We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

Instead of standing up straight, Li Xue bent down even lower.

The white, smooth fabric at her collar almost touched the edge of the desk.

She parted her red lips slightly, her voice kept very low, only within the range that the two of them could hear.

"Alright, stop using your major courses as an excuse." Li Xue's voice carried a hint of coquettishness.

"I know you hate trouble. Just sign this form and register it with me. You won't need to come to regular meetings, and you won't be asked to do errands or odd jobs. As long as you're in our external relations department, I'll protect you. Who would dare assign you any work?"

Domineering, straightforward, and blatantly biased.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

What is this?

Was she being forcibly protected by her senior?

The balance of this ambiguous tension is just right.

If it were a typical freshman male, he would have been completely smitten.

Faced with this straightforward gesture of goodwill, Ye Chen couldn't help but find this woman somewhat interesting.

Although Sun Haoyu and the others next to him didn't hear what Li Xue said, their eyes were almost bloodshot as they watched the school beauty almost lean into Ye Chen's arms.

Standing on the podium, Zhang Kai couldn't hold back any longer this time.

He pursued Li Xue relentlessly for over a year, carefully considering every word he sent in a text message, but Li Xue's replies never exceeded five words.

What now?

In front of so many people, Li Xue practically begged a freshman to join the External Relations Department!

The string in Zhang Kai's mind snapped.

He strode down from the podium, his leather shoes making a dull thud on the wooden floor.

"Li Xue!" Zhang Kai rushed to the last row, his voice suddenly rising, "Aren't you being incredibly rude? The student council recruitment process has always had a strict evaluation procedure. You gave out exemptions without permission, and now you're being pulled and shoved after being rejected? It's utterly ridiculous!"

Zhang Kai put on airs of a vice chairman and tried to use his rank to intimidate others.

"If every department acts like you, abusing its privileges, how will the student union function? This matter must be reported to the executive committee. As the vice-chairman, I have the authority to invalidate this exemption quota!"

Zhang Kai became more and more confident as he spoke, then turned to look at Ye Chen with a warning in his tone.

"Junior, don't think you can take shortcuts at Jiaotong University just because you're a little clever. I advise you to face reality, be down-to-earth, and don't get any crooked ideas."

Ye Chen leaned back in his chair, fiddling with a pen in his hand, looking at Zhang Kai as if he were an idiot.

He didn't even bother to refute her; he simply turned his head to look at Li Xue beside him.

Li Xue straightened up. The smile on her face vanished instantly.

She turned to look at Zhang Kai, her tone flat and without any inflection.

"Zhang Kai, aren't you being a bit too nosy?"

Zhang Kai was taken aback: "I'm the vice president of the student union, how can you say I'm meddling?"

"I built the external relations department up from the ground up. From securing sponsorships to lobbying companies, it was all done by my people." Li Xue stared directly at Zhang Kai. "When we needed money for the gala, your superiors were constantly pressuring me. Now that I'm hiring someone, you're jumping out to lecture me about rules?"

Li Xue picked up the pink registration form and waved it in mid-air.

"If I say this form is valid, then it is valid. If you feel that the External Relations Department is not in accordance with your rules, then Vice Chairman Zhang, you can go and get the sponsorship for next month's welcome party yourself. The External Relations Department will not interfere."

The classroom fell into an eerie silence after he said that.

Everyone knows that the student union relies on sponsorships that the external relations department begs and pleads for. If Zhang Kai dares to take on this job, he will be exposed in less than half a month.

Zhang Kai's face turned bluish-purple, a breath stuck in his chest, unable to come up or down.

He never expected that Li Xue would publicly turn against him in order to protect a freshman she had only met a few times, even using the upcoming freshman welcome party as a bargaining chip.

"You...you're unreasonable!" Zhang Kai stammered for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out this sentence, then turned around to try and save face.

"etc."

Ye Chen, who had been silent, suddenly slammed the pen in his hand on the table.

He snatched the pink registration form from Li Xue's hand and signed his name directly at the bottom. His handwriting was flamboyant and arrogant.

"I didn't want to take advantage of this." Ye Chen pushed the signed form in front of Li Xue, his tone casual. "But since you're being so protective of me, it would be really unreasonable for me not to appreciate it."

After signing, he didn't even glance at Zhang Kai, but smiled at Li Xue.

"I'll have to rely on the Minister for guidance from now on."

Li Xue put away the registration form and patted Ye Chen on the shoulder with satisfaction.

"Don't worry, I said I'd protect you, and I won't go back on my word."

She ignored Zhang Kai, who was frozen to the side, and calmly walked out of the classroom.

Zhang Kai stood there, caught in a dilemma, feeling like the gazes of the entire class were slapping him across the face.

Zhao Qiang, sitting in the first row, had already shrunk his neck and pretended to be dead, not daring to help him out of the predicament at all.

The evening self-study session ended abruptly in this extremely awkward atmosphere.

As soon as the bell rang, Zhang Kai and several student council members slunk away through the front door.

"Old Ye, you're practically my idol!" Sun Haoyu leaned over, gesturing excitedly. "Did you see Zhang Kai's face just now? It was practically glowing green!"

Ye Chen didn't reply and casually stuffed the books on the table into his backpack.

He stood up, slung his bag over one shoulder, and went downstairs with his roommates.

We walked to the outside of Teaching Building No. 1.

A night breeze blew by, carrying a hint of autumn chill.

There is a small square in front of the South Campus teaching building, which is usually full of bicycles.

It was peak time for students to leave school, and people were coming and going.

Sun Haoyu and Lu Wenbo went to the back street during their free time in the afternoon, and now they each returned with a brand new mountain bike. The frames were shiny, and the gears gleamed under the streetlights.

"Old Ye, how about it? Got it for 480! With this suspension and this paint, it'll definitely turn heads on campus!" Sun Haoyu patted the seat, looking smug.

Lu Wenbo rang his bicycle bell, the sound crisp and clear. "If you ask me, college life has to start with a flashy ride, otherwise how are you going to wander around the girls' dorms?"

Ye Chen, with his bag slung over one shoulder, looked at the two men's nouveau riche faces and gave them a thumbs up. "Great. Remember to buy two locks that even hydraulic shears can't cut, otherwise you'll wake up tomorrow with just a car wheel."

As the group was chatting and laughing, Chen Zhiqiang, who had fallen behind, slowly walked over.

He was pushing an old bicycle with peeling paint and exposed rust on the black frame.

The chain was obviously loose, and it made a screeching "squeak" sound when pushed even slightly. The rubber sleeves on the handlebars were also worn smooth.

Parked next to two brand-new mountain bikes, this beat-up bike looked completely out of place.

Chen Zhiqiang stopped in his tracks, his palms sweating.

He kept his head down, not daring to look at his roommate's reaction, and explained in a low voice, "I ran into a senior who was about to graduate at school this afternoon and he was having a clearance sale. I bargained and bought it for sixty yuan."

He swallowed hard and added hastily, "It looks a bit broken, but the brakes still work, so it's perfectly fine as a means of transportation..."

As he finished speaking, his voice grew softer and softer.

Sixty yuan isn't even enough to buy one of the tires for Sun Haoyu's car.

Looking at those two gleaming new cars, Chen Zhiqiang felt a pang of bitterness and unease.

If we push this piece of junk out, they'll definitely laugh at us to death.

Several freshmen passing by did indeed cast surprised glances, and some even covered their mouths and laughed.