Chapter 596 - 377: The Student Council is Too Dark

The male students smoking in a group nearby overheard Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi’s conversation. Many of them shot Xue Rui an envious glance.

Of course, there was a hint of jealousy mixed in with their envy.

An upperclassman gave Xue Rui a cold look, then threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stamped it out.

"The department head is leaving already? Got a light?"

"Here."

...

"Rui, so do you want to join the Disciplinary Committee?" Lin Ruoxi recalled Xue Rui saying he’d cover for her when she skipped class, and the Disciplinary Committee was in charge of student conduct.

During evening self-study, she had seen the upperclassmen from the Disciplinary Committee, and they all had cold, stony faces, just like her high school homeroom teachers.

She imagined Xue Rui with that same icy expression and couldn’t help but shudder.

"Nope." Xue Rui shook his head. ’That department has a lot of power, sure, but it’s also way too much grunt work.’

"What about the Student Life Department, then?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

"This one," Xue Rui said, pulling out the application form for the External Relations Department.

All the Student Union departments were interconnected, so he could still cover for Lin Ruoxi skipping class even if he was in External Relations.

His reason for choosing the External Relations Department was simple: his All-Purpose Campus app had monopolized the advertising revenue from businesses near the major universities, which would make the External Relations Department’s job exceptionally difficult.

After all, the Student Union’s influence was limited to hanging banners at school events, which had a pitifully low conversion rate. Compared to the big data-driven precision targeting of All-Purpose Campus, any business owner with a brain would know which one to choose.

But Xue Rui hadn’t been completely ruthless. He had allocated a certain amount of "sponsorship funds" to the Student Union, proportional to the advertising revenue from each university. In return, the university only had to advertise his software on campus. In a way, he was making the pie bigger for everyone.

So, in a way, he was the External Relations Department’s "sugar daddy."

Lin Ruoxi thought for a moment. "In that case, we’ll have to go to the first-round interview right after lunch. The External Relations Department is in Classroom 104."

Xue Rui smiled. "No problem. You can fill out the form for me."

Soon, it was lunchtime. As Xue Rui ate in the cafeteria with his classmates, a few of them mentioned they were going to the Student Union interviews.

Xue Rui encouraged them, "I recommend everyone join the Student Union. It’s good experience."

In reality, he was thinking that the sooner his classmates "conquered" the Student Union, the more perks he could secure for their class in the future.

Suddenly, his phone chimed—DING-DONG! He’d received a message from Gu Muxue.

It was a WeChat message from Gu Muxue, posted in the "Academic Discussion Group" chat.

Gu Muxue: Did you two skip class this morning?

Xue Rui was baffled. He and Lin Ruoxi had been together the whole time, and Lin Ruoxi hadn’t been chatting with Gu Muxue. ’How did she figure it out?’

Xue Rui: ?

Gu Muxue: [Image]

It was a screenshot of their WeChat step counts. Lin Ruoxi and Xue Rui were firmly in first and second place with over fifteen thousand steps...

Xue Rui thought Gu Muxue was practically "Sherlock Gu"—she could deduce he’d skipped class just from his step count.

While Gu Muxue might not have Lin Ruoxi’s technical skills, her instincts were on a level Lin Ruoxi couldn’t hope to match.

Xue Rui: Turning it off now.

Gu Muxue: Don’t you dare turn it off! And make Ruoxi say something.

Xue Rui glanced over at Lin Ruoxi, who was busy pasting his photo onto the application form.

"Sister Xi, which department are you planning to join?"

Qian Huabiao spoke as he grabbed the glue stick from beside Lin Ruoxi. He’d seen her applying glue to an application form for a photo, and he happened to be heading to a Student Union interview himself.

Lin Ruoxi didn’t answer. Instead, she held her breath in concentration and carefully affixed Xue Rui’s photo to the form—a silent answer in itself.

Qian Huabiao’s lip twitched. "Old Xue, you’re too lazy. You even have someone else fill out your application."

"Can’t be helped. My handwriting is awful. This way, no one can find fault with it," Xue Rui replied with a smile.

After lunch, Xue Rui and Qian Huabiao headed to the interview classrooms together. Xue Rui told Lin Ruoxi to wait for him in the car.

Xue Rui and Qian Huabiao weren’t interviewing for the same department, but the interviews were on the same floor. Qian Huabiao had chosen the Disciplinary Committee.

On the first floor of the academic building, crowds of freshmen were lined up outside the classrooms for the various departments.

"Class President, the External Relations Department isn’t for you. I think you should go for the Disciplinary Committee. Our class needs a mole on the inside," Qian Huabiao urged with great sincerity.

’As long as Xue Rui joins the Disciplinary Committee, I won’t have to,’ he thought.

’With the double protection of being Class President and a member of the committee, won’t skipping class in the future be a total breeze?’

"No, no, no. Someone has to be the mole, and it doesn’t matter who," Xue Rui said with a laugh.

For him, the "sugar daddy," to join the "son’s department," the interview would be a mere formality. That was his real reason for choosing External Relations.

However, just as Xue Rui finished speaking, he saw a familiar figure emerge from the Disciplinary Committee’s interview room.

"Jiang Yuan, you should’ve told me you were trying out for the Disciplinary Committee!" Xue Rui said in surprise.

If he’d known Jiang Yuan was joining the Student Union, why would he have even bothered filling out a form? Just to waste a photo?

Jiang Yuan shot Xue Rui an irritated glare. "It’s not like I’m guaranteed to get in."

"Did you pass the first round?" Xue Rui asked curiously.

"I passed," Jiang Yuan said coldly. "But don’t think for a second I’ll be cleaning up your messes."

"Old Xue, I’ll be waiting for your good news!" Qian Huabiao cheerfully stuffed his application form into a hallway trash can.

Since both of his class presidents were trying so hard, why should he bother joining the fray?

Soon, the line in front of him dwindled, and it was Xue Rui’s turn to be interviewed.

Inside Classroom 104, a long table was set up in the middle of the room. Seated behind it were two young women and a young man, with nameplates set before them. In the center was the department president, Sun Xiaoran, flanked by Cheng Nian and Dong Shanshan.

Xue Rui sighed to himself. ’What kind of department is this?’

There were few enough girls in the Computer Science department as it was, but damn, the Student Union was full of them. And the crucial part was... they were all really pretty.