Chương 17: Winner

Just two more hours, and the contest would conclude.

Maybe they're excited because of the votes, Dwayne thought.

He smiled and watched as Zack sauntered back to Lila's side, happily putting his arm around her shoulders.

Dwayne sat back beside the cats and continued to play with their fluffy bellies. The thought about the side task completely slipped his mind.

After two hours, the sound of trumpet was heard, confirming that the contest has conclude. Lila excitedly jumped in and pulled Dwayne to his feet. The other seniors took the two white cats and the kitten away. Dwayne was confused as to why Lila was pulling him out of the tent toward the stage.

The other contestants were looking at him with obvious envy in their eyes, which made Dwayne even more confused.

"Senior, why are they looking at us?" he asked.

"Don't mind them," she said, comforting him. Once they arrived at the stage, the updated poll was displayed on the screen. The first place name was highlighted, and Dwayne's mouth hung wide open.

It was his name in first place, and the number of points he had received was more than a million.

"The winner of this year's department beauty contest is…" A woman from the communication department took a microphone and stood at the center of the stage.

She was wearing a white gown that shaped her body, and her hair was elegantly bound in a bun, making her look even more stunning. Her large black eyes turned to Dwayne as she announced,

"It's Dwayne Augustus from the IT Department! Everyone, let's give him a round of applause!"

Everyone's attention turned to Dwayne, making him freeze on the spot. He stared dumbly at the woman on the stage without moving an inch.

Lila seemed to understand his nervousness, so she guided him up and whispered comforting words in his ear, just to make sure he wouldn't be afraid to face the crowd.

During the awarding process, Dwayne's head was in the clouds. He could not focus on what was being said because the amount of more than a million points was too overwhelming for him to process.

The awarding went smoothly, and the portion of money he was supposed to receive would be given to him tomorrow.

When it was the time for 'Free to request' portion, the woman hosting the program gestured to the person in charge to reveal the list.

The audience was extremely curious and have been looking forward to know who it was.

But before they can display the name, Professor Richard stopped her. He came up to the stage and whispered something to her.

She smiled in understanding and informed the crowd that due to the identity of the top supporter, their name could not be revealed publicly. They were also no longer on the premises, so there was no need to make the request.

This sparked even more curiosity among the crowd, and the online school forum buzzed with heated discussions about the mysterious rich supporter.

The top thread for discussion was a post from one of the students analyzing the identity of Dwayne's supporter.

"I think it's one of the guests who were invited to the opening program earlier," was the first line of the post.

"Because it wouldn't make sense if it was one of the students who voted. Firstly, no one would spend a million just for a single contestant and then refuse to reveal themselves during the 'Free to request' portion. Second, Professor Richard knew this person. We already know that Professor Richard has connections with many successful alumni. Earlier, it could be seen that Professor Richard came up to the stage and stopped Mia, the host, from revealing the name of Dwayne's top supporter."

"And since they were no longer present to watch the end of the contest, this means the 'guest' who voted for Dwayne didn't do it because they particularly liked him, but rather to donate to the school and support the activities. They probably chose Dwayne on a whim, maybe because they saw him first or something like that. Anyway, these are my hypotheses. Congratulations to the IT department! Dwayne was the right choice for their department's beauty contest. Watching him was very refreshing, and he is really adorable!"

In the comments, people agreed with the original poster.

"I think so too."

"There were seven of them invited to give speeches at the program."

"Yes, and the most unexpected was Mr. McGarden. Who would have thought Professor Richard could invite the CEO of one of the richest IT companies on a global scale?"

"Did you see the CEO of Vermillion Garden Corporation? I couldn't believe my eyes!"

"Me too! He was such a hottie. I couldn't stop staring at him."

"He was sitting at the front, in the far corner, and really stood out. He was so tall and had long legs. Just seeing him made my heart flutter. I couldn't focus on anything else because all my attention was on him."

The discussions continued. With the mention of the special invited guests, the speculation about Dwayne's supporter quieted down, shifting instead to Raven, who had caught the audience's attention, especially the women.

Time passed quickly, and it was already close to Dwayne's shift for his part-time job. But he couldn't leave the hallway inside the IT department building. All the students were gathering around him, giving him sashes, showering him with sprinkles, and forcing him to stand at the center of the group as they cheered.

It was the first beauty contest win for the IT department and also the first time in the contest's history that a contestant received money worth a million from a single audience member. Other contestants were jealous of Dwayne.

At first, Professor Richard was worried this would spark controversies among the students, and many would complain that it was unfair. Fortunately, it seemed the students acknowledge that the money came from one of the special invited alumni, who simply wanted to support the event.

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