Chapter 376: Election Vote

Although Wu Yang was confident, seeing Lu Cheng strolling leisurely on the stage still left him a bit unwilling, and he publicly questioned him.

"I don't care how you twist your words; at the end of the day, aren't you opposed to the Remembering bitterness, thinking sweetness activity?"

Wu Yang could tell that Lu Cheng was a silver‑tongued debater, so he stopped dragging it out and asked straight for the conclusion.

If Lu Cheng dared to deny the spirit of Remembering bitterness, thinking sweetness, he could publicly slap a big hat of insulting the martyrs on him.

The little thought Wu Yang had was as clear as a bright mirror in Lu Cheng's mind.

"Wu Yang, you really needn't be so agitated; as soon as I stepped onto the stage, I already explained that the Remembering bitterness, thinking sweetness activity can be held, and such an activity indeed has a necessary place, but I think it should be scheduled at appropriate times—such as major festivals—or at appropriate venues—such as a martyrs' cemetery.

Only then will it have deeper educational significance, rather than making students go hungry one day a week; that not only fails to educate, it even makes students complain. Of course, they won't say it out loud, but deep down they feel it's a burden."

Hearing Lu Cheng speak calmly, Wu Yang opened his mouth but was too stunned to speak.

He realized that his aggressive questioning not only failed to suppress Lu Cheng, but, like moving a mountain with a feather, turned the disadvantage into an advantage, thereby winning people's hearts.

Seeing Wu Yang fuming, Zheng Guoping couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Little did others know, he knew this roommate best; anyone who tried to reason with Lu Cheng would lose.

Even when the odds are against him, this guy can turn black into white, white into black, and still make it sound reasonable.

The students below stirred, clearly showing approval of Lu Cheng's words.

At this point Wu Yang would be wise to keep his mouth shut; the more he talks, the more chances he gives Lu Cheng to win hearts.

Even the Vice Principal on stage smiled, thinking Lu Cheng would make a fine president.

Whether speaking or handling affairs, he always manages them without a single leak.

Nevertheless, the final outcome depends on the vote results; he promptly ended the debate and began the announcement.

"All the candidates just now have presented their ideas; everyone spoke well. The times must develop, and our school must develop as well.

So which candidate can better lead us students? I believe each student already has a clear preference in their heart. Now, we will begin the formal voting session."

The Vice Principal gave a signal to the director beside him, and the director stood up.

"Students, don't act disorderly; vote as class units, line up properly, and now begin voting in order."

Nearly a thousand students voting will be a long wait.

Lu Cheng returned to his seat, and Zheng Guoping leaned in: "Alright, Third, that guy just now was so satisfying to roast; what kind of thing is starving once a week? Damn, I can barely eat enough myself."

Lu Cheng said nothing, just staring at the big blackboard on stage.

The names of the five candidates were written there, and according to each student's vote, a "correct" mark was drawn beneath each candidate.

Finally, whoever received the most "correct" marks would become the president.

The four judges worked simultaneously, and it didn't take much time; about an hour and a half later, the voting work was slowly nearing its end.

From the "correct" marks on the blackboard, the result seemed clear at a glance.

Aside from Lu Cheng and Wu Yang, the other three junior candidates each had roughly similar votes, about a little over a hundred each.

As for Lu Cheng's and Wu Yang's vote counts, they were still indistinguishable at that moment.

Under both names were densely packed "correct" marks; one blackboard wasn't enough, so another was brought in.

Watching the judges above, sometimes drawing a mark under Lu Cheng's name, sometimes under Wu Yang's, Zheng Guoping became extremely nervous.

He certainly didn't want Wu Yang to become president; that would mean starving every week.

Even Wei Shu, at the start, set his book aside and stared intently at the blackboard.

The voting process had entered its final stage; after the last few students voted, Zheng Guoping squinted, pointing at the blackboard on stage to start counting.

But because of the distance, he kept miscounting rows as he counted.

"Sss, whose votes are actually more? Siyan, you have good eyes, count them!"

Wei Shu didn't count; from the judges' arm‑raising frequency earlier, he had already judged who had the most votes.

But seeing Zheng Guoping's anxiety, Wei Shu couldn't bring himself to say it, and only said, "Let's wait for the results to be read."

The students below chattered noisily, while the four judges on stage performed the final tally.

About ten minutes later, the tally was finished.

When the list of candidates reached Yang Kaiming's hands, just holding it caused his brows to involuntarily knit.

Looking at the vote numbers above, several leaders exchanged glances, all appearing very satisfied with the outcome.

Finally, the Vice Principal announced: "Alright, thank you all for your effort; the votes are now in. In this Student Committee president election, adhering to fairness and impartiality, I will now announce the results…"

"Junior Song Bing received 115 votes, junior Li Jianshe 121 votes, junior Sun Haiyang 108 votes, junior Wu Yang 325 votes…"

The announcement of Wu Yang's vote count immediately sparked many students' exclamations; they hadn't expected him to leave the other candidates far behind.

The Vice Principal paused: "Hmm? Lu Cheng, a sophomore, has 312 votes."

"Five people cast blank votes; the reading of the results is complete."

As the Vice Principal's voice echoed through the auditorium, the students below resumed their noisy chatter.

Lu Cheng's vote count wasn't low either, but according to the results, it was clear that Wu Yang would become president.

Many students have already begun congratulating Wu Yang.

Zheng Guoping, dissatisfied, slammed a nearby chair: "These results can't be right; do they really all want to starve once a week?"

The voting results are certainly correct; the whole process was witnessed by school leaders and judges, each student cast their vote, and no one would falsify anything.

In fact, regarding this outcome, Lu Cheng was already quite satisfied.

When Wu Yang shouted that anyone who dared support Lu Cheng was a hedonist, yet now so many students still support him, it shows most students voted according to their true hearts.

Looking back at Wu Yang, who gave a provocative glance, Lu Cheng no longer cared to argue.

He knows Wu Yang's win stems from the fact that today's participants are mostly from worker, peasant, and soldier backgrounds, unable to accept Lu Cheng's new ideas.

If they were all fresh graduates, Lu Cheng could have won outright today.

That's fine; there will be another chance next year.

He knows that even with today's result, his earlier opposition to the Remembering bitterness, thinking sweetness activity had some effect; otherwise he would have lost even more badly.

The final result was only thirteen votes short, and even Yang Kaiming thought it was a pity.

But the rules are the rules; a loss is a loss, and no one can do anything about it.

The Vice Principal finally began to announce the President's selection.

"Now I announce, the candidates for this Student Committee are…"

At that moment, a girl's voice suddenly rang out.

"Wait a moment!"