I'm a senior in high school, and the Emperor Development System has arrived!

Chen Zhou followed Jiang Yutong toward the office, the corridor filled with the sounds of noise from various classes.

Stephen Chow's raspy voice was particularly prominent; you could hear him shouting "Balenciaga will never go out of style" even from three floors away.

Although all the classes were noisy, no leaders or homeroom teachers came to inspect the situation.

Because everyone knows it.

The coming-of-age ceremony is essentially the last catharsis before the college entrance examination.

It acts as a valve for students to release pressure before their final push.

"Is the speech really only three lines long?"

Jiang Yutong suddenly stopped, and the megaphone in her hand almost poked Chen Zhou in the stomach.

Today she wore her hair in a low ponytail, revealing her slender neck, which looked delicate and youthful.

Chen Zhou stepped back slightly:

"Don't you get tired of writing so much? Last time I spoke, didn't you say my speech was too much like Jiahao's?"

That's because you're just letting yourself get away with it.

Jiang Yutong rolled her eyes and pushed open the office door:

"Teacher Shen specifically instructed us to emphasize keywords like 'responsibility' and 'dream,' so don't make any more random changes."

The desk was piled high with test papers, and Shen Enxi was grading them with her head down.
"Chen Zhou is here? Let me take a look at the manuscript."

Chen Zhou pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, on which three lines of text were written in black ink:
thank you all.

Being an adult means taking responsibility for yourself.

Wishing everyone the best of luck in the college entrance examination!
Shen Enxi sighed helplessly, and drew a horizontal line under the word "responsible" with her pen:
"Could you elaborate? For example, in light of your background as a sports student, could you talk about perseverance and such?"

"Does seeing Guangya at four in the morning count as perseverance?"

Chen Zhou scratched his head:
"But I can't say too much, or I'll be accused of being long-winded."

Jiang Yutong shook her head and, as if by magic, produced a printed copy and handed it over:
"I know you're not good at public speaking, so this is something I wrote for you. I added some parallel sentences; try reading it aloud."

Chen Zhou took the manuscript, and the scent of ink mixed with the faint fragrance of Jiang Yutong wafted into his nostrils.

He glanced at it casually and knew that it was indeed written by Jiang Yutong with care.

Chen Zhou nodded and said:

"With the help of the great writer Jiang, this speech will definitely be fine."

"Alright, hurry up and try reading it."

Jiang Yutong urged, her toes unconsciously kicking the table leg.

"Eighteen years old is..."

Chen Zhou cleared his throat and read a few paragraphs.

Shen Enxi and Jiang Yutong exchanged a glance and nodded in satisfaction.

Shen Enxi made the final decision:
"Let's keep this version!"

As Chen Zhou left the office, he leaned against the metal cabinet, opened Bai Qianqian's envelope, and a folded letter fell out, along with a White Rabbit milk candy wrapped in cellophane.

The handwriting on the letter paper was neat and beautiful:

"Chen Zhou: Today is your coming-of-age ceremony. Happy adulthood! Actually, I hesitated for a long time before I dared to send you this letter."

"You were really amazing when you ran at the last sports meet. Although I still stutter, seeing you standing on the podium made me feel like I need to be braver too."

"This candy gives you energy, just like you give me strength."

"—Bai Qianqian, who sits in front of you."

The last sentence was followed by a drawing of a rabbit holding a cheering sign, with the tips of its ears painted red.

Chen Zhou stuffed the candy into his pocket, the candy wrapper rustling.

Jiang Yutong's voice called for everyone to assemble in the classroom. He walked into the classroom and smiled at Bai Qianqian.

Then, the whole class lined up and walked towards the auditorium.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the dome of the auditorium, refracting tiny specks of light.

Chen Zhou stood on the side stage waiting to go on stage and saw Jiang Xia holding up his phone in the next class's area, the screen shining like a small sun.

Her hair had grown a lot, and today she let her ponytail down into a long, flowing style, which made her look much more ladylike and demure.

"Next, please welcome student representative Chen Zhou from Class 8 of Senior Three to speak!"

As the spotlight shone on him, Chen Zhou heard Zhou Xinglun shout from the audience, "Brother Zhou is going crazy!"

He walked to the microphone and saw Jiang Yutong standing on the side of the stage, holding a manuscript in her hand.

A gust of wind blew through the room, causing the hem of her gray skirt to sway gently in the breeze.

"Hello everyone, I am Chen Zhou."

As he bowed, he heard He Lili whistling from the back row, followed by Jiang Yutong whispering "Shh—".

Chen Zhou smiled faintly, which drew screams from the senior high school girls.

He then ignored the noise and slowly read out the speech that Jiang Yutong had prepared for him.

It has to be said that having a secretary like this is very thoughtful.

The secretary will handle everything...

Chen Zhou's voice came from the speakers and echoed throughout the entire auditorium:

"Turning eighteen is the moment you receive the baton, the moment someone is waiting to hug you at the end of the track, the moment you discover that you too can become someone else's light..."

Without any ripples, Chen Zhou finished reading his speech, and the entire audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that all those clapping enthusiastically were girls.

As Chen Zhou walked off the stage, he passed by He Lili, who looked at him with starry eyes and said:

"My idol looked incredibly handsome when he was reading his script!"

Chen Zhou smiled:

"We should thank Squad Leader Jiang for writing the article."

He Lili chuckled:
"The class monitor wrote well, and you read it well!"

After exchanging a few casual words, Chen Zhou returned to his seat, with Li Bin to his left and Zhou Xinglun to his right.

After the speech, it was time for the coming-of-age ceremony performances.

Compared to regular performances, coming-of-age ceremonies offer more freedom in their programming.

This can be seen from the program schedule.

The auditorium lights suddenly dimmed, and a spotlight swept across the audience before finally settling on the center of the stage.

The curtain slowly rose, and the first to appear were the girls from the second-year high school dance club. As soon as the first drumbeat of the background music began, Zhou Xinglun excitedly patted Chen Zhou's arm:
"Holy crap! It's the 'Driving Test Part 3'!"

Chen Zhou wiped his sweat:

"You're so familiar with it, how many times a day do you listen to it?"

On stage, six girls wearing matching black hoodies moved their wrists nimbly, creating wave-like patterns to the rhythm of "Draw a dragon with me on the left, draw a rainbow on the right."

After a few musical segments, the lead dancer suddenly knelt on one knee, pointed her hands into a gun shape at the audience, which elicited a chorus of whistles from the boys in the back row.

"I'm not saying this out loud, but these movements are much more standard than those of ordinary people on TikTok."

Li Bin stared, his eyes wide with amazement.

Chen Zhou was about to nod when he saw Zhou Xinglun already swaying to the music in his seat, humming "drawing rainbows, drawing rainbows" softly.

Chen Zhou was slightly taken aback, and thought he should change seats.

"The second program is a skit by Class 2 of Senior Three: The Mental State of Contemporary High School Students."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhou's body trembled.

It turned out to be a performance by Jiang Xia's class. I wonder if Jiang Xia participated in it.

As soon as the host finished speaking, eight students dressed in hospital gowns suddenly rushed onto the stage.

And the leader among them was none other than Jiang Xia.

Now Chen Zhou was really excited, his eyes glued to the screen, waiting to see what kind of amazing thing Jiang Xia would pull off today. Jiang Xia rolled up the sleeves of his hospital gown to his shoulders, revealing an arm with an electrocardiogram drawn on it.

"Doctor! I don't want to go to school this morning!"

Jiang Xia clutched his chest and collapsed onto the "hospital bed." Another boy held a thermometer for a long time, then suddenly shouted:

"It's over! 36.5 degrees Celsius, it's a terminal illness!"

"Hahaha, isn't this exactly how I feel every morning?"

Stephen Chow laughed so hard he slapped his thigh:
"I just saw this meme yesterday!"

Chen Zhou saw Jiang Xia roll her eyes dramatically on stage and secretly make a "6" gesture with her finger, clearly interacting with the audience.

When the skit reached its climax, the eight "patients" suddenly started dancing to a modified version of "I Can Go to the Toilet by Myself," shocking the audience.

Chen Zhou felt ashamed:

"They've brought over all of BabyBus's classic nursery rhymes. Who wrote this script? It's a bit too abstract, isn't it?"

During intermission, Jiang Yutong ran over with the program schedule in her arms, her ponytail swaying with each step.

"Zhou Xinglun, why were you laughing so loudly just now? The school leaders were all looking over here, and the homeroom teacher asked me to tell you."

"It's because Jiang Xia and the others acted so hilariously."

Stephen Chow said helplessly.

The third program followed, with four boys from Class 5 of Senior Three carrying keyboards onto the stage.

The words "Lone Warrior Remix" popped up on the screen.

This song really struck a chord with Li Bin; after Zhou Xinglun went crazy, it was his turn to go crazy.

Li Bin showcased his singing talent:
"I love you walking alone in the dark alleys~ I love your unyielding spirit~"

Chen Zhou covered his face and remained silent.

It's 2025 already, why are people still singing this children's song?
Is anyone going to take care of Li Bin?
The first few programs were a bit abstract, but they gradually became more normal later on.

The fourth program was a solo dance, performed by the art committee member of Senior Three (1) class, dressed in Hanfu, who danced "Only This Green".

The fifth performance was by Class 8 of Senior Three.

Chen Zhou looked at Bai Qianqian backstage, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Is this little girl up to the task?
"Next, please welcome Bai Qianqian from Class 8 of Senior Three to perform 'Zigeunerweisen' on the violin."

As the host's announcement faded, Bai Qianqian was adjusting her violin bow in the shadows of the side door of the stage.

The spotlight suddenly narrowed into a beam of light, landing precisely on her.

Bai Qianqian slowly walked towards the center of the stage.

Chen Zhou could clearly see that this girl, who usually kept her head down, was unusually radiant at this moment.

She tucked her bangs behind her ears, revealing her smooth forehead and straight nose.

Her cheeks were flushed, showing that she was a little nervous, but her eyes were exceptionally firm.

She walked to the center of the stage, the movement of pressing the piano against her collarbone carrying a certain sense of ritual, her high ponytail drawing a gentle arc in the air as she bowed.

After the rustling sound of rosin brushing against the strings, the first note suddenly rang out.

It wasn't the lyrical melody I had expected, but rather like a long wind suddenly rushing into a narrow pass in the wilderness, the vibrating strings making the crystal chandeliers on the auditorium's dome seem to hum softly.

Chen Zhou subconsciously sat up straight and saw Bai Qianqian's right wrist rotate slightly, the bow flying across the four strings as if invisible spirits were leaping between them.

The joke that Zhou Xinglun was about to blurt out got stuck in his throat, and his hand holding the phone froze in mid-air.

"Damn, President Bai was hiding this so well?"

Li Bin was immediately taken aback.

Chen Zhou did not answer.

He recalled the letter Bai Qianqian had given him earlier, which mentioned the power he had given her. Could this be what she was referring to?

Otherwise, Bai Qianqian would have never shown off her amazing violin skills at school.

When the music entered the allegro section, Bai Qianqian's fingertips danced so fast on the fretboard that they left afterimages, a stark contrast to her usual careful manner, even when turning the pages of a book.

As a series of rapid, spiccato scales poured forth, a music teacher in the front row couldn't help but lean forward, tapping out the rhythm with her fingers in the air.

so amazing!

As the double-note chords exploded during the climax, Bai Qianqian suddenly tilted her head slightly, and the spotlight condensed into tiny specks of light on her sweaty eyelashes.

The bow sometimes lashed the strings like a whip, and sometimes brushed across the surface of a lake like a feather; the contrast between strong and weak notes was so intense that it was hard to breathe.

The last overtone streaked across the night sky like a shooting star, its lingering resonance echoing in the auditorium for three seconds before Bai Qianqian's shoulders slumped.

She remained in the bow-drawing posture, panting, with stray hairs sticking to her skin.

Until the first applause suddenly rang out, like a pebble thrown into a still lake, followed by thunderous cheers from the entire audience.

Only then did Chen Zhou realize that his palms were sweating.

Fortunately, Bai Qianqian persevered and successfully completed the performance.

When Bai Qianqian returned to class, she was met with many curious glances, but she went straight to Chen Zhou and found a seat in the back row.

Chen Zhou gave a thumbs up:
"Great!"

Bai Qianqian lowered her head gently, seemingly returning to her usual self:

"I was so nervous just now..."

Chen Zhou smiled and said:

"It's the first time, everyone's like this. You'll get used to it and it'll get much better."

After offering her a few words of comfort, the host on stage began announcing the program again.

Soon, it was time for the grand finale.

When Chen Zhou reached level 2 in Chinese language, he realized that the "grand finale" referred to the second-to-last program.

The host on stage kept everyone in suspense, saying:
"Next up is the teachers' dance, 'Youth Training Manual'!"

Upon hearing the song title, the Abstract group couldn't hold back their laughter and burst into tears.

Li Bin almost laughed until he cried:

"This is seriously abstract, it's so abstract it's unbelievable. How can they even dance to this song?"

Stephen Chow has already started dancing:

"Follow my left and right hands in slow motion..."

But then, when they saw who was dancing on stage, the two of them stopped laughing.

There were seven teachers on the stage, all wearing cat-ear headbands, and standing on the far right was—

Shim Eun-hee!
Her gaze was fixed on the area of ​​Class 8, Grade 12, as if conveying an instruction:
Anyone who dares to laugh will die!

This is also why Stephen Chow and Li Bin are both taciturn.

Shen Enxi was clearly forced into the position by the new teacher. If they were to continue to challenge this powerful figure, they would truly be asking for trouble.

"I didn't expect Teacher Shen to know how to dance this."

Jiang Yutong sat down next to Chen Zhou at some point, holding two bottles of cola in her hand:

"Give."

Chen Zhou dared not look too long. Watching Jiang Yuyan jumping around on the stage, although it was very tempting, it was also full of a sense of moral deviance.

This is not enjoyment, but torture.

I believe that Shen Enxi on stage felt the same way.

Anyone with a normal personality would go up and dance to "Manual of Youth"!

Three or four minutes felt like an eternity.

Chen Zhou felt that Li Jiawei's "Suffering" was no longer the most agonizing version; his version was.

Thankfully, the music finally ended.

The group exchanged glances, finally letting out a sigh of relief. (End of Chapter)