Chapter 513: Campus Rhythms and Deals

After the dinner party, Zhou Junjun organized a trip to KTV for singing.

Back then, young professionals’ entertainment options were pretty limited—no board games, Werewolf, or murder mystery parties had caught on yet, but KTV spots were buzzing with business.

“Young Vice President Zhou” was always up for fun, and HR’s Tang Mo even double-checked with him if it was just a regular KTV and nothing more.

Zhou Junjun looked completely innocent and joked:

“Momo, what kind of person do you think I am?”

Xu Chen felt a bit tipsy and didn’t want to deal with more hassle, so he bowed out, saying he had classes early the next morning.

……

Tonghai Creative Design Building, 8th floor small studio.

Xu Chen lounged on the single sofa, having just brewed himself a light cup of tea.

His phone buzzed:

[Hey, Young Xu, got a minute? Let’s chat over the phone.]

It was a message from Director Li.

[Of course, Director Li. Give me a second—I’ll call you right back.]

“Chenfeng Technology” was counting on Director Li for Olympic-related matters, so Xu Chen needed to keep things smooth with him.

The call connected, and Director Li started with his usual warm greetings.

Then he got to the point, updating Xu Chen on two things related to Xie Bingran.

First, the commercial deal with “Omega” was fully locked in and moving through the official contract process.

Xie Bingran would become the “Omega Global Ambassador,” with her image used for promotions worldwide.

Celebrity endorsements often have regional scopes, like purely domestic, Asia-wide, or global.

For instance, Xie Bingran’s Jeep deal was just for mainland China, while Louis Vuitton’s was for Asia.

Landing a global endorsement meant “Omega” saw huge potential in Xie Bingran’s worldwide influence.

Naturally, a global deal came with higher fees than a domestic one.

Director Li added:

“This year, Omega’s global ambassadors are only George Clooney and Nicole Kidman, and now Xie Bingran joins them.

This will give Bing Ge a massive boost in her global image.”

Director Li sounded reflective and added:

“I never imagined I’d get to work on projects this big in my lifetime…

It’s all thanks to Bing Ge!”

Xu Chen had heard from Coach Cheng Hong that Director Li was riding high in his role these days.

With Xu Chen’s behind-the-scenes help in ousting An Jin Xiong, Director Li got promoted, and through Xie Bingran’s major deals, he gained even more clout.

His “Business Office” had expanded its team significantly.

Beyond the original in-house staff, they recruited a couple of high-educated, multilingual business pros.

Everyone knew these new hires were basically dedicated to Xie Bingran, since she was the only one on the national team scoring international brand deals.

Xu Chen had thought about setting up a personal commercial team for Xie Bingran, but the national team’s strict controls made it tough for outsiders to get involved.

Things were ideal now—Director Li was skilled, and they had a solid operations team.

Plus, they always checked with “Young Xu” for input, which worked out perfectly.

Director Li also updated on the “You Le Mei” project; Xie Bingran’s shooting schedule was set.

It matched Xu Chen’s earlier expectations, scheduled for Friday, June 1st.

The director’s team was prepping for late May, so execution was on track with no issues.

Director Li paused briefly before saying:

“I’m calling you, Young Xu, because I need a favor from you.”

Xu Chen: “Director Li, you’re too kind. Just say the word—I’ll do my best to help.”

“As you know, Young Xu, with the whole year focused on Olympic prep, Bing Ge will be in intensive training camps, making it hard to schedule any commercial activities.

That includes things like ad shoots, such as the June 1st video and photos.”

“My idea is to shoot a batch of photo materials for her in advance.”

“These won’t have any logos but will be versatile and reusable.”

“That way, if any current brands need new photos over the next year, we can use these ready ones without bothering her for more time.”

“It’ll save us from chasing her schedule every time.”

Xu Chen thought it over: “Director Li, that’s a great suggestion. We should stock up on some materials.”

Xu Chen was thinking that “Chenfeng Ice Power” and “Ran Bing Sports” needed fresh materials too.

“Ran Bing” had a “Ran Bing Lite” release planned for later in the year, and “Chenfeng Ice Power” was due for a minor update by year-end, both needing new promotions.

Director Li continued:

“The ‘You Le Mei’ ad shoot can wrap in a day—that’s what I told the brand.”

“For Bing Ge, I requested a day and a half from the team, including the morning of June 2nd.”

Xu Chen caught on to what Director Li needed and said directly:

“The June 1st shoot probably won’t take the whole day.

So, we can use the leftover time on June 1st and the morning of June 2nd for the photos.”

“I’ll handle renting another studio at the ad shoot location—it’s straightforward.”

“I just need to line up a solid photographer; I’ll take care of that…”

Director Li: “Exactly what I had in mind!”

He paused: “The budget on my end isn’t huge, so there might not be much profit in it for you, Young Xu.”

Xu Chen: “Director Li, you’re too polite. I won’t charge you for this job.”

“Plus, ‘Chenfeng Technology’ and ‘Ran Bing Sports’ can shoot some materials during this slot too.”

“Since it’s for Bing Ge’s projects, I’d rather handle it myself to ensure it’s done right.”

Xu Chen really didn’t want to ask Director Li for payment.

“And besides, having Director Li owe me a favor helps, especially with ‘Chenfeng Technology’ and the Olympics still needing your support.”

But Director Li insisted politely, mentioning that his department had a 300,000 yuan budget approved.

Xu Chen didn’t want to refuse outright, so he said he’d deliver materials worth 600,000 yuan or more.

……

……

May 20th, Tonghai University’s centennial anniversary.

Today was a weekend, and even colleges with weekend classes had canceled them, letting the whole school dive into the events planned for months.

The celebrations were diverse, organized by the school, various colleges, departments, and clubs in all sorts of styles.

Students had the freedom to pick which activities to join.

With cherry blossoms in full bloom on campus, the entire ‘Sipin Road Campus’ buzzed with festive energy.

The Creative College set up a cross-disciplinary mixer on the open ground between Zhongde College and the Business School.

Since it offered chances to meet and mingle with attractive girls from other majors and years, the guys in the dorm got excited.

Huo Dashan and Jiao Tianbo, both in the College Student Union, helped organize it.

So, guys like Pei Qian and Hong Xiaoqiang asked them to set up some special interactions, like with girls from certain classes.

Jiao Tianbo seriously turned them down, but Huo Dashan handled it smoothly with a laugh.

“The Jiang Zhe Little Prince” Qian Xin, wearing fly sunglasses, said:

“We’ve got plenty of pretty girls in our class, and you guys don’t even make a move!”

Pei Qian: “We don’t go after the ones close to home—outsiders might bring something fresh.”

Qian Xin: “What kind of nonsense is that?!”

……

After breakfast in the cafeteria, Qian Xin, Pei Qian, Huang Hao, and Hong Xiaoqiang dragged Xu Chen along.

Xu Chen looked awkward: “I’ve got other plans…”

The others got curious, and Xu Chen casually mentioned he was going to pick up an award.

……

Twenty minutes later, in the Grand Auditorium.

“Tonghai University Centennial Anniversary—Annual Awards Ceremony.”

Xu Chen was there to receive the “Annual Outstanding Undergraduate” award.

The huge auditorium was packed.

After checking in, he was guided to a seat in the fourth row up front.

Once seated, he glanced around—everyone nearby was probably another award winner.

Looking at the rows ahead, they were filled with suits and some with gray hair.

Peeking at the nameplates through the crowd and recalling bits from the school website, he realized these were the real heavyweights.

Professors and associate professors probably didn’t even make the cut here—Lin Ruyang showing up might still have to sit back a bit.

The folks in front were likely academicians and up.

Tonghai University, being a tech-focused school, had its top ranks filled with academicians from sciences and engineering.

And many of China’s top leaders came from engineering and science backgrounds, so Tonghai’s alumni network extended into politics beyond just the academies.

For example, the current university president would later become the Minister of Science and Technology.

……

The awards ceremony was a formal event with official vibes, following a strict agenda.

Speeches from leaders including the principal, and introductions of the academicians in front.

With it being the centennial, this year’s awards carried extra weight.

Xu Chen felt honored to be included.

There were many awards, categorized various ways.

In research: “Annual Research Achievement Award,” “Annual Engineering Achievement Award,” “Annual Social Sciences Achievement Award,” and so on.

In teaching: “Annual Outstanding Mentor,” “Annual Outstanding Lecturer,” “Annual Outstanding Assistant,” etc.

Plus awards for campus culture and excellent departments…

“Student awards” came after the teaching ones.

The first was Xu Chen’s “Annual Outstanding Undergraduate.”

The presenter was an elderly academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of Tonghai’s early returnees.

After the announcement, Xu Chen went on stage.

He learned there were only ten spots for this award.

Considering Tonghai had over 4,500 students per year and thousands total undergrads, that was selective.

Of the other nine, almost all were third-year seniors.

From what he heard, many had won international math competitions or made big contributions to national medical projects.

Xu Chen was the only one from humanities and social sciences.

That made the certificate in his hand feel even heavier.

From the introduction, it was clear his award stemmed mostly from “East Morning Star Advertising” and key cases.

Especially the “Afraid of Getting Heated” Great Wall Award, which the judges loved…

The “Annual Outstanding Graduate Student” and “Annual Outstanding Graduate” awards had even fewer recipients, totaling ten.

It showed how rigorous the selection was.

Once all student awards were done, Xu Chen realized he was the only winner from the Creative and Design College.

Lin Ruyang must have nominated him with good reason, thinking he had the best shot.

It brought honor to the college, as several others, like Humanities, Film, and Mechanical Engineering, had no winners.

After sitting down, more awards followed.

Xu Chen looked around for Dean Lin Ruyang to thank him in person but couldn’t spot him.

He’d have to send a thank-you message later.

……

The event wrapped up around 11 a.m.

The other award winners knew each other, so Xu Chen exchanged contacts with them.

These undergrads could become big names in research or medicine down the line, so it was smart to connect early.

As for the academicians up front, Xu Chen knew he wasn’t at that level yet, so he didn’t push it.

……

……

Xu Chen wandered out of the Grand Auditorium; it was still early, so he relaxed on the nearby lawn by the rock garden, soaking up the sun.

He pulled out his phone to send a thank-you to Dean Lin Ruyang but saw the group chat exploding.

Checking it, his award news had already hit the Tonghai University homepage.

The Creative College had posted an official announcement too.

“Congratulations to our first-year advertising student Xu Chen on winning Tonghai University’s ‘Annual Outstanding Undergraduate’…”

The post included a photo of him on stage.

The college group was full of congrats, from classmates to seniors like Academic Department head Zhao Siting and Student Union chair Jin Yuelan.

It even included folks from his “East Morning Star Advertising” internship, like third-year photography student Zhang Yuchen.

Xu Chen popped into the group to express his honor and thanks.

The class group was even livelier, with congrats and teasing from roommates like Qian Xin and Hong Xiaoqiang.

Xu Chen posted:

[Thanks everyone! Milk tea on me for the whole class this afternoon!]

And in the dorm group:

[BBQ and beer dinner tonight—eat as much as you want!]

……

……

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