Who wants to take the civil service exam after being reborn?

Chapter 471 Song Shiwei: I Have a Boyfriend

For several days in a row, Chen Zhe was in the eye of the storm, with interviews, inspections and visits coming one after another.

It's important to understand that there was no such thing as independent media at that time. Anyone who could bring a camera into a school was an official media outlet, but even among official media outlets, there were different levels of influence.

For those at the provincial level or above, Chen personally attended.

For those below the provincial level, the school's Youth League Committee usually handles the reception.

There's nothing we can do about it. If we let Chen Zhe give interviews freely, he won't even have time to study for his final exams.

After a week or two of hype, Chen Zhe's fame is almost on par with that of second- or third-tier celebrities.

However, unlike celebrities in the entertainment industry, they are famous.

Chen is not only "red" (politically correct) but also "expert" (intellectual), meaning he is both "red"

Moreover, the two "red"s have different meanings. Chen's "red" refers to the "red" in "official document".

Riding this wave, the speed at which the learning network was established was astonishing.

Under the leadership of experienced marketing personnel such as Xiang Qing, Yao Lan, and Huo Qiaoling, and with the support of unlimited funds from headquarters, "Zhongda Learning Network" swept northwards.

In many provinces, we traced back to the three major local telecom operators and expressed our desire to obtain one-click registration access for the learning network's internal communication software, "Reply," in order to better serve parents, facilitate members, and connect with classmates.

Furthermore, the marketing staff at the company also demonstrated that more than one province has already enabled one-click registration of numbers within the province.

The leaders of the three major telecom operators felt that since Guangdong was a pioneer of reform and opening up, and others had already agreed, there was no reason for them to be reserved.

Actually, China Unicom and China Telecom are really irrelevant. The only one affected is China Mobile, because their "Fetion" is also a communication software and also allows one-click registration.

However, Su Hui has always insisted that [Reply] is just an internal application software of the learning network. Not to mention others, even middle managers such as Xiang Qing and Yao Lan have no doubt about this.

Only a handful of people in the entire company knew Chen Zhe's true intentions.

With the "role model of eastern Guangdong" as a benchmark, coupled with Chen's "both red and expert" identity, and the "very sincere local specialties" as a selling point, the marketing department was almost invincible in its efforts to win over customers.

Only a few places in the Northwest (Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia) are currently not covered due to a lack of manpower.

During this period, the number of views and clicks on Zhongda Learning Network has been in the hundreds of thousands every day.

The number of annual fee members has surged to over 5 and continues to climb.

After all, no one is worried about the government "running away after collecting annual fees" anymore. This is a website endorsed by Xinhua News Agency. How could the government lie to us?
Even the number of registered users for the "Reply" feature is increasing by more than two thousand new users every day. It's worth noting that when WeChat first came out, it took several months to reach 100 million users.

Of course, there was also bad news. Although it was able to "push forward" in most places, the expansion of the learning network encountered some trouble in the capital.

There were no problems with China Unicom and China Telecom; they readily enabled one-click registration. However, according to China Mobile's marketing staff, they couldn't get through to China Mobile no matter what they tried.

Chen Zhe assumed it was the headquarters' location, so he understood why people were being cautious. He also sent Wan Xulin to the capital to see if there was anything he could do to help.

After completing the "painting theft" mission, Wan Xulin was assigned to a real estate agency by Chen Zhe.

Any industry related to real estate will inevitably become muddy as it expands. By placing Wan Xulin, a seasoned veteran, in the mix, he can help Chen Zhe and Song Qing discover the reasons behind the muddying.

Wan Xulin was also enjoying himself immensely. Although his daughter, Wan Yuchan, had not yet found a suitable bone marrow match, she was being well taken care of in a large hospital, so Wan Xulin was not worried at all.

Now that the big boss has a new task, Wan Xulin immediately set off for the capital to assist the marketing department in solving difficulties.

There were also some minor issues in Shanghai. Wang Haibin, Wei Zhen, and Chen Yunpeng of Taomee Technology probably recognized Chen Zhe's true identity and realized that they had been tricked during the last negotiation.

Wang Haibin, who had been swaggering around and hadn't sent financial reports or operational status updates to Chen Zhe and Song Shiwei for two or three months, suddenly contacted Chen Zhe and asked to meet in person.

Chen smiled and said that he had an exam and would talk about it after the exam.

Wang Haibin was speechless for a moment.

These kinds of people need to be put on hold for a while. Finally, on July 11th, the final exams for the next semester ended, and college students finally welcomed their summer vacation.

……

However, to be fair, college students nowadays don't have much of an expectation for holidays anymore.

Compared to high school, university students have less academic pressure and receive living expenses from their parents. They don't participate in production but have money to spend, they don't need to get married but can experience love, and they enjoy the prosperity and hustle and bustle of big cities at the lowest cost due to their superior geographical location.

If summer vacation is just a periodic break from studying...

University is essentially a summer vacation in life.

On the afternoon of the 11th, Lingnan College also finished its last exam. Everyone returned to the dormitory, picked up their luggage, and chatted and laughed as they headed to the train station or bus station.

Lu Man drove her familiar black Volvo and quietly parked it at the school gate. Her gaze, hidden behind her light gray sunglasses, surveyed the students who were swarming like dandelions scattered by the wind.

Before long, that familiar figure came into view.

The girl was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and stonewashed blue jeans. The shirt didn't have any fancy prints or eye-catching logos, but the fabric looked very high-end.

Her straight, silky hair cascaded down her shoulders, shimmering in the blazing sunlight. Her expression was gentle and serene, her dark, clear eyes like a tranquil lake. A breeze swept by, and she paused to gently gather her wind-blown hair.

Even though we were far apart, I subconsciously felt that such a girl should exude a delicate osmanthus fragrance.

The boys on the street didn't dare to look directly at him, but they were secretly observing him.

Professor Lu couldn't help but smile slightly. Weiwei had inherited all the good looks of herself and her husband, and she was reluctant to let her get married. It wasn't like she couldn't afford to support her.

However, as she looked at it, Lu Man suddenly frowned.

Because my daughter was pushing a suitcase with one hand and wearing a Cartier Ballon Bleu with a blue wristband on the other, she looked very elegant and beautiful as the bag swayed, highlighting her fair skin.

But why is she pushing the suitcase all by herself again?
If I remember correctly, she also carried her luggage alone last Friday when she had a day off.

Where is that brat?

Lu Man quickly got out of the car, helped put her daughter's suitcase in the back, and stepped on the gas to drive onto the road.

As the cool air from the walnut-wood-trimmed air conditioner masked the sweltering summer heat, the car became quiet. Professor Lu then coughed lightly and asked, "Has Chen been very busy lately? I haven't seen him at school all day."

"Ah."

Song Shiwei, who was texting, looked up when she heard this: "He had a last-minute interview this morning, and he was called away by Dean Shu halfway through the exam."

"They're not even giving exams anymore?"

Professor Lu couldn't help but shake his head: "You're so busy at such a young age. Don't end up like your father, with only a handful of days spent eating at home."

Professor Lu spoke with indignation, as if he were trying to "seek justice" for his daughter.

Song Shiwei couldn't help but purse her lips slightly, the upward curve resembling the tip of a lotus petal drawn with meticulous brushwork.

She could understand Chen Zhe, and she also had a lot to do herself.

In addition, since the mother reduced her prejudice against Chen Zhe, the relationship between the mother and daughter has become a little more harmonious. The obsessive-compulsive mother is no longer nitpicking, and the aloof daughter is no longer silent. The two can occasionally exchange a few words about everyday matters.

However, it's not to say that there's no prejudice. Professor Lu still harbors some resentment towards Chen Zhe. For example, even though she knows that Chen Zhe is currently "extremely popular," she deliberately doesn't ask too many questions.

Since her mother didn't ask many questions, and given Sweet's personality, she was happy to have some peace and quiet.

The Volvo continued on its way, not turning off the inner ring road as usual, but instead taking another road. Noticing his daughter's confusion, Professor Lu explained, "Your uncle and aunt's families went back to China to visit your grandmother a few days ago. You were studying for your exams, so I didn't tell you. We're having lunch together at Li Yuan today."

"Oh~"

Song Shi nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

These are all relatives from my mother's side. My cousin Lu Bingtang from my maternal uncle's side graduated from Princeton and now works at Citibank in Hong Kong as a manager with an annual salary of one million.

My cousin Xiang Xiaohui and her husband Liu Hongjian also studied and worked in the United States. Liu Hongjian's company is called Berkshire Hathaway.

Warren Buffett's company.

Seeing her daughter quiet down, Lu Man got used to it and continued, "Weiwei, your aunt wants us to go to America with you to spend the summer there, so we can get used to the environment and climate of North America in advance."

What were Professor Lu's plans when Song Shiwei was in junior and senior high school?

She could have gone to Tsinghua or Peking University for her undergraduate degree, then applied to Ivy League schools in the US for her graduate studies, and after graduation she could have worked directly on Wall Street, just like her older siblings. Alternatively, she could have pursued a doctorate to deepen her theoretical research.

As a result, she went astray from the very first step. Although her score was clearly high enough, she actually chose to stay in Guangzhou to study at Sun Yat-sen University for Chen Zhe's sake.

This was one of the reasons why Professor Lu strongly rejected Chen Zhe in the first place.

Later, although Chen gradually changed Professor Lu's prejudice through his performance, the greater his achievements in China, the less likely he was to become Professor Lu's "perfect son-in-law"—a world-class financial elite working on Wall Street.

Then let's settle for second best and have our daughter go abroad to pursue a master's degree. That way, at least in front of her family, her academic qualifications won't be inferior to those of her nephews and nieces.

This is Professor Lu's current idea, and his daughter's study abroad can also make up for Chen's "shortcomings" in academic qualifications.

Professor Lu is no longer so adamant about opposing their relationship, but there's no way she'll admit it to him!

"I don't have time during the summer vacation."

Song Shiwei understood her mother's meaning and knew her mother's temperament, so she did not refuse directly, but said, "The Shanghai company still has disputes to deal with."

Lu Man knew a little about Wang Haibin's situation. She drove with one hand, pushed up her sunglasses, and said, "Will that dispute take two months to resolve? I heard it's just firing someone, so it shouldn't take long, right?"

“There are other things.”

Song Shiwei looked out the window and said calmly.

Professor Lu frowned. Usually, she would have already started to exert pressure and discipline under the influence of her controlling nature.

However, Lu Man felt that a lot had happened in the year her daughter had been in college, especially her daughter's runaway on her birthday, which had a great impact on her.

"Your aunt loves you so much."

So Professor Lu changed his story: "They were supposed to go back to the United States the day before yesterday, but your aunt was thinking of seeing you one last time after your exams..."

As Professor Lu spoke, he observed his daughter's expression through the rearview mirror.

The daughter's expression remained aloof, but she no longer displayed the stiff resistance she had shown earlier.

"This communication method is indeed effective."

Lu Man sighed.

In the past, I would have said, "Why don't you listen? Would I ever harm you? Why can't you understand my good intentions?"

In fact, this is a very wrong educational method. It forcibly explains and unifies many complex things in the family with such a simplistic and crude viewpoint.

What appears to be an expression of "love" is actually a shackle formed by a desire for control, depriving children of their autonomy in life.

However, Professor Lu kept her reflections and regrets to herself; she would never say them aloud.

Even when talking to others, she would insist that her daughter's current appearance was entirely due to her good upbringing.

……

Lei Garden Restaurant is also in the city center, it's only about a ten-minute walk away.

Upon entering the brightly lit private room, one finds several people already seated on the sofa, all dressed neatly and adorned with exquisite jewelry. The coffee table is decorated with LV and Chanel handbags arranged like mahjong tiles.

"Ah! Our little princess has arrived!"

My cousin Xiang Xiaohui was the first to spot my aunt and younger cousin as they entered, and immediately greeted them with a smile.

All eyes turned to Song Shiwei, who stood gracefully at the door, as if bathed in moonlight that had been imbued with osmanthus blossoms, and had suddenly fallen to earth.

Even without the filter of family, I feel that it's rare to meet such a beautiful girl in real life.

"Come, come, sit here with Grandma."

The grandmother, with her head full of silver hair, sat in the main seat and reached out to greet her youngest granddaughter.

My maternal grandmother has been retired for a long time and lives in Zhuhai, but for the past six months she has been living with her son and daughter in Hong Kong or the United States.

Next came the lively introductions of identities. Cousin Lu Bingtang brought a girl along. She was said to have a bachelor's and master's degree from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. After graduation, she also received an offer from Citibank in Hong Kong, and then she started dating Lu Bingtang.

Being able to attend such a family gathering basically means that the relationship is stable and that the person hopes to gain the approval of their family.

However, Xiang Xiaohui didn't seem to be interested in this girl. She was really nice to her little cousin. She even insisted on wearing the limited edition Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet that she brought back from the United States to Song Shiwei as soon as they met.

However, Xiang Xiaohui always implied that her cousin Lu Bingtang's girlfriend, Wei Qi, was not a good match for the family gathering.

Because Shanghai University of Finance and Economics is not a 985 university, even though its admission scores are higher than those of ordinary 985 universities, and Wei Qi has no overseas study experience, she seems "out of place" among a group of international high-achieving students. Her family's financial situation is also relatively ordinary, with her parents being just ordinary civil servants in a small county.

Actually, Lu Bingtang wasn't that satisfied with this girlfriend, but his father thought the girl was of good quality, and his son was getting on in years and needed to have a relationship with marriage in mind.

"Xiao Hui, you keep bringing up studying abroad."

Lu Man understood what she meant, and she scolded her niece with displeasure: "If there are better opportunities in China, you don't necessarily have to go abroad. Don't be so narrow-minded!"

"Hehe, I was just saying."

Xiang Xiaohui stuck out her tongue. Her aunt and uncle both had a lot of influence, and she needed their help this time, so she didn't dare to talk back to her aunt.

However, she was also wondering why her aunt, who had always been a supporter of the "studying abroad is a noble thing" theory, was now speaking up for Wei Qi.

Little did Xiang Xiaohui know that Professor Lu was laying the groundwork for Chen Zhe's possible appearance at a family gathering a year or two later.

Lu Bingtang, who was already annoyed by Xiang Xiaohui's words, quickly said when his aunt spoke up for him, "That's right, gold shines wherever it is. And why are you always focusing on us? Why don't you care whether your little sister has a boyfriend?"

"How could Weiwei have a boyfriend!"

Xiang Xiaohui's mother, Lu Man's older sister Lu Lin, chuckled confidently: "According to Xiaoman's criteria for choosing a husband, only a student of a Nobel laureate would be qualified."

Everyone in the room burst into laughter. Given Lu Man's usual style, her criteria for choosing a husband must be exceptionally strict.

The "Nobel Prize" refers to the winner of the Nobel Prize. Although it is a slight exaggeration, it seems that the overall criteria are not so far-fetched.

Song Shi lowered her head slightly, her curved eyelashes casting blue shadows on her eyelids, yet as she gazed at the tea in front of her, a soft ripple of light inadvertently spread across her face.

When the laughter subsided, Song Shiwei said softly, "I have a boyfriend."

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(End of this chapter)