The Master's Mask Unveiled Again-Chapter 305 - 304: Lu Mian, I’m About to Be Won by Someone Else...

Chapter 305: Chapter 304: Lu Mian, I’m About to Be Won by Someone Else…

The morning welcome ceremony concluded amidst the artistic performances, and the shockwave brought by Lu Mian still reverberated in everyone’s heart.

The afternoon was reserved for the school’s classical poetry competition.

Lu Mian wasn’t herself today; she did not plan to participate in the contest but went to the venue to make up the numbers.

Sitting at the very back of the step-seated classroom, she slumped over the desk, listless and weak.

She felt a feverish heat throughout her body that hadn’t yet subsided.

...

Her mind was flooded with the image of Xiao Qimo coming close to kiss her, making her think she had come down with a fever.

She listlessly fiddled with the rivets on the desk to pass the time.

It wasn’t until a man sat down beside her that she suddenly straightened up, as if shocked by electricity.

Xiao Qimo sat across the aisle from her. His long legs and arms cramped in the space between the desks and chairs, forced him to stretch his legs out.

His eyes carried a smile and a lingering affection as his gaze landed on Lu Mian and stayed there without shifting.

Lu Mian wanted to return the gaze, but in the end, she found she couldn’t outstare him and could only look forward.

She really was sick, seriously sick!

——

By now, the classical poetry competition had begun.

This time, the head of the Chinese department was hosting, a teacher known for profound knowledge and for speaking elegantly.

Su Luo led the Kunpeng High School team, and Sheng Zixin led the Era Middle School team, sitting opposite each other.

Behind them sat a group of spectators.

In the front row were Principal Zhang and other school leaders, as well as several officials from the municipal education department. Since it was a major inter-school event, the education department was also interested and came to watch.

All the homeroom teachers sat in the second row.

All the Chinese teachers and their counterparts from the other school were present as observers to intervene whenever a mistake was made.

They even had laptops ready, just in case they didn’t know either.

Having gone through so much in the morning, the team led by Sheng Zijin was somewhat discouraged, and they left at noon with long faces.

But in the afternoon, their team had regained their vigor.

This was because Sheng Zijin had emphatically stressed at noon that they needn’t worry about anything. Be as aggressive as possible; they were there to suppress Kunpeng High School’s momentum.

If anything happened, the Sheng Family and the school had their backs.

Everyone instantly became as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline, all determined to win the competition.

Both teams had taken their seats.

On their chests, each of them wore the emblem of their school.

The school emblem represented each individual’s honor, as well as the stakes in the competition.

If a team lost a match, they would forfeit a school emblem. Each team only had ten emblems; the first team to lose them all would be the loser of this exchange.

Honor was at stake, and everyone took it seriously.

The competition’s format for the poetry contest was quite straightforward.

The first round was a theme match.

They would draw a random theme, and the competitors from both sides would recite related poetry in turn. For example, if the theme was snow, any ancient poem describing snow could be used, until one team could no longer respond.

The second round was the specific word format.

They would draw a word, and the poems recited had to contain that word. The teams competed to answer; the more responses, the higher the score, and the team with the most points won.

The third round was intense, a quick question-and-answer challenge.

Each team sent a representative to face off in rapid-fire questioning. The round tested not only the responder’s knowledge but also the questioner’s proficiency. With its high difficulty, it required an immense accumulation of knowledge.

For Sheng Zijin, born into a family steeped in literary tradition, poetry was second nature. Among the students she brought with her, Yu Chen was also particularly well-versed in poetry, so she was very confident about this competition.

However, the ten students were a bit nervous, and looked silently toward Sheng Zijin.

Sheng Zixin confidently reassured them, “Don’t worry, even if you get stuck and can’t come up with an answer, isn’t my sister there? She’s particularly good at this, rest assured! She’ll remind you when the time comes!”

“But they have so many students, they’ll definitely remind theirs, right?”

“If they get reminded, would their victory still shine?”

Sheng Zijin also nodded, “Just keep a normal mindset, no need to be so nervous. You are all carefully selected top students; you should have confidence in yourselves.”

Hearing these comforting words, the ten students took a deep breath and settled down.

The ten from Su Luo’s side exchanged a few words with one another.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

They were the top eleven students in their grade. Why top eleven? Because the first-ranked, Lu Mian, didn’t participate at all.

Su Luo glanced towards the back row, where Lu Mian was still lazily sprawled out on the desk.

“Luoluo, why don’t you try asking Lu Mian again?” the eleventh-ranked student said nervously, “I don’t think I’m up to it.”

Su Luo pursed her lips, “Forget it.”

The poor eleventh-ranked student felt like a duck being forced onto a perch.

Perhaps a simple poetry competition wasn’t satisfying enough for the other side, when suddenly a girl stood up and with a slight smile said, “This kind of simple competition is boring. Besides losing a school emblem, let’s raise the stakes.”

“How do you want to raise them?”

The girl with twin ponytails who spoke was Gu Jingyi.

She glanced at the handsome dean in the last row of the amphitheatre, her eyes almost fixed on him, and said ambitiously, “If we win, could we invite this dean to have a meal with us?”

The dean in question narrowed his eyes; a meal?

The students all looked at Dean Qimo with gossip-hungry eyes, yearning but not daring to make a sound.

Dean Qimo’s charm was so great that he almost swept away the souls of the students from the other school, boldly asking him out to a meal.

But this was their dean, no matter how fierce or cold, he was theirs. If he was won over for a meal by the other side, it wouldn’t just be Dean Qimo’s loss, but also a blow to Kunpeng High School’s pride!

Su Luo countered, “And if you lose?”

“We’ll hand over two school emblems!”

Sheng Zijin wanted to intervene, but it seemed there was no need for excessive worry. If the other side lost, they would definitely be devastated, making the following competitions even easier for them.

She took it as an agreement.

The hosting teacher opened his mouth, then looked apologetically towards Xiao Qimo.

Xiao Qimo, in turn, looked at Lu Mian.

“Little rascal…” he whispered to her across the seats, “I’m about to be won over, what should I do?”

“…”

Lu Mian glanced at him indifferently, “You can refuse.”

“If I refuse, they’ll say Kunpeng High School lacks hospitality.”

“…”

Lu Mian was speechless.

Fat Hao and Shouhao from the front row quickly turned their heads.

“Mian Bro, if you went up to compete, then Dean Qimo probably wouldn’t get won over,” they suggested.

Lu Mian squinted, “You two…”

“Don’t hit me, I’m complimenting you for being awesome!”

Lu Mian stretched out his hand to smack Fat Hao’s head, but Su Luo caught the action.

Su Luo blinked and smiled, “Teacher, we’d like to change our contestant.”

“Who?”

“Lu Mian, she just raised her hand to signal!”