0157: True Randomness

After two classes, the students, arranged by their respective head teachers, made their way toward the playground.

Fortunately, it was already early winter; otherwise, if this were summer, sitting on the playground for over two hours, they would rather go without free shoes!

Each student brought their own chair. The school chairs were quite heavy, but the boys were very considerate of the girls, voluntarily helping to carry them.

One boy for two chairs made for a harmonious scene, though naturally, there were blockheads like Li Bin who stood out instantly.

Before he knew it, his hands were suddenly loaded with three chairs, and he was too embarrassed to refuse the girls.

However, once he had five chairs in his hands, no one else came up to ask for his help.

Xu Lin had originally thought that Monitor Ji would definitely not let him carry her chair, but unexpectedly, the moment everyone stood up, Ji Yun shoved her chair straight into his hands.

"Everyone pay attention! When it's time to leave afterwards, make sure to take our class's chairs. Don't mix them up with other classes, or they'll be hard to find!"

Zhuo Yan shouted out, and then Ji Yun repeated the instruction, prompting everyone to nod in agreement.

"Over here, follow He Run!"

The old head teacher shouted. The tall He Run raised his arm, towering well over two meters, and the people followed him straight onto the marked-off playground.

"Rows of three, no scrambling! And don't reserve seats; wherever you are, that's where you stay, no seat-swapping allowed!"

"Xu Lin, let's sit over here."

"Alright, wait a second. I'm holding Ji Yun's chair. I'm saving a spot for the monitor, that doesn't count as seat-reserving, right, Zhuo Yan?"

"Doesn't count, doesn't count."

Zhuo Yan gave him a side-eye, but still nodded. Xu Lin found a seat near the back and placed Ji Yun's chair right beside him.

Once the formation settled down, Ji Yun looked around for a spot, and a few girls teased her.

"Your seat is right behind your hubby."

"Stop talking nonsense."

Hearing that, Xu Lin flashed a smile and patted the seat next to him. Ji Yun ignored him and sat down directly.

"If you have something to say, just tell me. Don't be like this. If you're mad at me, just punch me a couple of times."

"I'm not mad at you, it's just... forget it! The principal is here."

Ji Yun spoke up, but her expression remained unchanged. Looking in the direction she was gazing, the vice principal and several directors could be seen walking up onto the stage.

The head of discipline walked up to the microphone, gave a light cough, blew into it a couple of times, and then began.

"Students, let me say one thing first: today we are not going to subject you to any sleep-inducing speeches."

At those words, the students below instantly burst into laughter, unable to hold it in.

After all, it was this very director of discipline who loved reading long, stinky, and completely useless speeches.

The vice principal was much more popular because he never spoke nonsense. Every time there was a large-scale meeting, he would simply start with a "Begin" and end with a "Dismissed," saying nothing else at all.

When the phrase "let me say one thing first" came out this time, everyone assumed they were in for half an hour of chatter, but no one expected him to follow it up with just that single sentence.

"You probably all know the purpose of today's gathering. Feidu has always adhered to three simple yet difficult principles: purely domestic, affordable, and high quality."

"And today, Feidu's General Manager, Ye Qinleng, President Ye herself, has come to our school to present us with 5,000 pairs of sneakers."

"In addition, President Ye has selected 300 schools across 300 cities nationwide this time to provide children with comfortable, professional running shoes."

"President Ye is holding a new product launch the day after tomorrow, yet she chose to come to our Linshui No. 3 High School. Amidst her busy schedule, she is here to chat with everyone. Let's give her a warm welcome!"

"Ye... what Leng?"

"Ye Qinleng. She's a woman, right? I remember seeing it in the news."

"Oh, usually female bosses don't talk as much. Maybe we can wrap this up quickly."

"Yeah, but you know how in TV dramas, female CEOs are always fair-skinned, beautiful, and have long legs? How come in real life they're all middle-aged aunties?"

"Haha, a pretty boss? What are you dreaming about? It's only because they don't exist in real life that they're everywhere in fiction."

The teenagers below whispered among themselves. Before they could finish, they saw an urban beauty dressed in a black trench coat and a white shirt walk up onto the high stage from the back.

Then, a collective, long-drawn gasp escaped the students simultaneously. What is going on here? Is there something wrong with my eyes?!

Someone this gorgeous must be the secretary, right?! But how could a secretary have such poise and aura? Holy crap, the stories aren't making things up!

The head of discipline hurriedly walked over and shook hands with Ye Qinleng. Ye Qinleng nodded slightly, stepped up to the microphone, and took a deep breath.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I originally said I didn't want to disturb everyone's classes and studies. But seeing as the weather is nice today—neither hot nor cold—I managed to secure an afternoon of rest for all of you."

"Thank you, President Ye!"

"Thank you, President Ye!!"

"Thank you, Sister Ye!"

"Hahaha!"

Some boy shouted out, prompting the rest of the crowd to join in, and soon the girls started calling out too, making Ye Qinleng look slightly embarrassed.

"Alright, alright, no need to thank me. I'm here today mainly to chat with you all. I won't be giving any long speeches or toxic chicken soup; you can think of this as an open class."

"Let me first share some stories from my high school days, as well as things regarding the college entrance examination and university. Of course, I'll also talk about the workplace, and I hope everyone can take something away from it."

"Feel free to raise your hand and ask questions at any time during the session, but please don't be noisy—just raise your hand and we'll go one by one."

"Okay!"

Hearing the unified response all around him, Xu Lin smiled helplessly. Turns out everyone is a sucker for good looks, sigh~ Well, I am too, so never mind!

Still, while President Ye's outfit today was sharp and formal, her overall vibe lacked the intimidating aura from last time; instead, she appeared remarkably calm and approachable.

As expected of an entrepreneur, that ability to switch faces is essential. Facing the camera and students, naturally, a more down-to-earth approach works best.

With just this face alone, sales are bound to soar. In fact, a boss can truly serve as a brand's ultimate figurehead.

Take the head of a certain phone brand, for instance; his songs are famous, and he himself adopts a man-of-the-people route.

If he had time-traveled a few years earlier, he could have actually invested and partnered up. But by now, the rice had already grown—at least it had become a giant rice grain.

Subsequently, President Cold began her storytelling. At first, everyone was just listening for fun, but the more they listened, the more engrossed they became.

Because it wasn't just stories; it also included a wealth of coping strategies for study and life problems, making many students feel instantly enlightened and benefited.

When the university segment arrived, many students began raising their hands to ask questions, and Ye Qinleng selectively answered them.

In an instant, Xu Lin felt as though he were attending an open lecture at a university, and a very high-quality one at that.

Miss Ji Yun was also listening with glowing eyes, the lingering gloom in her heart fading away by quite a bit.

Just like that, an hour and a half passed. Reminded by a few teachers, the students below realized just how much time had flown by.

"Alright, everyone, let's stop here and move on to the segment you've all been looking forward to today!"

"Shoes!"

Everyone shouted in unison. In fact, they had long since noticed the shoe boxes piled up not far away; the blue-and-white packaging boxes flashed brightly enough to make their hearts itch.

Of course, many students were less than thrilled since they wouldn't be getting any—talk about sour grapes!

"Handing them out all together might get chaotic. The school has already compiled a list for me. There are 1,500 people whose shoe sizes match, but we only have 1,000 pairs this time."

"So I had a computer randomly select 1,000 people. I'm sorry to those who missed out."

"It's fine! President Ye is too generous!"

"Haha!"

The same boy from earlier shouted out, sparking another wave of laughter below.

"How about this: I'll call two students up here. They can hold this list, call out the names, and you all can come up to collect them. That way, it won't get chaotic."

"Let me pick someone at random."

President Ye lowered her head, looked at the paper for half a minute, and then said, "Xu Lin, come up here please."

Xu Lin, who was currently straightening his collar, froze abruptly. He looked up at Ye Qinleng on the stage—now that's what I call a true random card draw!