The third candidate, a bespectacled man, walked forward in a most servile manner.
Guan Tong immediately gave his verdict and promptly announced, âYou, with the glasses, you are not qualified!â
The bespectacled manâs jaw dropped in dismay. âBut, Mr. Interviewer, how can I be disqualified before I could even introduce myself?â he asked.
âThe spectacles you are wearing looks like they have thick lenses. Iâd say your lenses are at least 500 degrees. Itâs not like Iâm against short-sighted people but, I only wish to select the elites among elites for the Huayao Corporation,â Guan Tong explained.
The bespectacled manâs face flushed, and he gritted his teeth but didnât say a word in the end. He took his resume, turned around, and left.
Another two interviewees who were also wearing glasses decided to leave together with him. They were clearly disappointed with how the interview was being conducted and did not see much hope in getting employed.
Subsequently, one after another, the others were rejected outright for the most bizarre of reasons and left in a huff.
Guan Tong looked at his phone and let out a long sigh of relief. â9 oâclock, just in time!â he chirped.
Guan Tong and Xiao Luo were the only ones left in the waiting lounge.
When Xiao Luo was just about to say something, Guan Tong stood up smiling and triumphantly walked over to him. âNow that Iâve shooed away all our competitors, thereâs a lot less pressure. Thereâs only the two of us now, and Huayao Corporation is only hiring two to three sales consultants this time. So, weâll definitely get the job, heheâ¦â he said.
Xiao Luo immediately realized that this âinterviewâ was a fake one, and Guan Tong had deceitfully played the role interviewer to drive away their competition for the sales consultant position.
Had Xiao Luo been asked about the time in his life when he had been the most flabbergasted, he would have answered without hesitationâright now! To describe this with a phrase often used by Zhang Dashan, it would be: âThis is frigginâ 666!â [1]
âXiao Luo, I really didnât expect to see you here. Why, weâre even being interviewed for the same position, as if weâd planned for it in advance. It sure feels like itâs fate, doesnât it?â Guan Tong said, placing his hands on Xiao Luoâs shoulders like there were the best friends.
Xiao Luo didnât know whether to laugh or cry. âDidnât you say that you wanted to accumulate knowledge and develop your talent in university? Why did you suddenly decide to come out here and find a job?â
Xiao Luo was genuinely curious, and there was not a trace of sarcasm in his question.
âBecause of you,â Guan Tong replied, patting Xiao Luoâs shoulders.
âMe?â
Xiao Luo was baffled. What did this have to do with him?
âYeah, because of you, you b*stard.â
Guan Tong looked at Xiao Luo with admiration and said, âI was impressed by your performance during the class meeting that day. I have to admit that youâre a man of many talentsâyou can recite the four forms of poetry without preparation, youâre well-versed in the history of the Three Kingdoms, and you even have a brilliant grasp of the technical skills required in our major. You are a literal genius, you b*stard! You clubbed me right in the head and woke me up. From that very day, I realized that staying in school is far from enough to be a talented person. I must jump into society and gain experience to toughen myself.â
Xiao Luo didnât know what to say. An impromptu recital of the four forms of poetry and his being well-versed in the Three Kingdomsâ history was only possible because he was integrated with the genius system. The system was now set to automatically procure new abilities, and when he required any kind of knowledge or skill, it could be redeemed instantly, provided that he had sufficient points. Presently, he still had a balance of 2.1 million points in his system, and it was more than enough to get by.
âOh, by the way, arenât you Luo Workshopâs boss? Why are you here for the interview?â Guan Tong asked.
Xiao Luo sighed. âItâs a long story, I had to do this. I donât plan to pass this interview, Iâm just going through the process.â
âItâs so great to be rich and do whatever you wish, isnât it? Let me guess, you mustâve taken a liking to Huayao Corporationâs beautiful chairman, Shen Qingyan. As her name suggests, she can crush an entire nation solely with her beauty. Just look at that hourglass figure sheâs got, so your plan is to get close to her before making your move, am I right?â Guan Tong asked excitedly, flashing a perverted smile on his face.
Xiao Luo didnât really know how to explain. He couldnât just tell Guan Tong that he and Su Li were married, and she was the one who forced him to attend this interview. It would take too much effort to explain it, and itâd be better if he just went along with Guan Tongâs assumption that he had an intention to win Shen Qingyanâs heart.
âLooks like thatâs a bingo!â
When Xiao Luo hesitated, Guan Tong immediately assumed his guess was spot on and went further to say, âIâm so frigging jealous of you. When you take down Shen Qingyan, you must send me a red packet.â
âHuhâ¦?â Xiao Luo rolled his eyes heavenward.
The loungeâs glass door was once again slid open with a âwoosh,â and a tall lady walked in, dressed fashionably and wearing high heels. She had an oval-shaped face and was wearing black-rimmed spectacles. Her lenses were not at all thin, and it implied that she was also acutely short-sighted.
Upon seeing that, Guan Tong quickly took out his glasses from his jacketâs inner pocket and put them on.
âWhy are there only two of you?â
The tall lady was visibly surprised and immediately flipped through the documents she carried with her. She confirmed that there were supposed to be eight candidates today. But it was already 9 oâclock, and yet, there were only the two of them in the lounge. Naturally, she felt something was amiss.
âI donât know. There were only two of us when I arrived. I donât think the others turned up,â Guan Tong got up and said.
Guan Tongâs response made Xiao Luo cough dryly. For all the years that he had known Guan Tong, he never once realized in the past that this man was so skilled in telling lies. Guan Tong put on a straight face, and he looked persuasiveâhe wasnât blushing, his heart didnât appear to be thumping any faster, and if Xiao Luo had not witnessed what had happened himself, he wouldâve believed every word Guan Tong just said.
âThey didnât come? How is that possible!â
The doubt on the tall ladyâs face became more pronounced as Huayao Corporation was one of the top large enterprises in the country, and it was even comparable to Jiangcheng Cityâs Chongshan House. Countless job seekers dreamt of joining them and would scramble at such an opportunity, so how would they not show up?
Then, the tall ladyâs phone rang.
She quickly took her phone out, and on seeing the callerâs information, she immediately perked up with an expression of deference and was continually nodding her head. âMmm, okay, I got it, I got it!â
However, after the call ended, she looked at Xiao Luo and Guan Tong with a troubled expression. She didnât know what was going on today, but Miss Shen herself wanted to interview this batch of candidates. But here comes the problem, of the 8 jobseekers, only 2 remained, so, should she be taking only the two of them to her boss?
âPretty interviewer, may I inquire, whatâs happening?â Guan Tong asked, as seeing the unusual look on her face, he wanted to probe further.
âMiss Shen wants to interview all of you herself,â the tall woman answered.
Guan Tong was shocked, âMiss Shen? Chairman Shen Qingyan?â
The tall woman nodded in affirmation.
âMother of Heavens, Miss Shen wants to interview us herself? This⦠t-thisâ¦â
Guan Tong was overwhelmed. This was just like playing dou dizhu [2], where the opponent had put down the strongest combination before anyone could even play a card. It really blew his mind, and his head was abuzz.
Xiao Luo frowned. He was a 100 percent sure that Su Li had already made prior arrangements with Shen Qingyan. Why else would she have personally engaged herself in such trivial matters as the recruitment of employees?
â¦
â¦
A while later, the tall lady had led Xiao Luo and Guan Tong to an opulent office at the end of the floor and gently knocked on the door. Immediately, a clear and refine voice came from within. âCome in.â
The tall lady pushed the door open, and there, seated on her a plush chair in a gray business suit, was Shen Qingyan. She had a very full and appealing figure, and her natural beauty was accentuated by only light eyeshadow.
âMiss Shen. We have a total of two interviewees today. They are waiting right for you outside,â the tall lady reported.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Shen Qingyan raised her head, put down her pen, and furrowed her eyebrows. âWhat? Why are there only two? Go, find out what happened. I want an answer in 5 minutes,â she said.
âYes, Miss Shen.â
The tall woman answered nervously then quickly stepped out.
***Footnotes:[1] 666: a Chinese internet slang, meaning, âYouâre doinâ amazing, sweetie!â[2] Dou dizhu: is a Chinese card game in the genre of shedding and gambling.
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