How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 514 Assist King

Zhou Maoquan has been staying at home recently and hasn't dared to go to work at Jia Hua, for fear of being surrounded by reporters waiting outside and becoming a laughing stock in the art exam circle.

Last time, I sent someone to cause trouble at Xingxiang Art Examination Training Center's trial class. Instead of crushing them, it boosted their reputation. As a result, I got a good scolding from the boss and had two months' bonus deducted. I can't sleep whenever I think about it.

I will never act on my own initiative again.

He slapped his thigh and secretly made up his mind: from now on, let whoever wants to be the first to stick their neck out can be the first; he certainly won't be one anymore.

The rise of Xingxiang has affected more than just Jiahua; other art exam preparation institutions are also seeing a decrease in students. If we're going to die, we'll all die together.

Anyway, Jiahua is a large and powerful family business, with Tianxi Media behind it.

Just as he was about to go to the bathhouse to relax, his phone suddenly rang, and the screen displayed three words: Zhu Zhengyan.

Zhou Maoquan has stopped what he was doing and has been staying home to keep things quiet lately. He has handed over all the work at the training center to the teaching director, only making phone calls in the evenings to hear the director's work reports.

But it's not even noon yet. Even if we were to report in advance, it shouldn't be this early, right?
Has something happened to Jiahua?

In an instant, he had a bad feeling.

"Hello, Director Zhu?"

"Principal, something terrible has happened." The voice on the other end of the phone was urgent, and also carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement.

Zhou Maoquan's heart skipped a beat, and he almost dropped his phone. His bad premonition grew stronger, but as the principal, he suppressed his unease and asked calmly, "What is it?"

"Principal, Xingxiang's lease expired, and the landlord kicked them out. They're moving their things out of the classroom right now," Zhu Zhengyan said excitedly, practically begging to show off his skills to the principal.

"what?"

Zhou Maoquan was shocked, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Rent due? Kicked out by landlord?
real or fake?

Xingxiang hired more than 800 people last year. Although it's not a lot, it should be enough to cover the rent.

This year is even more outrageous. It is said that more than 2,000 people have signed up. Based on the cost of a mid-range course, it would be tens of millions if not a hundred million. How could they not be able to pay the rent?
"Who told you this? Don't spread unverified information," Zhou Maoquan said, becoming cautious for the first time regarding Xingxiang.

He was afraid that if the rumors spread, he would be the one to suffer the consequences; he had learned this lesson the hard way several times.

“Principal, it’s true. There are pictures to prove it, and someone even went to the scene to ask. It was said by Xingxiang’s teachers themselves, and all the colleagues already know about it.”

"Really?"

Zhou Maoquan's eyes lit up immediately, and he excitedly paced back and forth in the room, as if he had suddenly coughed up a thousand-year-old phlegm that had been stuck in his throat.

I feel so much better.

Even though I had a premonition of failure, I was happy to fail. Isn't that a kind of success?
Just be happy.

"Yeah, everyone's talking about why Xingxiang can't afford the rent. Some say it's because he lost all his money in a failed investment, others say it's because he got a full refund if he failed the art exam and now he can't afford the rent. In short, everyone's laughing at Xingxiang," Zhu Zhengyan said with a smile.

He was one of the people who enjoyed watching the joke, and he couldn't wait to share it with the principal so that the principal could also enjoy the joke.

Zhou Maoquan's face was flushed with joy, as if he had taken some kind of tonic. He never expected that Xingxiang would suffer retribution so quickly.

What is this called?
This is what they mean by: good deeds will be rewarded, and evil deeds will be punished; it's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet.

Isn't this karma coming to pass?

Arrived late.

Even though he didn't know why Xingxiang was broke, who cared? As long as there was a joke to watch.

“I told you long ago, Xingxiang’s ‘full refund if you don’t pass the art exam’ scheme won’t work. They’re just relying on gimmicks to attract students without thinking about the consequences. Now look at them, they can’t even pay the rent.” Zhou Maoquan said smugly.

No matter how amazing your art exam results are, if you can't make money, you're useless.

A perfectly good training institution has been turned into a charity. If you don't close it down, who will?

“Principal, you’re absolutely right. You were very prescient,” Zhu Zhengyan echoed.

Did the principal say that?
He didn't know, he'd never heard of it, but that didn't stop him from flattering her.

"I'm giving you a task: spread the word among the art exam parents' groups that Xingxiang can't pay the rent. The more people who know, the better," Zhou Maoquan said.

As for what the boss said about having to report everything related to Xingxiang, no matter how small...

I had long forgotten about it because I was so excited.

To put it another way, he didn't deliberately target that Zhang guy; he just spread the news about Xingxiang's current situation. It's like when an explosive news story breaks online, many websites will reprint it. No matter how you look at it, it can't be attributed to him.

It can even help more parents see Xingxiang's strength, which is a good thing that helps others.

"Yes, Principal, I'll take care of it right away," Zhu Zhengyan said.

Even if the principal hadn't said anything, he would have done it anyway.

These days, because Jia Hua's art exam results this year are not as good as Xing Xiang's, he, as the head of teaching, feels a lot of pressure. Now that Xing Xiang can't pay the rent and has been kicked out by the landlord, his pressure has been reduced a lot.

If we tell the parents about Xingxiang's financial problems, some of the students who have already enrolled will definitely ask for refunds, which will only worsen Xingxiang's financial situation. As long as Xingxiang collapses, Jiahua will still be Jiahua, and the top five art exam preparation schools in Beijing will remain the same.

'The troublemaker is finally going to break.'

Zhu Zhengting was filled with emotion.

However, they quickly realized that this description was somewhat inappropriate. If Xingxiang was a troublemaker, then wouldn't Jiahua and other art exam preparation institutions be...?

Forget it, let's promote Xingxiang properly first.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Maoquan paced around the room a few more times, repeatedly saying "good," as if he were possessed.

After a while, he finally stopped, picked up his bag, and hurriedly left the house.

He was going to Xingxiang to see for himself the pathetic state of that Zhang fellow.

Because Xingxiang's art exam results were so good, there were too many jealous peers. So the news that Xingxiang was moving quickly spread from the art exam training institution circle to the ears of various parents.

Moreover, the rumors became increasingly bizarre as they spread.

At first, it was just a rumor that Xingxiang was evicted by the landlord because he couldn't pay the rent. Gradually, it became a story of Xingxiang's poor management. Later, several other versions emerged, such as: the principal gambled away all the tuition fees and was preparing to run away; the principal received the tuition fees and was going to take the money abroad; there were even rumors that the principal of Xingxiang had committed a crime and was wanted by the police...

In short, there are all kinds of rumors.

At first, the parents didn't believe it, thinking someone was deliberately smearing Xingxiang. But when they saw photos and videos of Xingxiang moving, some parents started to panic. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan in tuition fees is not a small amount; it was all saved up penny by penny. If they died under mysterious circumstances, they wouldn't even have anyone to blame.

So, under the deliberate instigation of some people, some parents came to Xingxiang Art Examination Training Center. When they saw the large trucks parked on the side of the road, their hearts jumped into their throats.

Is this a prelude to fleeing?

"Teacher Chen, what are you doing?" A parent saw a familiar figure and immediately went over to block the other person's path.

Chen Xiwen stopped, saw that they were students' parents, and said with a smile, "We're moving."

The parents felt a pang of anxiety; hearing these words from Teacher Xingxiang was far more impactful than seeing them in a WeChat group.

Isn't that how it is now? Losing money means it's a prime location for rent, moving means running away with the money. How many business people actually tell the truth?

Training institutions may seem to be related to education, but in reality, they are just a business.

"Teacher Chen, where are you moving to? Where will my child go to study in the future?" the parent asked worriedly, clutching his phone tightly.

If she doesn't get a satisfactory answer today, she'll call the police.

I don't know how much these teaching equipment can be sold for, or whether it will be enough to cover the tuition fees.

“We’ll move to the opposite side, only two or three hundred meters away,” Chen Xiwen said, pointing the way.

"Really?" The parent glanced in the direction indicated, still somewhat worried. "Teacher Chen, you're not lying to me, are you?"

"Liar?" Chen Xiwen was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Why would you think that?"

"Teacher Chen, to be honest, I have a group for parents of art exam takers. Someone in the group posted photos and videos of your Xingxiang moving, saying that your principal gambled away all his money and was planning to sell all the teaching equipment and run away."

After saying that, he found the WeChat group on his phone and showed the chat content inside.

Chen Xiwen put down what she was holding, took the phone and looked through the chat messages. The more she looked, the more outrageous it seemed, and the angrier she became.

Isn't this smearing Xingxiang?
Although she had just joined Xingxiang, as a teacher here, her interests were aligned with Xingxiang's; they would share both glory and loss.

"Rumors, pure fabrication." Chen Xiwen handed the phone back to the parent and said with a serious expression, "Look here, someone is saying that our principal is wanted by the police. Isn't our principal standing right there, perfectly fine?"

After saying that, he pointed to a large truck parked on the side of the road.

The parents looked over and, sure enough, it was Principal Zhang from Xingxiang High School, whom they had met during a trial class.

"Teacher Chen, what exactly happened?" The parent was also completely confused.

Wasn't he on the run? Wasn't he a wanted criminal?

“Don’t listen to those people’s nonsense. Xingxiang moved because the existing teaching building can no longer meet our daily teaching needs,” Chen Xiwen explained. “In order to provide students with a better learning experience, our principal bought a new building nearby, which will become the headquarters of Xingxiang Art Examination Center. There will also be a branch near the headquarters, which can accommodate more students.”

"Really?"

“Of course it’s true. Xingxiang’s art exam results are so good, how could we possibly close down and run away? You’re overthinking it,” Chen Xiwen continued to reassure them.

"..."

After hearing this, the parents' anxiety finally subsided, and after a while, they tentatively asked, "Teacher Chen, may I visit Xingxiang's headquarters?"

“It’s not finished being renovated yet. If you want to go, I’ll take you after I move my things,” Chen Xiwen said.

“Okay, then I’ll wait for you here,” the parent said, and then stepped aside.

Seeing is believing; it's always more reassuring to see something for yourself.

Just as Chen Xiwen started moving the items, Xu Zining came over and asked in a low voice, "Teacher Chen, what's going on?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiwen became angry again. "Someone posted photos of our move in the parents' group, saying that our principal gambled away all his money and was going to run away, and that the principal was a wanted criminal. Can you believe it?"

Xu Zining was taken aback for a moment, but she wasn't too surprised, because she had encountered parents like that before, and had even received some phone calls from parents asking about it.

I initially thought it was just a small misunderstanding, but now it seems that someone did it on purpose.

If this isn't handled properly, Xingxiang's reputation will collapse!

She quickly walked to the principal who was giving instructions and whispered, "Principal, something's wrong."

Zhang Wen stopped what he was doing and looked over, gesturing for the other person to continue.

Xu Zining cleared her throat before saying, "Principal, someone posted photos of our move in the parents' group, saying we're closing down and running away, and that you are..."

She recounted everything she had heard and seen in detail.

Zhang Wen was speechless after hearing this. He hadn't expected that moving house would cause such a commotion. It seemed that being tall and handsome attracted attention, and even wanting to keep a low profile wasn't an option.
However, he didn't need to investigate to know that it was probably just jealousy from his competitors.

'Zhou Maoquan, Zhou Maoquan, you really never learn!'

In his view, as long as colleagues were involved, Zhou Maoquan, that active member, would definitely be there, and it was perfectly reasonable to hold him accountable.

However, on the other hand, the fact that Xingxiang's move has attracted so much attention is also a good opportunity for publicity.

As Xu Zining said, many parents are now paying attention to Xingxiang's activities. Some have registered, and some haven't. He can take advantage of this opportunity to show these parents Xingxiang after it has grown bigger, better, and stronger, which may attract another wave of people to register.

'Zhou Maoquan, I hereby crown you the King of Assists.'

"Send a message in each class's parent group to inform the parents that Xingxiang is about to move to headquarters. Then invite parents who are available to meet here at 4 PM this afternoon. I will take them to visit the headquarters and branches. At the same time, I will broadcast the event live online using Xingxiang Art Exam's Douyin account... Make sure everyone is notified," Zhang Wen instructed.

Now that the opportunity has been presented to us, why not seize it?
"Yes, Principal," Xu Zining said happily.

I thought to myself: It has to be the principal. He not only solved the problem, but also promoted Xingxiang. Awesome!

She quickly took out her phone from her pocket, edited what the principal had just said, and sent it to each class group. She sent the same message five times, afraid that the students and parents would not see it.

Some parents already knew about Xingxiang's move and were worried, but now that they saw the group admin's message, they immediately signed up.

"I go!"

"I regestrated!"

"I have time at four o'clock in the afternoon."

Xu Zining adhered to the principle that "the more people there are, the better the publicity effect," and accepted all parents who came to register, since it was 4 p.m. and they wouldn't wait for anyone who was late.

……

(End of this chapter)