Chapter 336: Campus Accolades and Ambitions

Friday noon at the Xueyuan Cafeteria.

Xu Chen and a few roommates were huddled around their meal.

His dorm’s ‘computer expert’ Hong Xiaoqiang turned to Xu Chen and said:

“Boss Xu, why did the teachers in both morning classes seem a bit off today?”

Before Xu Chen could respond, the ‘stock trader’ Pei Qian chimed in:

“I noticed it too!”

Xu Chen paused, confused: “What?”

Hong Xiaoqiang explained: “During roll call in both classes, when they got to your name, they stopped and stared at you extra hard!”

“Huh?”

Xu Chen had been lost in thought at the time and hadn’t noticed.

Pei Qian added: “Even Professor Chen Weilen glared at you several times!”

Chen Weilen was the instructor for the ‘Introduction to Communication’ course and also the department head for journalism in their college.

Xu Chen asked: “Did he?”

He really hadn’t paid attention. He’d just mumbled ‘here’ when his name was called.

Hong Xiaoqiang turned to him: “Did you get into some kind of trouble?”

Xu Chen frowned, pondering, feeling a bit baffled:

“Is it because I took too many leaves last month and they’re watching me now?!”

Hong Xiaoqiang shrugged, clearly as clueless as anyone.

Xu Chen thought to himself that he always followed the rules and kept a low profile, so he shouldn’t have stirred up any real issues.

If it was about the leaves, well, that was a necessary choice.

Letting go of projects worth a couple hundred thousand just to attend a few ‘nutrient-thin’ lectures would be a total loss.

Even though Tonghai University was a top-tier 985 school, the professors teaching the majors were mostly out of touch with the real advertising world.

Besides, it was just freshman year, with courses focused on general overviews and not much depth.

So, leaves were still on the table when needed.

Xu Chen couldn’t help but feel a bit smug thinking about it—his leaves were for big industry-shaking stuff!

…

Suddenly, his phone on the table buzzed. Xu Chen picked it up, glanced at it, and felt a twinge of guilt as he glanced at Jiao Tianbo across from him.

The message was from Wu Feifei, the girl Jiao Tianbo obsessed over day and night.

[I’ve only got one class this afternoon, then I’ll come find you!]

[Great, welcome, Miss Wu.]

[We have a class meeting afterward, and once that’s done, I’ll head out…]

Wu Feifei wanted to intern at Xu Chen’s company, and he couldn’t really say no.

This could be a good chance to build ties with the ‘boss’s daughter’.

Wu Feifei was sharp and handled people well with high emotional intelligence, so she probably wouldn’t cause any trouble on projects.

After classes today, she’d visit the East Morning Star Advertising office, where Xu Chen would introduce her to Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi—it’d be her first day as an intern.

As the boss’s daughter, it deserved some formality.

Xu Chen had considered giving her an intern stipend, but it felt awkward.

First, because of her background, and second, she didn’t need the small change.

She’d likely turn it down anyway.

Better to wait for the right moment and mention it as ‘project bonus’ to highlight her contributions and keep her happy.

Also, for next week’s trip to Vanke in Pengcheng, Xu Chen was thinking of bringing Wu Feifei along.

The PPM meeting with endorser Wang Shi was mostly for Xu Chen to observe.

Director Paul Bao Junsen would handle the shooting script and arrangements—no extra work for Xu Chen.

Xu Chen’s main goal was to meet the bigwig Wang Shi and see if any projects were up for grabs.

With Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi swamped, they’d stay back.

Wu Feifei was eager to join projects, so taking her to the meeting killed two birds with one stone.

A pretty girl sitting quietly would be a nice touch for East Morning Star Advertising’s image.

The travel costs for flights and hotels would be covered by the client, so no extra burden.

[Report, Boss Xu, I’ve got next week’s leave approved!]

[So, what’s this business trip project about?]

Wu Feifei’s message showed she was totally hooked, full of curiosity and excitement.

Xu Chen teased her a bit:

[We’ll have a proper meeting when you get here; we’ll discuss it then.]

[Okay, Boss Xu! I’ll take serious meeting notes!]…

Xu Chen thought for a moment and sent a message to Gu Xinxi:

[Xinxi, print a new business card: Wu Feifei, Client Manager…]

[Got it, Boss! On it right away!]

…

…

In the afternoon.

After finishing an elective psychology class in the South Teaching Building, Xu Chen headed to the North Teaching Building for the weekly class meeting.

As usual, he squeezed in with a few guys at the back.

With tomorrow being the weekend, the group of boys and girls chatted about plans—where to go and what to do.

University life had settled in, and the novelty had worn off, so weekends meant seeking other fun.

“Jiangsu-Zhejiang playboy” Qian Xin suggested hitting up a club, but the other guys weren’t keen.

Hong Xiaoqiang joked:

“Qian, places like nightclubs are way out of our budget!”

Pei Qian said: “Let’s just hit the internet café for some CS!”

…

Homeroom Teacher Shi Dinghai walked in, and the noisy students quieted down.

Everyone looked up and saw that Professor Ni Zhi, the department head, had come in too.

Ni Zhi, wearing a wool red scarf, found an empty seat in the first row, right next to ‘top student’ Jiao Tianbo.

Jiao Tianbo still sat in the front for every class, sitting straight and taking notes seriously.

Seeing the department head sit beside him, Jiao Tianbo looked a bit uneasy and shifted in his seat.

The students stared at the professor in the front row, wondering why he was attending their class meeting.

…

The meeting proceeded as usual.

Class Monitor Min Siyang summarized the week’s attendance and activities.

She also mentioned the upcoming year-end welcome party preparations and said that after the meeting, the whole class needed to stay and discuss it.

Xu Chen scratched his head, annoyed—he’d forgotten about this, and Wu Feifei was waiting for him.

Looks like he’d have to swallow his pride and ask Min Siyang for a leave again.

…

After the monitor stepped down, Homeroom Teacher Shi Dinghai took the stage and said with a smile:

“Today, our department head Professor Ni is here for our class meeting to share some good news.”

Ni Zhi hadn’t even stood up yet when Vice Monitor ‘social butterfly’ Huo Dashan started clapping.

The rest of the students followed, though they found Huo Dashan’s applause a bit odd.

Ni Zhi smiled, adjusted his red scarf, and walked to the podium.

“This year, our freshman class jumped into the National University Advertising Competition with more submissions than the sophomores—deserving special praise!”

“As you know, two of our entries made it to the finals…”

This week, the judging for the competition wrapped up.

You might not have seen the latest announcements since you’re still in classes.

All the awards for this year’s competition, including national and Shanghai regional ones, were announced this afternoon.”

He paused, his voice firm:

“Our class’s two entries won the national first prize!”

As soon as he finished, Shi Dinghai at the podium started clapping.

The students quickly joined in, buzzing with excitement:

“First prize! Who got it?”

“National first prize, not just regional—that’s amazing.”

“How much is the prize money?”

…

Shi Dinghai raised his hand slightly to quiet everyone.

Ni Zhi chuckled and continued:

“Keep in mind, this competition received nearly 900,000 entries from across the nation.”

“Out of those, only seven got national first prizes.”

“And our freshman advertising class snagged two…”

“These wins are a huge honor for our college and school!”

“I’m here to congratulate Teacher Shi and the winning students!”

“And the entire freshman class!”

Now the students clapped on their own without prompting.

But they were all eager to know:

“Who got those two first prizes?!”

About half the class had entered the competition, each confident in their work.

Many wondered if their piece was one of the winners.

Including Jiao Tianbo, sitting straight in the front row.

…

Shi Dinghai cleared his throat, and the room fell silent again.

Ni Zhi glanced toward the back and said:

“Congratulations to Xu Chen!”

“…”

As everyone turned to look at him, Xu Chen felt a bit awkward.

He’d expected this, of course—his submissions were tailored to win.

Still, getting national first prizes gave him a thrill of pride.

“Whoa, Boss Xu, you’re full of surprises!”

“National first prize—impressive!”

“Didn’t see that coming!”

“No wonder, remember how spot-on his analysis of ‘Wash Well for Health’ was last time!”

“Seriously awesome…”

“Out of 900,000 entries!”

…

Shi Dinghai smiled and said:

“Let’s give Xu Chen a big congratulations!”

He led the applause as Xu Chen stood, nodding in thanks.

From the front row, voices piped up:

“Xu Chen, what did you create? Share with us!”

“Yeah, national first prize—I’m dying to see the idea…”

…

…

Ni Zhi paused, then said seriously:

“This national first prize is truly remarkable!”

“Our school didn’t get one last year or the year before.”

“And this year, it’s from our freshman class—a real honor for everyone…”

He went on with some emotional reflections, his praise evident.

…

In the front row, Jiao Tianbo raised his hand:

“Teacher, didn’t you say there are two national first prizes?”

“Who’s the other one?”

The room went quiet again as others had the same question.

Ni Zhi smiled, realizing his oversight:

“Our class’s two national first prizes are both Xu Chen’s.”

“…”

“?!”

Ni Zhi added: “In fact, both first prizes for our school and college are Xu Chen’s!”

“!!”

…

Amid stares of disbelief, Xu Chen gave a slightly shy smile.

He thought smugly: Why are you all looking at me? I didn’t plan for this—it was just a casual effort…

Beside him, Qian Xin said to Xu Chen:

“He should treat us to meals for a whole week!”

Pei Qian added: “And milk tea for another week!”

…

…

Ni Zhi clapped again, gave Xu Chen a meaningful look, and stepped down.

Shi Dinghai returned to the podium.

Normally, there’d be a ‘winner’s speech’ here, but noticing Xu Chen’s pleading glance, Shi Dinghai skipped it.

“As announced at the college welcome event, winning in the competition lets you choose two major courses for an automatic A+ grade.”

Xu Chen valued this reward, especially with his frequent leaves.

“Xu Chen, let me know before finals which two.”

It meant he could ignore attendance for those and pick the ones he’d missed most.

“Also, there’s a awards ceremony in Kun City for the competition—Xu Chen will attend.”

“All travel expenses will be covered by the college.”

Ni Zhi added from the floor:

“And there’s another college reward…”

“This year’s Great Wall Advertising Awards ceremony and exhibition are in Kun City, right after the competition awards.”

“All winners will go with Dean Lin Ruyang to observe and learn.”

“The Great Wall Awards are the biggest and most authoritative in the industry—you’ll see top-tier ads.”

“It’s an incredible opportunity!”

The students murmured in envy.

But hearing about the Great Wall Awards, Xu Chen paused.

Wang Laoshun’s ‘Fear of Overheating’ ad had been submitted by Nie Fei.

Given its popularity and market growth, winning seemed likely.

So, this trip to Kun City might let him pick up that award too—a efficient move for his busy schedule.

…