Chapter 601 - 379: Aren’t You Afraid I’ll Write an Exposé?

Xue Rui had no idea what the student council members were huddled together discussing. But just to be safe, he decided to stack a few more "buffs" on himself, raising his own value to secure a more favorable position in the upcoming negotiations.

However, this put Fan Kangjie and the other department heads in a difficult position. Their first impression of Xue Rui was that he was "difficult to deal with." They had initially planned to just waive his interview and stick him in some random department, but now they were forced to re-evaluate him entirely.

"What on earth does he want from joining the student council?" Fan Kangjie murmured to himself.

’To get some status so he can find a girlfriend? No, no, no, Sun Xiaoran just said Xue Rui has a beautiful and gentle girlfriend. For personal gain, then? Or for a scholarship? Speaking of which, the domestic version of the iPhone 6 isn’t even out yet, right? To spend thousands of extra yuan on an imported model just to use it a few days earlier... He, for one, would never be willing to do that... And wasn’t that a Rolex Green Water Ghost on Xue Rui’s wrist?’

Fan Kangjie reached another conclusion: Xue Rui was loaded.

’So what on earth was Xue Rui after? To temper himself in the student council? Who was tempering whom here?!’

Fan Kangjie stared speechlessly at the application form in his hand. The handwriting was clearly a girl’s, so he couldn’t even try to analyze Xue Rui’s personality from it.

His understanding of Xue Rui was far too limited, and to make matters worse, Sun Xiaoran hadn’t even let the guy give a self-introduction...

Meanwhile, Xue Rui was tapping his empty paper cup, wondering when the pretty upperclassman would refill his tea. But Cheng Nian seemed to be ignoring his hints. ’And did the other girl get scared and run off?’

In truth, Xue Rui had no interest in joining the student council. He’d originally only wanted to keep himself and Lin Ruoxi from having points deducted. But when he saw Sun Xiaoran with a girl on each arm, he changed his mind. ’Since I’m here anyway,’ he thought, ’I might as well get a cushy position for my girl to play around with too.’

"Chairman Fan, I think he’s very ambitious. A regular member position probably won’t be enough," Cheng Nian warned Fan Kangjie.

Xue Rui had already seen right through her. The fact that he was sitting here so quietly meant he didn’t think she had enough authority; he wanted to negotiate directly with Fan Kangjie.

Fan Kangjie nodded helplessly and whispered to the two department heads:

"Just make him a vice minister in one of your departments. It’ll be a nominal position. We can just ignore him for a few months."

"Whoever started this mess can clean it up," the head of the Disciplinary Department shot back.

Fan Kangjie shot him an annoyed glare. Sun Xiaoran and Xue Rui were practically mortal enemies; there was no way he could put Xue Rui in the Public Relations Department.

He waved his hand dismissively. "If you’re not willing, then get out there and do something useful. Stop them from spreading rumors on All-Purpose Campus."

Public opinion was a terrifying thing. He’d seen plenty of people taking photos in the hallway on his way in. On All-Purpose Campus, everyone was anonymous, so they weren’t as cautious as they would be in a QQ group...

Ever since All-Purpose Campus became popular, the freshmen had been using it with wild enthusiasm. Student council members were constantly getting torn to shreds online by them, which made everyone, himself included, timid and hesitant when trying to get anything done.

If Xue Rui’s earlier comments were left to ferment online, he couldn’t even imagine how they would blow up. He hadn’t dared to even look at his phone from the moment he walked in the door.

"Don’t worry about that. I know the community manager for our school’s section on the app. She just told me on QQ that she’s willing to help us suppress the posts."

Cheng Nian held her phone screen up for Fan Kangjie to see.

"Cheng Nian, how did you manage that?" Fan Kangjie asked in surprise.

Just last month, he had contacted the official management of All-Purpose Campus in the name of the student council, but all he’d received was a polite and long-winded email. The message between the lines was clear:

’The student council of a second-rate college? You’re not worthy of working with us.’

For Cheng Nian to accomplish something he couldn’t... it truly made him see her in a new light.

"It was nothing, really. I added her on her personal QQ account while I was seeking sponsorships."

Cheng Nian felt a little embarrassed. All she had done was send over the post with Xue Rui’s photo, and the woman had agreed to help almost without hesitation. It hadn’t been difficult at all.

It had been the same way when she was seeking sponsorships. She had just sent a single email, and the person in charge had immediately agreed to provide a sponsorship fee to the Public Relations Department. As far as she was concerned, All-Purpose Campus was the easiest company to work with.

In fact, Cheng Nian couldn’t understand why Fan Kangjie was so surprised.

"With social skills like yours, it’s a waste of your talent to just be a vice minister."

Fan Kangjie looked relieved, and the weight in his heart finally lifted.

Now that the public opinion issue was solved, it was time to wrap things up.

He sat down in the lead interviewer’s chair and began, "Xue Rui, we were in the wrong about what happened today..."

However, he realized that Xue Rui wasn’t even looking at him. Instead, he just kept tapping the paper cup and motioning to Cheng Nian with his eyes.

Cheng Nian pointed at herself with a confused expression, not stopping until she saw Xue Rui nod with a smile.

’Sigh...’ Cheng Nian sighed to herself, then picked up the water kettle and walked over to pour Xue Rui some tea.

Cheng Nian was petite with delicate features. A red string around her wrist was threaded with several small silver bells that made a faint, crisp tinkling sound as she walked.

As he took the cup, Xue Rui flicked one of the eye-catching little bells. "I had the same kind when I was little. It’s a shame..."

"A shame about what?" Cheng Nian pressed.

Xue Rui shook his head. "A shame that guys can only wear them until they’re three or four. Any older and people call you childish."

"Is this some new pickup line? I’ll just leave the kettle behind you; you can pour it yourself if you want more." Cheng Nian shook her head, feeling like Xue Rui was just teasing her.

"In the future, remember to offer the tea with both hands. This paper cup is hot," Xue Rui said, taking a sip.

"In the future?"

An outrageous thought flashed through Cheng Nian’s mind. ’Don’t tell me Xue Rui wants to become a department head and have me serve him tea every day? But he has such a huge conflict with the Public Relations Department, so why would he possibly want to join it?’