"Thank you, Han Sheng."
Mu Wenling realized that Chen Hansheng was congratulating her on becoming the president of the Humanities Department's Student Union.
Receiving such good news at the end of the semester made Mu Wenling feel a bit emotional.
Chen Hansheng smiled and said, "I didn't do anything; it was the decision of the school's Youth League Committee. Go find Professor Guan quickly."
Mu Wenling might not have been the most capable, but she was undoubtedly the most suitable, both for the overall benefit of the Humanities Department's Student Union and for Chen Hansheng himself.
The class gathering on Saturday arrived as planned, marking the final event of the year for Public Administration Class 2.
Over the past few days, the restaurants and food stalls around the Yiwu Commodity Center were bustling, catering to the entire Jiangling University Town. However, in contrast to the noisy, crowded food stalls, the hotel Chen Hansheng booked was peaceful and had a touch of class.
As soon as Guo Zhongyun arrived at the hotel entrance, he said to his wife, "This is definitely Chen Hansheng's arrangement. No other student would choose a place like this."
When they pushed open the door, all the students of Public Administration Class 2 were present, not one missing.
Chen Hansheng nudged Hu Linyu. "Where's the gift you bought for Guo Jiahui? Now's the time to take it out."
Hu Linyu lifted a small cardboard box nearby, indicating everything was inside.
Chen Hansheng glanced at it and saw that it was filled with educational materials for kindergarten: math, Chinese, English, general knowledge — everything was covered.
"Hu Linyu, you're so ruthless."
Chen Hansheng couldn't help but click his tongue. "Are you deliberately trying to keep the kid from having a fun winter holiday? Just two interesting encyclopedias would have sufficed. I'll go greet Mrs. Guo."
Hu Linyu's face turned red; she had forgotten to ask what specific materials to buy and, since they weren't expensive, bought a few extra books.
Chen Hansheng went over to greet Mr. and Mrs. Guo. Guo Jiahui was still as adorably chubby as ever and held out her arms, wanting Chen Hansheng to pick her up.
"Yay~"
Once in his arms, Guo Jiahui's eyes, as bright as black grapes, darted around before she asked, "Where's the sister?"
"Which sister are you looking for? I can call her over."
A female classmate, noticing how cute Guo Jiahui was, held her little chubby hand and asked.
"The sister who took me to McDonald's."
Guo Jiahui said in her sweet, childish voice.
"Damn!"
Chen Hansheng nearly dropped the chubby little girl in shock because she was referring to Xiao Rongyu.
Just as he was about to change the subject, Mr. Guo interjected, "There's no other sister here because all the sisters here are beautiful."
Mr. Guo was aware of Xiao Rongyu and gave Chen Hansheng a meaningful look.
Chen Hansheng took a moment to steady himself and sipped some water at his seat while Hu Linyu was still searching for the fun encyclopedias.
"Stop looking."
Chen Hansheng suddenly spoke up.
Hu Linyu looked up, confused.
Chen Hansheng picked up the whole box. "I thought about it again, and a fun winter holiday is indulgence for a kid. We can't be that irresponsible."
…
The gathering was lively and cheerful. Classmates toasted with teachers, dormmates toasted each other, boys toasted girls, and as class president, Chen Hansheng drank quite a bit, feeling the waves of alcohol buzz wash over him.
Mr. Guo was even worse off; he threw up once and then collapsed on the sofa, pretending to be dead.
Suddenly, while Chen Hansheng was sipping tea to sober up, he caught a whiff of strong perfume. Looking up, he saw Shang Yanyan's flushed face.
"President, I toast you."
Shang Yanyan had also had a few drinks tonight, but her tolerance was enough to keep her from getting drunk.
As they clinked glasses, Shang Yanyan's slender fingers played with her glass as she laughed coquettishly, "I told my mom about your terms, and she's quite satisfied."
Chen Hansheng pretended not to understand. "What does it matter if your mom is satisfied? I'm not your dad."
Someone else might have been annoyed by that, but Shang Yanyan only smiled. Her crimson tongue licked her lips, and she whispered, "If I called you daddy, would you dare respond?"
Both of them understood the implication, and Shang Yanyan was so close that Chen Hansheng could feel her warm breath on his face.
Chen Hansheng instinctively glanced at where Shen Youchu was seated.
The little girl was in a corner, holding a cup of juice and blankly staring at him. When their eyes met, she quickly lowered her head in a fluster.
"This is a public place. Act properly!"
Chen Hansheng suddenly put on a serious expression and adjusted his pants inconspicuously until nothing seemed out of place before heading to another table to toast.
Finally, the class gathering ended joyfully with Mr. Guo's spirited toast: "Proud and elated, the horse's hooves fly, seeing all of Chang'an's flowers in a day."
With exams only three or four days away, other classmates were now fully focused on reviewing, even Jin Yangming secretly studying in the bathroom since Yang Shichao had claimed the balcony.
Chen Hansheng, on the other hand, didn't care and kept drinking for two more days.
One day was for a party with the student workers from the entrepreneurial base; as the "boss," Chen Hansheng had to host the year-end dinner. The other was for the external affairs department's gathering, which Mu Wenling personally attended. When she toasted Chen Hansheng, they exchanged a knowing look.
Given this state, the exam results were predictable. After the three-day exam period, Guo Shaoqiang asked Chen Hansheng, "Old Four, how did you do?"
Chen Hansheng replied honestly, "I recognized every word on the paper, but I couldn't understand what they meant together."
"Does that mean you're going to fail?"
"I'm definitely failing."
Chen Hansheng confirmed.
Yang Shichao patted his chest. "With you as our class president at the bottom, I feel at ease. Thanks for letting me have a good New Year!"
After Guo Shaoqiang left, Chen Hansheng muttered to himself, "Class president is nothing. I'm still the designated university 'Triple A' student. Failing doesn't change that."
With the exams over, school officially went on winter break. Universities in Jianye generally had the same holiday schedule, so Wang Zhibo rushed to Jiangling as soon as he finished his exams.
When Chen Hansheng went to meet him at the gate, he saw Shang Yanyan dragging her luggage out. Her mother had come to pick her up.
"President, could you lend a hand?"
Shang Yanyan called from afar.
Chen Hansheng brought Wang Zhibo over to help. Shang Yanyan expressed her thanks and said, "Mom, this is the Chen Hansheng I told you about."
Shang Yanyan's mom had the air of a wealthy lady, driving a BMW with hands adorned in jewelry. She nodded slightly at Chen Hansheng.
Chen Hansheng was not particularly friendly and left after moving the luggage.
Wang Zhibo, who had been following behind, muttered for a while before finally saying, "Xiao Chen, was that the girl you wanted me to meet? She's way below Xiao Yuer's level."
Chen Hansheng glanced back at Wang Zhibo, shook his head, and said nothing.
Thinking Chen Hansheng was embarrassed, Wang Zhibo grew bolder.
"Have you gotten tired of gourmet meals and now want a change?"
"Maybe she has some money, but Xiao Yuer isn't lacking either."
…
He babbled on as they reached the entrepreneurial base, where Shen Youchu was focused on balancing the accounts.
Wang Zhibo didn't notice her at first and sat down on a stool, pouring himself a glass of water. "I, Old Wang, formally disapprove of this!"
Chen Hansheng ignored his increasingly dramatic friend and introduced Shen Youchu, "This is my classmate Wang Zhibo."
Shen Youchu stood up and quietly greeted him.
"A childhood friend of mine," Chen Hansheng added.
Only then did Shen Youchu look up.
"Pffft!"
Wang Zhibo, who had been drinking water, sprayed two streams out of his nose when he finally noticed Shen Youchu's appearance and started coughing violently.
…