"I want you to draw everything you see yourselves as in your mind. Don't limit yourselves to actual portraits. You can use abstract lines, nonhuman shapes, or anything else. All you need to do is honestly express what's inside you."
After parting ways with the Office Director, Fu Shan entered the training room for new recruits. He sent the instructor away and sat in the chair at the center of the teaching platform.
The recruits who had just joined the Investigation Bureau had no idea who Fu Shan was. They only saw how respectfully the instructor treated him, so they naively began doing as Fu Shan said.
Drawing after drawing was brought before Fu Shan. With his head lowered, he delivered a steady stream of appraisals to each recruit. "Trash. Worse than trash. Not worth recycling. A life as bland as plain water. How stupid do you have to be to draw yourself like this?"
So far, the highest praise Fu Shan had offered was—you've drawn yourself like instant noodle seasoning spilled on a shoe. There's some flavor, but you have to kneel down and lick the shoe to taste it.
The recruits' initial confusion turned to anger. They had expected all kinds of difficulties after joining the Investigation Bureau, but this "instructor" taught them nothing. He seemed to take pleasure in humiliating them, plain and simple.
Ten minutes later, Fu Shan had lost track of how many drawings he had seen. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he raised his head for the first time. "Who drew this?"
He held up the sheet of white paper in his hand. Several roosters with five "fingers" each were drawn on it.
"I did." Xiao Yong rose from his seat. He had once thought the Investigation Bureau was mysterious, but after spending some