Chapter Sixty-Four: I Want to Be the Class President!

Chapter Sixty-Four: I Want to Be the Class President!

He thought that by speaking about the matter in a joking tone, he had closed off Tang Chong's path to the stage. Ever since Tang Chong stepped forward, Lu Yifei knew things had taken a turn for the worse; he had made a fatal mistake. When Li Qiang asked for Tang Chong's opinion, he should never have spoken up—no matter what. Doing so gave the impression that he was making decisions for Tang Chong, acting as his proxy, even though Tang Chong had indeed told him he would relinquish the stage.

He himself did not understand why he did that. When Li Qiang questioned Tang Chong, his heart leapt into his throat, and without giving himself any time to think, he spoke. He was afraid—afraid Tang Chong would be persuaded by Li Qiang, afraid he would stand up, afraid he would become class president. And the class presidency was only a springboard, a launching point to leap even higher.

Sure enough, Tang Chong's words were filled with a cutting edge. Though he didn't specify whom he was warning, his eyes were locked on Lu Yifei, and everyone in the class knew he was referring to him. Being stared at with such a fierce gaze, Lu Yifei felt goosebumps ripple across his skin. His body grew cold and his skin taut, as though parched and overly dry.

"Gulp—" He swallowed hard, thinking he certainly needed to hydrate.

Tang Chong's gaze was fixed on a certain corner of the room, his face adorned with a smile, yet that smile made no one feel warm or welcome.

"In this world, only one person can make decisions for me," Tang Chong said. "I'm sorry," he waved his finger dismissively, "that person is not you."

"My name is Tang Chong. I want to be the class president."

With that, Tang Chong strode off the stage.

For a moment, silence reigned. Then, led by someone unknown, the classroom erupted into thunderous applause. Some screamed, others pounded their desks with their fists. Dominant. Powerful. So cool it made one want to cry.

Young people idolize heroes and yearn to become heroes themselves. Now, such a formidable figure had appeared, perfectly fulfilling their fantasies. How could they not support the hero in their hearts?

Lu Yifei's face was ashen, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails pierced his flesh without him noticing.

Li Qiang gave Tang Chong a surprised look, feeling somewhat at a loss. This Tang Chong—why was his aggressiveness so fierce?

"Is there anyone else who wants to run for class president?" Li Qiang asked with a smile.

No one replied.

"No one else? If that's the case, we'll proceed to voting," Li Qiang said, still smiling.

He left briefly, returning with two student leaders from the department. One was a man whom Tang Chong recognized—it was "Master" Wang Aiguo, who had welcomed him when he first arrived at the university.

Li Qiang pointed at Wang Aiguo and the female student, saying, "Li Lu is the head of the Department of Student Affairs, and Wang Aiguo is the head of the Disciplinary Committee. Li Lu will call out the votes, Wang Aiguo will tally them, and I will supervise the process. Any objections?"

"No objections," everyone answered in unison.

Li Qiang smiled. "Good. The names of all candidates and their respective positions are written on the blackboard. Please take out your paper and pen and write down the name of the person you support—this is a secret ballot. I will collect the ballots shortly."

Some students were prepared, having brought paper and pens; others, empty-handed, borrowed from their classmates.

In no time, everyone had filled in their choices for the various positions. Li Qiang collected the ballots and handed them to Li Lu.

Li Lu took the ballots and began announcing the votes. Master Wang Aiguo cleaned the blackboard and wrote down the name of each person who received votes. If someone got multiple votes, he marked tally marks next to their name.

Forty ballots were quickly read, and the results were astonishing. Tang Chong received thirty-six votes. That meant out of forty students, only four did not choose him for class president.

A long row of tally marks trailed his name, as if each mark was a carnivorous beast, slowly devouring Lu Yifei's flesh. Or perhaps a series of ghastly faces, grinning coldly at him.

Wang Aiguo stared at Tang Chong in amazement, thinking that his own class president had received twenty-four votes, which was already surprising. In the history of elections at South University, apart from one instance of unanimous support, Tang Chong’s vote count was the most staggering.

The runner-up was Jiao Nanxin, who ran for the position of Arts Committee member and received twenty-seven votes. Though she hadn't stood out during military training and many male students barely knew her, her beauty made the boys eager to select a pretty girl as the class's image ambassador.

Hua Ming ran for Sports Committee member and got sixteen votes—still higher than other candidates, likely due to his campaign slogan of being "tough-skinned and able to handle heavy work," which resonated with everyone.

Lu Yifei received an embarrassingly low number of votes, so negligible it was easily ignored.

He had run for class president, which meant that once everyone had chosen Tang Chong, they couldn’t vote for him.

"Let’s give a warm round of applause for our newly elected committee members," Li Qiang said, leading the applause.

Everyone greeted the successful candidates with enthusiastic applause. Whether they succeeded or failed, it was a valuable opportunity for growth.

At least, they had stood on the stage.

Li Qiang called on over a dozen male students to accompany him to the academic office to collect textbooks, while the rest waited in the classroom.

"Tang Chong, congratulations!"

"Class President, are you going to treat us?"

"Class President, one of those thirty-six votes was mine—no slogan, just a warning. Damn, that was so badass. After hearing that, my blood was boiling and I almost slammed my hand on the desk."

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Everyone sincerely offered their congratulations to Tang Chong, and he smiled, blending in with the group.

Hua Ming watched Tang Chong's expression, grinning widely from the back. Once the others had finished their congratulations, he rushed forward, threw his arm around Tang Chong’s shoulders, and said, "Do you know why all the girls voted for you? Because they all know you and I are close—"

Talented people abound in prison, but Tang Chong had never met anyone as shameless as Hua Ming.

Back in the dormitory, Liang Tao and Li Yu, upon hearing that Tang Chong had become class president, celebrated with him.

Liang Tao patted his chest and declared, "Today is a day worth celebrating. Come on—the campus restaurant is on me."

Ever since Tang Chong accepted Liang Tao’s friendship, Liang Tao, the living LV billboard, always took care of the bill when they dined out.

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Pop—

Pop—

Pop—

On the third tennis court, a graceful figure was swinging a racket with force.

She was a beautiful girl—so beautiful that no concrete words or sentences could capture all her qualities. She wore white athletic shorts and a red collared T-shirt. On her feet were white sneakers, and in her hands, a tennis racket, with which she fiercely struck balls rebounding from the wall—

Whoosh—

She missed a shot. The tennis ball zipped past her, flying behind.

Pop.

A sound of impact came from behind.

The girl turned and saw a tall, slender boy with glasses walking toward her, holding a tennis ball—the very one she had just missed.

She didn’t seem at all surprised and said, "We meet again. Mingli Lake, the third floor of the Sixth Cafeteria’s stir-fry section, the third floor’s third reading room in the library, and now here—you’ll probably say these are all coincidences, right?"

"It’s a coincidence," Tang Chong replied with a smile. He just happened to have read Tang Xin’s diary.

"That answer is really disappointing," Su Shan said. "If you could give me a different answer, you’d score a lot more points."

"But I can’t deceive you," Tang Chong answered seriously.

Su Shan smiled sweetly, saying, "That’s a good line."

Tang Chong tossed the tennis ball back to her. "Shall I play a couple of games with you?"

"Sure. Loser treats the winner to a late-night snack," Su Shan agreed briskly.

"Is that an invitation?" Tang Chong adjusted his glasses, which were so large they were about to slip off.

Su Shan wiped sweat from her forehead, then stood quietly, watching Tang Chong. She shook her head and said, "You’re not my type."

"That’s a real blow. All my efforts to bump into you were wasted," Tang Chong joked, but felt no disappointment—he’d seen Su Shan’s standards for a boyfriend in Tang Xin’s diary.

He wasn’t what she wanted, nor did he intend to change for her.

"Do you have a racket?" Su Shan asked.

"No," Tang Chong said, pointing to another racket set aside. "Could I borrow it?"

Su Shan’s expression dimmed. "That racket belongs to a very good friend of mine. She’s away for a while, due to some matters—"

Tang Chong crouched down and pulled the racket from the bag, gently stroking it.

It was Tang Xin’s racket. Every Monday night at eight, she and Su Shan used to play tennis on the third court for an hour. The third tennis court wasn’t open to the public, but Su Shan had the key.

"I’ll play with you," Tang Chong said, smiling. "Until she comes back."

Looking at Tang Chong’s gentle smile, Su Shan felt a strange sense of familiarity.

She was guarded with everyone, yet this man in front of her made her inexplicably feel at ease.