Chapter 66
In the early autumn of their second year together, S University celebrated its 50th anniversary. Murong Cheng received an invitation from his alma mater to return and deliver a speech as a distinguished alumnus.
When he received the invitation from his former homeroom teacher, Murong Cheng was both flattered and apprehensive. His first instinct was to decline. A significant portion of his current success in the livestreaming industry was due to his connection with Murong Yan and the UZ Research Center. Twenty alumni had received the invitation, and the thought of giving a speech and posing as one of S University’s top twenty distinguished alumni was daunting. However, his former teacher was persistent, emphasizing that Murong Cheng was the youngest and most recent graduate among the accomplished alumni they had selected. They wanted speakers not only with influence in various fields but also representing different age groups, to inspire current students. Unable to refuse after several attempts, Murong Cheng reluctantly agreed.
Each alumnus was allocated ten minutes for their speech. Murong Cheng could already imagine the awkward scenario: other alumni with rich experiences struggling to fit everything into ten minutes, while he could summarize his two years in under three.
“Yan-ge, Yan-ge, you’re a successful person. What do people talk about in these situations? Help me brainstorm!” After spending the entire afternoon in the study struggling to write his speech, the young man clung to Murong Yan’s arm, acting coquettishly.
Murong Yan brought the glass of water from the table to his lips: “Duan Shao usually writes these speeches for me. Should I ask him to help you? But my speeches might not be very helpful for you since they’re usually company-related.”
“Murong Yan! You’re being bad! You’re doing this on purpose!” Noticing the glint of mischief in the other man’s eyes, Murong Cheng glared at him.
Murong Yan suppressed his smile: “Alright, I’m not teasing you anymore. Let me take a look.”
He leaned down and took hold of the mouse: “How much have you written so far? ‘Hello everyone, I’m Murong Cheng, a graduate of the International Trade major from two years ago. In my first year after graduation, I joined Guangyu Group, a leading domestic high-tech automotive company; in my second year, I became a social media broadcaster…'”
He read Murong Cheng’s dry draft word by word, then chuckled: “Baby, this speech of yours…”
Murong Cheng glared at him: “What’s wrong with my speech? Murong Yan, choose your words carefully. They will directly determine whether you sleep in my bed tonight.”
Murong Yan immediately changed his tone: “Your speech is excellent! There’s nothing wrong with it, except it’s a bit short.”
Trying hard might not guarantee success, but not trying guarantees nothing.
Murong Cheng: “Help me finish it.”
Murong Yan: “Okay, wifey. Go have some fruit. The housekeeper prepared a fruit platter on the dining table.”
Murong Yan was indeed a successful entrepreneur and a seasoned speaker. By the time Murong Cheng finished his fruit and returned to the study, the speech was almost complete. It closely resembled his usual conversational style, avoiding exaggeration and focusing on his experiences since graduation, yet it was somehow captivating.
With the speech finalized, Murong Cheng practiced diligently for two nights until he could recite it flawlessly. The night before the event, what to wear became a new dilemma.
A suit seemed too formal; after all, he had only graduated two years ago and was a freelance broadcaster, not a business tycoon. But dressing too casually might make him look even less professional than the current students, which would be equally awkward.
“I don’t want to go anymore. Why don’t you go, Yan-ge?” After rummaging through his wardrobe without finding anything suitable, the young man said with a mournful face, “This event isn’t for me…”
“How about this one?” Murong Yan walked over, rummaged through the closet, and pulled out a light pink short-sleeved shirt. The shirt was slightly oversized with a few sparkling rhinestones as embellishments. Paired with black dress pants, it was perfect for a semi-formal occasion.
Murong Cheng took the shirt.
With his fair skin and slender build, the young man was a natural clothes hanger. The shirt’s collar was unbuttoned at the top two buttons, revealing his elegant collarbones. He looked both fashionable and capable.
“Not bad.” Murong Cheng looked at himself in the mirror, nodding with satisfaction. He suddenly turned to Murong Yan and commanded, “You’re coming with me tomorrow.”
Murong Yan: “Okay.”
Surprised by the immediate agreement, Murong Cheng was slightly taken aback, then continued, “So, what are you going to wear?”
Murong Yan returned to the wardrobe and found a light gray shirt similar in style to Murong Cheng’s, slightly more understated but not overly formal: “I’ll wear this one, to match you.”
The S University anniversary celebrations lasted a whole week. Alumni Day, which included the alumni speeches, spanned the weekend. The twenty alumni were divided into two days, with Murong Cheng scheduled for the afternoon of the second day.
The university provided each guest speaker with an alumni card and a temporary meal card. Lunch could be enjoyed at any of the university’s cafeterias, while dinner was arranged at a restaurant near the campus entrance, optional for attendees.
The S University campus was quite large, with five cafeterias. The first three occupied three corners of the campus, offering similar dishes and quality. One of the other two was a slightly more expensive international cafeteria serving Korean and Japanese cuisine. The last one was a halal cafeteria, famous for its beef soup and beef pies.
“Where do you want to go? Cafeteria one, two, three, four, or five?” Murong Cheng rattled off the best dishes at each cafeteria, then declared magnanimously, “Wherever you want, gege will treat you.”
“Gege?” Murong Yan raised an eyebrow: “Oh?”
The man’s voice trailed off, his right hand, which was resting on the young man’s shoulder, slid down and gently squeezed his buttock.
Murong Cheng, startled, quickly corrected himself: “Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue. Hubby, where do you want to eat? Whatever you want, I’ll treat you.”
“Where do you most want to go?” Murong Yan’s hand returned to his shoulder.
“Then… let’s go to the Five Grains Fish Noodles at Cafeteria One. They don’t have a lot of fish, and it’s all bony, but the noodles are really good. Mu Haoqiong and I craved it several times after graduation. They also sell crispy fried meat on that floor. We can each queue up, one for noodles and one for the meat.”
Murong Yan nodded in agreement: “Okay.”
They inadvertently arrived during the student rush hour, and the cafeteria was packed. Afraid of getting separated from Murong Yan, Murong Cheng held his hand tightly as they squeezed onto the elevator to the third floor where Five Grains Fish Noodles was located.
Among the numerous food stalls, the queue for Five Grains Fish Noodles was the longest, a testament to its popularity among S University students. The second longest queue was for the crispy fried meat that Murong Cheng also intended to buy.
Since they were already there, they might as well queue.
Murong Cheng led him to the end of the Five Grains Fish Noodles line: “I’ll queue here.”
Murong Yan: “Okay. What are you having?”
Murong Cheng held the temporary meal card: “I’ll buy the crispy fried meat and come back to find you. We only have one card.”
Murong Yan pocketed his hands and obediently stood in line: “Okay.”
The queue for the crispy fried meat seemed shorter, but since the meat was fried to order, it moved slower than the noodle line. By the time Murong Cheng hurried back with two bags of crispy fried meat, Murong Yan had reached the front of the noodle line. The young man’s timing was perfect.
“Which kind?”
The fish noodles came in original, spicy, and sour & spicy flavors, with a choice of fish fillets or fish balls. The man glanced at the menu and turned to the young man.
Murong Cheng was someone who craved spicy food despite his low tolerance. He always ended up tearing up, but he still wanted it. Murong Yan, on the other hand, rarely ate spicy food, preferring healthier options.
“One original fish ball noodles and one sour & spicy fish fillet noodles, please,” Murong Cheng told the lady at the counter.
“Alright, swipe your card here. Number 11, please wait a moment at the side. They’re cooked fresh.” The lady replied.
The fish noodles tasted just as he remembered. Their timing was perfect; by the time they both had their food, the crispy fried meat was still hot and crispy.
“It feels so good to be back on campus,” the young man sighed contentedly as he ate.
Murong Yan: “Then why don’t you come back and continue studying?”
Hearing this, the young man shook his head vehemently: “No, no, no. I’d rather be an alumnus.”
After lunch and a stroll around campus, the two walked towards the auditorium where the alumni meeting was held.
The auditorium was already filled with teachers and students. Seeing the alumni invitation in Murong Cheng’s hand, the student union staff in charge of the event greeted them warmly.
“Murong-xuezhang, right? This way, please.”
As the two followed the staff member down the first row, S University’s president, Zheng Bin, suddenly stood up and called out to them.
“Wait! Mr. Murong, is that you?” President Zheng Bin recognized Murong Yan immediately.
Since he had been recognized, there was no point in denying it. Murong Yan stopped, turned around, and smiled politely.
“President Zheng.”
“You know our president?” Murong Cheng whispered in surprise.
“Mr. Murong was invited to give a speech at our university about four or five years ago,” Zheng Bin explained, looking at them both.
Four or five years ago? Wasn’t that when he was studying at S University? Murong Cheng was stunned.
He tried to recall and suddenly remembered that during the final exam period of his sophomore year’s fall semester, the university had indeed organized a lecture by Guangyu. However, it was primarily aimed at seniors preparing for campus recruitment, so few students from his year attended. He had gone to earn extra credit. But busy with exam revision, he had probably spent the entire time reading in a corner, paying no attention to the speaker on stage.
So, his first encounter with Murong Yan had been so long ago.
“Yes,” Murong Yan nodded.
President Zheng’s gaze shifted to Murong Cheng. The student union member beside them introduced him: “President Zheng, this is Mr. Murong Cheng, a social media broadcaster and one of the alumni speakers we’ve invited today.”
“How long have you been graduated?” Zheng Bin asked.
Murong Cheng: “Two years.”
Zheng Bin nodded slightly: “Young and promising.”
Murong Cheng waved his hand modestly: “Not at all.”
Zheng Bin looked at Murong Yan: “And what brings Mr. Murong here today?”
The man held the young man’s hand: “As a family member.”
Zheng Bin looked surprised: “Mr. Murong, are you married?”
Murong Yan: “Not yet, but soon.”
Since today was his little darling’s moment, he didn’t want to steal the spotlight. After a brief exchange, Murong Yan pointed to the seats the student union had reserved for Murong Cheng in the back row: “We’ll go and take our seats now?”
Zheng Bin didn’t stop them: “Alright, alright, please have a seat. If you can’t find a seat in the back, you can come to the front.”
Murong Yan politely declined: “No need, I might have to step out to take calls later, so the back is more convenient. Thank you, President Zheng.”
As they sat down in the fifth row at the far end, Murong Cheng looked at his boyfriend: “Do you have something on this afternoon?”
Murong Yan: “No.”
Murong Cheng: “You just said you might have to take calls.”
Murong Yan: “I was just brushing him off. Did you want to sit in the front row next to him?”
Murong Cheng shook his head repeatedly: “No.”
Murong Yan: “That settles it then.”
Having practiced his speech thoroughly and with Murong Yan’s encouraging presence in the audience, Murong Cheng delivered his speech flawlessly, much smoother than his speech as an outstanding new employee representative when he first joined Guangyu.
As he put down the microphone and met Murong Yan’s focused gaze, Murong Cheng couldn’t help but smile. He walked off the stage towards him, his smile widening with each step.
“What are you smiling about?” Noticing his expression, the man asked in a low voice.
“Nothing.” Murong Cheng shook his head, his smile deepening, “I just feel…the connections between people are quite amazing.”
Murong Yan asked seriously: “How so?”
“The first time I met you was in this auditorium. You came to our university to give a speech, but I didn’t have any impression of you at the time.” Murong Cheng took the man’s hand and played with his long, slender fingers. “The first time I noticed you was also because I was giving a speech. When I first joined the company, Manager Jiang insisted I be the outstanding new employee representative. I was standing on the stage, and I noticed you. But you were sitting behind the nameplate of Mr. Cheng from the Legal Department, so I thought you were the general manager of Legal.”
Murong Yan’s lips curled into a smile: “You had your eye on me back then?”
Murong Cheng denied it stubbornly: “No.”
Murong Yan stared at him intently: “Then what did you notice?”
“I…” Caught off guard, the young man blushed slightly, “I noticed that this…leader was quite handsome.”
Murong Yan chuckled.
Murong Cheng squeezed his hand and laughed along: “I never imagined that one day, such a handsome guy would be swept off his feet by me.”
