Chapter 397: Gathering in the Metropolis

At noon, Xu Chen headed to the guesthouse on the Tonghai University campus.

This weekend, Xie Bingran, Old Xu, and Fang Jun were all coming…

After thinking it over, Xu Chen decided to book rooms at the Tonghai University guesthouse.

Though called a guesthouse, it had been renovated just last year, and the rooms were in decent shape.

Around Tonghai University, there weren’t many top-notch hotels anyway, so the campus guesthouse barely met three- or four-star standards.

Back in early September when classes started, Xu Chen and Fang Jun had stayed there for a couple of days.

Next week, Xu Chen had classes at the beginning, so he couldn’t stay too far away.

Plus, it would be easier to show Old Xu, Fang Jun, and Xie Bingran around the school and company if they stayed there…

The guesthouse’s business manager led Xu Chen up to the top floor and showed him the rooms.

Xu Chen spent a bit extra to reserve the three rooms with the best views and lighting.

For three rooms over several days, the manager helped get a discount.

Xie Bingran was arriving on Saturday, while Old Xu and Fang Jun would get in on Sunday.

Then, on Wednesday evening, Xu Chen and Xie Bingran would fly to Pengcheng, attend a meeting with Vanke the next day, and head to Kun City for the China Advertising Festival…

Old Xu and Fang Jun were scheduled to leave Shanghai that same Wednesday evening.

Xu Chen had classes early next week but had already taken the whole day off on Wednesday.

He planned to show Old Xu, Xie Bingran, and Fang Jun around Shanghai, maybe do some sightseeing…

The thought of seeing Xie Bingran and his dad soon had Xu Chen buzzing with excitement and anticipation.

Old Xu was clearly looking forward to it too—he’d even messaged asking what hometown foods Xu Chen wanted him to bring.

He mentioned he’d braise a pot of beef himself to bring as a late-night snack for his son in the dorm…

Xu Chen didn’t want Old Xu to go through the trouble, so he said there was no need—just come lightly packed since he’d be home for winter break soon anyway.

In Tiancheng, the initial launch of Chenfeng Ice Power had wrapped up, and Old Xu had gotten through the busiest stretch.

This trip to Shanghai was a chance for ‘President Xu’ to relax and reunite with his son…

In the afternoon, at the Little Yellow Building’s server room.

The advertising class was in session for ‘Computer Graphic Design’.

With finals approaching, the teacher had finished all the lectures.

Now, students were hunched over their computers, working on their final project pieces.

Xu Chen had an easy way to cheat—he could just ask Aimi to help.

But he chose to do it himself; the assignment was actually kind of fun.

His phone buzzed; checking it, he saw a message from Director Feng Siliang of the Tiancheng Publicity Department:

[Xu Chen, we’ve got a few promotional drafts for our Asian Games champions…

Could you take a look and give some feedback?]

Xu Chen: [No need to be so formal, Director Feng—just send them over!]

Feng Siliang: [Give me a minute, Xu Chen—I’ll email them to you…]

A few minutes later, Xu Chen downloaded the drafts Feng Siliang had sent to his email.

Opening them, he saw they were reports on the rewards Tiancheng was giving Xie Bingran.

Xu Chen’s interest piqued instantly.

Glancing at the rewards in the news draft, he couldn’t help but whistle in surprise.

As Xie Bingran’s hometown, Tiancheng was actually rewarding her with a house…

The info Wu Feifei got from the big bosses was spot-on first-hand news.

According to the draft, the reward came from the ‘Tiancheng City Government’ and ‘City Sports Bureau’.

The house was in the new district west of the city, but specifics on location and size were omitted—probably for privacy reasons.

‘Proper justification’ was needed for this.

It would be awarded to Xie Bingran, Tiancheng’s pride who won gold at the Asian Games and brought honor to the nation, as an ‘Outstanding Contribution Model of Tiancheng City’…

Xu Chen felt a wave of emotion and was genuinely happy for Xie Bingran.

Xie Bingran’s family home in Tiancheng was that rundown old place in South River Village.

Now, with this new house, she finally had a real, proper home…

An eighteen-year-old girl earning her first property entirely on her own was truly impressive.

For most people her age, it would take years of work after college, saving and borrowing, to buy their first house.

Xu Chen chuckled to himself…

For Xie Bingran now, though, this house wasn’t a big deal.

‘Little rich girl’ that she was, she had serious money.

From her competition winnings, plus the Jeep, Kunlun Mountain endorsement deals, and upcoming ones with Louis Vuitton and Head & Shoulders…

If she wanted to buy a place in Tiancheng or the provincial capital, it would be a breeze…

Xu Chen flipped through the rest of the drafts.

Besides the house, the City Sports Bureau and City Education Bureau were setting up two scholarships in Xie Bingran’s name.

The first would reward young athletes in Tiancheng.

The second was more like aid for high school students from tough backgrounds, like Xie Bingran.

These news drafts came from reporters at several Tiancheng media outlets.

They were standard official pieces—nothing major to nitpick.

Still, Xu Chen went through them carefully and suggested a couple of minor tweaks, just to follow through for Director Feng Siliang.

Feng Siliang, as always, thanked Xu Chen profusely.

Xu Chen took the opportunity to reply:

[And I should thank you, Director Feng!

You helped secure a lot of promo resources for our ‘Chenfeng Ice Power’ launch.]

[Don’t mention it…

Promoting local Tiancheng businesses and economic development is just part of my job.]

Xu Chen suddenly remembered something and added:

[For these rewards and the two scholarships for Xie Bingran…

You’ll need to schedule some events for her to come back to Tiancheng, right?]

Feng Siliang quickly responded:

[We will!

But the City Sports Bureau is still coordinating with her team on the timing…

It was originally set for next week, but Xie Bingran has other plans now.

Looks like it’ll be late January or early February before we can arrange her return for the events.]

Xu Chen paused, surprised.

Xie Bingran’s ‘other plans’ next week were probably the break he’d arranged for her.

It seemed Coach Cheng Hong and the team were really looking out for her rest.

They were even stepping in to cancel some routine events so she could have downtime.

After chatting with Director Feng, Xu Chen couldn’t resist searching for news on Xie Bingran.

Sure enough, hits poured in.

These past few days in Beijing, she’d been attending award ceremonies, victory banquets, and more.

Meetings with leaders, media chases.

Flowers and applause everywhere…

There were a couple of charity events too, likely set up indirectly by Director Li Yue.

When they met before the Asian Games, Li Yue had mentioned lining up media promotions and charity activities for her afterward.

To boost Xie Bingran’s fame and public image.

And it all seemed to be happening now.

For Director Li Yue and the national team, this was like an ‘investment’ in Xie Bingran.

To ramp up her commercial value and unlock bigger deals down the line…

It was a great move—with official backing, Xie Bingran’s rise would be steadier and safer.

Around four or five, after class, Xu Chen wandered over to the company.

Out of habit, he took the elevator to the eighth floor.

He got to the door and saw the lights off, then remembered Fei Jie and the team had moved to the sixth floor.

So he turned around and headed back down.

The new sixth-floor office was spacious.

With few people around, it felt almost empty.

“Boss!”

Gu Xinxi and Sun Aimi spotted Xu Chen and greeted him with smiles.

Xu Chen said with a grin:

“The office feels a bit bare, and we won’t be hiring many more soon…

“You two should think about adding some leisure spaces or display areas.

“Books, games, that sort of thing—let’s make it more creative and welcoming.

“After all, we’re a creative company.”

Sun Aimi lit up with excitement:

“That sounds great!”

Xu Chen: “Brainstorm some ideas, and I’ll approve the budget.”

“You got it, boss!”

In the meeting room.

Nie Fei, Jiang Yuze, and Sun Lingfeng were in a meeting.

Fei Jie saw Xu Chen through the glass and waved him in with a smile.

Xu Chen stepped inside:

“Carry on, I’m not interrupting…

“Just listening in.”

Sun Lingfeng and Jiang Yuze went over their reports.

Xu Chen caught the details on the initial release of ‘Ran Bing 001’ and their plans for online stores.

With Fei Jie steering things, there wouldn’t be any slip-ups.

Nie Fei discussed a few rounds with them, assigning clear tasks and timelines.

Stepping out of the meeting room, Nie Fei lit a slim cigarette and said to Xu Chen:

“I’ll need to head over to Zhou Junjun’s side next week.

“We’ve got to lock in the production schedule fast.

“We’ve got 1,000 pairs locked in orders, and everyone’s waiting for the next wave.”

Xu Chen: “Pass along my regards to Vice President Zhou!”

Nie Fei said with a smile:

“I was going to drag you along to check out the factory…

“But I know you’re spending time with Xie Bingran, so I’ll leave you two be.”

Xu Chen: “Thanks, Fei Jie—I’ll bring you something back from Kun City.”

Nie Fei remembered something else:

“We had an online chat today with the Chen Youjian studio about the ‘Ran Bing X’ design needs.

“They’re putting together a plan, and Alan Chan will be involved…

“It’s not urgent; I’ll update you as it progresses.”

Xu Chen nodded:

“‘Ran Bing X’ is our flagship model, so let’s make sure it’s well-designed.

“It needs to stand out from ‘Ran Bing 001’.”

Nie Fei glanced toward the front desk and added:

“We interviewed an admin assistant this afternoon—a sharp young woman.

“She should handle the admin and front desk duties fine.

“Do you have time to interview her?”

Xu Chen: “If you’ve checked her out, that’s good enough.

“I’ll meet anyone for business roles,

“But you can handle the rest.”

Nie Fei: “Alright, I’ll get her started next week.

“That’ll take some load off Gu Xinxi.”

Xu Chen thought of something:

“I’ll be in classes Monday and Tuesday.

“Could you show Old Xu and Fang Jun around Shanghai on those days, Fei Jie?

“I’ll take over on Wednesday since I’m off.”

Nie Fei: “No problem—I’ll handle the hosting!”

She paused, then smiled:

“What about Xie Bingran? Want me to arrange anything?”

Xu Chen thought for a second: “I don’t think so.”