189: Chapter 189 I'm sorry, Brother Jiang, the principal gave us way too much!

"..."

The entire table went silent for a second.

"Pfft—"

Su Nuonuo couldn't hold it back, and the juice she had just sipped sprayed out.

At this moment, Qiu Yunan glanced at Jiang You, who was still struggling with a chicken leg, and her tone became slightly more serious:

"Jiang You, your score is still outside the top twenty."

"Although everyone knows your strength, according to the rules, if you are late to advance tomorrow, you will only be able to be a substitute."

"A substitute?"

Hearing these two words, Jiang You paused while eating.

His cheeks were bulging as he slowly chewed the meat in his mouth. A flash of extremely complex, conflicted light, as if he were engaged in a battle between heaven and man, flickered in his half-open, dead-fish eyes.

In that instant, two little figures were fighting crazily in Jiang You's mind.

The salted-fish Jiang You lay on the beach in his mind, looking full of yearning, and said comfortably:

"Being a substitute is good! Being a substitute is great! Being a substitute is simply a god-tier job tailor-made for us!"

"Just think about it, no need to risk your life on the field, no need to get beaten until your nose is bruised and face is swollen. You just need to sit on the sidelines, wave a towel, hand out water, and you can mooch food and drinks while traveling on the public dime!"

"It's hard to find such a good thing like paid leave even with a lantern! Wasn't our goal to just slack off? Isn't this the ultimate form of slacking off?"

However, another Jiang You, wearing a black combat suit, kicked the beach chair away, and roared with a face full of frustration:

"Can you have some ambition?!"

"You are a man who has awakened the SSS-grade Eye of Tianshu! You just pulled off a big show in Pool 1! The whole school is watching you!"

"You want to be a substitute at a time like this? Do you still want your dignity? How will you hang out in Class F in the future? How will you stand tall in front of those arrogant seniors from Class A?"

"Are you going to just watch that chuunibyou Lu Xingye show off on stage while you hand him water from below?"

"Gulp."

Jiang You swallowed the chicken in his mouth, his eyes jumping back and forth between the "temptation of lying flat" and the "dignity of the protagonist."

Honestly, reason told him that being a substitute was really sweet.

But emotionally... he had been called "Captain Jiang" and "Brother Jiang" for the past few days, which made him feel a bit floaty. Being suddenly asked to sit on the bench made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

This was typical of someone who wanted to be a salted fish that avoided all responsibility, yet also wanted to enjoy the applause of leaping over the dragon gate.

"Um..."

Jiang You put down the chicken leg, wiped the oil off his hands, and tentatively looked at the "Class F manager" Gou Fugui, asking the core questions he cared about most:

"Fugui, I want to ask something."

"How is the compensation for this substitute role?"

"Is it the same as the regular team members, with an appearance fee? Do they get bonuses too?"

"Is it true that I just need to shout '666' and hand over towels on the sidelines?"

"Since I don't have to play, does that mean I can rest in the hotel, sleep as much as I want, and as long as no one gets hurt, being a substitute is basically a vacation on the public dime?"

In Jiang You's imagination, substitute = mascot = paid leave.

This was simply the "god-tier job" he had been dreaming of!

Gou Fugui was calculating accounts; he didn't even look up when he heard this. He pushed up his glasses and mercilessly shattered Jiang You's fantasy:

"What are you thinking, Brother Jiang."

"A substitute is a spare tire; what kind of good treatment can a spare tire get?"

Gou Fugui held up three fingers and listed them one by one:

"First, substitutes have no appearance fees, only basic travel subsidies, and the bonus is only one-third of the regular team members'."

"Second, if the substitute doesn't play at all, the team honor isn't recorded in the personal achievement file, which means this trip is completely for nothing."

"Third..."

Gou Fugui looked up and revealed a meaningful smile:

"A substitute is the team's 'jack-of-all-trades,' commonly known as a high-level handyman."

"It's true you don't have to play during the match, but..."

Gou Fugui emphasized his tone and began to list the substitute's duties:

"As a substitute, you are responsible for some logistics work. For example, moving everyone's training equipment, and occasionally helping everyone keep track of their personal items, like Lu Xingye's ridiculously heavy sword, or Xiang Batian's dumbbells. And you have to be on call 24 hours a day."

Jiang You's mouth twitched: "This... this is manual labor?"

"No, this is just physical labor."

Gou Fugui continued to twist the knife:

"There's one more point, and it's the most terrifying. Because substitutes don't have to play and are more clear-headed, they are usually drafted by the teachers."

"You have to accompany the team leader and attend every long, tedious tactical analysis meeting."

"You are responsible for recording the opponents' data, analyzing their weaknesses, and even writing a 'Battle Analysis Report' of no less than three thousand words for the regular team members to read."

"In other words..."

Gou Fugui looked at Jiang You, whose face was gradually turning pale, and delivered the final blow:

"Regular team members can go back to sleep, get massages, or play games after the match."

"While the substitute has to stay up late watching recordings, writing reports, attending meetings, and serving the leaders."

"Simply put, the regular team members are the masters responsible for showing off, and the substitute is the corporate slave responsible for doing the work."

"Snap!"

The chopsticks in Jiang You's hand were snapped in two by him.

The look of longing for the "substitute life" collapsed in this moment, replaced by a kind of horror called "extreme fear of overtime."

"Write reports? Attend meetings? And move dumbbells?"

Jiang You took a deep breath, and the image of himself having to accompany that old man, Principal Pang Ban, to watch recordings in the middle of the night, and having to carry Lu Xingye's sword, appeared in his mind...

That kind of life is simply hell!

It is the greatest insult to a salted fish!

"No! Absolutely not!"

Jiang You slammed the table, splashing hot pot broth everywhere, scaring Xiang Batian, who was drinking soup, until he almost choked to death.

"I, Jiang You, hate paperwork and meaningless meetings more than anything in my life!"

"To avoid writing reports! To avoid meetings! To avoid manual labor!"

"Tomorrow, I will drag down all those guys who are occupying the latrine but not doing anything!"

Watching Jiang You suddenly get fired up, the people of Class F looked at each other.

Although Lu Xingye's face was covered in red chili oil, he couldn't help but exclaim:

"Although the reason is... very unique, I, this seat, acknowledge this determination to not be a supporting character!"

Only Gou Fugui pushed up his glasses and chuckled inwardly:

Sure enough, when dealing with a lazy person like Brother Jiang, talking to him about honor is useless. If you tell him "if you don't work hard, it will become even more troublesome," he will work harder than anyone else.

Just when no one was paying attention, Gou Fugui quietly took his phone out of his pocket.

On the screen, a transfer notification that had just arrived was displayed, along with a remark.

[Transfer Notification: Your account ending in 8888 has received a transfer of 500,000.00 Yuan.]

[Sender: Principal Pang Ban]

[Remark: Student Fugui, how is the matter going? Has that kid gotten fired up? Remember, you must describe the life of a substitute as miserably as possible, as tiring as possible. Even if you have to make it up, you must make him feel that being a substitute is just being a laborer.]

Gou Fugui's fingers tapped rapidly on the screen, replying with a message:

[Gou Fugui: Don't worry, Principal, mission accomplished. Brother Jiang's current state is such that he'd probably kick a dog on the side of the road just to vent his anger. He has already sworn to become a starter. However... I need more money. Just now, to increase my persuasiveness, I even sacrificed my professional integrity.]

[Principal Pang Ban: ... Add another five thousand, and this is the last time! Remember to keep it secret; don't ever let him know that substitutes are actually just watching livestreams and eating snacks in an air-conditioned room!]

[Gou Fugui: Deal! Boss is generous! [Handshake] [Handshake]]

Putting away his phone, Gou Fugui looked at Jiang You, who was still roaring "I will never write an analysis report." The sympathy in his eyes flashed and vanished, immediately replaced by the joy of having made money.

Oh, Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang, don't blame your brother for being unkind.

Principal Pang Ban really paid... way too much.