Financial freedom starts from graduation

Chapter 238: Making Up the Numbers

Caiyun University, one of China's 211 universities, is a key university ranked around 70 in domestic soft power and is also the leader among universities in Yunnan Province.

The school has two campuses. One is the old campus located next to Cuihu Lake in the main city, also known as the "headquarters". The other is the new campus built later, located in the new district south of Mingcheng, not far from Caiyi where Su Yajing and others are.

Due to the area, most of the schools and departments of Caida University are located in the new campus. Enrolled students will spend their freshman to junior years in the new campus. Only senior students who are about to graduate will return to the main campus, which is the old campus next to Cuihu Lake.

But today, things are a little different.

Back to 9:30 in the morning, several buses departing from the new campus drove into the old campus. More than a hundred students from freshman to junior year, from various departments, got off the buses in a daze, led by the Youth League Committee teachers and Student Union cadres.

"Ah, this exchange and publicity activity for outstanding graduates is actually being held at the headquarters? I thought they were going to take us to a hall..."

"I didn't pay attention to the location on the notice, but who cares? As long as I sign up, I can skip a day of military training. Only a fool would not come!"

The interesting thing about the group of college students is that the difference between new and old students is always so obvious.

At this moment, the two freshmen, with a rustic and immature look in their eyes, were whispering to each other.

There were many people who were discussing the same thing as them, including some sophomores and juniors. No one had expected that today's event would be held in the old campus.

Even some student union cadres who had similar collaborative experiences were grumbling.

what the hell!

Generally, in order to facilitate the attendance of leaders, similar activities are held in the new campus. After all, almost all school leaders work in the new campus...

Another very strange point is that the school had already held a homecoming event for graduates at the end of summer vacation some time ago. It has not been long since then, but the school has held another one, and the scale seems to be much more formal than the last time.

So why not put them together?
There's always a weird feeling...

At this time, the female teacher in charge stood high on the stairs and clapped her hands, attracting everyone's attention.

Many students, especially boys, secretly looked at the Youth League Committee teacher with hidden eyes. If the freshmen came to escape the military training, then most of the old students signed up for this activity just for Teacher Ni who joined the company only last year.

Teacher Ni, dressed simply in a white shirt, black trousers, high heels, and medium-length hair simply tied up, looks even more dazzling because of her pretty face and cool temperament.

In several "unofficial school beauty contests" initiated by gossipers on campus on forums, Ni Hong is the only "school beauty" selected as an employee in history and is known as "Little Nini".

After all the students looked over, Ni Hong, with a slightly cold expression, picked up the loudspeaker in her hand and said:

"Students, if you have paid attention to the schedule, you should already know that today's exchange activities are roughly divided into two parts. In the morning, there will be an exchange meeting for outstanding graduates in recent years. It will be in the form of an outdoor tea party in the big garden. It will start at 10 o'clock. I hope that all students will actively participate. The atmosphere should be quite good..."

"Of course, some freshmen who have never been here may want to take this opportunity to visit the old campus. In principle, this is also possible. There is no mandatory requirement for the exchange meeting. It is entirely voluntary. What I want to emphasize here is the afternoon activities."

"At 2:10 pm, in the large lecture hall, there will be a personal presentation for some outstanding graduates. This part of the event is the most important part of today, and no one is allowed to be absent!"

"There will be a sign-in table at the door. Students who are absent will bear the consequences themselves. I will only remind you this once. Do you all understand?"

After Ni Hong finished speaking, the classmates responded one after another. Of course, the louder voices were from boys.

"Another point is that at the briefing session, I hope that students will actively speak up during the question-and-answer session. Those who perform well will be rewarded with practical credits..."

Ni Hong's words instantly aroused the interest of many old students.

I actually got credits!
Today's event is of a very high standard...

……

At ten o'clock in the morning, the alumni exchange activity held in the big garden of the old campus of Yucai University officially began. Wang Qiaobin, who was dressed elegantly, signed in at the door and walked in leisurely.

In fact, Brother B is still a little puzzled.

He never imagined that one day he would receive an invitation to the "Outstanding Alumni Return to School Exchange Event".

And the timeline was very rushed. About the day before yesterday, he received a call from the student cadre of the Youth League Committee of Caida. The junior sister there told him the time of the event, and then solemnly invited him to participate, and also sent him an electronic invitation letter.

Although Wang Qiaobin's family had some property, he thought that he himself had not made any outstanding achievements...

Whether in terms of academic or personal achievements, according to Wang Qiaobin's past experience, he should not be qualified to participate in such an activity.

But no matter how puzzling it is, it is definitely a good thing anyway.

At that time, Wang Qiaobin couldn't wait to share the good news with his father, but he was almost beaten up.

Because his father thought he was looking for an excuse to cheat money again...

Fortunately, after Wang Qiaobin called his former counselor in person to confirm, his father put aside his doubts.

Wang Qiaobin's father was even more excited than him. He gave him 200,000 yuan on the spot and told him to donate it to the school in a high-profile manner.

So Wang Qiaobin dressed up deliberately today. He had secretly searched and found that donations made by alumni of Caida University in the past, even if they donated 100,000 yuan, would be reported on a special page on the official website. After today, his brother B's photo would also be posted there, so he had to dress more handsomely!
"Wang Qiaobin?"

Looking around, the inexperienced Wang Qiaobin was trying to figure out how to fit into the tea party when suddenly a surprised voice came from the side.

"Lu Chen?"

Wang Qiaobin turned around and saw the person calling him, and his brows frowned slightly.

Although they will eventually be lost in time, in every college class there are always a few influential figures whose fame can even be heard during freshman year and they exist in the memories of many people.

Lu Chen, who was greeting Wang Qiaobin at this moment, was such a person.

The other party not only has excellent academic performance and has won many scholarships at school, but the key is that he is not a traditional nerd. He is a national second-level athlete and one of the main players of the school basketball team. When Brother B was in college, the School of Economics led by Lu Chen and the School of Law headed by Brother B were old enemies on the court.

At the same time, Lu Chen also served as vice president of the Student Union and many other positions.

In addition, he is handsome and has a good family background. It can be said that he is one of the best boys in Wang Qiaobin's class.

But Wang Qiaobin hated him.

There are many reasons why he is disliked, such as hypocrisy, pretense, and playing tricks on others... But what impressed Wang Qiaobin the most was the time when Zhou Wang had a fight with a student from the School of Economics and Management.

No one knows why the fight broke out except the parties involved, but in the end, Zhou Wang was punished, while the student from the School of Economics and Management only wrote a self-criticism.

Wang Qiaobin knew Zhou Wang. He was not the kind of person who would fight with others for no reason. No matter how it happened, this result was unfair to Zhou Wang. Lu Chen would often brag about this incident afterwards, saying that he was the one who protected the student from the Department of Economics and Management, and that he had been unhappy with Zhou Wang for a long time because they had had several conflicts while playing basketball.

Although Lu Chen was pretending, Wang Qiaobin, who was well versed in some rules, knew that what the other party said might actually be true.

Apart from murder and arson, there are not so many behaviors serious enough for students to be punished. Many times, the teachers in the Academic Affairs Office who are responsible for handling the cases will just do whatever they want.

With Lu Chen's connections in the student union, it is entirely possible for him to say a few good words.

No matter what the process behind it was, after that incident, Zhou Wang, the junior whom Wang Qiaobin had admired very much, became completely depressed and later rarely came to the court.

Although Wang Qiaobin was unable to help Zhou Wang at that time, it did not prevent him from being unhappy with Lu Chen. Wang Qiaobin, who always adhered to the principle of "making friends widely", had a worsening relationship with the other party. Unexpectedly, he met the other party again here.

"Oh, Wang Qiaobin, you also received an invitation?"

Lu Chen seemed extremely surprised that Wang Qiaobin appeared at the exchange event, and he did not hide it.

What does "actually" mean?
Wang Qiaobin's expression was even uglier. It had been a year since he graduated, why was he still so annoying...

"Heh, Lu Chen, if even you can come, it's not surprising that I can come."

Wang Qiaobin retorted, and although his words were a bit pale, he would not lose in momentum.

Lu Chen, however, was smiling, and didn't seem to be angry at what Wang Qiaobin said. Instead, he walked over and hugged Wang Qiaobin's shoulders affectionately.

"This is your first time attending this kind of event, right? I've been here once before. Come on, why are you standing here like an idiot? Let's go in together..."

Without saying anything, Lu Chen took Wang Qiaobin inside. Wang Qiaobin couldn't break free, so he went into the garden with him.

This kind of tea party is a more casual form, with several long tables set up in the open space in the garden, with tea and snacks on them, student union cadres standing by to serve, and a small podium set up in the front.

The general process is that the graduating seniors take turns to come on stage to introduce themselves, and then if the younger students are interested, they can talk to them about their study and work experiences.

When Wang Qiaobin was pulled in by Lu Chen, there were already more than a dozen "outstanding graduates" who had arrived earlier in the garden, and about fifty or sixty college students surrounding them.

At this time, a girl who had just come on stage was holding the microphone and speaking passionately:
"Hello, fellow students. My name is Zhang Xiu'e. I am a graduate of the 22nd class of the College of Arts at Caida University. I am currently studying for a master's degree in literature at Beidu University. When I was at Caida University, I won two national scholarships, one provincial three-good student award, and also won many national awards such as the 'Youth Literature Award'... Welcome fellow students to talk to me."

In fact, when the girl named Zhang Xiu'e introduced herself, Brother B didn't notice anything wrong until the girl finished speaking. Lu Chen glanced at him meaningfully and then walked onto the stage.

A small episode was that when Lu Chen went on stage, some girls in the audience screamed, and more than one person shouted "Senior Lu", showing that even after one year of graduation, there are still many younger students who remember Lu Chen.

As soon as Lu Chen opened his mouth, Brother B finally realized what was wrong.

"Hello, fellow students. My name is Lu Chen. I graduated from the School of Economics at Caida University last year. During my time at school, I received a national scholarship and several provincial scholarships. In addition, I also represented the school in many academic competitions and sports events, such as..."

Only then did Wang Qiaobin realize that his situation was a bit awkward. According to the procedure, he seemed to have to go up and introduce himself.

But when I look at other people, when they talk about their past experiences, they either mention various scholarships or various honors. Even if we only talk about the present, they are either masters from prestigious universities or business elites. My resume is a bit embarrassing...

What are you saying? I am also a "three-good student" who likes to wash feet, give massages, and enjoy SPA?
Not to mention the honorary certificate, even the graduation certificate was obtained after Wang Qiaobin took several make-up exams.

Thinking of this, Wang Qiaobin took a few steps back without leaving a trace, intending to manually skip this step.

But it was obvious that Lu Chen had planned this long ago, so how could he let him go? When Wang Qiaobin wanted to slip away, Lu Chen, who had already introduced himself, pointed at him and said with a smile:
"My fellow juniors, I have finished my speech. The next senior to take the stage is Wang Qiaobin, who is also someone I admire very much. Please give him a round of applause!"

When the college students present looked over curiously, they also clapped in cooperation.

Wang Qiaobin was extremely embarrassed and had no choice but to go on stage and introduce himself dryly:

"Well, hello everyone, my name is Wang Qiaobin, and I am a graduate of the 23rd class of the Law School... I wish you all a bright future, thank you!"

Although Wang Qiaobin's self-introduction was too brief compared to others, the students present were at most puzzled and didn't think much of it. But at this moment, Lu Chen came over, grabbed the microphone and said with a smile:
"Your senior Wang's family runs a chain of bathhouses. He was the famous 'foot-washing man' in our class. When you go to his shop to have your feet washed, you can say his name and you can get a discount!"

Some of the younger classmates burst into laughter in surprise, and the younger classmates also covered their mouths. Only Wang Qiaobin couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

But Lu Chen was very smart. The tone of his words sounded like a joke to lighten the atmosphere. Wang Qiaobin couldn't get angry either, so he could only laugh dryly and leave the stage.

As the graduates finished their self-introductions, the Camellia Party entered the free exchange session. As for Wang Qiaobin... naturally no one took the initiative to look for him.

Coupled with Lu Chen's "explanation", the younger students present had subconsciously regarded Wang Qiaobin as a person who was just there to make up the numbers. Although they had a deep impression of him, it was naturally impossible for them to discuss anything with him.

Wang Qiaobin stood alone in the corner, looking at Lu Chen, who was surrounded by the most junior students and was giving instructions with a high-spirited look on his face. He couldn't help gritting his teeth.

He suddenly felt a little regretful about participating in today's exchange event.

He didn't feel it when he was in school, but today he realized that in this kind of occasion, people like him are just Lu Chen's foil.

At least for these simple college students, it doesn’t matter whether he has money or not. Even for the school, he is not a person worthy of attention.

Wang Qiaobin, feeling a little bored, pinched the check for 200,000 yuan in his pocket and really wanted to leave.

At this moment, a clear voice came from the side: "Hello, Wang Qiaobin, excuse me..."

Wang Qiaobin turned around and saw that the person who greeted him was not a student, but the female teacher who was responsible for maintaining order at the scene.

"I'm Ni Hong, a teacher from the school's Youth League Committee."

Ni Hong took the initiative to extend her hand towards Wang Qiaobin.

Staring at the other person's pretty face, Wang Qiaobin forced a smile and shook hands with the other person, "Hello, Teacher Ni."

"Um... Mr. Wang, I want to confirm with you. I heard that you have a good relationship with Zhou Wang, who graduated from the Law School this year. Is that true?"

Ni Hong hesitated for a moment, then moved closer and asked in a low voice.

"Zhou Wang?"

Wang Qiaobin was startled, then nodded, "Yes, it's not bad. We are still in contact now. Teacher Ni, why did you ask him..."

"It's like this. Actually, we have also invited Zhou Wang to today's presentation, but he won't be here until the afternoon..."

Seeing Wang Qiaobin nod, Ni Hong's face was obviously much more relaxed. She smiled and explained, "I have something here, and I would like to ask you for help, Mr. Wang."

(End of this chapter)