Blackstone Code-Chapter 428: Youth in Full Bloom

Anna, the goddess of Saint Secheka Academy and future queen of commerce, was already surrounded by countless flattering titles.

Unlike Severella, whose situation was more special and stirred greater frenzy—being Mr. Wadrick’s only child and heir to a vast business empire—Anna’s reputation seemed somewhat less stable.

But even so, no one else at the school could easily compare to her.

Standing there, Anna’s presence caused all the girls who had been surrounding Lynch to disappear. They didn’t want to offend her—not just because of her family background but also because she was the student council president.

That position carried immense power; even the school leadership had to yield to her at times, let alone ordinary students.

At the school gate, the two faced each other. Anna’s cheeks were still flushed from the charged words she had just spoken. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“I’m honored,” Lynch said naturally, and they almost simultaneously turned to walk into the campus, leaving behind some wistful boys and girls observing them.

Though students feared Anna’s influence, they also sought to get close to her. Girls wanted to expand their social circles, hoping to become close friends with Anna and gain better opportunities—career-wise and in meeting influential men.

The boys, however, had the same intentions as those around Severella in their school days: get her pregnant and become part of the Aginel family by marriage.

But the situation was delicate now.

Walking just behind Lynch, Anna lightly touched her flushed cheek. “Your speech is at 9:10. Are you ready?”

She planned to start casually. If Lynch said he had a prepared speech, she could use her student council president role to suggest they review it together somewhere quiet. In that private setting, their young, restless hearts would naturally draw closer.

If he hadn’t prepared, Anna could easily write a suitable speech for him, thanks to her experience organizing and participating in various conferences. They’d likely sit together, debating phrasing, maybe even accidentally touching.

A perfect plan. Anna couldn’t help but praise her own cleverness.

But Lynch’s answer left her a bit unsettled.

“Need to prepare?” Lynch tilted his head, looking at her. “I don’t like rigid speeches. People’s thoughts change every second.”

“Every passing second adds to our life experience and emotions, shifting our mindset.”

“To summarize my current thoughts with words from hours or days ago is, I think, a desecration of the word thought.”

Anna was unsure and confused. Carefully, she asked, “You mean… you haven’t prepared a speech?”

The plan still seemed workable. They had half an hour left.

Lynch smiled charmingly, shaking his head. “I like to improvise. You could say I prefer to go off-script.”

Going off-script…

That blocked both of Anna’s strategies and almost exhausted her. But as student council president, she was experienced at handling surprises.

She quickly composed herself. “What angle will you take?”

“What else can young people pursue?” He grinned, flashing dazzling white teeth. “Of course—ideals!”

“Ideals?”

If anyone else said that, she’d scoff and give a look that said, “You think you’re worthy to talk about ideals?”

But hearing it from Lynch made her momentarily distracted.

Few knew that in just one year, Lynch had transformed from a useless guy living off his girlfriend in Sabin City to where he was now. Even novels wouldn’t dare write such a story.

And this was real.

Maybe that was why he succeeded.

Because of ideals?

Anna decided not to press further. There would be plenty of chances to get to know Lynch better. Besides, she believed that if beautiful girls threw themselves at him, he could resist.

She answered seriously, “I’m looking forward to your speech.”

At nine o’clock, Saint Secheka’s auditorium was packed.

The school’s new enrollment was small each year due to high tuition and strict admission standards within the Saint Harmony Society’s schools.

They only accepted high school students already showing promise in relevant fields and children of society’s members. Regular students were rare.

This kept the student population around a thousand, sometimes less.

The auditorium could hold them all. The audience below the stage was dense—students and many teachers.

Many teachers had started as students. They might have applied for research projects in the student council, received resources, and before realizing it, had become professors.

Yet, having stayed in this closed environment so long, many young teachers still thought of themselves as students, so each year at orientation, they gathered and sat with the students.

On stage sat the school administration, student council leaders, and several scheduled speakers, including Lynch.

He was to represent the freshmen. Others would speak for returning students and teachers. A congressman was also invited.

This explained why so many wanted to get in here—though sadly, many would only ever watch from outside, forever longing.

The principal was giving his speech. Next were the teacher’s representative, returning students’ representative, freshmen representative, and finally the congressman.

The earlier speeches were conventional: the school was a place to pursue truth, everyone admitted should hold reverence for knowledge, and approach every subject with rigorous, scientific seriousness, diving deep into the ocean of knowledge.

The speech from the senior student representative was basically about how enjoyable learning is—how it makes everyone rich in knowledge, satisfies our understanding of the world, advances science, and drives social progress. He urged freshmen not to waste time on pleasures but to do something meaningful.

To Lynch, all that talk was far less concise than the simple motto hanging behind him: Study hard and improve every day.

Fortunately, his enthusiastic applause didn’t reveal his distraction during the speech. The proud and slightly excited look in his eyes made the senior representative sitting next to him beam with pride.

“Now, please welcome the freshman representative, Lynch…”

When the host turned to Lynch, she froze for a moment.

Earlier speakers, both the teacher and senior representatives, held prepared scripts in their hands.

Even the congressman resting backstage had a brief speech in hand. But Lynch stood there empty-handed.

The host glanced at the principal, who looked equally puzzled. He subtly looked to Anna, hoping for some insight.

The entire orientation was recorded, and recordings were shared among alliance schools. Although there wasn’t a competition for the best orientation, students had their own opinions.

The principal didn’t want today to become a joke. Thankfully, Anna gave him a reassuring look. Relieved, he passed the message to the host just as Lynch stepped up beside him.

“It seems our lovely host still has some words to say…” Lynch joked, prompting laughter in the auditorium.

This was, in fact, a kind of event mishap. The host and student council officials would be responsible. The speaker had taken the stage, but the host hadn’t yet left the podium—it was obvious.

But Lynch’s joke broke the awkward tension.

The host bowed with a grateful look and stepped aside to give Lynch the stage.

Even though Lynch helped her, a mistake was still a mistake.

Standing by the podium, Lynch raised both hands as if surrendering, then adjusted the microphone slightly. “I should explain—our lovely host just wanted to remind me not to forget my speech.”

“That’s obviously a little misunderstanding, because I don’t have a speech. And that is exactly the core of what I want to say here today!” He looked out at the young faces in the auditorium. “Youth in full bloom shouldn’t be shackled!”

A seemingly trivial sentence sharply cut into his speech topic, causing a brief distraction among student council members and school officials.

He turned the situation quickly, transitioned smoothly, even referencing the minor mishap during the event without it feeling out of place—and all off the cuff.

Terrifyingly impressive!