Just as Tim was about to finish counting the votes for the school's most popular boy and girl of the year, a large bus pulled up directly outside the school auditorium.
"Hope we didn't miss the school dance." Kevin, the first to step off the bus, tidied his hair.
Wearing a champion baseball jersey and a gold medal around his neck, coupled with a smug expression on his face, Kevin looked incredibly flamboyant.
"Everyone follow me, we're going to tell the principal the good news." After all the Math Olympiad team members had disembarked, Ms. Sharon gestured for everyone to head towards the dance.
Although the annual Math Olympiad competition is not large in scale, strictly speaking, it is just like the football league, both bringing honor to the school.
And the good news of the Math Olympiad team winning the championship naturally deserved to be shared with everyone at school.
Don't let Ms. Sharon's current calm demeanor fool you; in fact, she was extremely excited and proud that the Math Olympiad team achieved such good results this year.
As the uniformly dressed Math Olympiad team entered the dance, they immediately drew the attention of the students.
"That's Mike, what's with the medal around his neck?"
Soon, sharp-eyed students noticed the medals around the necks of Mike and the others.
"They all seem to be from the school's Math Olympiad team..."
Upon seeing Ms. Sharon leading the team, some knowledgeable students began to explain to those around them.
"Mike went to participate in the Math Olympiad today. From the looks of it, he must have helped the team win the championship." Georgie, in a handsome suit, also took the opportunity to reveal the truth to everyone.
Before long, the news of the Math Olympiad team winning the championship spread throughout the dance.
Listening to the surprised and envious discussions from his classmates, all the members of the Math Olympiad team puffed out their chests, their faces filled with pride.
Then, as students at the dance made way for them, Ms. Sharon led the Math Olympiad team members, unimpeded, towards the stage at the front.
Mr. Tim, who was counting votes there, immediately saw Ms. Sharon arrive.
He quickly came over and asked excitedly, "Ms. Sharon, did you win the Math Olympiad Championship?"
"Yes." Ms. Sharon smiled and replied affirmatively.
"That's wonderful!" Hearing that they had won the honor, Mr. Tim felt even happier than if he had won it himself.
Immediately, he enthusiastically said, "Come on, I'll take you to tell the principal this good news."
Ever since Mr. Tim expressed his feelings to Ms. Sharon during the "Flyer Incident" last time, the relationship between the two older single individuals has progressed subtly.
For example, Ms. Sharon did not refuse Mr. Tim's eagerness this time.
"Wait here for a moment, Tim and I will go see the principal first." Upon reaching the front of the stage, Ms. Sharon made arrangements.
As Ms. Sharon and the Dean went to the back of the stage, the unconstrained students quickly surrounded the Math Olympiad team members.
Clearly, at this moment, all the Math Olympiad team members became the focus of the dance.
"Congratulations, Mike, I didn't expect you to be so excellent in math besides being good at football. That's amazing..." Aaron, the captain, wearing a football jersey, came up to Mike and praised him.
As the school's football team quarterback and captain, Aaron was not only tall and muscular but also very sunny in appearance.
A true sunny type of guy—
If it weren't for Mike's sudden rise, this year's most popular boy at school would very likely have been him.
"Next semester, if you have time, remember to drop by the football team." Seeing the many students gathered around, Aaron didn't chat much with Mike. After smiling and extending an invitation, he made way for others.
"Hey, Mike. I knew you could do it, your entrance just now was so cool. This year's Most Popular Mister is definitely you..." Georgie pushed through the crowd to Mike's side and said excitedly.
It's worth noting that in terms of closeness, Georgie considered himself Mike's best friend.
The more dazzling Mike became now, the more Georgie felt honored.
"Thank you for the compliment, you look very handsome today too," Mike said with a smile.
"Really? I knew I didn't prepare this suit for nothing today..." Although the thin suit made Georgie quite cold earlier, he was still very happy to receive Mike's praise.
After they chatted for a couple more sentences, Georgie noticed Mike's gaze drifting elsewhere.
So, he thoughtfully said, "You go do your thing, I'll cover for you."
Because the scene was too chaotic, Queen Bee and her friends chose not to join the excitement.
They just watched Mike in the crowd with deep affection from the side.
"Thanks." Mike indeed didn't really like the feeling of being squeezed in the middle by strangers.
Cady was protected by Damian and Janis, so Mike didn't need to worry about her. So, after bidding farewell to Georgie, he walked towards Regina and the other girls on the periphery.
...
"I'm Mike's best buddy, if you want to know anything, you can ask me—" In the back, Georgie stopped the girls who wanted to continue trying to talk to Mike.
Then, the girls who realized they had no chance to talk to Mike surrounded Georgie instead, asking about Mike's situation and preferences.
Georgie, who had never been surrounded by so many girls, instantly felt his life was complete.
Meanwhile, Mike also successfully reached Regina and the other girls.
"Mike, congratulations on winning the Math Olympiad competition!"
Although the girls were not interested in the Math Olympiad competition, hearing the discussions of the surrounding students, they knew it was a great honor.
So, they all congratulated Mike at the same time.
"Mike, your outfit is very handsome, I'll take a few photos for you as a souvenir." June, Regina's mother, holding a camera, also smiled and extended an invitation at this moment.
Afterward, Mike, in his champion baseball jersey, took several sets of photos with the girls in turns.
...
Not long after, Principal Tom, holding a microphone, appeared on stage accompanied by Dean Tim and Ms. Sharon.
"Quiet please everyone—"
After testing the microphone and capturing the attention of all the students, Principal Tom continued, "Before announcing this year's most popular boy and girl, I have some good news to tell everyone..."
"This year, the Math Olympiad team, led by Ms. Sharon, won a Math Olympiad Championship for our Medford High..."
"Let's invite all members of the Math Olympiad team to the stage—"
"Everyone, a round of applause!!!"
Amidst cheers and applause, Mike, along with the other Math Olympiad team members, went to the center of the stage to receive the students' celebration.
"Very good, I hope everyone can learn from the Math Olympiad team in the future and bring more glory to the school—"
A few minutes later, Principal Tom smiled and escorted the Math Olympiad team members to one side of the stage.
Then, under everyone's gaze, he took out an envelope.
Clearly, inside the envelope were the names of the school's most popular boy and girl of the year, as voted by the students.
"This year's most popular boy is..."
Principal Tom paused for dramatic effect, building up everyone's anticipation, then he smiled and continued to read, "It's Mike, let's congratulate him—"