When there were about a hundred days left until the college entrance examination, every high school would hold a hundred-day pledge ceremony for the college entrance examination.
Principal Luo of Yongjia Middle School invited leaders from the County Education Bureau to attend, but the reply he received was that Principal Zhang of Oubei No. 1 Middle School had already invited them and they had agreed to attend, stating that since the two schools' events fell on the same day, they could only attend one.
After hanging up the phone, Principal Luo sighed. In previous years, the County Education Bureau leaders would always attend their school's hundred-day pledge ceremony for the college entrance examination, but this year they did not agree to attend.
They felt quite wronged, as they had lost out because of one student.
The hundred-day pledge ceremony for the college entrance examination was also an opportunity for school leaders to gain face, so the Principal would specifically invite leaders from the County Education Bureau to attend.
Principal Luo attributed the ultimate reason to Chen Xia; if it weren't for her, Fang Bai would definitely have come to Yongjia Middle School, and they would have had a 300,000 yuan donation, and the County Education Bureau leaders would not have changed their minds about attending their hundred-day pledge ceremony for the college entrance examination.
A teacher had ruined their chance to gain face, and Principal Luo had already decided that for the next few years, unless Chen Xia made special contributions, she would not receive any promotions or awards.
At 9:30 AM, sunlight streamed through the clouds onto the Oubei No. 1 Middle School football field.
The football field was filled with students, dressed in different uniforms, neatly arranged on the playground, their gazes fixed firmly on the stage ahead.
On the stage, there were three rows of tables and chairs. The first row was for school leaders and invited Education Bureau leaders, while the second and third rows were for teachers of the third and fourth-year high school classes.
Closest to the stage were the college entrance examination candidates, over a thousand students from sixteen classes.
Behind the college entrance examination candidates were formations of younger students, arranged to spell out four large characters: "Go Third Year!"
Around the students, there were also hundreds of student parents watching.
Due to the arrival of the Education Bureau leaders, reporters from Wen City Daily were invited to gather material, and the school even spent money to hire professionals to record videos.
Fang Tingting, wearing an imported high-end Hasselblad SLR camera around her neck, a baseball cap and sunglasses on her head, and a professional photography jacket, freely captured the grand scene, specifically taking photos of her brother. Today, she was going to use up over twenty rolls of film; the school wouldn't dare to spend that much money, and they didn't even have such a high-end SLR camera—they were stunned when they heard the camera alone cost tens of thousands of yuan.
Fang Tingting enjoyed playing with SLRs, having spent no less than 10,000 yuan on film and negatives alone. Fang Bai also supported his sister's hobby; her original SLR had been retired, and she had recently upgraded to a full set of equipment, with film development equipment even at home.
They even hired a professional photographer for guidance at home, progressing from beginner to professional, which was entirely funded by money.
All the photos Fang Tingting developed were laminated and preserved according to her brother's request; her brother said they might become valuable historical documents in the future.
When her classmates saw Fang Tingting taking photos with an expensive SLR, they realized she really was Fang Bai's sister.
Perhaps accustomed to being surrounded by crowds while taking photos, Fang Tingting stood in a corner of the stage, placing her SLR on a tripod, not at all afraid of others pointing and whispering about her; instead, she felt it was a show of ostentation.
The school even assigned a student specifically to help her look after Fang Tingting's other equipment; after all, the school would also receive a copy of the developed photos.
Among the student formations, a student asked who the girl with the long lens was.
"I heard she's Fang Bai's sister."
"She looks very professional, very impressive. Both siblings are extraordinary."
"The brother is handsome, and the sister is very cute."
Fang Bai sat in the first row with the school leaders, and next to him were the Education Bureau leaders.
Under normal circumstances, a student representative would not be able to sit on the stage, but Fang Bai was not only a student representative but also a special guest.
He was wearing his school uniform today and was currently chatting casually with the school leaders and Education Bureau leaders.
The meeting agenda was displayed on the stage curtain: the first step was for everyone to stand at attention and sing the national anthem; the second step, Principal Zhang Mubao's speech; the third step, Teacher He Kai, the grade group leader, to speak; the fourth step, student representative Fang Bai to speak; the fifth step, all teachers to take an oath; and the sixth step, all third and fourth-year high school students to take an oath.
Below the stage, students whispered and discussed, mostly about Fang Bai on stage, and then about Fang Tingting holding the long lens.
Many students had never seen Fang Bai's face in person, but now, everyone could openly look, especially the girls who admired Fang Bai.
"Fang Bai is so calm sitting up there, chatting and laughing with the leaders."
"He's a big-time figure, you know. If it were me, I wouldn't know what to talk about, probably just keep drinking water to avoid awkwardness."
"That person up there is Fang Bai, he's really handsome."
Quite a few girls had crushes on Fang Bai, and three college entrance examination candidates boldly wrote love letters; one's love letter had already been delivered, while the other two had written theirs but didn't know how to give them to Fang Bai.
Behind the students, parents chatted amongst themselves, discussing their children's scores on the first mock exam, and also talking about Fang Bai on stage. At this point, Fang Bai had become "someone else's child."
"That child on stage is named Fang Bai, he's so outstanding, scoring 602 on the first mock exam, definitely getting into a key university. This student also often skips class, I heard he helps his family with business."
"Not only is he outstanding, but my son told me his family is also particularly rich, he's the son of Boss Fang of Xinghai Shopping Mall."
"No wonder they're rich. I didn't even know the name of the Boss Fang of Xinghai Shopping Mall."
"I don't know either, but since his son's surname is Fang, then he must also be surnamed Fang. Calling him Boss Fang must be correct."
"I've seen Boss Fang, but I can't recognize which one he is. The whole family is so low-key."
Many parents with beautiful daughters looked at Fang Bai more and more favorably, as if Fang Bai were their son-in-law.
It could be said that Fang Bai had the right to choose from countless girls; as long as he was willing, parents would immediately nod in agreement.
Time quietly passed, and soon it was ten o'clock in the morning. The ceremony began, and after the host spoke, the scene instantly fell silent.
Everyone stood at attention, ready to sing the national anthem.
When the national anthem began to play, the entire scene instantly became solemn and dignified.
Fang Bai sang the national anthem along with the crowd, and the sound on site was deep and resonant.
The moment the national anthem finished, enthusiastic applause erupted on the playground.
The host announced the ceremony's schedule, and Principal Zhang came to the podium to deliver his speech.
Principal Zhang was quite long-winded, and some students felt sleepy listening to him.
The students below couldn't help but yawn, and Principal Zhang also realized he had spoken too much in his extemporaneous speech, so he quickly finished and it was the next person's turn.
Teacher He, the grade group leader, walked onto the podium with a smile. Her voice was gentle yet firm: "As the spring breeze warms and all things revive, banners flutter and war drums beat;
A hundred days of gnawing at the cocoon to fulfill grand ambitions, in July, contend for the deer to unfold a grand vision… "
Towards the end, her voice revealed a hint of solemnity, "These hundred days, for you, are a cruel challenge, and also a stage for a vigorous sprint… "
Her words were few, concise, and powerful, quickly igniting the passionate atmosphere on site.
Next, it was Fang Bai's turn to speak.
As he walked towards the podium, the students were very curious about what Fang Bai was going to say.
Huh, he doesn't have a script. Is he speaking extemporaneously?
The students in front noticed that Fang Bai's hands were empty, and he wore a confident smile, looking even more natural than the Principal.