A whole forest of hands instantly went up in the classroom.
"Looks like everyone's very enthusiastic."
Chen Yongchao nodded. "Then tell us one by one which class officer position you want to run for. Afterward, the whole class will vote by a show of hands."
He picked up a piece of chalk and gestured for the students in the first row to begin.
A cute girl stood up a little nervously.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Xue Jingshu, and I'd like to run for arts representative. I'm an art student, and I've been an arts and entertainment representative ever since elementary school. I have plenty of experience, and I can definitely take responsibility for our class's future arts activities."
Chen Yongchao wrote "Arts representative" on the blackboard, then wrote Xue Jingshu's name underneath.
Once she finished her introduction, the next person stood up.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Yang Ling, and I'd also like to run for arts representative. I'm a dance specialty student, and I've also been an arts and entertainment representative since elementary school..."
Those who had raised their hands spoke one after another. Zhang Zhaomu was surprised to discover that the list of names under arts representative on the blackboard kept growing. There were several under sports representative, too, but hardly any under the other positions, such as discipline representative, sanitation representative, or student welfare representative.
As for "class president" and "academic representative," there wasn't even a single name under either position.
Still, this was Humanities Class Nine, after all. Everyone was either a specialty student or an academic slacker. With a mischievous sense of amusement, Zhang Zhaomu thought, Maybe this round of class assignments bundled up every arts representative in the school and delivered them to us.
Once everyone who had raised a hand had spoken, Chen Yongchao glanced at the blackboard and asked:
"Is no one interested in being class president or academic representative?"
The students fell silent.
"Who'd want to be class president?" Zhang Zhaomu heard the girl in front of him grumble quietly. "There's a mountain of crap to do, and you have to deal with the teachers every day."
"Exactly, exactly." Her deskmate nodded repeatedly. "The president of my old class looked miserable all day and couldn't keep anyone in line. Never mind a class like ours now. Having the title of class president gets you nothing but extra work."
Zhang Zhaomu wholeheartedly agreed. Be class president in an environment like Class Nine? Hadn't they seen how even the homeroom teacher looked ready to let it rot?
When no one answered, Chen Yongchao looked somewhat resigned. "If no one volunteers, I'll have to appoint someone."
He looked around the classroom, his gaze settling on the back, where two students wearing school uniforms stood out.
In a class with this sort of atmosphere, anyone who obediently wore their uniform on the first day of school probably wouldn't be a troublemaker. Besides, both of them presented themselves well and made a favorable first impression.
Chen Yongchao didn't expect the class president to actually help him manage the class, nor did he expect the academic representative to actually lead everyone in creating a good learning atmosphere. As long as they were obedient and well-behaved, didn't take the lead in causing trouble, and helped him coordinate class affairs, that would do.
"Xiang Qing, Zhang Zhaomu."
He said, "You two can be class president and academic representative, one each."
"Huh?" Zhang Zhaomu found this utterly absurd.
Me, a class officer?
What kind of joke was this? My dream is to become the saltiest salted fish in this class. Wouldn't becoming a class officer mean cutting into my time playing games online?
Although he desperately wanted to leap up and wave his arms wildly to demonstrate his resistance, under the influence of his refined persona, he merely rose slowly to his feet and put on an earnest expression.
"Teacher Chen, I'm very sorry, but I may not be able to live up to your expectations."
His tone was very serious. "I've never served as a class officer before, so I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to serve our classmates well. Besides, my grades are terrible. I worry that not only would I fail to set an example for everyone, I might even have a negative influence."
Chen Yongchao raised his eyebrows and looked Zhang Zhaomu up and down.
Judging by his appearance, the boy before him had neat hair and well-proportioned features. His school uniform in particular looked exceptionally tidy, almost as though it had just been issued.
Chen Yongchao had seen plenty of boys this age, including those who liked dressing up, but the boy in front of him was clearly different. The details made it apparent that this was someone who could keep his own life in order.
Moreover, when the other students stood up to speak, they had all been more or less nervous under everyone's gaze. Yet this boy remained perfectly composed. Even while refusing, he spoke calmly and clearly, without any of the immaturity common among boys his age.
It was easy to imagine that, if this student became class president, communicating with him would take very little effort. And the class president's most important job was to act as a bridge between the homeroom teacher and the class.
The more Chen Yongchao thought about it, the more sense it made. He had only intended to appoint someone at random, but this boy actually seemed like very promising class president material!
With that thought, he said slowly, "It doesn't matter if you have no experience. Experience comes from practice. As for your grades... an academic representative does need reasonably good grades, but for a class president, grades are secondary. What I value more is personal ability."
"I think you're very suitable."
Zhang Zhaomu grew frantic inside.
How am I suitable?! Personal ability, my ass. My greatest personal ability is playing games. If a class president's job were to help everyone climb the ranks, I'd be quite competitive...
The running commentary in his head didn't affect Zhang Zhaomu's words or actions. He said, "Teacher Chen, I still don't think I'm up to the task. Why don't you ask the others? I believe the vast majority of our classmates are better suited to this position than I am."
"Really?" Chen Yongchao swept his gaze over the classroom. "What does everyone think?"
"I think Zhang Zhaomu would make a great class president!" the bold girl from earlier called out, stirring things up. "Anyway, he has my support."
Others immediately chimed in:
"He has my support, too!"
"As long as it isn't me, anyone will do."
"I think it's a good idea. The class president is the face of our class, and Zhang Zhaomu's looks are perfect for that."
"Makes sense!"
Chen Yongchao immediately turned to Zhang Zhaomu with a beaming smile. "See? Your classmates all think you can do it."
"In that case, let's have Zhang Zhaomu serve as class president of our Humanities Class Nine!"
He led the applause, and thunderous clapping instantly filled the classroom.
Zhang Zhaomu: "..."
This slippery old hand who showed up late on the very first day of school just wants to grab anyone to fill the class officer slots, doesn't he? How can he be this slapdash?
I won't do it even if it kills me! Won't being class president mean being watched every day? How am I supposed to slack off during class and play games afterward?
Anyway, if I just refuse, there's nothing you can do about it. Surely you can't punish me over something this trivial?
Despite these fierce thoughts, Zhang Zhaomu's face showed that he was overwhelmed by the honor as he said, "Thank you for the applause, everyone."
"I still don't think I'm the right person to be class president, but since things have come to this, I'll take on the position temporarily. After some time has passed and everyone knows each other better, we can ask Teacher Chen to oversee another election and choose a class president who truly suits our class."
"During this time, I'll do my utmost to fulfill my duties. If there's anything I do poorly in the future, please don't hesitate to point it out."
Wait, something isn't right!
Shut up, my body! This isn't the time to be polite!