The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 152 Internet Celebrity University
Back at school, Sun Xin strolled alone on campus, reminiscing about the past.

I walked unintentionally near the teaching building and heard the bell ring, only then realizing that it was already eight o'clock.

They rushed to Auditorium No. 1.

As soon as I entered the room after having my ticket checked, I heard bursts of enthusiastic applause and cheers erupting from inside.

Loud whistles could be heard intermittently.

Upon entering the auditorium, I noticed that many audience members in the middle and back rows had stood up and were cheering and jeering at the three men in suits on stage.

The three boys on stage raised their arms high, enjoying the thunderous applause from the audience.

Sun Xin immediately recognized the boy standing in the middle on the stage as Lin Shaotao.

When Sun Xin was a senior, Lin Shaotao was a freshman.

This guy was voted the most handsome guy in the college as soon as he entered the school. He sang "You'll Be With Me All My Life" by Shui Mu Nian Hua at the freshman welcome party, which became the most memorable performance of that year's party.

Judging from the current situation, it seems that this kid has tricked us again.

Sun Xin took out her phone and dialed Yang Tao's number.

Finally, with Yang Tao's guidance, we found our seats.

As soon as I walked over and sat down, I noticed that Yang Tao was sitting next to someone I knew.

"Liu Qing?"

"Senior Sun Xin, it's been a long time."

Liu Qing leaned forward and greeted Sun Xin across the starfruit.

Sun Xin had also spent some time in the student union and was no stranger to Liu Qing, a girl who had been surrounded by controversy since she entered the school.

To be honest, Sun Xin really admired Liu Qing.

Despite the suppression from He Yueyue and various rumors and controversies from the outside, he managed to rise to the position of president of the college student union.

What impressed Sun Xin most about Liu Qing was the freshman welcome party during their senior year.

At that time, Lin Shaotao was the most popular person on stage, while Liu Qing was the most popular person off stage.

She single-handedly secured a total sponsorship of 100,000 yuan for the gala, setting a record for the business school's external relations department at the time.

This record stood until this year when it was broken again.

This year, the total sponsorship amount for the business school reached 130,000 yuan, of which 100,000 yuan was raised by a freshman girl from the external relations department.

This girl's name is Zhu Suosuo.

After learning about this from Liu Qing, Sun Xin was not only impressed by the promising young generation, but also more interested in what song Lin Shaotao and the other two had sung on stage and why it had caused such a commotion.

"Did I just miss something exciting?"

"It was indeed quite exciting," Yang Tao nodded.

Seeing the high praise Yang Tao received, Sun Xin immediately became interested.

However, Yang Tao started by introducing the school leaders sitting in the first row.

"Liu Qing told me that the principal, the party secretary, the school's Youth League Committee, and the dean's party secretary all came today. Even our senior year's welcome party was more grand than this."

Not only their graduating class, but there has never been a precedent in the history of Yanjingmao for both the president and the party secretary to attend a college-level gala.

Sun Xin thought to himself.

At the same time, she wondered why Yangtao was telling her all this.

"Lin Shaotao and his two friends just sang 'The Lone Warrior' in front of a group of school and college leaders. They're really brave."

After hearing Yang Tao's words, Sun Xin couldn't help but blink.

That's it?

She knew, of course, that "The Lone Warrior" was very popular, but she hadn't expected such a strong reaction from the audience when she sang the song in front of the school and college leaders.

Even though "The Lone Warrior" is now jokingly referred to as the school song of Yanjingmao University.

When the He Yueyue incident broke out, the outside world thought that Yanjingmao's reputation would be severely damaged by this incident.

Based on past experience, it would take at least two or three years to quell the impact of an incident.

Who would have thought that the song "The Lone Warrior" would suddenly appear and reverse the decline in Yanjingmao's reputation, even bringing the school's reputation to a new level.

Other universities are incredibly envious.

Just as his building collapsed, an even taller skyscraper rose from the ground.

The reversal of public opinion is a classic case of crisis public relations for universities.

This is also why the president and secretary both attended this year's business school welcome party.

The business school has done the school such a big favor this time, so it's only right and proper for us to show our support.

Logically speaking, singing "The Lone Warrior" in front of the principal and party secretary should have pleased the leaders in the audience.

Judging from what Yang Tao just said, Lin Shaotao and the other two must have put on a big show on stage in front of the school leaders.

Otherwise, the audience would never have been so excited.

Just as I was thinking this, Yang Tao's voice rang out again.

"They didn't just do a simple cover; they changed all the lyrics to 'The Lone Warrior'."

Sun Xin asked curiously, "How was it changed?"

"It was changed to a story about a college student who skips classes to play games, crams for the final exam, fails the course, and has to repeat the course because he can't pass the make-up exam."

A story of a lone hero who failed a course and had to repeat it?
Sun Xin was stunned.

No wonder the audience in the auditorium reacted so enthusiastically when she came in.

To be honest, it wouldn't be accurate to say that it evoked strong resonance.

If this song were played in an ordinary or even slightly less prestigious university, it would likely resonate strongly with the students.

After all, many people have experienced failing a course or even having to repeat it.

However, the academic atmosphere at Yanjing Trade University has always been quite good. Of course, there are students who fail a course and have to repeat it, but they are extremely rare.

The audience was so supportive mainly because of the courage of Lin Shaotao and his two companions.

Speaking out for those who failed or had to repeat courses in front of school leaders is reminiscent of Don Quixote's heroic act of riding a horse towards a windmill.

When an egg hits a rock, everyone will naturally support the egg!

The lyrics adapted by Lin Shaotao and his two companions successfully provoked a rebellious sentiment among the audience, and it is no surprise that they received an unprecedented response.

"I was so scared, I thought I missed the best part of the show."

Sun Xin patted his chest and said.

Sun Xin admired Lin Shaotao and his two companions' courage, but he didn't feel any particular regret.

Missing the appetizer doesn't mean missing the main course.

the other side.

Xin Huimei, who was also sitting in the audience, quietly pulled down her mask, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered to Hu Ling next to her:
"The lyrics are well adapted; they should go viral online."

"But the target audience is only college students, so it's hard to break out of that niche," Hu Ling nodded in agreement.

"I don't believe you didn't hear it. The three of them sing even better than the Old Boys. Why don't we just sign them to Starry Sea as well?"

Hu Ling glanced at Xin Huimei.

How could you come up with such a terrible idea?

Instead of utilizing the already wildly popular "Old Boys," they signed a competitor to compete for resources with "Old Boys." Only someone with a screw loose would do that.

Ironically, many companies in the entertainment industry like to do this kind of thing.

It's not that the bosses are out of their minds, but rather that if an artist becomes too popular, they can easily become too powerful to control.

Large companies don't put all their eggs in one basket. They support competitors within the company, creating a power struggle for the top male and female stars to avoid over-reliance on any single artist. However, in reality, most of these attempts backfire.

The reason Hu Ling didn't want to do the same thing at Xingchen Dahai wasn't because she learned from the mistakes of those companies in the entertainment industry.

It's mainly because there's no need for it.

If Oldboys became popular on its own, Hu Ling would definitely consider supporting competitors like "Sanrenxing" to weaken Oldboys' impact on the company's overall business and brand influence, thereby achieving risk diversification and business sustainability.

But the stars and the sea are different.

The company's most valuable asset is Yang Muye himself.

Every step of Old Boys' rise to fame is inseparable from the support of Yang Muye.

In this situation, there's no need to worry about the old boy becoming too powerful and difficult to control.

Signing the Three People band again would be a complete waste of time and effort.

"Don't just talk about others, what have you thought about it yourself?"

"The main event hasn't even started yet, what's the rush?"

As she spoke, Xin Huimei put her mask back on.

I've already been slept with, and it's already a good thing I didn't become a clingy scoundrel. And you're still worried I'll run away?

Just as Xin Huimei and Hu Ling finished their discussion, Qiao Jingjing, wearing a mask, quietly entered the venue and joined Zheng Peipei.

As soon as she sat down, Cheng Pei-pei mysteriously reminded Qiao Jingjing.

"Two rows away from us, at the three o'clock position on the right front, is the person you longed for in high school."

On the way?
Qiao Jingjing instantly recognized that familiar figure from behind.

“Jingjing, although Yu Tu and Xia Qing are together, I think their progress is very slow. They even have trouble holding hands. I feel you still have a chance.”

Qiao Jingjing made a shushing gesture.

"Focus on the performance and don't talk!"

Seeing that Qiao Jingjing's gaze didn't linger much on Yu Tu, Zheng Peipei could only obediently shut her mouth.

After Lin Shaotao and the other two left the stage amidst applause, Xu Hongdou, Xia Qing, and Du Ping walked onto the stage.

Xu Hongdou wore a white off-shoulder dress, looking elegant, dignified, and ethereal.

Xia Qing wore a black strapless dress, and apart from being a little flat-chested, she was practically perfect.

Du Ping stood between the two women, receiving mostly envious and resentful glances from the boys in the audience.

Sun Xin was taken aback when she saw Xia Qing.

I was right after all; Xia Qing was indeed one of the hosts.

Thinking back to my freshman year, I was also wearing a black dress, standing on the stage hosting the welcome party.

In her sophomore year, Yang Tao also became a host at the freshman welcome party, and she wore a white dress at the time.

This scene on stage was like history repeating itself, leaving Sun Xin deeply moved.

Especially after just attending that disappointing class reunion, seeing this familiar scene before me made me miss my university days even more.

Although Yang Tao didn't feel the same way as Sun Xin, looking at Xu Hongdou on stage, she felt as if she were seeing herself back then.

"Crack!"

The shutter sounds.

Sitting next to Yang Tao, Liu Qing took a picture of the stage with her phone, which wasn't very clear, and sent it via MMS.

This is the second MMS message Liu Qing has sent tonight.

The first MMS message was a group photo of the six hosts standing neatly on the stage at the start of the gala.

Sending a multimedia message these days isn't cheap.

If Gao Yunyue hadn't promised to reimburse Liu Qing's phone bills, Liu Qing really wouldn't have been willing to be so extravagant.

Liu Qing wasn't the only one taking photos with her phone in the audience; Liu Guiqin also took a picture with her phone first.

The photos were blurry and the lighting was so dark that you couldn't see anything.

Xu Hongmi told Liu Guiqin not to waste her phone battery, as she was taking pictures of Xu Hongdou with her point-and-shoot camera.

Liu Guiqin specifically instructed Xu Hongmi to take good photos of Xu Hongdou, so that she could show them to her relatives and friends later.

Xu Hongmi was initially interested in taking some photos, but upon hearing this, she immediately put down her phone and stopped taking pictures.

Point-and-shoot cameras don't have enough pixels or focal length, so the photos they take are barely presentable.

There are several people taking photos with professional SLR cameras in front of the stage. I can just ask Xu Hongdou to send me a copy of the photos later.

Sitting not far away, Yao Wei regretfully put down her phone.

I took several photos, but the results were not ideal.

I was going to take some photos of the scene and share them with my roommates, but it seems that won't be possible now.

Xie Zhiyao comforted Yao Wei, saying it was alright. There was a row of cameras and microphones in front of the stage taking pictures and videos, and someone would definitely post the complete video of the gala online later.

Yao Wei completely gave up the idea of ​​taking photos on site and instead discussed Xu Hongdou and Xia Qing on stage with Xie Zhiyao.

"The four beauties of Yan Economics and Trade Business School, no wonder they are so famous on the school's website. I thought their photos were edited, but they look just as good in person as the edited photos."

Xie Zhiyao nodded.

Besides agreeing with Yao Wei's statement, my biggest feeling is that I envy Yang Muye.

If I had known that Yan University of Economics and Business had so many beautiful girls, I should have applied to this school with Yang Muye.

Just then, Yao Wei also asked about this matter.

"You and Yang Muyi grew up together, wearing open-crotch pants. You were classmates in elementary, middle and high school. Why didn't you think of applying to Yanjingmao University with him?"

That's because you don't know how painful it is to be consistently second from elementary school to high school.

Xie Zhiyao answered silently in his heart.

From elementary school to high school, Xie Zhiyao was the class heartthrob, and Yang Muye was the school heartthrob.

Yang Muyi always ranked first and Xie Zhiyao second.

Xie Zhiyao was unable to defy fate until the college entrance examination.

When it came time to apply to universities, Xie Zhiyao deliberately didn't apply to the same school as Yang Muye.

If you can't afford to offend, can you still afford to hide?
As it turns out, even though we weren't in the same school, I was still living in Yang Muye's shadow.

If you can't beat them, the best way is to join them.

That's why Xie Zhiyao regretted it.

However, Xie Zhiyao would definitely not say that in front of Yao Wei.

"I was misled by the name of Yanjing University of Economics and Business. At that time, I thought that the Central University of Finance and Economics, which is a national university, must be better than Yanjing University of Economics and Business, which is a university with the name of Beijing University of Finance and Economics."

"We can't generalize, just like Peking University and Renmin University," Yao Wei said, giving examples.

"But we shouldn't underestimate ourselves. At least before the start of the semester, the reputation of the Central University of Finance and Economics was indeed greater than that of Yanjingmao."

Xie Zhiyao deliberately changed the subject.

Yao Wei nodded in agreement: "Yes, who would have thought that Yanjingmao could turn misfortune into blessing and overtake others on a curve? Now it is even showing signs of overshadowing Tsinghua University and Peking University."

"But the controversy that followed was also considerable."

Xie Zhiyao shrugged.

During this period, he has seen online criticisms from education experts that Yanjingmao is not running a university, but rather a "celebrity school".

Looking at the performance on stage, Yao Wei said firmly, "A person who is not envied is mediocre. Universities should not have any fixed format. Anyway, I like it very much."

(End of this chapter)