Zeng Jian was sleeping like a rock when his phone rang and dragged him unwillingly from dreamland.
Lately, he'd been working himself to exhaustion—his editor had been grinding him to the bone. Now that he was finally back at school, prepping for graduation, all he wanted was one good night's sleep. Was that too much to ask?
"Who the hell is calling this early... Hello? Who is this?" he grumbled, groggy and annoyed.
"Zeng Jian!"
"Damn it, who—wait, what?"
"Are you stupid? It's me," came the sharp voice of his editor. "You're a student at Binhai University, right?"
"Editor?" Zeng Jian blinked at the caller ID, instantly snapping awake. "Yes! Yes, I am. What's going on?"
"I just heard that Chen Mo—the chairman of the Marching Ant Company—is one of your graduating classmates. He's returning to campus today. Get over there immediately and cover the story. If there's anything big, and you miss it, I'm yanking you off the team!"
"Chen Mo… Marching Ant… graduate… what?!"
Still in a daze, Zeng Jian sat on his bed, trying to process what he'd just heard. Then it hit him. Wide-eyed, he grabbed his gear, brushed his teeth in record time, and bolted out the dorm like a man on fire.
He wasn't the only one.
As soon as the news broke, journalists from all over began swarming toward Binhai University.
The Marching Ant Company had been all over the headlines recently—its rise was nothing short of a miracle. Now, the company's mysterious chairman was revealed to be a fresh graduate? The story practically wrote itself.
Meanwhile, Chen Mo was walking around the campus with Principal Qiu and other school leaders. Though he knew every inch of the place, this kind of "honor tour" was a first—and incredibly awkward.
Then Principal Qiu hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Chen Mo, I have a small favor to ask."
"Please go ahead, Principal," Chen Mo said politely.
"The school is planning to host a donation ceremony in the auditorium tomorrow. We'll have the student body attend. Would you be willing to give a short speech—something inspirational for your fellow students?"
Principal Qiu's tone was hopeful. Someone of Chen Mo's stature could serve as a powerful symbol of success. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Chen Mo hesitated. "I… really don't know how to say no to that." Then he nodded. "Alright, I'll do it."
"Excellent! I'll make the arrangements." Principal Qiu's face lit up with joy.
"Oh, and by the way," he added, "we were considering asking you to be the student speaker at the graduation ceremony. Would you be interested?"
Chen Mo shook his head with a laugh. "Let someone else have the spotlight at graduation, Principal. I'll sit that one out."
"Fair enough."
After strolling around a bit longer, Chen Mo and Xiaoyu finally said their goodbyes to the staff and made their way out.
"You know you're officially a campus legend now," Xiaoyu said, flashing her phone at him. The screen was flooded with forum posts—mostly about Chen Mo.
Some discussed his return. Others analyzed his identity. And more still had theories, admiration, or just wild fanboying.
One post caught her eye, and she burst out laughing. "Check this one out—'The Romantic History of Chen Mo.'"
Chen Mo raised a brow, then chuckled. "Wow. I've only been back for a day, and already the myths are spreading."
Images of him being welcomed by the school leaders were already viral, circulating online and confirming what everyone now suspected: the mystery chairman of the Marching Ant Company had been revealed.
"It's over," Xiaoyu said, half-teasing, half-serious. "The paparazzi are sniffing around. After tomorrow's speech, low-profile life is officially dead."
"Can't help it," Chen Mo sighed. "This exposure was bound to happen eventually. Anyway, are you heading back to the dorm?"
"Yeah, I've still got things to prep. You go home and start writing that speech," she said, giving him a playful nudge.
After dropping Xiaoyu off, Chen Mo made his way to his old dormitory.
It had been a while since he last visited. He wasn't exactly best friends with his dorm mates, but they had lived together for years. Coming back now without saying hi would've felt wrong.
Classes were still going on, so there weren't many people around. Fortunately, the guys were in their room—and in the middle of a lively discussion.
"Can you believe Chen Mo hid this from us all this time?" said Fatty, shaking his head. "Now that he's back, he's definitely buying dinner."
"I second that," said Liu De.
"Thirded," said Niu Lei, the burly gym rat, still casually curling a dumbbell.
"Let's call him now. Screw games. This is more important."
"Call your female sponsor while you're at it," one joked.
"Who wants to be a sponsor—"
"Why not just ask me directly?" came Chen Mo's voice as he stepped in.
The room went silent. Five pairs of eyes locked on him in disbelief.
There he was, in the flesh. The man they'd been gossiping about was standing right in front of them.
"…You really are the chairman of Marching Ant?" Fatty asked.
Chen Mo just grinned. "Take a wild guess."
The room exploded.
"Local tyrant! You're treating us to dinner tonight!" Liu De shouted.
"Done," Chen Mo agreed. "Name the place."
"Unbelievable," Zhu Gang laughed. "You went from regular geek to billionaire god-tier while we were busy playing League. Damn, now I feel like a failure."
"Wait, wait, hold on." Pu Yuan, the smallest of the group, whipped out his phone. "We're taking a selfie. I need evidence that my roommate's a billionaire. Gonna flex this for weeks."
Everyone jumped in, taking turns snapping group photos with Chen Mo. It wasn't long before neighboring dorm mates caught wind of it and came running to join the fun.
Later that evening, Chen Mo treated them all to dinner.
Despite the buzz around his identity, his dorm mates didn't treat him any differently. They joked, teased, and laughed just like they used to. They swapped memories of dorm life, talked about their post-graduation plans, and soaked in the final moments of their student days.
There had been arguments over the years, sure, but nothing that ever stuck. While they weren't best bros, they were still friends—and this dinner felt like the proper send-off.
After a few drinks and heartfelt goodbyes, Chen Mo finally headed home, the lights of campus fading behind him.
Tomorrow would be another big day.