Chapter 77
Chapter 77 (My Friends Are So Talented) To Solicit Donations in Different Ways
“Fundraising? Are you saying that Lin Wenxi organized a fundraising?” Chen Wanxin asked the girls who lived next door when she heard them talking about the fundraising. She was irritated in the beginning. On second thought, she felt pleased.
When she talked with Luo Yang on the phone, she asked, “What about Zhao Yuan’s house in his hometown. Has he sold it?”
“Not yet, but we’ve introduced a buyer to him. The buyer thinks that the house is alright. I guess it’ll be sold very soon,” Luo Yang said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“No, ask the buyer not to buy it. There’s another way to raise funds for Zhao Yuan,” Chen Wanxin said with a deep voice.
Luo Yang was surprised and asked curiously, “Are you planning to borrow money from Boss Mo?”
“No, I won’t ask that servile man for help again!” Chen Wanxin said grumpily. “He sent someone to buy all the jewelry that I sold and returned it to my mother. My mother flew at me in a temper and called me stupid for selling my jewelry at such low prices.”
“Well, at least, Boss Mo didn’t tell your father anything about it,” Luo Yang could not help but mumble.
“Have you ever informed against me to Mo Qian?” asked Chen Wanxin.
“Boss Mo cares about only important things and leaves all the trifles to me. Sometimes, he’ll ask me about you, but I only told him the things that you allow me to tell him,” Luo Yang said cautiously.
After a moment, Luo Yang added, “But, how could Lin Wenxi organize a fundraising within such a short period of time? He probably still lacks some documents. How about we…”
Chen Wanxin hurriedly interrupted, “No, don’t disturb him. Let him do what he wants. His roommates and the two roommates of mine are not stupid. I can’t turn all of them against me. Besides, if they can raise enough money, it’ll be a good thing.” Chen Wanxin could not help but smile.
“If so, he’ll take all the credits…” said Luo Yang.
“How can I let such a thing happen?” Chen Wanxin smiled slightly and said, “I’m going to solicit donations in the girls’ dormitory building. What do you think?”
“Well, you have to share the credits not the blame. Let Lin Wenxi take the blame if the university disapproves of this fundraising.” After that, Luo Yang lowered his voice and continued to talk. Chen Wanxin could not help but chuckle. After talking with Luo Yang on the phone, she went straight to the boys’ dormitory building.
When she came to the boys’ dormitory building, the fundraising effort was in full swing. Upon seeing Chen Wanxin, the most attractive girl in the university, the boys flocked to the donation box to donate money and no one had patience with Wang Xiang who had been explaining the reasons for this fundraising anymore.
Despite that, Chen Wanxin was still dissatisfied with the growth rate of the fund. She thought, “Zhao Yuan has come back to sell his house in his hometown. If he fails to make a deal with this buyer, he’ll probably find another buyer within a short period of time through his connections in his hometown. Once he sells the house, he and his father will have to rent a house in the countryside after his father leaves the hospital. I can’t let such a thing happen. My parents did keep a low profile recently. How could they fail to get it done?”
Chen Wanxin brought everyone together and told them her plans. Lin Wenxi was impressed by her ideas and looked pleased.
The next day at noon, they remitted all the donations they had collected to Zhao Yuan. Apart from the money they remitted, some donations were directly remitted to him by donors such as Wang Zhengjuan. When they found out that Zhao Yuan had enough money to pay his father’s remaining medical expenses, they all felt relieved.
Not long after that, they were collectively invited into the dean’s office.
“Lin Wenxi, you… You kept asking everyone, especially administrators at all levels and types of the university, for donations… Well, I’m in sympathy with you, as you, you’re the champion of the poem writing contest…” The dean got stuck for words. Lin Wenxi had asked not only the students for donations. He had asked the dean, every department head, and even the vice president of the university to donate at least 2,000 yuan. If anyone of them disagreed, he would lose his temper or threaten them by saying, “If you don’t donate the money, I’ll cut my wrist or jump off a building to kill myself.” As all the administrators of the university knew that he was Lin Ziwei’s son, they were afraid of irritating him. As such, they all donated money according to his will. As the dean was not allowed to reveal Lin Wenxi’s identity, he really did not know what to say at this moment.
Lin Wenxi smiled slightly and said, “Thank you for your donations. It’s really kind of you to help me out!”
“Do you know how your friends solicit donations for you?” The dean asked while glaring at him.
“This Wang Xiang sold his autographs in front of the girls’ dormitory building, and each of his autographs cost 100 yuan. He also sold your essays and poems, and they were over 1,000 yuan each. Oh Gee! You’re a good writer, and he does have good handwriting. But how could you overcharge everyone like that? This is robbing. Sigh, why do I have students like you? And Gu Xi, you offered boxed meals, which didn’t contain much meat, at a unit price of over 200 yuan! Zhang An’an and Shu Xiaoman, you girls really impressed me. You didn’t overcharge anyone, but look at what you did. One of you went to sing in front of the boys’ dormitory buildings to collect money, and the other went to prescribe medication to treat body weakness for the boys. What body weakness? You bring shame to Jifu University!” The dean shouted at them in a fit of anger and threw a piece of newspaper to them. “Look at the newspaper! Jifu University is in the newspaper, as we got complained by another four universities!”
When Zheng Kai read the newspaper, he could not help but chuckle. He thought, “Wow, I never knew that my friends are so talented. Chen Wanxin told us that we should ask for more donations by showing off our talents. It was she that advised Wang Xiang to sell his calligraphy works. As we were busy soliciting donations, we never told one another how we collected the money when we met.”
Upon seeing that, the dean said, “Are you laughing, Zheng Kai? You’ll go to the United States as an exchange student next year! How could you collect donations by threatening the other students? This is racketeering. You even rented yourself out as a temporary boyfriend! What did you do? I really…” The dean got stuck for words and slumped down on his sofa. A moment later, he pointed a trembling finger at Chen Wanxin.
“And you… Wanxin. I thought that a young lady like you would at least be more reasonable. But you made all the girls on your dancing team wear miniskirts and leather pants, dragged them to different universities and made them dance in front of the students’ dormitory buildings. You even used A Song to Tough Guys as your dance music. I really don’t understand why you pick this song. Do we really live on the same planet?” The dean nearly cried out.
“If you like our dance, I can dance for you now. An’an, music! Wang Xiang and Zheng Kai, where’s the applause?” Chen Wanxin smiled and got ready to dance.
The dean was shocked. He hurriedly waved his hands as he said, “No, please. I just want to know whether Zhao Yuan really meets trouble.”
The boys and girls nodded together.
“If so, why did you tell everyone that Wenxi’s grandfather is ill?” The dean said while covering his face with his hands to stop him from crying.
Lin Wenxi remained silent.
“You, you go out first… As you didn’t violate any regulation of the university, I can’t punish you without pre-approval from the university administration. You can leave now, except for Lin Wenxi.”
“Well, tell me, Wenxi. How should we write about this thing in the certificate?” The dean spread his palms and asked.
Lin Wenxi was stunned and sighed inwardly, “Well, this is my bad. I lied to everyone in the beginning. Without a certificate to prove what I’ve said is true, the other students will think that this fundraising is a fraud. Once some student calls the police, we’ll be in real trouble. Gu Xi and I will probably not get arrested as we are minors under the age of 18. But Zheng Kai and the others will probably get imprisoned.”
“I guess that we’ll have to make do,” said Lin Wenxi.
“To make do? What do you mean? Are you suggesting that you don’t need a certificate now?” The dean asked with a somber face.
“No. I mean that I want a certificate to prove that my grandfather is ill. As to the other things, you can leave them to me,” said Lin Wenxi.
“Are you asking me to let you be held accountable? Are you able to do that? All of us know that your father is strict with you. Did you organize this fundraising with permission of your father?” asked the dean.
Lin Wenxi shook his head.
The dean felt helpless and really wanted to cry now.
“If you don’t issue this certificate, we’ll be in trouble. But if you issue it, you’ll be alright. So will my friends. I’ll bear the consequences by myself!” Lin Wenxi solemnly said.
“Are you sure?” asked the dean.
“Do you think that my father will kill me because of this thing?” asked Lin Wenxi.
The dean shook his head, which was covered with cold sweat, and thought to himself, “I’ve never expected this boy to be so brave and determined. Since being recruited by this university, he has been taken care of by his military instructors and university counselor. I used to think that he’s a quiet and over-protected boy. But suddenly, he took the risk of being punished by his father and organized this fundraising to help his friend. He even prepares to bears all the consequences alone. He does have a strong sense of justice just like his father.”
Upon seeing the dean seal the certificate with a trembling hand, Lin Wenxi said with a blank expression. “Let’s go to find the president together.”
He continued to tell the dean his plan, “As you’re more familiar with the president and better at dealing with him, I’ll let you talk to him. I’ll just tell him that I’m willing to bear all the consequences. Let’s urge him to seal the certificate and upload it to the official website of the university as soon as possible. When the fuss dies down, we’ll find a way to remove the certificate from the website.”
The dean agreed and led Lin Wenxi to the office of the president.
It did not take them much effort to persuade the president. After all, Lin Wenxi had promised to take full responsibility. Not long after that, the certificate was posted on the official website of the university. Upon seeing it, the students all praised Lin Wenxi for being a filial grandson.
Zhao Yuan was surprised upon receiving the money. At first, he thought that this money was from Chen Wanxin. When he called her, he knew that the money was raised by Lin Wenxi on the excuse of helping his sick grandfather. Zhao Yuan felt worried about him and hurriedly went back to the university. When he saw the certificate on the website, he felt puzzled and wondered, “How did Wenxi manage to do that?” He could not help but feel curious about Lin Wenxi’s background.
Zhao Yuan wanted to express his gratitude for Lin Wenxi with actions instead of words. After thanking his friends through text messages, he immediately went to the hospital to pay his father’s remaining medical expenses. Upon hearing about this fundraising, his father Zhao Ming was surprised.
He anxiously urged Zhao Yuan. “Hurry up! Go back to your university to help Lin Wenxi!”
Zhao Yuan also felt somewhat uncertain whether Lin Wenxi would be alright. In the meantime, he was determined to dig out the truth.