Chapter 115: Do You Think He’s Not Worthy of You?

Before class, Tang Zhong specifically stood on the podium to discuss the selection of acts for the school's freshman orientation gala. Unfortunately, no one was willing to sign up. Tang Zhong called out the names of Jiao Nanxin and a few others, but they all refused.

Some people enjoy showing off, but most prefer to keep a low profile. Furthermore, the thought of having to pass through dual selection processes—first by the department and then by the school—before finally standing on stage was enough to make them lose their nerve.

As a result, Hua Ming’s act was the only one Class One could submit.

As soon as the first class ended, Tang Zhong hurried to the department office to report this to Li Qiang. When he arrived, Li Qiang was discussing something with a few students. Wei Feng, the president of the department student union, and Huang Wenya, the class monitor of Class Two, were also there, appearing quite familiar with Li Qiang.

Truth be told, Tang Zhong was the class monitor who kept the least contact with his counselor. He rarely came to chat or report on his "ideological work," let alone loiter in the office to curry favor. In fact, this was his first voluntary visit to Li Qiang’s office since he was elected.

Because he sought nothing, he remained independent.

Tang Zhong knocked on the door and called, "Teacher Li."

Li Qiang turned to see Tang Zhong and said with a smile, "Ah, Tang Zhong, come in. I was just waiting for you. Did any other students in your class sign up for an act?"

"I asked again before class started, and no one else signed up," Tang Zhong replied.

"I knew it would be like this. A waste of effort," Huang Wenya sneered. "The programs for the other classes are all finalized. President Wei has been sitting here waiting just because of your business. Your time might be worthless, but other people's time is very precious, isn't it?"

Hua Ming’s information was reliable; Huang Wenya was indeed Lu Yifei’s girlfriend. Their relationship had been established during military training. At that time, Lu Yifei was the temporary class monitor of Class One and Huang Wenya was the temporary monitor of Class Two. They often worked together, discussing various tasks assigned by the department. Having spent so much time together, they naturally developed feelings.

While Lu Yifei’s hypocrisy and cunning hadn't gained him any advantage over Tang Zhong, he was more than capable of handling a young girl who was just beginning to experience romance. Very quickly, Huang Wenya was deceived by the facade he presented.

Originally, they had planned to run for class monitor together and then enter the department student union, rising through the ranks as a power couple. To their surprise, while Huang Wenya successfully secured her position as Class Two's monitor, Lu Yifei was kicked to the curb by Tang Zhong.

It was rare for a temporary class monitor not to be elected, so Huang Wenya asked Lu Yifei what had happened. How could Lu Yifei admit he was inferior to Tang Zhong? Instead, he launched a smear campaign, claiming Tang Zhong cheated, bought votes with gifts and dinner, and even physically threatened students who intended to vote for him, offering one hundred yuan per vote. After saying it so often, even Lu Yifei began to believe his own lies. When they were together, their primary topic of conversation was attacking Tang Zhong and exposing his "shamelessness." Eventually, they even made up stories about Tang Zhong not washing his hair for a week, not bathing for a month, and wearing his clothes inside out once they got dirty.

Huang Wenya believed every word and had maintained a hostile attitude toward Tang Zhong ever since.

Tang Zhong frowned. To be honest, he wasn't a petty man—only a tiny bit petty. If it weren't for Lu Yifei’s provocations, he never would have stepped up to run for a position as meaningless to him as class monitor. He had even less desire to bicker with an inconsequential girl; in fact, he hadn't even realized such a person existed until now.

However, Huang Wenya was like a fly. She couldn't peck or bite you, but she would buzz around your ears whenever she had the chance, which was truly annoying.

Tang Zhong looked at Huang Wenya and said, "Are you seeking justice for Lu Yifei? Do you think the election was unfair to him? Is that why you target me at every turn, as if you’re dying to tear a piece of flesh off me?"

Huang Wenya hadn't expected Tang Zhong to call her out directly in front of the teacher and so many others, putting her relationship with Lu Yifei on the table. Shamed, angry, and resentful, her face turned a deep shade of purple. "What do you mean by that? Who is seeking justice for Lu Yifei? What does his business have to do with me? If he doesn't know how to conduct himself, is that anyone else's fault? Don't think that just because you're the Dean's student, you can be rude to others. I don't care if you're the Dean's student or the Principal's student; I just can't stand the sight of you."

By saying this, Huang Wenya was effectively pushing Tang Zhong to stand against Li Qiang, Wei Feng, and the others. *Because you are the Dean's student, you act sluggish and look down on everyone else?* It had to be said, the girl was quite skilled at fostering factional conflict.

Unfortunately, she was just as foolish as Lu Yifei. Since everyone knew Tang Zhong was the Dean's student, how could Li Qiang, who relied on the leadership's favor, or Wei Feng, who had his own ambitions, possibly stand with her to deal with Tang Zhong? If anything, they would find this meddlesome girl even more detestable.

Wei Feng shot Huang Wenya an annoyed look and said to Tang Zhong with a smile, "It’s no problem. Tang Zhong is just trying to uncover more talent for the show. I personally am grateful for his diligent and responsible attitude. Besides, there's nothing to do this afternoon; chatting with Teacher Li to pass the time is quite nice."

"Exactly. What Tang Zhong did was necessary," Li Qiang added. "If he hadn't notified the whole class and just submitted the list privately, others would have had complaints. In my years as a counselor, I've seen too many inexperienced class monitors create conflicts with their students simply by overlooking such details."

Tang Zhong wasn't surprised that Wei Feng and Li Qiang stood by him; this was how adults thought. Lu Yifei and Huang Wenya were just children who thought they were clever but were actually quite immature. Perhaps they would grow up quickly in the future, but right now, they were no match for Tang Zhong.

Just as Qiao Lei had said when he left: "I’ve been thinking about why I lost. Later, I realized: I used the methods of a young man, while you used the methods of an adult."

Seeing Huang Wenya’s red-faced, furious appearance, Tang Zhong felt no sympathy. On the contrary, he had no intention of letting her off the hook just yet.

"I know you're Lu Yifei’s girlfriend and think it was unfair that he lost the election to me. How about this: I'll hold another election in class with him. As long as Lu Yifei gets more votes than me, or even just half the class's votes, I'll step down and give the position to him."

Huang Wenya was deeply frustrated. With Lu Yifei’s current popularity, how could he possibly surpass Tang Zhong or get twenty votes to reach half the class?

"If that’s not enough for you, we can do this: Lu Yifei and I can hold an election every single day. If one day isn't enough, we'll do it for a week; if a week isn't enough, we'll do it for a month. The moment his vote count exceeds mine, I'll give him the position immediately. Everyone isn't very busy anyway; consider it a form of entertainment for the class."

"..."

Hearing such naked humiliation, Huang Wenya’s face drained of all color. No matter how much of a loser or how shameless her boyfriend was, he couldn't possibly face a daily election against someone. "Losing repeatedly" might sound noble, but in practice, it was utterly disgraceful.

Li Qiang shook his head with a bitter smile. He knew that anyone who provoked this kid would have a rough time.

This was the second time Wei Feng had dealt with Tang Zhong. During lunch, Tang Zhong had been low-key and silent, giving the impression of someone who wasn't much of a talker. In contrast, Hua Ming, who sat with him, was eager to perform, pouring drinks and serving food, cracking jokes, and acting familiar with everyone. It seemed he had been deceived by Tang Zhong’s outward appearance. This guy was a venomous snake—a very poisonous one. He usually remained in a state of hibernation, but once he launched an attack, one could only endure his fierce retaliation, likely resulting in a fatal dose of venom.

"Perhaps you aren't trying to seek justice for him, but simply because you feel you are now a superior class monitor—and since Lu Yifei is just a regular student, you feel he isn't worthy of you because he isn't a monitor?" Tang Zhong said with a deadpan expression. "If that's the case, I don't have the heart to break up a pair of star-crossed lovers. How about this: so that you two can continue to love each other, and so your heart can regain its balance, I'll just give the class monitor position to Lu Yifei. A Class One monitor with a Class Two monitor—that’s a perfect match, isn't it?"

At that moment, it wasn't just Huang Wenya who wanted to die; everyone present felt the same way. Was there ever such a face-slapping moment? Was there ever such a bully? *Because of a class monitor position—she felt her boyfriend wasn't worthy of her?* How power-hungry could someone be to harbor such thoughts?

"Waaaah!"

Huang Wenya could no longer sit still; she covered her face and ran out.

"She must be very happy right now, rushing to tell Lu Yifei this good news," Tang Zhong remarked to explain her tearful departure.

"..." Everyone stared at him, speechless. From now on, it was likely that no one in the department would dare to trouble him again.

"Teacher Li, I was serious. I really am willing to give the monitor position to Lu Yifei," Tang Zhong said.

"That won't do," Li Qiang refused, even though he knew not to believe a single punctuation mark of what this kid said. "The department has no such rules. You were elected by public vote; how can you just hand it over? If we did that, the department would be in chaos."

"Sigh," Tang Zhong sighed. "I just hope this doesn't affect their relationship."

"..."

Though Tang Zhong’s words were ostensibly directed at Huang Wenya, every single one of them was aimed at Lu Yifei. Everyone knew that after being humiliated like this, it would be a miracle if Huang Wenya still wanted to be Lu Yifei’s girlfriend.