"If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first."
*Snap!*
The sound of wood breaking echoed through the courtyard. A familiar sharp pain radiated through my body.
While I was recovering, that proverb from my past life echoed in my mind. I always had a problem with procrastination, and it was only by doing difficult tasks first thing in the morning that I even got anything done. Of course, in my current case, it was less eating a frog and more repeatedly eating porcupines until I couldn't stomach any more.
Sweat covered my brow as I panted but remained standing this time. Once more, like clockwork, the pain faded from existence after ten seconds.
I took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh morning air. Looking at the darkened sky, I could see that the sun had yet to rise. I've never exactly been a "workout first thing in the morning" type of guy. But on the same note, I never had the chance to get superpowers from doing so either.
Taking a moment to wipe away my sweat, I took a glance at the floating screen that had been my companion for the last six days.
[Destroy or break Almighty Rod (Rename?) 10,000 times!]
[Current Progress: 73/10,000]
Looking at the progress I made, I wanted to smile. To take pride in the accomplishment I had done. But it was less than half of my goal. For the first few days I was limited to breaking the staff about ten times before my body rebelled. But as the days passed, I noted that the pain grew less and less intense.
Now the pain mainly felt like someone was tap-dancing on my family jewels. Still awful, excruciating, sweat-inducing agony. But no longer enough to cause my legs to give out immediately.
'Nope. I got to focus!' Noticing my thoughts drifting, I refocused on my current task.
"Today I will break my record of fifteen! Just ten more." I spoke aloud, mostly to hype myself up, and I summoned the staff to my hand again. Without allowing myself to think about it, I continued my "training."
{1 Hour Later}
*Snap!*
After I heard that final snap, I dropped the pieces of wood from my hand and sat down in the grass until my muscles stopped trembling.
[Current Progress: 83/10,000]
Finally done with today's quota, I allow a smile to stretch across my face. I then tilt my body back until I am fully lying on the ground. Feeling the earth beneath me was comforting and brought me some peace as I waited for my body to recover. First the pain vanished, then after about 10 minutes, the numbness infecting my limbs was gone too.
While I was staring at the sky, I heard soft footsteps gradually approaching me.
"Lord Meng, your breakfast is now ready." The familiar voice spoke to my left. Turning my head, I saw the face of the maid I had requested to be my primary maid because she was the only one whose name I could remember.
"Understood, Maid Shi." I said as I rose from the ground. After patting my clothes clean, I began to walk towards the bathroom to wash my hands. After tasting the chef's meal that night with Meng Mei, I was sure to never miss a meal. Heck, if Cao Peng hadn't checked for me, I would be convinced that someone was putting drugs in it. It was simply that good.
While I was lost in my anticipation of my meal, I heard the sound of steps behind me. Once more I was tempted to tell Maid Shi that she didn't have to follow me around constantly, but I refrained. After having said discussion five times over the last week, I knew that it was useless to tell her so.
After washing my hands, I arrived in the dining hall and sat at my usual table near the windows. At some point, Maid Shi had separated from me to grab the food from the kitchen as she usually does. And after about a minute of waiting, she returned with a silver cloche and placed it on the table in front of me.
Perhaps Maid Shi had a flair for the dramatics because she took pause briefly before lifting the lid and revealing the food beneath. The food revealed appeared to be some type of pork with a reddish-brown hue, coated in some sort of sauce. However, what really absorbed my attention was the appetizing arouma that made my mouth water coming from the dish. I barely noticed her placing down a pot of tea and filling my cup.
For a short time, the rest of the world faded away. Using my chopsticks, I broke a piece of the pork(?) off and took a bite. As I chewed I could feel a buzzing in my mouth that slowly moved through my body. After swallowing, the feeling intensified, and it felt as if every inch of me were receiving a massage simultaneously.
The gentle but continuous sound of a finger tapping on the table brought me back to the present. In front of me sat Cao Peng looking at me with a wry grin.
"I see you are invested in your meals as always, Lord Meng." He spoke with barely hidden amusement.
Feeling no shame, I replied simply. "You're right; I sure am."
I look at the plate in front of him containing some kind of fish dish. Honestly, it looked a bit plain compared to my dish.
"What did you do to piss off the chef here that you never get food like mine?" I decided to ask a question that had been at the corner of my mind the past few days.
Cao Peng's chopsticks froze for a bit as he looked at me with confusion. Before, he had to cover his mouth to suppress a series of chuckles.
It was my turn to be confused. What did I say that was so funny to him?
"Lord Meng, let's just say that the chef cooking your meal might have a bit more personal reason to make such a spectacular dish for you." He spoke using that grin that seemed permanently etched on his face.
"Personal reason?" I paused briefly before continuing.
"The chef knows that I'm married, right?" I refuse to be stabbed due to some misunderstanding.
"Hahaha!" This time there was no grin. Only full-blown laughter from across the table. Cao Peng was laughing so hard that he was holding onto his stomach, his food long forgotten.
"Thank you, Lord Meng; it has been forever since I laughed that hard." Cao Peng managed to get out while fighting his chuckles.
'Roll with it,' I thought. When in doubt, pretend you know exactly what's going on.
"Anytime," I replied while bringing my attention back to my meal. As I was reaching for my last piece, Cao Peng asked me a question that shook my soul in a way that reminded me of college.
"So did you finish writing the test for the council positions?" He took a sip of tea from his cup before continuing. "I need them by tomorrow morning so I can have copies made."
My chopsticks froze midair, and it felt like my soul left my body. Only now did I remember giving the order to create a council and asking Cao Peng to inform the city of the upcoming testing.
Snapping myself out of my shock, I force my face into customer service mode before replying.
"Yes, it took a while, but I managed to get everything done, and I just had to finalize the edits." I lied as easily as I breathed.
"That's good because when you suggested six different tests, I thought it would overburden you." Cao Peng spoke again with that same wry smile on his face. He was staring at me as if he were trying to find a crack in my defenses.
'Naive! If ten years of managers couldn't see a flaw, neither can you!' I thought to myself while keeping my face placid and my slight smile strong.
While trying not to give anything away, I quickly ate the last bit of my breakfast and wiped my face. Standing up, I walked to the door with a calm gait.
"Well, it was a nice meal, but I should be finalizing those edits before it gets too late." I spoke to Cao Peng, who was sitting at the table.
"Of course, Lord Meng. Before it gets too late." He said sounding entirely too pleased with himself.
I continued walking calmly until I passed the door. Gently closing it behind me, I took a deep breath to fill my lungs with air. The very next second, I took off into a sprint toward my office, ignoring the faint sound of laughter behind me. Procrastination had done it again.
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Hello everyone, how was the chapter? Did you love it? Hate it? Or were you just indifferent? Drop a comment and let me know!
I'm curious if anyone else procrastinates to the last second or if you always finish tasks as soon as possible. Let me know in the comments.
I can definitely say I do my best work three hours before something is due!