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

Lin Yucai looked up at the sky.

The sun was shining brightly, and a warm June breeze blew in from the playground.

The system panel flashed briefly in the corner of my field of vision.

[Recruitment progress update: 87%]

Lin Yucai let out a soft breath and turned off the panel.

On the way back to the office, Su Qingyan walked beside him, unusually refraining from saying anything discouraging.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she suddenly spoke.

"What will Liu Jianguo do after he finds out about today's events?"

"He'll be furious." Lin Yucai said without turning his head.

"and then?"

"Then he'll think of his next move."

Aren't you worried?

Lin Yucai stopped, turned to look at her, and smiled slightly.

"What are you worried about? He hid us from the website, so we ended up driving a bus and bringing our parents here ourselves."

"The more trouble he caused, the more renowned No. 13 Middle School became."

"Vice Principal Su, what's this called again?"

Su Qingyan looked at his smug face and only responded coldly after two seconds.

"Free GG"

"That's right, look how smart you are."

Su Qingyan snorted and quickened her pace to walk past him, her ears turning slightly pink.

……

Saturday evening at 8 p.m., fourth floor of the Education Bureau building.

The light in Liu Jianguo's office was still on.

There were five or six cigarette butts piled up in the ashtray, and the water in the teacup had gone cold but no one touched it.

Zhao Hongliang sat in the chair opposite him, his back straight, not daring to say a word.

On Liu Jianguo's phone screen was a short video that was trending on local social media.

In the video, fifteen dark blue buses are parked neatly in front of the No. 13 Middle School, and parents are filing off the buses.

Next came close-ups of the cafeteria dishes, explanations from student volunteers, and real-life scenes of the e-sports arena and gym.

The last shot shows a long queue forming in front of the registration desk.

"The school couldn't be found on the Education Bureau's website, so they sent a bus to pick people up themselves."

"Some schools pay for GG slots, while others even have their showcase pages folded."

But truly good things cannot be hidden.

The comments section has exploded.

"I was there today, and the food in the cafeteria was absolutely amazing."

"I searched the admissions website for ages but couldn't find No. 13 Middle School. Was it deliberately hidden?"

"Which leader did this? Can you investigate?"

"Where can you find a school like that where the principal personally drives to pick them up?"

"My child originally applied to No. 4 Middle School, but has now changed their mind."

Liu Jianguo slammed his phone back onto the table.

Who took the photo?

"Students." Zhao Hongliang's throat was dry. "Students from the photography interest class at No. 13 Middle School, these were taken in real time."

"Before it was even posted, three local influential figures had already shared it, and with the school's official account's existing 120,000 followers, it spread very quickly."

"It's currently ranked third on the local rankings, and it's still climbing."

Liu Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, his fingers trembling slightly.

I remembered the little tricks I had done in the backend of the admissions system.

At that time, he thought it was very simple: if parents couldn't find No. 13 Middle School online, they naturally wouldn't fill out the application.

As long as the number of students enrolled this year is less than 300, the reason for the merger will be legitimate.

He never imagined that Lin Yucai would bypass online channels and directly bring parents to his doorstep offline.

I never imagined that someone would dig up the fact that the "enrollment page was folded" and put it in the caption of the short video.

Although no names were mentioned, everyone understood.

"Director." Zhao Hongliang hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Zhao Yuanming called and said that some parents were asking about the enrollment system in the comments section, asking if the No. 13 Middle School's display space should be restored."

Liu Jianguo remained silent for a long time.

recover?

To revert to the original stance is tantamount to admitting that one has tampered with the evidence.

Not recovering?

If public opinion continues to escalate, and the authorities investigate, the situation will be even more difficult to resolve.

He rubbed his temples, his teeth aching from clenching them.

"Recover," he managed to squeeze out of his throat.

"Just say that the system upgrade caused the sorting error, which has now been fixed."

Zhao Hongliang quickly took out his phone and sent a message to Zhao Yuanming.

Liu Jianguo leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a while.

He's only now truly realizing something.

Lin Yucai is not fighting alone.

Behind this man stand five hundred students, hundreds of thousands of fans, a reporter, and a group of parents who increasingly trust him.

And what about our side?

There's Zhao Hongliang, who's always timid and hesitant; Zhao Yuanming, who's always nervous and uneasy; and Qian Wenhua, who only talks sarcastic and sarcastic things behind people's backs.

He suddenly felt a bitter taste in his throat.

"Director, what should we do next?" Zhao Hongliang asked cautiously.

Liu Jianguo picked up his phone again and scrolled to the comment section of the short video.

The top comment has over 800 likes.

"The principal of No. 13 Middle School is truly dedicated to his work, unlike some people who only know how to hold others hostage."

Liu Jianguo stared at the line of text for ten seconds, then locked his phone.

"Don't move for now." He stood up, pulled his suit jacket off the back of the chair, and put it on.

"Wait for the college entrance exam results to come out."

"No matter how good the foundation of No. 13 Middle School is, the college entrance examination pass rate is the only hard indicator."

"If the college entrance exam scores still don't improve, I still have a reason to push for a merger."

Zhao Hongliang responded but didn't dare say anything more.

Liu Jianguo stopped abruptly as he reached the door.

"Oh, right." He didn't turn around, "Let's schedule a time with that developer next week."

"The land issue can't be delayed any longer."

The door closed.

Zhao Hongliang sat alone in his office, looking at the cigarette ash scattered on the table and the cold teacup, feeling an indescribable sense of frustration.

He followed Liu Jianguo for seven years, rising from a clerk to a deputy section chief, all thanks to his unwavering obedience.

But this time, he had a feeling that the ship might be about to leak.

……

On the other side, in the principal's office of No. 13 Middle School.

Lin Yucai finished compiling all the registration data for the day and locked it in the metal cabinet.

Two hundred and three registrations of interest were received.

Adding the 97 questionnaires collected from previous consultations and open days, the total number is 300.

It just barely crossed the line.

But he knew that expressing an intention was not the same as actually submitting the form.

There were many changes between leaving a phone number and actually writing "No. 13 Middle School" on the application form.

Parents may hesitate, be swayed by a few words from others, or change their minds at the last minute.

If 70-80% of the 300 expressions of interest are ultimately realized, that would be a major success.

"Not enough," he said to the empty office.

We need to add fuel to the fire.

The system panel lit up briefly.

[The enrollment target progress has been detected to be 87%.]

[Hidden trigger condition met: The cumulative views of campus short videos have exceeded 500 million.]

[Rewards being distributed...]

[1. Special Campus Greening Fund: RMB 100 million. (Already transferred to the host account through legal channels)]

[2. Personal Attribute Boost: Stamina +1.]

Current stamina: 8 (average for an average person: 5)