The Choice Is Made: Vice President Hikaru Hashima. / Manabu Horikita Steps Down: The Siblings' Second Gathering.

"Can I know what it is?"

"I don't want to tell Classmate Hashiba right now. I'll tell her next time when I'm in a better mood."

"Well then, that's a shame."

Just as the two were chatting idly, a burst of enthusiastic applause rang out outside, and then Miyabi Nagumo reappeared in the lounge behind the curtain.

"Nagumo- kun, how is it?"

"Of course it was a great success! After all, we've been preparing for this day for a long time, and I certainly won't let everyone who supports me down."

Miyabi Nagumo gazed at the Second Year around her, her tone impassioned and passionate.

"We will always support you, Nagumo- kun."

Let's work together to build this school and make it a better place!

Witnessing this scene, Hashiba Hikaru's lips curled into a cold smile.

He hadn't forgotten his experience working in the club department. In order to integrate the Second Year, Miyabi Nagumo built her own network of relationships by making promises and exchanging benefits. Although this method was effective, it actually had many loopholes. As long as a suitable entry point could be found, her power network could definitely be dismantled.

About ten minutes later, after another Second Year had just gone through the motions to run for Student Council President returned, the announcement came on again.

[The student Vice President election speech will follow next. First candidate Hashiba Hikaru, please be prepared.]

"Now it's my turn."

Hashiba Hikaru stood up from her chair. At that moment, everyone, including Horikita Manabu sitting in the back and the other third-year students, looked over. Even Miyabi Nagumo was no exception.

He gave the boy an encouraging look and patted him on the shoulder.

"Good luck, junior Hashiba! Don't let me down!"

"I will do my best, please rest assured, seniors."

As she slowly stepped out from behind the curtain, the entire audience erupted in applause, even surpassing the commotion that had followed when Miyabi Nagumo appeared earlier.

After all, Hashiba Hikaru's reputation had already spread throughout the entire school after the Special Exam during the summer vacation and the Sports Festival.

Coupled with his outstanding appearance, he was greeted with the first wave of applause as soon as he stepped onto the stage. The Grand Auditorium gradually quieted down after the young man stood still on the stage.

Among the students below, quite a few were staring at Hashiba Hikaru, their gazes fixed on the boy's figure, as if they didn't want to miss a single second.

"Hello everyone, I am Hashiba Hikaru from Class A of the First Year. I currently serve as a member of the Student Council Activities Department, and the position I would like to run for is Vice President of the Student Council."

"This is a special school; it carries so many expectations..."

I hope...

"If you'd like to support me, please vote for me. I will continue to shine and serve my fellow students even harder."

Thank you everyone!

After the speech, Hashiba Hikaru bowed in gratitude, and the entire auditorium erupted in deafening applause once again.

Just then, a black-haired girl standing in the formation of Class C of the First Year looked up at the figure on the podium, and a certain idea suddenly arose in her mind.

As Horikita Manabu's younger sister, Horikita Suzune has been trying to catch up with her brother since elementary school.

If one day in the future, the girl appears on stage as a candidate for Student Council President and ultimately wins the position, wouldn't that prove she has caught up with the other person?

I want to join the Student Council!

At this very moment, this was Horikita Suzune's most pressing thought.

~~~~~

320

Chapter 320 The candidate is confirmed, Vice President Hashiba Hikaru.

After Hashiba Hikaru finished her speech, two other candidates delivered their speeches in turn.

One was a boy from Class 2-A, and the other was a girl from Class B of the Second Year. However, their appearances were met with lukewarm responses. After all, they were just pushed out by the Student Council as scapegoats. This was an essential part of the show to ensure that things looked decent.

[The candidates have finished their speeches. Now, please cast your votes in order. Each person can only cast one vote for both the Student Council President and the Student Council Vice President.]

Let's begin.

As soon as the host finished speaking, the students in the Grand Auditorium began to line up and put their ballots into the ballot box one by one. Although this process was tedious, it meant that the final candidate was determined by a group election rather than a pre-arranged decision, which would make the candidates who exercise power in the future more legitimate.

"I heard that Hashiba has finished his campaign, so you should be able to become my deputy, right?"

Miyabi Nagumo stood next to Hashiba Hikaru and took the initiative to start a conversation with him.

"After all, this carries the hopes of many people, and I can't back down now."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly and replied with utmost politeness, "I'm sure I'll learn a lot from working with Nagumo- senpai in the future."

"Don't be so modest, junior Yujijima. Everyone has witnessed your abilities. Who knows, I might even hand over the Student Council President position to you in the future."

"Thank you for your kind offer, Senior Nagumo. My abilities are not yet sufficient to take over your position, so please allow me to hone my skills as the Vice President for a while."

"Haha, Hashiba Yujima is such a humble person. Humility is a virtue."

Miyabi Nagumo reached out and patted his shoulder again before leaving the boy's side.

"I will continue to work hard, and I look forward to your guidance in the future, Senior Nagumo."

Actually, as early as when Hashiba Hikaru went to Class C to campaign for votes, Miyabi Nagumo had already contacted Ryuen Kakeru from Class D, since they had worked together once before at the Sports Festival.

Since Horikita Manabu began his grand campaign to promote the boys, Miyabi Nagumo, who is about to take over as Student Council President, wants to select a new proxy from the first-year students. After all, Hashiba Hikaru can no longer be won over, and this step is crucial to ensure that the plan can be pushed forward more smoothly in the future.

Unfortunately, it was too late. By the time Ryuen Kakeru approached the students in Class C, they had already received money from Hashiba Hikaru and signed a contract. Miyabi Nagumo's surprise attack failed.

As the saying goes, if you're slow on one step, you'll be slow on every step.

Now, Miyabi Nagumo is certain that Hashiba Hikaru will become the Vice President, and if he wants to limit her, he must prepare many backup plans.

The ballot collection took about half an hour. After all, there were no more than 500 students from all three grades combined, so the voting process was quite fast. After the ballot boxes were sorted out, the students dispersed in the Grand Auditorium.

Hashiba Hikaru then returned to the Student Council with the other Student Council members.

"Now let's begin calling out the names and counting the votes."

After all the Student Council members gathered in the Conference Room, the vote counting officially began. Horikita Manabu sat at the head of the table, while Hashiba Hikaru, as a first-year member, was at the bottom, but soon his position would become second.

"First, let's talk about the vote count for Student Council President. The first candidate is Miyabi Nagumo, and the second candidate is Uesugi Mamoru."

"Please begin counting the votes."

As soon as he finished speaking, two assistants next to him began to take out slips of paper with names written on them from the ballot box and then read out the names on them loudly.

"Miyabi Nagumo."

"Miyabi Nagumo."

"..."

There was no suspense regarding the Student Council President candidate election. After all the votes were counted, Miyabi Nagumo's votes far exceeded those of the other candidate, securing a near-overwhelming victory.

"Vote count complete! Miyabi Nagumo has 342 votes, Uesugi Mamoru 138 votes. Congratulations to Miyabi Nagumo on being elected Student Council President!"

The next moment, enthusiastic applause rang out in the Conference Room.

To his surprise, Miyabi Nagumo's expression was not very pleasant upon hearing the result, because the number was different from his initial estimate.

First, Horikita Manabu agreed to let him take over, so the third-year votes will go to Miyabi Nagumo, which gives him 160 votes. As the recognized leader of the Second Year, he naturally gets all 160 votes from the Second Year.

Adding the 40 votes from Class D of the First Year that Ryuen Kakeru had promised, even if all the other first-year students didn't vote for him, he should still have 360 votes, but now he's lost a full 18.

What exactly happened? Did someone betray me?

Miyabi Nagumo began to seriously consider the answer to this question.

Horikita Manabu is not a man of his word, so the 160 votes from the third graders are likely genuine. And Ryuen Kakeru, in order to gain his support, would not choose to go back on his word at this time.

The only possibility left was a Second Year student. Although it was an unchangeable fact that Miyabi Nagumo had become the Student Council President, this unexpected turn of events was still very unpleasant to him.

Who exactly is it?

The blond man was racking his brains for potential candidates when the vote count for the Student Council Vice President was completed.

"The vote count is complete! Hashiba Hikaru 307 votes, Tanaka Katsuhito 82 votes, Kibana Shino 91 votes. Congratulations to Hashiba Hikaru on being elected as the Student Council Vice President!"

The Conference Room erupted in enthusiastic applause once again, but at that moment, Miyabi Nagumo was suddenly startled. His intelligence sources were equally detailed, so he knew the composition of Hashiba Hikaru's votes.

The third-grade students combined have a total of 160 votes, while he should have received votes from three classes in the first grade, which is 120 votes. The votes from Class D of the First Year will not be given to him.

Based on this calculation, his base number of votes should be 280, but he has 27 more votes than expected, which could only have been cast by Second Year students.

"Thank you all for your recognition. I will not let down the support and encouragement from my seniors. I will continue to contribute my efforts to the school and serve everyone!"

Looking at the smug look in the boy's eyes, Miyabi Nagumo was 100% certain that this bastard had definitely won over the students in her grade, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten an extra 27 votes.

The reason he was missing 18 votes was the same: those 18 people had already decided not to support him, and among the 27 people, there were some who were on the fence, supporting both him and Hashiba Hikaru.

[Looks like we need to check the Second Year staff; we can't let them continue poaching our students!]

Although Miyabi Nagumo congratulated Hashiba Hikaru with a smile on his face, a fire of anger burned in his heart. He did not expect that before he had even taken the position of Student Council President, there would already be a traitor within his grade.

Seeing the blond man's changing expression, Hashiba Hikaru chuckled inwardly.

He was deliberately showing a smug expression to her, his purpose being to arouse Miyabi Nagumo's vigilance. Given this guy's desire for control, he would definitely launch a self-inspection within the grade as quickly as possible.

However, this operation was destined to fail, because these people were moles planted by Horikita Manabu a long time ago, and with Miyabi Nagumo's level of skill, he absolutely could not find them.

Once an internal investigation is launched among the Second Year, Miyabi Nagumo's already flawed power network will open the door for Hashiba Hikaru.

This marked the beginning of the path to seizing power.

321

Chapter 321 Horikita Manabu steps down, second sibling reunion.

After the new Student Council officers were all selected, time quickly passed to late October, when autumn was in the air, and the day finally arrived for Horikita Manabu to officially step down.

Similar to the election, the school also gathered all the teachers and students on this day. Everyone lined up and assembled in the Grand Auditorium as a ceremony to mark the handover between the old and new generations. Starting today, Miyabi Nagumo will become the new Student Council President.

[Now, let's welcome Student Council President Horikita Manabu to give his final remarks.]

As the Student Council President, who is trusted by teachers and upperclassmen, Horikita Manabu slowly walked towards the podium where the microphone was placed after hearing the host's speech.

In the first-year student formation, Horikita Suzune looked up at her brother, whom she had been chasing for so long, her eyes filled with unwavering determination. She would not give up on her idea, and joining the Student Council was the first step she needed to take.

Hashiba Hikaru also stared at the bespectacled man on the podium. The man rarely showed his true emotions and mostly appeared indifferent, but the boy knew very well that Horikita Manabu was just a bit awkward.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I am Horikita Manabu, the student council President. Thank you all for coming to participate in the Student Council handover ceremony."

"I am proud to have led the Student Council for nearly two years, and I am also very grateful for the cooperation of all my fellow Student Council union members, which has enabled us to better serve the school."

"Please trust the new Student Council members and face the upcoming academic and personal life with a positive attitude."

Horikita Manabu's speech was not long. Apart from social niceties, when he mentioned the new Student Council, the man turned around and made an introduction gesture. All the Student Council officers standing behind him immediately straightened up and showed a serious and dignified appearance.

After finishing his speech, Horikita Manabu quietly returned to his original position, but the handover ceremony was not going to end there, as Miyabi Nagumo, standing at the back, was already eager to try.

[President Horikita, thank you for your hard work so far. Now, please welcome the new Student Council President Miyabi Nagumo, to give her inaugural address.]

The smiling blond man, surrounded by his faction members, nodded to the host before slowly walking to the center of the stage.

"I am Nagumo President Class 2-A. Horikita am very grateful for your strict yet kind guidance. President with Horikita has been an invaluable experience, and I express my deepest respect to you!"

After saying this, Miyabi Nagumo bowed her head deeply towards Horikita Manabu's location. No matter what, this guy's acting skills were still pretty good. It was indeed a skill that he could do this when it was most necessary to say something polite.

After finishing a series of moves, Miyabi Nagumo faced the entire school again, a smile appearing on his lips.

"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Miyabi Nagumo, and I will be serving as the Student Council President of Advanced Nurturing High School starting today. I look forward to your guidance from now on."

"We hope everyone will support the work of the new Student Council, and let's work together to make this school even better."

Miyabi Nagumo's gaze swept over everyone below as she began to express her inner thoughts.

"At this wonderful moment when all the students are gathered here, I'll get straight to the point: I have the determination and ideas to reform the system. This is a very important step. Only by embracing new rules can the new Student Council be revitalized."

"First, I promise to change the Student Council's term limits, appointment process, and general election. I believe the Student Council election can be brought forward to allow a better new generation of outstanding Student Council members to take over the mantle."

"Furthermore, I will revise the terms of office for the Student Council President and various Student Council officers, changing them from limited to unlimited. In other words, whether it's the Student Council President or any Student Council officer, as long as they are outstanding enough, they can remain in office until they graduate, better serving everyone."

"If anyone is accused of being unqualified during their term, we will actively establish a majority vote system within the Student Council to remove them from the membership, ensuring that Student Council members are the most suitable. This will motivate everyone and build a brand new campus era."

As Miyabi Nagumo put forward one idea after another, the students below were somewhat bewildered, while Hashiba Hikaru, standing with the Student Council officers, smiled.

The majority voting system proposed by this blond-haired guy is actually a double-edged sword. He believes that he can control the majority of people and thus maintain power in the long term. However, the boy has already taken over as the Vice President of the Student Council. If they were to compete, this system would be the most intense battle of wits.