving Qi Huang behind and walking out alone. From previous experience, the first person to walk out was usually the loser. When others thought he had lost, he could reveal the truth, creating a surprising twist.

So, which option should he choose?

Raising an eyebrow, Su Bei decisively chose to abandon Qi Huang and let her lie on the ground for now.

If he carried her out, it would definitely make him look cool for a moment, but he would also be responsible for taking her to the infirmary, which might make him miss the next part of the storyline.

After all, the next round was a key plot point, and missing it would mean losing out on a lot of screen time.

On the other hand, if he ignored Qi Huang, the school would surely send someone to take her away. He wouldn't waste any time and could still subtly tease the crowd outside.

Isn't that perfect?

With that thought, Su Bei composed his expression, first pouting slightly to appear disappointed. Then, thinking it was too obvious, he returned to a blank expression. This was enough to walk out with.

Outside the ring, everyone was anxiously awaiting the results of this round.

"I thought Su Bei would be quick this round, but no one’s come out yet," Mu Tieren said, staring at the ring’s exit with some surprise.

To him, Su Bei was very strong. Even though he hadn't shown much effort, defeating his opponent shouldn't be difficult and should have been a quick battle.

His opponent, Qi Huang, as Mo Xiaotian told them, had the "Flame Phoenix" ability, a highly offensive power. This kind of ability should also lead to a quick match, with the fight ending in just one strike.

With these two facing off, the battle should have ended quickly, right?

Everyone else thought so too, yet Mo Xiaotian, Zhao Xiaoyu, and Zhou Renjie had all won their matches and come out, while Su Bei’s match was the slowest to conclude.

"Someone's coming out! It’s Su..." Mo Xiaotian started to shout excitedly when he saw a figure appear at the exit, but then he noticed it was Su Bei, expressionless.

Did Su Bei lose?

Everyone looked shocked, not wanting to believe it, but they were careful not to show it, worried that their expressions might hurt Su Bei’s feelings.

Jiang Tianming was the first to pull himself together and walked up to Su Bei with a hint of concern, asking, "Su Bei, are you... okay?"

Su Bei shook his head, not saying a word.

Just as everyone was about to continue comforting him, Wu Mingbai suddenly spoke up, "You actually won, didn’t you?"

As someone who himself enjoyed playing tricks on others, Wu Mingbai quickly guessed the truth. He had been surprised that Su Bei might have lost but didn’t really doubt it.

However, seeing Su Bei silently receiving everyone’s comfort made Wu Mingbai suddenly realize the truth. If Su Bei had really lost, he wouldn’t be acting so defeated.

Su Bei’s reaction to losing wouldn’t necessarily be the same as his own, but it definitely wouldn’t be this dramatically different.

Sure enough, upon hearing his question, Su Bei suddenly showed an innocent expression, "When did I say I lost?"

Everyone: "..."

Immediately, the group dispersed, not wanting to deal with this mischievous guy anymore.

Only Mo Xiaotian remained unaffected, excitedly saying, "You won, Brother Bei! That’s great! I knew you’d win!"

Then, he curiously asked, "So where's Qi Huang? Your opponent, why didn’t she come out?"

Su Bei shrugged, "She fainted. She’s probably been taken away by a teacher now, I guess?"

Hearing the uncertainty in his voice, Lan Subing slightly lowered her scarf, "Then why didn’t you bring her out?"

Su Bei lowered his gaze, unsure of how to respond. If the author didn’t include the earlier events in the manga, there were many possible answers.

But if the author did include that scene in the manga, then his current answer had to stay consistent with the storyline, otherwise, it would seem off.

After a second of thought, Su Bei tilted his head slightly, "The referee didn’t bring her out either."

The underlying message is that the referee didn’t take her out, so I didn’t either—blame the referee. This response makes perfect sense, whether or not the earlier events were included. Su Bei was pleased with himself; he really was clever.

But Lan Subing and the others were speechless. If it were anyone else, they would have carried Qi Huang out by now. After all, Qi Huang was beautiful and powerful, and many people would jump at the chance to earn her favor.

But Su Bei clearly wasn’t like most people, so no one was really surprised by his response.

The last round of competition soon arrived, and Jiang Tianming and the others walked into the ring one after another. After they were all in, Su Bei stretched lazily and said to Mu Tieren, "Find a nice restaurant; we should celebrate at lunch."

Mu Tieren's eyes lit up immediately. "Are you saying everyone will win?"

Before Su Bei could respond, Zhou Renjie loudly mocked from the other side, "Are you dreaming? I think you should celebrate that you can rest early!"

Su Bei ignored the shouting behind him and didn’t answer Mu Tieren’s question. He just nodded and then looked down at his phone.

Mo Xiaotian, curious, asked, "What are you looking at?"

Su Bei smirked and showed him the screen. Mo Xiaotian squinted at the content, and moments later, his eyes widened in shock, his mouth hanging open: "1260 points???"

As an A-class student, Mo Xiaotian had many opportunities to earn points. Including the 100 points he got for catching the culprit earlier, he had 250 points, which he thought was a decent amount. But it turned out to be just a fraction of what Su Bei had!

Zhao Xiaoyu, overhearing, was intrigued. She quickly moved closer, even at the risk of upsetting Zhou Renjie. "1260 points? Did you earn that by betting?"

She was smart, instantly connecting the dots. After all, as an F-class student, she knew F-class had no real opportunities to earn points. So, getting that many points quickly had to come from betting.

Su Bei nodded. "I couldn’t have done it without you."

Not only Zhao Xiaoyu, but Wu Jin, Mu Tieren, and even Su Bei himself had contributed significantly.

After the eliminations in the past two days, the number of people interested in betting had surged. Most had no idea of the contestants' strengths, so they judged based on their class.

Naturally, students from higher-ranked classes received more bets. The larger the class difference, the larger the betting gap usually was.

Unsurprisingly, Wu Jin’s match against C-class, Zhao Xiaoyu’s against B-class, and Mu Tieren and Su Bei’s matches against A-class provided Su Bei with plenty of points.

"You bet on me to win?" Zhao Xiaoyu asked, surprised, with a complicated expression.

"Don’t you think you could win?" Su Bei countered.

Zhao Xiaoyu paused, then shook her head. "Of course, I believe I can win, I just didn’t think anyone else would believe it."

As an F-class student, she hadn’t expected anyone to think she could beat students from other classes. But now, with so many of her classmates making it this far, she didn’t see F-class as so inferior anymore. Their class was holding its own, both in numbers and proportions.

At that moment, Mo Xiaotian chimed in with a proud smile, "Brother Bei is amazing! He won every bet!"

Then, he added with a flattering grin, "Brother, how about you let me in on it next time you bet? I totally forgot about betting this time."

Su Bei couldn’t help but laugh. "You expect me to remind you to mooch off my points?"

Mo Xiaotian scratched his head, grinning sheepishly. "What’s missed is missed! Brother, who did you bet on this round?"

Su Bei gestured toward Zhao Xiaoyu and Mu Tieren with his eyes. "Smart people have already started placing their bets."

He’d already hinted that everyone in their team would win this round, so naturally, the smart ones knew who to bet on.

"Wow! Wait for me!" Mo Xiaotian shouted, rushing over to place his bets.

The first to emerge was, unsurprisingly, Si Zhaohua, followed closely by Ai Baozhu. Si Zhaohua’s opponent was from C-class, so he probably won without even using his ultimate move.

How did Su Bei know this?

Of course, because Si Zhaohua stayed behind after Ai Baozhu came out, clearly interested in the results of Jiang Tianming and the others’ matches.

Unlike that day, he wasn’t acting aloof; he seemed very concerned about winning and losing, which probably meant his powers weren’t affecting him.

"Subing is out!" Mu Tieren suddenly exclaimed, spotting Lan Subing following behind her opponent. Lan Subing didn’t have Su Bei’s mischievous streak; from her smiling eyes, it was clear she had won.

Sure enough, as soon as she walked in, she showed a small, happy expression and softly said, "I won!"

"That’s awesome! Subing, you’re the first one out!" Mu Tieren praised generously, then asked with concern, "How did you use your ability?"

The school doesn't allow questions about specific details of the matches, but Mu Tieren cleverly navigated around this restriction. If he had asked, "Did you use your ability in the ring?" it would have been against the rules. However, this kind of question wasn't.

Lan Subing replied, "Same as the first day."

Everyone immediately understood—her opponent this time was a B-class melee-type ability user. It seemed like they couldn't keep up with Lan Subing, so she relaxed and successfully used her abilities.

Before long, everyone except Jiang Tianming had finished their matches and come out. Just as Su Bei had predicted, everyone won their matches in this round.

Jiang Tianming was still in his match, and since his opponent was an A-class, winning wouldn’t be as easy for him as it was for the others. Su Bei curiously asked Mo Xiaotian, "Do you know who Jiang Tianming’s opponent is? What kind of ability does he have?"

"I don’t know," Mo Xiaotian shook his head. "Li Shu has never used his abilities on us, not even during missions."

Unlike other classes, A-class students could take on simple missions by the second week of school. However, these missions were usually low-risk tasks like cleaning up after battles, with minimal rewards, just a few points.

"What about his previous opponents?" Wu Mingbai pressed. "Didn’t they reveal his ability after their matches?"

"I didn’t pay attention..."

Before Mo Xiaotian could finish, Zhao Xiaoyu, who hadn’t left yet, spoke up. "I asked around; his previous opponents only said that Li Shu was extremely powerful and gave up without a fight."

After the previous day’s matches, Zhao Xiaoyu had started gathering intelligence on A-class students. She knew her abilities were at a disadvantage, so her only chance to win was to understand her opponents.

Su Bei found this response intriguing. "Did they say what exactly was so powerful about him?"

"...Just that his presence was overwhelming," Zhao Xiaoyu answered, shaking her head. "I didn’t really get it either, but they all seemed to think they couldn’t win, so they surrendered."

It was clear Zhao Xiaoyu, like everyone else, found this explanation strange. After speaking, she displayed the same perplexed expression as the others.

Lan Subing quietly speculated, "Maybe Li Shu’s ability is related to psychological suggestion."

This was certainly a possibility—using psychological suggestion to make his opponents believe he was too strong to defeat, leading them to surrender.

But this answer didn’t seem right. Su Bei pointed to the ring where Jiang Tianming was fighting, "If that were the case, the match should have ended by now."

Either Jiang Tianming would have succumbed to the psychological suggestion and surrendered, or he would have resisted it and defeated Li Shu. It didn’t make sense for the match to drag on for so long.

Just as Su Bei lowered his hand, Jiang Tianming emerged from the ring, carrying another boy in his arms.

The boy was thin, pale, and almost transparent, curled up in Jiang Tianming’s arms with his eyes closed and his brows furrowed, as if even in sleep, he couldn’t find peace.

"What happened?" Mu Tieren asked, puzzled, as he and the others walked over.

"His mental energy was depleted," Jiang Tianming explained, unable to discuss the match details. "I’m taking him to the infirmary. You guys go ahead and eat."

After the first round of matches, it was lunchtime. The second round wouldn’t start until 2 PM, and the school would reassign opponents for the next round.

The group headed to the cafeteria, but they all stepped back out as soon as they entered.

"What’s going on?" Mu Tieren scratched his head, confused. "Why is everyone staring at us?"

He wasn’t exaggerating—when they walked in, the entire cafeteria seemed to turn and look at them simultaneously.

Though there was no malice, being the center of attention made them all back out instinctively.

"It’s because we won," Wu Mingbai quickly deduced, putting on a bright, defensive smile. He wasn’t used to being the center of attention but wasn’t about to show weakness.

After the previous two rounds and that morning’s eliminations, only 36 students remained. A-class had 10, B-class 12, C-class and D-class one each, and F-class a surprising 7!

It’s worth noting that A-class only had ten students left, not because they were weak, but because their class was small, with only around 20 students, many of whom had been taken down by internal conflicts and the main character’s group.

But compared to the other classes, F-class stood out the most. Seven F-class students had made it this far—a miracle by any standard!

Who would have thought before the matches that F-class would have so many winners? In this situation, it was natural for others to be curious about them.

Unlike Wu Mingbai’s feigned happiness, Mo Xiaotian was genuinely excited. "Wow! You guys are like campus celebrities now! That’s awesome! I wish I was in F-class too!"

"Enough already, at least look at the atmosphere!" Wu Mingbai rolled his eyes, pressing down on Mo Xiaotian’s head to stop his bouncing around.

Glancing over, he noticed a trembling figure hiding behind Mu Tieren—a blue figure that looked ready to burst into tears. He couldn’t help but ask, "A-Bing, are you okay?"

"No...," Lan Subing’s voice choked up, "Please, can I skip lunch?"

The moment she stepped into the cafeteria, it felt like every gaze was an arrow aimed directly at her. If it weren’t for Mu Tieren’s tall frame shielding her, she might have collapsed on the spot.

Knowing about her social anxiety, Wu Mingbai softened. "You can go back first. I’ll bring..."

Before Wu Mingbai could finish his sentence, Su Bei interrupted him, "I suggest you stay and get used to it."

Everyone was taken aback, and Wu Mingbai knew Su Bei wouldn't say something like that without reason, so he asked, "Why do you say that?"

Su Bei shrugged, "During team battles, it won't be one-on-one."

Wu Mingbai immediately understood. Just as Su Bei said, during team battles, the opponents wouldn't be kind enough to fight one-on-one. If they realized Lan Subing's weakness of not being able to face too many people, it would be as if they were already down one person.

Thinking this, he looked at Lan Subing and quietly asked, "Can you hold on?"

Lan Subing's body stiffened, but she still nodded firmly. She understood Su Bei's point—if she didn't want to be a burden during team battles, she had to get used to being in the spotlight. Now was a good opportunity.

The group walked back into the cafeteria. Although Lan Subing was uncomfortable, she didn't continue hiding behind Mu Tieren. Instead, she stiffly followed them, using her scarf to cover part of her face.

Fortunately, while the other students were curious about them, none seemed interested in striking up a conversation, giving the group some peace as they ate.

Soon, Jiang Tianming messaged that he was on his way, and everyone exchanged glances, but no one reminded him about what would happen when he entered.

Before long, Jiang Tianming pushed open the curtain and walked in, and in an instant, everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at him. He was stunned.

"Click!"

The sound of a camera snapped him back to reality, and he turned his head to see Su Bei taking a picture of him. Su Bei looked slightly annoyed, "I forgot to mute the sound."

Jiang Tianming: "..."

He laughed angrily and was about to rush over to grab the phone.

Seeing this, Wu Mingbai quickly spoke up, "Send me a copy of that photo."

Lan Subing, on the other hand, broke free from her social anxiety and said, "I want one too!"

Su Bei quickly sent them both a backup copy and then leisurely handed his phone over, acting magnanimous, "Go ahead, delete it."

Knowing Su Bei had already backed up the photo, Jiang Tianming rolled his eyes, refusing to take the phone, and warned, "Don't let me catch any embarrassing moments of yours!"

Su Bei was unafraid. Compared to the protagonist in Manga where the author sometimes draws poorly, he, Su Bei, was the true king of not breaking character in this Manga!

As they joked around, their food quickly disappeared. Just as Su Bei was finishing his meal, a red-haired girl suddenly strode into the cafeteria.

It was Qi Huang.

Qi Huang looked around, quickly spotting Su Bei, and then, with eyes wide open, walked straight toward him.

Seeing her approach, everyone knew what she was here for, and Wu Mingbai grinned, "Oh, this should be interesting!"

Su Bei had always been the one watching their drama, but now they finally got a chance to watch his. Everyone eagerly anticipated what would happen next.

Su Bei was surprised, but not too worried. Qi Huang was a proud person; it was normal for her to be unhappy about losing to him. However, because of her pride, she wouldn’t refuse to acknowledge her loss.

As he guessed, Qi Huang stopped in front of Su Bei's table, ignoring the onlookers, and directly asked, "Can you tell me what happened back then?"

She was referring to the sensation she felt on the back of her neck during their match.

Su Bei shook his head, "The school forbids it."

Of course, where there’s a rule, there’s a way around it, but Su Bei’s answer indicated that he didn’t want to talk about it.

Fortunately, Qi Huang understood his unspoken message and didn’t press further. Instead, she lifted her chin, "No matter what method you used, I admit you won this time, but in the team battle, I will defeat you."

With that, she turned and left.

People love watching drama, especially someone like Lan Subing, who loves to comment on everything. She no longer noticed the other people’s gazes and cheerfully asked, "Su Bei, how do you feel after hearing what she said?"

In typical manga stories, this kind of scene often marks the beginning of a romance between the male and female leads. Lan Subing was curious if Su Bei might be moved and start looking for a girlfriend.

From the strange curve at the corner of her mouth, Su Bei knew her question wasn’t a serious one. But Qi Huang’s behavior did make him feel something.

The way she spoke, her proud character, her unyielding aura...

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he asked, "Don’t you think she’s a bit like a female version of Si Zhaohua?"

As soon as he said that, the excitement of watching drama faded from everyone’s minds, and they all started to think. After a moment, Jiang Tianming was the first to show a horrified expression, "No way?!"