Chapter 89: Composing a poem. (1/2)
Having kicked up a row as they walked to their destination, it was inevitable that they were late when they reached their classroom. Kang Shengzhe was indolent and without a care as per usual whereas Lian Chulin was thin-skinned, and he blushed as they stood in front of the class. However, on the account that they were freshmen that just entered the school, the person in-charge of their class was good tempered, and he did not even reprimand them before he allowed them to take their seats.
The whole class was present.
Self-introductions were inextricably linked with the first class meeting that freshmen had when they first entered the school, and it took a full thirty minutes out of an hour before they got through all the introductions from the first person on the leftmost row to the last person in the rightmost row. The people who received the most attention in the class was still the pair Kang Shengzhe and Liang Chulin; one, because they had come in late and they were chided by the class teacher for a few seconds early on, and two, because their appearances were too eye-catching and they were considered the most outstanding amongst all the boys in their class ranks.
Ever since they were streamlined in high school, the number of boys in liberal arts classes were comparatively smaller, and that situation had not changed since high school. When the class was surveyed, it was essentially a sea of girls, and including Kang Shengzhe and Liang Chulin, there were only five to six boys huddled at the corner of their class, which made them rare and precious.
The class meeting roughly took forty or so minutes, and their class teacher allowed them to disperse. However, in spite of the allowance, the girls in the class did not leave and they remained where they were, unmoving, as they deliberately glanced in Kang Shengzhe’s direction. Kang Shengzhe was desensitised to the gazes of others and he got up to leave. It was then that some courageous and bold girls gathered around him and took the initiative to speak.
“You’re Kang Shengzhe right? Your face value is really high even from close up. Did you know, the people from the other classes have already given you a nickname when you entered the school? You’re called the Little Giant of the Liberal Arts College. “
Kang Shengzhe gave a few lazy responses, completely without the intention to carry the conversation. The girls were not too entangled about it, and they looked left and right albeit mysteriously, as if they were afraid of being overheard. They whispered, “Comrade Shengzhe, all of the girls have unanimously decided to give our votes to you, not only because we’re your classmates but also because we need to fight for the glory of our Liberal Arts College.”
Kang Shengzhe was puzzled, and Liang Chulin poked his head out from the side and said: “Ah, what vote?”
The girl said strangely, “You don’t know?”
Lost, Liang Chulin shook his head. His head had been thrown into a disorder from Kang Shengzhe suddenly coming out of the closet to him, and he finally managed to regain his spirit after he caught a whiff of gossip. Curious and excited, he said, “I don’t know, I don’t know, what is it, tell me more about it.”
“There’s nothing much to say, really, you’ll understand it once you see the discussion on A University’s web forum. Right, the voting post is right at the top, you can’t miss it.”
Liang Chulin was very interested and he immediately logged into the web forum to take a look. The web forum quickly refreshed itself upon entry, and he found the relevant words for the voting post and entered it. His eyes skimmed over the contents and he quickly grasped the situation.
It was unknown as to who had initiated it, but the scope involved the entire school since everyone could participate by casting a vote. The theme of the vote was as such: The most popular boy in A University.
From top to bottom, a total of eighteen boys were chosen, and apart from their photos, names and faculty, the rest of their details were not shown. Liang Chulin scanned through them briskly, and he saw that twelve of them were school seniors while the remaining six were freshmen in their first year.
“I heard that this voting only started this year and it had never been hosted prior to this, and its mainly because the quality of this year’s freshmen is especially high, to the extent where six of them entered the rankings. Look, Kang Shengzhe is inside.”
Liang Chulin pulled up the photo, and sure enough, the photo of the year one freshman Kang Shengzhe appeared. The photo that was actually being used for display was an one-inch head shot that was typically used for formalities, and it was crude as hell. However, it could not restraint the overly high face value; even with the blue background and exaggerated head, he still looked good.
Liang Chulin gave his mobile phone to Kang Shengzhe in spite of the disinterest that was apparent on his face. In his heart, he scolded him, and scrolled down again, only to unexpectedly see that he had been chosen as a freshman candidate as well.
Eh, he was also selected.
His mood brightened briefly before his eyes turned dark again. Huffing, he said, “Wasn’t I selected as well, why would you vote for him instead of me?”
The girls blinked at each other before they smiled sincerely: “This is not a fierce competition; in order to refrain from internal depletion, we have to push the person with the highest chances so that our Liberal Arts College has greater hope.”
Liang Chulin stiffened for a moment, annoyed, but he had no way of refuting it. As he compared his own photograph to Kang Shengzhe’s typical, listless face, a deep sense of frustration arose within him.
How much did he donate to the author! Why is his painting style so much better than mine!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Then, a thought suddenly hit him as he remembered You Liangxing; if they had to talk about who was the most popular in A University, was a vote even necessary? It was definitely Brother Liang Liang!
Liang Chulin flipped through the year three candidates in a hurry and as he scrolled through each one, he indeed found You Liangxing’s name. His face glowed with jubilation as he happily said, “That’s what I thought, how could there be no Brother Liang Liang!”
Just as his words fell, the phone in his hands vanished into thin air. Eyes akin to torches, Kang Shengzhe stared at the screen as if he was looking at a great treasure. Unfortunately for Kang Shengzhe, there was no picture of You Liangxing, and his interest quickly ebbed.
Eighteen candidates in the competition, each with their own accompanying image – ranging from either a selfie, an edited beauty photo or a head shot like Kang Shengzhe – except You Liangxing who had no picture at all. Instead, only these simple words were attached to him: Faculty of Economic Management You Liangxing.
Liang Chulin scratched his head when he noticed the problem, “Hey, why is a photo missing for Brother Liang Liang?”
The girls were all freshmen and they had no recognition of You Liangxing. Before this, they were only excited about the voting because their own classmate had been chosen, but now that Kang Shengzhe and Liang Chulin had brought their attention to it, they could not help but feel strange. “That’s true, why doesn’t he have a photo?”
The group of girls took out their phones to open the post and swiped down, only to see the responses that a lot of people had left.
【This has the Faculty of Economic Management’s writing all over it. I have to ask, aren’t they amazing?】
【That’s right, our You-xuezhang is slated to win, no photo necessary. Even his name is more handsome than other people’s faces.】
【Fangirl who has been obsessed with You-xuezhang’s face for two years is walking through, this vote of mine was made for You-xuezhang.】
【The Faculty of Economic Management is more pretentious than You-xuezhang himself hahahahaha, you have my sincere admiration.】
【Honestly speaking, is there even a need to show You-xuezhang’s photo? Everyone will definitely vote for him.】
Because the group of girls had just enrolled into the school, they did not understand the previous situation, and their scrolling only left them with a face full of bafflement. In fact, the entire freshmen cohort had the same thoughts save a few minor differences, and they did not spare a glance for that individual called ‘You-xuezhang’ who did not even have a photo. Thus, they had collectively decided to vote for the freshmen from their own respective faculties.
“Forget it, we came over to cheer Kang Shengzhe on. Kang Shengzhe, don’t worry, we’ll definitely vote for once.”
After they finished speaking, they walked away, giggling. Only Kang Shengzhe was still focused on his phone and he asked: “Why can’t I see the votes? Has the voting opened yet?”
Liang Chulin scrutinised it for a brief moment before he replied, “The voting ends tomorrow night, and the specific number of votes will not be revealed until the deadline of the voting has passed.”
Kang Shengzhe said, “Oh.”
Although Liang Chulin was speaking, his heart still felt a touch displeased. Despite trying to shove down his words for a long time, he still spoke in the end. “I think I’m far cuter than you, why did they have to choose you?”
Kang Shengzhe hurriedly said: “Shh—”
His expression was grave, and his gaze was deep, giving the impression that he had something important to say. Liang Chulin subconsciously closed his mouth, waiting for Kang Shengzhe to speak with the greatest care.
Kang Shengzhe remained silent for two seconds. Then, out of the blue, he opened his mouth and yawned.