Face the gale

Ye Lan stood where he was, utterly composed. Although he disliked studying and had even entered show business back then to avoid going to school,

as he became more and more famous and felt increasingly burdened by his idol image, he had obediently dragged himself back and gotten into a prestigious university.

So while he could not claim a ninety-percent chance of answering the production team's questions correctly, seventy or eighty percent was no problem at all. The only variable was whether Ye Xunzhi would let him down.

That was what Ye Lan had been worrying about right up until the question appeared.

The directors randomly drew a question board.

Question: What do flies taste like?

A. Sour

B. Sweet

C. Bitter

D. Spicy

After choosing, describe the taste in detail and explain why.

Everyone: This question was seriously messed up.

Director Mi even helpfully added, "We didn't make this question up, you know. It's from a civil service exam."

Hearing that, the livestream viewers were nearly knocked flat by the question. They completely lost it.

[Oh, a civil service exam question. I get it now. This tests your luck and weeds out unlucky people so they won't affect the nation's fortunes.]

[Testing luck is one thing, but you old geezers on the production team even want an explanation of the taste? What, are you planning to show us someone swallowing a fly alive?]

[This kind of question is still too advanced for humanity.]

[...]

Ye Lan opened his mouth several times before finally finding his voice. "If I've committed a crime, let the law punish me, instead of torturing me by making me come across this dumbass question."

While everyone else was at a loss, Ye Xunzhi, who worked hard so she would not have to work hard, had already begun writing as though divinely inspired.

She rapidly searched her relevant memories.

"Listen carefully, little sister. Fly larvae are called maggots and are a traditional Chinese medicinal ingredient recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica. They're also known as 'grain worms' and can clear heat, remove toxins, and relieve food accumulation and digestive stagnation. Combined with other medicinal ingredients, they can treat symptoms such as impaired consciousness and delirium in febrile diseases, and childhood malnutrition."

"As someone studying Chinese medicine as well, to better consolidate our knowledge, we need the spirit of Shennong tasting a hundred herbs. Experience it with your body and mind. You know what I mean, right?"

"Brother, isn't being alive nice...?"

Recalling everything that had happened, Ye Xunzhi confidently slapped the table. "I'm done."

Everyone was astonished. Someone had actually answered it?!

Lin Ranran also looked over in surprise, but deep down, she did not believe Ye Xunzhi could be that capable. Her seemingly well-intentioned reminder was really a veiled jab:

"You're so amazing, big sister, but are you really not going to check it again? You can't just write any random answer. If you get it wrong, you'll have to husk corn."

After Bai Zhao had been taken away yesterday, Lin Ranran had originally been supposed to leave too, since she no longer had a guardian.

But first, she had also signed a contract, and second, Jiang Qi had volunteered to take her in, saying she could join their team. So Lin Ranran had stayed, her eyes brimming with tears.

The livestream viewers did not know that Lin Ranran and Bai Zhao were in cahoots. They only thought she was a poor little girl who had been used as a pawn.

Ye Xunzhi held her pose and did not engage at all. "It's getting cold. Cover yourself with some more dirt when you have nothing to do. Stop hopping around."

Lin Ranran looked terribly wronged. "Big sister, I only wanted to remind you. I didn't mean anything else."

"Then thank you, you kind soul who deserves to be struck by lightning."

Lin Ranran nearly ground her teeth to pieces, but she still had to look deeply hurt on the surface as she awkwardly stepped back.

[What's with Ye Xunzhi's attitude? Ranran was only trying to offer a kind reminder. Don't regret it later!]

[Why bother with her? What an ill-mannered brat. She really thinks making up a bunch of nonsense will get her through? She needs a harsh lesson from the real world.]

[A harsh lesson, my ass. Am I the only one who heard nothing wrong with what Little Xun said?]

[Exactly. One look at Lin Ranran and you can tell she's a seasoned fake innocent. You lot have two eggs hanging under your eyebrows. All they do is blink, not see.]

The livestream chat was bristling with hostility, and the scene on-site was no less heated. Director Mi walked over and took the answer board. The cameraman immediately followed, and everyone crowded forward, eager to see exactly what Ye Xunzhi had written.

Director Mi's eyes gradually widened. He looked again at the answer in his hand, then finally, under everyone's expectant gazes, slowly read out Ye Xunzhi's answer.

From the choice, to the taste, to the reason.

"The answer is B, sweet. Flies taste a little like the thin layer of rice paper wrapped around milk candy. Their faint sweetness comes from their fondness for sweet foods. In addition, the large amounts of protein in their bodies and the sugars they haven't completely digested combine to produce the distinctive sweetness of flies."

Director Mi could find no fault with it based on the answer in his hand and announced the result.

"Completely correct."

At those words, the livestream chat lost its composure.

[She actually got it right, and that sounded so professional. Did she happen to have learned about this before?]

[If she really did happen to learn about it before, I'm honestly curious what her reading list looks like. This isn't luck anymore. This is skill!]

[Civil service exam candidate checking in. I actually got it right too. I'm getting more and more twisted.]

[Thank goodness you don't have to explain so many whys on the civil service exam. Otherwise, just kill me to entertain the old guy who wrote the questions.]

Even the way Ye Lan looked at Ye Xunzhi changed. He sidled up to her and lowered his voice:

"How did you know? Don't tell me you've eaten one?"

Ye Xunzhi said, "Of course not. I just have a broad range of knowledge."

I've never eaten a fly. But my third brother really has. Those were all his impressions.

Actually, I'd really love to interview him about how he felt the moment he ate it. What kind of iron will did it take to chew it over and over, savor it carefully, and describe it properly?

Why can't I do that? I'd call my third brother a true man.

Ye Lan said, "So that's how it is..."

If the price of being a true man in his little sister's eyes was eating flies, he would rather be a fake man.

And he was shocked. Third brother, you've actually eaten flies!

Ye Lan really wanted to call his third brother right now and ask whether his mental state as a medical student was still all right.

One question was done, and one remained. Victory was in sight.

Seeing this, Director Mi decided to play hardball this time. With his thirty years of professional experience judging people, he had realized that, compared with Ye Lan, Ye Xunzhi might be the truly ruthless one.

So he mercilessly silenced Ye Xunzhi, dressing it up as:

"Little sister has already answered her question. Now it's time for big brother to face the gale alone. No talking."

That whole maneuver had Ye Lan calling him despicable.

The production team brought out the second question board. Director Mi glanced down at it with a smile:

"I'm not some kind of devil. This time, I'll give you a practical question."

The question board flipped over: A intends to kill B. After A stabs B in the abdomen, B faints from nervous tension upon seeing blood flow out. Believing B to be dead, A abandons any further stabbing. B ultimately survives. A's offense constitutes ( ).

A. Abandonment of murder

B. Attempted murder

C. Intentional assault

D. Completed murder

Everyone fell silent at the sight of the question. Ye Lan covered his face.

[Thanks. Seriously, thanks. What a fascinating question. It makes me feel like I've sinned.]

[Best Actor Ye: If you don't want to let me eat, just say so. You don't have to be so roundabout.]

[I feel so bad for our Ye Lan. Director, you've really given up on being human, haven't you? Come to think of it, you're his teacher too. Is this how you treat your own pupil?]