At eleven o'clock at night, the dorm lights went out.
Chen Pingjiang, exhausted from a long day, was so sleepy when he heard a few idiots from who-knows-which major on the fifth floor wailing loudly with a stereo on their balcony, flirting with the girls' dorm across the way.
What's worse, they sang like total crap, with croaking voices showing no self-awareness whatsoever.
The natural instincts of boys and girls were unleashed once they got to university.
From the girls' dorms, loud shouts came:
"Handsome guy, one more!"
One song after another.
His thoughts about future business ventures were interrupted, and no matter how he tried, he couldn't straighten them out again.
Chen Pingjiang's rage instantly maxed out.
Suddenly, he flipped over and got out of bed,
"These sons of bitches, I'm going to kick their ass."
Dong Tinghui, who was on his bed, was also seething; he had just been snoring and was woken up again.
As for Zhao Shaoyang, he yelled nervously and excitedly,
"Let's go, let's go!"
This was typical of someone wanting to show off.
Chen Pingjiang slyly went around knocking on the doors of his classmates' dorms, shouting that everyone was a victim, not only because their sleep was disturbed but also because the guys on the fifth floor were being too pretentious.
If no one had taken the lead, everyone would have just put up with it.
But with Chen Pingjiang leading the way, a crowd of onlookers, those wanting to show off, and those who felt it was an imposing move, immediately gathered.
More than twenty people rushed to the fifth floor to the sound of their slippers tapping.
Chen Pingjiang, leading the charge, had a cigarette in his mouth, was shirtless, wearing boxer briefs, and followed the sound to kick open the iron door of dorm 511 on the fifth floor.
"Damn it, it's midnight! Aren't you going to sleep? Are you wailing for the dead?!"
The three international trade majors in dorm 511 were happily singing on the balcony when suddenly they heard a bang as their dorm door was kicked open.
Then, more than twenty people rushed in, instantly filling the small dorm to the brim.
The younger guys were instantly scared witless, thinking they were sophomores or juniors.
Especially the slightly handsome tall guy leading the group looked truly menacing, frowning and glaring, ready to start a fight.
"Sorry, sorry, we'll stop right now."
With fewer people, the guys in dorm 511 naturally didn't dare to argue and could only honestly admit their mistake.
Chen Pingjiang only intended to scare them; getting into a fight right after entering school would be almost insane.
Besides, most of the people behind him were just spectators.
But no matter what, the boys of Business Administration Class 4 now had an impression of Chen Pingjiang as a person to reckon with.
Zhao Shaoyang was dying of excitement, having never seen such a grand spectacle.
He thought "Brother Chen" was truly awesome; all the guys in the class listened to him, and he would definitely be elected class monitor later.
With someone like him protecting him, he could surely walk around fearlessly in class.
Coincidentally, the other boys thought the same.
Chen Pingjiang gave a few warnings and led the boys upstairs.
Only then did the younger guys in dorm 511 breathe a sigh of relief.
"Damn, you scared me to death! If I hadn't given in quickly, I felt like I was going to be beaten to death."
"Don't even talk about it. If you hadn't been flaunting yourselves for so long, would you have provoked public outrage?"
"Damn, you held that telescope longer than anyone just now."
Meanwhile, Chen Pingjiang, acting as if nothing had happened, gathered seven or eight boys and started playing "Zhajinhua" (Flush).
These young rookies were no match for an old hand like Chen Pingjiang.
"Bluff all the way" Chen Pingjiang, "Never show cards" Chen Pingjiang, a solo king who could beat a pair of fives.
This guy was really despicable; when others surrendered and wanted to see Chen Pingjiang's cards, he stubbornly refused to show them, despite having only a single Ace, and mysteriously said,
"Good thing you folded quickly, otherwise your living expenses for this month would be gone."
...
In the following days of military training, Chen Pingjiang's words indeed came true.
Chen Pingjiang passed the test of the young instructor and gained his friendship.
During breaks, a few students and the young instructor would hide behind the teaching building in an deserted spot to smoke.
Usually, Chen Pingjiang would boast about all sorts of things, and occasionally the young instructor would chime in with some army anecdotes, while the other boys watched them like outsiders.
During evening rest, dorm 603 was the liveliest place on the entire sixth floor.
Chen Pingjiang set up a table for "Zhajinhua," with seven or eight people sitting around a small table, and a dense crowd of onlookers standing outside.
With a pot of one or two yuan, one couldn't lose much.
Coupled with Chen Pingjiang's occasional "antics," most boys ended up breaking even after a game.
Every day, Chen Pingjiang would toss two packs of Furongwang cigarettes on the table, and anyone who wanted to smoke would take one.
Gradually, all the boys in Business Administration Class 4 developed a good impression of Chen Pingjiang.
Chen Pingjiang naturally had a sociable personality, coupled with over a decade of social experience honed in society, so the younger guys were truly no match for him.
Emotional intelligence is often not innate but developed through experience.
To put it plainly, it's knowing how to speak to people and how to speak to ghosts; in a more sophisticated way, it's having a perceptive mind, being excellent at reading people, knowing what to say to make others happy, and providing emotional value to everyone at just the right moment.
Isn't there a saying that not knowing how to speak is harder than eating shit?
In high school, students mostly looked down on "loafers" like Chen Pingjiang, who were proficient in all sorts of entertainment, and envied those who excelled academically.
But once they entered university, in a different environment and this small society, Chen Pingjiang's personality immediately made him popular.
At this point, students would subtly envy his social skills.
To be honest, Chen Pingjiang did all this with a purpose; ineffective socializing was something only fools would do.
University is a small society.
To ensure a smooth start-up, one must secure positions like class monitor, club president, and student union president; it will genuinely be much more convenient later on.
He knew this from experience; when he was in school before, he was the president of the Marketing Association.
It was a bit troublesome, and he didn't care for scholarships or advanced individual awards, but having dozens of free laborers under him was truly a sweet deal.
University class monitors: freshmen eagerly vie for the position, sophomores aren't keen, and by junior year, whoever wants it can have it.
It's truly a pure "tool person" role; scholarships, Party membership, and various honorary class monitor titles are all first in line, but the work is also substantial, essentially serving as half an advisor.
The actual advisor just moves their lips, while the class monitor runs their legs off.
Of course, whether the class monitor position is good or bad is subjective.
Good students who love to play or only want to focus on their studies don't want the hassle, but if Chen Pingjiang wanted to join the student union or deal with some Youth League committee directors, being class monitor would be a stepping stone.
Chen Pingjiang remembered that in his previous life, when he was in school, he got along well with the department head by virtue of being the president of the Marketing Association, so much so that when the school organized an entrepreneurship competition in his junior year, he simply put together a business plan and won the gold prize.
"Leopards, everyone goddamn stand up, hand over the winning money, ten yuan each."
Chen Pingjiang clutched a stack of money in his left hand, his expression boastful.
"Damn, my Ace-clear was beaten, and I even followed for so many hands!"
Qi Jiapeng from dorm 605 was on the verge of tears.
Zhao Shaoyang, who had been watching the cards and stifling laughter for a long time, said,
"You didn't lose unfairly. Brother Chen is too cunning. He guessed Xue Gang's cards were small but intentionally compared cards, making you think his cards weren't big either, which is why you dared to follow for so many hands."
Chen Pingjiang chuckled as he shuffled the cards,
"Don't listen to his bullshit. Supper tonight is on me! Fourth Bro, help me grab my phone."
The phone on the table rang with a melody:
"Let the autumn wind take away my longing, take away my tears,
I've been waiting tightly at, the agreed place."
...
Chen Pingjiang glanced at the caller ID, then answered the phone:
"Hello, it's me, Counselor."
The other students immediately quieted down upon hearing it was the counselor's call.
"I'm eating right now. Okay, okay, I'll be right over."
Putting away the phone, Chen Pingjiang put the money he was holding in his left hand into his pocket.
"The counselor has something to discuss with me and asked me to go over. I'll treat you to supper when I get back."
Qi Jiapeng cursed with a laugh,
"Damn, Brother Chen is such a dog, running off after winning money."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Chen Pingjiang stepped back from outside the door,
"Keep playing, keep playing. Later I'll call the counselor back and tell him that Qi Jiapeng insisted on dragging me to play cards and wouldn't let me leave."
Qi Jiapeng: "..."
(End of this chapter)
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