Chapter 38 She can't win unless she's a genius.
Jingwei Hall.
The courtyard was crowded with students watching. The students were gathered around two long tables, on which were piles of parts scattered about.
Jin Suiqing and Huang Tufeng stood facing each other, each occupying a table, listening intently as Chai Zixin read out the competition rules.
Chai Zixin announced loudly, "Both of you have the same number and type of magical machine parts in front of you. The contestants need to select the parts of the magical machine dog and assemble them. The first person to complete the assembly wins."
Chai Zixin continued reading the precautions, but Jin Suiqing ignored them, gazing at Huang Tufeng's tall figure and cursing the system mercilessly, his thoughts wandering far away.
The moment Huang Tufeng entered the classroom, Jin Suiqing met her gaze. Before she could even clearly see Huang Tufeng's face, the system instantly went haywire, beeping wildly:
"Task: Verbally provoke the female lead, one minute limit."
"Task: Propose a challenge to the female lead, with a five-minute time limit."
"Mission: Continue to verbally provoke the female lead."
...
A series of tasks came crashing down, followed by alternating bursts of system-induced electric pain. Jin Suiqing was powerless to resist and was forced to complete a series of tedious storyline tasks.
Once the dog system finally quieted down, Jin Suiqing had already been dragged to the Jingxie Hall by her jeering classmates and stood in front of the table. Jin Suiqing had no time to regret it; the competition was already a foregone conclusion. The system coldly told her in her mind: "Mission: Lose the competition, two hours limit."
As a result, everything was arranged for her in advance.
Gong Xiaoyang pushed through the crowd to Jin Suiqing's side and said anxiously, "Little Princess, do you know that Huang Tufeng and have even made an enemy of her? You were just acting like you were on fire, so aggressive! Wow, you were so repulsive, showing your petty side. I overheard people talking and they all said you were being unreasonable and looking down on people..."
Jin Suiqing recalled the words she had been forced to say by the system task: "The National Academy has really fallen on hard times, allowing just anyone to enter." "You dare to glare at me, Princess? Who do you think you are?" "Just a savage who knows nothing. If you're so capable, why don't you compete with me, Princess?"
It was so awful, she couldn't stand it.
Jin Suiqing closed her eyes in despair and nodded: "I roughly know him."
"You know them?" Gong Xiaoyang exclaimed in surprise. "When did you meet? How did you become enemies?"
Jin Suiqing's gaze swept over Huang Tufeng's left hand hanging by his side. A sliver of white peeked out from the cuff, barely noticeable, only visible upon close inspection. The fabric was breathable, and it was gauze used to bandage wounds.
In the cave beneath the cliffs of Shuangji Mountain, the person who was injured by her and rescued Yin Rushi was none other than Huang Tufeng.
No wonder the stab in the cave was so powerful; she hadn't used much force at all, yet the bleeding was so heavy. It turned out that the real daughter of the Emperor Huangfu had a debuff.
“That’s not important,” Jin Suiqing said listlessly. “Anyway, I must have a grudge against her.”
Gong Xiaoyang looked Jin Suiqing up and down suspiciously: "What do you mean by 'should be'? You were so agitated before, it really seemed like you had a grudge; but now you look so dejected, it doesn't seem like it at all."
Jin Suiqing: "Because I was so stupid just now."
Gong Xiaoyang covered her mouth: "Oh my god, so you knew!"
Jin Suiqing rolled her eyes at Gong Xiaoyang speechlessly, paused for a moment, and then said softly, "I'm sorry, Xiaoyang, I didn't mean to target you with those stupid things I said earlier."
Of course, it wasn't intentional that she was targeting Huang Tufeng; it was all forced upon her by the system.
"Hey," Gong Xiaoyang waved his hand dismissively, "Having known you for so many years, I know exactly what kind of person the little princess is, so I haven't taken it to heart at all."
"Really?" Jin Suiqing blinked. "I believe it."
Gong Xiaoyang's eyes darted around, and he rubbed his fingers together, saying, "It's fake. Please be polite. Boss, give me some compensation."
"Money-grubber." Jin Suiqing curled her lip, pulled the purse from her waist and stuffed it into Gong Xiaoyang's hand. Just as he reached for it, Jin Suiqing picked the purse up again. "Wait."
Gong Xiaoyang asked irritably, "Waiting for what?"
Jin Suiqing winked and asked, "Want to earn more?"
"Following Boss Jin since I was a child, I'm sure I'll have plenty of meat to eat," Gong Xiaoyang nodded hurriedly.
Jin Suiqing beckoned him closer and whispered, "Go stir things up, set up a betting pool, and wager on whether Huang Tufeng or I will win the match."
Gong Xiaoyang understood: "Got it, you're betting on you to win, right?"
Jin Suiqing shook her finger: "No, bet on Huang Tufeng."
Gong Xiaoyang frowned and questioned, "That's not right. You should definitely win. Putting aside your identity as a black market mechanic, mechanical assembly is a compulsory course at the National Academy. How could you possibly be inferior to a wild... cough, Huang classmate from a mountain stronghold?"
What if I deliberately lose to her?
Gong Xiaoyang asked in surprise, "What are you after?"
If she doesn't complete the task, the system will kill her.
Jin Suiqing had no way to explain, so she threw the money bag to Gong Xiaoyang and rolled her eyes, saying, "Is it not okay to make money? Hurry up and bet all the money on Huang Tufeng to win. Split the money 20/80, I get 80 and you get 20."
Gong Xiaoyang then asked, "What if we lose and have to pay compensation?"
Jin Suiqing patted his chest and snorted, "You talk as if you'd spend money. There's no way I'd lose, don't worry."
Gong Xiaoyang weighed the purse in his hand, noting its considerable weight, and gave Jin Suiqing a thumbs-up to show his admiration: "I admire your love of money and your complete disregard for reputation."
After speaking, Gong Xiaoyang nimbly darted into the crowd like a fish.
Jin Suiqing refocused her gaze and looked at Huang Tufeng.
Huang Tufeng had a plain and ordinary appearance. The book explains that Princess Qingyang's former subordinates asked a doctor to reshape her bones to change her appearance. If you look closely, only her extremely clear and bright black eyes look somewhat similar to Huangfu Li's.
Apart from that, it is difficult to tell from her appearance that she has any connection with Huangfu or the Jin family.
Appearances can change, but bloodlines cannot.
She is Huangfu Feng, the true daughter of the Jin family, the young princess of the Huangfu clan, and the true female lead of "The Wind Over the World".
A string of titles flashed so brightly that even Jin Suiqing's eyes gleamed.
Jin Suiqing looked Huang Tufeng up and down. Although her appearance was not particularly remarkable, her height was not unusual for a sixteen-year-old girl. Huang Tufeng was quite tall.
Jin Suiqing gestured roughly, and Huang Tufeng was more than a head taller than her, roughly estimated to be 1.75 meters. She looked thin, but she was able to carry Yin Rushi safely away from Shuangji Mountain despite being injured, which showed that she was also very strong.
Jin Suiqing was extremely envious.
Huang Tufeng seemed to sense Jin Suiqing's gaze and looked up at Jin Suiqing as well.
Their eyes met, and Jin Suiqing immediately raised her chin, putting on an arrogant and provocative air: "What are you looking at? Have you figured out the parts yet?"
Huang Tufeng did not respond, but simply looked at Jin Suiqing calmly.
Jin Suiqing was impressed; she truly was a leading lady, able to remain so composed in the face of provocation.
Those who were unaware of the situation were even more impressed. Huang Tufeng's composure made the princess appear even more frivolous and arrogant, and her aura actually weakened.
Gong Xiaoyang weaved through the crowd, asking everyone he met, "The betting market is open, wanna gamble?" His classmates, who weren't short of money, were eager to try, but as they pulled out their coins, they immediately forgot about Huang Tufeng's grievances and placed all their bets on Jin Suiqing, euphemistically calling it:
"It's not that I don't trust Huang, it's just that there's really no comparison."
Gong Xiaoyang sneered, "In the end, you still don't believe it, what are you pretending for?"
Gong Xiaoyang doesn't pretend; he calls it balancing the pros and cons and cutting losses in time.
With that thought in mind, Gong Xiaoyang was about to take out a sum of money to steal the deposit from Suiqing when he felt a weight on his shoulder. He turned his head and was almost so frightened that he knelt on the ground: "Teacher Chai... Teacher Chai."
"Betting operations are not allowed within the Academy of Chinese Studies," Chai Zixin said sternly. "Do you understand?"
Gong Xiaoyang smiled ingratiatingly: "Haha, teacher... knows..."
Just as he was racking his brains to stop talking and try to evade the question, Chai Zixin took out a silver ingot from his pocket and pressed it into Gong Xiaoyang's palm: "I bet on Huang Tufeng to win."
"ah?"
Chai Zixin clenched his fists and said righteously, "I believe that with Huang Tufeng's abilities, he can definitely defeat the little princess! However, this is a one-time exception. Don't let me see you doing this kind of underhanded thing again!"
Gong Xiaoyang echoed in agreement.
After Chai Zixin turned to leave, Gong Xiaoyang watched his not-so-imposing figure, silently took back the silver he had won from his deposit, and observed Huang Tufeng with a curious expression.
She actually received such high praise from Teacher Chai, could it be that she really has some skills?
Chai Zixin returned to the center of the courtyard, stood with his hands behind his back, and shouted, "Quiet!"
The courtyard of Jingxie Hall fell silent instantly.
Chai Zixin: "The competition is about to begin, Little Princess, Huang Tufeng, are you ready?"
Jin Suiqing and Huang Tufeng looked at each other and nodded at the same time.
Chai Zixin raised his arm and waved it forcefully: "Begin."
As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them immediately looked down to search for the parts.
The tense atmosphere spread silently.
Jin Suiqing wasn't nervous at all.
For students of the Academy of Chinese Studies, assembling the magic dog is not difficult; the challenge lies in identifying and selecting the parts from among many and assembling them correctly.
This method, proposed by Jin Suiqing, aims to increase fun and challenge. The inspiration likely came from a scene in a certain modern war drama featuring a protagonist competing with his comrades in disassembling and reassembling firearms.
Jin Suiqing had his own considerations.
With so many parts, it's even easier to play dumb, isn't it?
Jin Suiqing had been dealing with magical artifacts for almost ten years. He could assemble a magical artifact dog with his eyes closed and even modify it.
With such proficiency, it's inevitable that her attempts to deliberately lose will appear unnatural due to excessive effort.
So she came up with a way to increase the difficulty by increasing the quantity, and could pretend not to be able to find the parts to buy time.
This challenge should be no problem for the genius heroine, Huangfu Feng.
Jin Suiqing casually rummaged through the mountain of parts in front of her, occasionally picking up two very similar ones for comparison. After hesitating for a long time, she would choose one and put it aside. After a while, she would choose the next part.
As expected, after Jin Suiqing's actions, those classmates who had invested money quickly became dissatisfied and began to boo in the crowd.
This was exactly what Jin Suiqing wanted to hear. She said flippantly, "What's the rush? I'm just letting her have her way. If word gets out and people know that I, as a princess, am bullying a country bumpkin, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
Her "explanation" only fueled the boos, which grew louder and louder. Jin Suiqing, the entertainer, having enjoyed her performance, ignored it all. While observing Huang Tufeng, she patiently pretended not to be able to find the parts.
But not long after, Jin Suiqing stopped laughing.
The "true heiress" and "genius magician" Huang Tufeng on the other side wasn't much faster than her. Jin Suiqing had almost finished piecing together the dog's head while Huang Tufeng hadn't even completed half of the dog's body.
Jin Suiqing asked in confusion, "Is this correct?"
In the original book, this scene clearly shows Huang Tufeng displaying extraordinary talent, assembling the magical artifact at an extremely fast speed, and crushing Jin Suiqing, who looked down on her, under her feet, giving the fake heiress a good slap in the face.
Jin Suiqing observed Huang Tufeng's assembly process out of the corner of her eye. Huang Tufeng's installation logic was correct, and the speed was not slow.
only……
Others might not be able to tell, but Jin Suiqing, a magic mechanic, could tell that Huang Tufeng's actual proficiency was very average. Every time he picked up a part, Huang Tufeng would think for a moment, as if he were following a map and assembling a magic dog according to the instructions.
Is this all the genius heiress's talent is capable of?
Jin Suiqing pondered the reason, and soon, a bold idea emerged in her mind. Her pupils shrank, and she secretly glanced at Huang Tufeng.
Could it be that Huang Tufeng is also a time traveler?
At this moment, Huang Tufeng was also following the system's instructions to complete the story missions.
If we follow this conjecture, we can easily explain why Huang Tufeng found them quickly after she and Yin Rushi fell off the cliff, rescued Yin Rushi, and did not harm Jin Suiqing.
Because her close friend Yin Rushi and the fake heiress Jin Suiqing are both important characters who drive the plot forward.
Thinking of this, Jin Suiqing felt a surge of secret pleasure. At least she wasn't the only one being forced to control the system by its absurd tasks. She couldn't help but look at Huang Tufeng with a touch of pity.
They clearly don't understand magic weapons, yet the dog system forces them to pretend to be geniuses here.
What a pitiful child.
As Jin Suiqing focused her thoughts and looked down at what was in front of her, she was startled:
She was so focused on pitying Huang Tufeng that she forgot to pretend and her hands moved too fast; her magical dog was almost finished.
Looking at Huang Tufeng on the other side, Jin Suiqing not only caught up with the progress she had deliberately delayed, but even surpassed her by half a part.
At this rate, Jin Suiqing might win this match.
Jin Suiqing was going crazy. No, she couldn't win!
Author's note: This week's 7000th installment is over. See you next week!
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