Chapter 4: First Encounter with Shī Mèi

  Gao Yuan handed in his test paper and planned to go back to the hotel to rest for a while. He still had an interview with various leaders in the afternoon, so he wanted to recharge his energy to respond well. However, he was stopped by a woman in her 40s who told him: "Unless the interview is over, no one is allowed to leave the office building." Gao Yuan asked: "Then how can I have lunch?" The woman replied: "There's a canteen downstairs, just go and get food when it's time."

  Gao Yuan could only go to the rest room and sit down, it was really boring, there was no one around. Half an hour passed, an hour passed, still no one came in, guessing everyone was still thinking hard about answering questions. Gao Yuan felt suffocated, really regretted handing in the paper too early, why didn't he just stay there for a while after finishing? At least there were several beautiful girls to look at!

  Finally, someone walked into the rest room, and Gao Yuan's eyes lit up. It turned out to be a beautiful young girl. She had short hair that reached her ears, a spotless white face, a pair of bright and clear eyes like stars, a shiny and pretty nose, and lips that seemed to have been painted with honey, making people feel extremely sweet as soon as they saw her.

  Gaoyuan smiled slightly at the girl, and the girl also smiled. What a pure and radiant smile, Gaoyuan's heart was lit up by her smile, as if a sunbeam had shone in.

  Gaoyuan said: "Finally someone has come to accompany me, and it's a beautiful girl!" The girl laughed and said: "What are you talking nonsense about?" Gaoyuan said: "I've been waiting for a long time, there wasn't even anyone to talk to, seeing you is like seeing the liberation army!" The girl scolded: "Who told you to hand in your paper so early? You're asking for trouble!"

  Gao Yuan said: "What's your name?" The girl said: "Tan Xiaohui." Gao Yuan said: "Which school are you from?" Tan Xiaohui said: "Hengchun University." Gao Yuan was shocked: "We're from the same school!" Tan Xiaohui was also surprised: "Really?"

  Gaoyuan said: "Really, I'm a 2004 graduate student, majoring in accounting, what about you?" Tan Xiaohui said: "No wonder, I'm an undergraduate, at another campus, I study English." Gaoyuan said: "I heard that the girls in our school's English department are all beauties, today I finally see it with my own eyes!"

  Tan Xiaohui seemed to be used to hearing others' praise, she didn't show modesty, but was very happy to say: "You're not bad either, a big handsome guy!" Gao Yuan said: "You call me brother, then I won't be polite." Tan Xiaohui couldn't help but laugh: "How come you always want to take advantage of others?"

  Gaoyuan said: "No way! I'm older than you, so you should be calling me brother." Tan Xiaohui blinked her eyes and said: "Actually, you should be calling me sister." Gaoyuan asked why, and Tan Xiaohui said: "I was an undergraduate for four years, and I started school in 2002, so I'm your real senior!"

  Gaoyuan was stunned, unable to refute for a long time. Tan Xiaohui said, "How about it? You just acknowledge me as your sister." Gaoyuan suddenly had an idea and called out "Big Sister". Tan Xiaohui pouted: "Don't call me Big Sister!" Gaoyuan immediately called out "Miss" again, but Tan Xiaohui was furious: "Even more not allowed to call!" Gaoyuan said: "This is not allowed to be called, that is not allowed to be called, I'll just call you Little Big Sister then!"

  Tan Xiaohui said, "Who calls people like that?" Gao Yuan said, "It's really troublesome, just call me Shixiong." Tan Xiaohui stopped making a fuss and called out "Shixiong" in earnest. Gao Yuan responded with pleasure. Tan Xiaohui said, "Shixiong, why did you hand in your paper so early? It seems that graduate students are indeed stronger than us undergraduates!"

  It's hard to respond, and I certainly can't say that I got the exam paper in advance. Finally, he awkwardly said: "As it happens, I just happened to read a book on this subject last night, what a stroke of luck!" Tan Xiaohui said: "Heaven is helping you, it seems that you will definitely be admitted."

  Gao Yuan said: "It's not too late to hand in your paper, is it?" Tan Xiaohui said: "I don't know how the accounting reports of government departments are composed no matter how I think about it. But we can't just hand in a blank paper, can we? In the end, I could only write some basic principles of accounting reports on it, and I estimate that we'll only get a poor grade."

  Gao Yuan said: "You're really clever, I think basically everyone else won't be able to do it, if you can write something on it, then there's a lot of hope! In short, don't lose heart! Just perform well in the afternoon and that's all!" Tan Xiaohui said: "I'm so scared, I heard that in the past there were around ten or twenty leaders interviewing inside, just thinking about it makes me nervous."

  Gao Yuan said: "Calm down! They are also human, and Junior Sister, you look even more lovely than Little Witch, maybe they will all be subdued by your charm." Tan Xiaohui said: "You don't know this! It's said that in recent years, not a single beauty has been admitted to this unit. So-called beauties, abilities, and knowledge can't compare to connections. It's said that most of the people who have entered in recent years all have connections - Minister's sons, General's daughters, Mayor's relatives... they're everywhere! I think I don't stand a chance."

  Gao Yuan's heart sank as he heard this: "Is it really that dark?" Tan Xiaohui said: "Yes, another person who came for an interview told me, I guess he also has some connections. He also said that even if you get into this unit without any connections, it's very hard to develop your career. Many people have been struggling their whole lives and at most can only become a department-level cadre. Wanting to climb higher is like trying to reach the sky!"

  Gaoyuan couldn't help but worry again, he thought: "Although the written test is definitely passable, I don't have any solid connections, and this afternoon's interview will probably be more bad than good." Just then, his phone rang, Gaoyuan saw that it was his cousin calling, so he went outside to answer.

  "How was the interview? Was it high and far?"

  "Brother, you've helped me out a lot. This morning was a written exam and Brother Gou helped me get the test questions."

  "Haha, then there's no problem, right?"

  "The written exam is definitely passable, but this afternoon is the real interview. I heard that the competition is extremely fierce, many people have connections, and their connections are very strong!"

  "Really? Don't worry, I'll help you find someone else. You just play well this afternoon!"

  After hanging up the phone, Gao Yuan felt much more at ease. Just then, Gou Ge came calling again: "Gao Yuan, let me tell you what to pay attention to in this afternoon's interview!"

  When he heard Gu's voice, Gao Yuan was almost moved to tears. He thought that Gu was simply the noble person in his life. Gu said: "This afternoon, you will first make a self-introduction, and then I will ask you some questions. You are an accountant, so the questions will be about internal control, financial analysis, cash flow, and other professional knowledge. Don't worry, just answer well."

  Gao Yuan said: "Will I be admitted if I answer well?" Gou Big Brother said: "It's not necessarily, some people took the first place in the exam but were not admitted, while others did not take the exam and were all admitted. You don't have any special connections, what I can help you with is only this much, you can only do your best and leave the rest to fate!"

  "Gao Yuan thought to himself, "Do I have this fate?" He remembered his cousin and wondered if he could help find someone who could make a decision with just one word. For a moment, his heart was filled with worry again, really hoping that the afternoon interview could be held earlier, so he could get out of there sooner."