The recruitment scene in the External Relations Department was chaotic, quickly attracting the attention of seniors from other departments. Zhou Xiao wasn't very popular, and most people were merely watching from a distance, not willing to step in and mediate.
It didn't take long to find out what had happened—many first-year students were also present, and Zhou Xiao had used this excuse to reject Chen Hanxing, dashing their hopes of entering the External Relations Department.
As a result, Chen Hanxing became known as the "victim of power," while Zhou Xiao was seen as a "bully" who oppressed the freshmen. However, this "bully" was in for a tough time, almost unable to lift his head after being scolded by Chen Hanxing.
Eventually, even the Vice President of the Humanities and Social Sciences Student Union, Zuo Xiaoli, arrived. After understanding the situation, he furrowed his brows and entered the classroom, speaking in a deep voice: "Enough! What was supposed to be a simple club recruitment has turned into this mess. That freshman, if you keep doing this, I'll call security."
Seeing Zuo Xiaoli, Zhou Xiao gained some confidence and quickly walked up to him, passionately recounting all of Chen Hanxing's supposed transgressions.
Chen Hanxing didn't recognize Zuo Xiaoli and asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm the Vice President of the Student Union, Zuo Xiaoli," the other man replied.
At this point, Chen Hanxing wasn't interested in who Zuo Xiaoli was—he considered him no different from Zhou Xiao. He nodded and replied, "Then go ahead."
"What do you mean, 'go ahead'?" Zuo Xiaoli was taken aback.
"You said you'd call security, right? Go ahead," Chen Hanxing replied indifferently.
Zuo Xiaoli was momentarily stunned. The security office was an official administrative body, and Zuo Xiaoli, as the vice president, didn't have enough power to command them. He was merely trying to intimidate and show off.
But Chen Hanxing wasn't scared and didn't give him any respect.
"Which class are you from, and who's your advisor?" Zuo Xiaoli, realizing this wasn't going as planned, decided to pull out the big guns. Typically, freshmen in such situations would immediately back down, but Chen Hanxing stood tall, replying confidently, "I'm the class leader of Public Administration Class 2, Chen Hanxing, and my advisor is Guo Zhongyun. Would you like his phone number?"
Zuo Xiaoli was left speechless. He couldn't believe this freshman wasn't intimidated at all and, to his surprise, was actually the class leader. He knew that Guo Zhongyun wouldn't care about such small student union matters, and would likely hang up if he called.
At that moment, Tan Min and a few girls from Chen Hanxing's class returned, having been drawn back by the crowd. Seeing the situation, they immediately voiced their support: "Are you guys just relying on numbers? Xiao Min, hurry up and call the boys' dorm, tell them our class leader is being bullied!"
Zuo Xiaoli, initially unfazed, now grew anxious as more and more boys gathered outside the classroom. It was clear that Chen Hanxing had a lot of respect among the male students.
Zhu Chenglong and Yang Shichao blocked the door, and even Li Zhennan showed up, signaling just how much authority Chen Hanxing held among the boys.
"Alright, how about this?" Zuo Xiaoli finally said, after much contemplation. "The department is soon going to prepare for the freshmen party. We need sponsorships for banners, costumes, and small gifts. Since Chen Hanxing believes he can do better than Zhou Xiao, how about we have a competition?"
"A competition to see who can bring in more sponsorships for the freshmen party."
The suggestion seemed fair, but in reality, Zhou Xiao had a clear advantage. Chen Hanxing was new to the university, and he didn't have connections with local businesses, whereas Zhou Xiao had been in the External Relations Department for over a year and had already established a network.
The crowd of onlookers understood this, and Zhu Chenglong loudly mocked, "Why don't you just give Zhou Xiao the money directly? This competition isn't fair!"
Zuo Xiaoli pretended not to hear, thinking that it was Chen Hanxing who had started boasting, saying things too boldly without considering his position.
Chen Hanxing waved his hand to quiet down Zhu Chenglong and then asked Zuo Xiaoli seriously, "If I win this competition, what happens?"
The question made everyone in the student union, from Zuo Xiaoli to Qi Wei, from Yao Qingguo to Zhou Xiao himself, as well as the other seniors, realize how audacious this freshman was. They were all taken aback by how little he seemed to care about Zhou Xiao.
Zhou Xiao felt insulted and blurted out, "If you win, I'll give up my position as vice minister and let you take it."
Though it was clearly just a rash remark, Chen Hanxing immediately responded, "With so many witnesses here, I hope you don't back out of what you've said."