Chapter 344: College Rivalries and Fan Excitement

Qian Xin was still fuming, muttering curses at the departed Chen Wenyi.

Xu Chen glanced at the Xie Bingran poster stuck on Qian Xin’s cabinet, feeling a strange mix of emotions.

At the same time, he never imagined that their classmate, the arts committee member Su Rong, had also become a fan of Bing Ge.

She was even planning to buy her own plane ticket, book a hotel, and head to the Doha Asian Games to watch Xie Bingran compete.

As for the conflict between Pei Qian and Chen Wenyi, Hong Xiaoqiang and Pei Qian were still in the mood for gossip and entertainment, teasing the somewhat innocent ‘Jiangsu-Zhejiang Prince’.

“You and Su Rong aren’t really together?”

“Su Rong’s great! She’s basically our class beauty. Guys from other classes are asking about her!”

“I hear she’s from a wealthy family, and she’s a perfect match for Qian Xin…”

Qian Xin just looked utterly speechless:

“There’s nothing between me and her! We’re just talking about going to the Asian Games together…”

As he kept rambling, Xu Chen pieced together the whole situation.

The September East Asian Youth Games in Osaka had sparked widespread interest due to its buzzworthy topics.

“Bing Ge” had gained a huge following, including fans of her looks and her skills…

Their school had been hyped early on because of senior Bai Miao’s participation.

After the competition, their class’s arts committee member Su Rong quietly became a Xie Bingran fan.

What no one expected was that this would trigger a clash between Qian Xin and Chen Wenyi in their dorm.

It was almost laughably absurd.

In a way, the ‘Jiangsu-Zhejiang Prince’ was pretty innocent, getting targeted by Chen Wenyi out of nowhere.

After venting wildly, Qian Xin gradually calmed down.

Once the others figured out what happened, they knew the real issue lay with Chen Wenyi and started consoling Qian Xin:

“Just ignore him. The guy’s fresh off a breakup, so his head’s probably messed up.”

“Come on, let’s head to class!” Hong Xiaoqiang called out.

Qian Xin grabbed his car keys from the desk:

“Let’s go! I’ll drive!”

Hong Xiaoqiang grinned: “You sure you’re steady behind the wheel? Want to wait a bit?”

Qian Xin: “I’m fine!”

…

…

That afternoon, they only had one class: Homeroom Teacher Shi Dinghai’s ‘Introduction to Advertising’ in the North Teaching Building.

And sure enough, Chen Wenyi didn’t show up.

This immature arts enthusiast had fought with Qian Xin and stormed off in a huff—who knew where he’d gone.

He’d probably cooled down but felt too embarrassed to face Qian Xin again.

When Shi Dinghai took attendance, Xu Chen, Hong Xiaoqiang, and the others stayed silent.

The situation was just too awkward; they had no idea how to explain it to their homeroom teacher.

And that ‘source of trouble’ Su Rong happened to be right there in class.

If they brought it up, she’d be mortified too.

…

During the break, Shi Dinghai called Xu Chen aside.

Xu Chen was puzzled but saw Shi Dinghai hand him a form:

“Fill in your bank account details. The prize money for the ‘National Advertising Competition’ has arrived at the college and will hit your account in a couple of days.”

It was for those two first-place awards—forty thousand yuan.

“Little President Xu” didn’t need the money, but forty thousand was still a nice windfall.

He felt pleased.

After filling in his bank details, Xu Chen politely thanked Shi Dinghai.

Back at his seat, Hong Xiaoqiang leaned over:

“Hey, Boss Xu, what did the teacher want? About Chen Wenyi?”

Xu Chen smiled: “I’m treating you all to barbecue tonight!”

Qian Xin lit up: “Boss Xu’s prize money came through? We gotta get at least a couple of bottles!”

…

…

After class, Class Monitor Min Siyang stepped up and kept everyone back.

She mainly announced the follow-up rehearsal schedule for the year-end ‘Welcome Party’.

Xu Chen had missed the initial program brainstorming because he was picking up his car from the dealership, but now the final plan was set.

Xu Chen listened in briefly and found it pretty interesting.

It sounded like a fun stage play in the style of ‘Crazy Stone’—something with a plot similar to ‘A Hasty Three Kingdoms’.

The main storyline involved Cao Cao, Zhou Yu, Xiao Qiao, Sun Shangxiang, and others preparing a New Year’s gathering…

It blended elements of musical theater and sketches, making it fresh and entertaining.

The story script had been hashed out over the past week, roles were mostly assigned, and now it was time for rehearsals and props.

A few key roles had been discussed and confirmed.

Su Rong would play Xiao Qiao, Vice Monitor Huo Dashan would be Cao Cao, Chen Wenyi would play Zhou Yu, and Pei Qian would be Zhuge Liang.

The curvy Shanghai girl Chen Qiong and You Li would portray Diao Chan and Sun Shangxiang respectively…

The core plot wove around these characters.

Since it was a comedy, they didn’t worry much about logic—just threw these roles into a fun mix, making it creatively absurd.

There were also supporting roles and ‘prop characters’ like soldiers and trees, played by the rest of the class.

Everyone had to join in, but they kept the leads to a few people to keep rehearsals manageable.

The main creators were Class Monitor Min Siyang and Arts Committee Member Su Rong.

You had to give it to those two—they had solid ideas, and the program they planned was genuinely fun.

…

Su Rong stood at the front and presented the program plan to everyone.

Her voice was soft, and she seemed a bit shy speaking in front of the group, like a typical gentle girl.

The plan was engaging, and students who hadn’t heard it before looked excited.

The whole class’s energy and enthusiasm ramped up.

Su Rong glanced at a few guys in the back row and suddenly looked troubled, whispering to Min Siyang.

Min Siyang, being straightforward, went straight to the back and asked about the actor for Zhou Yu—Chen Wenyi.

Xu Chen, Qian Xin, Hong Xiaoqiang, and Pei Qian all wore awkward expressions, not knowing what to say.

Su Rong followed Min Siyang, looking uneasy and flustered.

Xu Chen found it amusing.

These ‘young kids’ and their dramas were so childish.

Chen Wenyi had confessed to Su Rong and got rejected, and now they had to rehearse together.

Worse, one was Zhou Yu and the other Xiao Qiao—it was bound to be awkward.

Chen Wenyi struck Xu Chen as the prideful type; he’d probably thought his confession was a sure win, so rejection hit hard…

Su Rong looked uncomfortable and shot Min Siyang a pleading glance.

Min Siyang, seeming in the know, said:

“Chen Wenyi’s not here anyway, and we don’t need to wait for rehearsals…”

“How about we swap someone for Zhou Yu and talk to Chen Wenyi later?”

Su Rong looked relieved and nodded vigorously at Min Siyang.

Min Siyang chuckled and scanned the guys in front, her eyes landing on Xu Chen.

Xu Chen thought, ‘Oh no,’ not wanting to get dragged into this time-waster, so he said:

“Monitor, you know I’m always having to skip out.”

After chatting with Su Rong, Min Siyang considered having the ‘Jiangsu-Zhejiang Prince’ Qian Xin play Zhou Yu.

Qian Xin glanced at Su Rong and said:

“If I snatch Chen Wenyi’s role and end up acting with you…”

“The dorm might turn into a crime scene in a couple of days.”

“??”

“…”

After some back-and-forth, they settled on the class top student Jiao Tianbo for Zhou Yu.

They thought Jiao Tianbo might refuse, but he said with a straight face:

“Sure, I’d like to give it a try.”

With that, the year-end ‘Welcome Party’ program for their class was finalized.

Xu Chen was in it too; he and Hong Xiaoqiang would play soldiers and walls—minor but essential roles.

They were both happy with that.

Su Rong outlined the rehearsal plan: key players twice a week, the whole class once a week—it made sense.

Props and such would be handled by the class committee.

After that, the meeting ended, and the committee plus main actors stayed for the first script read-through.

Xu Chen joined in, figuring he should participate seriously.

Everyone crowded to the front, and under Su Rong’s lead, they went over the script together.

Xu Chen casually noticed the phone and backpack next to him—they were Su Rong’s.

Her light pink MK backpack had cute, colorful keychains dangling from it.

Her phone screen lit up, and the wallpaper was a Xie Bingran poster.

Xu Chen smiled wryly, confirming her as a Bing Ge fan for sure.

…

…

The first script read-through wrapped up before 4:30.

Su Rong added:

“From now on, Mondays and Wednesdays after class are for the main team’s meetings and rehearsals.”

“And Fridays after the class meeting, it’s for the full group’s rehearsal…”

After a few more instructions, they called it a day.

Jiao Tianbo hurried over to Xu Chen, looking eager:

“Let’s head to your company…”

It was for the meeting with Yichun City’s leaders.

Xu Chen checked his phone: “Wu Feifei just arrived too!”

Jiao Tianbo smiled, seeming excited and ready.

It wasn’t about seeing Wu Feifei; it was the meeting itself…

Last time, they submitted four slogans, and the top one was Jiao Tianbo’s: ‘Bright Moon Mountain’s Spring Scenery, Intoxicating Yichun Charm’.

The ‘top student’ had a subtle competitive edge against Xu Chen and Wu Feifei, mixed with blind confidence.

He was already picturing his idea getting picked by Yichun City’s leaders.

Just waiting to one-up Xu Chen and Wu Feifei…

Xu Chen glanced at the time:

“Let’s grab some food from the cafeteria first—we’ve got time.”

Jiao Tianbo was anxious but nodded:

“Okay! Let’s hurry!”

…

…

West Garden Cafeteria.

As they reached the entrance, Xu Chen suddenly stopped.

Jiao Tianbo paused and looked back at him.

“You go ahead; I’ll hit the restroom and catch up!” Xu Chen said.

“Hurry up then.” Jiao Tianbo replied and headed inside.

In the parking area next to West Garden Cafeteria.

The ‘Jiangsu-Zhejiang Prince’s red Mazda sat conspicuously at the exit.

Not far from the car, two people stood.

One was Chen Wenyi, who had vanished that afternoon; he still looked annoyed and twisted.

The other wore a black jacket, his face dark and menacing.

This guy was someone Xu Chen had seen on his first day in the dorm—Chen Wenyi’s high school ‘big brother’, named Chen Long.

Back then, Chen Long had followed Chen Wenyi to Tonghai University, saying he’d help him ‘establish a presence’ on campus.

But unluckily, he crossed paths with ‘Brother Chen’.

And Zhao Feng and Fang Tao had just arrived in Shanghai, so that ‘big brother’ Chen Long hit a wall and got beaten by the burly Zhao Feng.

Now, Chen Long had a cigarette in his mouth, eyeing the red Mazda nearby.

No need to guess—Chen Wenyi was plotting revenge and had brought his protector along.

Xu Chen hesitated but decided not to let these inexperienced kids escalate things into a mess, so he walked over slowly.

…

As soon as Chen Wenyi saw Xu Chen approach, he froze but said nothing and lowered his head.

Chen Long, with the cigarette in his mouth, also froze, suddenly remembering Xu Chen.

He gave an awkward smile and called out, “Brother Chen.”

Then he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to Xu Chen.

“No thanks.” Xu Chen said with a mild smile.

He looked at the silent Chen Wenyi and said:

“There’s nothing between Qian Xin and Su Rong—I checked.”

He paused, glancing at the red Mazda beside them:

“We’re not in high school anymore; we’re adults now. Actions have consequences.”

“Damage over 5,000 yuan means up to three years.”

“More than that, and it’s three years or more…”

“If it leads to assault causing minor injury, that’s up to three years; serious injury is three to ten.”

“And the school will expel you.”

With that, Xu Chen didn’t say more, just smiled gently and walked away.

…

…

When Xu Chen got to the cafeteria, Jiao Tianbo had already bought two big bags of food.

Xu Chen took one and said with a smile:

“Next time, I’ll cover it all.”

Jiao Tianbo didn’t argue and just nodded.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the East Morning Star Advertising office.

Wu Feifei was already there, holding a juice bottle and sitting sweetly next to Gu Xinxi.

As soon as Xu Chen walked in, the three girls chimed in with a respectful “Boss.”

Xu Chen shook his head, smiling: “Let’s start the meeting, then eat.”

…

…

In the meeting room.

Jiao Tianbo cleared his throat and said seriously:

“Director Lou mentioned her leaders will join.”

Xu Chen thought for a moment and asked:

“Do you know exactly who?”

Jiao Tianbo: “Director Lou didn’t specify.”

“But I figure there’ll be leaders from the Publicity Department and Tourism Bureau—maybe the secretary or director.”

“And overseeing the project is a vice mayor from Yichun City; not sure if he’ll attend today.”

Jiao Tianbo was treating everyone on the other side like bigwigs.

Xu Chen grinned at Wu Feifei and teased:

“I thought it was some major leaders, but none outrank your family, Feifei!”

Wu Feifei pouted, pretending to be mad and giving Xu Chen a side-eye.

“…”