Chapter 315: Lessons in Life and Business

On Monday morning, it was the Psychology elective, a cross-departmental course Xu Chen had signed up for purely out of interest.

The lecturer was no ordinary teacher—he was the director of Tonghai University’s Psychology Department and a nationally renowned expert.

He was discussing the theories of the English psychologist Winnicott.

As he talked about the ‘holding’ theory in parenting, Xu Chen couldn’t help but think of his father, Xu Zhiquan.

‘Holding’ is a relationship of acceptance and support.

Essentially, it means affirming children when they succeed and supporting them when they fail.

This kind of relationship helps children develop a ‘stable self,’ often called a ‘strong inner self.’

‘Holding’ sounds simple, but probably over half of parents in China struggle with it.

Especially those who favor ‘suppression education,’ which goes against ‘holding’ and often leaves kids fragile, sensitive, or even rebellious and defiant.

Xu Chen felt lucky; his father, Xu Zhiquan, had always provided that inclusive, supportive environment for his growth.

Now, thinking about it, Xie Bingran had grown up in an environment full of ‘indifference’ and ‘hostility,’ far from any ‘holding.’

No wonder ‘Bing Ge’ turned out so aloof and stubborn, or why she was so insecure and timid as his desk mate back then—all rooted in a childhood where she was never truly cared for.

During middle school, Xu Chen had just instinctively shown a bit of kindness, and for the vulnerable Xie Bingran, it must have felt like a huge wave of human warmth.

It’s no surprise that over the following years, even without Xu Chen speaking to her, her emotional dependence on him never faded.

Xu Chen again thought of Xie Bingran, tears streaming down her face as they watched the sunrise on White Cloud Mountain.

“Xu Chen, that sun… it feels like you!”

…

…

During class, as Xu Chen’s mind wandered, his phone buzzed with a few new messages.

Glancing down, he saw they were from the communication group Fang Jun had set up.

Last Friday, Yan Chuan had sent over the Jeep advertising contract, and by early this morning, both Fang Jun and Si Daqing had reviewed it, flagging a few areas needing minor tweaks.

Xu Chen skimmed it; Si Daqing had been thorough, spotting all potential ambiguities and traps in the contract.

Even trusting the Jeep brand owner, they still needed to address those contract clauses for changes.

Raising these modifications also highlighted East Morning Star Advertising’s professionalism.

With Gu Xinxi not yet on board, Xu Chen had to handle this himself.

Sun Aimi was an art major in design, so handing her finance and legal stuff felt unreliable.

It wasn’t that Sun Aimi lacked dedication; it’s just that an artist’s mindset was worlds apart from the precision needed for legal terms and financial accounts.

As Xu Chen was about to forward the messages to Yan Chuan, Fang Jun chimed in the group:

[Let me handle the liaison. Just send me their company email…]

Xu Chen smiled, feeling a surge of gratitude.

But asking Fang Jun, possibly Chenfeng Technology’s most valuable intangible asset, to deal with such minor tasks still made him uneasy.

Still, Xu Chen replied:

[Thanks, Fang Jun! When you come to Shanghai, I’ll treat you to drinks!]

…

By break time, Fang Jun had already replied to Yan Chuan with the contract details in a formal email, copying Xu Chen.

Xu Chen checked the email; Fang Jun had been meticulous and professional in his writing.

Soon after, they received Yan Chuan’s reply, mentioning he’d coordinate with their legal team for the revisions.

A little later, Yan Chuan messaged Xu Chen privately:

[Just updating you: Xie Bingran’s endorsement contract has gone through both sides’ reviews and is now in the official signing process.]

Xu Chen: [That’s great! Congrats to you all!]

Yan Chuan: [This morning, the National Team gave preliminary feedback. Xie Bingran’s schedule is as you said, set for late October to early November. We’re still waiting on the exact notice.]

Xu Chen: [Only a couple of weeks left—preparation time is tight.]

Yan Chuan: [Vincent shares the same concern, but BBDO has already brought in the director team over the weekend.]

Today afternoon, we’ll set up a project group and get to work.

I’ll put together a project timeline. For the key milestones, do you have any requirements, Xu Chen? I can include them in the email.]

Xu Chen thought for a moment and replied:

[The core preparations are two items:

First, we must finalize the executable shot script by the end of this week. For the parts involving endorser Xie Bingran, we need to confirm down to the shooting details.]

The sections with endorser Wang Shi can just have a content framework for now…

Second, by next week, complete all shooting preparations for Xie Bingran, including locations, equipment, vehicles, and the team.]

This timeline is rushed, so I suggest starting this week. The director team should assign people or a third-party company to scout the target shooting sites and rent equipment…]

Since it involved Xie Bingran, Xu Chen laid out the instructions carefully.

Yan Chuan read through it all before replying:

[Thanks so much, Xu Chen!

I never realized you’re not only top-notch in creative planning but also incredibly professional in project management and execution!]

Xu Chen felt a bit helpless inside.

In his past life, he was basically a workaholic executor, so these detailed implementation experiences came naturally.

Overall, preparing and executing a commercial with outdoor scenes in just two weeks was truly intense.

Xu Chen wasn’t worried about delaying the Jeep project; that was mainly BBDO’s responsibility.

He was more concerned about not wasting Xie Bingran’s time—after all, once November hit, Bing Ge would be in closed training for competitions and wouldn’t have time for this.

…

…

At noon, Class Monitor Min Siyang organized a class committee meeting.

It was for the ‘New Year Welcome Gala’ before New Year’s Day, hosted by the college.

Here, ‘welcoming the new’ meant ‘welcoming the new year,’ not new students.

Since this was the Creative and Media College, tied to arts and media, the annual gala always aimed for something creative and fresh.

College leaders, including the dean, would attend, and they’d hand out annual awards during the event.

Min Siyang’s task was that each first-year class needed to put on a performance.

After explaining the background, she added:

“The gala is in late December, so we have over two months.

That’s plenty of time—let’s plan something standout for our class!”

Vice Class Monitor Huo Dashan chimed in:

“Exactly! We’re the advertising class, all about creativity—we need to make a big splash!”

Xu Chen stayed quiet, opting to observe how things unfolded.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to join; he was just swamped with company matters, plus issues with Xie Bingran and Chenfeng Technology.

He really didn’t want to spend more time on these university extracurriculars.

Of course, if they needed his help, he’d pitch in as much as he could, being part of the committee.

As expected, the lead on this fell to the arts commissioner, Su Rong.

As a ‘well-behaved rich girl,’ Su Rong was a bit timid and not great at saying no, so she agreed right away.

But she looked completely overwhelmed, like the pressure was mounting.

Xu Chen had seen girls like her in his past work life—good at individual tasks but not so much at team coordination or project management.

This project would likely end up with Su Rong shouldering most of it, begging for help from everyone to pull off the performance.

It sounded like a tough road ahead.

Xu Chen couldn’t stand by and said:

“Since we have time, I suggest you organize a discussion meeting every week, Su Rong—including the committee and classmates with talents.

We can brainstorm together and come up with a solid plan.”

Su Rong glanced at Xu Chen and said timidly:

“Okay…”

Xu Chen smiled and looked at Class Monitor Min Siyang.

The Sichuan girl, Min Siyang, came across as a ‘pure top student’ but had a sharp, assertive side. She quickly picked up on Xu Chen’s hint and said with a smile:

“Su Rong, you’re the main person in charge, but I’ll be your deputy!

I’ll help with organizing meetings, mobilizing classmates, and handling resources.”

Su Rong felt grateful and said with a smile:

“Thanks, Class Monitor, and thanks, Xu Chen…”

Xu Chen couldn’t help but admire her; Min Siyang was smart, quick, and had good emotional intelligence.

In the future, if his company needed people, she could be a potential recruit.

But that was down the line; she was only a first-year, so he’d keep an eye on her.

For now, just observe.

…

…

In the afternoon.

Xu Chen juggled attending class while handling work on his phone.

Luckily, this was an animation class, and the teacher was showing reference clips.

First, the old classic ‘The Tadpoles Look for Mama,’ then the 2003 film ‘Finding Nemo.’

As expected, the teacher would analyze domestic and international animations from past to present next…

Sitting in the back row, Xu Chen checked his messages on his phone.

The Jeep contract revisions from Si Daqing had been confirmed and reviewed by the brand owner.

Both sides were now moving forward with the official contract signing, and Fang Jun would follow up, so Xu Chen didn’t need to worry.

During the break, Yan Chuan created a project group on MSN.

Xu Chen glanced at it and finally felt connected with the director team, letting out a breath of relief.

Yan Chuan started in the group:

[Hello everyone, this is the Jeep commercial project group.]

Liu Wenqin jumped in:

[Let me introduce:

Xu Chen, General Manager of East Morning Star Advertising and supervisor for this project.

Paul Bojunsen is our director for this project.

Paul is a seasoned industry director with experience in advertising in New York and Hong Kong…

Honored to work with Paul again!]

Xu Chen smiled; just from the name, it had that classic Hong Kong vibe.

He quickly added Sun Aimi to the group:

[Hello, Paul. Nice to meet you! Just call me Xu Chen…

Sun Aimi, or Aimi, is my company’s design director and will help with this commercial project!]

[Hello, Xu Chen! Thrilled and excited to work with you!

Call me Paul!]

Sun Aimi, being sharp, greeted everyone in the group too.

The director’s team, with four or five members, introduced themselves.

As the ‘supervisor,’ Xu Chen pushed things forward:

[Paul and Vincent:

The project timeline is tight, so we need to get moving.

By the end of this week, we need a finalized shot script for execution. East Morning Star Advertising will have Sun Aimi assist the director team…

For the shooting preparations, we’ll count on you, Paul and Vincent, to have everything ready by next week to meet Xie Bingran’s late October schedule…]

Liu Wenqin responded efficiently:

[Got it, Xu Chen!

Over the weekend, the BBDO team already had a round of discussions with the director team.

Based on East Morning Star Advertising’s plan, we’re outputting the first draft of the shot script, expected tomorrow for discussion.

We’ll coordinate with Sun Aimi first!]

Sun Aimi replied: [Okay, Vincent. Just pull me in whenever—I’m good for phone meetings.]

…

The group discussed various execution details, but Xu Chen didn’t need to dive into the nitty-gritty.

With BBDO and the director team on board, even with the tight schedule, things should run smoothly.

East Morning Star Advertising, with Sun Aimi involved, was contributing effort too.

As the ‘supervisor,’ Xu Chen could take it easy.

Once the shot scripts and progress reports came in, he could just offer some guidance.

That was the perk of being the boss—handle the initial plan, assemble the team, and let them handle the rest.

With that, Xie Bingran’s first major commercial was finally on track.

With Jeep’s brand style and a renowned Hong Kong director, Xu Chen was really looking forward to it.

Deserts, gobi, sunsets over mountains—Bing Ge driving through it all…

It sounded epic.

Bing Ge’s image and vibe were perfect for this off-road commercial.

The brand owners, Pang Ming and He Da Chang, had solid ideas.

While other car companies went for actors or singers, they chose an entrepreneur and sports star—unique and fitting.

…

…

In the evening.

Xu Chen grabbed a quick meal at the cafeteria before heading to the Tonghai Creative Design Building office.

Pushing the door open, he found Sun Aimi still working overtime.

“Boss…” She stood up to greet him as he entered.

“Don’t stay too late; try to avoid overtime if you can.”

Sun Aimi: “Okay, I’ll finish this draft first!”

Xu Chen walked over and saw it was a poster for ‘Chenfeng Ice Power.’

The background was already polished, and that ‘Chenfeng Ice Power’ vehicle looked sleek and premium.

“We’re just waiting on Bing Ge’s materials; Teacher Tan will fix and send them tomorrow!”

Xu Chen nodded with a smile:

“Your design skills are really top-notch, Sun Aimi!”

Getting praised by her boss, Sun Aimi felt pleased.

“Boss, when will Chenfeng Ice Power launch?”

Xu Chen replied with a smile: “I just checked over the weekend…

Fastest next week, or by month’s end at latest—the first mass-produced ‘Chenfeng Ice Power’ will roll off the line.

In November, the production line will run full throttle to stock up, and we can start distribution.

Guo Liang has the sales channels set; initial sales will hit Tiancheng and the Provincial Capital—everything’s under control.”

Sun Aimi adjusted her round glasses, her expression touched:

“That’s amazing! I’ve never been involved in a product launch like this, even visiting the factory and seeing the production line!”