Chen Chuan immediately remembered. Back then, someone had asked Fang Zhiming to pass a business card to him, but he had tossed it aside afterward. He hadn't expected them to come knocking on his door now.
He shook hands with the senior. "Nice to meet you."
"Student Chen, do you have some time? I'd like to speak with you," Min Lan said with a polite smile. "If it's inconvenient, I won't disturb you; we can find another time."
After a moment's thought, Chen Chuan said, "How about this: I was just heading to the dining hall for lunch. Why don't we chat there?"
Min Lan smiled slightly and said, "Then let it be my treat. I was the one imposing on you in the first place."
The two walked down the dormitory steps, chatting about academy matters along the way, and soon arrived at the dining hall. After entering the Class A student section, Min Lan took the initiative to pick up the menu and order.
Regular students ordering from the standard menu didn't need to pay extra. Since she had offered to treat him, it wasn't just an empty gesture—she ordered some additional dishes, though nothing extravagantly expensive, striking a very appropriate balance.
Since Wuyi Academy prohibited alcohol and fighters rarely touched it anyway, she also ordered two bottles of soda.
Talking over a meal was much easier. Once the food was served, Min Lan said, "I was a bit presumptuous today. I actually intended to ask Student Fang to set up an appointment with you, but I knew that if I waited any longer, I might fall behind others. So I had to act first."
Chen Chuan said, "Senior Min, are you saying that many people will be coming to look for me soon?"
"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, there should be quite a few letters in your dispatch box today, Student Chen." Min Lan smiled, sat up a bit straighter, and continued seriously, "Student Chen, you have no idea how famous you are right now.
"Lanxiang Cinema is not only the largest cinema in the southern district, but also one of the primary social venues for many wealthy folks there. Anything that happens there spreads quickly. Now that you've resolved the cinema's urban legend, your name is naturally known to many."
In fact, it went beyond what she mentioned. Once several major commission companies learned that the person who resolved the incident was the very same one who took down Fang Dawei's gang, Chen Chuan's value was magnified even further.
Crucially, Chen Chuan was only a first-year student and had already obtained a weapons license. Anyone could foresee that he would only become more outstanding over the next two or three years. How could these sharp-nosed companies not try to recruit him ahead of time?
Knowing this, Chen Chuan felt no aversion. Having a reputation made accepting commissions far easier.
His goal was to continually grow stronger. Before possessing enough power to break free from constraints, following the rules of how the outside world operated was currently the most prudent course of action.
However, he wouldn't blindly accept just anyone.
Having said her piece, Min Lan briefly introduced her company and shared some interesting anecdotes about it, casually weaving in the benefits and perks her firm offered along the way.
She didn't stubbornly try to convince Chen Chuan to join her company. During their brief interaction, she could tell that Chen Chuan was someone with a very strong mind of his own. Such people were difficult for anyone to sway, whether it was her or someone else. Thus, she thought that rather than saying too much, it was better to leave Chen Chuan with a good impression.
She understood well that in human relationships, if two people felt comfortable and harmonious around each other, one wouldn't mind taking a slight loss when it came to practical interests.
Chen Chuan mostly listened to her talk, but he still gained a lot. What this senior shared was clearly well-curated and not something ordinary people could access, teaching him things he hadn't known before.
The meal was pleasant for both of them. As they parted ways, Min Lan shook his hand once more and said with a smile, "Thank you for bearing with me today. I only hope that when you choose a company or pick commissions in the future, you'll keep ours in mind." She took out a business card from her bag and presented it with both hands. "This is my card."
Chen Chuan accepted it. "Thank you for the meal today, Senior."
Min Lan smiled. "Treating a talent like you is my pleasure, Junior. Let's talk again when there's an opportunity." She clearly knew how to maintain boundaries and distance; after saying goodbye, she left briskly.
Around this time, Big Brother Ren's group also arrived on the Wuyi campus.
With the holiday break approaching, the campus was actually livelier than usual. Many citizens held tickets to watch the arena tournament and took the opportunity to stroll around the academy grounds. Even the snowfall of the past two days couldn't dampen their enthusiasm.
However, as much as an itch gnawed at them to go watch the arena fights, they still remembered their primary purpose and wanted to find their person first.
"Xiao Jiang, is the person you found reliable?"
"Don't worry. Student Ling's parents both work at a friend's company. He's an Upper Hall student at Wuyi, so he definitely knows far more about academy matters than we do."
Even with a general idea of Chen Chuan's appearance, finding him precisely was still no easy task. Thus, they had to pull strings to find a Wuyi student to help them locate him.
After waiting near the grand auditorium for a short while, a young man walked over. He glanced at the others and politely greeted Xiao Jiang, "Young Master Jiang."
In truth, once admitted to Wuyi—and especially after becoming a Class A student—one's status was completely different from before. However, since his parents worked at Xiao Jiang's friend's company, he was willing to show some courtesy and stuck to his old form of address. Still, one could hear no flattery in his tone; he used it merely as an ordinary title.
Xiao Jiang hurriedly said, "No, please, Brother Ling, just call me Xiao Jiang."
"Alright." The student surnamed Ling didn't stand on ceremony and asked, "Xiao Jiang, you said you needed my help finding someone?"
"Yes. We want to recruit a Wuyi student as a commissioner for our company. He's also an Upper Hall student, has a weapons license, surnamed Chen, quite tall, and um..."
Before he could finish, Student Ling cut in, "Wait, wait. Does the person you're looking for fight with a long saber?"
"Yes, exactly!" Xiao Jiang said, pleasantly surprised. "You know him?"
"Then that's him, no doubt. Though I don't know Student Chen personally, I know of him. This Student Chen is quite famous among the freshmen."
Student Ling said enthusiastically, "Did you know? Back during the entrance retest, he kicked a senior student in charge of the assessment into a vegetative state! And an assistant who tried to cause trouble for him was crippled by him just the same. And just the other day..."
The youths listened, stunned. Wait, the person they were looking for was that ruthless?
They couldn't help feeling a sense of fear toward this Chen Chuan whom they had never met. Yet to youths in their rebellious phase, it held an intense appeal—some even felt a twinge of admiration.
Once his mouth went a bit dry from talking, Student Ling paused and asked, "You want to meet him?"
Big Brother Ren hastily said, "Yes, that's exactly why we came today."
"Alright. It should be mealtime right now. How about this: I'll call his dormitory. Whether you can meet him depends on whether he agrees."
"Thank you so much, thank you!" Big Brother Ren and the others hurried to thank him together.
By this time, Chen Chuan had returned to his dorm. He had just washed up when the dorm supervisor knocked on his door to tell him there was a phone call. Thanking him, Chen Chuan went over to pick up the receiver. On the other end was an unfamiliar fellow student who exchanged a few eager words, explained the situation, and asked if he had time to meet.
Chen Chuan thought it over and said, "Sure. How about this: have one of them come, and we'll find a place to talk."
Seeing that Chen Chuan showed him such courtesy, Student Ling felt quite pleased. He said, "Then come to my dorm." After Chen Chuan agreed, he gave his location and hung up. He turned back and briefed Xiao Jiang and the others waiting with him. After a quick discussion, they decided that Big Brother Ren would go up to talk with Chen Chuan.
Student Ling cautioned them, "Listen, everyone. Student Chen agreed to meet out of respect for me. Make sure you don't say anything unpleasant."
"Of course not, definitely not."
Big Brother Ren and his crew quickly promised. Besides, after hearing Student Ling recount Chen Chuan's past exploits, how would they dare?
After hanging up, Chen Chuan took the elevator to Section Two on the third floor. Student Ling was already waiting by the elevator. Seeing Chen Chuan arrive, he greeted him warmly, introduced Big Brother Ren following behind, and brought them both into his dorm room. Once the two were seated in the living room, he said, "You two talk; I won't disturb you." With that, he left and stood outside the door.
Big Brother Ren's body was a bit stiff. It had been fine outside, but now, sitting face-to-face with Chen Chuan, and with everything he had just heard fresh in his mind, he couldn't help feeling nervous.
Steadying his nerves, he finally said, "Mr.—Mr. Chen, hello. I'm Ren Shu. Some idealistic friends and I have founded a commission company, but we lack suitable commissioners. When we learned that you resolved the matter at Lanxiang Cinema, we found a way to come seek you out..."
Chen Chuan understood. He could tell these youths lacked the influence and resources of Min Lan's company, but they did seem earnest enough.
He thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Ren, you said you came looking for me because you knew I resolved the Lanxiang Cinema incident. Does that mean you're currently focusing primarily on commissions involving urban legends?"
"Yes, exactly!"
Perking up, Ren Shu said, "Because our company was just founded, we know we can't compete with the big firms for standard commissions. So we plan to make our mark with urban legends."
Chen Chuan grew curious. "You dare to head in this direction because you hold many commissions of this kind?"
Ren Shu hurriedly explained, "It's like this: various departments and the Municipal Administration actually have quite a few urban legend commissions. But very few people ever take them, and even fewer complete them. Some people take one and never touch another. Over time, quite a backlog has accumulated. But we have connections. We can negotiate with the Municipal Administration and pay a sum of money to bundle together those outdated commissions or ones that have sat unattended for a long time..."
Chen Chuan listened for a bit and got the general idea. Many commissions were time-sensitive; over time, some of the clients who commissioned them might not even exist anymore.
Yet as long as the matter remained unresolved, the commission stayed listed with the Municipal Administration. These were essentially dead commissions. Even if you took them, at most you'd receive an evaluation rating, but no payment.
A new commission company entering the field needed credit ratings. Never mind that these commissions offered zero reward; they were even willing to pay money out of pocket just to earn the evaluations. That was why Ren Shu and his group simply spent money to bundle and claim all these tasks.
It was clear this company truly didn't lack funds.
"What's more..."
In order to sway Chen Chuan, Ren Shu decided to show his true sincerity. "We've learned through certain channels that the Municipal Administration has a major commission coming up."
He gestured with his hands. "This commission isn't just huge; it also involves an urban legend. A single company can't possibly handle it alone, so many commission companies are currently searching for specialists in this field. We don't want to miss out, which is why we sincerely invite you to join us, Mr. Chen—even if it's only as a temporary partnership."
Chapter 104