148. Nanjing University Begins the New Term

On September 1st, Nancheng University finally started its new semester. Naturally, the registration procedures were handled by Panpan, the newly returned fake assistant. As for Li Zichun, she was currently studying under Zhao Yan while diligently studying for her professional certifications, and had not yet obtained her "work permit."

On the first day of the semester, the campus of Nancheng University was bustling with activity. Everywhere one looked, there were young, curious faces accompanied by parents who had brought their children to register. Students from various college student unions and clubs seized the opportunity to set up tables along the pathways, shouting to recruit new members.

There were also groups of new and senior students walking together in threes and fours, chatting and laughing.

"Hey, did you know? I heard that Chen Ruowen also applied to Nancheng University. I came here specifically for her! I wonder which department she's in and if I'll run into her."

"Chen Ruowen? Which Chen Ruowen?"

"What other Chen Ruowen could there be? The daughter of the chairman of Double Star—oh, no, I should say executive vice president now."

"Oh my god! She applied to Nancheng University too? Really or not?"

"You didn't even know such huge news? And you call yourself her fan! Come, come, let me show you. This is the winter camp performance video of Chen Ruowen released on the official website of Nancheng University..."

Two freshmen were huddled together, heads close, intently watching a video of Chen Ruowen playing the piano. Just as they were sighing with dizzy admiration, a shout rang out from nearby.

"Chen Ruowen! I've finally found you!"

The two students, whose appreciation of the video had been interrupted, glanced unhappily at the raving old man shouting nearby. Just as they were about to speak, they froze.

Wait a minute.

What did he just say?

Chen Ruowen?!

Chen Ruowen was here?! Right on this street?

Half the street's gazes were drawn by that roar. Chen Ruowen, who was about to weave through the crowd toward her classroom, paused, her face turning dark.

It was the first day of the semester! She had wanted to keep a low profile, so why was she recognized the moment she got out of the car? Was she really that famous at Nancheng University?

Looking at the panicked crowd gathering around her, Chen Ruowen helplessly turned her gaze toward the culprit who had called out to her.

An old man whose hair was as messy as a bird's nest.

Had her fan base already expanded to this extent?

Ranging from eighty-year-old men down to babbling infants?

Chen Ruowen was extremely puzzled.

Cheng Sheng paid no attention to the impact his roar had caused. The moment he finished shouting, he used his aging arms and legs to scurry over to Chen Ruowen in a flash, holding the sketch from their first meeting in his hand.

"Television filming, think about it!! I really want to invite you to join our crew!! Shooting starts in just a few months, and I really don't want to compromise. Please, Chen..."

"Wait, wait, wait." Chen Ruowen quickly stopped the old man's rapid-fire monologue, a puzzled expression on her face. "Who are you? Do I know you?"

Cheng Sheng's overflowing enthusiasm instantly stalled.

Could it be that this young ancestor had completely forgotten all about him?

Resigned, Cheng Sheng shoved the portrait right under Chen Ruowen's nose, then tugged at his own weathered face.

"It's me! Cheng Sheng! Cheng Sheng, the director of *Immortal Romance*! Cheng Sheng, the director who wants to invite you to star in *Empress of the Six Realms*!"

"Oh, it's you..." Chen Ruowen finally remembered this person, and then asked strangely, "Why are you here again? Didn't I already say I'm not acting? Why did you track me down to my university?"

Cheng Sheng was moved to tears.

Ever since he met Chen Ruowen at the film studio in March, the idea of casting her had burned like wildfire, impossible to extinguish.

Even though Chen Ruowen had already explicitly rejected him, he simply couldn't let go of the thought. He had originally wanted to extend the invitation through Chen Liwan, only to find out that Chen Liwan had zero desire for his daughter to enter the entertainment industry.

And later on, he heard that Chen Ruowen had left Nancheng...

It had taken Cheng Sheng forever to wait for today—the start of the semester at Nancheng University, when Chen Ruowen would return, allowing him to hunt her down.

It was truly too difficult.

As a respectable major director, when had he ever had to exert so much effort just to cast an actor, save for his very first years in the industry?

"My drama is genuinely fantastic!" Cheng Sheng earnestly rattled off a long list of its advantages. "As long as you're willing to come, I guarantee that the 'Best Actress Red Rose Award' at next year's Baihua Festival will be yours without a doubt! That's the biggest television award in the country! Countless actors strive for a lifetime just for that single trophy, but with the backing of this drama, you can win it right out of the gate. That's a massive achievement!"

Despite Cheng Sheng exhausting his eloquence, he received nothing more than a look usually reserved for a mentally disabled person from Chen Ruowen.

"Why on earth would I go compete for a trophy from a festival invested in by my own family, judged by people who are actors from my own agency?"

Cheng Sheng: ......

?????

That seemed to be correct.

The Baihua Festival was originally an official state-sponsored television festival, but later underwent gradual restructuring due to funding issues and the aggressive rise of private entertainment companies.

Now, television stations and Double Star each held a fifty percent share. Among the panel of judges, actors originating from Double Star accounted for fifty percent, institutional insiders accounted for thirty percent, and the remaining twenty percent came from other companies.

If Chen Ruowen truly wanted to win the Red Rose Actress award, she had plenty of ways to get it even if she didn't shoot a single project.

At worst, the impact might look a bit bad.

That being said, was his biggest bait completely worthless in her eyes?

Cheng Sheng was in rather low spirits.

Seeing that the person before him was a well-known major director who was so desperately eager for talent, Chen Ruowen kept her patience and painstakingly explained.

"Director Cheng, I really have zero interest in becoming a Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress. I just want to quietly be a second-generation wealthy heiress, then become a chairperson, take up the CEO position, inherit the family business, and transform into a first-generation tycoon. I truly have no interest in anything else."

Director Cheng expressed deep heartbreak; he wanted some peace and quiet.

Don't ask who Peace and Quiet was.

If you must ask, it was Guo Jingyuan.

Taking advantage of the brief window while Cheng Sheng was feeling distressed, Chen Ruowen slipped away.

She had to run; didn't she see the alumni on the nearby street already holding pens and notebooks, preparing to ask for autographs?

Before coming here, she had promised Bai Jinyan that she would keep things as low-profile as "humanly possible." She certainly didn't want to stir up a mountain of trouble on the very first day of school and give Bai Jinyan an excuse to lecture her.

Chen Ruowen hadn't expected her popularity at Nancheng University to have reached such a terrifying level. After shaking off several waves of people along the way, she finally (though not very smoothly) arrived in front of the Medical School building.

Not every department had its own exclusive building, since university students typically ran back and forth between different classrooms across various teaching blocks. However, larger colleges often had exceptions, such as major departments like the Nancheng University School of Medicine and the School of Computer Science.

Class One of Clinical Medicine, where Chen Ruowen was enrolled, had designated a small classroom in the Medical School building as the assembly spot for the first day of the semester.

The moment Chen Ruowen stepped into the classroom, she was greeted by a miraculous sight.

The female students in the entire classroom seemed bewitched, huddled tightly in a circle around the rear left corner, chattering away animatedly about something. In the center of this sea of blooming flowers, a familiar, handsome face was smilingly and effortlessly answering the girls' questions.

What the heck?

Why was Gao Tang here too?