This person really knows how to be reborn!

Chapter 14 I have it myself

The next day was Friday. After the first two classes in the afternoon, the school loudspeaker blared the stirring "Athletes' March".

The rally is about to begin.

More than a thousand students from the senior year quickly gathered on the playground.

It's clear that the school attaches great importance to this rally, with the principal and the vice principal in charge of the senior year, along with more than a dozen other leaders, attending despite the scorching sun.

There is a fixed procedure for the pep rally, and it should be similar for high schools across the country.

First, the school leaders gave a speech, and then student representatives went on stage to take an oath on behalf of everyone.

Texas No. 1 High School is no exception.

The speech by school leaders lasted for nearly an hour.

This annoyed Zeng Cheng a lot.

The sun was blazing this afternoon, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. Anyone who stood in the scorching sun for an hour knows what I mean.

Fortunately, when the student representative took the stage to lead everyone in reciting the oath, a breeze swept across the playground, bringing a touch of coolness.

To be fair, the oath was actually quite inspiring.

This can be seen from the reactions of many students.

For example, Li Xingzhi, who was standing next to Zeng Cheng, gradually choked up as he read.

Many female students were moved to tears.

Zeng Cheng was unable to empathize.

But he can understand.

Eighteen is definitely youth, but youth is not just about being eighteen.

Youth is the cicadas' song in the height of summer, the starlight shining overhead every night spent writing furiously, and the arrow that can still hit the mark years later.

After the oath was taken, the students thought they were about to be dismissed, but Liu He, the vice principal in charge of the senior year, went up on stage again.

"Classmates, Zeng Cheng from Class 6 performed exceptionally well in this third mock exam, scoring nearly 80 points higher than in the second mock exam. His ranking in the grade has also improved by more than 300 places, which is nothing short of a miracle!"

At this point, Liu He led the applause.

Unfortunately, there was very little applause from the audience.

Under the blazing sun, the students' emotions, having exhausted themselves during the oath-taking ceremony, were now replaced by restlessness.

Especially the experimental class contingent, no one applauded at all.

From the perspective of these top students, it can only be said that the difficulty of the third mock exam was too low, which allowed this guy named Zeng Cheng to get a high score by luck. If the college entrance exam were any more difficult, this guy would definitely be exposed.

In the silence, a pretty figure clapped her hands vigorously, the applause exceptionally clear and resounding throughout the entire experimental class formation.

The bright young girl clapping had an oval face rosy from the sun, and her crescent-shaped eyes were slightly narrowed, like two bright peach blossoms in late spring.

The top students in the experimental class were immediately dumbfounded.

Are you sure you didn't see that wrong?

It was actually Yu Baiwei who was clapping?

Who in the class doesn't know that this school beauty is famously aloof?

At that moment, however, she was enthusiastically clapping for the guy on stage named Zeng Cheng.

Could the rumors be true, and are these two really dating?

The academic geniuses were generally feeling a bit overwhelmed, as if the most beautiful girls in their class had been taken by a pig.

Why did Yu Baiwei have the courage to applaud Zeng Cheng in public? Wasn't she afraid of gossip?

It can only be said that a certain sect's holy maiden has her own logic.

The person standing on the stage was her only friend—isn't it only natural to applaud a friend?

As for what other boys think of her, Yu Baiwei doesn't care.

After all, apart from Zeng Cheng, all other boys were just roadside passersby in her eyes!

"Next, please welcome Zeng Cheng to the stage to share his learning experience!"

Under the watchful eyes of many, Zeng Cheng slowly walked onto the stage and took the microphone.

After handing over the microphone, Liu He was somewhat surprised—this kid didn't bring a speech!

Was he so nervous that he forgot, or was he too confident to give a speech without notes?

The principal of No. 1 Middle School, Tao Xingzhi, and several other school leaders, sitting in the first row below the stage, couldn't help but widen their eyes.

This is a speech for over a thousand people, why didn't this student named Zeng Cheng bring a speech script? Don't let him get too nervous and end up not being able to say a single coherent sentence later.

Ye Qiong also frowned.

If Zeng Cheng messes things up, she will also be criticized by her superiors.

She couldn't help but think to herself—can't this kid give her a break?

Zeng Cheng on stage exuded a great sense of relaxation—it was indeed a small event for him.

After a slight smile, he slowly opened his mouth, his voice steady and gentle: "Hello everyone, I am Zeng Cheng from Class 6 of Senior Three."

"First of all, I would like to thank the leaders for giving me this opportunity to speak on stage."

"Those who know me know that I used to have pretty bad grades. As for the reason—my classmates all thought I was stupid. The three years of high school should have been three years of hard work, but I spent most of my energy trying to win the heart of a certain girl."

"But I still want to defend myself by saying that there is nothing wrong with liking someone, even if the way you like them is foolish, and you shouldn't be laughed at."

"My only stupidity was probably not understanding what true feelings are."

"I gave her a truckload of oranges, but she just prefers apples. If she doesn't like something, she just doesn't like it. It's not like I was moved at all."

At this point, Zeng Cheng gave a self-deprecating laugh.

There was some commotion in the audience.

Zeng Cheng started by bringing up a topic that is absolutely taboo in high school.

Secondly, most people can empathize with what he said.

There aren't that many stories of mutual love in the world; the greatest common denominator is "unrequited love" and "unfulfilled longing."

Fortunately, each class's formation had a homeroom teacher watching over them, and the students' restlessness was quickly quelled.

Just as Vice Principal Liu He was about to remind Zeng Cheng not to go off-topic, he continued speaking.

"Classmates, the reason I'm saying all this is to tell you from my own experience that the sign of growth is self-control and understanding when to do what."

"We're about to take the college entrance exam, so we should work hard and put all our energy into studying!"

"I did quite well on this test. I admit there was an element of luck involved, but the main reason is that I figured this out!"

"And facts have proven that it's never too late to work hard!"

"Dear students, time rewards those who persevere, and starlight illuminates those who strive. Life may be long, but how many summers truly belong to youth? We must not waste them!"

"Finally, I hope everyone can have an invincible self living in their heart."

"Finally, I'd like to leave you with this last piece of advice: Remember that youthful ambitions soared high, aspiring to be among the best in the world!"

"Hello everyone, I am Zeng Cheng from Class 6 of Senior Three."

After speaking, he bowed to the audience.

The sun was no longer scorching, and the wind was just the right amount of gentle.

Zeng Cheng's opening and closing remarks were exactly the same; the difference lay in the audience's reaction.

Few people applauded during the opening remarks, but thunderous applause followed the closing remarks.

This shows that Zeng Cheng's motivational speech was very successful, and most of the students were willing to listen because they empathized with him.

After the rally concluded, Tao Xingzhi and Liu He discussed Zeng Cheng's speech.

"Principal, what do you think of Zeng Cheng's remarks just now? I feel like he went a bit off-topic—I wanted to stop him several times."

"Old Liu, it's a good thing you didn't stop them. They did go off-topic a bit, but their level of skill was really impressive. They came out with a lot of brilliant sentences, and the effect was great. I saw many students with tears in their eyes."

"That's true. It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white; as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat. With Zeng Cheng's motivational speech, Principal, who knows, our school might achieve record-breaking results in this year's college entrance examination!"

"Very likely. So, this kid actually did something great? Shouldn't we return the favor and give him some recognition?"

"You mean..."

"Has the list of this year's provincial-level outstanding students been submitted yet?"

"It's drafted, but hasn't been submitted yet..."

Which three?

In 2009, the title of "Provincial Outstanding Student" in Sichuan Province was not just a name, but a bonus point program for the college entrance examination, which could add a full ten points!

Even a national key high school like Dezhou No. 1 High School only has three places available each year.

Liu He was the one who drafted the list of provincial "Three Good Students" this year, so he quickly announced three names.

"Yu Baiwei, Lu Yunchen, Qi Jiahao."

After a moment of contemplation, Tao Xingzhi's gaze became somewhat amused: "Old Liu, I know Yu Baiwei and Lu Yunchen. They always rank first or second in exams, definitely top contenders for Tsinghua and Peking Universities. But who is this Qi Jiahao?"

Liu He said somewhat guiltily, "Uh, Principal, this student is in the same class as Zeng Cheng. He's the class monitor and also the vice president of the student council. He's meticulous and hardworking, so..."

Tao Xingzhi frowned slightly: "Get to the point. What were his grades like? What score did he get on the third mock exam?"

Liu He became increasingly embarrassed: "Everything was going well before, I was sure I'd get into a top university, but for some reason, I performed terribly on this exam, only scoring a little over 550..."

"Only this many points? Giving it to him is a waste!" Principal Tao frowned deeply, then waved his hand, "Old Liu, replace Qi Jiahao with Zeng Cheng!"

"..."

What could Vice Principal Liu say? He could only force a smile and say, "The principal is wise."

That's right. In the country of Tokyo University, whether it's an administrative agency or a public institution, the top leader has absolute power.

As for why Qi Jiahao was able to be on the provincial list of outstanding students—it certainly wasn't because he had a district head father.

There was no holiday after the rally; we still had to attend evening self-study sessions, and even tomorrow, Saturday, we will have a full day of classes, just without evening self-study.

Halfway through evening self-study, Ye Qiong called Zeng Cheng to her office and told him that she kept her word, that she had already spoken with Teacher Liu from Class 1, and had successfully persuaded her.

As for Liu Jifen, who had previously been so adamant, why was she persuaded by Ye Qiong? — Because she had no other way to deal with Zeng Cheng.

First of all, Zeng Cheng has made such great progress this time that he has been promoted as a role model by the school. In addition, Zeng Cheng's speech at the pep rally was both high-level and effective. Why would the leaders send him home to study just because of some rumors? That would be like swallowing insults.

Furthermore, Yu Baiwei was not affected by Zeng Cheng at all. She ranked first in the city and fifth in the province in this provincial unified examination, which was even better than the second mock exam.

"Zeng Cheng, Teacher Liu and I agree in principle to you having lunch with Yu Baiwei, but that's all. If there's any hint of a romantic relationship—"

Ms. Ye paused at this point.

"You're a smart kid, you don't need your teacher to spell everything out for you, do you?"

Zeng Cheng quickly nodded to indicate that he understood.

To be honest, he never intended to date Yu Baiwei.

After evening self-study ended, Zeng Cheng grabbed Li Xingzhi and walked quickly toward the school gate. Two minutes later, they met Yu Baiwei.

Yu Baiwei looked somewhat thinner than she had a few days ago.

As the saying goes, some things are either never meant to be, or once you have them, you can't just suddenly lose them.

She had gotten used to having lunch with Zeng Cheng every day, and then going to the grove to discuss problems and chat. Suddenly being separated by Liu Jifen cut off her emotional support, and naturally she lost her appetite.

"Zeng, were you waiting for me?"

"Of course—does your hand hurt?"

Yu Baiwei's expression turned bewildered.

Zeng Cheng speaks too erratically, and she often can't keep up with his pace.

"When I went up to speak, you applauded me enthusiastically, didn't you? I saw it very clearly from the stage..." Zeng Cheng said with a smile. "In such a big experimental class, you were the only one who applauded me. Yu, I was really touched by you. But don't think too much about it. I will not repay you with my body."

Yu Baiwei's cheeks flushed instantly.

"Zeng Cheng, you must have seen wrong. I didn't applaud you!"

"Okay, okay, I misread it—" Zeng Cheng knew that this girl was the type who was all talk and no action, and also thin-skinned, so he smoothly changed the subject. "By the way, I have something to tell you. I've already won over your class's teacher, Ms. Liu, which means we can have lunch together again tomorrow."

"Um, you really won over our teacher Liu?"

"Why would I lie to you—aren't you happy?"

No.

Yu Baiwei tried her best to keep her oval face straight.

"It's okay, I'm super happy anyway, I can totally share half with you. Well then... see you at the cafeteria tomorrow at noon."

As Zeng Cheng spoke, he waved goodbye to Yu Baiwei.

As Zeng Cheng's tall figure gradually disappeared into the night, Yu Baiwei's crescent-shaped eyes, which were beautiful even though they were ruthless, clearly showed a spark of joy.

"snort--"

In the dim light of the streetlamp, she raised her fair chin and said in a very soft voice, "I don't need your happiness, I have my own!"