Chapter 438: Defending the Creative Edge

Lecture Hall.

Nie Fei held the microphone, answering questions from the students below.

Even the tricky inquiries didn’t faze Fei Jie at all.

After all, she was the mastermind behind the ‘Afraid of Getting Heated’ project, knowing every detail of the commercial execution from start to finish—far more than Xu Chen did.

The students asking questions and those listening gained valuable insights from Nie Fei’s responses.

……

Down in the audience.

A third-year female student took the microphone and said:

“May I… ask Xu Chen a question?”

Nie Fei smiled.

She didn’t answer directly but glanced down at Xu Chen sitting in the audience.

Xu Chen had already stood up and was walking calmly to the stage.

He took the microphone from Nie Fei and, seeing that he didn’t recognize the girl who had asked the question, figured she must be a senior.

“Go ahead, Senior.”

His attitude was polite and respectful, like a proper underclassman.

The senior paused for a moment before saying:

“It’s mostly Nie who’s been sharing…”

“But the ‘Great Wall Award’ grand prize was collected by Xu Chen, and his name is listed as the main creator.”

“So, I wanted to discuss some professional aspects directly with Xu Chen.”

Her words hung in the air, making the entire lecture hall feel tense.

The senior’s tone seemed neutral, but it carried a clear hint of doubt.

The other students picked up on the implied accusation right away.

……

Was Xu Chen, the boss of ‘East Morning Star Advertising’, just riding on coattails for that ‘Great Wall Award’ win?

And now, with Nie Fei sharing today, it only fueled that suspicion.

Maybe Xu Chen was just a ‘rich kid’ who started an ad company.

As for the ads and projects, they were probably handled by the pros he hired.

In fact, besides this senior, plenty of other upperclassmen had similar doubts.

And beyond the ‘Great Wall Award’, those two ‘University Advertising Competition’ national first prizes were likely the same deal.

If the ‘University Advertising Competition’ entries were really made by ghostwriters, it would be hugely unfair to the other participants.

Plus, it would blatantly violate the competition’s official rules…

The senior’s doubt was rude, yet it had some logic to it.

After all, Xu Chen was just a freshman snagging both the ‘University Advertising Competition’ and ‘Great Wall Award’—it seemed too unbelievable.

Especially for those upperclassmen who had competed in the ‘University Advertising Competition’ themselves; they still felt a bit resentful.

……

The senior’s question made several of Xu Chen’s close classmates—like Qian Xin, Huang Hao, and Hong Xiaoqiang—look uncomfortable.

“Jiang Zhe Little Prince” Qian Xin couldn’t stand it and spoke up directly:

“What’s your point, Senior?”

The senior gave an awkward smile:

“I just have a question…”

“I think other students might have the same one.”

“Nie’s sharing was really professional and taught us a lot.”

“But we’re here today to hear Xu Chen share about his award-winning work firsthand.”

This senior, who looked quiet and mild, had sharp, unforgiving words.

Her tone was laced with sarcasm, full of indirect jabs.

Her comment sparked a wave of murmurs in the audience.

All eyes turned to Xu Chen on stage, holding the microphone.

Maybe many were waiting for this underclassman to slip up.

Qian Xin and Huang Hao were annoyed but didn’t know how to respond right away.

……

In the front row, Dean Lin Ruyang looked displeased, his brows furrowed as if to say something.

Before he could stand, Xu Chen on stage remained calm and smiled as he said:

“Senior, do you have a specific question?”

“Since this is a professional sharing session, let’s save time and stick to professional topics.”

“If you have any doubts about this project that you want me to address personally, I’m happy to share.”

He spoke with a relaxed confidence that radiated assurance.

Lin Ruyang and Yu Xiaoguang exchanged glances and couldn’t help but smile.

Of course—focusing on professional matters would easily dismantle the senior’s doubt.

If the other student suspected Xu Chen didn’t create the award-winning work, then his ability to answer professional questions would clear it up.

On the flip side, if he couldn’t handle the questions, it would confirm he was just a name on the project…

Lin Ruyang looked at Xu Chen on stage and felt a surge of approval.

So young, yet so composed.

Faced with doubt, he showed no panic—just one sentence redirected to the core of the issue.

And that revealed his absolute self-assurance.

……

With the question tossed back to her, all eyes in the hall turned to the senior.

She seemed to think it over seriously before saying:

“Then I’ll ask a professional question…”

“Nie mostly shared about the market promotion and commercial execution for ‘Wang Laoshun’ herbal tea.”

“I want to ask Xu Chen about the creation of the ‘Afraid of Getting Heated, Drink Wang Laoshun’ ad…”

“From ad targets, audience, SWOT analysis, ad strategy, ad ideas…”

“How was that slogan developed through the whole process?”

Once she asked, everyone’s gaze shifted back to Xu Chen on stage.

It was a basic question, but also a crucial one.

Essentially, she was probing the core creative thinking behind that slogan.

……

Xu Chen nodded and gestured for the senior to sit down:

“That’s a great question, Senior.”

He paused, then smiled and continued:

“Ad targets, audience, SWOT analysis, ad strategy, ad ideas…”

“This framework you mentioned is straight from the textbooks, right?”

“If you know any real ad pros, you could ask them—does any company still use this system for creating ads?”

“Honestly, what we learn in class is disconnected from real commercial creativity…”

“The ‘Afraid of Getting Heated’ campaign wasn’t built step-by-step from the textbook approach.”

Xu Chen spoke plainly but straightforwardly.

Right off the bat, he labeled the senior’s framework as ‘textbook’, ‘outdated’, and ‘not practical’.

This was his deliberate move—to flip the power dynamic amid the challenge.

She was the senior and the challenger, holding the upper hand in status.

So, he needed to take control first.

By pointing out the ‘student-like’ nature of her question, he subtly yet effectively shifted the ground.

In a few sentences, he transformed from the doubted underclassman to a seasoned industry expert guiding students.

……

Meanwhile, the advertising students in the audience grew serious.

The framework the senior mentioned was exactly what they’d learned from textbooks—the so-called ‘academic’ ad creation steps.

They wondered if real ad creation followed those textbook procedures.

Xu Chen paused briefly:

“If you could just follow textbook steps to make ideas, then anyone could win the ‘Great Wall Award’.”

“Real ad creation is complex; every company and creative has their own knowledge base and thinking habits.”

“Ogilvy, JWT, Euro, TBWA… Each has their unique creative paths.”

“Explaining all that would take forever, so I’ll skip it for now.”

“For ‘Afraid of Getting Heated’, I’ll keep it simple and share the core thinking.”

“First, I need to introduce three key terms in ad creation.”

“Insight, Concept, Idea…”

Xu Chen dropped these impressive professional terms to grab attention right away.

“In any field, terms are the insiders’ secret language.”

“Understanding them is a basic sign of expertise.”

“Xu Chen knew that university ad education in China was out of sync with the 4A agencies’ approaches.”

“What he’s sharing now comes from the global top-tier creative thinking of international 4A firms.”

……

With the microphone in hand, Xu Chen spoke confidently on stage.

Not just the students, but Dean Lin Ruyang, Ni Zhi, and the attending lecturers all perked up.

Xu Chen wove together the concepts of Insight, Concept, and Idea, outlining the cutting-edge creative strategies used in 4A ad practices.

He knew exactly what would impress these students, so he selected high-level concepts, mixed in some English terms, and threw in views from global ad masters to captivate them.

The creation process for ‘Afraid of Getting Heated, Drink Wang Laoshun’ was woven into this creative chain, breaking down the entire process.

As the ad expert Lao Shuang’an had commented at the Kun City awards:

“With seven seemingly simple yet ingeniously crafted words, they achieved precise communication with billions of people.”

……

“Who knew a seven-word slogan had so much depth?”

“Every word, even the punctuation, was finely tuned…”

“This analysis makes total sense; it really taps into people’s subconscious needs.”

“That ‘afraid’ word is so clever—I never realized.”

“He’s explaining it so well; it’s more engaging than Ni’s lectures.”

……

Xu Chen spent about twenty minutes delving into the creative thinking behind ‘Afraid of Getting Heated’, covering strategy, ideas, user insights, and copy approaches—thorough without being exhaustive.

By explaining it so clearly, he completely dispelled the senior’s earlier doubt.

If he hadn’t created the project himself, how could he analyze it like this?!

And he was called up without any prep, which made his responses even more convincing.

Xu Chen held the microphone and looked at the senior who had asked the question:

“I hope that answers your doubt, Senior.”

In the front row, Dean Lin Ruyang chuckled and started clapping.

Yu Xiaoguang and Professor Ni Zhi joined in.

Then the lecturers in the second row and the students behind followed suit.

Xu Chen kept smiling, waiting for the applause to fade.

His eyes stayed on the senior who had raised the doubt.

She looked embarrassed.

Finally, she stood up slightly and murmured:

“Thank you, Xu Chen… I have no more questions…”

……

The sharing session ended with Dean Lin Ruyang’s enthusiastic closing remarks.

Xu Chen and Nie Fei exchanged a few words with Yu Xiaoguang and Professor Ni Zhi.

As the students filed out of the lecture hall, some crowded forward to chat more with the guests.

To Xu Chen’s surprise, a group of seniors came over to introduce themselves.

He was polite and engaged, getting to know these third- and fourth-year students.

Some he had met before, like those who went to Kun City for the ad festival.

Others were new faces, but all from the advertising program.

They were eager, discussing business and creative ideas with him.

A few seniors were straightforward, asking if ‘East Morning Star Advertising’ had job or internship openings.

Even a couple of fourth-years handed him their resumes and portfolios, which made Xu Chen laugh a bit.

In the end, he shared the company’s email and said:

“I’m not handling recruitment directly.”

“I’ll discuss it with the team; they might set up interviews or open internship spots.”

……

On second thought, hiring a few interns wasn’t a bad idea.

With ‘East Morning Star Advertising’ picking up more projects, Gu Xinxi was swamped and needed an assistant soon.

Over at ‘Ran Bing Sports’, Sun Lingfeng was managing official store operations and often worked late…

Interns could help; if they proved capable, they might stick around.

Tonghai University was a top school, so these seniors had solid basics—they just needed real-world experience.

Xu Chen glanced at Nie Fei, and she nodded with a knowing smile.