If Xia Yingluo's speech were a flame, Li Sitong's speech would undoubtedly be a bucket of oil poured on the fire.
The Whole School Playground has already exploded.
Two school flowers confessed to the same boy in front of the entire faculty and student body—how crazy is that?
Principal Wu pointed at Wang Chao, almost grinding his teeth: "Old Wang, is this the outstanding student you chose for me?"
Sweat beads covered Wang Chao's face: "Principal Wu, they're really out of line. When I get back, I'll definitely reprimand and educate them properly."
"What about now? How are we going to clean up this mess?" Principal Wu wore an expression of bitter disappointment.
At that moment, Principal Wu saw Ye Chen beside Wang Chao, and his face instantly shifted from gloom to a faint smile.
"I've heard of you. You used to be near the bottom in your studies, but through hard work you jumped to first place in the Whole School, almost scoring perfect in every subject—truly impressive."
Old Wang wanted to interject.
Principal Wu glared: "You shut up."
Then, smiling warmly at Ye Chen, he said: "Now go up and tell the classmates how you rose from the bottom of the class to become the top of the Whole School. Share your study methods with everyone."
Principal Wu watched Ye Chen, finding him increasingly pleasant and likable.
After all, top‑performing students appear every year.
But a genius like Ye Chen, who scores perfect in every subject, is a once‑in‑a‑century rarity.
One could say Ye Chen is the school's treasure; if he became a provincial top scorer, the entire Jiangzhou Middle School would blaze with fame.
For them, that's a political achievement worthy of a work report.
Thus, Principal Wu's attitude toward Ye Chen was as friendly as possible, showing no hint of a principal's airs.
Teacher Wang was on the brink of collapse.
"Principal Wu, I think we shouldn't let him go up."
"Teacher Wang, you've disappointed me. As a teacher you can't keep your cool at all; you're worse than a student. Quick, you go up and be sure to share your learning experience with the classmates."
The vice principal patted Ye Chen's shoulder; Ye Chen stood, gave Wang Chao a pitying glance, and walked toward the podium.
At that moment, Li Sitong happened to step down from the podium.
The two exchanged a look; Li Sitong's pretty face flushed, and she lowered her head and ran away.
Ye Chen sighed, wondering why the usually rational two girls were so wild today.
Since the girls are already so crazy, how could he be a coward?
...Seeing Ye Chen take the stage, Principal Wu let out a breath.
Seeing Wang Chao's panicked face, his anger flared again.
"Teacher Wang, you've been a veteran teacher for so many years yet still panic in crises. In special cases, we must treat them specially, distract the students' attention, shift the hotspot and focus, and the problem will pass, won't it?"
Wang Chao forced a bitter smile.
Pass? You want Ye Chen to attract the hotspot? That would be a miracle if it actually worked.
Principal Wu continued: "If today's incident weren't caused by a top‑scorer seed in your class, I would have seriously criticized you."
Wang Chao wiped his sweat and nodded repeatedly.
"But this matter must be handled seriously, especially those two girls; they must deeply reflect. If their attitude isn't sincere, we'll enforce strict punishment."
Wang Chao felt a pang of reluctance: "Principal Wu, actually these two kids are usually well‑behaved; I don't know what happened today."
"Old Wang, if we don't treat such incidents seriously, how can we educate other students later? We must be firm, and the guy named Ye Chen should also be dealt with." Principal Wu said sternly.
He patted Wang Chao's shoulder and said: "Old Wang, students need both criticism and encouragement. Those three who are dating must be dealt with seriously to warn others. As for the student on the stage, you can praise him and set him as a role model; that's the correct guidance for the classmates."
Old Wang said nothing.
He didn't know what to say any longer… Ye Chen stepped onto the podium and looked down at the classmates.
At this moment, the Playground was still a chaotic mess.
Just now Xia Yingluo's and Li Sitong's speeches were explosive; the crowd was still soaking in the two girls' confessions.
Seeing no one paying attention to him, Ye Chen cleared his throat.
"Hello everyone, I'm Ye Chen."
Instantly, over a thousand students fell silent.
The Playground fell into a dead silence again.
Even Principal Wu, who had been lecturing Wang Chao, fell silent in an instant.
He stared blankly at Ye Chen on the podium, his eyes vacant.
After a long while, he finally looked expressionlessly at Wang Chao beside him.
"He's the Ye Chen?"
Wang Chao, now utterly despondent, nodded helplessly.
"Yes, that's Ye Chen. I actually wanted to say something to you just now, but you didn't give me a chance."
Principal Wu was stunned.
"Do you mean the top three students in the Whole School, the three best in your class, are a CP and even a love triangle?"
Wang Chao: "Actually… maybe it's not that complicated."
"Not complicated? Even idol dramas don't play it like this. Have you reviewed Ye Chen's script?"
Wang Chao nodded: "Principal Wu, don't worry, I've reviewed Ye Chen's script. It's very positive."
"Do you think Ye Chen will stick to the script?"
Wang Chao felt a bit guilty: "Probably not."
Principal Wu: "..."
...At this moment, thousands of classmates' gazes were fixed on Ye Chen at the podium.
"That's right, hello everyone, I'm Ye Chen from Class 5, Grade 12!"
Even though a thousand eyes stared at him, Ye Chen wasn't nervous at all; he smiled and greeted everyone.
"Actually, I prepared a script for this speech, and it's super positive. I copied it from a Top Student at Huaqing University, but I guess you're not here to hear the content of my script."
Wang Chao's face turned pale; he was completely doomed.
Principal Wu at this moment didn't want to say anything anymore.
"We don't want positivity; we want something exciting."
Someone from the crowd shouted loudly.
Laughter erupted across the Playground.
Ye Chen gave a faint smile: "There's no excitement here, only positivity."
"The title of my speech today is 'If I Could Return to the Lost Youth!'"
"I often wonder, what is the happiest moment for a person? Is it passing the imperial exam? Is it the wedding night? In my view, it's none of those."
"I think the happiest thing in life is meeting a girl you like at eighteen, and when you like her, she likes you back."
Ye Chen's gaze fell on Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo.
At this moment, the two girls' pretty faces flushed, eyes soft as they looked at Ye Chen.
It's over!
At this point, Old Wang's heart was completely dead.
He stole a glance at the vice principal, who was now numb and said nothing.
Suddenly he felt his heart steady and his legs no longer trembled.
In that moment he became calm, no longer afraid.
Since everything had already collapsed, let the storm come even fiercer!