Anchor Effect - Chapter 6.2: Heartthrob Senior

Ye Yuchen leaned back on the sofa and declined the drink. "I've actually already showered." He implied that he hadn't wanted to come.

"Today, Du Rui is treating," Gong Hao added. "Are you not going to give him a hard time?"

Ye Yuchen agreed with this sentiment. He called over a waiter, ordered another bottle of expensive whiskey, and asked Du Rui, "Is your dad really investing in a movie for you?"

Du Rui was also an acting department student. His family owned a chain of resort hotels, so investing in a movie was well within their means.

"It's not for me," Du Rui clarified, "It's for a big-budget commercial film, and he's considering casting me as the second male lead."

"Then your father isn't dumb." Gong Hao chuckled. "He would probably lose money if he invested in you."

"Tsk, does our family lack money?"

"Then you should ask your father to arrange for you to be the male lead. Let's see if he dares."

Ye Yuchen didn't engage in the banter and was silently drinking his wine. Gong Hao noticed his sour mood and pushed a fruit plate towards him. "Hey, doesn't your family not want you to pursue acting?"

"I think so too," Du Rui commented, lifting his wine glass. "Your family really doesn't need that bit of money, right?"

In his earlier years, Ye Yuchen occasionally modeled for magazines and walked the runway. But when he truly wanted to step into the entertainment industry, his mother always said that he wasn't ready yet.

"My mother said to wait until I graduate." Ye Yuchen took a sip of his wine.

"It's almost time, right? Everyone in our class has already gotten roles..."

Gong Hao nudged Du Rui with his elbow, signaling him to stop talking.

"It won't affect you if you don't act." Gong Hao said to Ye Yuchen. "After all, your family is wealthy."

"Yes." Du Rui concurred. "Your family can't go bankrupt."

"I didn't say anything." Ye Yuchen found it amusing. "Are you comforting me?"

"Absolutely." Gong Hao raised his wine glass and the three clinked them together.

At that moment, Du Rui's phone vibrated suddenly. Ye Yuchen inadvertently glanced at it and saw that it was a Weibo post.

"Damn." Du Rui slammed his glass down and looked at his phone with a displeased expression. "Check out the trending searches."

Trending?

Ye Yuchen also took out his phone and looked at it. He immediately understood why Du Rui was upset.

The term "#Yu Xiu Campus Beauty#" has surged to the top of the trending searches, ranking first. The comprehensive page is filled with numerous marketing accounts posting the same content. It's obvious at a glance that someone has deliberately paid for this trending spot.

"He's so ignorant, isn't he?" Du Rui quickly shared the Weibo post to the class group with a large question mark.

Someone else quickly followed suit with a question mark, and soon the class group was filled with question marks.

"Doesn't he know that the campus top student is you?" Gong Hao joked. "And he still dares to push for this trending topic."

"It's not surprising that he doesn't know." Ye Yuchen muttered.

"Does he think he can conquer the entertainment world with just his looks?" Du Rui typed, "He's too naive."

Ye Yuchen was scrolling through Weibo, and the more he read, the more he found it amusing.

Yu Xiu appeared innocent and harmless on the surface, so why was he secretly referring to himself as a "school beauty"?

"Damn it, someone on a post board started a poll." Du Rui shared the poll in the class group, as if he were just casually watching the commotion.

Ye Yuchen naturally didn't go and check the poll. He put down his phone with a composed expression. But as Gong Hao and Du Rui commented, he couldn't resist picking up his phone and clicking on the post.

Though the difference was only about a hundred votes, the result was clear— Yu Xiu was getting more votes than Ye Yuchen.

Ye Yuchen: "..."

As expected, a dispute broke out in the comments. People who support Ye Yuchen mentioned his dancing skills, good temperament, and especially his family background, as well as the car he drives.

On the other hand, those who support Yu Xiu have a simple reason: Yu Xiu is purely handsome.

"He really thinks he's something," Du Rui scoffed. "How many child stars are there?"

Gong Hao, with a wine glass in his hand, remarked nonchalantly, "Isn't he arrogant now?"

Ye Yuchen didn't inform them that Yu Xiu was about to receive the Golden Orchid Award for Best Newcomer.

Although he wasn't well-known at the moment, he was already on the runway to success.

"Reel him in," Ye Yuchen suddenly suggested.

"What?" Du Rui asked.

"Bring him into our circle," Ye Yuchen clarified, "Let him broaden his horizons."

"Oh, that's not a bad idea." Gong Hao smiled. "Let him see the bigger world."

Du Rui finally grasped Ye Yuchen's intention and snapped his fingers. "I'm in."

***

Not long after their time at the bar, Ye Yuchen called for a driver to take him back to campus. Rather than returning to the private dormitory where he lived alone, he arrived at the neighboring student dormitory.

With Gong Hao having access to Yu Xiu's dormitory number and Ye Yuchen having met Yu Xiu face-to-face, it was Ye Yuchen who had the task of inviting him.

However—

How should he go about it?

Ye Yuchen wasn't skilled at recruiting people. Standing in front of Yu Xiu's dormitory door, he struggled to come up with a line that would sound impressive enough. At that moment, the door opened from the inside, and Yu Xiu emerged with a bucket of laundry.

His hair was still damp from a recent shower, and he seemed to be heading downstairs to the laundry room while there were fewer people around.

Seeing Ye Yuchen, his eyes held a hint of surprise. Ye Yuchen realized how suspicious he must look, waiting outside a dormitory late at night. Abandoning any attempts to be impressive, he almost blurted out, "I finished writing the speech. Would you like to take a look?"

Yu Xiu quickly collected himself, as if he hadn't heard Ye Yuchen's question. He instead said, "You're Ye Yuchen."

Ye Yuchen was taken aback. "Did you really inquire about me?"

"Yes." Yu Xiu nodded. "Campus heartthrob senior."

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