Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 577: Where Did This Bureaucracy Come From?

Hearing this, Chen Wan could not help but look up at Zhou Yuwen.The first time Zhou Yuwen and Chen Wan met was on the very first day of school. At that time, Chen Wan was just a student in her sophomore year. Although she was much more mature than the incoming freshmen, she was ultimately still a bit naive. In the blink of an eye, almost two years had passed.

As such, Chen Wan was vastly different from how she was in her sophomore year.

This wasn't because she had become the Student Union president, but rather because she had worked at Zhou Yuwen's company for nearly a year. Earning over four thousand a month had taught her how to focus on dressing up.

Today, she wore light makeup, pairing a white shirt with a black women's suit. It perfectly suited her identity as the Student Union president, making her appear formal and authoritative when facing other students.

However, Zhou Yuwen's words made her very uncomfortable. Even though his expression held no malice, Chen Wan felt that he was doing it intentionally.

She secretly gritted her teeth.

In her eyes, Zhou Yuwen was clearly putting on a show of force. Was he implying that she was nothing after leaving his company?

Had he forgotten that she was still the Student Union president?

With this thought in mind, Chen Wan refused to look at the document Zhou Yuwen handed over.

"Boss Zhou, I am truly sorry, but the Student Union's official seal was taken by the Faculty Advisor. It is currently not with me," Chen Wan declared, returning the document to him.

She wanted to make Zhou Yuwen suffer a little.

"Faculty Advisor? Which Faculty Advisor?" Zhou Yuwen asked in confusion.

Chen Wan replied, asking who else could the Student Union's Faculty Advisor be?

"Boss Zhou, you worked in the Student Union after all. How do you not even know who the Faculty Advisor is?"

Zhou Yuwen admitted that he genuinely had no idea.

"But I am actually in a rush with this document. Why don't you make a phone call to the Faculty Advisor, President Chen? Alternatively, tell me where she is, and I will go find her."

Chen Wan found this amusing. She scoffed, "How would I know where Teacher Wang is? President Zhou, I know you are busy with a myriad of affairs and packed with tasks every day, but the Student Union is responsible for the entire school's student body. We can't possibly serve just one person, can we?"

Only then did Zhou Yuwen catch the underlying meaning in Chen Wan's words. However, he didn't want to argue, merely asking, "Then when will the Faculty Advisor bring the official seal back?"

"That's hard to say. Why don't you come back tomorrow to check?" Chen Wan suggested.

Zhou Yuwen stared at Chen Wan, only to see her sitting up straight with a relaxed posture, looking at him smugly.

Naturally, she felt very proud at this moment. Let's see him try to settle the accounts now. No matter how capable Zhou Yuwen was, there were still times when he could be held up by others.

She simply wanted to teach him that he shouldn't burn his bridges.

'When you fired me back then, did you ever think there would come a day when you'd need me?'

Right at that moment, Zhou Yuwen's phone rang.

Zhou Yuwen picked it up and glanced at the screen.

He saw that it was an incoming call from Principal Yao Lan.

Thus, Zhou Yuwen connected the call.

Yao Lan's warm voice came through the receiver, "Yuwen, is the official seal stamped yet?"

"Oh, it probably can't be stamped today."

As Zhou Yuwen spoke, he glanced over at the smug Chen Wan. Unaware of who was on the other end of the line, she maintained her triumphant expression.

So Zhou Yuwen told the Principal, "President Chen said that the Student Union's official seal was taken by the Faculty Advisor."

"President Chen? Which President Chen?"

Yao Lan found it baffling, wondering which petty official from where dared to interfere with her school's affairs.

Zhou Yuwen clarified, "President Chen of the Student Union."

"The Student Union? The Student Union president?!" Yao Lan was stunned.

Zhou Yuwen nodded, "Yes, Principal."

"?" Hearing the word "Principal," Chen Wan, who had just been gloating, completely froze.

'He is on a phone call with the Principal?'

Meanwhile, Yao Lan's expression had turned quite grim.

What did this mean? The Student Union's official seal was taken by the Faculty Advisor?

Why would a Faculty Advisor take the Student Union's seal?

"I understand. I will give Teacher Wang Yan a phone call."

With that, Yao Lan hung up directly.

Seeing Zhou Yuwen suddenly lower his phone, Chen Wan felt very strange. She had been sitting comfortably just a moment ago, but now she was standing. She asked him, "Were you on a phone call with the Principal?"

"Yes."

"You..."

Chen Wan panicked. "Did the Principal tell you to come to the Student Union this time?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen chuckled. "Why else?"

Chen Wan grew increasingly flustered. She asked Zhou Yuwen what he had just said to the Principal.

"Why did the Principal suddenly hang up?"

"How should I know?" Zhou Yuwen said with a smile.

While Chen Wan was in a frantic state, her phone suddenly began buzzing.

This gave her a fright. She quickly connected the call.

Immediately, an impatient voice demanded from the other end, "Hasn't the Student Union's official seal always been with you? Why did you tell the Principal that I have it?!"

"I..."

Chen Wan carefully cupped the phone with both hands, glancing up at Zhou Yuwen from time to time, looking extremely embarrassed as if she had been caught acting like a clown.

She stammered for a long time before finally uttering, "Ah, I... I remembered it wrong."

"I thought it was taken by you."

"What do you mean taken by me? What would I want with your stupid seal!?"

As the Student Union's Faculty Advisor, Wang Yan had always maintained a good attitude towards Chen Wan, but that didn't mean she had no temper.

Damn it, she had just been minding her own business in her office when the Principal suddenly called to chew her out, speaking sarcastically and asking if she was addicted to playing the bureaucrat! Asking if she even dared to hold up the Principal's people!

Wang Yan had nearly suffocated from sheer frustration at that moment.

'Even if I had the guts of a lion, I wouldn't dare pull a stunt like that, okay?'

'A miserable Student Union, and you're holding people up?'

'Are you kidding me?'

Therefore, Wang Yan absolutely loathed Chen Wan right now.

'She never used to be this stupid, did she?'

"Ah, I found it, I found it. I am sorry, Teacher Wang, it was in the drawer the whole time, I just didn't see it."

Chen Wan finally realized her mistake and quickly rummaged through her desk, desperately making up an excuse.

But in reality, she still hadn't found the seal.

Suddenly, the door was slammed open with a loud bang.

Teacher Wang Yan, wearing her glasses, marched in impatiently.

The school didn't have that many glamorous and beautiful teachers. Wang Yan was just an ordinary mother in her forties, wearing rimmed glasses and possessing a barrel-like figure. She looked exactly like the evil dean of students from a television drama.

"Teacher... Teacher Wang, why are you here?"

Seeing Wang Yan, Chen Wan hurriedly stood up, her voice trembling with panic.

"You have the nerve to ask!?"

Wang Yan glared coldly at Chen Wan. She impatiently demanded, "Where is the seal?"

"It's... it's right here."

Chen Wan frantically rummaged through her drawers.

Wang Yan snapped, "Can you even find it? Move over!"

Saying that, she roughly yanked Chen Wan aside.

Then, she pulled the drawer open herself.

As the Student Union president, Chen Wan had her own private office, so it was inevitable that she kept some small snacks in her drawer.

Things like dog-tooth biscuits and the like.

If it were any other normal day, Wang Yan definitely wouldn't have said anything.

But seeing these small snacks in the drawer right now...

Wang Yan was exceptionally irritable. She mercilessly swept the snacks onto the floor. "What is all this!?"

"What is all this junk!?"

"What do you think this office is!?"

Wang Yan's continuous berating left the nearby Chen Wan looking for a hole to crawl into. Wang Yan unceremoniously dumped out everything Chen Wan had kept in the drawer.

Finally, she spotted the Student Union's official seal.

"Didn't you say you didn't know where it was? You couldn't see it in such an obvious place?"

Wang Yan asked, speaking sarcastically.

By now, Chen Wan's face was completely pale, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Wang Yan continued to have a cold face. By this point, she definitely knew what Chen Wan had been scheming.

"At such a young age, you haven't learned anything useful, but you have more bureaucracy in you than I do?"

"You dare to hold up just about anyone? Are you even capable of being the Student Union president?"

"If you can do the job, do it. If you can't, we'll replace you immediately!"

"Is this what happens when we let you be the Student Union president!?"

While scolding her, Wang Yan pulled out the Student Union's official seal. When she turned to look at Zhou Yuwen, her expression softened considerably. "Where is the document?"

"Oh, right here," Zhou Yuwen replied.

Thus, Wang Yan stamped the document for him. While she was stamping, she continued speaking sarcastically toward Chen Wan. Her actual intention was to let Zhou Yuwen know that this mess had nothing to do with her.

It was all because of this idiot, Chen Wan.

Did being the president give her a sense of superiority?

"What? You're still unconvinced after being reprimanded?"

"Come on, tell me to my face, what kind of conflict do you have with Yuwen? Come, tell me, and I'll mediate for you. Come on."

Seeing that Chen Wan remained silent, Wang Yan grabbed her clothes and yanked her forward two steps.

Normally, Wang Yan definitely wouldn't act like this. Students had strong egos, and their self-esteem had to be considered.

But Chen Wan dared to use her name to stir up trouble with the Principal?

Wang Yan was absolutely not going to be polite. She needed to make everything crystal clear in front of Zhou Yuwen.

"Older Sister Yan..."

Chen Wan usually addressed Wang Yan affectionately as Older Sister Yan.

Who knew that right as she tried to say it this time—

Wang Yan immediately cut her off, snapping, "Stop right there. Who are you calling Older Sister Yan? Who is your Older Sister Yan? What did you just call me?"

At this moment, Chen Wan felt utterly miserable. She opened her mouth, but before she could even say 'Teacher Wang', tears came streaming down her face. "Teacher Wang, I was wrong..."

"Wrong? Tell me, where did you go wrong?"

Wang Yan simply wanted to teach her a harsh lesson.

By now, Zhou Yuwen's document was already stamped, and he was in no mood to stay and watch the drama unfold.

Therefore, he let out a dry cough.

"Ahem. Teacher Wang, well, my business here is done, so I will be taking my leave."

"Don't go yet, Yuwen. It's because she was not disciplined well by me. Look, I will make her apologize to you. This Student Union is really getting more and more ridiculous. I keep telling them that the core purpose of the Student Union is to serve the students, and look at the mess they've made? An absolute disaster. Who taught you all this? Tell me yourself, can you still be this president?"

Wang Yan grew visibly angrier as she spoke.

Zhou Yuwen obviously wouldn't stoop to bickering over something like this. He merely smiled and said, "Let it go, Teacher Wang. I assume President Chen just forgot where the official seal was. It's not as serious as you're making it out to be, right?"

"Look at that! You treated Yuwen like that, and look at how he treats you,"

Wang Yan questioned Chen Wan coldly.

She asked Chen Wan once more if she was still fit to be the Student Union president.

Chen Wan opened her mouth, clearly wanting to beg for one more chance.

But before she could speak, Wang Yan interrupted, "Forget it, you don't need to say anything. Come on, Yuwen, you tell me. Do you think she can still handle the role?"

"Me?"

Zhou Yuwen found this laughable.

"Yes, you tell me. She is simply unfit to be the Student Union president. Oh, by the way, the Student Union elections are coming up soon, right? Yuwen, you're going into your junior year. Why don't you become the Student Union president?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but chuckle. He replied, "I can't do that. I don't have the time for it, either."

"That's true. If you had the time, we would definitely have you do it,"

Wang Yan said hastily.

Zhou Yuwen said, "Teacher Wang, I won't hold you up any longer. The Principal is still waiting."

"Oh, alright, you go ahead and get busy then,"

Wang Yan quickly nodded. But just as Zhou Yuwen was about to leave—

Wang Yan suddenly remembered something. "Wait, Yuwen, you haven't answered me yet."

"What is it?"

Wang Yan asked him, "Do you think she can still be the Student Union president?"

Zhou Yuwen turned his head and cast a glance at Chen Wan.

Chen Wan's heart skipped a beat. She had never imagined that even though she was no longer in his company, Zhou Yuwen still held the power to determine her fate.

It was important to note that right now, her position in the Student Union was all she had left.

She would be heading out for her internship soon. If she were stripped of her title as Student Union president at this juncture, it would be utterly humiliating.

Chen Wan's chest tightened, and the gaze she directed at Zhou Yuwen grew pitiful and pleading.

However, looking at her desperate expression, Zhou Yuwen only offered a faint smile.

He replied, "Teacher Wang, this is an internal matter for your Student Union. You should know how to resolve it, right?"

Having said that, Zhou Yuwen turned and walked away.

When he opened the door, he found a crowd of students gathered outside, their ears perked up to eavesdrop.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. Wang Yan had intended to embarrass Chen Wan, so she hadn't bothered to lower her voice at all. Her shouts from inside could easily be heard out in the hall.

And even after Zhou Yuwen stepped out, Wang Yan still showed no intention of letting Chen Wan off the hook, directly roaring, "What exactly is the point of you being the Student Union president!?"

"If you can do it, do it. If not, get the hell out!"

This last line was heard loud and clear by every student present in the Student Union.

The crowd began whispering among themselves, thinking, 'Good heavens.'

'Older Sister Wan is way too bold. She even dared to hold up Zhou Yuwen? What was she thinking?'

'Exactly, and Zhou Yuwen is such a nice guy!'

'Could it be that Chen Wan tried to pressure Zhou Yuwen into an unspoken transaction, and he refused to comply?'

Someone joked quietly.

Hearing this, the crowd burst into stifled laughter.

At that moment, Chen Wan's sobs echoed from the office once again.

When Zhou Yuwen had been present earlier, Chen Wan was too embarrassed to weep in front of him.

Now that he was gone, she was undoubtedly crying her eyes out.

She absolutely did not want to lose her position as Student Union president.

She desperately pleaded with Wang Yan in every way possible.

Rumor had it that, in order to save her presidency this time, Chen Wan actually dropped to her knees in front of Teacher Wang Yan.

Of course, that was just a rumor.

In any case, after this incident, Chen Wan's prestige within the Student Union was completely wiped out.

If Chen Wan hadn't begged Wang Yan so submissively, pleading that she was about to start her internship and crying, "Please, Teacher Wang, give me one more chance," she would have been ousted immediately.

Wang Yan figured the same—it was only the final month, and it simply wasn't worth the fuss. Thus, she opted to just ice her out.

The eventual outcome was that Shen Yu stepped into the role of Student Union president ahead of schedule. Though she hadn't been officially appointed yet, she had effectively stripped Chen Wan of all her power.