Chapter 109

“That’s great! Second sister, once our big brother arrives, our whole family will be in the capital. This is a huge celebration! When he comes back, be sure to let me know so I can go home.”

“Of course, everyone in our family must be present then. Oh, have you been filming recently?” Second sister asked with concern.

“Yes, the film crew has been shooting in Beijing recently. I’ve been on set for the past few days and took a five-day leave for it.”

“Filming is important, but don’t neglect your studies. The postgraduate entrance exams will start soon. You need to focus and strive to get in.”

“Yeah, I know.” Song Haowen said to his second sister, “The third class is about to start. I have to hurry to Gu Ziwei’s class and see if she’s there.” Without waiting for his second sister’s response, he immediately dashed away.

Gu Ziwei’s class was on the third floor of the Literature Department building. When Song Haowen reached the third floor and arrived outside her classroom, he didn’t see her yet.

However, a group of journalism students had gathered around him, greeting the famous star. Though he didn’t recognize any of these students, he couldn’t ignore them. He greeted them while searching for Gu Ziwei.

Inside the classroom, Gu Ziwei was chatting with a female classmate. Suddenly, she felt a commotion outside the classroom. Walking over, she saw Song Haowen in the crowd. She called his name, attracting his attention, and then led the way downstairs.

Song Haowen quickly broke free from the fans around him and followed Gu Ziwei’s direction. When they reached the ground floor, Gu Ziwei waved at him and guided him into a small grove next to the building. There, she stopped and waited for him.

Song Haowen walked up to Gu Ziwei, greeting her with a smile.

Gu Ziwei gave him a reproachful look and said, “Seeing you is truly rare, Mr. Famous Star.”

Song Haowen explained, “You know, I’ve been busy with filming.”

“Have you been filming these past few days?”

“Yes, the film crew is here, and I took a five-day break. Do you need something from me?”Top of Form

“There is something.” Gu Ziwei stared into Song Haowen’s eyes and said, “Last week, I overheard Cui Hai talking to someone about your electronics store. Although I don’t know exactly what they discussed, given Cui Hai’s vengeful nature and considering he suffered a significant loss to you last time, he won’t easily admit defeat.

He’ll definitely look for an opportunity to retaliate against you. So, my purpose in finding you is to remind you to be cautious. On one hand, prevent them from causing damage to your business store, and on the other hand, be mindful of your personal safety to guard against their conspiracies and tricks.”

“Thank you for the warning!” Song Haowen immediately thought of the troublemakers like Crooked Neck causing disturbances in the store. It was almost certain they were sent by Cui Hai.

“A few days ago, three or five people came to the store to cause trouble. They were all easily defeated by Qian Youlai and even spilled the beans on their plans.”

“Oh, did the store suffer any losses?” Gu Ziwei asked in surprise.

“No losses. Those people looked like troublemakers, but they were nothing more than paper tigers. Even my apprentice could handle them.” Song Haowen scoffed, “These ragtag bunch is not worth worrying about.”

Gu Ziwei expressed her concern, “You still need to be careful. In a brawl, they may be ruffians, but after the fight, they can leave, while you can’t. You have properties, so you need to guard against their retaliation.”

“Don’t worry, I’m waiting for them to come cause trouble. When that happens, don’t blame me for being impolite.” Song Haowen said confidently.

Gu Ziwei smiled and gently patted Song Haowen’s shoulder. “I have to go to class now. Make sure to keep this in mind. Remember not to escalate the situation, even to the point of causing casualties.” With that, she gracefully went upstairs to attend her class.

As Song Haowen watched Gu Ziwei go upstairs, he contemplated Cui Hai’s plot, clenching his teeth audibly. He secretly vowed that if Cui Hai continued his retaliation, he would make him regret it and ensure he never dared to have ill intentions again.

Returning to the classroom, he stared at the professor with his mind preoccupied, not absorbing a single word of the lecture.

After lunch in the cafeteria, Song Haowen spotted Cui Hai from a distance and intentionally walked towards him. The moment Cui Hai saw him, even though he knew Song Haowen wouldn’t dare do anything on the campus, he felt a sense of unease. His mouth went dry, and he hurriedly walked away to the side.

“Cui Hai, where do you think you’re going to?” Song Haowen lightly scolded.

“Who are you? Are we familiar?” Cui Hai pretended, continuing to walk without stopping.

Song Haowen took a long stride, blocking Cui Hai in front of him. With a cold smile, he said, “You seem quite audacious lately, daring to send people to harass my friend’s store?”

“Nonsense! When did I send anyone to harass your friend? Speak with evidence; otherwise, be careful of a defamation lawsuit!” Cui Hai argued, his face turning red.

“Hmph. I warn you; this matter ends here. I can treat it as if nothing happened. If you still want to cause trouble, no matter how powerful you think you are, I’ll still crush you like dog shit. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try.” Song Haowen warned sternly.

“Nonsense.” Cui Hai, seeing more and more students gathering around, retorted defiantly, “If you dare to touch me now, I’ll make sure you fall from grace immediately!”

Song Haowen sneered, “Don’t forget who was once begging on their knees, crying like a baby. I’m not here to beat you up today; I’m just giving you a warning. Reflect on your actions when you go back.” After that, he smiled at the surrounding students and quickly left.

The onlooking students failed to detain Song Haowen but surrounded Cui Hai, pressuring him to explain his actions and why Song Haowen issued a warning. Cui Hai, however, saw an opportunity for manipulation.

“Song Haowen, this guy, relies on being a celebrity, tries to forcibly take my girlfriend. When I refuse, he hires people to injure me, causing me to spend a week in the hospital. Today, he bumped into me and issued a warning. It’s outrageous!”

“Really? What happened?”

“Who’s your girlfriend?”

“Isn’t he too much? Does being a celebrity give him the right to casually snatch someone’s girlfriend?”

“You should report him to the school and have him disciplined.”

“Go, go, go! What does the campus belle have to do with you? Don’t try to flatter yourself.”

“Didn’t hear he’s dating Ren Hua? And there was a big fight with Yang Wei, the ‘Western City Gentleman,’ who was expelled from the literature department?”

“That’s old news. There was a time when he was rumored to be involved with the Celebrity Tian Nana…”

“Some say he’s having an affair with a female boss outside the school. I don’t know if it’s true or not…”

…

Cui Hai, seeing the rhythm around him escalate, felt somewhat triumphant as news of his conflicts with Song Haowen quickly spread throughout the entire school like wildfire. He thought to himself, “Song Haowen, I acknowledge your ability to fight, but can you control the rumors spreading like wildfire?”

Song Haowen, unaware that rumors about him and Gu Ziwei had reached a fever pitch after his encounter with Cui Hai, returned to his long-neglected dormitory.

His roommates, excited to see him, teasingly scolded him for being inattentive and forgetting about his dorm while spending all his time off-campus. He chuckled, apologized to his roommates, then, noticing his bed piled with luggage and miscellaneous items, asked Zhang Qiang with a stern face, “Look at you, the dormitory head. My bed is filled with so much clutter, and you’re not doing anything about it.”

Zhang Qiang, putting down his Tolstoy, laughed, “This is called efficient use. Don’t you understand? Since you’re not sleeping here, the bed is naturally unused. It’s better to make some contributions.”

Ding Mo, the class monitor, asked, “Are you planning to rest on the bed now? I can help you move the things away. But, you don’t have anything on your bed. How will you sleep?”

Song Haowen, puzzled, asked, “Didn’t my bed have a mat, pillow, and a blanket on it? Why are they gone?”

“You still have the nerve to ask?” Sun Laixi, the propaganda officer wearing thick glasses, said, “You haven’t been staying here, and the blanket got moldy. I suffered a lot sleeping on the bunk below yours. Sometimes, bugs even fell onto my bed from yours. One Sunday, I couldn’t stand it anymore and took the blanket, pillow, and mat downstairs to wash them out. When I went to retrieve them in the evening, they were all gone. I wanted to tell you immediately, but you always rush in and out for classes, and I never found a chance to talk to you. As time went by, I forgot about it. Shall I compensate you?”

Blushing, Song Haowen awkwardly said, “Sorry. Losing those things doesn’t matter; I don’t have the time to come back and sleep anyway. Today, I just came to take a look here and chat with everyone.”

Yu Guangzhong, the class committee member for the sports class, asked, “The school will have the spring sports meeting soon. Which events are you planning to participate in?”

“I haven’t thought about it yet. I’ll decide later,” Song Haowen, currently preoccupied with other matters, wasn’t interested in participating in the school sports meeting, but he didn’t want to refuse directly, so he evaded the question for now.

Yu Guangzhong continued, “Little Song, your martial arts skills are so high. Can you teach me?”

Before Song Haowen could respond, Wu Sida, the cultural and entertainment committee member coming from the bathroom, sarcastically remarked, “Old Yu, even your daughter can buy soy sauce now, and you still want to learn martial arts? It’s more suitable for your daughter to learn.”

Yu Guangzhong immediately blushed and scolded, “Can’t I practice, You want me to ask you instead? Do you want to practice childlike skills?”

A burst of laughter erupted in the dormitory.

Ding Mo said, “Xiao Songzi, we actually really like your songs. Have you written any new ones lately?”

Wu Sida immediately got excited like a child. “Sing one for us, will you?”

Song Haowen frowned and said, “It’s noon, everyone is taking a nap, why are we acting like this?”

“No problem, no problem. I’ll go close the dormitory door, and you can sing softly,” Zhang Qiang swiftly jumped up and immediately closed the door.

Wu Sida handed his guitar to Song Haowen. “Sing a song or two for us, let us enjoy it.”

Everyone joined in and cheered along.