Student Council Selection
The student council selection notice was soon officially posted on the bulletin board. The process included a preliminary round (document review) and a final round (interview and presentation).
Although Lin Li felt a chill run down her spine at the thought of giving a speech, the idea of "working" with Tong Yao in the student council made her grit her teeth and fill out the application form, racking her brains to "write" a self-introduction.
On the day he submitted his application, he happened to run into Tong Yao coming out of the teacher's office in the hallway.
"Hey, Tong Yao!" He grinned and leaned over, waving the application form in his hand. "I've also signed up for the student council. We'll be colleagues from now on!"
Tong Yao raised an eyebrow in surprise: "You? Has the sun risen in the west? Don't you hate this kind of thing the most?"
In the third year of junior high, Lin Liqiang, who had been forced to become the physics class representative, was dismissed by the teacher after only one semester because he did nothing.
"For... uh, for training myself!" Lin Li changed her mind at the last minute, touching her nose, her ears turning slightly red, "...and besides, going in means I can have meetings with you and stuff, isn't that great?"
Tong Yao looked at his slightly red ears and his forced serious expression, and found it a little funny, but she still looked disgusted: "Finish writing your application form first, or you'll be embarrassed if you get rejected in the first round."
"Don't underestimate me!" Lin Li snorted defiantly. "I'm sure I'll make it to the second round!"
"See you in the re-examination then." Tong Yao waved her hand, picked up her homework and left, but as she turned around, a slight smile crept onto her lips.
Watching her departing figure, Lin Li felt an unprecedented surge of fighting spirit. He returned to the classroom, took out the crookedly written application form, and for the first time in his life, began to revise and rewrite it with utmost seriousness.
All of this was observed silently by Luo Yan, who was standing nearby.
She watched Lin Li become serious because of Tong Yao's words, and watched his natural and intimate attitude when he talked to Tong Yao. Her heart felt like it was being repeatedly rubbed, sour and painful.
She silently took out the application form she had prepared beforehand from her schoolbag. The handwriting was neat and the content was so detailed that it was almost rigid. Her fingertips turned slightly white from the pressure.
The results of the first round of preliminary tests were announced, and both Lin Li and Luo Yan successfully advanced to the second round.
The second round of interviews was scheduled for Friday afternoon in the school's multimedia lecture hall. Each class had twenty to thirty candidates participating in the interviews, and each candidate was required to give a three-minute presentation on stage.
The classroom was filled with candidates, several teachers serving as judges, and current student council officers.
Tong Yao, as a pre-selected member, also sat next to the judges' panel to take notes. Lin Li saw her as soon as he entered, and his initial nervousness subsided slightly. He winked at her. Tong Yao returned his gaze expressionlessly, but her eyes held a subtle hint of encouragement.
Luo Yan sat next to Lin Li, her fingers icy cold as she tightly gripped the prepared speech.
Her gaze kept glancing at Lin Li before quickly shifting away. When her eyes swept across the judges' panel and she saw Tong Yao and Zhou Mingfang sitting together, talking in hushed tones, a mix of inferiority and jealousy welled up inside her again.
Why can they sit there so calmly, as if they were born to belong in that glamorous position? They already have good looks, so why are their grades better than hers?
The order of the speeches was determined by drawing lots. Lin Li drew a seat towards the back of the middle, while Luo Yan was a few seats ahead of him.
One by one, students went up on stage. Some spoke eloquently and confidently; others were nervous and stumbled over their words, sweating profusely. Soon it was Luo Yan's turn.
She took a deep breath and walked onto the podium. The spotlight shone on her face, making her feel a little dizzy.
She began to read the prepared text verbatim, her voice flat and emotionless, her eyes fixed on the speech, avoiding eye contact with anyone in the audience.
She could sense the subtle impatience and whispers from the audience, which made her even more nervous. Her speaking speed increased unconsciously, almost as if she were reciting a memorized speech. She nervously skipped over the few sentences she had prepared to express her personal thoughts.
Finally, the ordeal ended, and she practically fled the stage. When she sat back down, her back was soaked with cold sweat. She stole a glance at Lin Li next to her and saw that he was frowning, his lips moving slightly, seemingly also nervously reciting his own script, completely oblivious to her disheveled state.
This relieved her, but a deeper sense of loss welled up within her. In his eyes, she was always transparent and insignificant.
After a few more people passed by, it was Lin Li's turn.
He stood up, took a deep breath, and walked to the center of the stage. The sea of eyes below made his scalp tingle, and he subconsciously looked at Tong Yao.
Tong Yao was also looking at him, her eyes calm and revealing no emotion, but for some reason, she made him feel inexplicably calmer.
He looked down at the densely written manuscript in his hand, then suddenly folded it in half and stuffed it into his pocket.
He abandoned his prepared, formal, and official speech, cleared his throat, and began to speak, his voice carrying a youthful clarity mixed with a slight hoarseness due to nervousness:
"Hello everyone, teachers and classmates. I am Lin Li from Class 5, Grade 11."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the audience with a hint of resigned honesty.
"I know I may not be the top student academically, nor the most talkative. I can be quite playful and childish at times."
He scratched his head and smiled a little embarrassedly, revealing his little tiger tooth, which looked particularly real. "Our homeroom teacher probably had a lot of headaches because I slept in class or secretly ran back to the classroom to turn on the air conditioner."
A soft chuckle rippled through the audience, lightening the atmosphere considerably. Even the serious-looking teachers twitched their lips slightly.
“But,” Lin Li’s tone shifted, her eyes becoming serious, “I want to join the student council, not because I think it’s so great, but because I feel it might be a place where I can really do something small for everyone.”
"For example, could you suggest that the cafeteria ladies not always precisely shake off the last piece of braised pork when serving the food? Or, could the air conditioning time after PE class be extended by ten minutes, considering how much heatstroke we're about to get? And could the library stock more of the latest comics and novels that we really love to read?"
He talked about the most specific, trivial, and even somewhat "unseemly" things around him, but they resonated with many students in the audience, and some even whispered their agreement.
"That's right, that's right."
“I know these ideas may be a bit naive and not very ‘highbrow’.”
Lin Li smiled, her eyes clear. "But I feel that the student council shouldn't just be a showcase for outstanding students, but also a mouthpiece for all of us ordinary students. If I can join, I'm willing to be the errand runner, the messenger, to help everyone bring these small voices in. Maybe I can't do much, but I will listen carefully and try my best. Thank you everyone!"
He didn't use fancy words or empty slogans, only simple sincerity and a touch of youthful impetuosity and enthusiasm. He bowed and stepped down from the podium.
The classroom fell silent for a moment, then erupted in even more enthusiastic and sincere applause than before.
Tong Yao watched him walk down from the stage. There was still a fine sweat on his forehead from nervousness, but his eyes were bright and sparkling, as if he had accomplished something great.
She lowered her head and gently made a small checkmark next to Lin Li's name in the notebook. That idiot… sometimes, his directness is so irresistible.
Luo Yan sat below, listening to the heartfelt applause around her, and watching Lin Li on stage radiate a kind of dazzling light that she had never seen before, attracting everyone. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings.
He was so natural, so dazzling, that he easily won the attention and recognition she craved but could never obtain.
Her meticulously prepared yet poorly executed speech seemed utterly ridiculous in comparison to his. The stark contrast was like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing all her previous excitement and anticipation, leaving only boundless inferiority, bitterness, and… a quietly growing resentment. Why could he always get everything so easily?
After the presentations, the judges deliberated. The wait for the results felt exceptionally long.
Lin Li leaned closer to Tong Yao and whispered, "Hey, how did I do?"
Tong Yao didn't even look up, her pen still moving: "So-so."
"Just so-so?" Lin Li muttered discontentedly, "The applause was clearly very enthusiastic!"
"You can tell it's all made up just by listening to it."
"..." Lin Li was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it. Tong Yao knew him well; he had indeed made it up. He hadn't thought that much about it at all, so he could only pace anxiously in place.
Finally, Huo Li, the grade director, stood up with the results in hand.
"After comprehensive evaluation by the judging panel, taking into account the preliminary test scores and the performance in the final test, the list of students from Class 5, Grade 11 who have been selected for the Student Council is now announced—"
Everyone held their breath.
"—Lin Li, classmate."
Lin Li breathed a sigh of relief, a bright smile instantly spreading across her face. She couldn't help but clench her fist and proudly raised her eyebrows at Tong Yao.
Tong Yao finally raised her head, looked at him, and her eyes curved into a barely perceptible smile.
Huo Li paused for a moment, then read out the second name.
Luo Yan's heart leaped into her throat, her nails digging deep into her palms, almost drawing blood. She stared intently at the director's mouth.
"—Luo Yan."
The moment her name was announced, Luo Yan nearly collapsed. She was chosen! She really was chosen along with Lin Li!
Overwhelmed with joy, she dispelled the previous gloom and instinctively turned her head to look at Lin Li, wanting to share the excitement of this moment.
But she saw the person she wanted to share her joy with standing at the door, occasionally showing off his success to his classmates who were watching the excitement outside. He didn't even turn around to look at her.
The initial joy was instantly dampened by the cold reality. Even standing on the same platform, an invisible chasm still separated them.
Her joy was shared by no one.
On the day the student union department assignment results were announced, Lin Li looked like a wilted eggplant.
Tong Yao and Zhou Mingfang were directly admitted to the presidium based on their outstanding abilities and grades, and were responsible for the overall leadership and decision-making of the student union, and coordinating the work of various departments.
Lin Li and Luo Yan were assigned to the Discipline Department, with their specific task being to check the morning exercises.
Lin Li lamented his fate—the dragon-slaying youth had become the evil dragon himself.
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