Chapter 189: Gathering for the Games

Xie Bingran has already secured her spot on the national team, but for this National Games in Yangcheng, Bing Ge is still competing for the Shandong Provincial Team.

Under Xu Chen’s arrangements, Li Rui, Zhao Feng, and Bing Ge’s other buddies, along with teachers Chen Ming and Tian Fangfang, plus a few managers from Chenfeng Technology, formed a group of nearly thirty—the Tiancheng Supporters Club—all heading to Yangcheng to watch the games.

Travel expenses are covered by the City Publicity Department’s budget…

With so many people, Teacher Chen Ming reached out to Gao Guangya, the director of the City Sports Bureau, who coordinated with the Provincial Team to reserve a block of prime seats in the stands for the match day.

Even though it’s funded by the Publicity Department’s project, they’re keeping costs as low as possible.

After all, they need to save some budget for media buys…

Wu Yue from Chenfeng Technology’s admin department is handling all the travel logistics. The main group, including Li Rui and Zhao Feng, will take the overnight train to Yangcheng on the 28th, with Wu Yue on the same train.

They’ll arrive early on the 29th, just in time to head to the Yangcheng Sports Arena and catch Bing Ge’s midday match.

Xu Chen and Fang Jun, however, are flying from the Provincial Capital to Yangcheng on the 28th.

Since they’re also following up on the Fuyan Jie ad campaign, their tickets are booked by Renhe Pharmaceuticals, so it won’t dip into the Publicity Department’s budget.

Teachers Chen Ming and Tian Fangfang, as Xie Bingran’s former personal coaches, have already connected with the Provincial Team and will head to Yangcheng earlier to help with her pre-competition training.

Seizing the chance to visit Guangdong Province, Xu Zhiquan is taking Yang Congxin to Pengcheng first to meet local battery suppliers. They’ll both arrive in Yangcheng on the 29th to join Xu Chen and the others.

From the City Publicity Department, Director Feng Siliang, along with reporters and camera crew from the City TV Station, have already headed to Yangcheng earlier to gather material for pre-event hype.

…

…

In the blink of an eye, the 28th arrived.

Xu Chen and Fang Jun traveled together, taking a direct bus to the Provincial Capital Airport.

Fang Jun had switched up her usual look, ditching the neat Polo shirt and khaki pants for a light-colored athletic outfit.

Yet she still wore her hair in a high ponytail, her face set in that cool, aloof expression.

Xu Chen looked her over and teased:

“Anyone who doesn’t know better might think you’re the one competing!”…

They reached the airport before 11 a.m.

After security, they grabbed a spot at a noodle shop and each ordered a bowl of beef noodles for lunch.

While waiting, Fang Jun asked Xu Chen to watch the luggage and headed off to the restroom alone.

…

Xu Chen sat there feeling a bit bored, yawning as he waited.

He glanced around and spotted a white suitcase behind him, which made him pause.

The suitcase probably belonged to travelers at the next table—nobody was there, maybe they’d gone to order food.

What caught Xu Chen’s eye was a sticker on the white suitcase.

The red sticker looked homemade, with cute letters that read:

“I Love Bing Ge”…

Xu Chen couldn’t help wondering if this ‘Bing Ge’ meant Xie Bingran.

After all, he hadn’t heard of any other celebrities or idols going by that name…

As he pondered, a female voice suddenly called from behind:

“Xu Chen?!”

Xu Chen turned and said:

“Huang… Qianqian?”

The girl in front of him was slim and tall, wearing a dark red dress.

Xu Chen remembered her—she was a classmate named Huang Qianqian.

They weren’t close; they’d barely spoken through all of high school. Their recent chats had only happened because of ‘Bing Ge’.

Huang Qianqian seemed to be one of Bing Ge’s biggest fans. When rumors about Xu Chen and Bing Ge started circulating at school, she’d confronted him twice, annoyed and demanding to know about their relationship…

Xu Chen recognized her and glanced at the ‘I Love Bing Ge’ sticker, piecing it together.

Huang Qianqian said:

“You’re not… going to Yangcheng to watch Bing Ge’s match, are you?”

Xu Chen smiled. “Yeah! What a coincidence!”

He felt a bit amazed—she wasn’t even in the same class as Xie Bingran, and Xie Bingran might not even know her, yet here she was, flying to Yangcheng just to see the competition. Talk about a dedicated fan.

Huang Qianqian leaned in to check Xu Chen’s boarding pass on the table.

“Looks like we’re on the same flight.”

Xu Chen: “Are you traveling alone?”

“It can be risky for a girl to go that far by herself.”

Huang Qianqian: “I’ve got a friend with me!”

Xu Chen smiled. “That’s good.”

Huang Qianqian: “What about you? Going alone?”

Xu Chen: “I’ve got a friend too.”

Huang Qianqian: “Guy or girl?”

Xu Chen: “…”

Seeing he didn’t answer directly, Huang Qianqian suddenly looked annoyed:

“If you’re going with a girl, what about Bing Ge?!”

Xu Chen: “…”

He paused and explained:

“I’m heading to Yangcheng for work too, and my companion is a colleague from the company—someone quite a bit older than me, around twenty-five or twenty-six.”

Huang Qianqian: “Even if she’s in her twenties, that’s still too young! That’s not okay!”

“How can you do that to Bing Ge?!”

“…”

Xu Chen looked exasperated. She’d grilled him about his relationship with Bing Ge before, and now she was lecturing him on being faithful…

Just as Xu Chen was figuring out how to respond, another girl walked up:

“Qianqian, what’s going on?”

She was tall too, in light blue jeans and a white T-shirt.

Her voice was soft, her expression calm and gentle.

Huang Qianqian toned down her frustration and said:

“He’s a classmate of mine, also going to Yangcheng to watch Bing Ge’s match.”

The girl turned to Xu Chen with a smile:

“Hi, I’m Qianqian’s friend. I’m Wu Feifei.”

She jumped right into introductions without any hesitation.

Xu Chen: “Hi, I’m Xu Chen.”

Wu Feifei paused. “You’re Xu Chen…”

Xu Chen looked puzzled, as if his name surprised her.

Right then, Fang Jun returned.

She spotted Wu Feifei and said: “Feifei?”

“Sister Fang Jun! What a surprise to run into you here!”

Wu Feifei laughed, delighted, and linked arms with Fang Jun.

Xu Chen: “You two know each other?”

Fang Jun: “She’s…”

Before she could finish, Wu Feifei cut in:

“I’m Sister Fang Jun’s good friend.”

Fang Jun, still expressionless, added:

“She’s Wu Yongming’s daughter.”

Wu Feifei: “…”

Xu Chen: “?!”

…

…

The four bowls of noodles arrived, and they all sat together.

As the three girls chatted, Xu Chen pieced together the connections.

Wu Feifei is the daughter of the high-ranking leader Wu Yongming; she just finished high school at Experimental High School.

With her privileged background, Fang Jun has known Wu Feifei for a while.

Wu Feifei and Huang Qianqian were classmates in middle school and remain close friends.

Given her friendship with Wu Feifei, Huang Qianqian’s family must be well-off too.

Now, as fellow fans of Bing Ge, they’ve teamed up for the trip to Yangcheng to watch Xie Bingran compete.

There are only three flights from the Provincial Capital to Yangcheng, and this midday one fits perfectly, so running into each other wasn’t surprising.

Still, Xu Chen couldn’t help mentioning:

“Even with you two together, it’s risky for young women to head to Yangcheng—safety isn’t what it used to be.”

In the early 2000s, Yangcheng’s streets weren’t the safest.

Wu Feifei explained:

“My dad has friends there, so someone will pick us up when we arrive.”

Xu Chen: “…”

Well, perks of being the boss’s daughter…

…

Huang Qianqian, who was annoyed earlier, quickly warmed up to ‘Sister Fang Jun’.

Especially after learning Fang Jun is also a Bing Ge fan heading to Yangcheng for the games, Huang Qianqian grew even more cheerful.

The three girls chattered away, all about Bing Ge, leaving Xu Chen on the sidelines.

Xu Chen didn’t mind; he just dug into his noodles.

…

During a brief lull, Xu Chen turned to Wu Feifei and asked:

“When I said my name was Xu Chen earlier, you seemed to recognize it?”

Wu Feifei smiled:

“I’ve heard my dad talk about you. He was praising you!

“Said you’re my age and already in high school, but you’ve built your own company.”

“Of course, he was mostly using you to motivate me—he thinks I play around too much and don’t try hard enough…”

Xu Chen joked:

“You folks are born into it all. No need to strive.

“Me and my dad? We’re from the countryside, so we just have to work harder…”

Xu Chen thought about it—he hadn’t reported directly to Wu Yongming or met him in person.

It was probably his dad, Xu Zhiquan, bragging about his son to the boss…

Wu Feifei went on:

“Sister Fang Jun mentioned you too.

“I only realized later that the person she was talking about is the same one my dad mentioned.”

Xu Chen looked at Fang Jun: “What did Fang Jun say about me?”

Fang Jun stayed expressionless and didn’t respond.

Wu Feifei laughed: “She said you’re incredible—the most impressive young person she’s met…”

Xu Chen nodded: “Fang Jun is always straightforward.”

Fang Jun: “…”

Huang Qianqian: “?”

Wu Feifei burst out laughing.

…

Xu Chen’s phone buzzed. As he reached for it, the other three leaned in.

“What are you doing?”

Huang Qianqian: “Is that a message from Bing Ge? What did she say?”

“…”

Xu Chen checked his phone:

“Bing Ge says she can’t meet up today; we’ll have to wait until after her match tomorrow.”

Wu Feifei paused then asked:

“Could you introduce me to Bing Ge?”

Xu Chen smiled:

“Of course, but once we’re in Yangcheng, mind if Fang Jun and I catch a ride with you?”