Chapter 169: Chapter 166 Jiang Cheng Doesn’t Know What’s Good for Him
Because Lotus University didn’t have military training, students could only get to know each other in everyday life.

Toward the end of October was generally when class officers were confirmed and when the student council recruited new members.

Jiang Cheng, free from any official duties, had no relation to the class officers. But the student council recruitment did involve him somewhat.

The student council at Lotus University was usually composed of the most outstanding students from each department.

Leaving aside the future potential of student council members, the council itself served as an excellent cross-specialty and inter-departmental communication platform.

Moreover, the student council indeed had some resources and power, and it was also a bonus for later applications to Immortal Sects, so the whole student council registration scene was very lively.

It was even more intense than the senior year job fairs in the autumn.

The four roommates from dorm 316 also arrived at the student council registration site, located on one floor of the teaching building. Each department of the student council had its name posted on various classrooms of the floor.

At the entrance of each classroom were upperclassmen responsible for registration. New students who wanted to join the student council would sign up at the door and then wait for their number to be called for the interview.

The interview process was usually divided into preliminary and secondary rounds. The preliminary results were announced immediately to not give candidates false hope. A more targeted interview was conducted several days later for the secondary round, and upon passing, one could join the student council.

“Hong Cai, which department are you planning to apply for?” Ding Guangming asked, looking at the bustling interview scene.

Zhu Hongcai said confidently, “Of course the Public Relations Department. Don’t you know there are lots of beauties there?”

Ding Guangming said enviously, “Hong Cai, how do you know so much?”

Zhu Hongcai said even more confidently, “Hmph, Cheng told me all about it.”

“How about you, Junsheng?”

Song Junsheng wasn’t interested in the Public Relations Department. Apart from beauties, there was basically nothing worth signing up for in that department.

“I plan to go to the External Relations Department to improve my communication skills. Guangming, which department are you thinking about?”

Ding Guangming scratched his head, undecided, and could only look to Jiang Cheng for advice.

“Cheng, which department are you signing up for?”

Jiang Cheng shook his head and said, “I’m not signing up; I’m waiting for someone here.”

“Oh, then I’ll think about it some more.”

Zhu Hongcai and Song Junsheng went to sign up and then attended their interviews.

Song Junsheng’s side went smoothly, and he came back soon after, announcing that he passed the preliminary round and would attend the External Relations Department secondary interview in a few days.

On the other hand, Zhu Hongcai didn’t do too well.

“Damn! I didn’t pass the Public Relations Department’s preliminary! But I discovered a secret.”

“What secret?”

“That female Pill Master we met in the library last time, she’s actually the head of the student council’s Public Relations Department!”

“Really?”

“Why would I lie to you? Although I didn’t pass, I must say, there really are a lot of beauties in the Public Relations Department. Even Cheng’s best friend is inside. That’s Jiang Cheng’s fellow townsman.”

Jiang Cheng nodded, acknowledging Yue Linger was indeed his fellow townsman.

After this conversation, the four guys from dorm 316 stood there, staring blankly at each other.

Zhu Hongcai asked, “Why aren’t you two leaving?”

Ding Guangming continued scratching his head: “I still can’t decide which department to apply for.”

Jiang Cheng repeated, “I’m waiting for someone here.”

Waiting for someone?

Could it be…

Zhu Hongcai had a bad feeling.

It wasn’t just the male students from Talisman Class 1 who came to join the student council recruitment; the female students did as well.

From dorm 512, three female cultivators huddled together, eagerly sharing their experiences.

Wang Min said excitedly, “Wow, I just interviewed with the External Relations Department, and there was this super handsome upperclassman there!”

Sun Qiaoqiao’s eyes shone: “How handsome? How handsome?”

“It’s like, like,” Wang Min thought for a moment and said, “like a cool version of Jiang Cheng you’ve seen, with thick brows, long eyes, and even the skin is so white, super handsome!”

Sun Qiaoqiao tried to imagine but couldn’t quite figure out how handsome he could be. But since he was a “cool version” of Jiang Cheng, she guessed he must be not too far off.

At that moment, Qiu Yue pointed to a nearby spot: “Hey, isn’t that Jiang Cheng over there?”

They all looked and saw that it was indeed him.

It was mainly Jiang Cheng’s ability to remain calm, composed, and unflappable, even amidst the vast crowds, which stood out overly and made it difficult to not notice him.

“The guys next to Jiang Cheng, aren’t they our classmates?”

“It seems so, there’s Song Junsheng, Ding Guangming, plus another guy, I forgot his name.”

“Me too, never mind, he’s not important.”

“Hey, it’s almost mealtime, do you guys want to arrange a get-together with their dorm?”

“Yes, definitely! Jiang Cheng and Song Junsheng from their dorm are quite nice.”

“Yeah, didn’t Yuan Yuan ask Jiang Cheng for his contact info before? I think she quite likes him.”

“Oh right, where’s Yuan Yuan?”

“She just went to interview with the Public Relations Department, she hasn’t come out yet, oh, here she comes!”

Yuan Yuan saw her roommates waving and immediately jogged over.

“How did it go?”

Yuan Yuan shook her head and said, “I barely passed the preliminary, the secondary will be tough. The upperclasswomen have such a strong presence, I was too scared to speak.”

Wang Min said, “It’s that scary? My External Relations interview was pretty good.”

Sun Qiaoqiao, who came out earlier than Yuan Yuan, said, “I’m not lying to you, the Public Relations upperclasswomen are pretty but a bit serious, kind of intimidating. They remind me of our high school head teacher.”

Having said that, Sun Qiaoqiao added, “Forget it, it’s all over now. Getting together with them is what’s most important right now. I’m starving.”

Yuan Yuan asked, “Who? What get-together?”

Then she was dragged by her roommates to the front of dorm 316.

Sun Qiaoqiao: “Hey, Jiang Cheng.”

As soon as Jiang Cheng saw it was a classmate, he smiled and said, “Hey there.”

Sun Qiaoqiao continued, “Do you guys have some time later? Our two dorms could go out for a meal together, how about it?”

When Zhu Hongcai heard there was a chance to dine with the girls, he immediately perked up.

He silently pulled out the restaurant membership card he had purchased, holding it in his hand without drawing attention.

Just as Zhu Hongcai was about to show off his strength and flaunt a little, Jiang Cheng said, “Sorry, I have something to do later and probably can’t join you for the meal.”

Unwilling to give up, Sun Qiaoqiao pulled Yuan Yuan to her side and said, “Yuan Yuan is going too. She was even asking for your contact information before. Are you really not going to come?”

Zhu Hongcai thought to himself: Of course, we should go. The hint couldn’t be more obvious; surely nobody would refuse, right?

Jiang Cheng remained firm, shaking his head and saying, “Sorry, I really have something to do.”

Yuan Yuan also said, “Let’s not trouble Jiang Cheng anymore.”

Sun Qiaoqiao, still not convinced, said, “Jiang Cheng, can’t your thing be postponed? It’s so rare for us to take the initiative to ask you guys out.”

Before Jiang Cheng could reply, a voice that was all too familiar to both Sun Qiaoqiao and Yuan Yuan suddenly rang in their ears.

“Sorry, I also managed to invite him only after great difficulty,” Shen Menghan said with a smile.

Upon seeing Shen Menghan, Sun Qiaoqiao exploded with an expletive: “F*ck!”

The recently interviewed Yuan Yuan was also stunned. She remembered this senior vividly—the Student Union’s Publicity Department head, who maintained an indifferent expression throughout the interview, posed tricky and venomous questions, a senior to be feared.

But now, this senior was actually smiling, and she smiled rather tenderly at that.

She was a completely different person from the one at the interviews.

With her good looks that were right on the money, being a Department Beauty level within the Alchemy Department, coupled with her seniority and role as the head of the Publicity Department—double buffs, her appearance instantly oppressed all the girls from Talisman Drawing Class 1 from raising their heads.

Even the previously assertive Sun Qiaoqiao couldn’t dare to so much as breathe heavily in front of Shen Menghan.

“Jiang Cheng, shall we go?” Shen Menghan asked with a gentle tone.

Jiang Cheng nodded and said, “I’ll go ahead with the senior.”

Zhu Hongcai felt like his heart was racing.

As soon as he heard “Jiang Cheng and the others,” he had a bad feeling.

But he never expected that, no matter how cautious and prepared he was, he would still get outdone by Jiang Cheng!

Ding Guangming watched Jiang Cheng and Shen Menghan’s retreating figures, and sighed, “Cheng is so impressive, managing to get a meal with the senior.”

“He didn’t invite her; it was Shen Menghan who took the initiative to invite him,” Yue Linger said, appearing beside them and sternly correcting Ding Guangming’s mistake.

Ding Guangming, Song Junsheng, and Yue Linger all belonged to the Talisman Drawing Society. Ding Guangming asked, “Then what about you now, Senior Yue?”

Yue Linger puffed out her chest slightly, with a hint of showing off, “Jiang Cheng didn’t invite Shen Menghan, but he invited me. I’m off to dine with him; see you next time.”

The girls from Talisman Drawing Class 1 were at a loss for words throughout the entire encounter. Neither Shen nor Yue were within their reach.

Zhu Hongcai, holding back tears: Jiang Cheng, please stop it! Are you ever going to let up?!

With Jiang Cheng gone, Ding Guangming unreliable, and Zhu Hongcai numbed, the girls were still immersed in shock.

The only one still normal, Song Junsheng, said, “So, are we still going to eat together, or should we just forget it?”

Zhu Hongcai snapped out of it and said, “How can we forget it? I, for one…”

The girls interrupted one after another, “Yeah, without Jiang Cheng, let’s just not.”

“Let’s forget it, we’ll socialize some other time.”

Sun Qiaoqiao said, “Let’s exchange contact information. We can arrange another time next time. By the way, what was your name again? Let me note it down.”

Zhu Hongcai: ?

Shen Menghan inviting Jiang Cheng out had nothing to do with wanting to eat, but rather, she wanted to discuss the price of the Plant Autonomy Talisman with him.

As the main force in Jiang Cheng’s workshop, Yue Linger naturally also had the right to join in the discussion.

“Junior Jiang Cheng, three million Low-grade Spirit Stones is the highest price I can offer,” Shen Menghan said earnestly.

She wanted to finalize the deal from the bottom of her heart in order to cancel her engagement agreement.

So she didn’t play any games with Jiang Cheng and directly showed her utmost sincerity.

However, Jiang Cheng’s response was unexpectedly a shake of his head.

“No, that’s too little.”

“Then, junior, how much do you think would be a fair price?” she asked.

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and said, “Thirty million.”

Jiang Cheng wasn’t just throwing out a random number.

Thirty million Low-grade Spirit Stones was exactly the price for the twenty thousand units demanded after He received an order for Qi Blood Pills.

“Thirty million?”

Shen Menghan couldn’t believe her ears.

Thirty million for a first-grade Talisman—was Jiang Cheng out of his mind?

“Thirty million,” Jiang Cheng nodded.

“Junior, we can’t negotiate like this with your price,” she said.

“Then let’s not negotiate,” Yue Linger interjected. “We’re not desperate to sell the talisman.”

Shen Menghan, anxious, said, “If it’s four million, I can still try to discuss it with my father. Jiang Cheng, four million—won’t you reconsider?”

Jiang Cheng smiled, “Sorry, senior; four million is too far from our expected price.”

Shen Menghan bit her lip, looking unwillingly at the departing Jiang Cheng.

If Jiang Cheng wouldn’t sell the talisman, what would she do about her marriage engagement?

With Miaodan Workshop at its peak, the Duke’s Mansion would definitely not take the initiative to call off the engagement.

Only if one day, the grand Miaodan Workshop collapsed suddenly, turning into fish on the chopping board for others to devour,.

Only then there might be a chance for the Duke’s Mansion to take the initiative to call off the engagement and sever ties with Miaodan Workshop.

But how could that possibly happen?