For instance, if a candidate is your roommate and you sit next to him, you might feel that he is not suitable for the class monitor position, but you still feel compelled to vote for him for the sake of friendship.

Voting alone at the podium, without anyone around to influence you, allows you to vote for whoever you want, making the process relatively fairer.

Everyone cast their votes one by one, and after about half an hour, the last person finished voting.

"Great, now let's count each person's votes and scores!"

The class director first turned on the multimedia projector and then randomly picked someone to help tally the votes on stage.

The first small colored paper was opened, placed under the machine, and projected onto the classroom's white screen so that everyone could see the five names written on it.

"Luo Xi, Su Zelin, Hou Chunhua, Guo Ting, Feng Zhongliang, Chen Jie!"

As expected, the first and second slots went to Luo Xi and Su Zelin. Feng Zhongliang also got a vote, even though it was a fifth-slot vote, Old Feng was still delighted.

Luo Xi's spirits lifted; this was a promising start.

Getting the first-slot vote meant five points, two more than the second slot, which was very important.

The recorder noted everyone's names and ticked off their votes in different slots with tally marks.

The second small colored paper was opened again.

"Su Zelin, Luo Xi, Feng Zhongliang, Zhao Rui, Fang Yaling, Chen Jie!"

"..."

As each small colored paper was opened, Luo Xi's mood began to grow tense.

In previous elections for class president, she always led by a wide margin, but this time, she encountered a strong rival, the very popular Su Zelin, and didn't have full confidence.

In contrast, the easy-going student was relaxed, leisurely spinning a Hero fountain pen as if he didn't take it seriously at all.

He had absolute confidence.

After all, he used to be the president of a large company, and if he couldn't even beat a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl, he might as well give up!

As the vote count neared halfway, Su Zelin's advantage was already apparent. He secured the majority of the crucial first-slot votes, and even if he didn't get the first slot, he got the second slot, making his advantage hard to shake.

Almost all the boys gave their first-slot votes to Su Zelin because he had been very likable in the past month, mingling well with every dormitory, boasting and joking, being generous, and letting others use his computer. He even handed out cigarettes freely.

Most importantly, he fought for Liu Yanbin from Room 305 against some tall and strong members of the school basketball team, establishing absolute authority among his peers, earning him an informal leadership role and status.

If not for that fight, many boys might still have given him their first-slot votes, though perhaps not so unanimously.

Luo Xi's expression wasn't great because she realized she was likely to lose.

One more small colored paper was opened, and finally, it wasn't Su Zelin's name in the first slot. Surprisingly, his name wasn't on it at all, not even in any slot.

This was unprecedented since the start of the vote recording.

The font style projected on the screen seemed more deliberate, but it still appeared rough, likely written by a boy.

Everyone's gaze, as if by tacit agreement, fell on Pei Wenzhe.

Among the boys, if you could think of someone who wouldn't vote for Su Zelin, it would undoubtedly be Pei Wenzhe.

He had long disliked Su Zelin and had schemed to report Su Zelin for maliciously fighting in a group, resulting in his own reputation being tarnished. Nobody in the class respected him anymore, and even his dorm mates like Liu Yanbin didn't want to sit with him in class.

Pei Wenzhe's face alternated between red and white, his head lowering. This ballot was indeed from him, and he didn't expect that altering the handwriting wouldn't work; others immediately guessed it.

"You're a scumbag, using dirty tricks, you damn snitch, damn your mother, you rat bastard, go to hell!"

Zeng Kaiping's Cantonese insults erupted upon seeing the situation.

Others were also indignant.

"Pei Wenzhe really is petty and narrow-minded. He tattled on someone and ruined his own reputation, yet Su Zelin didn't hold it against him, and now he hates Su Zelin for it!"

"I used to consider voting for him as class president, what a blindness!"

"Definitely don't. If we let such a sinister and narrow-minded person lead our finance management class, it would be utter chaos!"

"..."

In a past life, the finance management class was turned into a disorganized mess by Pei Wenzhe.

This man was inherently selfish, an egotist who didn't care about his classmates and just used the position of vice class president to benefit himself.

Luo Xi was exhausted and couldn't salvage the mess. It's hard to believe they didn't have a decent reunion even after more than ten years after graduating.

However, Su Zelin was confident he could manage the class well, making it harmonious and united.

Additionally, he hoped his university life would be more enriched and fulfilling, hence he unhesitatingly participated in the election.

Continuing with the vote recording, soon another colored paper was discovered without Su Zelin's name. The handwriting seemed deliberately altered, but this time it appeared to have been done by a girl.

No one was surprised, as even though Su Zelin was like the head of the Women's Federation in the class, some girls might still privately lean towards Luo Xi. It's the same reasoning why among the boys, Liu Yanbin deliberately didn't choose Luo Xi.

It wasn't that Luo Xi wasn't good, but Liu Yanbin felt this was the only way to express his gratitude towards Su Zelin.

Luo Xi felt a little guilty because she had cast this ballot.

Facing a strong opponent, she couldn't afford to be careless and, out of self-interest, gave her first-slot vote to herself, leaving out Su Zelin's name.

Luo Xi felt this was straightforward, as Zeng Kaiping might very well do the same.

Unfortunately, the outcome wouldn't change due to these two ballots not favoring Su Zelin.

Zelin's first-slot voting rate was too high, with almost all the boys putting him at the top, and even many girls making the same choice.

After all, the title of head of the Women's Federation didn't come from nowhere, and Luo Xi's popularity wasn't invincible; there were some girls who didn't particularly like her.

With only a few ballots left, the outcome of the main and deputy class president was already clear, just waiting to complete the final procedures.

Another ballot was opened, and when everyone saw the six names projected on the screen, they all "hmm'd" in surprise.

This was the third ballot so far without Su Zelin's name.

What surprised people was the handwriting on it.

The strokes were vigorous and deeply imprinted, yet fluid, graceful, and carefree.

The combination of two styles was pleasing to the eye, and even if you didn't know calligraphy, you could tell that this handwriting was of high quality.

This was Su Zelin's vote!

Everyone reached the same conclusion simultaneously.

During the first class meeting, when making self-introductions, the easy-going student went on stage and wrote his name on the blackboard in chalk. The style matched the handwriting on the ballots, making it extremely obvious.

Not only did Su Zelin not write his own name, but the person topping this small colored paper was also unexpected.

Luo Xi!

The strongest competitor turned out to be the recipient of his first-slot vote!

...

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