"I'm sure everyone in the hall is excited to hear from Chairman Richie and Governor Tiana but unfortunately that'd be us asking for too much of them since they've just spent the past two hours debating their presidential agenda in front of almost the whole university just earlier and the schedule of their touring campaign throughout the whole country is almost coming to an end before the elections so we all know how exhausted they must've been so... You young college graduates should appreciate this chance of getting to receive your degree scroll, graduation mantle, and honorary hat from the three of us." Martin said that before taking a deep breath while thinking to himself : 'I must be getting very old since a few words have got me so out of breath already!' Then he added while gesturing to the staff of college workers : "Without further ado, let's start with the first name on the list... Student graduate... Please come forward."

  *Cp* *Cp*

  The young man stood up and fixed his clothes before leaving the row while nervously giving words of apology then walked down the stairs heading to the podium, the rare few who gave polite cps plus the enthusiastic members of his family which took out their phones and started recording this special moment.

  The College Dean handed him the degree scroll while voicing his congratutions as he gave him a firm handshake then gestured towards Chairman Richie who received a mantle from one of the staff and politely asked the nervous young man to turn around before helping him put on the graduation mantle before gesturing towards the woman next to him who also gave the nervous young man a kind smile before putting the honorary hat on his head to complete the picture before cupping his face and saying congratutions plus some encouraging words while patting his shoulder then gestured him towards a spot where he gets to take a few pictures before going to sit with his people.

  While Tiana was encouraging the young man, Martin had already called the next name on the list before scratching it off then taking the degree scroll and handing it to the young woman who just made her way to the podium.

  Almost everyone stayed and watched this cycle continue after receiving their degree scrolls, graduation mantles, and honorary hats.

  But there's always rude ones who didn't care and just left the ceremony hall after getting their stuff, even when the future president of their country is most definitely one of these two standing right there on the podium next to their College Dean!

  Bryan sighed inwardly because he was one of these people before, he was so distracted, distraught, and slighted by life itself to notice an opportunity which was right there in front of him and talking to him trying to give him encouraging words to boost his spirit so that he may become of use to at least his community in the future.

  "Student graduate, Bryan O'Neal. Please come forward." Martin said while looking at the young man who left an impressive first impression on him when they met but judging by the amount of dies in his group which is tightly surrounded on three sides by men and women in suits to protect them... Leaving a noticeable first impression is something of a great talent to this young man.

  Especially when there's babies in this group, lots of them actually... Even the College Dean is wondering how come so far not a single one of these little brats made a sound when they're most famous for being noise boxes and shitting devices.

  *Cp* *Cp* *Cp* *Whistle* *Cp* *Cp*

  As if the atmosphere inside the ceremony hall which felt like it was practically dead earlier or almost there just got elevated all the way to having experiencing a cacophony of cpping noise mixed which cute womanly cheers and loud whistles!

  Most surprising was that not only the dies he brought with him were causing all of that, or his detail of bodyguards which had some of the reckless ones almost tempted to take out their guns and bst a few bullets but thankfully they didn't do that or Bryan would've beaten them to shit right then and there.

  The female cssmates which were sieging his front and left-hand sides from beginning to end also joined this and even gave him a standing ovation which caused Governor Tiana to shake her head inwardly while thinking to herself : 'This is getting ridiculous really! Two president candidates didn't get to receive this treatment yet this handsome young man is already welcomed way better than us... Humph, humph, humph... Wait until I get my chance to y hands on your handsome face and that tall, stalwart, and strong-looking body of yours!'

  Bryan closed the central button on the jacket of his suit once he stood up then leaned to kiss Linnet's lips briefly and smirked when his dies puckered their lips cutely as if asking for some of that good stuff but he just shrugged and made his way towards the stairs, Vincent and Kelvin followed him towards the podium and stood there below it and gave their attention towards the seats... Clearly to prevent anyone from storming the podium to get anywhere near their employer.

  These actions of the two guards caused the ones in the front seats which were pnning to something reckless to frown deeply and scoff at this fellow for being too careful, meanwhile the two presidential candidates rolled their eyes inwardly because both of them left most of their security detail outside the ceremony hall and the ones inside are behind the curtains observing the graduate student and their friends or family... There's also a few in disguise within the hall but so far there's no need to make things obvious!

  "Dean Martin, long time no see... I hope you're doing well." Bryan accepted the man's firm handshake but didn't take the degree scroll until he made his polite greeting.

  Martin was dazed by the young fellow who hulked over him yet his kind and polite approach which suited perfectly the manner a junior should treat his seniors was so heartwarming, "I'm good little Bryan," Then he let go of the handshake and gestured towards Richie, "Now that I've seen a promising young'un I'm very good, go ahead and receive your graduation mantle from Chairman Richie." Afterwards Martin muttered to himself : "New waves pushing the old ones indeed."

  Bryan nodded then smiled towards the one which he caused to lose a very important trump card if he ever wishes to win this election just earlier today and opened his mouth to say : "Chairman Richie, very pleased to finally meet you." Afterwards he stood in front of him and slowly turned looked up at his mother Sofia then winked mischievously while Richie was helping him put on the graduation mantle which caused her and the rest of his dies to ugh in amusement because it was so funny to have the one you just gave a beating help you put on something to wear.

  "Thank you Chairman Richie, hopefully what happened earlier today wouldn't repeat itself in the future." Bryan said while shaking the man's hand and he frowned because after he made a few calls the rare few friends he have actually helped him stabilize the situation but the prices are settling at two-thirds of the hump he forced with the total amount of liquid funds!

  But what's worse is that he now owe these friends a huge debt and actually own less than he used to own before he had to spend all that money to cover up Bryan's exit.

  Of course Richie doesn't know that Bryan is the one who fucked him over or he would've spat on his face or directly swung at him like a crazy maniac which is why he did what he's supposed to do in these situations, first act surprised then smile while saying : "Congratutions Mr. O'Neal." Then gestured towards Tiana while ignoring everything the young man just said as if nothing happened at all so it's treated like a "No Comment" but without him having to state that.

  Bryan didn't even give him a nod and a smile like he did earlier to the College Dean which caused Martin to frown because he wasn't expecting the young man who was so kind, humble, and polite with him just earlier to treat the person most likely, at least according to the news, to win the elections so ftly and almost bordering being rude towards the Chairman who's still a very, very successful person even when his son is a criminal of sex offending more than one victim.

  Once his view fell on Governor Tiana who was admiring him with her eyes and nodding inwardly after not failing to notice the actions he took towards her competition from beginning to end, Bryan smiled genuinely and walked towards the old woman before bowing since her short stature would make it extremely difficult on her poor back to try and make such an impossible joint extension even if she's tiptoeing!

  Tiana nodded inwardly because the next course of action to handle this tall fellow would've been a troublesome task but he solved it by lowering himself to her level... It sounds annoying but Tiana had to admit that she's too short in front of this young man.

  "Governor Tiana, please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your extensive efforts to uplift and improve the state of our country's economy through agriculture." Bryan raised his head which was decorated with the honorary hat then said that while bowing his head to express his sincerity.

  "Oh~" Tiana like always cupped cheeks but these pair of cheeks received one of her love pinches, "Well... Tell me then young Bryan, how much do you know about my efforts?" She asked in a teasing tone of voice while clearly not expecting an answer at all.

  He looked at her before opening his mouth to say : "Madam president started taking things into her own hands at the age of thirty-nine, as a decorated and well-studied agricultural engineer you've presented the town-hall with your pn to improve the downtrodden state of agriculture in the district which doubled the profits farmers made from selling their livestock, next you improved your pn by introducing a different method of choosing the right pairs and your eborate husbandry methods which are well-researched proved their excellence in improving the breeds which allowed the farmers to gain even more profits from selling their dairy products... But you had them making a killing once you introduced the methods of mixing the right portions of fodder crops with a perfectly calcuted dosage of medicine in the water according to the weight of the animal and the species it belongs to which caused them to grow healthy with almost double the meat on their backs naturally while grazing the fields." Bryan paused and looked towards Richie who was standing to the side and acting like he's not listening to what he's saying to his competitor simply because he's worried this young man would expose his secret to Tiana but he couldn't help the frown from momentarily appearing on his forehead when he heard Bryan openly call the Governor and address her as "Madam President" as if it's a proven fact already that he's going to lose!

  Tiana on the other hand was impressed because not even those within her campaign could mention the first part of her career in such vivid details.

  "I believe this conversation would take longer so I'd recommend you have your "Time Keeper" check if there's an open vacancy in your busy schedule for us to meet but I wouldn't feel indignant or throw a tantrum if it's a simple call, it's very nice meeting you at st madam president." Bryan shook her hand with both hands and very enthusiastically at that but without fawning or groveling then let go of the small hand and went towards the photo stand and struck a few cool poses before waving to his dies who were going crazy.

  Afterwards he sat until the st name was called then left with his dies after giving Governor Tiana a nod as if to say : "I'll be waiting."