Chapter 255: Campus Beginnings

After a cheerful meal, Xu Chen escorted the two young ladies out of the school.

As they walked through the campus, Wu Feifei said with a touch of admiration,

“Your school is so beautiful. Each building has such a unique style.”

Xu Chen glanced around and agreed that every structure at Tonghai University had its own distinctive flair.

Fang Jun said flatly,

“Tonghai’s architecture and civil engineering departments are top-notch nationwide. They design the buildings to be quirky on purpose, just to show off their skills.”

Xu Chen chuckled.

Fang Jun’s comment wasn’t far off.

Over the past couple of days, Xu Chen had heard similar things and added,

“The most impressive is probably the statue of the great figure facing the main gate and the library.”

The two girls perked up with interest:

“The statue? How does that show off?”

Xu Chen explained,

“Tonghai University’s statue of the great figure was the first in the country with raised arms.

Apparently, during the national tribute, many universities competed quietly, but Tonghai’s top architecture department pulled it off.”

……

……

With afternoon registration at the college ahead, Xu Chen walked the two out of the campus and headed quickly to the dormitory.

As he reached the Southwest Building, he spotted his six or seven classmates gathered around a red compact car from afar.

No need to guess—it had to be that ‘Jiangsu-Zhejiang Little Prince’ from room 3104 bringing his car back.

Since they were classmates, Xu Chen decided to join and introduce himself, so he smiled and approached.

Hong Xiaoqiang, his roommate, spotted him first and said with a grin,

“Xu Chen’s back!”

The others started teasing:

“That girl earlier was gorgeous!”

“Nice one, Xu Chen—you’ve already hooked up on your first day!”

“Which college and major is she from?

Jiao Tianbo seems to know, but he’s not spilling the beans…”

……

Xu Chen glanced at Jiao Tianbo, whose eyebrows were furrowed in annoyance again.

Clearly, Jiao Tianbo hadn’t shared Wu Feifei’s background with the group.

Xu Chen didn’t want to dwell on it and casually said,

“She’s just an ordinary friend from my hometown in Shandong Province. We grabbed a meal together.”

Hearing that, Jiao Tianbo’s expression softened a bit.

……

Xu Chen looked down at the flashy red compact car—it was a Mazda.

If he remembered right, it was a Mazda 3, probably costing around 150,000 yuan back in 2006.

Well…

He’d expected the ‘Jiangsu-Zhejiang Little Prince’ to show up in a sports car.

For a first-year student, owning a Mazda 3 was already impressive—many college kids couldn’t even afford a decent phone…

But from what he’d heard about this ‘prince’ being a super-rich second-generation, driving something worth just 150,000 yuan felt a bit underwhelming.

The driver’s door opened, and out stepped a fair-skinned guy in sunglasses.

Xu Chen smiled—at a glance, he fit the ‘Jiangsu-Zhejiang Little Prince’ vibe perfectly.

He had long, parted hair with small waves, dyed a light brown.

Ray-Ban aviators and smooth skin completed the look.

“Jiangsu-Zhejiang Little Prince” took off his sunglasses, revealing small eyes.

He smiled and extended his hand to Xu Chen,

“Hey, I’m Qian Xin.”

Xu Chen replied with a smile, “Nice to meet you, I’m Xu Chen.”

Though he was a bit flashy, his smile and manner weren’t off-putting.

In fact, he seemed more likable than Jiao Tianbo…

Huo Dashan said, “Let’s head to the south campus for registration!”

Qian Xin put his sunglasses back on: “Who’s riding with me?”

As soon as he spoke, his roommates Huang Hao and Pei Qian jumped in.

“One spot left—hurry up!” Qian Xin said with a laugh.

Hong Xiaoqiang quickly claimed the back seat.

Xu Chen found it amusing—earlier, Hong Xiaoqiang had seemed dismissive of this fellow Zhejiang rich kid…

Qian Xin waved,

“See you later!”

And with that, he hit the gas and sped off.

Chen Wenyi smoothed his hair and said enviously,

“I envy rich kids—driving a car as a freshman!”

Jiao Tianbo scoffed, “What’s there to envy?”

Huo Dashan: “Let’s go to the south campus!”

Xu Chen: “You all go ahead; I need to grab my registration materials from upstairs.”

Huo Dashan: “We’ll wait while you get them—we’re not in a rush.”

Xu Chen nodded with a smile and hurried to the dormitory…

He soon returned with his things:

“Let’s go!”

……

……

The Creative and Media College, where the advertising department is, has its main campus in Jiading.

First- and second-year students take general courses at the main campus.

So, reporting to the college meant going to the south campus on Chifeng Road.

That’s their branch at the main campus.

……

The south campus gate was right next to the building where Xu Chen rented his office.

As they passed the Tonghai Creative Design Building, Xu Chen kept quiet about his office upstairs—no need to show off.

The guys were excited for their first college registration.

What they looked forward to most was meeting girls from their department and class.

After all, they were energetic young men…

But today was just a college-wide meeting, no specific class sessions, so it was hard to spot who was in their class.

They soon arrived at a small yellow building.

That was the Creative and Media College’s spot on the main campus.

The group headed up to the second floor and into the large lecture hall.

Inside, plenty of guys and girls were already seated.

Chen Wenyi said, “Didn’t realize our college had so many new students.”

Huo Dashan, who knew a bit about it, explained,

“This year, they reorganized—merged some departments from the film, design, and economics colleges—so the freshman class is bigger.”

At the front, several teachers sat with signs in front of them.

They quickly found the ‘Advertising Department’ sign and went over to register.

Two teachers were there.

One was a long-haired middle-aged man with an artistic vibe.

The other was a bespectacled young man who looked scholarly.

Their nameplates showed: the long-haired one was Shi Dinghai, and the younger was Zhai Chunshui.

It turned out the long-haired teacher, Shi Dinghai, was their homeroom teacher.

Zhai Chunshui was a counselor for the college.

Xu Chen and the others lined up, signed in one by one, and picked up their materials.

When Huo Dashan’s turn came, he chatted extra with Shi Dinghai, showing his sociable side.

Shi Dinghai smiled warmly and chatted back but hinted that others were waiting.

Huo Dashan laughed politely and stepped aside with his materials.

Xu Chen stepped up, found his name on the sheet, signed it, and handed over his documents.

Shi Dinghai glanced at it and said with a smile,

“So you’re Xu Chen. I have something to discuss with you.”

Xu Chen paused: “Hello, Teacher Shi…”

Shi Dinghai checked that no one else was waiting and continued,

“You’re the star admission scholarship recipient recommended by Teacher Wang Jian for our college. It’s our only one…

Tomorrow at the welcome assembly, there’s a segment for new student representatives to speak. Could you represent the outstanding freshmen and give a speech?”

Xu Chen thought to himself that this was trouble he needed to avoid…

He kept smiling but looked uneasy:

“Teacher Shi, can I skip the speech?

Honestly, I’d just get nervous and embarrass the class…”

Shi Dinghai chuckled:

“Of course, it’s not mandatory. If you really don’t want to, Jiao Tianbo has already agreed.”

Xu Chen felt a wave of relief:

“That’s great—Jiao Tianbo’s perfect for it. He’s a top student with great speaking skills!”

Shi Dinghai nodded with a smile:

“Alright!

But remember, at tomorrow’s school opening ceremony, all new scholarship winners will still go up to receive their awards…”

Xu Chen sighed inwardly but said,

“Just receiving the award should be fine—I won’t get too nervous.”

Shi Dinghai laughed heartily.

Xu Chen thanked him again and headed to the back rows.

He wasn’t worried about public speaking, but he hated drawing attention or dealing with extra hassle.

Plus, he didn’t want to get bogged down in college activities that could complicate things later.

Xu Chen had his own plans with the ad agency and Ran Bing Sports, not to mention his father’s business back home…

He had little free time for college stuff.

Student council routes weren’t his style—they’d just waste time and energy…

As for the award ceremony, it seemed unavoidable.

Xu Chen sat with Hong Xiaoqiang and Chen Wenyi in the back.

He looked around and noticed Jiao Tianbo wasn’t there.

Hong Xiaoqiang, catching his curiosity, pointed to the front: “Jiao Tianbo had to sit right up front—he’s all about standing out.”

Xu Chen: “……”

……

……

Today wasn’t the official welcome assembly.

They were using the freshman registration time for college introductions and course schedules.

The actual opening ceremony and welcome events were tomorrow.

Also, Tonghai University’s recent tradition put military training before the second year, during summer break.

So, Xu Chen and his classmates didn’t have to worry about grueling training just yet…

A poised teacher stepped onstage with a microphone and introduced herself.

She was from the broadcasting and hosting department—her poise and delivery were spot-on professional.

She gave a quick welcome to the freshmen and introduced the teachers at the front, including their homeroom teacher Shi Dinghai.

Then, she outlined the next couple of days.

Tomorrow at 9 a.m., the university-wide opening ceremony would be at the December 9th Sports Field.

That’s where Xu Chen would receive his award.

Though many would be on stage, he planned to stay low-key and blend in…

The afternoon would have the college welcome assembly and the first class meetings.

The guys around him were getting excited.

Xu Chen could guess—they were eager to meet the girls in their class.

Ah, youth…

……

……