Chapter 143: No growth without experience

While Xu Tingsheng had deleted those two announcements on the Rebirth webpage, it was inevitable that the rare statement from Rebirth and the vocal backing of the popular new female artiste, Apple, still caused Hucheng Education’s name to flourish immediately thereafter.

Feeling grateful whilst also helpless, Xu Tingsheng spent yet another night at Jianan University.

The next morning, Yanzhou University lost the football match as expected. Fortunately, the score was not all that awkward for them. The match ended 1: 3.

Actually, just based on the difference in abilities between the two squads alone, Jianan University would completely have been able to thrash their opponents with a goal count ranging into the double digits. However, intimidated by Yanzhou University’s ‘reconnaissance work’, they ended up being too cautious in their playstyle, thus allowing Yanzhou University to be saved from embarrassment.

Coming on in the second half, in his 45 minutes on the pitch, Xu Tingsheng relied on his understanding of his former teammates to ‘swindle’ a ball out of one of them. Then, he gave the penalty chance to their doltish vice-captain who would soon be graduating and leaving the university.

This was Yanzhou University’s sole goal.

Those of Room 408 really didn’t come to watch the match. It was unknown if the reason for this was truly as they said and they didn’t know which side they should cheer for or if this had actually just been an excuse to laze around in bed.

This was university. Those who still woke up before 9am on weekends should really be considered freaks.

Exiting the pitch, there was an unexpected person waiting for Xu Tingsheng. Having been owned terribly by him the previous night, Jianan University’s number one CS expert had now specifically come looking for him.

“I know that you’re not from our school. Thus, I don’t mind if you take that thing away. I can just make something better anyway. Still, please, don’t spread things,okay?” Bro Expert requested.

Xu Tingsheng was bemused by one particular sentence of his: I can just make something better anyway.

Thus, he asked, “You’re, that cheating program was personally written by you? Also, you can write even better ones?”

“What? You want it?”

“No.”

“What do you want then?”

Xu Tingsheng sorted out his thoughts, “What I mean is that since you can do this, it should also not be a problem for you to write some programs for the computer, right? Something like games with stages about guessing idioms, filling in the verses of poems and memorising vocabulary.”

This was a plan of Xu Tingsheng’s. He wanted to simplify some teaching apps that would be rather popular in the future, turning them into education games for the computer and providing them for download on his platform. They would be free of charge, but would still serve as a form of promotion for Hucheng.

This was one of his plans for establishing Hucheng’s image and promoting it on a large scale.

More importantly, it would help Hucheng win the hearts of the parents. In an era when youths were enamoured with the internet like this, how much affection would these worried parents shower upon this beneficent corporation who had turned ‘studying’ into a game?

Xu Tingsheng had mentioned this to Old Wai before. However, Old Wai was not proficient in this aspect and also had no time to try it out. Thus, the matter had been set aside for the moment.

“I can, but I have no intention to.”

“I have the intention, and I have the money. You do it, I’ll pay.”

Xu Tingsheng ended his communication with Bro Expert. Finally, after hesitating for a long time, Bro Expert requested for a ‘sky-high’ price with doubt in his eyes, of 800 yuan for each game.

Xu Tingsheng told him very earnestly: One thousand. Any less than that and I won’t feel good.

After having come to an agreement, Xu Tingsheng sent Bro Expert’s handphone number to Old Wai. Anyway, Old Wai knew of what he was thinking. Such matters were better to be discussed between those who knew programming.

After eating lunch and resting for a while, Yanzhou University’s bus departed from Jianan University, gradually drawing further and further away from the area as the great green hill, that lighthouse, was eventually concealed by multiple tall buildings, fading away into the distance.

Xu Tingsheng’s trip here seemed like a rather hasty one.

Still, it was great that his old pals were still doing well. He had also established contact with his former bros once more, establishing new friendship. Then, this trip had not been a wasted one.

......

On the bus, the Yanzhou University school team wasn’t really in a dismal mood. After all, Jianan University had really been too powerful. While they had lost, the scoreline had still been rather good for them. Moreover, this already signified a historic breakthrough in the history of their Yanzhou University football team.

The bus left the city district of Jianan City, yet did not head in the direction of Yanzhou City. A member of the team realised this and asked the coach about it.

The coach said, “I managed to get the school’s permission to bring you guys on a two day vacation.”

Cheers resounded in the bus, with only the captain looking rather doubtfully at Xu Tingsheng and asking him, “Are you in a rush to get back?”

Xu Tingsheng smiled, shaking his head, “No rush.”

Xu Tingsheng was indeed not in a rush. In fact, because Hucheng and himself were currently a focal point of discussion, he was actually very willing to go back a bit later. The reason for this state of mind of his was that he had already finished all the necessary arrangements long ago. Now, all he had to do was sit back, observe the ripples and await the storm.

There was a phrase ‘Without experience, there can be no growth’. In his battle against Huang Tianliang and the Huang Family some time back, Xu Tingsheng had virtually suffered a complete defeat. He had admitted this to himself, having also always been pondering and growing thereafter.

In his battle against Zhang Xingke this time round, if not for his previous experience with the Huang Family, Xu Tingsheng might still have acted like he had back then, immediately getting flustered and losing his footing as soon as the matter occurred, next hastily and frantically making his move as he just randomly scattered all the cards in his hand out at once...

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Luckily, Xu Tingsheng had already grown wiser from his previous setback, able to stay calm in the face of crisis as he analysed the cards that he had on one hand whilst forcing out the other side’s base cards on the other. Afterwards, he had methodically organised the order in which he would be using each card, how to counterattack if they were to retaliate, even how to ride on momentum and change things to become beneficial for their side. All his moves had been planned out carefully beforehand.

In having arranged for Old Wai to set up a section for other labour intermediaries back then, seemingly having been eager to send Zhang Xingke a counterblow as he minded not them both suffering together, his actual motive had really been to force Zhang Xingke into a flustered panic, thereby becoming more hasty in making his move.

As it was, really, the Zhang Xingke this time instead resembled Xu Tingsheng when he had faced the Huang Family previously. He had thought that he had the dominant position and the sufficient preparations and conditions, thus not having waited in throwing out all the cards in his hand at once, actually trying to settle it all with a single strike.

Such methods might have been sufficient in securing his victory against all those university students in the past. Still, against the current Xu Tingsheng, they were just far from enough.

Xu Tingsheng having taken two steps these past two days, with Apple having randomly thrown out a card for him as well, Hucheng had already completely succeeded in a reversal in the area of public sentiment. Yet, Xu Tingsheng’s previous arrangements had not been limited to just this.

Today, a great deal of commotion had been centred around the announcements by Rebirth and Apple, centred atop the curiosity of countless people around the nation. What exactly was Hucheng? As the traffic on the platform rose greatly, Lu Zhxin gave him a call.

“Your Nine Cities expansion plan has to be brought forward. Currently, the calls of inquiry from other cities are nearly exploding our office phone.”

“Alright. When I return, it should be more or less time.”

“You aren’t back yet? What’re you doing?”

“Playing at Thousand Island Lake with the team. We’re just about to start a barbecue.”

“......”

.........

On Monday morning, Management Head Zhao of Yanzhou University’s Student Management decided on a final plan of action following a long discussion with Zhang Xingke.

With the current circumstances, it was evidently already impossible for Management Head Zhao to threaten the ‘hero’ Xu Tingsheng through the same method that he had earlier. The only thing he could do now was frame Hucheng as being a destabilising factor of Yanzhou University due to the chaos that a student self-launching a platform had brought about this time, even claiming that it might even have severe hidden long-term negative impacts on the safety of the students.

Afterwards, he would try to evoke the unease of the school leadership, convincing the Principal to formally intervene on behalf of the university, using the safety of the students as a reason to either shut Hucheng down or temporarily suspend it pending revision.

Even if it was the latter, Zhang Xingke would then have the chance to establish and promote such a platform of his own.

When Management Head Zhao entered the Principal’s office early in the morning, the Principal, Zhao Kangwen, currently had a teacup in one hand, reading a newspaper with great relish with the other as a delighted smile was evidently visible on his face from time to time.

Seeing that the Principal was in a good mood, Management Head Zhao made use of this chance to share all his thoughts and opinions.

Zhao Kangwen silently listened to all of it, frowning non-stop amidst it all. Finally, he stared at Management Head Zhao with a disbelieving look on his face for a long time before, just being unable to hold it in, angrily throwing the newspaper right in Management Head Zhao’s face.

It was a set of Yanzhou Nightly.

The front page headlines read: The flourishing fruits of Yanzhou University’s students’ labour.