Chapter 499: Whispers of Competition and Corporate Buzz

Noon at the Xueyuan Cafeteria.

Xu Chen joined his roommates Huang Hao, Qian Xin, and Hong Xiaoqiang for a meal.

These days, their lunch talks centered on the upcoming European competitions for Xie Bingran and Bai Miao.

As a big fan of Bai Miao, Huang Hao loved digging into details, which gave Xu Chen some insider info on Bing Ge’s next events.

Qian Xin followed Xie Bingran’s races closely, so the two dove into endless discussions over lunch.

Xu Chen listened quietly, secretly picking up intel along the way.

Huang Hao said, “The group stage schedule’s been drawn; Chen Lan from the National Team races on the 25th.”

“Bai Miao and Xie Bingran drew the same group—26th at 10 a.m.…”

“Adjusting for the time difference, that’s around evening here for us.”

Hong Xiaoqiang chimed in:

“Is the college organizing a live stream watch party?”

Huang Hao replied, “They are; it’s in the Lecture Hall, and notifications should go out today.”

Huang Hao also shared details about the competitors in the “International Athletics Grand Prix”.

Xu Chen hadn’t delved deep before, but hearing Huang Hao’s analysis now made him feel tense for Xie Bingran amid the pressure.

This European event in Zurich truly lived up to its hype with stars everywhere.

And these “stars” were the top female hurdlers of the era, the fiercest humans on the planet in that field.

That included Joanna Hayes, the gold medalist from the last Athens Olympics, from the USA.

In 2004 at Athens, Joanna Hayes clinched gold with a time of 12.37 seconds.

But word was her performance had dropped off in the past couple of years.

According to Huang Hao, with a wave of younger talents rising, Hayes might not even snag a medal this time.

Other hot “seed” athletes included Dawn Harper and Damu Cheli from the USA, Sally Pearson from Australia, and Lopez Schlip from Canada.

Aside from Sally Pearson, who was white, the rest had black heritage.

In athletics, black athletes held a genetic edge that dominated over Asians and even whites.

Huang Hao had studied these hurdlers for ages and knew them like old friends, even dropping some odd gossip or secrets:

“Damu Cheli from the USA is tough; she was a strong Olympic gold contender.”

“But she got banned for a positive drug test in a previous race; this Zurich event is her comeback.”

“Even with that history, it’s hard to say how she’ll do now…”

“Lopez Schlip from Canada is scary; just look at her photos—pure muscle everywhere.”

“She’s like a ‘Super Saiyan’ with possible genetic mutations, basically the real-world Hulk…”

Huang Hao spoke with such conviction, though it was tough to tell what was reliable.

One thing was clear: Xie Bingran faced off against some of the planet’s most elite, freakish athletes on the track…

Huang Hao continued:

“These track stars are also top picks for the 2008 Olympics.”

“With the Olympics approaching, they’re all competing now to get used to venues and rhythms.”

“So, all the big names are showing up for this Zurich event.”

Hong Xiaoqiang added, “Racing against a bunch of black athletes… that’s got to be intense pressure for our three from the National Team.”

Huang Hao said, “Just sharing the track with them is already a huge achievement.”

He paused before adding, “Xie Bingran and Chen Lan have both broken into the 12.40-second range…”

Hong Xiaoqiang asked, “What’s that mean?”

Huang Hao explained, “It means they’ve got a shot, a real chance at bronze.”

He hesitated with a hint of resignation:

“In a major international event, Bai Miao still needs more experience…”

“Honestly, if any of Chen Lan, Xie Bingran, or Bai Miao makes the finals, that’s history-making.”

“And reaching the finals here could mean a spot in the Olympics finals.”

“That’s massively important!”

Xu Chen listened to their chat and Huang Hao’s insights, feeling a wave of worry for Bing Ge.

He’d never stood on that track, so he couldn’t fully grasp Xie Bingran’s pressure or challenges.

But just imagining it gave Xu Chen a sense of tension, almost suffocating.

That only deepened his admiration for Bing Ge.

Beyond the competitions, Xu Chen heard his roommates gossip about other things.

The College Student Union elections were underway, and Xu Chen had turned down an invite from Jin Yuelan.

Surprisingly, classmates Huo Dashan and Jiao Tianbo jumped at the chance to run.

According to Huang Hao and Qian Xin, Huo Dashan practiced his campaign speeches daily in the dorm.

Jiao Tianbo kept a lower profile, probably working hard in some corner.

Xu Chen felt a bit helpless; what he politely declined, others chased after.

Truly, joys and sorrows don’t connect.

That evening, Wu Feifei and Su Rong stopped by the company.

Xu Chen had already booked their trip to Europe for the races, and Nana from admin printed out the itineraries for everyone.

Wu Feifei and Su Rong glanced at the schedules and exchanged odd looks.

Xu Chen caught it and asked, “What’s up?”

Wu Feifei said, “It’s just the finals…”

Xu Chen’s plans covered only the 28th for the finals.

He quickly picked up on their subtle concerns.

After all, this was a real international showdown with dominating black and white athletes.

Though Xie Bingran was Asia’s top, was she guaranteed a finals spot?

Xu Chen had his doubts too, but he’d only booked for the finals after checking with Bing Ge.

“I asked Bing Ge,” Xu Chen said with a smile.

Su Rong’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

Wu Feifei asked, “What did she say?”

“She said to just go for the finals.”

Wu Feifei and Su Rong paused, then shared a glance, both lighting up with excitement.

Wu Feifei exclaimed, “Bing Ge is so bold!”

Su Rong added, “Awesome!”

Xu Chen remembered something and told Wu Feifei, “Fang Jun’s too busy to join, and she’s pretty upset about it.”

“Once we’re in Europe, help me pick a gift for her to smooth things over with our ‘money god’.”

Wu Feifei grinned and joked, “Who knew Fang Jun had someone to pamper her now.”

Xu Chen replied, “?”

In the meeting room.

The East Morning Star Advertising weekly meeting was fully attended.

Wu Feifei and Su Rong sat in the back, notebooks in hand, quietly absorbing the session.

Gu Xinxi, the little manager, updated everyone on key project progress and upcoming plans.

The You Le Mei project contract was still in process, but work was underway.

Xie Bingran’s endorsement was pending, yet ad production prep had started.

The creative script built on Xu Chen’s proposal, with the client making few changes—just wanting to review it once the endorsement deal was set.

Since the endorser was Bing Ge and the National Team’s Director Li was overseeing, there wouldn’t be major issues.

The director and production teams were being selected; Gu Xinxi and Sun Aimi had shortlisted over a dozen and presented options to Xu Chen.

After reviewing, Xu Chen asked them to add a couple more from Bay Island as backups.

From earlier meetings, he noticed the client favored Bay Island’s style, which fit perfectly with the ‘held in the palm’ romance theme.

Gu Xinxi said, “Sun Aimi and I have some industry contacts; we’ll narrow it down for you to choose from.”

Xu Chen thought of something and said, “Check with the China 4A Association!”

“They have a vetted database of top directors and teams—pure industry elite.”

“Plus, as 4A foreign firms, they have resources from Hong Kong and Bay Island…”

“We’ve joined the association, so let’s use that resource.”

Gu Xinxi replied, “Oh right, I totally forgot about that!”

For the Red Star Erguotou print ads, Sun Aimi and Tang Xiaowei had finalized the revisions.

This project was crucial, tying into Meng Huiyang’s opinions at Red Star Liquor Factory, which connected to Datuo Car Dealership and their own Chenfeng Technology.

With Xu Chen’s detailed feedback, Sun Aimi led the tweaks, and her work had real flair.

Lines like ‘Drown all unspoken words in one gulp’ and ‘Youth races by, throat scraped by alcohol’ were set to become this year’s ad catchphrases.

Gu Xinxi laughed, “We’re all itching for these to go live!”

“Once they’re out, we’ll submit for awards; we’re confident it’ll snag a few.”

Xu Chen asked, “Sent to the client yet?”

The new client manager Pan Mengting said, “Yes, and we just got feedback in the project group.”

She reported to Gu Xinxi, currently handling the Red Star Erguotou project.

With a smile, she added, “The client loves it; just a minor tweak on color tones, which I’ve synced with Sun Aimi.”

“Plus, Meng Huiyang is thrilled and wants to test a run first.”

“If all good, they’re eyeing more budget for an ad video!”

Xu Chen smiled, “Great!”

“This project’s just prints, so margins are slim.”

“Adding a video could boost returns nicely.”

The Baidu project was still in promo phase; Gu Xinxi compiled feedback on two rounds of outreach.

It all aligned with Xu Chen’s expectations—this quirky, innovative ‘viral ad’ sparked tons of buzz.

Online feedback was mostly positive, like:

“If ads were all like this, I wouldn’t skip them…”

“This ad’s better than the main show!”

Another key project was the Cadillac ad video.

With complex post-production, the team was working overtime; Cadillac’s marketing director Hua Shao Jie was keeping a close eye, so Xu Chen fed back several rounds of notes.

Other projects moved steadily.

Kunlunshan Mineral Water had ongoing material designs, mostly handled by Tang Xiaowei—grunt work all around.

Jeep also sent over some new design requests lately.

Gu Xinxi explained, “Jeep and Kunlunshan are riding the wave of Bing Ge’s late April races, so they’re adding promo and PR needs.”

“That means more design tasks for us—straight execution stuff, so we pushed ahead without bothering you.”

Xu Chen nodded, “Solid move!”

Beyond external projects, design and creative demands from Ran Bing Sports and Chenfeng Technology flowed to East Morning Star Advertising.

Gu Xinxi coordinated it all, assigning to Sun Aimi and Tang Xiaowei by schedule.

Chenfeng Technology was manageable, but Ran Bing Sports, with online store ops, had a heap of design work.

Xu Chen thought and said, “Sun Aimi, you’re still hiring a headhunter—get another designer in quick!”

“With just you and Tang Xiaowei, even with an intern, it’s not enough.”

Sun Aimi nodded, “Got it, boss; I’m reviewing resumes and portfolios, and Tang Mo sent over a bunch of candidates…”

“Haven’t found the perfect fit yet.”

“Tang Mo” was their HR director, handling recruitment and team building.

Xu Chen said, “Fine.”

“You’ve got two designer spots; I figure one should focus on Ran Bing Sports, so sports design experience would be ideal…”

“The other to assist you on male-oriented clients, like cars or liquor—preferably a guy with relevant background.”

Sun Aimi adjusted her round glasses, “Understood, boss!”

Once the East Morning Star Advertising meeting wrapped, Nie Fei brought in Jiang Yuze and Sun Lingfeng.

“Just need ten minutes to update you on Ran Bing’s stuff.”

Nie Fei said with a smile, and handed Xu Chen a can of his favorite soda water.

“Thanks, Fei Jie!” Xu Chen said, taking it with a grin.

Jiang Yuze pulled up his computer to sync the April and May plans for Ran Bing’s promotions and store ops.

Naturally, they’d leverage the International Athletics Grand Prix buzz to boost Ran Bing’s traffic and sales.

Nie Fei added with a smile, “After this push, Ran Bing 001’s total sales will hit over 100,000 pairs!”

“Crossing that threshold means Ran Bing Sports is solidly established.”