Chapter 139: Chapter 138: The Five Golden Flowers are in Place

June 13, Tuesday afternoon.

Today, the International campus welcomed two joyous events.

The first was the investment signing ceremony between Shen Yuan and the school. To show its seriousness, the school had specially decorated a small auditorium as the venue and also invited reporters from the Star City TV Station and the Southern Provincial University TV Station to take photos and interviews.

The agreement had actually been signed before, and this signing ceremony was simply a formality for the school.

Of course, Shen Yuan wouldn’t miss the opportunity to make an appearance on TV.

Even though the Star City TV Station and the university TV station were smaller networks, there were still people who watched them.

For this signing ceremony, Shen Yuan finally had the chance to wear the single-breasted POLO shirt and business casual pants prepared for him by Liew Menglu.

Less casual than his usual attire, he looked more mature and steady.

There weren’t few people sitting in the venue, about 50 in total, mainly school leaders and outstanding student representatives, including members of the previous startup project team.

So Teacher Lih, Lih Xiao, was also among them, watching Shen Yuan’s notably mature attire today, she felt a bit dazed and lost in thought.

He was usually seen in black, white, and gray, along with casual shoes–it was the first time she had seen him dressed so formally.

However, Shen Yuan had good body proportions and a tall stature, which contrasted sharply with the pot-bellied school leaders beside him.

“Teacher Lih, your class has done well, producing a student who is both wealthy and handsome.”

The female teacher whispered to Lih Xiao.

“Yeah,” she replied.

Lih Xiao, without taking her eyes off the shining Shen Yuan on stage, her eyes sparkling with a bright intent.

“I heard that lots of girls in the school have their eyes on him. Does he have a partner yet?”

The female teacher continued to gossip.

Female teachers are women too, and gossiping is in their nature, especially regarding issues that everyone is interested in.

Lih Xiao suddenly felt her face getting hot and hesitantly said, “He should… probably be single.”

“Huh? Why are you blushing?”

The female teacher noticed something.

“Am I?”

Lih Xiao said somewhat nervously.

“Still saying no,”

The female teacher hummed with ill-intent, “You wouldn’t have taken a fancy to your student, would you?”

“Of course not, don’t talk nonsense,”

Lih Xiao continued to argue.

“Hmm, still denying it, you’re practically gazing at him with adoration,”

The female teacher said, then leaned in closer to her ear and smirked, “Actually, you two would be a handsome couple. There’s nothing wrong with teacher-student romance.”

“Aiya, why do you say these things,”

Lih Xiao became even more embarrassed, her face turning bright red. Thankfully, everyone’s attention was on the stage, and not many noticed her discomfort; otherwise, she would have wanted to crawl into a hole.

Under the huge red banner, Shen Yuan was shaking hands cordially with Vice Principal Xu Shoutai, and then the two of them lifted a plaque representing a 10 million yuan sponsorship.

Reporters from the school radio station and both TV stations captured this moment, frantically snapping photos as a visual record.

This morning, Shen Yuan had already transferred the full amount of 10 million yuan to the school, but according to the previous agreement, every expenditure of this money needed his signed consent.

So rather than transferring it bit by bit, it made more sense to do it all at once, which would also allow him to receive the System’s mysterious industrial reward faster.

He was very much looking forward to this reward.

After the signing ceremony was complete, Vice Principal Xu Shoutai chuckled to Shen Yuan, “Classmate Shen, thank you for your generous donation.”

“You’re too kind, Vice Principal Xu. As a student of the International campus, it’s the least I could do since I, too, grew up here,” Shen Yuan replied with a smile.

Xu Shoutai chatted with Shen Yuan for a bit, then patted him on the shoulder as a sign of encouragement, “In addition to this project, the school will be advancing other projects later on. If it’s suitable, I hope you will continue to cooperate with the school.”

“If the project is suitable, I will naturally consider it,”

“Haha, that’s great. The International campus has produced such an excellent student like you, truly a pride of our school.”

They exchanged a few more words before parting ways, while Shen Yuan couldn’t help but scoff inwardly.

It looked like Vice Principal Xu was already laying the groundwork. But did he think his wool was so easy to shear? If it weren’t for the System’s reputation mission and the sake of the International campus’s campus beauties, I wouldn’t have invested in the startup hub.

Vice Principal Xu didn’t stay in the auditorium for too long. Knowing Shen Yuan’s potential was yet to be tapped into, he returned to his office and called the Youth League Secretary, Kong Zongping.

“Does Shen Yuan currently have any titles?”

Kong Zongping shook his head, “No, he’s only responsible for the startup hub.”

Xu Shoutai thought for a bit and said, “We need to establish him as a role model. For this year’s Three Best Students of the School, let’s have him elected and also nominate him as one of the Top Ten College Students of the School.”

Kong Zongping immediately hesitated.

Xu Shoutai asked, “Is there an issue?”

Kong Zongping spoke frankly, “His grades are very poor. He’s hardly attended classes this semester and is definitely going to fail them.”

“That’s not a big issue,”

Xu Shoutai said carelessly, “The criteria for these awards don’t just consider grades. Ability is equally important, and such a student not only has an impact within the school but can also make a mark in the competition among universities.”

Kong Zongping quickly understood, “I got it. I’ll take care of it as soon as I get back.”

…..

As Shen Yuan was leaving the small auditorium on his way to the activity classroom, a female reporter from the Star City TV Station caught up with him.

“Classmate Shen, wait a moment!”

Shen Yuan turned his head and saw it was a tall female reporter.

“Hello, is there something I can help you with?”

Shen Yuan glanced at her. The female journalist in front of him had fair skin, delicate features, and wore silver-framed glasses, probably around 23 or 24 years old.

She was dressed in a white blouse with a work ID tag hanging over her bulging chest.

“I am a trainee reporter from Star City TV Station, Zhan Yani. We are preparing a special interview at the end of the month on outstanding university students from Star City, and we would like to invite you to participate in this interview. Are you interested?”

Zhan Yani succinctly introduced her identity and purpose. Shen Yuan thought for a moment, neither agreed nor declined, “Leave me your contact information, and I’ll see when the time comes.”

“Okay, sure, I’ll scan it.”

At the moment of scanning the QR code, Shen Yuan’s peripheral vision suddenly caught Teacher Lih Xiao walking out of the auditorium.

Damn it, I forgot she was still here. If she misunderstood and thought there was something between this journalist and me, that would be trouble.

After adding her contact, Shen Yuan squeezed out a strained but polite smile, “Okay, I have to go now.”

“Classmate Shen, would you like to have dinner together sometime?”

Zhan Yani asked again.

“Sorry, I have plans tonight.”

When Shen Yuan said this, he deliberately raised his voice, likely loud enough for Lih Xiao to hear, then pretended not to see her and walked away from the place.

Zhan Yani felt a bit disappointed, but at least she had gotten his contact information.

“Teacher Lih, your student doesn’t seem too flighty. He didn’t go to dinner even when such a beautiful female journalist asked him,” said the female teacher, holding Lih Xiao’s arm and laughing.

Lih Xiao smiled and said nothing.

She had felt somewhat displeased when she saw Shen Yuan adding the female reporter on WeChat, but her mood instantly brightened, like clouds parting, when she saw him decline the other’s invitation.

With the first order of business completed, Shen Yuan hurried to the activity classroom to deal with the second matter, which was signing entrepreneurship agreements with the shortlisted students.

After yesterday’s re-examination, the list of students who had made it into the entrepreneurship program had been officially announced.

There were a total of 5 girls and 2 boys, with the boys being Yan Song and Mo Zhenwang.

The 5 girls were Lu Xinyue, a senior majoring in Japanese; Shi Zhixuan, a national dance performer; Peang Yayun, a tall and leggy 175 cm tall air hostess; Aisha, a first-year student from Xinjiang Province; and Qiao Lei, a cosplayer.

After discussions over the past two days with Secretary Fu Yingzi and Accountant Long Jinghan, the equity distribution ratio had been determined.

This distribution would take place in three steps:

1. When the project first started, the investor Shen Yuan would hold 70%, and the founder, which is the student corresponding to the project, would hold 30%;

2. Once investor Shen Yuan had recouped his investment, he would transfer 20% of the shares to the student at the project’s evaluated price;

3. When investor Shen Yuan’s earnings reached five times the investment, he would transfer another 20% of the shares to the student at the project’s evaluated price, with the final equity ratio being 70% for the student and 30% for the investor.

Shen Yuan and the two secretaries had also considered the overall picture; investing in this entrepreneurship incubator was primarily to expand his influence and prestige at the school, and he was not expecting to earn much money from it.

Additionally, this structure of equity distribution was intended to motivate the entrepreneurial students.

Of course, based purely on the books’ revenue, it wasn’t just about reaching five times the investment earnings–it might be difficult for them even to break even.

So if they wanted to secure a complete 70% stake, they would likely need to put in some effort.

Furthermore, with System’s triple revenue cashback, Shen Yuan didn’t have to worry about losing too much money.

After all, the idea was to let them do the work while he reaped the benefits.

Most importantly, by acquiring these five golden flowers and accumulating influence and prestige, it was hitting two birds with one stone.

Inside the activity classroom, Shen Yuan first signed the agreements with Yan Song and Mo Zhenwang. These two guys, one with a fried snack shop and the other a fruit shop, didn’t require much investment, around 200,000 yuan each.

Shen Yuan had Long Jinghan conduct a market survey these past two days and re-evaluated the costs, ultimately providing Yan Song with an investment of 185,000 yuan and Mo Zhenwang with 157,000 yuan.

When signing the agreement, Yan Song’s eyelid twitched upon seeing the investment lower than what he had submitted in the proposal, but he did not dare say anything. After all, the amount they had reported already had extra buffer space included.

Besides, with the storefront provided by the school, there was no rent due for the first year.

Shen Yuan also set expectations for them, stressing that they must choose part-time students who were both impoverished and academically excellent.

After taking note, Yan Song and Mo Zhenwang left the activity classroom.

But Shen Yuan still had to meet with Lu Xinyue, the Japanese language senior.

Meanwhile, in dormitory 503.

“Old Huang, Old Cao, I still can’t figure it out. Why was my project rejected, but Yan Song’s got through?” lamented Ye Zhiyang, feeling unjust.

“What was your project?” Huang Haibao inquired.

“A lingerie shop that caters to couples. There’s a big market for it on the International campus.”

Hearing this, Huang Haibao scoffed, “Are you out of your mind? Opening a lingerie shop on campus? Apart from whether the school would even allow it, who would dare to shop there?”

“Why wouldn’t they dare? Everyone’s an adult, can’t they be a little open-minded about these things?” Ye Zhiyang still stood by his idea.

Disdainful and too weary to argue, Cao Shunjin, who was reading a novel on his bed, then spoke up, “Actually, it’s not so much about your project. To get shortlisted for Old Third’s entrepreneurship program, it all comes down to gender.”

“If Shen Yuan only wanted women, then why did Yan Song and the other guy get shortlisted?” Ye Zhiyang couldn’t understand.

“Are you dense? They’re obviously tokens. If all the first batch of students to get the entrepreneurship subsidy were girls, how would that look?” retorted Huang Haibao.

“So, if it’s about making up numbers, why couldn’t it be me?” Ye Zhiyang asked another provoking question.

Huang Haibao and Cao Shunjin sighed in resignation. There was no saving Ye Zhiyang. No wonder Old Third didn’t take a liking to him.

Don’t people have any self-awareness anymore?