This person really knows how to be reborn!

The next day was a sunny and pleasant day.

The flowers didn't smile at him, and the birds didn't say "good morning," yet he still arrived at school early.

Zeng Cheng took a shower last night, washed his hair this morning, dressed very formally, and even styled his hair.

Many people subconsciously regard school leaders as teachers.

That's not actually the case.

A leader is a leader, especially a university leader, who is a high-ranking leader.

What does it mean to be the vice president of Sichuan University?

To put it simply, in terms of rank, he's on par with the top official of a prefecture-level city—both are at the provincial-level department head rank.

In a state as large as Texas, with nearly four million people, there are only three or four leaders of this rank, and literally only a handful.

Zeng Cheng took it very seriously by coming to the school today to pay his respects in advance—after all, he would not be able to do without the support and protection of the school after he officially started his business.

Therefore, he tried to associate himself with schools as much as possible when starting his business.

They've even set their sights on the neighboring University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

Because of Zeng Cheng, Yu Baiwei, the top scorer in the province, also condescended to come to Sichuan University to provide technical assistance.

Zeng Cheng even thought that the vice president of Shu University would make a special trip to Dezhou because of Yu Baiwei.

So I specifically asked Yu Baiwei if she would be at school today.

Yu Baiwei quickly replied that she couldn't come.

Zeng Cheng did not ask any further questions.

Similarly, if Zeng Cheng wanted Chen Danqing to take him seriously, he would at least need to be in the top ten of the "Pig Slaughtering List".

Quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

Therefore, some mountains and seas are not so easy to fill, even for Zeng Cheng, a second-time player, the road is long and arduous.

Zeng Cheng wasn't the only student who received a call from Tao Xingzhi to try and become acquainted with him; there were more than a dozen.

This includes Qi Jiahao—how could our brother Jiahao possibly miss such an opportunity to make his presence felt in front of the leaders?

The vice president of Sichuan University in charge of admissions is named Meng Zhou.

During his meeting with Meng Zhou, Zeng Cheng acted as if he were just a passerby.

There were too many people; there was no stage for them to perform.

But it's okay.

Tao Xingzhi said he would take Meng Zhou on a tour of the campus of Dezhou No. 1 High School, and the students would accompany him.

A talent will always shine; when he's strolling around campus, there will definitely be opportunities for him to show off his skills.

When visiting a school, the leaders would always walk in front, followed by the students. As they walked, Tao Xingzhi couldn't help but sigh.

"Old Meng, out of the six of us in our dorm back then, you're the best now. Your old president, Mr. Nie, is retiring soon, right? Who knows, you, Old Meng, might even go further—that would be a real ministerial position!"

Meng Zhou quickly waved his hand: "Old Tao, I dare not think about that. Principal Nie will definitely retire in two years, but who will take over is up to the organization. In my opinion, it will most likely be an appointment by parachuting. On the other hand, how high does one have to go to be considered a high-ranking official? After so many years of ups and downs, I'm a bit tired of it. I'd rather retire early, go home to grow flowers and read books."

Tao Xingzhi certainly knew that Meng Zhou was playing the "false modesty" card.

Actually, I really fall for this kind of thing.

So he continued his utterly unapproachable flattery: "Old Meng, I remember you were a bookworm back in college, you even saved your meal money to buy books, no wonder you got promoted in just a few years after joining the company, what leader doesn't like a writer like you? And then you just kept getting ahead, becoming the vice president of Sichuan University in your early forties..."

Meng Zhou waved his hand repeatedly and said, "Old Tao, you don't know this. Being the vice president of Sichuan University, especially a vice president like me who is in charge of school affairs and admissions, is not so easy. I'm busy every day, and even during the summer vacation, I don't have many days of leisure."

Most of the students behind him just listened without really listening, but Zeng Cheng gleaned a crucial piece of information.

Meng Zhou is in charge of both school affairs and admissions. He is really tired, but he also has a lot of power. He can even be said to be the executive vice president of Sichuan University.

At this moment, Tao Xingzhi suddenly turned around, looked at the students, and said earnestly:

"Students, you should learn from your Principal Meng! If you read thousands of books, you too can become like him, eloquent and articulate, speaking with grace and fluency!"

Therefore, being a leader is never easy.

Although Tao Xingzhi and Meng Zhou were college roommates, after so many years, the difference in their abilities has become apparent.

Tao Xingzhi definitely needed to curry favor with Meng Zhou, but he couldn't be too obvious about it because of their classmate relationship.

Under the guise of disciplining students, he then proceeded to lick Meng Zhou's boots without any hint of sarcasm.

Meng Zhou couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, clearly enjoying being licked.

If a student had displayed exceptional emotional intelligence at this moment and stepped forward to act as Tao Xingzhi's straight man, Meng Zhou would have felt even more comfortable.

Zeng Cheng sensed the opportunity and prepared to play the straight man.

How exactly should one take on this role?

Zeng Cheng maxed out his CPU and started mentally drafting his speech.

As the saying goes, "A person with a wealth of knowledge naturally exudes elegance," Principal Meng, no wonder your speech and demeanor are so poetic...

Before I could even finish rehearsing, someone else spoke first.

Qi Jiahao said sincerely, "Principal Tao, your teachings are so insightful. As the saying goes, 'A person with a wealth of knowledge naturally exudes elegance.' Principal Meng is clearly a true scholar; every word he says is so philosophical. Just listening to your conversation was like a sudden enlightenment, far surpassing what I've learned in ten years of schooling!"

Zeng Cheng: "..."

He was furious that someone had beaten him to it, and he cursed Qi Jiahao in his heart.

[You shameless simp, disgusting!]

So it's true that our Jiahao comes from a family with a strong academic tradition.

These compliments, which even Zeng Cheng would need to prepare in his mind, he could spout off without hesitation.

Zeng Cheng couldn't help but sigh—it turns out that this track was already this crowded in 2009.

To Zeng Cheng's surprise, Meng Zhou only gave a perfunctory "hmm" after hearing Qi Jiahao's compliment.

Qi Jiahao must have been puzzled.

Thinking that there was absolutely nothing wrong with what he had just said, why did Principal Meng react so coldly?

Qi Jiahao was thinking.

Zeng Cheng was also pondering.

The underlying logic was quickly established.

The strategy itself is fine, but Meng Zhou's threshold is too high.

I've heard those compliments from Qi Jiahao countless times before; my ears are probably calloused from them. They're not even close to my threshold!

What should we do then?

That's when a stroke of genius is needed.

There has to be some kind of trigger, something that can get Meng Zhouxin hooked in just one sentence.

With this in mind, Zeng Cheng remained calm and continued to wait for an opportunity.

At this moment, Meng Zhou and Tao Xingzhi started chatting again.

Meng Zhou started the conversation: "Old Tao, I just moved recently, and there's something that's bothering me. I had a lucky cat figurine in my old study that I'd had for years, but the movers accidentally broke it. The moving company said they'd compensate me for the original price, but do I really need those few dozen yuan? The point is, it's just unsettling; the symbolism is bad!"

Zeng Cheng listened and thought to himself that Old Deng was indeed being "falsely modest" just now. He cared so much about this lucky cat, and he was definitely not as nonchalant as he appeared.

With this thought in mind, Zeng Cheng, who had been waiting anxiously for his opportunity, decisively spoke up: "Principal Meng, it's actually a good thing that the lucky cat broke!"

Meng Zhou frowned immediately.

Tao Xingzhi's expression also became quite awkward.

I thought Zeng Cheng usually had pretty high emotional intelligence, so why did he act so silly today?

Qi Jiahao, on the other hand, wore a gloating expression and struggled to suppress his laughter.

The other teachers who were with us were quite surprised—"Student, if you can't speak, we don't have to."

Under the watchful eyes of many, Zeng Cheng continued, "Principal Meng, think about it. A lucky cat is a lucky cat; if the cat is broken, all that's left is the lucky charm, right?"

Yup!

That's absolutely right!

Meng Zhou's tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed.

Zeng Cheng's words clearly struck a chord with him.

Everyone else gaped open.

Holy crap, holy crap, is this even possible?

Qi Jiahao pursed his lips and cursed Zeng Cheng in his heart.

[You shameless simp, disgusting!]