Wang Zibo and Gao Jiayang were easy to invite out—one spent his time in the midst of monks at a polytechnic university, while the other constantly thought about his goddess in Jiangling. So, when Chen Hansheng texted them, Wang Zibo even replied with delighted surprise: "There's a very famous roast duck restaurant near my university. I'll bring some for you and Little Fish to try."
Chen Hansheng knew about this century-old roast duck restaurant, and he verbally praised Wang Zibo's devoted gesture. He then called up some other high school classmates, and two girls attending university in Jiangling were also coming over to hang out.
With so many people as cover, Chen Hansheng was confident that, combined with his quick-witted adaptability, he wouldn't get caught. Relaxed by this thought, he glanced at Shen Youchu.
Her demeanor in class was different from her classmates; while others were on QQ or playing games, Shen Youchu was focused on the teacher. In any other class, this could be seen as diligence, but in a computer science course, her behavior indicated that she lacked hands-on experience.
After a brief thought, Chen Hansheng understood—Shen Youchu had probably rarely touched a keyboard before. Just being able to turn the computer on and off correctly was impressive.
He quietly circled to the desk beside Shen Youchu's and whispered, "Did you put that pot of pothos there?"
Surprised that Chen Hansheng dared to move around during class and in front of the teacher and classmates, Shen Youchu didn't dare speak. She just nodded.
In fact, even if the teacher noticed, he wouldn't care. Switching computers during computer science class was common due to occasional hardware or software issues.
Even Jin Yangming would move to sit beside Hu Linyu without raising suspicion.
"The pothos looks nice and healthy," Chen Hansheng complimented before asking, "Do you have a QQ account?"
Shen Youchu shook her head.
"Then I'll make one for you."
Chen Hansheng opened the registration page and, within minutes, created an account for Shen Youchu. He wrote down the account and password on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "Here's the account and password. Have you thought of a username?"
Shen Youchu stared at the password, a little dazed.
"What are you looking at? The password is my birthday," Chen Hansheng said confidently. "I was worried you wouldn't remember a complicated one, so I used my birthday. Any problem with that?"
Shen Youchu glanced at Chen Hansheng and shook her head silently.
"Also, don't change the password casually. The QQ account and password are linked, so if you change the password, the account could become invalid," Chen Hansheng explained earnestly, and Shen Youchu listened just as seriously, her small face tense at the thought of possible account issues.
"Do you remember my birthday now?" Chen Hansheng asked.
Shen Youchu nodded softly.
Satisfied, Chen Hansheng continued, "Now, let's think of a username. What's your favorite animal?"
Shen Youchu wrote on the paper: "Cat."
"Is there anything you've been wanting to do lately?"
"Miss home."
"What's at home?"
"Grandma, a cat, and the small alley."
Chen Hansheng thought for a moment and wrote on the paper: "Cat Alley Girl, Shen Youchu. How's that for a username?"
Shen Youchu nodded, as compliant as a little orange cat, letting Chen Hansheng decide for her.
"Alright, I'll add you as a friend now. You can message me on QQ from now on."
Just like that, Chen Hansheng became Shen Youchu's first QQ friend.
Chen Handsome: 🌹❤️
Shen Youchu blushed at seeing the emojis. Not familiar with typing, she used only her index finger, clumsily pressing one letter at a time. After a minute of trying, she reconsidered and deleted her attempt.
"Ding, ding, ding."
Chen Hansheng checked the QQ notification and couldn't help but smile; after all her effort, Shen Youchu had only sent one emoji.
Cat Alley Girl Shen Youchu: 😊
Chen Handsome: 😊
…
After computer class, Chen Hansheng headed straight to the Yiwu Commodity Center to print banners, then made his way to the university's activity center.
With the freshmen welcome event approaching, the place was buzzing with activity.
The External Relations Department was only responsible for sponsorships; the actual event preparations fell to the Publicity Department. Performers were rehearsing, and Chen Hansheng spotted students from the Public Administration Class 2 practicing poetry recitals and dance routines.
Members of the department were scattered around: some adjusting lighting, some setting up balloons, and others rehearsing lines in the lively atmosphere. The auditorium was so crowded that it felt stifling, making it hard to believe it was late autumn in Jianye.
Qi Wei, along with the External Relations members, was watching the rehearsal. Chen Hansheng walked over and asked, "Where should the banners be hung?"
"One under the university activity center, one at each of the first and second dining halls, and another at the stadium," Qi Wei replied, already having arranged the locations.
Chen Hansheng nodded and was about to take He Bing and Wang Yansong to hang the banners when the student council vice president, Zuo Xiaoli, approached.
"Open the banner and let me take a look," Zuo Xiaoli said with a frown.
Chen Hansheng ignored him, forcing Zuo Xiaoli to turn to Hu Xiuping and Mu Wenling. "Chen Hansheng's banners have some issues. Hanging them could tarnish our department's reputation."
Hu Xiuping and Mu Wenling exchanged a glance. Chen Hansheng thought the guy was being annoying, so he spread out the banners. "Which word tarnishes our department's reputation?"
The banners read, "Building F, Room 101, warmly congratulates the Department of Humanities on the successful opening of the Freshman Welcome Event."
After reading, Mu Wenling said, "There's nothing wrong with the content."
Zuo Xiaoli shook his head. "All four banners have the same content."
Only then did Mu Wenling notice that all four banners read, "Building F, Room 101, warmly congratulates the Department of Humanities on the successful opening of the Freshman Welcome Event."
"I found a sponsor, and the 1,000 yuan sponsorship came from one company. Isn't that okay?" Chen Hansheng countered.
Though rare, it wasn't out of the question. If a sponsor contributed more, having multiple banners wasn't unreasonable.
Zuo Xiaoli pointed to the words "Building F, Room 101." "This part is also problematic. Other banners feature the sponsor's company name, but this is an address."
"Hanging these will make it seem like we lack uniformity and don't take the event seriously," Zuo Xiaoli added.
Mu Wenling thought he was nitpicking. The event was imminent, and Zuo Xiaoli was stirring up internal conflict.
"Xiaoli, we should focus on the program itself and not be overly picky about trivial details," Mu Wenling gently reminded him.
Zuo Xiaoli smirked. Mu Wenling was obviously siding with the External Relations Department because of Qi Wei. He turned to Hu Xiuping. "Do you know who's behind Room 101 in Building F?"
"Stop being mysterious. Room 101's in charge—it's me. I'm running a side business," Chen Hansheng admitted straightforwardly before leaving to hang the banners, ignoring Zuo Xiaoli's reaction.
Others in the student council were surprised—a freshman running a business?
Mu Wenling ignored Zuo Xiaoli and returned to rehearsing the program.
Zuo Xiaoli stared at Chen Hansheng's back and told Hu Xiuping, "He's using student council resources for personal promotion."
Hu Xiuping said nothing.
"He's not fit for the student council, at least not as a deputy minister."
Hu Xiuping shook his head. "The deputy minister position has already been reported to the Youth League Committee."
Zuo Xiaoli smirked. "Recently, the Youth League Committee teacher in charge of overseeing the student council, Ms. Guan Shuman, returned from her training."
"She's not up to speed. We can submit another request explaining the issue, stating that this student isn't prepared for the deputy minister role."
Zuo Xiaoli looked at Hu Xiuping. "Besides, he doesn't respect you much."
Hu Xiuping remained silent for a while. "True."
…