Everyone's been reborn, so who would bother finding a wife on their own?

Chapter 330 Chair

We left the startup base.

Song Huan was just about to take a stroll around Dongda University to see if Xiao Yunqing had changed her mind when Chen Xiuyuan called.

"Song Huan, are you free at noon? Let's have lunch together and get to know a few people."

Chen Xiuyuan's voice came through the receiver, with the rustling sound of turning over documents in the background.

Song Huan switched the phone to her other hand.

How many people do you know?

Who is Chen Xiuyuan?

The Vice President of Nanjiang University and Dean of the School of Science and Engineering. The connections he introduces are things you can only come across by chance.

After careful consideration, Song Huan still felt that the opportunity was too good to miss.

You can stroll around Dongda anytime, but if you miss this meal, you'll never get another chance.

He immediately agreed.

The restaurant we agreed to meet was a small, privately-run restaurant near the school, tucked away in an alley.

When Song Huan pushed open the door to the private room, Chen Xiuyuan had already arrived.

He sat in the main seat, with a middle-aged woman sitting next to him.

She was wearing a navy blue cashmere cardigan, her hair was pulled back, and she had a gentle smile on her face.

Zhuang Xiao is Chen Xiuyuan's wife.

Xiao Le sat on the high stool next to her, swinging her legs back and forth, holding a lollipop in her hand.

As soon as Xiao Le saw Song Huan, she slid off the chair, ran over, and hugged his leg.

Song Huan quickly bent down and picked her up.

Children seem to really enjoy being picked up; their field of vision suddenly increases, allowing them to see the tops of adults' heads.

Xiao Le hugged his neck, giggling, her voice crisp and clear, "Brother, I gave your USB drive to Dad. I told him you got scolded by the old professor and were very sad, so Dad looked at your proposal!"

There was a moment of silence in the private room. Chen Xiuyuan's hand, holding a teacup, froze in mid-air.

Zhuang Xiao's gaze darted back and forth between her husband and the young man.

Song Huan felt the corners of her mouth twitching visibly.

Xiao Le spoke again, "Brother, why aren't you hugging me anymore?"

Song Huan put her back on the ground, a gentle smile on her face.

"Brother is tired, you can stand up by yourself."

He thought to himself, "I can't buy snacks next time."

You must buy her kindergarten workbooks so she knows the consequences of talking nonsense.

He sat down, and Chen Xiuyuan sat down as well.

The two coughed simultaneously, their eyes met briefly in the air, and then looked away.

[This kid, he let Xiao Le hand me the USB drive, and pretended he didn't know anything, but now Xiao Le has exposed everything.]

Chen Xiuyuan picked up his teacup and took a sip.

The teacup was held too high, obscuring half of her face.

Song Huan sat in the chair, unsure how to start the conversation and break the awkward silence.

The silence in the private room lasted for a few seconds.

Zhuang Xiao's gaze lingered on her husband's face for a moment before landing on Song Huan.

Then she smiled, picked up the teapot, and poured Song Huan a cup of tea.

"Xiao Song, Old Chen always talks about you at home. He says you're different from other students; you have ideas and you're capable. He's been a teacher for so many years, and he can count the number of students he's praised on one hand."

Song Huan quickly took the teacup with both hands.

Chen Xiuyuan coughed again from the side.

Zhuang Xiao ignored him and continued, "Xiao Le knows about that food delivery platform. She came back from school that day and said a guy took her to the convenience store and bought her a lollipop. Later, Lao Chen told me that the guy worked for the food delivery platform."

She looked at Song Huan with the loving gaze of an elder looking at a younger generation, "To achieve such results in your freshman year is truly remarkable."

Song Huan was unusually a little embarrassed.

Chen Xiuyuan put down his teacup, and the expression on his face slowly changed from "being exposed" to a resigned calm.

He picked up his chopsticks and placed a piece of braised pork on Song Huan's plate.

"Alright, alright, let's eat."

The atmosphere quickly became lively.

Song Huan breathed a sigh of relief. "Auntie is right."

After a while, the door to the private room was pushed open again.

A middle-aged man walked in.

He was around fifty years old, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, and the eyes behind the lenses held a gentle quality characteristic of a scholar.

He was wearing a dark gray wool coat over a white shirt, with the collar neatly buttoned up.

He exudes a scholarly air from head to toe, clearly someone who works in education.

Chen Xiuyuan immediately stood up, walked around from his seat, and reached out his hand.

"Old Zhang, you're finally here! Was there a traffic jam on the road?"

"It's alright." The man squeezed his hand.

Chen Xiuyuan turned around and pulled Song Huan up from the chair.

"Song Huan, this is Zhang Xiang, the president of Dongda University. Old Zhang, this is Song Huan, the entrepreneurial star of our school that I told you about."

Song Huan was startled.

The vice president of the University of Tokyo?

He recognized this person; he had heard the name in his previous life when he was in Nanjiang.

Zhang Xiang, the vice president in charge of student affairs at Dongguan University, has a very good reputation and is particularly supportive of student entrepreneurship.

Several well-known student entrepreneurship projects at Southeast University were supported by him.

He never expected that Chen Xiuyuan would introduce him to such a person.

Song Huan quickly reached out, grasped his hand with both, and bent down slightly.

"Hello, Principal Zhang."

Zhang Xiang looked at Song Huan, his gaze behind his glasses filled with curiosity.

"You're Song Huan?"

Song Huan nodded.

Zhang Xiang released his grip, a smile appearing on his face.

"Old Chen has mentioned your food delivery platform to me several times, saying it's quite good. I've looked at the inter-university collaboration plan, and Professor Ye from the School of Business at Southeast University has also reported to me."

Song Huan's heart skipped a beat.

He asked Xiao Yunqing to go find Ye Lin, who then submitted the proposal to the institute. In the end, the proposal was placed on Zhang Xiang's desk.

He didn't deliberately lay out this line; it just flowed naturally on its own.

What a coincidence! No, it's not.

He controlled his facial expressions well, transitioning from "overwhelmed with gratitude" to "humble and cautious".

"President Zhang, you flatter me. The project's current progress is also inseparable from the support of the Southeast University School of Business. Professor Ye and Xiao Yunqing have provided a lot of help in terms of merchant resources and operating models."

Zhang Xiang nodded, and the group sat down again.

The dishes were served one by one.

Steamed sea bass, crab meat lion's head meatballs, stir-fried dried tofu with watercress, and a pot of old duck soup.

There was no alcohol; Chen Xiuyuan and Zhang Xiang had both driven there, and there was only a pot of Pu'er tea on the table.

Without alcohol, the dinner party loses its lively atmosphere of clinking glasses, but gains a more efficient, business-like feel.

Zhang Xiang picked up a piece of fish, ate it, and asked, "When will your platform be promoted to Dongda University?"

Song Huan put down her chopsticks, knowing that the main event was about to begin.

"Once things are settled at Nanjing University, the next step is Southeast University. Xiao Yunqing's team is ready; they have readily available business resources and technical solutions. We hope to get President Zhang's support then."

Zhang Xiang hummed in agreement.

That's how the conversation started.

The conversation ranged from delivery models to merchant onboarding, from supporting impoverished students to cross-school collaborative research project applications.

The meal wasn't particularly lively, but it was very satisfying.

Soon, everyone put down their chopsticks.

Chen Xiuyuan went to the front desk to pay the bill, while Zhuang Xiao pulled Xiao Le to the restroom.

Zhang Xiang took the wool coat off the hanger, draped it over his arm, and walked towards the door.

Song Huan quickly followed.

"Principal Zhang."

The corridor was quiet, with waiters carrying plates passing by.

Zhang Xiang stopped and turned around.

Song Huan stood in front of him.

There were some things he couldn't say at the dinner party.

But things are different now; now it's just the two of them.

"President Zhang, I would like to donate a sum of money to Dongda University in my personal capacity."

Zhang Xiang raised his eyebrows slightly.

He looked at the freshman from Nanjing University in front of him and waited.

"Not much, fifty thousand yuan. It's not a lot of money, but I have an idea: use this money to add some facilities to the University of Tokyo campus."

He paused for a moment, then added, "For example, chairs."

Zhang Xiang looked at Song Huan for a long time before speaking.

Why didn't you donate directly to Nanjing University?

Song Huan was silent for a moment.

He remembered that night at the bar entrance, when Xiao Yunqing looked at him with a pale face.

He spoke, his tone tinged with pain, "Principal Zhang, you may not know this, but I always wanted to go to Dongda University. But due to unforeseen circumstances, I ended up at Nanjing University. Consider this money as me fulfilling a wish."

Zhang Xiang looked into his eyes and remained silent for a while.

"The University of Tokyo Foundation and the Logistics Department can handle this matter. There shouldn't be any problems with the process. However, according to regulations, such individual donations require a donation agreement to be signed with the university."

Song Huan nodded.

"The agreement is fine. I have a small request: when we take the commemorative photo, I hope Principal Zhang can join us."

Zhang Xiang looked at the freshman in front of him, his eyes flashing.

Zhang Xiang quickly reached out his hand.

"Okay, I'll talk to the logistics department and ask them to cooperate with you."

Song Huan grasped that hand.

……

on Monday.

Students at the University of Tokyo suddenly noticed something new on campus.

Downstairs in the girls' dormitory, a dozen new wooden chairs have been added to the grassy area.

The same applies to the area downstairs in the boys' dormitory, the lawn beside the playground, and both sides of the ginkgo-lined path.

There were fifty in total, neatly arranged.

Someone tried sitting on it.

"It's quite comfortable."

A person nearby said, "The school has finally done something right. We won't get pricked on the grass anymore when we sit on it."

Then someone else discovered that there was a line of text engraved on the back of each chair.

The characters are very small, embedded in the wood grain, and you won't notice them unless you look closely.

But once you see it, you can't take your eyes off it.

May all misunderstandings in the world be resolved on this chair.

The signature was a name: Song Huan.

A girl took out her phone, took a picture of the text, and posted it on her QQ space.

Someone posted the photos on a forum with the title "Mysterious chair appears on the campus of Tokyo University, signed by an unfamiliar name".

The comments section below has been filled with dozens of posts.

"Who is this?"

"It seems to be from Nanjing University."

"People from Nanjing University donated chairs to Southeast University? Why?"

"I don't know, maybe he was dating a girl from our University of Tokyo and that led to a misunderstanding?"