Recruitment Turmoil (4)

Lin Meijing had only just recovered from her shock when she deliberately said in an indifferent tone, "What pattern could there be? Mr. Pei, you pass!"

"Damn it! We don't accept this!" Though the other two elite graduates were equally shocked, they still did not take Pei Shao, a graduate of some third-rate university, seriously. So what if your memory is strong? It can't possibly be invincible in every other area too, can it?

Lin Meijing gave a light cough and pondered for a moment. "Since all of you have such good memories, I'll test your literary foundation next. Is that all right?"

"Sure, go ahead!"

"It's simple. If you can compose a poem within five minutes using one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, hundred, thousand, and ten thousand in sequence, and make it smooth and rhyming, you'll pass! The time may be a little short, but I'm not asking you to create it entirely from scratch. You may adapt any poem you know!"

"Uh..." After hearing the question, Pei Shao immediately lowered his head and quietly asked Castle, "Are you any good at literary stuff?"

"Don't worry! My system has an automatic poetry generator installed. As long as there's a topic, I can analyze it!"

"Great!" Pei Shao let out a long breath.

Five minutes passed quickly. The two elite graduates were both frowning in deep thought, while Pei Shao had nearly finished counting Lin Meijing's long eyelashes in secret.

After Lin Meijing called, "Stop!" again, the first to step forward this time was the one from Renmin University. The surrounding spectators also looked attentive.

The man cleared his throat and recited slowly, "A crab has eight legs, with two pointed ends, so big! Three passersby came to fight for it, split into four pieces, abandoning all six relatives, how—"

"..."

"Stop!" Lin Meijing said, torn between laughter and tears. "Please note that one should be followed directly by two, not eight! Pass, pass! Next!"

The talented student from Australia was clearly far more literate than the first. He began, "One position was given to two or three applicants, using four tests and five questions. After six-sided competition and seven rounds of pursuit, through eight halls and nine hardships, only then could perfection be achieved!"

"Good! Not bad. Though it still isn't ideal, completing it in such a short time is acceptable!" Though Lin Meijing was disdainful inside, she still gave him some face verbally. "But you didn't do hundred, thousand, and ten thousand. You barely pass! Now it's your turn, Mr. Pei!"

"Oh!" Pei Shao thought for a moment, deliberately pausing for a long time.

"Tch! This guy's even worse than me!" The one who had talked about crabs started looking down on him again.

"Putting on airs. I bet there's nothing in your head at all!" The other one was equally contemptuous.

Nearly ten more seconds passed. Just as the spectators' gazes began to grow anxious, Pei Shao finally said, "After one parting, we yearned for each other from two places. We spoke only of three or four months, who knew it would become five or six years? The seven-string zither had no heart to play, eight lines of letters had nowhere to send. The nine-linked strings broke in two, and along ten miles of streets, my eyes ached with waiting. A hundred thoughts, a thousand longings, ten thousand helpless sorrows—only our hearts remained connected."

Swish! Dozens of gazes immediately snapped toward Pei Shao.

But the poem was not over. Pei Shao continued, "Ten thousand words could not exhaust it; a hundred years of loneliness, ten years of heartache. On Double Ninth, I climbed high to watch lone geese; in August's Mid-Autumn, no family was whole. In July, I burned incense and asked the heavens; in June, I waved a fan, yet my heart was cold. In May, I listened to rain soak flower petals; in April, I drank alone, only half a person. March peach blossoms withered away; in February, I still had not returned home. A lone person's night was forever lonely—when would the dream finally come true?"

"Damn! No way!" The two elite graduates were utterly dumbfounded.

After Pei Shao finished, many of the women attending the recruitment event had tears brimming in their eyes.

Lin Meijing fell completely silent as well.

One male spectator, however, shouted loudly, "Is this a recruitment fair or My Show?"

"So, do you still want to test me?"

"Of course we do!" The two elite graduates still refused to give up.

Lin Meijing gave them the final question. It was an extremely complicated calculation problem combining mathematics and physics. By then, many people had begun to realize that Lin Meijing was deliberately making things difficult for the two elite graduates. Yet when she looked at Pei Shao, there was now a faint smile in her eyes.

The problem included not only functions and quantum mechanics, but also several complicated multivariable operations. Even science graduates would likely have been unable to complete it within the allotted time, much less these two journalism majors.

Very quickly, the two elite graduates were left speechless by the question. Unable to respond, they slunk out of the crowd amid a chorus of jeers.

Lin Meijing finally let out a long breath. Just as she was about to speak, Pei Shao interrupted, "Wait! I think I can solve this problem!" Pei Shao did not sound particularly confident this time, because the problem really was too difficult. Although Castle had spoken with confidence, it could not possibly provide a completely standard answer, could it?

But after Pei Shao gave his answer, a professor from a certain famous university immediately rushed forward, grabbed Pei Shao's hand, and exclaimed, "Sir, how did you come up with the answer to this problem? You even calculated every digit after the decimal point without a single error! And most importantly, in such a short time, you actually..." The professor showered Pei Shao with endless praise, nearly making many people faint.

Naturally, the person most likely to faint was Lin Meijing.

This guy really is talented! I want him!

But just as Lin Meijing had this thought, Pei Shao calmly shook his head and said, "Miss Lin, I think we'll leave it at that today. I'm going."

"Going? Why are you leaving?" Lin Meijing blurted out. "Weren't we discussing this just fine?"

In fact, Lin Meijing was not the only one bewildered at that moment. Castle, in Pei Shao's pocket, was also surprised.

"Why are you leaving? I already secured this position for you." For the first time, Castle's voice carried a hint of confusion.

"I'm sorry." Pei Shao's first words were an apology. Everyone present assumed that he was apologizing to Lin Meijing. But in truth, only Pei Shao and Castle knew that his apology was not meant for Lin Meijing, but for Castle.

"Miss Lin, perhaps you really did graduate from a prestigious university, and perhaps you are successful in your career. In those respects, I am far inferior to you." Pei Shao looked at Lin Meijing and shook his head. "But that is not a reason for you to look down on me. Just as I have now proven that in certain areas, you are far inferior to me—but that is not a reason for me to look down on you either. Everyone in this world has their own strengths and qualities. I only hope that after today, you will pay more attention to those, rather than fixating on other people's flaws."

In front of everyone, Pei Shao poured out in one breath everything he had been holding inside for the entire day.