When Qin Siyang got up, washed up, and arrived at the grand auditorium right on time, it was already packed to the brim.
The entire hall was filled with a sea of students, easily numbering two to three thousand at a glance.
But after taking a look at the scene inside, Qin Siyang was stunned.
"Shit! I should've come earlier."
There were no fixed seats for freshmen attending the ceremony. It was first come, first served, so those who arrived early got to choose their seats.
Anyone who's been to school knows that for this kind of mandatory event without assigned seating, no one usually sits in the front one or two rows. People generally don't want unnecessarily close contact with school leadership.
Even freshmen full of anticipation for university life were no exception.
So in the entire auditorium, only the seats beside the first-row guest section and the second-row professor section were still empty.
Qin Siyang sighed and had no choice but to keep walking forward.
But among the freshmen, very few people recognized him. Most just glanced at him once, then went back to their own conversations.
It wasn't surprising that so few knew what Qin Siyang looked like.
After all, those who made it to South Glory were all absolute geniuses in their own worlds. No genius would pay excessive attention to other geniuses.
He looked at the nameplates behind the first-row guest seats and found few familiar names. On top of that, the first row was too eye-catching, so he decided to sit in the second row instead.
The moment he sat down, he turned his head and realized that everyone beside him was someone he knew.
Chu Baxing, Hu Chan, Gu Yunpeng, Zhao Sifang, all sitting in a neat row.
Qin Siyang couldn't help but ask, "Crown Prince Chu, why are you sitting in the second row?"
Chu Baxing's features looked sharper than before, as if he had improved a lot during the time they hadn't seen each other. He replied indifferently, "Just got here. No seats left."
"You didn't come early for the opening ceremony?"
"Qin Siyang, do you even have the nerve to say I came late?"
Qin Siyang shook his head, "Hothead. Where's Saint Hu?"
Hu Chan had completely changed from before. His expression was proud, pristine, with a faint air of looking down on everyone, "Same as Chu Baxing."
"You came late too?"
"Yes. I was communing with the God Zephyr this morning. I got absorbed without noticing, so I arrived a bit late."
Qin Siyang shook his head, "Old fraud. Gu Yunpeng, what about you?"
"I'm the same as them. Came late."
"And why were you late?"
Gu Yunpeng's handsome face, with its sharp brows, tightened slightly, seeming a bit displeased, "I got held up by some senior girls on the way. They insisted on getting my contact info. It took a while to get away."
Qin Siyang clicked his tongue, "Little pervert. Little Zhao, why were you late?"
Zhao Sifang scratched his head, "Brother Qin, I wasn't late. I was the first one here."
"Then why are you sitting here?"
"My second uncle is the principal. I need to sit up front to support him!"
"Blockhead."
Hu Chan shot back, "You've insulted all of us. And you think you're any better?"
"More or less."
Qin Siyang curled his lips. After giving them all his evaluation, he looked toward the host's position on the stage.
He couldn't help but sigh.
Lin Yaman was hosting the opening ceremony.
If it were Qian Wenzhao hosting instead, that would've been a perfect kill.
Too bad that wasn't possible.
Standing on stage, Lin Yaman announced, ["South Glory University, Class of 2010 Freshman Opening Ceremony, now begins."]
The entire auditorium immediately fell silent, all eyes turning toward her.
["Hello, students. Welcome to the South Glory University family. I am the host of today's ceremony, Secretary of the Principal's Office, Lin Yaman."]
["First, let us invite Principal Zhao Longfei to deliver a speech. Please welcome him!"]
Amid the applause, Zhao Longfei stood up from the stage, holding a microphone, his smile gentle and approachable. Even the scar on his scalp seemed more tolerable.
Qin Siyang stared at Zhao Longfei's head and muttered, "The more I look at it, the more something feels off. Did Zhao Longfei put powder on his scar or something?"
Zhao Longfei began, ["Hello, students. Welcome to South Glory University."]
["You all come from top student groups across various cities and districts within the safe zone. South Glory University selects the best of the best, and we meet each other halfway. Choosing South Glory University is undoubtedly the right decision, because South Glory University is the fairest university within the safe zone!"]
["I believe that all of you who have joined South Glory University are not only outstanding in hunting gods, but also possess intelligence and the ability to distinguish right from wrong."]
["Speaking of distinguishing right from wrong, the most important aspect is identifying rumors. For example, there are currently people saying that I and a certain student, due to some unspeakable preference, like wearing the same pair of pants. Is that possible? I believe you all have your own answer. This is absolutely impossible. It can only be a rumor."]
As he said this, Zhao Longfei's sharp gaze pointed straight at Qin Siyang.
Qin Siyang was momentarily confused.
"What does that have to do with me? When did I ever say I swap pants with Zhao Longfei?"
Gu Yunpeng, sitting beside him, said, "President Qin, maybe you once said you were so close to Principal Zhao that you could wear the same pair of pants. It probably got twisted along the way into literally wearing the same pair."
"It can get twisted like that?", Qin Siyang's eyes widened, "Are South Glory students brainless?"
Chu Baxing spoke coldly, "Special admissions and sequence ability evaluations don't require academic scores. Whether someone has a brain or not doesn't affect getting into South Glory."
Qin Siyang clenched his fists, "How can there be such a huge loophole? They must include an IQ test in future admissions!"
Hu Chan said, "Boss Qin, I think ability-first is still the right approach. If you filter out those who are strong in combat but lacking in intellect and prevent them from entering good universities, how do you think they'll vent their anger?"
Qin Siyang suddenly understood, "That makes sense! As expected of you, old fraud who plays with people's hearts, you think deeper."
"..."
The group continued watching the ceremony.
After Zhao Longfei finished his speech, Lin Yaman said again, ["Thank you, Principal Zhao, for your speech. Next, we invite the freshman representative to speak. Please welcome student Fu Wanli."]
Qin Siyang asked in confusion, "Fu Wanli? Who's that?"
The others shook their heads, "Don't know him."
Chu Baxing asked, "Qin Siyang, why didn't you represent the freshmen and give the speech?"
"Not interested. Didn't Secretary Lin ask you?"
"She did. But if you're not interested, then I'm even less interested."
"You really know how to act," Qin Siyang couldn't be bothered to argue with Chu Baxing and asked again, "Hu Chan, what about you?"
Hu Chan replied calmly, "I was interested, but Secretary Lin didn't ask me."
"Fair enough. If you, old fraud, got on stage and started performing some kind of sorcery, that wouldn't look good. Gu Yunpeng, what about you?"
"Secretary Lin mentioned it to me. I declined. Too troublesome."
"What's troublesome about giving a speech?"
Gu Yunpeng sighed, "I'm worried I'd get surrounded by girls and wouldn't be able to leave the venue."
Qin Siyang took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to punch Gu Yunpeng, then asked, "Little Zhao, did they ask you?"
"My second uncle is the principal. If I represented the freshmen, people would think South Glory is too authoritarian."
"Then who's on stage?"
They all shook their heads, none of them recognizing Fu Wanli.
"So nobody knows him? Then why is he representing the freshmen?"
Zhao Sifang put down his phone and said, "I just checked. This Fu Wanli should be ranked sixth in freshman god-hunting points."
Qin Siyang shrugged, "So Secretary Lin went down the ranking list asking people, and whoever agreed got the spot? Makes sense."
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