My Superpower Is Kind of Cute

Chapter 46: Arm-Wrestling

“Don’t go too far. If you want to fight, I’ll be your opponent.” Bai Ling shook his wrist and stared impassively at Yang Shengkun, looking as if he might strike at any moment. The atmosphere had dropped to freezing point, and seeing this, the people around us rushed to play peacemaker. I stared at Bai Ling in awe, thinking to myself that one day I’d want to show off just like him. Hearing Bai Ling’s words, Yang Shengkun backed down considerably. This indirectly revealed that Yang Shengkun’s skills were certainly inferior to Bai Ling’s, but the remarks he’d just made left him with no way out—he was now in a bind. Yang Shengkun stared silently at Bai Ling, then glanced at me. His eyes darted around, and I immediately realized what scheme he was hatching. Sure enough, he pointed at me again and said with righteous indignation, “Bai Ling, it’s not up to you. Let him speak for himself. The other guild members are also eager to see how the newcomer performs. Even if I don’t get involved, you should at least give the others a convincing reason, right?” Hearing Yang Shengkun’s words, the others instinctively turned their gaze toward me. I silently marveled at how ruthless this “retreat-to-advance” tactic was—not only did he shift the blame onto me, but he also dragged others in to put pressure on Bai Ling. However, it seemed he was underestimating me… “No.” I shook my head decisively in refusal. “What did you say?” Yang Shengkun’s expression, which had previously radiated confidence, suddenly turned utterly bewildered. After a few seconds, he asked again, “Say that again.” I spoke calmly and slowly, “I’ll say it ten times if I have to: I won’t.” ” That’s right—he seriously underestimated just how shameless I can be. Getting into a fight over something this trivial isn’t my style at all. Besides, I can’t merge with Qi Yun in public—even if there were ten of them, I wouldn’t stand a chance against him. I’m well aware of that. Even if I were to concede that point, the embarrassment he’s causing me now is only temporary. Once I get my golden badge, I’ll be able to make his life miserable anytime, anywhere. A higher rank crushes the lower one—I don’t even need to explain this. If he still isn’t convinced, I don’t mind dragging Qi Yun into it late at night when it’s quiet to teach him a lesson. “How could he act like this?” Right now, Yang Shengkun was practically stomping his feet in frustration—that’s exactly how he looked. Seeing that I wasn’t falling for his provocation, the others naturally had nothing more to say and went back to their own business. Bai Qiaqiao entered the hall again, holding an exquisitely crafted square box in her hands, which she placed in front of me. Bai Ling opened it for me. Inside the box lay a golden badge. When Yang Shengkun saw this, his mouth watered so much it almost dripped onto the floor, and the others, to varying degrees, also cast envious glances. Compared to them, I didn’t feel much of anything. For that quality, you could buy two for ten yuan on the street—I didn’t really understand why they were making such a fuss. “Before you take this, I think we should have a little sparring match with him first. It’s better to make an example of him,” Qi Yun said with a smile, whispering in my ear. “Mengmeng, you’ve got this.” “Don’t be silly. No way am I doing that. You just want to see me make a fool of myself, don’t you? Doesn’t your conscience bother you at all?” Qi Yun explained again, “No, you could just change the rules of the contest. Since he’s picking on you, you’ve got to strike back.” “Watch your language,” I said, raising an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting a literary duel?” Judging by Yang Shengkun’s demeanor, we’d probably be evenly matched in a literary contest. If we were competing on Tang and Song dynasty poetry, I’d probably even have a few poems’ lead over him. “Let’s arm-wrestle,” Qi Yun suggested. “It’s so simple and straightforward, and we can see just how much progress you’ve made, Mengmeng.” As soon as Qi Feng heard this, he spoke bluntly, “Yang Shengkun’s spiritual power is based on gathering energy. If Chen Meng tries to arm-wrestle him now, he might snap her wrist.” “No way,” Qi Yun said with a confidence that seemed to come out of nowhere, vowing on my behalf, “Don’t forget Mengmeng’s bloodline.” Hearing that my hand might be broken, I was naturally not happy. I turned to look at Bai Ling. “Hurry up and give me the badge. Let’s just go through the motions—I need to go home for dinner.” Bai Ling had just heard Qi Yun’s words, and there seemed to be a flicker in her eyes. Suddenly, she reached out and put the badge away, then looked at Yang Shengkun and said, “Fine, I accept your challenge. But let’s just have one match. It’s not very convenient here, so let’s just arm-wrestle.” I was completely baffled. When did Bai Ling get bribed by Qi Yun? How could he be spouting such nonsense? As if to stir up trouble even more, Bai Ling whispered beside me, “I think Qi Yun makes a good point. It’s not like there’s any real danger anyway.” “My hand’s about to snap off, and you’re telling me there’s no danger?” I realized I was finding it harder and harder to figure out what he was thinking. Hearing Bai Ling’s words, Yang Shengkun’s eyes lit up instantly. He seemed very confident in his strength, and as if afraid Bai Ling would change her mind, he quickly nodded and said, “Alright, let’s arm-wrestle then.” I hid behind Bai Ling, glared at Qi Yun, and snapped, “We’re totally screwed now.” “It’ll be fine, Mengmeng. You have to believe in yourself. If he dares to do anything out of line, we’ll ambush him at the entrance to the square tonight and break his legs.” With Qi Yun putting it that way, I had nothing to say in response, so I reluctantly stepped back into their line of sight, looking utterly dejected. Seeing me looking so dejected, Yang Shengkun’s confidence skyrocketed, and he said with a smug air, “If I lose, I’ll accept it gracefully and agree to let him wear this gold badge. But if he loses…” Bai Ling cut him off immediately, “If he loses, I’ll still give him this badge.” “You’re spoiling me way too much,” I said, glancing at Bai Ling, still unsure what the point of this arm-wrestling match was. “Well…” Yang Shengkun furrowed his brow, mulling it over for a moment. Realizing that my possession of the gold badge was now a done deal, he finally nodded. “Alright, let’s just treat this as a friendly match.” “I hope so,” I muttered under my breath. This arm-wrestling match had nothing to do with my badge anymore—he was definitely trying to make a fool of me. Geng Dong dragged a square table from the corner and placed it in front of Yang Shengkun and me, then conjured up two chairs. The people around us stood up in perfect unison, forming a circle to watch our every move. Yang Shengkun seemed unusually calm at that moment. He smoothed down his pompadour and gestured toward me with a “please” motion, signaling for me to sit down and wait for my doom. I sat down on the chair nervously; to be honest, I really had no idea what to expect. Qi Yun stood right beside me. “Mengmeng, can you feel the heat in your dantian?” “Where’s the dantian? I don’t know if it’s hot or not, but my balls sure do hurt.” Qi Yun patted my shoulder. “That’s exactly right. You’re in good shape. Keep it up.” Me: “……” Bai Ling was standing by the table, and Bai Qiaqiao had joined him, ending up right next to me. As I caught the sweet scent wafting from her, a tingling sensation spread through my whole body. Now I really had no mind for the competition—talk about bad luck. It seemed she’d noticed my reaction again, and I could clearly hear her dismissive snort right by my ear. With a “thud,” Yang Shengkun plopped down in the chair across from me, spreading his arms across the table in a showy display. “Which hand do you prefer to compete with?” Judging by his expression and tone, I could read between the lines—he was clearly asking me, “Which hand would you rather have broken?”