Chapter 9: It's You Who Doesn't Understand

“You must be Li Xiuyuan, candidate number 35 for the interview,” said a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses, appearing refined as he extended his hand to shake Li Xiuyuan’s.

“How do you know that?” Li Xiuyuan asked warily, eyeing the man closely. Normally, such information wouldn’t be public; aside from the candidates themselves, no one else could access it.

Yet this man could call out his exact interview number.

“Don’t be nervous. Let me introduce myself—I’m Wang Zhiyuan, General Manager of Qihang Public Examination Education here in the provincial capital, and this is my assistant, Xu Lin.” Wang Zhiyuan sat down without waiting for an invitation. “As for how we got this information, well, we have our own channels. It’s not convenient to disclose.”

“But that’s not important. We’re here to discuss something with you—a matter that’s an incredible opportunity for you.”

Wang Zhiyuan’s words failed to move Li Xiuyuan; his expression remained unreadable. Having spent over a decade working at the grassroots level in his previous life, Li wasn’t a fresh graduate easily swayed by promises of sudden fortune. Even if a windfall did fall from the sky, he would consider whether it might also bring disaster.

Observing Li’s composed demeanor, Wang’s respect for him deepened. Such a person could advance further within the system.

Wang continued, “Your interview score was high. At Qihang Education, we want to use you in our promotions. If you could cooperate with us by taking photos, participating in publicity, and occasionally attending classes in our interview training sessions, we would be willing to—”

Before he could finish, Li interrupted, “Sorry, Manager Wang, I can’t agree.”

“We understand you’re about to start your job soon and have no time. I assure you, these activities would only be on weekends,” Wang said confidently.

But Li still shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t agree.”

Wang looked surprised. “Don’t you want to hear our offer? We’re willing to pay you fifty thousand yuan. If that’s not suitable, we can negotiate.”

Li Xiuyuan had scored 97 points in the interview—an extraordinary record across provincial exams nationwide. If he agreed to help with their promotions and teaching, it could attract countless students to enroll.

Yet now, he refused outright.

“It’s not about the money. Sorry, if that’s your purpose, you’ve come all this way for nothing,” Li said without hesitation. Joking aside, even if it were one hundred thousand yuan, it wouldn’t be possible. Once employed, he wouldn’t be allowed to continue working for profit in outside enterprises.

Although signing a contract before officially joining might be a loophole, if his superiors found out, it would leave a bad impression. Moreover, this matter couldn’t be scrutinized. Compared to his future, fifty thousand yuan was insignificant to Li.

Wang sighed. “If you don’t have time, we can try a different cooperation method. We can sign a training agreement publicly stating that your 97 points came from training at Qihang Education. You wouldn’t have to teach or help with promotions—just sign the agreement.”

“However, in that case, the payment would be lower—only twenty thousand yuan.”

Li was tempted. Just signing a name without doing anything and earning twenty thousand yuan was indeed appealing—and it violated no rules.

But there was one problem: false advertising. Normally, as long as neither he nor Qihang mentioned it, who would know?

After all, such a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Yet after much thought, Li declined. False advertising might seem minor, but if one day he advanced far in his career, it could become a weapon against him.

If discovered, false advertising would be neither negligible nor trivial—a blemish.

For ordinary clerks with no grand ambitions, such things wouldn’t matter. False advertising? Who cares? They might even sign fake contracts or participate in promotions and classes as side gigs.

But for those aiming to achieve something significant in officialdom, one must guard one’s reputation carefully. Otherwise, any skeleton found in the closet could cause trouble.

“Sorry, Manager Wang, I can’t agree. This is false advertising, and I won’t mislead other candidates,” Li said firmly.

The confident expression on Wang’s face vanished. He stared at Li in disbelief. “It’s just signing a paper. What false advertising? If you don’t say it and we don’t say it, who would know? If you’re really worried, we can sign a confidentiality agreement. No one would leak a word.”

Li still shook his head. “Sorry, Manager Wang, truth always comes out. I won’t do something against my principles.”

“I’ll add ten thousand more—thirty thousand,” Wang said with frustration. Traveling so far with no gain left him unwilling to leave empty-handed.

Li shook his head again. “I have my principles.”

Wang laughed bitterly, realizing this stubborn man would never get far in the system.

“Then we’ve troubled you. Goodbye,” Wang said, signaling his assistant to stand as he prepared to leave.

Just then, Li called out, “Wait, Manager Wang. I definitely won’t sign a fake agreement, but I do have some insights and strategies from my interview experience. Would you be interested?”

Money, of course, Li was willing to accept. Even working within the system, holding power, life still required money. If he had more, his parents could live easier, without so much hardship.

Wang stopped and turned to look at Li in curiosity.

“When I interviewed, I used many methods and techniques. I’ve summarized them, including insights and problem-solving approaches. If you want to buy them, I can sell them to you,” Li said to Wang.

Xu Lin, Wang’s assistant, looked at Li with disdain and couldn’t resist speaking up. “What value do interview strategies have? Selling them to us? Do you really think you’re better than our interview class teachers? We only want to use your high score for promotion. Do you even understand?”

Li smiled meaningfully. “It’s not that I don’t understand—you’re the one who doesn’t.”