When Chen Yang pushed open the door to the first-floor art studio, all eyes immediately fell on him. Shen Tu Liang, who had been swaggering around with his hands behind his back, looking quite pleased with himself, turned cold and strode forward, demanding:
"Which department are you from? How can you be so disrespectful? Barging into the calligraphy and painting club's activity room without permission!"
Chen Yang, still sporting his carefree smile, calmly replied:
"I'm the manager of the Blazing Flame Bar. Our staff reported that they have something to do here and can't work, so I've come to verify the situation."
Shen Tu Liang was speechless for a moment. He could put on airs of being a department head in front of students, but in front of a manager of an outside bar, that department head title didn't hold much sway.
"The calligraphy and painting club is in a meeting. You can talk to them after the meeting!" Shen Tu Liang said coldly.
Although Shen Tu Liang's attitude was rude, Chen Yang wasn't angry. He simply smiled and said,
"Our bar owner heard that the staff couldn't come to work and asked me to come and coordinate. The bar is very busy; if someone suddenly takes leave, the work will be greatly affected. So, I hope the manager can be lenient."
"Didn't I say? We're in a meeting right now. We can talk about it after the meeting!" Shen Tu Liang remained unmoved. Chen Yang smiled and said gently, "Our employee will be late after the meeting. It's not easy for her to work part-time at the bar, and I'm sure the management wouldn't want a student to have their wages docked or even be fired! The points from your meeting can be conveyed to her after she gets off work tonight! It won't cause any delays."
"Oh! Isn't this Chen Yang? If I remember correctly, you're a law student!" Shen Tu Fan, who had been observing coldly, said with a sneer, "When did you become a bar manager?"
The various rumors about Chen Yang and Su He had naturally already reached Shen Tu Fan's ears. Some busybodies had even posted photos of Chen Yang and Su He walking together on campus on forums, so Shen Tu Fan was very familiar with Chen Yang and had long considered him his biggest rival.
As soon as Chen Yang entered, Shen Tu Fan recognized him and knew that Chen Yang was there for Su He, so his words were full of hostility.
"Does your family's law prohibit students from being bar managers?" Chen Yang rolled his eyes and retorted bluntly. "Our bar staff need to take leave, and the boss asked me to come and verify the situation. Is there a problem?"
Chen Yang was polite to Shen Tu Liang because he recognized him as a leader and didn't want to cause trouble for Su He. As for Shen Tu Fan, this pretty boy, jumping in, Chen Yang naturally wouldn't give him a friendly look.
"You..." When it comes to sharp tongues, ten Shen Tu Fans combined couldn't match Chen Yang. Chen Yang grew up in Beijing in his previous life, and Beijing people, especially taxi drivers, are famous throughout the country for their eloquence. Chen Yang was known for his sharp tongue even in Beijing's top elite circles. Shen Tu Fan was rendered speechless by Chen Yang's single sentence.
"Hmph! So you're a law student! Working as a manager outside, what a waste of your time!" Upon hearing that Chen Yang was a student at Rong University, Shen Tu Liang became arrogant again, snorting coldly and glaring at Chen Yang with unfriendly eyes.
Seeing Shen Tu Liang and his nephew exchanging barbs at Chen Yang, Su He stood up and walked to the group, saying:
"Director Shen Tu, Chen Yang is the manager of the bar where I work part-time..."
"So you're the one who invited him!" Shen Tu Liang exclaimed. "This student! The calligraphy and painting club is a legitimate student organization. Don't bring just any random people in, especially today. Everyone is preparing for the calligraphy and painting competition. Can you take responsibility for affecting the students' creations?"
Shen Tu Fan quickly tried to smooth things over:
"Uncle, I think Su He definitely didn't mean it!"
After saying that, he turned to Su He, a feigned concern on his face, and said:
"Su He! Society is complicated these days. You have to be careful while you're working part-time! Some shady people are eyeing naive female students like you! You have to keep your eyes open!"
After saying that, Shen Tu Fan gave Chen Yang a hostile glance. At this moment, Shen Tu Gongzi automatically filtered out Chen Yang's identity as a university student, and in his words, Chen Yang instantly transformed into a "disreputable socialite."
Chen Yang raised an eyebrow, his anger gradually rising. He finally understood; these two were actually uncle and nephew, working together in concert!
Having navigated the world of women in his past life, Chen Yang's insight was incredibly sharp. He immediately saw that Shen Tu Fan's feelings for Su He were not simply the concern of an ordinary classmate.
Su He's face flushed crimson. Though gentle by nature, she wouldn't tolerate anyone slandering Chen Yang. She coldly retorted,
"Chen Yang is my friend, not some shady character you're making him out to be!"
Suddenly interrupted by Su He, Shen Tu Fan's smile froze. His face flushed red and then paled. After a long pause, he turned to Chen Yang and said coldly,
"This is the calligraphy and painting club's activity room. We don't welcome you! Please leave immediately!"
Shen Tu Liang, noticing the discord between his nephew and this arrogant law school student, nodded, his threatening gaze fixed on Chen Yang.
Chen Yang's patience finally wore thin. He glanced around at the so-called "entry works" in the studio, a disdainful smile playing on his lips. He shrugged nonchalantly and said casually,
"Just what I wanted! Su He, let's go!"
With that, in front of the many students, Chen Yang stepped forward, took Su He's hand, and prepared to leave. "Wait!" Shen Tu Liang's cold voice came from behind. "You can leave, but Su He has to stay. She's a member of the calligraphy and painting club. She's not allowed to leave this room until she finishes her entry!"
Chen Yang chuckled. He released Su He's hand, slowly turned around, stared at Shen Tu Liang's chubby face, and asked:
"Excuse me, as far as I know, the Rongcheng College Calligraphy and Painting Competition is based on voluntary participation, right? How come it's become an administrative assignment at Rongda University? Besides, the calligraphy and painting club is just a student organization. Since when can it force its members to participate?"
"This is an internal matter for our calligraphy and painting club. It's none of your business, an outsider!" Shen Tu Liang said, his eyes blazing with jealousy and hatred as he saw Chen Yang holding Su He's hand. Chen Yang ignored the young man who was trying to get his hands on a swan. He looked at Shen Tu Liang and continued,
"Su He's family is very poor. She works part-time at a bar to earn her tuition and living expenses, and also helps support her family. If she's fired because of this, who will take responsibility? Who will compensate her for her losses? You? Or your calligraphy and painting club?"
As he said the last sentence, Chen Yang's sharp eyes stared intently at Shen Tu Liang, making him feel inexplicably uneasy.
Shen Tu Liang snorted coldly and said,
"No matter what you say, it's useless. Principles are principles, and there's no room for compromise. Every member of the calligraphy and painting club must submit a piece for the competition. This is a collective decision made by the Art Department's Party Committee!"
In reality, Shen Tu Liang was in charge of coordinating this calligraphy and painting competition. The so-called collective decision of the department's Party Committee was just his personal will, using a powerful figurehead. These students couldn't possibly verify this with the Art Department's Party Committee meeting minutes, so Shen Tu Liang could easily spout such lies. "Submitting the entry is no problem..." Chen Yang immediately interjected, "but not today!"
With that, Chen Yang ignored the furious Shen Tu uncle and nephew, turned around, and took Su He's hand, saying,
"Su He, let's go!"
Seeing Chen Yang's resolute attitude, Su He didn't hesitate at all. Without even glancing at Shen Tu Liang, she and Chen Yang walked hand in hand out of the calligraphy and painting club's activity room.
Since meeting Chen Yang, Su He had unconsciously started to align herself with him on many things. Normally, the gentle and mild-mannered Su He would never have disobeyed Shen Tu Liang, but since Chen Yang wanted her to go, she complied without a second thought, because subconsciously, Chen Yang was always right.
"This is utterly disorganized and undisciplined! It's outrageous!" The sound of a table being slammed echoed from behind. Shen Tu Liang was clearly furious. "Shen Tu Fan! Are they both law students? I'm going to report this to Dean Huang! Deduct their credits and discipline them!"
Hearing Shen Tu Liang's outburst, Chen Yang sneered inwardly. He'd been so polite when he entered, but this guy was taking advantage of his position, acting like a boss. With Chen Yang's personality, how could he let him do this? Threatening him with deducted credits and disciplinary action? The thought made Chen Yang chuckle.
Does the Second Young Master Fang care about these things?
Even if Su He lost credits, at most she wouldn't get a scholarship. Before, when their finances were tight, she might have valued scholarships, but now, with the copyrights to several songs sold, she wouldn't be short of money for at least a semester.
Moreover, with her own abilities and the advantage of having been reborn for three years, making money didn't seem particularly difficult once she had the time.
If Chen Yang was rich, Su He naturally wouldn't be poor either.
Su He's hand was held tightly by Chen Yang. She heard Shen Tu Liang's words behind her, but she wasn't worried at all. As long as Chen Yang was by her side, she felt completely at ease.
The two walked hand in hand to the front of the GTR. Chen Yang gentlemanly opened the passenger door, gesturing for her to get in. Su He smiled, didn't ask any questions, and stepped into the car.
Amidst the complex gazes of everyone in the calligraphy and painting club activity room, the pink GTR roared arrogantly and sped away, leaving a trail of black smoke.