Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The interview room of the external relations committee had turned chaotic and soon attracted the attention of the officers from other sections. Zhou Xiao, unfortunately, was not a very popular person so no one bothered to step up for him.

It was also easy to find out what was going on. There were many first-year male students present and Zhou Xiao’s reason to reject Chen Hansheng had destroyed their hopes of joining the committee.

To the onlookers, Chen Hansheng had become the victim of ‘power abuse’ and Zhou Xiao was the ‘bully’. But the bully was looking quite pathetic after being reprimanded by Chen Hansheng as the former now could not raise his head.

In the end, the vice president of the students’ union, Zuo Xiaoli, came over. After learning about what had happened from others, he walked into the classroom with a frown, “That’s enough. The interview has become chaotic enough. Hey, freshman, if you keep this up, I’m going to have to call security.”

The appearance of his superior emboldened Zhou Xiao. The latter quickly walked to Zuo Xiaoli and passionately complained about Chen Hansheng’s behavior.

Chen Hansheng did not recognize this person and asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m the vice president of the students’ union, Zuo Xiaoli.”

Chen Hansheng didn’t care whether it was Zuo Xiaoli or You Xiaoli. They were just the same as Zhou Xiao. Chen Hansheng nodded and said, “Then you can go.”

“What do you mean ‘go’?” Zuo Xiaoli was dumbfounded for a moment.

“Didn’t you say you want to get security over? Go get’em, then,” said Chen Hansheng indifferently.

Zuo Xiaoli choked for a moment. Calling for security was not something Zuo Xiaoli could simply do just because he was the vice president. He had only said that earlier to scare Hansheng and show off his authority.

Who knew Hansheng was not only not intimidated, but also able to stand up against the vice president?

“Which class are you from? Who’s your professor?”

Zuo Xiaoli had no choice. He had to spring into action. A new student would usually be terrified if he or she encountered this kind of situation.

However, Chen Hansheng remained confident as he said, “I am Chen Hansheng, the class president of Public Administration Class 2. Our professor is Guo Zhongyun. Do you want me to give you his cell phone number?”

“This…”

Zuo Xiaoli could not continue. What kind of freshman was this? Why didn’t he have any fear? And he’s a class president too.

Zuo Xiaoli could not even threaten to report to Guo Zhongyun since the professor was not one who would care about the students’ union’s trivial matters.

Tan Min and the other girls had been attracted back by the crowd. When they saw this situation, they acted in solidarity with their class president. “Xiaoming, quickly call the boys’ dormitory and say that our class president has been bullied.”

Zuo Xiaoli didn’t take it seriously at first because he was used to giving trivial orders. He thought that this was just a bluff. However, when more and more boys gathered outside the classroom, he started to panic.

Zhu Chenglong, Yang Shichao, and a few other boys blocked the door. Even Li Zhennan had come. It was obvious that Chen Hansheng was well-respected among the boys.

“How about this, Hansheng? You’ve passed the interview so return for now and await the announcement for the second round.”

Qi Wei tried to resolve the situation as she did not want the matter to blow up and she also did not want to cause a group incident.

Chen Hansheng glanced at Qi Wei. This girl was elegant, graceful, and spoke with eloquence.

Since she had settled the matter reasonably, Chen Hansheng did not intend to pester her. He would just treat this as additional memories of his university life.

Unfortunately, there were still some who were stupid enough to not let things go.

To Zhou Xiao, Chen Hansheng had decided to give up. Since his fragile self-esteem had taken a hit and Zuo Xiaoli was still around, he decided to have the last say.

“Freshmen nowadays don’t know the rules and have no respect for their upperclassmen. They proclaim to have high standards but only have low skills. Do they actually expect me to quit the external relations committee? If I quit, would you be the deputy officer?”

Chen Hansheng had already decided to let things go thanks to Qi Wei. But the egoistic Zhou Xiao just had to continue blabbering as if he hadn’t had enough. Chen Hansheng couldn’t take it anymore as he turned around. “I’ll become the deputy officer. What makes you think a freshman can’t take up the position?” asked Chen Hansheng ferociously.

The sight of their class president’s bravery gave Zhu Chenglong the courage to shout out in support. “Whoever is capable can be an officer. Otherwise, aren’t we just going to keep having bullies like this deputy officer and vice president?”

Things were starting to get out of hand and Zuo Xiaoli didn’t dare to get involved any further. The previous students’ union president had already graduated, and the three vice presidents were all competing for that position. Zuo Xiaoli was worried that the escalating situation would only put him at a disadvantage.

“Hansheng, the external relations committee is an important component of the students’ union, especially in attracting sponsors for school activities. Zhou Xiao is already very familiar with the businesses nearby. Can you guarantee that you’ll be able to fill in his shoes if you were to take over?”

Since Zuo Xiaoli was starting to be reasonable, Chen Hansheng returned the gesture too. “Then can Deputy Officer Zhou also guarantee he would be able to maintain his role?” asked Chen Hansheng in return.

“He can.” Zuo Xiaoli insisted on supporting Zhou Xiao.

“Then I can do it too,” said Chen Hansheng without hesitation.

“You…”

This was the first time Zuo Xiaoli had met such a freshman who was not responsive to the carrot-and-stick approach, especially now that the crowd around them had grown. If he did not help Zhou Xiao regain his dignity now, it would be very difficult for him to have any prestige in the students’ union in the future.

Zuo Xiaoli pondered for a moment and said, “How about this? The department will be preparing for the freshmen party very soon. The banners, gowns, and small gifts for the event need to be sponsored. Since Chen Hansheng feels that he can do better than Zhou Xiao, why don’t we have a competition?

“Let’s see who can get more sponsorship for the freshmen party.”

This proposal seemed like a fair solution to the conflict, but Zhou Xiao was in a more advantageous position as he had been with the committee for more than a year. Chen Hansheng, on the other hand, had just entered university and did not have much contact with the surrounding businesses.

The other students also knew this. Zhu Chenglong sarcastically said, “Why don’t you just f*cking give the prize to Zhou Xiao? How is this a fair competition?”

Zuo Xiaoli pretended not to hear it. He simply found Hansheng to have a short temper and was too full of himself.

Chen Hansheng waved his hand to stop Zhu Chenglong and the others from jeering. He turned to Zuo Xiaoli and seriously asked, “What if I win this competition?”

The students, especially those from the students’ union were dumbfounded by Hansheng’s question. This freshman truly did not see Zhou Xiao as his competition at all.

Zhou Xiao also felt that he had been greatly insulted and blurted out, “If you beat me, I’ll let you take over my position.”

This was obviously a response made in anger, but Chen Hansheng took it very straightforwardly. “With so many people present as witnesses, I hope you don’t go back on your word.”

…