What's wrong with me, a school principal, listening to students' suggestions?

"Brother Yang, where do we put this trophy when we get back?"

On the way back, the trophy was solemnly placed in the first row of the van, like a temporarily enshrined ancestor.

Li Daqiang kept a close eye on it the whole way, afraid that he might hit it if he braked suddenly.

"Set it up in the principal's office first."

"Why not set up an esports arena?"

"Are you stupid? Set it up in the office first, and then move it over there once all the teachers in the school have seen it."

"That makes sense, that's called expanding the influence first," Skinny Monkey said, slapping his thigh.

The van was buzzing with chatter, all discussing how they would brag about it once they got back.

On the other side, it was much quieter inside the G-Wagon.

"When they were receiving their awards just now, I suddenly understood you a little."

Su Qingyan looked at the traffic ahead and suddenly spoke.

"What do you mean by 'understand me'?"

"I understand why you always like to give them chances."

Lin Yucai turned his head and glanced at her.

"Vice Principal Su, hearing you say these words gives me a feeling that all my suffering has finally come to an end."

"Come on."

Su Qingyan ignored his banter and continued speaking.

"In the past, when students from No. 13 Middle School talked about their school outside, many would avoid mentioning it."

"I'm afraid of being laughed at, afraid of being looked down upon."

"But today, when they announced the three words 'No. 13 Middle School' on stage, their backs were straight."

"That's good." Lin Yucai nodded.

"It's pretty good." Su Qingyan paused, her tone somewhat complicated, "but I still didn't expect the e-sports arena to have this kind of effect."

"It's not essentially the effect of an esports arena."

"What is that?"

"It's the effect of being taken seriously."

Lin Yucai tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

"In the past, when they offered suggestions, nobody listened."

"Now when they make suggestions, the school actually implements them."

"In the past, when they went out, people would just point at them and say they were bad students."

"Now they can go out and bring back a runner-up title on their own."

"Ultimately, it's not that the game is so amazing, it's that they finally realized that they might actually succeed if they did something themselves."

"It is precisely because the school respected them that they felt a sense of belonging to the school."

Su Qingyan did not respond.

She turned her head to look out the window, where her own shadow was reflected in the glass, along with a faint smile.

……

When I got back to school, it was just in time for dinner.

There were quite a few people in the cafeteria.

As soon as Zhang Yang and his group walked in carrying the trophy, the entire cafeteria fell silent instantly.

The next second, the volume increased several times over.

"Holy crap, they actually brought back the award?"

"What place did you get?"

"Runner-up? Runner-up!"

Li Daqiang originally wanted to keep a low profile.

Before he even reached the food serving window, he was already surrounded by a group of people.

"Brother Qiang, have you gone on stage yet?"

"It's on."

Are you nervous?

"A little."

Have they ever beaten a professional team?

"What professional teams? They're all just random players. But the team from Black Knight Internet Cafe is really strong..."

"I heard that someone with a professional background has taken a liking to you?"

Li Daqiang was at a loss for words and could only scratch his head and laugh awkwardly.

"Oh, you actually brought back an award?"

Zhou Dahai poked his head out of the kitchen window, saw the trophy, was stunned for a moment, and then grinned.

"Chef Zhou, add more dishes."

Zhang Yang casually placed the trophy in front of the window.

"I knew you'd be thinking about this."

"The principal promised us."

"Xiao Li, bring out another pot of the braised pork ribs that you just cooked!" Zhou Dahai shouted to the back.

There was an immediate response from the kitchen.

Cheers erupted in the cafeteria.

Whether they played or not, these students remained highly unified in their enthusiasm for the phrase "adding dishes".

During the meal, Zhang Yang and a few others became the focus of attention.

The girls at Lin Xiaoya's table even came over with their trays to "interview" her.

Xu Niannian's ears turned red from the question, and she barely spoke.

In the end, Zhang Yang stepped up, gnawing on ribs while recounting the course of the match.

Of course, when talking about his own flanking maneuver, he inevitably spent a little more time on it.

Li Daqiang also posted on his WeChat Moments.

He's not usually good at writing copy, so after struggling for a while, he posted a picture of a trophy with a six-word caption.

"Our school is amazing!"

The comments section under this post was flooded with messages.

Someone asked him if he stole the image.

Someone asked if No. 13 Middle School has been converted into an e-sports school.

Someone even sent a direct message.

"Does your principal need any more students? I want to transfer."

At the same time, Zhang Yang's post, "Who says we can't do it?", also began to spread among students in the city.

Some people know him and know what kind of person he used to be.

Seeing him standing on the stage holding the trophy now, my first reaction is almost always disbelief.

"Is this ostentatious?"

"That troublemaker from No. 13 Middle School?"

"Seriously? He's actually competing and getting second place now?"

"Isn't the main point that their principal actually took them to the competition?"

On short video platforms, some people also edited and posted the footage of the scene.

The title is very straightforward.

"The high school principal personally led the team to compete in the internet cafe league, and the students won the runner-up title in their first match."

This kind of outrageous yet somewhat realistic content spread incredibly quickly in the local online environment of 2018.

The comments section quickly became lively.

"This principal is something else."

"While other principals are still giving extra lessons, this one has already taken his students to win awards."

"To be honest, as long as the grades don't drop, I really support this approach."

"Is No. 13 Middle School the one with the amazing cafeteria and air-conditioned dormitories?"

"Yes, that's it, it's been really popular lately."

"Just how many more surprises does this school have up its sleeve?"

……

Lin Yucai didn't return to his office until after nine o'clock at night.

The trophy had been shamelessly placed on the filing cabinet opposite his desk by Zhang Yang and his friends, right in the center, in a very conspicuous position.

He glanced at it but didn't move.

That's good, it'll give the kids two days of fun.

He only brought up the system panel after closing the door.

The purple treasure chest slowly rotated in my field of vision, its surface covered with a faint shimmering light.

Lin Yucai rubbed his hands together.

"open."

The next second, the lid popped open.

Congratulations on winning:

[Advanced Inspiration (Active Ability)]

[Effect: When the host speaks, mobilizes, or gives a speech, their charisma increases by 200%, significantly stimulating the emotions and motivation of the audience.]

[Limitation: Can be triggered once per day; provides a small boost to normal speech.]

[Legitimate deposit into personal account: 20000 yuan.]

[Personal Attribute Boost: Charisma +1, Stamina +1.]

Lin Yucai stared at the line "Advanced Encouragement," his eyes gradually brightening.

This thing came at just the right time.

He will be facing more than just students next.

There are also teachers, parents, the media, and even the people in the education bureau.

Sometimes, whether something can be accomplished depends not only on reason, but also on the support of the people.

As the old saying goes, many hands make light work!

He had just turned off the panel when his phone rang.

Caller ID: Ma Desheng.

"Director Ma, why aren't you asleep so late? Aren't you taking care of your health?"

On the other end of the phone, Ma Desheng sounded a little anxious.

"Principal Lin, something has happened."

"Speak." Lin Yucai's smile faded slightly.

"An old classmate of mine who works at a TV station just sent me a message."

"Someone anonymously reported that No. 13 Middle School built an illegal internet cafe on campus."

"Using school funds to incite students to become addicted to games and taking students to participate in commercial internet cafe leagues has a very bad influence."

Lin Yucai's eyes darkened.

They arrived as expected.