Chapter 80 What is Happiness

rage middle school students from dating, teachers turned a blind eye once students reached high school as long as their relationships did not cause significant disruptions. It seemed true then that Xi...Chapter 80: What is Happiness

"Su Cen, have you prepared your speech" Xiao Rihua's most concerned question was whether Su Cen had written his speech. To a certain extent, Su Cen’s speech represented the image of their class and would be displayed in front of the entire school.

Su Cen sighed inwardly, "I haven’t written my speech."

Xiao Rihua's expression darkened instantly. The anger on his face was about to burst out, "Are you not going to give a speech You!"

"No, I haven't written it down yet, but I have prepared mentally," Su Cen replied.

Xiao Rihua’s expression turned serious. He had never encountered such an arrogant student before who didn’t even prepare notes and planned to improvise the speech. He couldn’t help but lower his tone, "The principal is here today along with leaders from the provincial education department. Are you going to give a speech like this"

"It's not too long, so I decided not to write it down. Besides, improvising could achieve better results."

Xiao Rihua looked at Su Cen uncertainly. Although the explanation made him feel slightly better and was in line with Su Cen’s character of being well-prepared before taking action, he wondered if Su Cen would say this to the principal.

"Then you go," Xiao Rihua said honestly; his mood was very bad at this moment. He could only nod and let it be. Today, Su Cen was supposed to give a speech along with a debater champion and a young writer; he had hoped to see the impressive words that Su Cen would write. Unexpectedly, it turned out like this. Looking back at the empty classroom after Su Cen left, Xiao Rihua felt somewhat disappointed.

On the playground for the flag-raising ceremony, there was a group of over thirty teachers and staff members led by Principal Ding Juntao accompanying the provincial education department’s Party secretary Chu Miao and deputy minister Luo Weiliang from the Provincial Examination Authority on their summer college entrance exam preparation survey.

Chu Miao was chatting amicably with Principal Ding. Their relationship was close, both being disciples of renowned scholar professor Ho Dongsen. This connection contributed to Ding Juntao’s influence within the province.

"Your work is commendable. As one of the key national-level schools in the province, your ranking still has some distance from that of No. 27, but you don’t need to feel burdened by this gap."

"After all, No. 27 enjoys unique advantages in history and facilities. We need to focus on developing students' overall qualities and promoting quality education through a good academic atmosphere. Use the school’s atmosphere to improve educational outcomes." Chu Miao was generally satisfied with their work.

Principal Ding Juntao smiled, "Today's speech at the flag-raising ceremony showcases our school's achievements in quality education. One of them is the winner of the provincial student debate competition; another is a young writer who has recently gained media attention. The last one is Su Cen, the author of an excellent essay that won awards last year."

If Ding Juntao’s memory served him correctly, Chu Miao was once a prominent figure in the domestic environmental protection movement and had written many articles such as "Yangtze River Ode," "On the Banks of Jialing River," and "Standing on the Summit of Holiness," all mentioning ideas for soil and water conservation. Given that Su Cen’s name became well-known throughout the province last year, Chu Miao should be aware of him.

Chu Miao said in response, "Oh I would like to hear more about your achievements in quality education." He folded his hands at his waist and watched the flag-raising ceremony with stirring music.

The head teacher Tian Feng approached Ding Juntao from behind the teachers’ formation and whispered something. Ding Juntao paused and sighed, "This student…"

Seeing Chu Miao's puzzled look, Ding Juntao explained, "I wanted to see Su Cen’s prepared speech, but he hasn’t written one. He said he would give an impromptu speech, this…"

"Oh, that sounds interesting." Chu Miao, who initially had no particular interest in the invited flag-raising ceremony speech, now finds it intriguing. What kind of impulsive act is this student, who appeared by chance earlier, planning to do now

On the side where the students were gathered, there was already a buzz among them, full of discussions. Su Cen's water-buying incident in class 3, 5, and 7 had made everyone in those classes familiar with him. Who knew that he would suddenly find himself at a speech-making minefield There were certainly not few people discussing this.

However, the sharp-tongued girls from Class 5 fell silent, without any of the vicious preambles they usually gave. Instead, they all furrowed their brows, seeing things from Su Cen's perspective.

The study committee member who likes to read Annabel Lee during this era was analyzing it for the girls in Class 5: "Defining happiness can be easy or difficult. Many things have been overused and clichéd, and different people have different definitions of happiness. If I were Su Cen, giving a speech would be easy, but making it resonate with people is hard."

Some girls from Class 4, standing next to the formation of Class 5, started whispering: "How annoying! Who is that Su Cen anyway He fought with Wang Haoran and defied teachers. How dare they let him represent our senior year for a speech Are the school leaders' heads made of betel nuts"

"I say you all have mouths like flies in toilets, dirty yet unwilling to rest! Why don't you sit quietly somewhere and take your time if you're so idle!" Li Weimei crossed her arms and glared at those girls from Class 4.

"You!" That was quite venomous.

"Pfft! Is this how you support your friend Chen Lingshan She doesn't like Su Cen. Why are you stirring up trouble" These girls knew Li Weimei when they were in junior high; they didn't expect her to be so ruthless and unyielding with them.

When the rest of Class 5 glared back, these girls felt isolated and fell silent, turning their heads towards the flag-raising area.

The extent to which all of Class 5 supported Su Cen was something other classes couldn't imagine.

As the Five-Star Red Flag flapped high on its pole with "The March of the Volunteers" abruptly stopping, the first speaker stood on stage.

This was the champion from a provincial student debate competition, starting off passionately.

"To me, happiness is pain and joy! Like our diligent teachers who give their all, like the spirit that says 'willing to pour out one's heart for youth, painting it with red flowers.' With such spirit, how can they not be happy! Yes, if you want to climb higher mountains, you must bear the sorrow of falling off and the difficulty of climbing, even the loneliness of misunderstanding. Our growth is like this too, filled with excruciating pain."

Students below started whispering sarcastically: "How depressing! 'Excruciating pain,' do you think it's childbirth"

"Because daily joy and progress, knowledge increase, thoughts maturing, life's experiences, learning, working, and striving for spiritual enlightenment are the sources of happiness."

Someone below raised a thumb: "Spiritual enlightenment This guy is already on par with Jesus!"

The conclusion came next: "Happiness is making your soul rich through hardship! Happiness is bearing pain to create tirelessly! Happiness is like an oyster, enduring pain to polish out pearls! Happiness is in the pain and joy of it all! Speech concluded!"

With teachers from each class supervising, there was some applause, but every face looked like they had just bitten into a sour lemon.

Ding Juntao glanced at Chu Miao, but the latter's expression was calm and unreadable. It seemed that such eloquent rhetoric had long since become commonplace.

The second teenage writer took to the stage and spoke confidently.

"Lita May Brown once said that a bad memory is one of life’s greatest treasures for becoming happy. But I think all students currently in their final year of high school would rather not have a bad memory."

This statement drew some laughter, though most were mere smiles without sincerity. Still, it helped ease the tense atmosphere.

"So what is happiness It’s Jean Valjean's sincere care for Fantine’s daughter in Les Misérables. It’s Jia Daiyu’s inner peace after burying flowers in Dream of Red Mansions. It’s Xu Hu panting heavily while clearing sewers for residents, and Li Sulü smiling sincerely as she sells tickets… Pushkin said that the characteristic of happiness is a peaceful mind. This kind of mental tranquility is a pursuit in life that ordinary people cannot understand or practice."

"Happiness stays among us but we can’t grasp it. It comes suddenly and disappears just as quickly, leaving no trace behind. We sigh after experiencing happiness; happiness always accompanies success."

"Confucius once defined happiness: the wise man delights in water, the benevolent man in mountains. The wise man is active, the benevolent man still. The wise man finds joy and lives long, whereas the benevolent man is tranquil and lives a long life—this is what constitutes happiness! Thank you all for listening to my speech."

Another round of applause followed, but the audience muttered sarcastically; this teenage writer truly was adept at quoting classics and had mastered the art of ambiguity—he spoke in circles for quite some time without saying anything substantial.

Now it was Su Cen’s turn.

The crowd fell silent again.

Su Cen stepped onto the stage, stretched out his hand to tap the microphone, producing a “puff” sound. Some laughter echoed in front rows, as some people recognized him and remembered his public kiss with Tang Wu earlier. Their animosity towards him was palpable.

"The two speakers before me did an excellent job," Su Cen chuckled awkwardly. Then he raised his head to one side without delivering any grand opening remarks.

This gesture earned some low murmurs from the audience. He continued, "Now you may go."

When Xiao Rihua heard this, he clenched his fists tightly in worry; could Su Cen have run into a legendary… slip of the tongue issue!

Ding Juntao glanced at Xiao Rihua. The sharpness in this glance made Xiao Rihua shiver; why did you insist on memorizing your speech word-for-word—why didn’t you write it down and recite it instead

"I don't have any dramatic or ornate words to offer, I just want to share a story with everyone. There was an orphan who asked the director of his orphanage pessimistically: 'What’s the point in living if nobody wants me' The director smiled without answering and gave him a stone, saying, 'Take this stone to the market and sell it, but no matter what price they offer you, don’t sell.'

The next day, the boy found that many people were willing to buy his stone at increasingly higher prices.

When he returned to the orphanage, he excitedly reported this to the director, who then instructed him to take the stone to a more upscale market. Here, someone even offered twice as much for the stone.

Finally, the principal asked the boy to take the stone to the jewelry market for display. As a result, its value skyrocketed again, and because the boy refused to sell it no matter what, it was even touted as an "invaluable treasure."

The boy returned to the orphanage where the principal looked at him and said: "Do you see The value of life is just like this stone; its meaning changes under different circumstances. An unremarkable stone, due to your cherishing it, has become invaluable. Don't you think you're just like this stone As long as you cherish yourself, life will be meaningful and valuable."

All the students about to take their college entrance exams and those who are ultimately heading towards them, do not belittle yourselves. Believe in yourselves; once you value and cherish yourselves, you can create a paradise for yourselves. If one achieves self-value but still does not feel happiness, it's time to kick oneself.

Tired of lengthy speeches, upon hearing Su Cen’s story, everyone felt refreshed. "Interesting. Interesting."

However, the seasoned debater and young writer who excelled at impromptu speeches, seeing this, secretly disagreed: "You only mentioned experiencing happiness; you didn’t explain how you perceive it"

Su Cen smiled upon noticing that many people were still confused or dissatisfied. "Of course, someone might ask me, 'With such a story, how do you understand happiness' "

Someone adopted an attitude of hanging on every word he said, yet inwardly thinking it would be another tedious discourse.

"I’m hungry!" Su Cen paused. "You've got a meat bun in your hand. You're happier than me!"

The entire playground fell silent for a moment before the last sentence caused everyone to laugh, turning Su Cen’s playful story into something straightforward and impactful. The simple道理 here made many witty girls giggle uncontrollably.

"I'm in the Arctic, I’m not wearing any clothes!" Su Cen continued. "You're standing there laughing at me in a thick cotton coat; you’re happier than me!"

This time, more people couldn’t help but laugh. Some covered their mouths with one hand and held their stomachs with the other, groaning from laughter.

"I want to use the toilet!" Su Cen added. "There's only one toilet stall; you've taken it. You’re happier than me!"

Now more people burst into uncontrollable laughter, tears streaming down their faces as they rolled around laughing, whether male or female, teachers and students alike, some even kneeling on the ground from sheer joy.

Ding Juntu couldn't help but shake with laughter; he hadn’t laughed like this for years. "This kid,"

The Secretary of the Provincial Department of Education, Chu Miao, also cracked a smile. "Great wisdom often appears simple."

This phrase is not something a bureau-level official can casually give.

Amidst this thunderous laughter across the school, Su Cen looked up at the skylight, gazing upon the undulating camphor trees.

The academic year ended like this. official was very arrogant and ignored Su Licheng's plea for mercy. The first car in line was driven by the head of the Urban Management Bureau personally leading the team. After the fierce positive...