Chapter 57: Subtle Influence

Upon hearing Yu Yueping's request, Chen Han Sheng immediately agreed. 

Yu Yueping's willingness to meet with Zhong Jiancheng was already a sign of positive inclination, and perhaps he wanted to hear Zhong's thoughts on student entrepreneurship activities, or maybe there were other reasons.

After Hu Linyu and Shen Youchu finished cleaning the office, Chen Han Sheng also stood up to bid farewell. 

"Chen Han Sheng, is this your entrepreneurial venture?" 

Once outside the administrative building, Hu Linyu asked curiously. 

"That's right. If it succeeds in the end, I'll need Secretary Hu's support." 

Chen Han Sheng replied with a grin, already planning to take the opportunity to show himself, expand his influence using his role as class president and student union member, and thus had no intention of hiding anything. 

Hu Linyu was straightforward: "No problem, I'll leave my college deliveries to you!" 

"It's not just for you; you'll need to convince the whole dorm." 

Chen Han Sheng took it a step further, then turned to Shen Youchu and ordered without hesitation: "You'll need to help out too." 

"Okay." 

Shen Youchu nodded without asking what exactly she would need to do. 

Hu Linyu gave Chen Han Sheng and Shen Youchu a few more glances but said nothing.

Chen Han Sheng was heading off-campus to meet Zhong Jiancheng, while Hu Linyu and Shen Youchu were going to the library to study. 

As they walked, Hu Linyu suddenly said, "Youchu, your boyfriend is really capable. We have to be careful when talking in the Youth League office, and Chen Han Sheng can already smoke and discuss projects with teachers." 

Shen Youchu was startled and blushed, saying, "He... he's not my boyfriend." 

"Not yet, huh?" 

Hu Linyu scoffed. "Looks like Chen Han Sheng is already on the right track." 

Shen Youchu couldn't lie, and Hu Linyu saw right through her. She didn't even try to cover it up, standing there awkwardly. "I... I'm not dating right now. It has to be after meeting the parents." 

Hu Linyu sighed. "You're so naive, and Chen Han Sheng's personality is so wild. I'm worried he might deceive and bully you." 

Shen Youchu remained silent. Chen Han Sheng had already started to bully her. 

"But... he wouldn't deceive me, right?"

...

The conversation went smoothly for Chen Han Sheng. In his words, the Youth League Committee at the Financial College was enthusiastically welcoming Manager Zhong for a visit and meeting. 

Zhong Jiancheng felt the college's sincerity and thought he definitely needed to visit. 

The next morning, Zhong Jiancheng drove to the entrance of the Financial College, where Chen Han Sheng had already arranged with the security guard. Since he had mentioned his family was helping move dormitory items, the guard easily let him in after signing the form. 

Zhong Jiancheng noticed Chen Han Sheng holding two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes and joked, "So, students and teachers also do this?" 

Chen Han Sheng smiled and didn't respond. He first took Zhong Jiancheng to a storage room on the first floor of the teaching building. 

"This place is just used for storing tables and chairs and miscellaneous items. What a waste." 

Zhong Jiancheng said, clearly feeling bad for the space. As a businessman, he viewed things very differently from the school. 

These storage rooms on the first floor were adjacent to the parking lot, where students parked their bicycles. The noise made it impossible for these rooms to be used for teaching tasks, so they were left unused. However, Zhong Jiancheng saw them as a prime location—underneath the teaching building, near the west gate of the Financial College, not far from the cafeteria, and surrounded by a bustling parking lot with high foot traffic. 

"Even if you sold soy milk here, you could make 1,000 yuan a day," Zhong Jiancheng said with certainty. 

Chen Han Sheng shook his head. "This definitely wouldn't work for a breakfast stand, not even for a convenience store. A university should maintain its atmosphere."

Just then, Qi Wei, the Minister of External Relations, passed by on her way to class and reminded, "The student life center meeting is at 7 p.m. tonight. This is your first meeting as the Vice Minister of External Relations, don't be late." 

Chen Han Sheng nodded in agreement, saying he would arrive on time. 

"Being class president and vice minister, won't that affect your entrepreneurship?" 

Zhong Jiancheng asked with some concern. He was quite interested in the space but realized that Chen Han Sheng seemed to be the only one who could make it happen. 

Chen Han Sheng laughed. "Any impact will be a good one. If I weren't the student union vice president and class president, would the school leaders have talked to me about this project?" 

Zhong Jiancheng thought about it and agreed. Indeed, Chen Han Sheng's status in the school played a crucial role. 

After the site visit, Chen Han Sheng took Zhong Jiancheng to the Youth League office. 

When they entered, Chen Han Sheng immediately switched to a more modest demeanor, saying, "Secretary Yu, I'm sorry. Manager Zhong is so polite and insisted on bringing something over. I couldn't stop him, so I ended up with two packs of cigarettes." 

Zhong Jiancheng gave Chen Han Sheng a surprised look, but quickly adapted and added, "If it weren't for Xiao Chen stopping me, I still have two cases of Wuliangye in the car. I'll send them to Secretary Yu later." 

Yu Yuesping immediately stood up. "Cigarettes are fine, just cigarettes. I don't drink, and this is the only time, don't make it a habit." 

He took the bag, opened it, and when he saw the two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes, he quietly put them in the drawer beneath his desk. 

Seeing that Yu Yuesping accepted the cigarettes, Chen Han Sheng smiled at Zhong Jiancheng, and Zhong's opinion of him went up another notch. 

"Manager Zhong, Han Sheng told me about this project, and our Youth League Committee is supportive. We just worry that you might not make any money." 

Yu Yuesping, lacking business insight, didn't see the potential of the location. After accepting the cigarettes, he sincerely expressed his concern. 

"It's okay, Secretary Yu. I'm not trying to make money from the students. I just want to make it more convenient for them to send their luggage and increase the company's visibility..." 

If Chen Han Sheng was a book-smart rogue, Zhong Jiancheng was a street-smart, blunt type. He was quick to spin a tale without needing much prompting from Chen Han Sheng. 

Yu Yuesping nodded after hearing Zhong's explanation and asked a few more questions, which Zhong answered well with Chen Han Sheng's guidance. 

In the end, Yu Yuesping actually agreed to allocate two empty rooms for the project. He had originally intended to give only one, pretending to hesitate, but after the two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes, one room became two, and his hesitation quickly turned into eagerness. 

When filling out the "College Student Entrepreneurship Support Program Application Form," Yu Yuesping reminded, "This requires a faculty advisor. I can't be the one, you'll need to find someone else." 

"Would my counselor, Guo Zhongyun, be suitable?" 

Chen Han Sheng asked. 

"It's fine, but will he agree?" 

"He already expressed his support for me." 

Chen Han Sheng had set the groundwork early by mentioning the counselor, so there were no concerns. 

With the application submitted and Yu Yuesping's stamp placed on the form, Chen Han Sheng had secured a year's use of two of the abandoned storage rooms in the teaching building. 

Zhong Jiancheng was still a bit incredulous. He couldn't believe such a great space was now his, but he understood the process wouldn't have been so simple. Some challenges had been quietly resolved by Chen Han Sheng. 

Just like the two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes—subtle, but effective.

At lunch, Zhong Jiancheng invited Yu Yuesping to a restaurant off-campus, as was customary, and Yu Yuesping didn't decline. 

After the lunch, Zhong Jiancheng took out 2,000 yuan and handed it to Chen Han Sheng. "This is for the cigarettes." 

The two packs of Zhonghua weren't worth 2,000 yuan, and Zhong Jiancheng was clearly offering a bribe. 

However, Chen Han Sheng wasn't one to let his efforts be easily wiped away with money. 

Chen Han Sheng smiled and declined. "I didn't do this just for the project, there's also something in it for me." 

Seeing that Chen Han Sheng was firm in his refusal, Zhong Jiancheng had no choice but to say, "I have to support you somehow, or else I'd seem irrelevant." 

"Manager Zhong makes a good point," Chen Han Sheng agreed. "How about supporting a phone instead?"