Chapter 28

On June 14th, the day before the Dragon Boat Festival.

In the morning, a light rain fell, but by noon, the sky cleared up. At 1 PM, a group of boys and girls, carrying large and small bags, boarded a bus and headed straight for the riverbank.

Before they left, Bian Xuedao divided everyone into five groups, ensuring each group had at least one boy and one mobile phone. He strictly instructed the girls not to leave the group and the boys to protect the girls' safety.

Not long after they arrived, the crowd started to gather.

Although the girls thought the words printed on their T-shirts were too ugly, they still put them on when they saw the bustling crowd around them.

Bian Xuedao found several prime spots by the river, laid down waterproof mats, set up tents, and spread out plastic sheets to display their goods. He placed plastic buckets as trash bins in front of the stalls, and they were ready for business.

The riverbank was bustling with activity, filled with a festive atmosphere.

The girls clearly enjoyed this atmosphere, and even the usually quiet Su Yi and Li Xun became more lively.

To be honest, Li Yu's choice of goods was quite average, but many citizens and tourists, seeing the words on the girls' T-shirts and their efforts to pick up litter, were drawn to their stall. Business was booming.

While playing on the stone street, Shan Rao and her dorm mates saw Zhang Meng and Li Youcheng. Following their guidance, they found the main tent. Whether they knew each other or not, after a brief introduction, they quickly became familiar, helping to watch the stall and call out to customers, expanding the team.

A newspaper photographer, looking for material by the river, keenly captured the girls' T-shirts and their actions of picking up litter, recording it with his camera.

The photographer put away his camera, bought a small toy from Tong Chao, and then asked, "Are you college students?"

Tong Chao, busy attracting customers, glanced at him and, seeing he was a customer, replied, "Yes!"

The photographer asked, "Which university?"

"Dongsen University," said Tong Chao.

"Are you all together?" The photographer pointed at Zhang Meng and the others.

"Yep, classmates," said Tong Chao while giving change to someone else.

The photographer quietly took a few more shots, then used the same method to get the same information from another student. He quickly walked back to the newspaper office, knowing that an excellent photo news story was about to be born in his hands.

Bian Xuedao and the others were unaware of what was happening around them, fully immersed in the joy of doing business. When anyone got tired, they would rest in the tent, and when they felt better, they would continue to sell.

Before they left, everyone had shouted about staying up all night, but despite Yu Jin and Zhou Ling providing plenty of burgers, drinks, and ice cream, everyone was thoroughly exhausted.

By evening, the excitement had worn off, and most of the goods were sold. Li Yu drove two groups back. Li Xun and Li Youcheng, who had upset stomachs, were the first to return to school with Li Yu. Later, due to the large crowd for the Dragon Boat Festival, traffic control was implemented in the area, and Li Yu, who didn't have a driver's license, didn't dare to drive back.

Several students from the city gradually went home. By 10 PM, 16 people were still by the river: 9 boys and 7 girls, including a couple from the class, Shan Rao, and a roommate.

Everyone was at a loss. Even if they took a taxi back to school, they couldn't enter the dorms.

When Bian Xuedao took out the room card, Yu Jin almost hugged him, saying, "I knew Brother Bian had a backup plan! I knew Brother Bian had a backup plan!"

Everyone packed up their things and followed Bian Xuedao to the hotel.

In this prime location, the rooms were small, but 16 people in four rooms were enough. The challenge was how to divide the rooms.

On such a beautiful night, who would have the heart to separate the couple? Who would dare to separate them?

In the end, Ai Feng, Chen Jian, Nan Jiao, and Su Yi shared one room; Yu Jin, Zhou Ling, and another couple shared one room; five boys shared one room; and the remaining three girls shared one room.

Zhang Meng, Shan Rao, and Shan Rao's roommate shared one room. Zhang Meng went to the next room to bring water to Bian Xuedao and the others, and casually said, "They can't fit in their room, so Bian Xuedao will come sleep here. We'll squeeze into one bed."

Shan Rao, being an outsider in this small circle, had little say. Besides, she knew the hotel was booked by Bian Xuedao. Though she was against it, she had no choice, thinking it was just for one night.

Zhang Meng couldn't fall asleep. Around midnight, she remembered what Nan Jiao had once told her: "In Dorm 717, whether it's Li Yu with his car, Chen Jian with his abilities, Yu Jin who seems laid-back but is actually proud, or Ai Feng, the dorm leader, none of them can figure out or provoke Bian Xuedao. He is the core of Dorm 717."

"Will he look down on me if I sleep over?"

After much thought, Zhang Meng gritted her teeth: "A guy like him isn't likely to chase after me. Even if nothing happens, we can still be friends. This time, if I need his help in the future, it will be easier. With Shan Rao in the room, no one will think anything happened. If Shan Rao tells Li Youcheng, I'll have one less rival. Besides, sleeping in the same bed with Bian Xuedao isn't necessarily embarrassing."

After thinking for a while, Zhang Meng quietly got up, walked to Bian Xuedao's bed, and lay down on one side, pulling a blanket over herself, curling up and facing away from him. She fell asleep soon after.

Zhang Meng didn't know that her actions were seen by Shan Rao, who was a light sleeper in a new environment.

When Zhang Meng woke up, she was startled. She suddenly remembered where she was and found it amusing that she had had this idea in the middle of the night and actually acted on it. How was she going to handle this?

Pretending to turn over in her sleep, she glanced with her eyes and was relieved to see that Bian Xuedao was gone. Seeing that Shan Rao and her roommate were still asleep, Zhang Meng breathed a sigh of relief. She quietly got up, drank some water, and lay back down. After a while, someone knocked on the door, and Shan Rao and her roommate woke up.

On the way back to school, Zhang Meng secretly observed Bian Xuedao and found that he seemed no different from yesterday, including his expression when talking to her.

"Does he think I was pushed over by Shan Rao and her roommate? Or is it just that there were too many people around to say anything?" Zhang Meng was puzzled all the way back to the dorm.

Back on campus, just as they parted ways with Bian Xuedao, Zhang Meng's roommate, Xiao Min, said to Shan Rao, "Did you see this morning? That girl slept in the boys' bed. She was with us last night. When did she go over? Freshmen girls are really bold!"

Shan Rao smiled, "They're from the same dorm. They've been friends for almost a year. They must be close."

On the Dragon Boat Festival, Ma Tao, the publicity officer at Dongsen University, was called to the office early in the morning by a call from a school leader. Vice President Wang handed him a newspaper and asked him to read it.

When Ma Tao saw the large photo on the cover, he was puzzled. But when he saw the words "Dongsen University students" in the subheading, his eyes lit up: "Principal, this is great! It's a big boost for our reputation!"

Vice President Wang nodded, "It's great. Read the report carefully and confirm if the students in the photo are from our school. If they are, identify them immediately. Second, prepare yourself. The media may soon contact you for information. Try to link the students' actions to the school's usual education efforts. Be careful about how you present it."

Soon, the leaders of the School of Economics and Management, the School of Landscape Architecture, and the School of Media learned that their students were featured in the newspaper, and it was a positive report.

The counselors of Dorm 717, Dorm 603, and Shan Rao's class were notified to contact these students as soon as possible.

However, after a morning of phone calls and knocking on doors, neither the counselors nor the class presidents could find the people from these dorms. The dorm phones were unanswered, and those with mobile phones had them turned off.

Although they couldn't contact the students, the counselors and class leaders confirmed that the students in the newspaper were indeed from their school. Once this was confirmed, it was easier to handle.

At a meeting of the school's Youth League Committee, Ma Tao praised Dongsen University's ideological and moral education work to the visiting journalists, saying that the school always emphasized the balanced development of students' academic performance and civility. He pointed to the photo and said, "These are students from the School of Landscape Architecture. They naturally have a high environmental awareness."

The next day, some skilled reporters and experts at the newspaper quickly linked the students' actions to the city's ongoing efforts in urban civilization.

The Songjiang Daily published a prominent editorial on the front page, stating: "Through the joint efforts of the entire city, civilization has taken root and sprouted in Songjiang, integrating into the city's bloodstream and forming a positive interactive pattern. We believe that in the near future, the civility of citizens will improve, and the city's civilization process will accelerate, promoting the good, fast, and large development of Songjiang."

A few days later, high-level leaders at both the provincial and municipal levels praised the report, saying it was excellent and timely, reflecting the level of civilization in Songjiang. They emphasized the need to strengthen public opinion guidance for urban civilization.

Subsequently, the provincial and municipal governments launched a special campaign to promote the creation of civilized cities, issuing directives at all levels to ensure implementation. Various departments and units wrote plans and reported them, and the newspaper opened a special column to meet the requirements of the higher authorities, publishing a summary article every day.

Thus, for the next half month, every day's newspaper featured such text: "The XX Bureau of Songjiang City is strengthening leadership, clarifying responsibilities, reinforcing measures, and implementing the special campaign to promote the creation of a civilized city..."

The photographer who took the photo received a 2000 yuan award for an excellent news story from the newspaper.

After his rebirth, due to some strange rebelliousness, Bian Xuedao no longer read newspapers, so he missed the Songjiang Daily's coverage. Of course, if he had seen it, he would have smiled.

Zhang Meng waited for three days in the dorm, but Bian Xuedao never called her. Her heart felt empty, and she was very regretful. She knew that the thing she had been most looking forward to would never happen. The only consolation was that her dorm mates didn't know.

A few days after the Dragon Boat Festival, a real estate agent called Bian Xuedao, saying that a family in the red brick building was looking for a tenant.

Bian Xuedao immediately went to see the house.

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