Chapter 289: Whispers of Fame at University

Tonghai University, Xueyuan Cafeteria.

Xu Chen and his roommates sat together, digging into their meals.

“The Jiang Zhe Little Prince” Qian Xin clutched his Motorola Knife Edge phone and shared a bunch of Xie Bingran’s news in the group chat, forcing everyone to read it right away.

That morning, a few young athletes from the State Athletics Team, along with their coaching staff, headed to Shanghai and arrived at Pudong Airport.

Xie Bingran, Bai Miao, and Dong Jiajia were among them.

This marked Xie Bingran’s first arrival in Shanghai as a university freshman.

Thanks to the buzz from the 18th competition, they arranged a small but fairly formal welcome ceremony at the airport.

Attendees included leaders from the Shanghai Sports Bureau and Athletics Center, plus major local media outlets.

On top of that, the Shanghai Sports Bureau specially invited leaders from the Shandong Province Sports Bureau to join the welcome in Shanghai.

There was some subtlety here, since Xie Bingran still represents the Shandong Province Team in domestic events, like the previous National Games.

That’s just the unwritten rule in Chinese sports circles.

But now, with Xie Bingran enrolled at Huahai Normal University for studies, her main training base will be in Shanghai for the foreseeable future, making her a key “sports asset” for the city.

So, though nothing was said outright, both the Shandong Province and Shanghai Sports Bureaus felt a quiet tug-of-war over her.

Even during the group photo session after an interview, the leaders’ positions sparked a friendly but firm negotiation.

Luckily, a director from the International Sports Administration was there and smoothed things out, positioning the Shanghai and Shandong Province leaders equally on both sides.

Xie Bingran’s head coach, Sun Mouping, originally hails from Shanghai too.

So, the Shanghai Sports Bureau leaders seemed to feel they had the upper hand psychologically.

……

As Xie Bingran’s devoted fan, Qian Xin was way more dedicated than Huang Hao, Bai Miao’s fanboy—he gathered tons of news, videos, and everything related to Xie Bingran and posted it all in the group.

Xu Chen found it amusing but kept quiet, just watching the hype around Bing Ge build.

Beyond official reports, Xie Bingran’s news kept spreading across online communities and forums.

After dominating seven Japanese athletes in the 18th competition, netizens had crowned her a “national hero.”

Even though Bing Ge was one of their own, Xu Chen thought the title was a bit over the top.

After all, the word “national” carried too much weight.

But in a way, it wasn’t entirely unfounded.

In these peaceful times, competing for the country on the international stage brought real honor.

As her photos and videos spread, Xie Bingran won over more fans with her striking looks and cool demeanor.

Soon, online, “Bing Ge” picked up another nickname:

“Husband”.

It started with a couple of female netizens swooning over her tough vibe and calling her that.

And as the hype grew over the past couple of days, netizens of all genders jumped on board, referring to Xie Bingran as “Husband.”

“Husband, tone it down on the handsomeness…”

“Husband is all about that vibe…”

“Handsome is just a feeling…”

……

Xu Chen still thought it was funny.

In front of strangers and cameras, Xie Bingran always looked ice-cold and fiercely confident.

But around Xu Chen, she often turned into a vulnerable, sweet girl.

Maybe her shy and endearing side was something only he got to see.

……

……

In one interview piece, Xu Chen confirmed Bing Ge’s National Day plans.

A Shandong Province Sports Bureau leader mentioned in the interview that Xie Bingran would return to the provincial capital for a series of welcome and celebration events.

She’d also visit several sports colleges in the provincial capital to interact with young athletes and students from Shandong Province.

Xu Chen remembered Xie Bingran mentioning a possible return to Shandong Province during National Day when they were in Osaka.

But back then, she said they were still waiting for the team’s official notice, probably coordinating with the State Athletics Team.

Now, it looked like the Shandong Province Sports Bureau had secured her schedule.

Xu Chen was thrilled—he could head to the provincial capital and hang out with Bing Ge.

Plus, he could take the chance to shoot some ad materials for “Chenfeng Ice Power.”

Xie Bingran’s schedule was tough to pin down, packed with training and competitions, and the national team ran like a military operation.

Without Coach Cheng Hong’s help behind the scenes, Xu Chen never would’ve gotten to drag her around Osaka shopping…

From now on, borrowing her time would mean going through proper channels with the team.

So, the “Chenfeng Ice Power” ad shoot could fit in during her provincial capital stop.

Of course, time was limited, so video stuff was out— they’d stick to still photos for the ads.

But that was plenty.

“Chenfeng Ice Power”‘s initial trial sales were only in Tiancheng and the provincial capital, so the promo scale wasn’t huge, and Guo Liang’s marketing budget was modest.

Even with money for TV ads, there weren’t spots to run them.

A couple of core print materials would do the trick.

Besides, prepping TV ads would take too long anyway.

The main issue was that Chenfeng Technology couldn’t spare a big ad production budget right now, and for Xie Bingran’s materials, Xu Chen didn’t want to cut corners.

Stuff for Bing Ge had to be top-notch!

Print ads were more manageable in terms of cost and quality.

Xu Chen figured he’d reach out to Sun Aimi with the requirements and get the print shoot plan rolling.

For the shooting and editing company in the provincial capital, he could ask Guo Liang for help— he had good connections there…

Having Xie Bingran promote in the provincial capital would boost “Chenfeng Electric Vehicles” trial sales there too.

Just as Xu Zhiquan had once marveled to Xu Chen, their family’s electric vehicle business had perfect timing, location, and people.

It was all coming together.

……

As Xu Chen ate and pondered his provincial capital plans, a message popped up.

It was from his friend Chen Dahai.

[Bing Ge’s coming to our school!]

Xu Chen recalled that Chen Dahai was studying at the Provincial Sports University in the provincial capital and had already caught wind of it.

[I was gonna head back to Tiancheng for National Day, but now I’ll stick around to meet Bing Ge!]

Xu Chen replied with a smirk:

[I’ll tag along on Bing Ge’s trip and swing by the provincial capital to crash at your place for a meal!]

[Come on over! We’ve got a great spot near campus—the food’s amazing!]

……

……

Tomorrow was the weekend, and Xu Chen needed to deliver the mattress to Xie Bingran.

He’d already checked with Coach Cheng Hong—today, Bing Ge was still at the welcome events and had to report to Huahai Normal University in the afternoon.

Tomorrow, she’d move with Bai Miao, Dong Jiajia, and a couple other young team members to the Xin Zhuang Training Base.

So, Xu Chen could drop off the mattress tomorrow afternoon.

He reached out to Zhao Feng’s brother Zhao Kai for help—better to go with someone he knew.

But Zhao Kai was out on a delivery in Kunshan, so he lined up a couple of guys from Shandong Province to drive a small truck over and handle the mattress transport.

……

Back in the dorm at noon, Xu Chen glanced at his own mattress and remembered Xie Bingran’s request.

Fang Jun had bought two mattresses, and the new one was still in the office at Tonghai University Business Tower.

But Xie Bingran insisted on the one Xu Chen had used.

So, they’d swap it out. Xu Chen looked at his roommates and headed over to “artsy” Chen Wenyi.

“Hey, Wenyi, mind helping me out?”

Chen Wenyi turned. “What’s up, Xu Chen?”

Xu Chen smiled. “I’ve got a mattress in the office—could you help me bring it over?”

Chen Wenyi jumped up. “No problem! Now?”

Xu Chen said, “Not yet—just after classes this afternoon.”

Chen Wenyi nodded. “Cool, I’ll find you then.”

Xu Chen replied, “Thanks, man!”

……

……

Xu Chen returned to his seat, fired up his computer, and searched for the “Xin Zhuang Training Base” location.

It was in the MH District, about thirty kilometers from here.

Given Shanghai’s traffic, driving would take an hour; buses or subways, maybe two or three.

Hmm…

Time to get a car—it’d make visiting Bing Ge so much easier.

He had the budget and plates ready; now, just needed to pick the right one.

A guy’s big toy deserved some thought.

In his past life, as a city worker, Xu Chen didn’t buy a car until his thirties—always went for sedans around a couple hundred thousand yuan.

Later, he wanted to treat himself to an SUV, but ended up prioritizing a house and shelved the idea.

Then the housing market crashed, and it all went downhill…

Xu Chen decided on an SUV this time.

With a fifty-thousand yuan budget, he couldn’t swing a BMW X5 or Audi Q7, but there were solid imported options.

In 2006, domestic cars lagged behind imports in quality and performance.

Still, fifty thousand would get a decent off-roader.

He’d make a list and hit some 4S shops over the weekend and National Day to test drive.

But he realized he’d probably drive Xie Bingran around too, so asking for her input might help.

Though, the foodie probably didn’t have specific preferences.

Her long legs meant a small car wouldn’t cut it, so at least a mid-size SUV.

Hmm…

Too bad her training schedule was so packed—no long breaks.

If she had time, they could go on a road trip.

Camping in the car, sleeping under the stars—that sounded fun.

Bing Ge seemed like a survival pro; she could handle hunting in the wild.

Perfect.

……