radicalducati Chapter 62 Breaking Boundaries Across Schools
Chapter 62 Breaking Boundaries Across Schools
After speaking frankly, he neatly handed the microphone back and turned to walk towards the control panel.
"Clap clap clap—!" The applause was even more enthusiastic and longer than before, as if it had also dispelled the last bit of stagnant air.
After his remarks, the atmosphere visibly relaxed, and a stronger sense of anticipation and curiosity filled the room.
"Senior sister," Hong Zhenbo leaned closer to Sun Xiaowen and said in a low voice, "Junior brother Geng's opening speech... is completely different from the script we prepared for him."
"Yes," Sun Xiaowen said earnestly, her gaze following Geng Zhi's retreating figure, "but he revised it very well. It's superior to our version and much more moving."
"But this speech is way too mature!" Hong Zhenbo clicked his tongue. "This doesn't sound like something a 21-year-old college student would say. I'd believe it if you told me he was 31..."
"Even a 31-year-old might not say something like that," Sun Xiaowen added softly.
At this moment, Shu Beibei returned to the stage, her smile even more lively than before: "Thank you for the wonderful opening, Senior Gengzhi. Now we will move on to the formal event, but we need to adjust a small part of the process."
She paused playfully, cleared her throat, and said, "The week-long 'Anonymous Couple Ranking' event ended at midnight. I'm sure everyone has secretly checked the results countless times, right?"
A tacit chuckle rippled through the audience.
"So, before we begin the first icebreaker game, let's invite the top eight winning couples from the anonymous CP rankings to come up on stage for their 'first experience of fate'!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an excited commotion broke out in the room.
The guests who failed to make it into the top eight instantly switched to spectator mode, waiting to see what would happen.
The sixteen male and female guests who ranked in the top eight had mixed feelings – a mix of trepidation, curiosity, and anticipation. They all wanted to see for themselves who the couples they had been paired up with by the system and approved by the public for a week really were.
"Wow! Anonymous to real-name? Is this an early announcement and a meeting in real life?!"
"Why would anyone want to go through with this? It's just an online poll, just for fun. It's not impossible that none of the couples will end up together."
"Pah! Pah! Pah! Shut up, you jinx!"
Upon hearing that the anonymous couple had been announced ahead of schedule, Zhang Qinghua was undoubtedly the most excited person in the audience.
Taking advantage of his proximity, he used back channels to secure a relationship with a girl from the School of Foreign Languages.
After the CP rankings were released, although his request to boost votes in the background was rejected by Geng Zhi, his fellow disciples in the Qi Family Army put in a lot of effort to vote for him, and managed to push his "Code Knight and Alien Messenger" pairing into the top three.
He sat up straight, his eyes scanning the room for his ideal partner.
"Now, I will officially announce the winners." Shu Beibei picked up her cue cards.
"The eighth place goes to the 'Logical Poet' and 'Starry Sky Painter' duo from Group 29!"
……
"Third place goes to the 'Code Knight' and 'Otherworldly Messenger' duo from Group 12!"
Upon hearing his group's name, Zhang Qinghua's heart skipped a beat, and he almost stood up.
Meanwhile, Wang Qinqin's cheeks also flushed slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but glance again at the tall boy in the gray hoodie to her left, her heart pounding.
……
After announcing the list of the top eight groups, Shu Beibei joked with a smile:
"This is both the first match made by the 'Jiaotong University Matchmaker's' algorithm and the result of a vote by the students. Whether your online connection can blossom into a real-life relationship depends on your performance in the future!"
"Now, please welcome our sixteen lucky guests to the stage to claim your perfect partner. Pair up and get ready to receive your special little gift!"
The sixteen people stood up one after another.
Seeing the boy in the gray hoodie stand up, Kong Juan excitedly patted Wang Qinqin's arm: "Qinqin! Look! He's up! It really is your 'Code Knight'! Wow! Hurry up, hurry up!"
Wang Qinqin smiled faintly, but her heart was pounding like a drum.
After the sixteen guests took the stage, they began to find and confirm their respective partners, following the host's instructions.
Wang Qinqin did not take the initiative to step forward. She stood quietly in place, with a hint of reserved expectation in her heart, waiting for the boy in the gray hoodie to walk through the crowd and walk towards her.
However, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the boy—who hesitated slightly before walking towards the 158cm tall "queen of presence" not far away. The two stood together and smiled at each other.
What's going on?
Wang Qinqin was stunned.
Isn't he... my boyfriend? That "code knight" from the computer science department?
Why did they ignore me, who is 168cm tall, but go after that girl who is only 158cm tall?
Her mind was in a mess, and she was still wondering if the other person had mistaken her for someone else when a boy with a bright smile and wearing a red trendy hoodie walked up to her.
"Hello, classmate!" Zhang Qinghua's eyes lit up, his voice excited. "You must be the 'Messenger from Another World'? I'm your 'Code Knight,' Zhang Qinghua!"
The expression on Wang Qinqin's face instantly changed from confusion and bewilderment to utter astonishment.
It turns out... the boy in the gray hoodie she had been secretly watching was actually the 185cm tall star player on the school basketball team, and someone else's boyfriend.
Looking at the red-clad boy in front of her, who was about 1.75 meters tall and had a warm, even slightly flamboyant smile, a huge sense of loss and melancholy instantly overwhelmed all her previous secret expectations.
"Oh...you...hello." Wang Qinqin forced a polite smile. "I am 'Messenger from Another Land,' Wang Qinqin."
To be fair, Zhang Qinghua is not bad-looking and can be considered refreshing. Although his height is only 5cm shorter than the "180cm" listed in his profile, he is by no means short.
However, Wang Qinqin's heart, which had just been stirred, was already predisposed to be attached to that 185cm tall boy.
Wang Qinqin's brief moment of distraction, stuttering, and forced smile were interpreted by the overconfident Zhang Qinghua as a different kind of signal:
Look, this girl is really impressed by my handsomeness! She's so nervous she can't even speak!
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Zhang Qinghua naturally extended his hand and shook hands firmly with Wang Qinqin, while glancing smugly at Song Qing and Huang Haitang, the meaning clear: See? Junior brother is mine in no time!
"Tsk," Song Qing chuckled as he looked at Zhang Qinghua's smug expression from behind the control panel. "This kid really managed to pull it off."
"To be honest," Huang Haitang shook her head with a smile, "the girl from the other department he's paired with is really pretty. This guy is so lucky."
After hosting the awards ceremony and a brief interview, Shu Beibei finally got the event on track.
"Alright, that concludes our initial encounter with fate! Now, let's move on to today's main event—the first round, the icebreaker game! Everyone has a number tag... We will be divided into 4 groups according to..."
While Shu Beibei skillfully guided the event, Yang Mingxia also launched a live text and image broadcast on the Drinking Water Source BBS and the official "Jiaotong University Matchmaker" account on Renren.com.
A series of amazing candid photos were quickly uploaded, igniting the enthusiasm of onlookers behind the screen.
On November 11th this year, Alibaba tried out "Taobao Mall Promotion Day" for the first time, but "Double Eleven" is far from becoming the nationwide shopping frenzy it later became.
In the public's perception, this day is still "Singles' Day" for single people—a holiday for self-deprecation, entertainment, or quiet reflection.
With the festive atmosphere, it became commonplace for the dormitories to have "Single Love Song" playing on repeat and for BBS to have various self-deprecating posts about being single.
But no matter their emotions, nothing could dampen the students', especially those from Jiaotong University, enthusiasm for watching the drama unfold online.
The official live stream post from "Jiaotong University Matchmaker" quickly went viral and once again became a trending topic on BBS.
Unlike in the past, this time the buzz has broken through the barriers between schools, spreading to the neighboring Shih-Shi University, and is showing signs of reaching Shanghai.