A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

40:

After announcing the result, the referee left directly. This left Su Bei and Qi Huang, who lay on the ground, alone in the arena.

Aren’t you going to help take her away? Su Bei looked somewhat blankly at the girl lying on the ground. After a thought, he bent down, scooped Qi Huang’s waist with one arm, and hoisted her onto his shoulder with a heave.

Just as he reached the doorway, Su Bei suddenly realized something and gently placed Qi Huang back on the ground.

With his years of experience reading comics, carrying someone out like this suited those hormone-raging adult males, the sunny and cheerful fitness-type puppies, but definitely not someone like him, a mysterious and attractive young man.

According to his persona, he should carry her out in a princess hold to be truly Su.

But there was another play, to leave Qi Huang behind and go out first. Based on past experience, the first to leave was the loser. Waiting until everyone thought he had lost and then revealing the result would create a nice contrast.

So which option to choose?

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

If he took her out, he could be Su for a moment, but he’d surely have to take her to the infirmary, and he might miss the next round of the plot.

And the next round was the main plot; missing that, how many scenes would he miss?

On the other hand, if he ignored Qi Huang, the school would surely send someone to take her away, he wouldn’t waste time, and he could tease the crowd outside a little.

Isn’t it just perfect?

Thinking this, Su Bei composed her expression, first letting her mouth droop in a show of disappointment. Then, feeling it was too obvious, she reverted to a poker face. This facade would be enough for her appearance outside.

At this moment, outside the arena, the crowd was anxiously awaiting the results of this round.

“I thought Su Bei would be quick this round, but unexpectedly, no one has come out yet,” Mu Tie Ren said, staring at the arena’s exit, quite surprised.

In his view, Su Bei was strong. Although she had not shown much, defeating her opponent should not be difficult; a swift victory was expected.

Her opponent, Qi Huang, was told by Mo Xiao Tian to possess the “Flame Phoenix” ability, a power with high offensive strength. Such an ability should also make for a quick match, ending the contest with a single strike.

A battle between two such individuals should have ended quickly, right?

That’s what everyone else thought too. But now, Mo Xiao Tian, Zhao Xiao Yu, and Zhou Ren Jie had all won and come out, while Su Bei was the last to finish.

“There she is! It’s Su…” Mo Xiao Tian began to shout excitedly upon seeing a figure emerge at the arena’s entrance, but then he saw it was Su Bei with an expressionless face.

Could it be that Su Bei lost?

Several people showed expressions of disbelief, yet fearing that such expressions might hurt Su Bei, they all tried hard to contain their emotions.

Jiang Tian Ming was the first to compose himself, approaching her with a hint of concern, “Su Bei, are you… alright?”

Su Bei shook her head, not speaking.

Just as everyone was about to continue comforting her, Wu Ming Bai suddenly spoke up, “You actually won, didn’t you?”

He was a person of wicked humor and knew well the taste of such people. Although Wu Ming Bai was surprised at the thought of Su Bei losing, he hadn’t really doubted it.

But seeing her silent amidst the comforting crowd, Wu Ming Bai had an epiphany about the truth. If he had truly failed, he would never show such a defeated demeanor.

Su Bei’s reaction to failure might not be exactly like his, but it certainly wouldn’t be as starkly different as it was now.

Sure enough, upon hearing his question, Su Bei suddenly put on an innocent face, “When did I ever say I lost?”

The crowd: “……”

Everyone scattered in an instant, not wanting to bother with this tasteless fellow.

Only Mo Xiaotian was unaffected, exclaiming with joy, “Brother Bei, you won! That’s great, I knew you would win!”

After speaking, he asked curiously, “What about Qi Huang? Your opponent, why didn’t she come out?”

Su Bei shrugged, “She fainted. She must have been taken away by a teacher by now?”

Sensing his uncertainty, Lan Subing slightly lowered her scarf, “Then why didn’t you bring her out?”

Su Bei lowered his gaze, unsure of what to answer. If the author didn’t illustrate the previous content in the comic, there would be many ways to respond.

But if the author turned that experience into a plot for the comic, then his response now must not deviate from the storyline, otherwise, it would seem very odd.

After a second of thought, Su Bei tilted his head, “The referee didn’t bring her out just now.”

The implication was that since the referee didn’t bring her out, neither would he; blame the referee if there’s any blame to be had.

This response was perfectly reasonable, whether or not the previous experience had occurred, and Su Bei was satisfied with himself; he was indeed clever.

However, Lan Subing and the others were speechless upon hearing his answer. If it were anyone else, they would definitely have carried Qi Huang out by now. After all, Qi Huang was beautiful and strong, and many people were eager to curry favor with her.

But Su Bei was clearly not just anyone. To everyone’s lack of surprise, they took his words in stride.

The final round of the competition was fast approaching, and Jiang Tianming and the others entered the arena. Once they were all up there, Su Bei stretched lazily and said to Mutie Ren, “Find a good restaurant. We should celebrate at noon.”

At these words, Mutie Ren’s eyes lit up, “Do you mean everyone will win?”

Before Su Bei could reply, Zhou Renjie on the other side mocked loudly, “Dream on, you? I think it’s more like celebrating your early rest!”

Su Bei ignored the fatso’s jeering behind him and didn’t answer Mutie Ren’s question, simply nodding his head before looking down at his phone.

Mo Xiaotian asked curiously, “What are you looking at?”

Su Bei curved his lips, showing the screen to him. Mo Xiaotian leaned in, squinting his eyes to read the content on the screen carefully. Moments later, his eyes bulged, and his mouth gaped wide, “1260 points???”

As an A-class student, Mo Xiaotian had quite a few opportunities to earn points. With the 100 points from catching the criminal before, he had 250 points in hand.

He thought that was quite a lot, but who would have thought it was nothing compared to Su Bei’s mere change!

From a distance, Zhao Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up upon hearing Mo Xiaotian’s words, no longer concerned about provoking Zhou Renjie’s displeasure, she immediately gathered around: “1260 points? Did you earn these from betting recently?”

She was indeed sharp, almost instantly deducing the truth of the matter. But it wasn’t hard to guess, after all, both were from Class F, and Zhao Xiaoyu knew well that Class F had no chance to earn points. The only way to have accumulated so many points so quickly was through betting.

Su Bei nodded: “I have you to thank for having so many points.”

It wasn’t just Zhao Xiaoyu; Wu Jin, Mu Tie Ren, and he himself had all played significant roles.

After the eliminations of the past two days, the number of people with the leisure to bet had greatly increased. Most of them had no clear idea of the competitors’ strengths and could only judge based on class who would win.

Without a doubt, students of higher grades received more bets. And among these, the larger the class disparity, the greater the betting gap usually was.

Undoubtedly, Wu Jin competing against Class C, Zhao Xiaoyu against Class B, and Mu Tie Ren and himself against Class A had provided him with ample points.

“…You bet on me to win?” Zhao Xiaoyu was somewhat surprised, her expression complex as she asked.

“Do you think you can’t win?” Su Bei countered.

Zhao Xiaoyu fell silent for a moment, then shook her head: “Of course, I believe I can win, but I didn’t expect others to believe in me too.”

As a student of Class F, she had never thought anyone would believe she could beat students from other classes. But now, Zhao Xiaoyu felt that the identity of Class F wasn’t so unbearable. So many classmates had reached this stage; whether in numbers or proportion, their class was not inferior to any other.

At that moment, Mo Xiaotian stood beside her, beaming with pride: “Brother Bei is amazing! He won all his bets!”

After saying this, he showed a flattering smile: “Bro, next time you place a bet, call me, will you? I forgot about this part.”

Hearing this, Su Bei was both amused and exasperated: “Do I really need to remind you not to forget to mooch off my points?”

Mo Xiaotian immediately grinned sheepishly, scratching his head, but soon he was brimming with confidence again: “What’s missed is missed! Bro, who did you bet on this round?”

Su Bei’s gaze directed Mo Xiaotian to look at Zhao Xiaoyu and Mu Tie Ren: “The smart ones have already started betting.”

He had already hinted that everyone in this round’s small team could win; the smart ones naturally knew who to bet on.

“Wow! Wait for me!” Mo Xiaotian shouted, hurrying to join them.

The first to emerge was undoubtedly Si Zhaohua, followed closely by Ai Baozhu. Si Zhaohua’s opponent was from Class C, and he likely won without even using his trump card.

How did Su Bei come to know of this?

Of course, it was because Si Zhaohua, after Ai Baozhu had emerged, did not leave immediately but stayed put, evidently wanting to see the outcome of Jiang Tianming and the others’ matches.

He wasn’t as dismissive as he had been that day, still caring about the outcome, presumably unaffected by the special abilities.

“Sui Bing is out!” Suddenly, Mu Tie Ren, with his sharp eyes, spotted Lan Sui Bing following behind her opponent. Lan Sui Bing lacked Su Bei’s malicious taste for mischief; her curved brows and eyes revealed her victory.

True enough, as she walked in, a small, happy expression appeared on her face, and she whispered, “I won!”

“That’s great! Sui Bing, you’re the first to come out!” Mu Tie Ren generously lavished praise, then asked with concern, “How did you manage to use your special ability?”

The school forbids inquiring about the specifics of the arena,

but Mu Tie Ren cleverly circumvented the contract’s restrictions. If he had asked, “Did you use your special ability in the arena?” that would certainly be a violation. But this kind of question was not.

Lan Sui Bing replied, “It was the same as on the first day.”

The few people immediately understood; her opponent this time was a close-combat type from Class B. It seemed that because he couldn’t outrun Lan Sui Bing, she relaxed and successfully used her ability.

Not much later, everyone except Jiang Tianming also emerged. Clearly, as Su Bei had said, everyone could win this round.

Jiang Tianming was still competing; his opponent was of A-grade, and winning was far from as simple as it was for the others. Curious, Su Bei asked Mo Xiao Tian, “Do you know Jiang Tianming’s opponent? What is his special ability?”

“I don’t know,” Mo Xiao Tian shook his head, “Li Shu has never used his special ability on us, not even when we’re out on missions.”

Unlike other classes, Class A starts simple missions in the second week of school. However, these are generally safe tasks like cleaning up the battlefield, with the reward being just a few points.

“What about his previous opponents?” Wu Mingbai pressed on, “Did they reveal anything about his special ability in their previous arena matches?”

“I haven’t paid attention…”

Before Mo Xiao Tian could finish, Zhao Xiaoyu, who hadn’t left yet, spoke up: “I’ve asked. His opponents only said that Li Shu is exceptionally strong, so they conceded and stepped down.”

After passing the matches of the previous two days, that very afternoon, Zhao Xiaoyu began gathering information on the students of Class A. She was well aware of the significant disadvantage of her special ability; only by knowing both herself and the enemy could she have a slim chance of winning.

Such an answer piqued the interest of Su Bei, who had asked casually, “Did they mention specifically where he is strong?”

“…His presence is powerful.” After saying this, Zhao Xiaoyu shook her head, “Don’t ask me; I didn’t understand either. Anyway, they just felt the opponent was too strong, and since they couldn’t win, they might as well concede.”

Zhao Xiaoyu, like everyone else, found the answer absurd. After speaking, she revealed a complex expression, identical to the crowd’s.

Lan Subing whispered, “Perhaps Li Shu’s ability is related to psychological suggestion.”

Indeed, it was possible. By using psychological suggestion, one could make the opponent feel overwhelmingly powerful, leading to their own defeat.

But this answer was clearly incorrect. Su Bei pointed to the arena where Jiang Tianming was, “If that were the case, their match should have ended long ago.”

Either Jiang Tianming would succumb to the suggestion and concede, or he would overcome it and defeat Li Shu. It seemed impossible for the match to drag on for so long.

Speaking of the devil, as soon as Su Bei lowered his hand, Jiang Tianming emerged. He wasn’t alone; he was carrying another boy in a princess hold.

The boy was slender, with pale skin, almost translucent in color. Curled up in Jiang Tianming’s arms, his eyes were tightly shut, his brows slightly furrowed, as if troubled even in his sleep.

“What happened?” Mu Tie, puzzled, asked as he walked over with the others.

“Too much mental energy expended.” Unable to speak of the arena’s events, Jiang Tianming could only offer a brief explanation, “I’ll take him to the infirmary. You guys go ahead and eat.”

After the first round of matches,

it was time for lunch. The second round wouldn’t start until two o’clock in the afternoon, when the school would reassign opponents to the first round’s winners. ()

A few people headed to the cafeteria together, but as soon as they entered, they unanimously retreated.

“What’s going on?” Mu Tie, at a loss, scratched his head, “Why is everyone looking at us?”

His words were no exaggeration. As they entered, almost in a “whoosh,” all eyes in the cafeteria turned to them.

Though not malicious, the attention made them instinctively step back.

“It’s because we won the match,” Wu Mingbai quickly realized, his face breaking into a cheerful, defensive smile. He wasn’t used to such attention but wouldn’t show weakness at this moment.

After two rounds and this morning’s elimination, 36 students remained. A class had 10, B class 12, C and D classes one each, and F class a whopping seven!

It’s worth mentioning that A class’s ten were not due to lack of skill; their class had just over twenty students, who had suffered internal strife and been brought down by the protagonist group.

But undoubtedly, F class drew the most attention. Seven students from F class had made it this far, a true miracle!

Before the match, who could have imagined that Class F would have so many winners? Under such circumstances, it’s only natural for others to be curious about them.

Unlike his feigned excitement, Mo Xiaotian was genuinely thrilled: “Wow! Does that not make you guys campus stars? Amazing! If only I were in Class F too!”

“Enough, at least read the room!” Wu Mingbai rolled his eyes and pressed a hand on Mo Xiaotian’s head, calming his bouncing excitement.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of the shivering blue figure hiding behind the Ironwood man. His voice caught, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Ah Bing, are you alright?”

“There is something…” Lan Subing’s voice was choked, and she looked like she was about to cry, “…help, can I just not eat?”

The moment she stepped into the cafeteria, it felt as if she saw gazes like arrows, all shooting towards her in a volley. If not for the Ironwood man’s towering figure completely shielding her, she might have perished on the spot.

Knowing her social anxiety, Wu Mingbai softened and said, “Then you go back first, I’ll bring you…”

Before he could finish, Su Bei interrupted, “I advise you to stay and get used to it.”

Everyone was taken aback, and Wu Mingbai, knowing Su Bei wouldn’t speak without reason, asked, “Why do you say that?”

Su Bei shrugged, “The team battle won’t be one-on-one.”

Hearing this, Wu Mingbai instantly understood. Just as Su Bei said, during team battles, opponents wouldn’t kindly fight one-on-one. If they discovered Lan Subing’s weakness of not being able to face many people, it would be as if they naturally had one less person.

With this in mind, he looked at Lan Subing and asked softly, “Can you hold on?”

Lan Subing stiffened but nodded firmly. She also understood Su Bei’s meaning; if she didn’t want to be a burden during the team battle, she had to get used to the public’s gaze in advance. And now was a good opportunity.

A few of them re-entered the cafeteria. Although Lan Subing was uncomfortable, she didn’t continue to hide behind the Ironwood man but stiffly followed beside them, using a scarf to cover half of her face.

Fortunately, although the other students were curious about them, they didn’t intend to come up for a chat, giving the group a relatively peaceful space to eat.

Soon, Jiang Tianming messaged that he would be arriving shortly. The group exchanged glances, none reminding him of what would happen upon entering.

Quickly, Jiang Tianming pushed open the door curtain and walked in. In an instant, everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at him, leaving him stunned on the spot.

“Click!”

The sound of a camera snapped him back to reality. Jiang Tianming turned his head and saw Su Bei taking a photo of him. Su Bei looked slightly annoyed, “Forgot to turn off the sound.”

Jiang Tianming: “……”

He couldn’t help but laugh in frustration, ready to rush over and snatch the phone.

Seeing this, Wu Mingbai decisively spoke up: “Send me a photo.”

Beside him, Lan Subing broke free from the shackles of social anxiety: “I want one too!”

Su Bei quickly sent them a backup, then leisurely handed over his phone, making a generous gesture: “Go ahead, delete it.”

Knowing that a backup had been made, Jiang Tianming rolled his eyes in annoyance, didn’t take the phone, and said fiercely: “Don’t let me catch your dark history!”

Su Bei was fearless. Compared to the main characters who sometimes collapse under the author’s pen, he, Su Bei, was the true unbreakable king of this comic!

Amidst the laughter and banter, the food on everyone’s plates disappeared rapidly. Just as Su Bei was about to finish his meal, a red-haired girl strode into the cafeteria.

It was Qi Huang.

Qi Huang looked around and quickly noticed Su Bei. Her eyes widened, and she headed straight for him.

Seeing her demeanor, who wouldn’t know what she was here for? Wu Mingbai immediately laughed: “Uh-oh, the show is about to start!”

Before, it was Su Bei watching their drama; now, it was finally time to watch Su Bei’s. Everyone thought this and assumed the stance of spectators eager for the show.

Su Bei was also startled, but not too afraid. Qi Huang was a proud person; it was normal for her not to accept defeat easily. But because of her pride, she wouldn’t deny her loss.

If he wasn’t mistaken, she probably wanted to ask how Su Bei had won.

Sure enough, the girl stood firm in front of Su Bei’s table, under the gaze of the onlookers, and asked bluntly: “Can I know what happened back then?”

She was asking about the sensation she felt behind her neck at that time.

Su Bei shook his head: “The school doesn’t allow it.”

Of course, there are always ways around the rules if one wants to speak. His response was a clear indication of his reluctance to discuss it.

Fortunately, Qi Huang understood his implication and didn’t press further, simply lifting her chin: “No matter what method you used, I admit you won this time, but I will defeat you in the team battle.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

Eating melons is a human instinct, especially for Lan Subing, who loves to snark. At this moment, she’s oblivious to the gazes of others, cheerfully asking, “Su Bei, how do you feel after hearing her words?”

In typical manga, this would be the start of the main characters’ hearts fluttering! Lan Subing is curious if Su Bei’s heart will stir, perhaps finding a girlfriend.

From the wicked curve of her lips, Su Bei knows she’s not asking anything serious. But Qi Huang’s performance did stir something in him.

That way of speaking, that proud demeanor, that indomitable aura…

He rubs his chin thoughtfully with his index finger and muses, “Don’t you think she’s a bit like a female version of Si Zhaohua?”

At these words, the previous melon-eating mood of the crowd vanishes instantly, and they can’t help but ponder. Moments later, Jiang Tianming is the first to show a look of horror, “No way?!”