Freshman Ceremony
During the two-day rest period, Zhi Ying didn't waste time procrastinating; instead, she locked herself in her dormitory to write the representative speech.
During this period, the grade director also called to ask how the speech was going.
"Teacher, I'm not very good at writing," Zhi Ying explained as she was indeed having a hard time writing the speech and thought it was better to be honest.
"Is that so..." The grade director pondered for a moment, "How about you search the Internet for some sample essays and use them for some inspiration?"
"Oh." Zhi Ying thought about it and felt that she could directly extract it from the Internet.
The grade director didn't think much about it. The speech was just a formality anyways.
The significance of Zhi Ying, the provincial champion, standing on the stage was more prominent than the content of her speech!
Zhi Ying had just put down her phone when another message came.
It was her neighbor that was studying in the country of Miradonia.
[Just found a classmate with this and took about ten pages of pictures.]
Immediately after that, Zhi Ying's phone vibrated more than a dozen times in a row, and the pictures were sent over.
It was all math.
Zhi Ying had no teacher and relied on self-study. It was a bit difficult to fully understand these concepts.
However, it was a huge temptation for her that could make her forget everything around her.
Zhi Ying had a hard time just taking one glance at it before she wrote part of the speech. In the end, she downloaded a sample essay on her phone, ran to print it, and finally indulged in advanced mathematics.
For two days, Zhi Ying was absorbed in the topic and she was very spirited. However, as soon as she had to turn off the lights and head to bed, she would become dispirited.
But since she was alone, Zhi Ying could continue calculating in her mind with her phone.
In a blink of an eye, it was Monday. Zhi Ying got up early in the morning, washed up, and changed into her school uniform.
...Then she started to calculate the computations again.
The freshman ceremony required the freshmen to head back to their classroom to gather first, and Zhi Ying hurried there again like last time.
"Lao Han will arrive in a minute." Han Jiaojiao turned around, "Ying Ying, don't you live on campus, why are you so late?"
"She is not afraid of being late exactly because she lives on campus." Zhao Qian had also hurried over just now. His home was not far from the school either.
A minute later, Lao Han arrived. He asked the class monitor to call names for roll call, and everyone walked downstairs together.
Before leaving, Lao Han announced with a serious face: "If you have a phone, put it in the drawer. You are not allowed to take it to the ceremony. Whoever is caught by me will find themself in serious trouble."
Zhi Ying's phone was left in her dormitory, and as soon as Lao Han's words fell, she walked out of the classroom and followed the crowd.
The classrooms of Class One and Class Two were opposite each other. When they came out, they naturally ran into each other.
Jiang Wei was once again pushed behind Zhi Ying, and he noticed a little dwarf beside her.
It's not that Jiang Wei discriminates against people of low height, but Han Jiaojiao's movements were too... lively.
She was much shorter than Zhi Ying and acted like an average southern girl. She was hugging Zhi Ying, bouncing up and down in the crowded corridor.
"My speech!" Zhi Ying suddenly remembered something.
Jiang Wei followed everyone's footsteps down the stairs slowly, watching Zhi Ying reach out and pat herself all over.
Zhi Ying didn't find the printed paper even after looking for a while, prompting her to close her eyes and try to recall her speech.
'I can't remember anything,' she thought, in disbelief.
It wasn't surprising, though, as she didn't have time to even glance at the printed paper, let alone read it.
She clearly remembered that she brought the folded piece of paper that was on the table.
Jiang Wei looked down at his feet and saw nothing. Checking back again, he noticed a piece of A4 paper that was about to die at the feet of a classmate.
"Please give way." Jiang Wei paused and picked up the A4 paper.
Jiang Wei poked Zhi Ying's back again: "Is this yours?"
Zhi Ying looked back and saw the familiar paper, and couldn't help but sigh in relief: "Thank you."
Zhi Ying was tall but thin, so both military training uniforms and school uniforms were too big for her. The pockets were loose and it was easy to drop things.
Han Jiaojiao grabbed Zhi Ying's arm, and her eyes were quietly focused on Jiang Wei. This was the third time she saw Jiang Wei talking to Zhi Ying.
Han Jiaojiao had a strange sense of pride. Classmate Jiang Wei didn't talk to people very much, especially girls. But he talked to Zhi Ying two times, although both times it was because Zhi Ying dropped something.
But that's enough!
Zhi Ying was her friend, so him talking to Zhi Ying, rounding up basically means that he was talking to herself!
Afraid of losing the speech again, Zhi Ying held onto the piece of paper tightly the entire way.
"Line up, line up quickly!" The class president shouted as they got there.
The students in Class Two were all consciously arranged according to height, but it was a lot noisier compared to the first time when they had to line up. Everyone had gotten to know each other more or less.
"Hello, hello!" There was a teacher testing the mic on the rostrum, and the students below quickly became quiet.
In order to organize the freshman ceremony, No. 1 High School deliberately rented several cages of pigeons.
Right after the principal's speech ended, fireworks, firecrackers, and pigeons were set off.
The flashy display wasn't for the principal but for the students watching..
Sure enough, the students were very excited when they saw the pigeons flap their wings to soar in the sky.
Zhi Ying's speech was at the very end, and the freshmen of the school were also looking forward to seeing what the provincial champion would look like. Therefore, an hour and a half later, when the grade director finally announced that Zhi Ying was going to begin her speech, the students below all applauded enthusiastically.
Standing on the rostrum, looking at the sea of pixelated faces below, Zhi Ying was not nervous. She couldn't see them anyways.
She could return to the classroom earlier if she finished reading it earlier. She had copied a question from her phone this morning, and she would calculate it when she had time.
Opening the slightly crumpled A4 paper, Zhi Ying stood at the microphone. She was full of momentum and looked very calm.
However, the moment she saw the content on the paper, Zhi Ying wanted to faint.
There was only a paragraph of smudged handwriting on it. It wasn't the paper she had printed out at all!
She didn't have time to read the printed content, and now she doesn't even know a word to say!
Zhi Ying once again looked at the pixelated faces below the podium, but this time nervousness took hold.
In the end, she just put on a confident face and read on.
"Good morning, dear teachers and students! In the golden autumn of September, in the lovely No. 1 High School, we welcome our freshmen, everyone…"
She had only written this part.
Zhi Ying scanned the lined-up students up and down, despair taking hold of her heart.
The students below all looked up at the provincial champion, waiting for her to say something motivating.
Finally, Zhi Ying spoke up.