"Now would the freshman year student representative please come up to the stage." The announcer signaled at the end of their speech.
Students and faculty members clapped warmly and politely to welcome the student representative of the incoming freshmen.
The freshman year student representative of the prestigious S High School is one of the most honorable titles to be given out to a student and it gives the owner of it the highest status among the freshmen class as they carry it throughout their first year. It not only allows their fellow students to look upon them with admiration and respect, even nearby schools look up to them. Because it's not just an empty title given to any student, it's a symbol of their hard work and intelligence; it announces to the world their great future potential.
It is a title solely given to the top scorer within hundreds of new students, all of whom are geniuses among geniuses. So to become the grade representative of a student body, one must be a monster and a freak even among geniuses.
Each year, there is only one student representative for the freshman class, and as they move up in grades, most of them stay miles ahead of the rest of their class and eventually becomes the next year's student representative. Consecutive titles as every grade's student representative on a resume is basically a guarantee to a bright future.
After they graduate, they are given priority enrollment by numerous prestigious and elite colleges and universities. Each trying their best offering packages one more outstanding than the other to snatch even one of the excellent scholarly materials.
Excellent scholarly materials who all come from the special class of S High School. In honesty, S High School itself is very average overall, however, one of its classes—the Special Class—is a ginormous outlier. Only geniuses were allowed in that class, scoring at the top of the school rankings and the rankings of the whole county, robbing every government scholarship awarded making the other high schools cry out in unfairness.
The student representative has always only come out from that class, or rather, because they are the student representative, they are placed in the genius class.
S High School became prestigious not just because it was called prestigious by others, nor was it better than the rest because of its wealthy and powerful students' parents. Although it was part of the reason why, it was not the most fundamental and essential reason.
The previous principals and their successors understood that in order to become an uncontested prestigious school, their school needed more than wealth and connections—it needed talents. Excellent, quality talents that can bring shine to their school name, graduate and go off to similar or more prestigious universities ordinary people can't even dream of.
They understood that and carried it out firmly.
In this way, S High School rose into the educational scene and gained its ever increasing prestige until it was acknowledged as a legitimate prestigious elite school where many young people dream of attending.
Attending S High School not only shows others their intelligence and uniqueness but also their great potential that normally cannot be seen, it secures their future which many students from ordinary, normal families need.
This was why the freshman year student representative title is such an honorable, envied title desired by many who understood its importance. Because among the acknowledged geniuses stood above them a greater genius and that is their student representative.
A trace of awe could be seen in the eyes of all the incoming students who took the special exam to get in. Although the other kids looked somewhat interested to see what poor kid became the freshman year student representative this year, they weren't that curious. These kids were from either wealthy or powerful families, so they had no interest in a commoner who worked hard to get in while they could easily pay their way into this prestigious school after randomly taking the entrance test.
The majority of S High School comprised of the rich and the powerful, while the minority was made up of the scholarship students who score at the top of the entrance test.
Every student was required to test into the school, no one was exempt, not even the ones who actually got in through money and connections.
Normally, the special class full of geniuses and talents consists of the bright-minded children from poor to middle-class families who studied tirelessly in order to get into this school with a scholarship in order to secure their limitless futures. While the normal classes consist of the rich kids and the children from the powerful or influential families who normally use money and connections to get into this prestigious school.
Titles such as student representatives, however, cannot be bought with either money or power in order to make them valuable and more desirable. The principal understood the bottom line, after all, and unrelentingly guarded it.
So as to say, every grade's student representative has always been from the special class and obtained by a talented and hardworking student of lower status, and the freshman year representative was no different.
This year, however, something was clearly different.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Some of the bored students suddenly perked up upon seeing the appearance of the freshman year's representative.
None of them expected the freshman student representative to be so attractive and gentle this year!
With their back straight and advancing to the stage with well-paced, steady footsteps, they displayed in full the proper etiquette they must have learned from their family's professional tutor.
A calm and mature air hung around them due to the way the other person held themselves. Their dark-to-light shades of purple hair fluttered in the wind of his steps, bringing along a sense of mystery and charm, especially when those light purple eyes glanced past people, countless girls squealed and nearly swooned. Many subconsciously reached out their hands, wanting that gaze to last on them a little longer, just a little longer, only to stare in a daze at the leaving back.
Wearing the standard school uniform unique to S High School, he resembled a prince who came straight out of a fairy tale rather than a student in his first year of high school.
A deep darkness larked within him that was forcibly suppressed and hidden beneath a mask of gentleness and grace.
A smile like gentle raindrops on a hot summer day, bringing about a sense of closeness yet distant politeness, unfurled itself on the lips of the freshman year representative.
Ian, carrying himself as usual, walked up on stage where he was handed the podium by the previous speech-maker who stepped down.
"Thank you, teacher. Good morning, fellow students, upperclassmen, teachers, and staff. It is with honor and privilege that I stand before you all on this fine morning.
"As with all new experiences, entering high school fills us freshmen with excitement and fear. I hope we will all help each other out, never neglecting or outcasting others because of mere differences.
"Here, together, we will shape not only our academic lives but our character, friendships, and future aspirations. It's a time to explore, to learn, and to grow—both as individuals and as a community.
"We have the support of our teachers, our families, and each other. Together, we can create an environment where learning is not just about grades, but about understanding, curiosity, and respect.
"Though we may come from different backgrounds and have different goals, we share a common purpose: to make the most of our time here, to contribute positively to our school community, and to prepare ourselves for the future that awaits us.
"As we move forward, let's remember that every challenge is an opportunity, and every setback is a lesson. With an open mind and a determined heart, we can achieve more than we ever imagined.
Thank you, and I wish us all successful and fulfilling years ahead. May all our goals be achieved."
Ian smiled genuinely at everyone in the audience.
His words truly brought out the gentleness in his smile and voice, filled with every characteristic that could be seen on him by others. Even the students who usually zone out the entire entrance ceremony listened rabidly to his speech, hanging onto every one of his words, and when he finished, they burst out into smiles and their precious hands smashed into one another uncontrollably.
Enthusiastic applause spread like tidal waves throughout the hall unlike the lukewarm, superficial clapping received by the freshman year student representative at the beginning.
Smiling politely and gently, yet with a hidden feeling of distance, Ian bowed his head lightly and stepped off the stage.
As he walked back to his seat, the girls in his path squealed in excitement and happiness as they clutched their friends' hands to contain the rising ecstasy inside them, preventing themselves from making a fool of themselves.
With a natural suave maneuver, Ian sat back down in his seat, arousing another wave of gasps of amazement and excitement.
Ian smiled with a back as straight and elegant as pine, unaffected by the gazes of everyone around him, boy or girl. Jealousy or admiration.
What was on his plate was far more troublesome and annoying than these immature punks.
The first day of high school officially began like this.
After the entrance ceremony, all students were instructed by teachers or staff to head to their respective homerooms.
The upperclassmen had a easier time as they were already familiar with the school and its layout.
However, since none of the new students knew which class they were in and had no idea where to go, the scene was a bit chaotic at first.
Until the student council president came out and organized all the new students with experienced poise and authority.
The mess was organized and everyone orderly went where they belonged.
Along the way, chitchats and conversations were unstoppable, everyone couldn't help chatting with one another about the new student representative, especially the freshman grade.
For one thing, their student representative was extremely handsome.
"He looks so gentle, so gentlemanly, I thought an actual prince had come out of a manga!"
"You too?! I thought the exact same thing!"
"And his speech… OMG, I have a crush! My dad's gonna kill him!"
"No way! He's mine."
"Nuh-uh~ Not a chance, he's gonna be mine!"
"Stop daydreaming! He's no one's… yet."
"Okay, competition aside, how can anyone be so gorgeous in real life?! It's like he has no flaws!"
"The way he walks, the way he smiles, the way he talks… just mmmh!!"
Squeals of uncontainable excitement could be heard from all the girls who were surrounded by bubbles and a pink atmosphere with hearts in their eyes.
Just like that, Ian gained a unanimous group of fangirls without doing anything.
On the other hand, the boys…
"Che! I don't understand what the big deal is?! Isn't he just a guy with two eyes and a nose like the rest of us?! Why is he getting all the attention?! Is it because he's the student representative?!"
"What's so good about being smart?! I bet my parents are a hundred times more loaded than his!"
"He's the freshman year student representative." Someone corrected. "Don't just randomly call a grade's representative 'student representative', it could get confusing since there's four student representatives in total."
"Yeah, okay. But you guys know what I mean, right?"
"Of course we do!"
"I also don't like him, he must be so stuck-up thinking he's smarter than all of us! What arrogance!"
"We should unite and ostracize him!" Someone pumped his fist up and hollered, but since the hallway was loud to begin with, his voice didn't stand out much except for the scoff of a girl who overheard his words and turned to tell her friend about it who rolled her eyes in turn.
Suddenly, someone said something unexpected and weird among the fuming and envious male students.
"Actually… I think the girls have a point. I was sitting right below the stage and when his eyes passed by me, he…"
The other boys furrowed their eyebrows and glared at the boy who spoke up hesitantly. "He what?"
"He… smiled at me for a second before he looked away and continued with his speech." The boy blushed as his voice got lower and lower as he spoke, he was getting infected by the same disease afflicting the girls right now—he was turning into a fanboy.
The other boys looked startled. Speechless, no one knew what to say, so this area of the hall became strangely silent.
"Actually… I agree with him. I don't think he's a threat. I was sitting next to this hot chick—I swear her eyes were nearly popping out from how hard she was staring at our student, I mean, freshman year student representative—but when his eyes passed over my area, they didn't linger even a second on the chick," another guy commented as he reflected on what happened this morning. Thinking back on it, he felt impressed, the guy obviously is abstinent and not an attention-grabbing show off. Staying that calm and desireless in front of temptation… gotta say, he's convinced.
"I also saw how clean his eyes were."
"Now that you're saying this, I also remembered that he smiled at me!"
"He is a real charmer!"
"Well, I guess we won't give him a hard time, then. Still, we need to be on guard, what if he guessed what we would think and acted like that because of it? He's crazy smart after all to be our year's representative."
"…You have a point."
"Well, I believe he's a real man!"
So without knowing or doing anything, Ian managed to earn the awe and admiration of his entire freshman student body, conquering the high school first years without lifting a finger.
His popularity grew like flowers in the spring wind among the freshmen, and even the second, third, and fourth year upperclassmen came to take note of him.