Chapter 263: Campus Committee Dynamics

The Psychological Committee member deals with students’ mental health issues, sounding a lot like the ‘agony aunt’ setup.

Guys usually don’t have ‘mental health problems’—if they do, a night out drinking and some barbecue sorts it out.

Girls might have more of these issues, but they wouldn’t just open up to a guy like Xu Chen whom they barely know…

So, if Xu Chen lands this ‘Psychological Committee’ role, he’ll basically have no real work—just the title.

Idle.

A perfect setup!

In the recent election speeches, no one else stepped up to run for ‘Psychological Committee’.

Since Xu Chen spoke up first and no one’s challenging him, there’s no competition.

…

As Xu Chen clearly stated his interest, Class Monitor Min Siyang and the others fell silent for a moment.

They seemed surprised and a bit puzzled, so they thought it over.

It felt a little off, but they couldn’t pinpoint the exact problem.

Vice Class Monitor Huo Dashan glanced at Xu Chen and, drawing on his roommate bond, showed some smarts by saying with a smile:

“I have no objections! Xu Chen’s easygoing and cheerful—he’s perfect for Psychological Committee.”

Xu Chen smiled and added casually:

“I’m really into psychology and have already signed up for an elective in it…”

“…”

Min Siyang: “Since no one objects, Xu Chen is our Psychological Committee member.”

…

They then discussed the other committee positions.

The overall vibe stayed light, with no major fights or excuses.

Maybe because everyone was still getting to know each other, they kept things polite.

Min Siyang and Huo Dashan showed solid leadership, quickly sorting out the roles.

Class Monitor Min Siyang also took on Organization Committee.

Vice Class Monitor Huo Dashan handled Sports Committee too.

Su Rong managed both Arts Committee and Propaganda Committee.

Huang Qiqi oversaw Life Committee and Study Committee.

For some unspoken reason, no one assigned Xu Chen any other roles.

That was exactly what Xu Chen wanted.

It was why he grabbed ‘Psychological Committee’ right off the bat.

…

Life and Study Committee member Huang Qiqi was a girl with wheat-colored skin and a bit of baby fat.

In her election speech, she actively went for Life Committee.

She seemed outgoing too, looking at Xu Chen and saying:

“Hey Xu Chen, even us girls with issues will come to you as Psychological Committee!”

Xu Chen: “No problem at all.”

With that, the matter wrapped up.

…

Next, they sorted out the fall outing plans.

The outing involved picking a spot for barbecue and some team-building fun.

Since it dealt with external activities, it made sense for guys to lead, so after discussion, Vice Class Monitor Huo Dashan was put in charge.

Huo Dashan accepted without hesitation.

He handled venue and transport arrangements.

Min Siyang managed the overall organization of the class.

Huang Qiqi and Xu Chen took care of the big supply purchases.

Su Rong planned the team-building activities.

Xu Chen looked at the group and sensed a few potential hitches in execution.

None of the five class committee members were locals from Shanghai.

They were all from out of town, just moved here for university.

Organizing something like a fall outing without anyone familiar with the area could lead to minor troubles.

But Huo Dashan, as the lead, seemed totally confident and took it all on.

Xu Chen hesitated but decided not to speak up.

After all, they were adults in a safe big city, and Homeroom Teacher Shi Dinghai would join in…

Even if small issues arose, it would be good experience for these freshmen.

…

…

Evening.

Tonghai Creative Design Building.

Xu Chen headed to the first-floor management office and picked up a large box of delivery.

He borrowed a cart and wheeled it straight to the eighth-floor office.

This was shipped from his home in Tiancheng, including winter clothes and such.

In 2006, logistics weren’t that advanced, and a northern county town like Tiancheng had even less access to Jiang-Zhe-Hu shipping companies.

So, it went through postal service, taking this long to arrive.

Xu Chen dragged the box into his ‘General Manager’s office’ and grabbed scissors to open it.

Smiling, he pulled out the big wolf dog plush toy and hugged it comfortably.

He sniffed it close to his face.

The nice scent from Bing Ge had almost faded.

Xu Chen remembered when they sent the two big dog plushies from Yangcheng, Xie Bingran complained that he hadn’t hugged the Labrador long enough and even asked for one of his clothes.

Hmm.

Next time, he should get a jacket from Bing Ge to put on this big dog…

Thinking that, Xu Chen suddenly felt a bit creepy about himself.

Like, original scent clothes and all.

That was just too much…

Xu Chen sat in the chair, hugging the big dog and swaying gently.

He really wished he could catch her and give her a tight hug.

…

That afternoon, meeting with Bai Miao, he heard about her daily national team training.

Up at 5 AM, morning practice at 6.

Mornings focused on physical conditioning, afternoons on skills.

Evenings involved recovery training and theory sessions…

It was a nonstop cycle.

Thinking of Xie Bingran, Xu Chen couldn’t help but feel for her.

The path to championship demands massive sweat, even with top talent.

…

Xu Chen hugged the big wolf dog and wandered around the office.

Fang Jun had everything set up nicely—it already looked professional.

The fridge was stocked with fruit; Xu Chen washed an apple and ate it.

He checked the ‘General Manager’s office’ and sure enough, found a few bottles of Guojiao and Moutai hidden in the cabinet below.

There were several empty spots next to them.

Xu Chen thought about stocking up on some good red wine himself.

Drinking baijiu is a bit heavy, and it needs snacks like peanuts anyway.

Red and white wines are more relaxed and enjoyable—perfect for late nights at the office.

…

After a few days of adjustment, the freshmen settled into university life.

Compared to high school, it was way more relaxed and free.

Classes weren’t overwhelming, and there was no need for all-nighters.

Of course, finals might be different, with exams and all.

The department courses were all taken as a class.

“Study God” Jiao Tianbo sat in the front row for every class, note-taking like a pro.

His dedication and hard work were truly impressive.

Xu Chen, like most students, approached his studies with a laid-back attitude.

He was even more relaxed than that.

He didn’t stress over grades; he actually enjoyed the fun of each class.

…

In the past couple of days, the college and school student unions held recruitment drives.

Huo Dashan and Jiao Tianbo were keen on joining, but others, including Xu Chen, kept their distance.

Along the main path behind the school library, various clubs were aggressively recruiting this week.

Xu Chen tagged along with his roommates to check it out but wasn’t interested.

Chen Wenyi joined the guitar club and had weekly practices.

Pei Qian signed up for an investment club, and Xu Chen noticed the members all seemed a bit on edge…

Xu Chen thought it best to stay away from ‘stock bro’ Pei Qian for safety.

“Jiang-Zhe Little Prince” Qian Xin cruised around daily in his red car.

He was really into Min Siyang but hadn’t found a chance to chat privately yet.

“Computer Whiz” Hong Xiaoqiang hit up Computer City every day, apparently building his own beast of a PC…

“Shanghai Local” Huang Hao lived in the YP area, so he rarely stayed in the dorms after classes.

…

Xu Chen spent his free time these days in the Tonghai Creative Design Building office.

He had two projects to handle and needed to focus.

One was the Kunlunshan Mineral Water campaign; he was outlining ideas.

It required careful thought and writing.

Since it involved Xie Bingran’s endorsement, he wanted to nail it on the first try.

After learning Nie Fei was once Nike’s Greater China brand director, Xu Chen started paying more attention to her.

Using the Kunlunshan project as a bridge, he planned to connect with Nie Fei and see about bringing her on board later.

“Ran Bing Sports” was another goal, but he was still figuring it out.

Xu Chen wasn’t rushing; he’d solidify the plans first.

…

The other project was the National University Advertising Competition.

Xu Chen wasn’t after the few thousand in prizes, but first or second place could waive his final exams—that was worth it.

It would free up tons of time from tests and assignments, with a great return on effort.

The deadline was tight, just two weeks away.

Xu Chen reviewed the categories and could only prepare for ‘Print’ and ‘Copywriting’.

These had four topics total.

Two were sponsored by the competition brands as set themes.

The other two: one for anti-smoking PSAs, one for lottery promotions.

Xu Chen hadn’t started brainstorming yet; he was studying past winners and judge info first.

For contests like this, aiming to win meant going beyond just ad expertise.

You had to match the competition’s style and even the judges’ preferences.

Xu Chen dug into the judges’ backgrounds and expertise.

This came from his past work experience and life lessons.

Sometimes, understanding people is more effective than the task itself.

The world runs on makeshift setups.

People are subjective; tailoring to their likes gets results faster.