Chapter 398: Daily Hustle and Hidden Ambitions

It was Friday morning.

During class, Xu Chen sat in the back row, quietly scrolling through news on his phone.

The news of Xie Bingran and Bai Miao landing at Pudong Airport early that morning had hit all the major local media in Shanghai.

The reports naturally included lively photos from the scene.

A crowd of media and fans waited at the exit, holding flowers and various banners.

Right at the airport exit, the Shanghai Sports Bureau and Shanghai Track and Field Sports Center had organized a small media event.

Flowers, applause, and flashing cameras filled the air…

In the news photos, Xie Bingran looked as cool and striking as ever.

Even in the corners or background of the shots, she stood out the most.

Bai Miao had that same cute and bubbly vibe, standing next to ‘Bing Ge’ with a hint of that ‘little bird relying on a person’ feel…

Among the top hurdlers in the National Team, only Xie Bingran and Bai Miao were based in Shanghai, usually training under head coach Sun Mouping.

Dong Jiajia, who along with Bai Miao is known as the ‘Shanghai Twin Stars’, was also in Shanghai, but her track results were mediocre, so she wasn’t in the top tier.

Plus, she trained under a different coach, not Sun Mouping.

That’s how competitive sports work—results on the track decide everything…

Veteran athletes like Chen Lan were based with the National Team in Beijing, learning from another famous hurdling coach…

As Coach Cheng had privately told Xu Chen, the current setup in Shanghai—coaches, assistants, and team doctors—was all centered on serving Bing Ge.

Especially after Xie Bingran broke records at the Asian Games, this focus on her would become even more pronounced.

Of course, they wouldn’t say it outright; they still had to consider the feelings of other athletes and young talents.

If any young athlete wanted to compete for resources, they’d have to beat Bing Ge on the track.

Before the Asian Games, some young athletes might have had unrealistic hopes and been eager to try.

But after Xie Bingran set the ‘best-ever record for yellow people’ in Doha, no one dared to dream anymore.

In the face of absolute talent, any effort was meaningless.

On this track,

Ice was the only top-tier force.

…

…

Today and tomorrow, Bing Ge had a few events lined up.

Plenty of ‘important figures’ in Shanghai were still waiting to meet her.

Tomorrow evening, once Xie Bingran’s schedule wrapped up, she’d finally get a short break…

Xu Chen had already confirmed with Coach Cheng that he’d drive to Xin Zhuang Base to pick up Xie Bingran tomorrow.

Coach Cheng was cautious as ever, stressing how ‘precious’ Bing Ge was now, almost as if he wanted Xu Chen to sign some kind of guarantee.

…

On Saturday, he’d pick up Xie Bingran; on Sunday, he’d get Old Xu and Coach Fang Jun, and they could all reunite for three or four days.

Then, on Wednesday evening, Xu Chen needed to fly from Shanghai to Pengcheng for a meeting with Vanke’s two bosses early Thursday morning.

Of course, he’d bring the ‘little rich lady’ along…

Wang Shi’s secretary had already sorted out the travel details for Xu Chen and booked the flights and hotel.

Naturally, Xie Bingran’s ticket and the arrangements in Kun City had nothing to do with the Vanke project, so Xu Chen had Gu Xinxi handle that.

Xu Chen was really looking forward to the next few days, right up until the New Year’s Day holiday.

…

…

At noon, Xu Chen and his roommates grabbed a quick bite at Xueyuan Cafeteria.

Qian Xin brought up Xie Bingran’s morning arrival in Shanghai and seemed a bit bummed about not going to the airport.

But then he bragged about snagging Xie Bingran’s limited-edition ‘Ran Bing 001’ shoes.

Huang Hao asked, “When will the shoes arrive?”

Qian Xin replied, “They ship on New Year’s Day, so I’ll get them after that.”

Pei Qian sipped his Sprite and said:

“Over the past couple of days, some sneaker forums have people reselling them at high prices.”

Huang Hao asked, “Anyone buying?”

Pei Qian said, “Of course…”

The original price was 288 yuan, and it’s already up to five or six hundred.

Xie Bingran must have a ton of fans.”

Qian Xin grinned and said:

“I’ve checked out those shoes—they’re top-notch!

Shoes of the same quality from Nike or Adidas go for seven or eight hundred yuan.

Compared to ‘Ran Bing 001’ at the same price, it’s a total stomp…”

Huang Hao said, “That exaggerated?”

Qian Xin replied, “Wait till I get the shoes, you can compare them yourself.

Even without the Xie Bingran factor, it’s worth buying.

They’re seriously good!”

Huang Hao added, “Wow, such high praise from Qian Xin?”

Qian Xin said with confidence:

“You’ll see when you get the shoes!”

Pei Qian laughed and said, “But you haven’t even got them yet—how are you so sure?”

Qian Xin explained, “I’ve looked at the product specs and materials; it’s all clearly listed on the page.

This stuff is hard to fake, especially with national standards for materials and metrics…”

…

Xu Chen stayed quiet, thinking about the pair of ‘Ran Bing 001’ he had.

Compared to seven- or eight-hundred-yuan Nike or Adidas shoes, it didn’t fall short in quality or feel at all!

So, once the first wave of users got their shoes, word-of-mouth would definitely spread more.

‘Ran Bing 001′ could easily justify a higher price.

But after discussing pricing strategy with Nie Fei several times, they settled on the current price.

Those overseas brands’ high markups had already annoyed a lot of consumers.

For the brand Xu Chen was building for Xie Bingran, he didn’t want it tied to ‘ripoff’ tactics.

Even if it meant earning less, it would help her long-term image.

A sports star who rips off fans won’t last; it’ll crash eventually.

Being genuine with users is the ultimate winning move.

…

…

After lunch, Xu Chen didn’t head back to the dorm; he wandered over to the company.

The moment he walked in, Gu Xinxi jumped up:

“Boss, Head & Shoulders has gone over the specific requirements with me.”

Xu Chen smiled and said, “Let’s get Aimi and Tang Xiaowei and chat in the meeting room.”

Gu Xinxi replied, “Okay.”

…

In the meeting room,

Gu Xinxi updated everyone on Head & Shoulders’ current needs.

As Xu Chen expected, it centered on a creative plan for an ad video.

That included supporting print designs.

The ad video would tie into Head & Shoulders’ anti-dandruff feature and link it with endorser Xie Bingran.

After syncing up, Gu Xinxi looked at Xu Chen, waiting for the boss to take the next step.

Xu Chen thought for a moment and said:

“I’ll discuss the timeline and pricing with Xinxi separately.”

He turned to Sun Aimi and Tang Xiaowei:

“You two start working on ideas for this ad video. We need to push this project forward.”

Sun Aimi said, “No problem. We’ve got some free time these next couple of days, so we can dive in.”

Xu Chen nodded:

“Foreign consumer brands like Procter & Gamble have set ad formulas, especially those two big ones.

Do some research first, get familiar with the common creative patterns…

Our ideas have to fit within that framework.

It’s like dancing in chains…”

Sun Aimi and Tang Xiaowei both nodded.

Xu Chen continued:

“Since Xie Bingran is the endorser, we need to blend that in beyond the standard formula.

The key is finding a good connection point to link Bing Ge with Head & Shoulders’ benefits through creativity.”

He paused and added:

“Brainstorm specific ideas, but keep this in mind…

Make sure ‘dandruff’ doesn’t hurt Xie Bingran’s image.”

Sun Aimi nodded, “Got it, boss!

We’ll think of other ways to show and interpret it…

Convey the anti-dandruff point clearly without directly tying dandruff to Bing Ge in people’s minds.”

Xu Chen smiled, “Exactly!”

Aimi was sharp; she caught on fast.

Xu Chen glanced at the calendar and said:

“I’m heading out on a business trip Wednesday evening and won’t be back until after the New Year’s Day holiday.

So, you two put together some concept ideas and a rough script…

We need to review it internally before I leave on Wednesday.

Pick a time that works for you—just let me know when you’re ready!”

Sun Aimi and Tang Xiaowei both nodded.

“Sure, boss!”

In his mind, Xu Chen already had a few rough ideas.

But he’d let Sun Aimi and Tang Xiaowei handle it.

It would help build their skills for future projects—they couldn’t rely on him for everything.

Plus, his ideas were just frameworks; they’d need to fill in the details.

…

Once Sun Aimi and Tang Xiaowei left the meeting room, only Xu Chen and Gu Xinxi remained.

Xu Chen checked the calendar and said:

“Hold off on feedback to Head & Shoulders for now.

We don’t need to be too eager—just let them stew a bit and get anxious.”

Gu Xinxi smiled and said:

“Understood, boss!

In our talks the past couple of days, Jiang Peng has been really urgent and nervous…

They’re terrified we might turn down the Head & Shoulders job.”

Xu Chen nodded with a smile and added:

“Set the first scheme discussion for after New Year’s Day.

Once I review the ideas with Aimi early next week, we can finalize them before the holiday.”

Gu Xinxi agreed and then asked:

“What about the quote, boss?”

Xu Chen thought it over:

“Three million, no haggling.

That’s for East Morning Star Advertising’s pure creative scheme, not including production costs.”

Gu Xinxi smiled, “Got it!”

Three million was the figure Xu Chen had settled on after weighing options.

In the market, ad video ideas with a celebrity endorser usually ranged from a few hundred thousand to two million.

The Jeep ad had paid two million, which was the high end.

Considering connections with the General Bureau and Xie Bingran, Pang Ming and He Da Chang had been generous.

Xu Chen bumped it up 50% from there.

This was a little nudge back at Procter & Gamble.

He figured three million was still doable for them.

Sun Yashi could probably shuffle the budget without extra approvals.

Anything over that might need higher-ups, potentially stalling the project.

So, three million was the sweet spot.

East Morning Star Advertising would have a prosperous year with this deal…

…

…

As Xu Chen left the meeting room, Sun Aimi called him over.

“Boss, we’ve come up with a few directions for the Vanke brand ad…

Which one do you think works best?”

This was a serious project with a two-million budget!

Xu Chen pulled up a chair and sat in front of Sun Aimi’s computer.

He went through the designs carefully.

Finally, he settled on a relatively ‘simple and understated’ approach.

“This one!” Xu Chen said with a smile.

Sun Aimi adjusted her round glasses, a hint of satisfaction showing.

It was the set she’d created—and her favorite.

Clearly, her taste aligned with the boss’s.

Tang Xiaowei scratched his head, looking a bit deflated.

He’d submitted a couple of designs, but Xu Chen had passed on them.

Xu Chen glanced back at them and explained:

“Brand ads need style and class.

They’re meant to spark aspiration and imagination, so they can’t be too everyday…

Plus, Vanke’s properties sit in the mid-to-high-end range among developers.

For a group brand ad, we target higher-level audiences, like the wealthy.

They prefer elegant, simple, and refined styles.”

“For example, this draft…

The copy is ‘The warmest light is always on your way home’.

It focuses on evoking the idea of ‘home’…

But the home we’re hinting at is a villa or upscale community that our audience pictures.

Aimi’s design is sleek and sophisticated, perfect for that vibe…”

Xu Chen wrapped up his explanation, and Sun Aimi and Tang Xiaowei nodded along.

Tang Xiaowei hesitated then said,

“Boss, your copy is spot-on!”

He wasn’t just flattering; it came from the heart.

Tang Xiaowei had worked at international agencies like Publicis and seen top talent,

but Xu Chen’s work held its own against anyone.

The more Tang Xiaowei looked at the ideas, the more he liked them.

He couldn’t help but wonder how someone so young as ‘Little Xu’ pulled it off:

[The warmest light is always on your way home…]

[No tree is as noble as the one in your memories…]

[Keep your distance from worldly excess; simple nature never loses its charm…]

[Tear down the walls in your heart and rediscover life’s true flavor…]

[Let the world’s noise fade; home’s quiet peace is unmatched…]

[Tides come and go, but life’s essence remains eternal…]

…

…

…”