Chapter 2: Chapter 2: An Unexpected Pleasure
Victory in the first battle!
And it turns out Lin Shishi is really easy to talk to, so Zhang Jingdong immediately thinks of expanding his achievements.
So he begins to enact the script he prepared earlier.
"Senior, here's the thing, I'm going to participate in the host competition at our school in a couple of days."
"But when I went to rehearse on stage the other day, I found myself getting extremely nervous as soon as I went up. You were an excellent host at the university anniversary celebration last year, so could you teach me a couple of tricks to overcome this nervousness?"
The reason Zhang Jingdong thought of this is because in his previous life, he really did participate in this host competition.
And indeed, due to excessive nervousness, he only managed to get 13th place at that time.
There were a total of 15 participants competing.
Lin Shishi paused for a moment; although the sudden appearance of this young man caught her off-guard, and his question was somewhat abrupt, she found his gaze to be very sincere.
She then earnestly said: "I'm not a professional, but I can share with you two points from my own experience."
"The first point is that you must memorize your script thoroughly, and it's best if you can do it without the script for the entire process."
"As long as you are familiar with your script to that extent, you'll have it in your heart, and you'll be able to relieve your inner nervousness to a considerable degree."
"The second point is to forget about winning or losing and enjoy the competition."
"After all, the ultimate purpose of any competition we take part in during university is to improve ourselves, to continuously inspire our potential in the competition with our opponents, and the final results are not that important."
"If you can achieve these two points, I think it should be of some help to you."
Zhang Jingdong could tell that Lin Shishi genuinely wanted to help him, so he nodded deeply in agreement: "I understand, I'll definitely do as you say, thank you, senior!"
As he said this, Zhang Jingdong struggled fiercely within himself.
In the end, he finally ventured to ask: "Senior, would it be convenient for us to exchange contact information? That way, if I encounter any problems later on, I can ask you for advice in a timely manner."
"Additionally, I'm majoring in Mathematics in the School of Science, and if there's anything I can help you with in the future, feel free to contact me anytime."
Upon saying this, Liu Siwen, who was beside Lin Shishi, immediately revealed a playful smile.
Turns out it's another guy who's beat around the bush to ask for Shishi's phone number!
As Lin Shishi's best roommate, she knew that Lin Shishi had always refused such requests in the past, so she subconsciously lifted her leg, preparing to leave.
But perhaps it was because Zhang Jingdong's gaze was really too sincere at the moment, or maybe his approach was rather novel – something Lin Shishi had never encountered before.
And then, Lin Shishi actually nodded: "...Alright."
Liu Siwen was instantly shocked, her face filled with disbelief.
But Zhang Jingdong was filled with surprise; however, he quickly reacted and hurriedly took out his phone.
"Senior, please tell me the number."
"138022..."
After Zhang Jingdong entered the number, he directly pressed the call button.
Soon, a pleasant ringing sound came through.
Lin Shishi took out her phone from her bag, pressed the hang-up button, and looked up to ask: "What's your name?"
"My name is Zhang Jingdong."
Lin Shishi operated her phone for a while, then smiled calmly: "I've got it."
Zhang Jingdong then knew to take advantage of the goodwill: "Alright, then I won't take up more of your time, senior. Goodbye!"
After speaking, he turned neatly and walked away.
And not ten meters away from his departure, the system's voice echoed in his mind.
"Host has successfully obtained the target's contact information, reward 10,000 yuan!"
As the voice faded, his phone rang again.
He took a look and sure enough, there were two text message notifications of deposits received.
And it was also on the ICBC card he had previously applied for when he was working part-time, which he kept using since then.
Zhang Jingdong felt secretly thrilled, but still pretended to be composed as he walked away, only to fist pump in the air twice in unavoidable excitement.
As a person living for two lifetimes, he had never made so much money in a single night!
The most crucial thing being, after successfully striking up a conversation with Lin Shishi just now, he found that interacting with such a top beauty wasn't as difficult as he had imagined before, and there was even an inexplicable thrill!
Tsk tsk, it looks like this road to riches is quite good!
Zhang Jingdong was secretly delighted for a while, but then his stomach once again voiced its protest.
He laughed at himself, then first went to the nearby ATM to queue up.
After waiting for two people, he approached the machine, inserted the card, entered the PIN, and clicked "Check Balance".
The balance on the screen then showed 13,236.03 yuan.
He suppressed his excitement, took a quick look around, then swiftly returned to the home page and withdrew 500 yuan.
Afterward, he arrived at the snack street behind the dormitory area, feeling both content and ravenous.
Back in his previous life at university, due to his family's modest means, he would mostly eat in the cafeteria to save money, and the most he'd ever splurge on here was a couple of egg pancakes for 3 yuan each.
But today he had made some money, so he planned to indulge himself and headed straight to Brother Feng's Barbecue.
Back in the day, his dorm mates used to come here for every gathering. Although it was a bit pricey, the food tasted incredibly good.
He found a corner table, picked up the menu, and in one go ordered 15 lamb skewers, 15 fatty pork skewers, 10 chicken wings, 1 mixed animal offal dish, and 2 bottles of beer.
Soon, the owner brought over his order. Zhang Jingdong then started attacking the skewers and guzzling beer, occasionally pausing to crack open some peanuts and edamame.
He was eating with such gusto that he felt utterly refreshed.
Ten or so minutes later, he got up and called the proprietress: "How much for my table?"
"93... but you can just give 90!"
Zhang Jingdong promptly paid and left the barbecue joint.
At that moment, a breeze blew through, and with a belly full of food and drink, Zhang Jingdong felt a triumphant spring in his step.
He knew that from this meal onward, his life would be completely transformed.
Young man, work hard and mingle with those top beauties!
...
Following his usual route, Zhang Jingdong soon reached the East Sector Male Dormitory and went straight up to the 5th floor.
Arriving at the end of the corridor, when he saw the doorplate of dorm 541, Zhang Jingdong felt like he had instantly recaptured his university feeling.
He took a deep breath and then pushed the door open.
At this point, everyone in the dorm was there, so it was a good time for a quick introduction.
The guy playing games in the lower bunk by the door is Lu Yuan, from Jin Province, a bit of a rich pretty boy.
The thing Zhang Jingdong had envied most about him in his previous life was that this guy had five girlfriends during his four years of college, and as for business partners in import-export trade, the number reached double digits!
The guy in the upper bunk texting his girlfriend is Zhao Liuquan, from Shuangqing, a typical chatterbox.
On the upper bunk by the right window, doing sit-ups, is Zhao Long, from Lu Province, the muscular bro who loves fitness.
His lower bunk is where Zhang Jingdong sleeps.
In the upper bunk across, engrossed in "The Chronicles of Qin," is Sun Mian, from Jinling, a serious novel enthusiast.
His lower bunk, busy with homework, is Liu Ming, from Yangcheng City, the dorm boss and a top student.
After graduating from university in his last life, only Zhang Jingdong stayed in Jiangdu.
Later, they only met up at each other's weddings, but even so, it had been seven or eight years since Zhang Jingdong had seen them all.
Now looking at his long-missed friends, Zhang Jingdong couldn't help but beam with joy.
At that moment, Lu Yuan looked up at Zhang Jingdong and teased, "Jingdong, what's got you so happy? You even had a drink to yourself!"
Sun Mian also turned to Zhang Jingdong, then said with a hint of envy, "Isn't it obvious? He must have made things official with Liu Meng. Jingdong, you'll have to treat us!"
As soon as he said this, everyone else in the dorm also turned their attention to Zhang Jingdong.
Zhao Long even gave him a thumbs-up: "Jingdong, did it really happen? That's awesome!"
Zhang Jingdong quickly laughed and waved his hands: "Not yet, I just went out and earned some money through a part-time job, that's why I drank a bit!"
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"Whatever..."
Seeing there was no juicy gossip, everyone quickly returned to their own business.
Zhang Jingdong didn't mind and smirked, grabbed his washbasin from under the bed to clean up in the washroom, then went to bed.
By 11 o'clock the dorm lights went out, and as usual, the nightly chat session began.
After shooting the breeze for a bit, Lu Yuan suddenly said, "Oh yeah, did you guys hear? Next Saturday, our school is holding a campus music festival. Let's all go and join in the fun, shall we?"
Sun Mian replied, "I can neither sing nor play any instruments. I'd just be a spectator there. Not interested!"
"Are you sure? Lin Shishi is going to be the host, and Xiao Fei will be a judge..."
"Really?"
"Of course, my buddy in the student union told me."
Sun Mian immediately rubbed his hands together: "Well, I've got to go then. I love watching others play the flute!"
Liu Ming: "I'll go too, I like watching people play all kinds of instruments!"
Zhao Long: "Cut it out, you guys are such posers, just say you want to watch the beauties... I'm going too!"
Zhang Jingdong stayed silent, staring blankly at the underside of the upper bunk, pondering.
With those two key people both present at the event, and one hosting while the other judging, it was definitely a golden opportunity to make money.
But his singing was mediocre, and he couldn't play any instruments, so what to do?