Chapter 410: Campus Connections and Daily Hustle

Tuesday morning.

Xu Chen climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom to freshen up while sending a message to Xie Bingran.

[How are you three doing after last night?]

He quickly got a reply from Bing Ge:

[We’re fine…]

[Uncle Xu just picked up Wu Feifei and drove her back to school.

Su Rong just woke up, and we’ll head to class together soon.]

Xu Chen shook his head with a mix of amusement and concern:

[Don’t forget breakfast!

See you at the cafeteria, or I can come to the hotel first.]

Xie Bingran: [Let’s just meet at the cafeteria. We’re almost ready here.]

Xu Chen thought for a moment:

[Is Fang Jun still with you? Bring her along.]

…

…

Fifteen minutes later.

At the West Garden Cafeteria entrance, Xu Chen met Xie Bingran, Su Rong, and Fang Jun.

Xie Bingran wore a baseball cap and mask, looking cool and aloof as ever.

Su Rong stood next to Bing Ge, her hair in two small braids.

She yawned lightly, standing with her feet turned in a bit cutely.

Maybe from last night’s hangover, the young girl still looked drowsy, her body swaying slightly…

Fang Jun, on the other hand, seemed her usual self, expressionless with her high ponytail swaying in the wind.

She’d drunk a lot yesterday, but clearly, her tolerance was top-notch.

…

Xu Chen approached the trio and glanced at Su Rong:

“Feeling okay?”

Su Rong puffed out her cheeks and exhaled:

“I’m good, I just want some red date millet porridge!”

“Let’s go…”

…

By the window seat.

The four of them ordered light breakfasts, none seeming very hungry.

Xu Chen turned to Fang Jun and said:

“Are you really coming to class with me?”

Fang Jun chewed on a boiled egg, her face blank:

“Of course! It’s a 985 university course, and I’m already here.”

“…”

Su Rong blinked and thought for a second:

“Morning’s advanced math class might suit you, Fang Jun.”

“Advanced mathematics?”

Fang Jun narrowed her eyes, genuinely interested, and nodded slightly.

Xu Chen: “Fei Jie is showing President Xu around Shanghai today. Aren’t you joining them?”

Fang Jun: “Your dad’s visiting Shanghai for the first time, but I’ve been here plenty. Not that interested.”

“…”

Xu Chen: “…”

Fang Jun: “Besides, your dad went to Wu Feifei’s school. He’ll be back around noon, then head out with Nie Fei in the afternoon.”

Xu Chen: “Huh? Isn’t he just dropping off Wu Feifei?”

“Why’s that taking until noon?”

Fang Jun: “He said he’d help her get some daily essentials, like taking care of the boss’s daughter.”

Xu Chen: “I never got that kind of treatment.”

Fang Jun: “Yesterday, President Xu mentioned wanting to check out Bing Ge’s training base.”

“And get her some bedding sets or something…”

“But it seems there’s not enough time.”

Xie Bingran blinked:

“Don’t worry about me. I live pretty simply.”

Xu Chen smiled:

“President Xu thinks of everything.”

“I’ll handle that though…”

“When I drop Bing Ge off, I’ll get her set up.”

…

…

In the North Building classroom, during the advanced math class.

At the back near the door, Xu Chen and Fang Jun sat at one desk, while Xie Bingran and Su Rong were at another.

Bing Ge kept her cool look, wearing a baseball cap and mask, hands in her pockets.

She sat still, actually paying attention.

Su Rong, though, was fighting to stay awake.

She hadn’t slept well last night, propping her cheek with one hand as her eyelids fluttered.

Of course, it could also be the dry calculus lecture getting to her…

Fang Jun sat straight, focused and diligent, like a model student.

She frowned occasionally and nodded lightly, really following the calculus explanation.

Xu Chen glanced over and felt a surge of respect.

…

Meanwhile,

Girls in the front row and guys in the back kept glancing back, whispering.

“Who’s that fair-skinned girl with the high ponytail next to Xu Chen?”

“Is she Xu Chen’s girlfriend? I haven’t heard about that.”

“Probably not, she looks a bit older.”

“Wait, maybe she’s a wealthy older sister?”

“Nah, Xu Chen’s from a good family himself. No need for that…”

“…”

…

The guys in the back were buzzing with gossip too.

“The Jiang Zhe Little Prince” Qian Xin glanced over several times and murmured:

“What’s going on here? Boss Xu and Su Rong are getting more mysterious…”

Hong Xiaoqiang had already recognized Fang Jun as the woman who’d visited the dorm on Sunday:

“That girl’s Xu Chen’s ‘sister’…”

“So the guy next to Su Rong must be Xu Chen’s ‘brother’!”

Pei Qian looked back:

“Then Xu Chen’s ‘sister’ must be loaded too?”

The guys exchanged looks, squinting, but felt it was off to eye their buddy’s rich ‘sister’.

…

…

After class at noon,

Xu Chen sensed his friends itching to chat, so he quickly led Fang Jun, Su Rong, and Xie Bingran out of the building.

“Let’s grab food at the International Student Cafeteria!”

Su Rong: “Yay! I’ve only been once!”

…

Behind Tonghai University’s ‘Three Good Docks’ was the International Student Cafeteria.

It’s pricey and mostly non-Chinese food, so not many go often.

Fang Jun strolled along the counter, hands behind her back, and said flatly:

“Let’s get grilled steak and cod fish—Bing Ge can eat that.”

“The cook’s got Latin roots and looks handsome.”

Xu Chen: “?!”

…

Xu Chen guided the four to a spot near the door for good ventilation.

Fang Jun: “Don’t you prefer window seats?”

Xu Chen: “This spot’s breezy and away from the AC vents.”

Fang Jun: “Breezy?”

Xu Chen: “Lots of international students wear strong perfumes.”

Fang Jun: “Oh, got it.”

Steak, cod fish, grilled shrimp, and fruit salad.

Xie Bingran used her knife and fork to share the cod fish with Su Rong, which made Xu Chen roll his eyes.

“You two are way too cozy!”

Xie Bingran chewed her fish and ignored him.

Su Rong’s cheeks bulged as she ate:

“What’s ‘cozy’ mean?”

“…”

…

Fang Jun scrolled her phone and suddenly said:

“Bing Ge’s amazing now…”

“What?” Xu Chen peeked at Fang Jun’s phone.

It was a news article…

The photo showed Xie Bingran with a group of sports stars.

NBA star Yao Ming, table tennis champ Wang Liqin, diving legend Wu Minxia, former national team captain Fan Zhiyi…

Su Rong, across the table, looked curious, so Fang Jun passed her the phone.

“Wow! Bing Ge looks so cool with all these sports stars!”

Xu Chen: “Bing Ge’s an Asian Games gold medalist now—she’s a star herself.”

Su Rong still seemed surprised and excited:

“That’s Yao Ming, Fan Zhiyi, Wu Minxia…”

“So Bing Ge’s friends with them all!”

Xu Chen looked at Xie Bingran:

“When was this event? I didn’t see any news earlier!”

Xie Bingran, munching on purple cabbage, said:

“A banquet a couple of days ago. Didn’t expect the news to drop today.”

Xu Chen scrolled through it and sighed.

Bing Ge’s circle kept getting more impressive.

In sports, she was at the top.

He glanced at the people in the photo with her:

“These are all local Shanghai athletes, right?”

Xie Bingran: “I think so…”

Xu Chen: “The Shanghai Sports Bureau seems to be openly competing with the Shandong Province Sports Bureau for you!”

Fang Jun: “How’s that even a competition?”

“Bing Ge’s still registered with Shandong Province Sports Bureau, right?”

Xu Chen: “For domestic events, Bing Ge’s registered in Shandong and competes for them.”

“But international ones with the flag? It’s a bit fuzzy…”

“Now that Bing Ge’s studying and training in Shanghai, she’s basically backed by the Shanghai Sports Bureau.”

“Getting invited to this banquet with local stars means they’re blurring those lines on purpose.”

Fang Jun: “That doesn’t seem fair.”

Xu Chen smiled: “It’s not, but it’s good for Bing Ge.”

“In this setup, the Shanghai Sports Bureau has way more pull and resources than Shandong’s…”

“They can even challenge the capital’s side on some levels.”

Fang Jun frowned, like something clicked:

“Is there always rivalry between the capital and Shanghai?”

“Like different bureaus competing and poaching?”

“It won’t affect Bing Ge, will it?”

Xu Chen paused, thinking it over seriously.

Xie Bingran had mentioned before that her Shanghai training base kept her away from some team drama in the capital.

But that was mostly about senior players picking on juniors, not deeper issues.

He looked at Xie Bingran:

“Bing Ge, ignore all that. It’s just outside forces vying for you, and it’s all benefits right now.”

“Just focus on training and racing—”

“As long as you’re winning, resources will come to you.”

“Oh.”

Su Rong couldn’t help but whisper:

“Bing Ge’s so awesome…”

“She’s only a month older than me, but already this big.”

Xu Chen: “I’m a few months older than Bing Ge and nowhere near as impressive.”

Fang Jun narrowed her eyes, clearly annoyed:

“I’m several years older than both of you!”

Su Rong blinked in surprise: “Several years?”

“I thought you were just one or two years older…”

Fang Jun’s expressionless face broke into a wide, happy smile.

She pinched Su Rong’s cheek:

“What do you want, little sister? I can get you anything!”

Xie Bingran: “…”

Xu Chen: “Several years?”

“I always figured you were a couple months younger than me…”

Fang Jun: “That’s way too fake. Minus points.”

“…”

…

…

…

In the afternoon, in the Little Yellow Building’s computer lab for the computer graphics design class.

Fang Jun still tagged along with Xu Chen to class.

They huddled at a computer in the back row, while Su Rong and Xie Bingran were in the row behind.

Xu Chen opened the CoreDraw design software and worked on his final project.

Fang Jun seemed intrigued, messing around with the mouse, doodling what looked like an ugly panda…

Xu Chen glanced back to see Bing Ge and Su Rong glued together at their computer, tinkering away.

They were so close…

Su Rong: “Bing Ge, give me some feedback on this. It’s for my final project!”

Xie Bingran lifted her cap brim and looked:

“You’ve got talent.”

Su Rong:

Xu Chen: (―)…

…

…

After evening class, the four headed straight back to the company from the South Campus.

Sun Aimi had scheduled a meeting with Xu Chen to discuss the Head & Shoulders ad campaign.

With spokesperson Xie Bingran on hand, they pulled her in too.

Su Rong, as Bing Ge’s constant companion, naturally followed along.

Especially since Bing Ge was leaving tomorrow, and the girl looked reluctant to part.

…

Gu Xinxi had ordered pizza ahead of time.

Xu Chen had arranged it because ‘Goddess of Wealth’ Fang Jun mentioned wanting some that afternoon.

“Has President Xu and Fei Jie gotten back yet?” Xu Chen asked.

Gu Xinxi: “I just checked with Fei Jie.”

“They hit traffic, so she’s taking President Xu out to eat. We don’t need to wait.”

Xu Chen nodded:

“Call everyone for food!”

“Those in the meeting, let’s eat in the conference room while we talk and wrap up early.”

…

The spacious main conference room felt much more relaxed than the eighth-floor one.

Besides the project team—Xu Chen, Sun Aimi, and Tang Xiaowei—Xie Bingran, Su Rong, and Fang Jun joined in.

Su Rong stuck with Bing Ge but said she wanted to learn something.

Fang Jun boldly claimed she’d represent the head company to oversee operations.

…

Xu Chen chewed on a seafood pizza topped with big shrimp:

“Let’s keep it casual and go over the plan!”

Sun Aimi stayed seated and gave Tang Xiaowei an encouraging nod.

Tang Xiaowei cleared his throat, clearly nervous for his first internal presentation.

“Following the direction you set, boss, we stuck to Procter & Gamble’s standard ad framework…”

“Aimi and I reviewed all the Head & Shoulders ads from the past few years—they’re basically the same formula…”

“The strength is in the clear anti-dandruff sell.”

“The creative style is pretty fixed…”

“So this ad doesn’t leave much room for innovation.”

“It’s about tying it to the spokesperson and slipping in the anti-dandruff point…”

Tang Xiaowei spoke steadily, though tense, showing solid professionalism.

His strategy was logical, and the creative breakdown made sense.

Of the listeners, Su Rong paid the most attention.

As an ad student, this hit her expertise, sparking deep thought—though her sweet look often hid that depth.

…

Tang Xiaowei shared several past Head & Shoulders ads.

Covering standard product spots and previous spokesperson ones, he outlined the approach.

Then he presented their script.

Xu Chen sipped his cola, listening intently.

As Tang Xiaowei said, there wasn’t much creative freedom.

It centered on the anti-dandruff core.

The tie-in with the spokesperson focused on Xie Bingran’s ‘fresh’ short hair.

The main concept: ‘Fresh and Unbeatable.’

The script had two big scenes: Xie Bingran on the track and a scalp lab demo.

Using her ‘fresh short hair’ to highlight the ‘fresh feel’ after using the product.

…

Tang Xiaowei wrapped up in about ten minutes.

He looked uneasy, glancing at Xu Chen and then Sun Aimi.

Xu Chen nodded with a smile, encouraging the newcomer.

He turned to the others:

“What do you three think?”

Fang Jun spoke first:

“I like it. It makes Bing Ge look really cool!”

“‘Fresh and Unbeatable’—great tagline.”

“…”

Su Rong thought carefully and said shyly:

“I’m just a student, so I don’t have much input.”

“But overall, it seems solid.”

Tang Xiaowei relaxed at their words.

Xu Chen looked at Xie Bingran and smiled.

Bing Ge kept her cool vibe but gave Tang Xiaowei a kind glance:

“I don’t get this stuff, so no complaints from me.”

…

Everyone’s eyes shifted to ‘little boss’ Xu Chen.

Sun Aimi adjusted her round glasses, feeling tense.

Xu Chen smiled warmly:

“The plan’s good. Congrats, Aimi and Xiaowei!”

Tang Xiaowei lit up: “Really, boss?”

Xu Chen: “Absolutely.”

“This creative fits the Head & Shoulders mold perfectly.”

“Pitch it like this, and they won’t have much to object to.”

Tang Xiaowei beamed and looked at Sun Aimi.

Sun Aimi adjusted her glasses:

“But boss, you’ve probably got a better idea, right?”

Xu Chen chuckled:

“Not better, just an alternative option for the pitch.”

“…”

Tang Xiaowei sat down and opened a document to note it.

Xu Chen: “No need to write it down—it’s just one line…”

“We can tie it to Bing Ge more cleverly.”

“‘Fresh and Unbeatable’ links to her hair, but not much to her champion status.”

“Here’s a concept for you: ”

[Head & Shoulders helps me win clean and clear.]

…

Everyone paused, pondering the phrase.

Helps me win clean and clear…

Su Rong blinked, excited:

“That’s great!”

“Anti-dandruff means clean and clear…”

Fang Jun: “Nice tie-in, really clever.”

Sun Aimi glanced at Tang Xiaowei:

“See? Boss always has the edge.”

…

…”