Volume 1 / Chapter 8: The Young Principal

"All students—attention!" A middle-aged man radiating vigor stood on the podium and boomed into the microphone, his voice echoing across every corner of the campus.

Students straightened up slightly, though most still looked listless.

The seniors were especially apathetic.

The freshest-faced were, without a doubt, the new freshmen.

No doubt, this year's freshmen would eventually become just like that too.

Such was the evolution of the school-weary veteran.

The man shouting commands was likely the P.E. teacher. His call was mostly ceremonial. Seeing most heads lifted, he continued: "Raise the national flag! Play the national anthem! Salute with your eyes!"

As the national anthem began, students cast perfunctory glances towards the slowly rising flag.

Few stared with burning eyes or firm conviction.

This was normal, of course. They were just ordinary people, not soldiers held to military standards.

This was tolerable. But several boys in the ranks were quietly singing altered, irreverent lyrics, chuckling as if it were hilarious, making Mo Xueyao frown deeply.

"Forget it… don't take it too seriously…" she muttered to herself, finally seeing the flag reach the top.

Next came the principal's address.

The principal who stepped onto the stage was surprisingly young. At first, Mo Xueyao had mistaken him for just another teacher.

He looked about thirty, his eyes holding a touch of weariness, his chin stubble rough. Dressed in a crisp suit, he exuded an air of sharp competence.

"Good morning, students, teachers." It started as a standard greeting.

But Mo Xueyao noticed he hadn't brought a script to the podium; he held only the microphone.

He seemed to be speaking entirely off the cuff.

"After a month together, I trust you're all familiar with me, your new principal? What are your thoughts on the recent changes? Are the new uniforms comfortable?"

"Principal—! The uniform is too cold!" A girl's shout pierced the relative quiet of the playground.

Many heads swiveled towards the source.

Only those nearer the front knew for sure.

That girl was from Class 2 grade 10.

In fact, Mo Xueyao could name her exactly her deskmate, Wang Jiale.

While lining up outside the classroom, the homeroom teacher had quickly arranged them by height. Mo Xueyao, at 158cm, was short but not the shortest, landing fifth in line. The diminutive Wang Jiale stood right at the front.

"I heard the young lady," the young principal replied, sounding remarkably approachable, a hint of amusement in his voice. "No need to worry. The girls' autumn/winter uniforms and jackets will all arrive tomorrow. You can change as needed. The boys' will take a few more days."

"The National Day holiday is over. It's time to refocus your minds on studies." The principal continued. "Starting today, our school will officially launch several clubs. I've always believed students shouldn't just learn from textbooks. You should pursue your own interests and hobbies. The clubs launching now all have teacher advisors. However, if any student wishes to start their own club, that is absolutely possible. Submit an application to your homeroom teacher. They will pass it to the Dean of Students. Once approved, you gain permission to form the club, and the applicant becomes its first president."

The students on the field instantly buzzed with excitement.

Many boys looked eager, practically vibrating.

Someone even muttered about starting a video game club.

While Mo Xueyao thought that sounded fun, she strongly suspected it wouldn't get approved...

"However, note this: if a club performs poorly, lacks sufficient members, or creates significant negative impact, it will be disbanded. Each student can only apply to start a club once per semester. So, please consider carefully."

The young principal on the stage adjusted his tie. "The four clubs launching now with designated teacher advisors are—"

"Basketball Club and Football Club, both directly led by Teacher Ye Ran; Social Practice Club, led by Teacher Yin Ling; and Photography Club, led by Teacher Qiu Yi."

"That's not a vast number. Making Yukong High's clubs more diverse and plentiful requires the joint effort of all students."

The students below could barely contain their excitement. The seniors lamented their impending college entrance exams next year, likely leaving them little time to participate. They grumbled, stomping their feet, wishing the new principal had arrived a year earlier.

"Hold your excitement, quiet down," the principal called. "I have one more piece of good news."

The field fell silent, listening intently.

"During the National Day holiday, our school cafeteria underwent minor renovations. To offer you more dining variety, it now has seven service windows. Six will offer different lunch options each day, with menus changing monthly. Students who truly can't manage lunch can go to the seventh window. Using that day's meal ticket, you can exchange it for snacks. But remember, the daily snack supply is limited."

"Whoa—!!"

This time, the students erupted.

Louder than before.

The school cafeteria food wasn't terrible, but it cycled through the same few dishes relentlessly. Anyone would get sick of it eventually.

This was genuinely beneficial news for every student.

"You'll experience the new cafeteria offerings at lunch today," the principal said, clearing his throat. "Next, an announcement for the freshmen."

Anticipating what was coming, many sophomores and seniors chuckled quietly.

They'd endured it; now it was the freshmen's turn to suffer.

"Military training will commence on October 18th. All freshmen, please prepare accordingly. Your homeroom teachers will inform you of specific items needed for the training location."

The freshmen, who had been elated seconds before, instantly deflated, shoulders slumping.

Mo Xueyao, however, was different. Her eyes shone faintly, anticipating the training.

After all, military training was the ultimate test of manly spirit!

Even if she was a girl now...

It didn't stop her from feeling drawn to it.

Much like she still harbored a flicker of longing to join the army and defend her country.

Sixteen years lived as a boy, even if her appearance had set her slightly apart, had planted a deeper sense of patriotism and martial spirit than most girls possessed. Thoughts of defending her homeland, even dying in battle, still stirred a fierce heat in her blood.

"Alright, enough talk. That concludes my address." The principal handed the microphone decisively to the Dean of Students standing beside him.

The Dean was also young and strikingly attractive, wearing semi-transparent black stockings and gold-rimmed glasses that accentuated her intelligent beauty.

She seemed more meticulous than the casually confident principal.

She detailed specific school arrangements and announced the conduct scores for each class from the week before last.

But she shared the principal's trait: speed and efficiency. No fluff, no empty words. She finished what she needed to say quickly.

The student representative's speech, however, felt interminable.

Reading a long-winded script filled with platitudes and hollow declarations, they offered little substance.

Mostly just stating what should be done, what ought to be achieved...

By the time the student finally concluded, the students were visibly restless.

The familiar strains of the athletes' march tune blared out. The P.E. teacher took the microphone back, tapped it firmly "Testing? Okay.", and announced: "Classes will now dismiss in order."

Each class marched back towards their building in relatively neat lines, only to dissolve into chaos the moment they reached its base. Students scattered in all directions.

Some headed back to class, others beelined for the snack shop, groups headed to the restrooms together...

Back in middle school, Mo Xueyao would have been one of those guys, slinging an arm over a buddy's shoulder on the way to the restroom – even if she didn't need to go.

But now...

She was alone.

Knew almost no one at school yet.

So, she simply walked back to the classroom by herself.

The first student in each row was collecting homework piled on desks. Subject representatives bustled about, tallying submissions. Everyone looked busy.

"Oooh~ Our new principal is so nice and so handsome!" Deskmate Wang Jiale plopped down and immediately started swooning.

Mo Xueyao's lip twitched involuntarily. She turned to look out the window, pretending not to hear.

"Hey, deskmate?"

No reaction.

"Mo Xueyao?" Wang Jiale poked Mo Xueyao's back. Faced with this bubbly, overly familiar girl who was somehow impossible to dislike, Mo Xueyao could only turn around, resigned.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't you think the new principal is super handsome?"

"Uh... he's okay..."

"And he's surnamed Mo too! Just like you! Hey, hey, are you secretly related to the principal?"

Mo Xueyao gave her a deadpan look. "Even if Mo isn't a common surname, you can't just make me claim relatives randomly?"

"Hmm... true... Oh! Did you copy the class schedule?"

"Class schedule?" Mo Xueyao blinked, confused. "Didn't see it anywhere..."

"Oh, right, forgot, that paper got torn down. No worries!" Wang Jiale flipped open her pencil case helpfully. "Want to copy mine?"

"Sure... thanks."