Chapter 29: I Was Searching for Civil Service Exam Materials, How Did I End Up Here! [Revised Edition]

Mencius Yi only said half of what she intended because she suddenly realized something.

Xu Xiu was insulting her!

“You’ve gone too far! How can you treat me like this? I do have pride—you’ve really hurt me!”

“Others sing for money, but you sing for your life!” Xu Xiu mercilessly stabbed Mencius Yi right in the heart.

“Whoosh—”

An unidentified object flew over Xu Xiu’s head. Looking up, she felt a chill run down her spine.

What the hell!

A sanitary pad!

[Beep! Host has triggered a hidden event. Reward: one chance to draw from the Earth Literature and Music Library lottery!]

The voice was so awkward that Xu Xiu was dumbfounded.

No, what kind of hidden event is a sanitary pad falling on your head?

Huh?

Explain to me what you mean by “hidden event.” What the hell does “hidden event” even mean?

[Beep! Automatically drawing for the host in progress…]

[Congratulations! You’ve won “If the Moon Never Came,” with full rights to lyrics and composition granted.]

Though the system had given her a song to be happy about, something felt off about the timing.

The system had drawn a song right before the gala—it was obvious it wanted her to perform it.

The worst part was that the system handed her a duet version. Where was she supposed to find someone to perform with now?!

Xu Xiu gloomily threw the sanitary pad back. Upon seeing it, Mencius Yi’s expression instantly changed.

Wah wah wah—wrong thing thrown!

She meant to toss the small tissue packet in her bag, but had accidentally thrown the sanitary pad instead.

Blushing, Mencius Yi quickly stuffed the pad back into her bag.

Wang Chuanjun and Dong Xuan both looked stunned. Was this really how young people behaved nowadays? Throwing around such things so casually?

Xu Xiu’s face darkened. One, he really needed to arrange a program to keep the event alive, but finding someone to perform was a problem.

Two, there was no one else left. Everyone except for these few slackers already had a performance, and they were the only ones without anything scheduled.

Wang Chuanjun was hopeless—he just wanted to play a background role, quietly watching others perform.

---

Dong Xuan was next. She and Song Dan already had a program, but her singing skills were not very strong.

“Xu Xiu, hurry up and spray the water so we can take some nice pictures of our flower at the dock. No bullying our flower!” Dong Xuan stood up for Mencius Yi.

Xu Xiu was still lost in thought but mechanically complied.

After Mencius Yi finished taking photos, the group returned to the dining hall.

As soon as they entered, Song Dan and Wang Sulong blocked their way.

“What’s going on with you guys? Haven’t you thought about arranging a performance? There’s just one more slot left—why don’t you fill it with something?” Song Dan urged anxiously.

She truly cared about the event, fearing the audience wouldn’t be entertained enough.

“Exactly. We’ve prepared quite a few performances already; you two have to come up with something too,” Wang Sulong chimed in.

Since Guo Qilin’s arrival, he had been much more lively and cheerful.

Their chatter quickly attracted a crowd, and Guo Qilin peeked out.

“I heard you two dance pretty well. I haven’t seen it yet. How about you dance again?”

“No!” “No!”

Xu Xiu and Mencius Yi shouted in unison.

Their last dance had left a psychological scar on both of them.

“How about singing instead of dancing? You two sing a song to liven up the atmosphere,” Guo Qilin suggested again.

Xu Xiu’s face darkened.

What do you mean “liven up the atmosphere”? Doesn’t my life matter?

“Fine, then we’ll sing. Singing is more my strength,” Mencius Yi agreed without consulting Xu Xiu.

Xu Xiu responded with a speechless expression.

Alright, alright.

Playing it like this, huh? Then screw everyone!

Passion!

Once it was settled that Xu Xiu and Mencius Yi would sing, people gradually dispersed.

At this time, Xu Xiu was pinned down on the sofa by Mencius Yi, with Guo Qilin sitting nearby, watching the scene unfold.

“What song should we sing? How about one of Teacher Xiao Gang’s songs?” Mencius Yi enthusiastically offered suggestions.

No matter how much Sister Meng chattered, Xu Xiu remained silent.

---

At that moment, Xu Xiu turned his gaze to Guo Qilin.

“Teacher Qilin, I heard you’re quite close with Teacher Yu?”

“Hey, don’t call me Teacher Qilin. We’re about the same age. Just call me Dalinzi or Qilin.”

Guo Qilin was surprisingly down-to-earth and easygoing.

“As for being close with Teacher Yu, that’s because he’s my mentor. Naturally, a disciple sticks close to their master!”

Hearing this, Xu Xiu nodded. He had just checked some information online. After all, he was a new guest and needed to understand the situation in case of any embarrassing mistakes.

However, when Xu Xiu searched for information on Guo Qilin and his father on Douyin, the first result was actually Cao Jin!

It left him baffled. What the heck?

Hadn’t they all left the agency? How come Cao Jin still appeared when searching for Guo Qilin and his father?

Douyin’s big data was truly impressive—and disgustingly so!

It had already made a mistaken recommendation once before, when Xu Xiu’s company had just gone bankrupt and he was searching for civil service exam materials, hoping to become a government official.

Instead, a clip from a TV drama popped up.

The comments below were absurd, utterly ridiculous.

“Wait! Dude, I’m searching for civil service exam info. What the hell is this? This isn’t what I want. Who stuffed this video on my phone?”

That comment alone had over 500,000 likes!

Xu Xiu was stunned.

And now, Douyin showed Cao Jin when searching for Guo Qilin and his father, making Xu Xiu think this matter was more complicated than it seemed.

Clicking through, he found a comment with 300,000 likes.

“The Empress Dowager sought to appoint Prince Fenyang, scheming to force Cao Guojiu away, leaving the Crown Prince isolated without external support. Fortunately, the Grand Tutor advised ‘Chong’er lives outside,’ and with the tutor’s help, the Crown Prince commanded troops from afar, growing in power. The Emperor, sensing the Crown Prince’s rising influence, wished to summon him back, but the Prince, invoking ‘command outside the court,’ refused. Father and son’s relationship was never the same, yet he still showed filial piety before the council.”

The comment was even accompanied by a starkly contrasting image.

After learning all this, Xu Xiu was curious about the nature of Guo Qilin’s relationship with his father but refrained from asking.

If he did, he might end up being scolded by the whole internet—after all, this was no trivial matter.

Xu Xiu didn’t want to be the villain. He feared that playing the abstract game might backfire and destroy him instead.