Chapter 131: Chapter 92: Chen Yuan’s Speech, the Female Students Go Completely Wild (Part 1)

“Since I’m the first one up, I’ll try to get things off to a good start for the underclassmen and upperclassmen who follow. But if I don’t manage to, don’t blame me—this is as good as I get.”

Song Lin’s first sentence on stage drew a round of laughter. He wasn’t going for a serious, solemn approach; instead, he opted for an interactive one.

This was a refreshing change for the teachers, who had already listened to a dozen or so speeches, and the students felt the same way.

It was effective—a clever little trick on his part.

But after that one interactive line, he had to get serious with his speech. Otherwise, he’d leave the teachers with a frivolous impression.

He was clearly aware of this. His expression turned serious, and he began his formal speech.

“To be honest, ever since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of being a host on a stage like this. Unfortunately, I never got the chance. I’m so grateful to the faculty leaders and the members of the Arts Department for creating this platform… for giving me the opportunity to experience this.”

On stage, Song Lin was articulate and his emotions seemed genuine. It was obvious he had prepared thoroughly.

This immediately made Chen Yuan sit up and listen seriously.

’His casual demeanor is just a front. This Senior Brother Song is more cunning than he looks. He’s easing the audience in, guiding their emotions in a peculiar way.’

The auditorium had fallen silent as every student listened intently to the speech.

Song Lin was wearing a simple blazer with casual, wide-leg trousers and a pair of sneakers. He wasn’t bad-looking, but his eyes were set at slightly different heights, making one appear larger than the other.

Other than that, his features were fairly sharp.

He had the typical look of someone from northern China.

You could call him a fairer-skinned version of Quan Yafeng, only a bit taller and with a more prominent nose.

’If Yafeng were half as smooth a talker, he definitely wouldn’t still be single… From any angle, Yafeng is a great guy: he doesn’t smoke, isn’t a heavy drinker, loves sports, and is reliable.’

’His grades aren’t bad, he’s kind-hearted, and he has an easygoing personality.’

’With qualities like that, he shouldn’t have any problems, yet he strikes out every time he pursues a girl.’

’He checks most of the boxes on any girl’s list, if not all of them. The only reason he’s still single is because he isn’t a smooth-talker who knows how to sweet-talk a girl.’

’I guess players are just more popular…’

’All that talk about standards is useless. Girls just like guys who can sweet-talk them.’

’But they never consider that a guy who knows how to sweet-talk one girl is probably sweet-talking others too. They go around playing with people’s feelings, and the moment they’re exposed, they vanish.’

’The girl who got hurt ends up cursing, “All men are trash!” The player just laughs it off, while a reliable guy like Quan Yafeng is left completely bewildered.’

’”How are all men trash?”’

’He wouldn’t even know how to defend himself, since he didn’t do anything wrong.’

’And so the misunderstanding deepens.’

’”Reliable” has practically become a derogatory term.’

In the audience, Quan Yafeng watched Song Lin’s speech with a look of envy. Now he understood why so many of the younger girls fell for him.

’So that’s what a good talker sounds like.’

…

A short while later, the speech concluded. Song Lin bowed to the crowd, and applause immediately erupted.

Quite a few girls in the audience were moved.

Personal character aside, the speech was of a certain caliber. It really had gotten things off to a good start.

However, many other girls simply pursed their lips in disdain. Most of them were upperclasswomen who knew exactly what kind of person Song Lin was. No matter how elegant his speech, to them, it was just hot air.

’It was a sign of respect that they weren’t plugging their ears!’

’Votes?’

’No way. We’re saving them for the cute underclassmen. Song Lin can go crawl back into his cesspool!’

In the front row, the teachers began giving their scores.

Without any hesitation, Jiang Yao gave him an even lower score than she had given Liu Tingyue—a mere five votes.

’She truly despised the sleazy vibe that clung to this student. Everything from his gestures to the content of his speech was unbearably tacky. His feigned sincerity made it impossible to feel anything but disgust.’

’Students should act like students. Even if they’re shy, green, or make a few mistakes, at least their attitude is genuine.’

’But this Song Lin had none of that student-like air; he was more like a pot-bellied, middle-aged man.’

’To lose that essence at the most beautiful, youthful time of one’s life… you probably never get a second chance to have it back.’

’In circles of wealthy older women, many “aunties” have a particular taste for male students. They’d willingly spend any amount of money just for that taste of youthful innocence… the way they blush bright red after the slightest bit of teasing; the way they don’t know how to refuse a drink and try to hold their liquor, only for their cheeks to flush crimson. Tsk! It makes you want to just eat them up.’

’The best kind are the ones from poor families who are a little vain—the ones who just want to earn enough money to live a normal college life like everyone else.’

’Wealthy women love toying with that type.’

’So, acting all worldly and mature when you should be vibrant and young is the wrong move.’

Song Lin watched everyone vote, his heart filled with joy. He felt he had performed very well this time and that his score would be high. He walked off the stage, triumphant.

Then, the second male contestant took the stage.

The atmosphere in the auditorium grew more and more heated. The event’s professionalism and entertainment value surpassed everyone’s expectations. Even the crowd of onlookers outside was watching with rapt attention, some even texting their friends to come over.

Before long, the area outside was completely packed, without an inch of room to squeeze through.

Students who didn’t know what was going on saw the crowd and, assuming something major had happened, flocked over to see the commotion.

“This second guy is a freshman, just like us?”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect another freshman to be competing besides Chen Yuan.”

“But compared to Senior Brother Song, this guy’s performance is a little lacking. I don’t think he stands a chance.”

The three of them chattered away, feeling nervous on Chen Yuan’s behalf.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuan, the actual contestant, looked perfectly calm. He even pulled out his phone to play with from time to time, looking completely unconcerned.

“Chen Yuan, what did you think of Senior Brother Song’s speech? Think he has a shot at being the male host for the gala this year?”

“What did I think…?” Chen Yuan looked up and shrugged. “It was about on par with my skill level as a high school freshman.”

“?”

“Yeah, right. Just keep boasting,” Liu Nan said, flipping him the bird. “It’ll be a win if you don’t get stage fright when you go up.” He had no real expectation that Chen Yuan would be chosen; this was just good practice.

The baby-faced freshman gave a rather average speech in all respects, but that didn’t stop the upperclasswomen from voting for him. Their attitude toward this newcomer was much better than it had been toward Song Lin.

If Song Lin knew, he’d probably cry his eyes out!

The speech competition proceeded in an orderly fashion.

The members of the Arts Department watched, extremely pleased. The host selection event was off to such a great start, which gave them more confidence that the upcoming New Year’s Gala would be a success.

Time flowed by silently. In the front row, Jiang Yao waited. She didn’t know what number Chen Yuan had drawn or when he would be on stage, so she had to endure the suspense. In front of so many people, she couldn’t just brazenly turn around to look for him.

’The suspense was killing her.’

If her status as a teacher hadn’t forced her to stay put, she probably would have started listlessly dozing off long ago.

’It was probably the boyfriend filter, but she felt that all the male students who took the stage were a far cry from Chen Yuan. They were the same age, but none of them had his powerful appeal.’

Speaker after speaker took the stage, then left it.

The competition for the male contestants reached its midpoint.

A staff member’s voice rang out, announcing the name of the next contestant, and Jiang Yao instantly perked up.

“Let’s welcome our eighth contestant, Chen Yuan from the freshman class of the Physics Department.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep