Chapter 385: Chapter 308: I Don’t Understand?

“He’s a student in my class,” the counselor said.

He is– an unmentionable secret.

When Chen Jieyu uttered these words, only she knew the emotions and feelings in her heart.

No matter how close she and Cheng Zhu were, her situation, circumstances, and her own personality all meant that he was inevitably someone who couldn’t be publicly acknowledged.

Upon hearing it was a student, Jian Wanyu immediately lost interest in gossiping about family matters.

She had always liked this particular student, and she knew that marriage was a significant turning point in anyone’s life, regardless of gender.

But if it’s a freshman in her class…

Then it must be about discussing some school matters with Zhang.

Dean Zhang, the little balding man, broke into a smile when he heard Cheng Zhu’s name, chuckling, “I definitely remember him, he’s quite the celebrity in our School of Informatics this year!”

“Oh, now I remember!” Jian Wanyu lifted her head slightly and asked, “Is that the student you mentioned before?”

“Yes, that’s him.”

Chen Jieyu was stunned for a moment.

How come Dean Zhang had even mentioned Cheng Zhu to a teacher?

“Jieyu, let me tell you, he’s been playing a game for a while now. Such an old man, wearing reading glasses, and holding his phone up like this,” Jian Wanyu started mimicking the action.

It was that kind of action where elderly people, even with reading glasses, still hold their phones far away.

Chen Jieyu couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I told him to take a break and stop playing, but he told me it was made by students at the school and he needed to study it to be responsible for them.”

“At his age, playing a game made by young people, you think he understands it?” Jian Wanyu commented from the side.

Upon hearing this, Dean Zhang immediately felt a surge of energy.

This little tease from his wife really hit home.

I can’t understand?

I am the third-place winner of the campus game competition!

I can’t understand?

I nobly declined to accept the prize money, letting Cheng Zhu donate the 6,666 yuan prize to the school!

I can’t understand?

Dean Zhang, however, said nothing and just let out a smug, “Humph!”

“You’re still grunting about it?” Jian Wanyu wasn’t angry; instead, she laughed at her husband’s antics and turned to Chen Jieyu, saying, “Jieyu, tell me I’m not wrong.”

Chen Jieyu dared not meddle in their banter.

“Alright, alright, don’t make things difficult for others by asking them to take sides!” Dean Zhang quickly steered the conversation back on track, “Please continue, tell us about Cheng Zhu.”

Chen Jieyu didn’t beat around the bush, not being good with such things, and knowing well that such pretenses were meaningless before such a shrewd elder.

“Cheng Zhu wants to create his own platform, so he needs some technical talents. These tasks are not things that current students are fully capable of handling, so he wanted me to ask you,” she explained.

Admittedly, it was exceedingly blunt.

“A platform? What kind?” Dean Zhang was slightly taken aback.

Having been the dean of the School of Informatics at Technology University for years, it was the first time he had heard of a student wanting to start their own online platform whilst still studying.

“It’s a short video platform,” Chen Jieyu replied.

This left Dean Zhang even more puzzled.

He had thought Cheng Zhu would continue making games, perhaps becoming a notable figure in the gaming industry from his faculty.

The couple exchanged glances, each able to read the surprise in the other’s eyes.

They were quite astonished.

Because this was the first time Chen Jieyu was asking them for a favor.

With Dean Zhang’s status, lots of people asked him for favors each year.

If you search this man’s resume online, you’d understand how intimidating his clout is.

Honestly, it was a bit overwhelming for them.

Especially since some close people tend to exploit their proximity to pull strings for others.

There were intermediaries who even profited from this.

They didn’t think Chen Jieyu would do such a thing, but they found it rather odd.

This girl was very stubborn, always reluctant to ask for help even during her toughest times.

Why would she suddenly help a student?

“Check if he’s at school,”

“If he’s free, ask him to come over and talk,” Dean Zhang said after a moment’s thought.

…

…

Meanwhile, upon receiving the notification, Cheng Zhu immediately came over.

“Efficient as always, Jie-Yu dear!” he secretly changed the way he addressed her in his mind.

“If this really works out, I’ll need to reward her properly,” Cheng Zhu thought.

After getting out of the car, Cheng Zhu popped the trunk open and took out a box of tea leaves.

In his past life, Yiyi always helped him pick out gifts.

Like tea or other supplements, she would research them herself.

After a few days of research, she would start to get the hang of it.

Choosing gifts is quite an art, especially something like tea leaves–it’s a deep water.

You might spend a lot of money thinking you’re giving something valuable, but if the recipient happens to know even a little about tea, they might just think, “This fool spent a lot, but gave me a pile of trash.”

Tea leaves and supplements like cordyceps shared similarly deep waters.

“This seems to be the first time I’m giving a gift this carefully since Yiyi isn’t around,” Cheng Zhu thought to himself.

From a certain perspective, even if Yiyi wouldn’t become his main live-streaming merchandise host, she could be a decent secretary.

Of course, that’s mainly because he was a playboy; otherwise, to many men, a girl like her would be a rare find for a significant other.

“Speaking of which, a few days ago she took the initiative to chat with me about ‘Youu Tea,’ saying she wanted to set a weekend to come to Hang City specifically to buy milk tea.”

“Knowing her, this naive girl might really come,” he thought as he brought the tea leaves from the Land Rover’s trunk.

This was the first time Cheng Zhu was visiting Dean Zhang’s house, and he chose not to bring anything too pricey.

He felt that, given his identity as a student and his youthful advantage, he could afford to choose a path that wasn’t heavily laden with societal flavors.

Too much of a societal veneer might not sit well with this kind of elderly school official.

Especially for an older person like him.

Standing outside the house, Cheng Zhu knocked on the door.

Chen Jieyu answered.

Their eyes met, and the counselor felt an instant surge of nervousness, but Cheng Zhu, on his quest to seek favors, felt none.

For him, Dean Zhang was a great opportunity.

But if this route proved difficult, he naturally had ways to find other avenues.

Chen Jieyu’s eyes naturally drifted to check which pair of shoes he was wearing while Cheng Zhu changed his shoes.

Cheng Zhu was not wearing those white sneakers today.

After changing shoes, he promptly went to the living room to greet Dean Zhang and Jian Wanyu.

“Dean!”

“Uh, I know that you call a male teacher’s male teacher a grandmaster. But what should I call a female teacher’s female teacher to be appropriate?” Cheng Zhu scratched his head slightly.

He knew he looked ruggedly handsome, not the kind of face that wins favors from elders at first glance, so sometimes he chose to embarrass himself.

Looks and disposition can be quite important.

With his appearance, dealing with certain governmental personnel had been tough for him.

Some officials seem to think this guy just doesn’t look reliable.

Not to mention how bad… At least tax evasion for starters!

Suggest a strict investigation!

For this, Cheng Zhu sometimes really couldn’t help but feel speechless.

Jian Wanyu sized him up, but it was Dean Zhang, the old playful man, who cheerily spoke up, “Call her ‘Dean Grandmother’? Sounds not so good. Maybe just ‘Dean Grandma’ then!”

Cheng Zhu: “…”

Chen Jieyu: “…”

“Just kidding, just kidding. You can just call her Professor Jian, she likes it when people call her that,” Dean Zhang waved his hand, gesturing for Cheng Zhu to sit down.

“Sure, Professor Jian,” Cheng Zhu continued with his previously unfinished greeting.

Now, Dean Zhang and Professor Jian were sitting on a long sofa directly facing the TV, while Cheng Zhu and Chen Jieyu sat together on a side sofa.

“Little Cheng, wasn’t your game doing well? Why do you suddenly not want to continue with it?” Dean Zhang asked.

“It’s not that I don’t want to continue; it’s just that the game itself doesn’t have much potential for further development, leaving it to Wei Bo and his team is fine, I trust them,” Cheng Zhu honestly replied.

But he was also aware that he might come across as someone who doesn’t stick with things.

The claw machine shop was abandoned after a while, and now his heart wasn’t in the game project anymore.

Hey, speaking of which, he really was fickle!

“Dean, you’ve played the game yourself, you should know how limited it actually is,” Cheng Zhu said.

“Yeah, I did play it for a while, then found it kind of uninteresting,” began Dean Zhang, laying the groundwork as the third-place winner of the campus game competition.

Jian Wanyu had felt uncomfortable about this game matter for a while.

But with a student from the School of Informatics present, she only glanced at Dean Zhang, giving him face.

Then, this old man started to lose face by himself.

“Are you looking at me because I wasn’t focused on watching ‘1818 Golden Eye’ with you?” he said.

‘1818 Golden Eye,’ a show that became popular among young people starting in 2004.

This show later generated many online hot topics and memes, even birthing numerous internet celebrities. It’s Douban rating ridiculously high, almost near perfection.

Jian Wanyu was really puzzled; I give you face, and this is how you handle it?

Something’s not right, very not right!

As expected, the playful old man began.

He looked smugly at Cheng Zhu, saying, “Little Cheng, that campus game competition you organized was quite good.”

Cheng Zhu immediately responded, “The participation of students and faculty was indeed very high. Dean, didn’t you have a friend who declined to claim the prize? Sigh, our game’s completion rate was so low, out of so many people in the entire school, only three completed it, and your friend didn’t even come to claim the prize.”

“It resulted in an extra 6,666 yuan in prize money, which could be donated to the school.”

He didn’t overtly flatter, merely mentioned, “That money ultimately helps needy students. His foregoing the prize means even more students can be helped.”

Having said that, he launched his main appeal.

“I was also moved, and decided to follow his example by donating an additional 6,666 yuan in my own name,” Cheng Zhu looked at Dean Zhang, earnestly.

…

(ps: Second update, ask for monthly tickets!)