Cang Ming, Xu Yizhi, Qin Zishi, and two other interviewers were now seated in a small conference room, watching the surveillance footage on a large screen. Gong Cheng entered the interview room with a notebook and pen. Thomson was already lounging on the sofa, his legs crossed, his brows furrowed with impatience. He needed to leave work early today to prepare for tomorrow’s vacation.
Gong Cheng walked over with a smile and asked politely, “Senior, may I sit?”
He spoke in fluent, authentic American English.
Hearing the familiar accent, Thomson’s expression softened considerably. “You call me senior? Are you also a Yale graduate?”
“Yes, I studied finance, eleven years behind you. The achievements you’ve made in the tech field are often cited by our professors as examples for us younger students. You’re an idol to many.” Gong Cheng’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
“Really? It seems the professors haven’t forgotten me after all these years. Hello, I’m Eddie Thomson. Pleased to meet you in China.”
Thomson stood up from the sofa, shook Gong Cheng’s hand, and finally showed a hint of a smile. A brilliant, rebellious genius like him couldn’t resist genuine praise. Their shared educational background and life experiences made the conversation increasingly smooth and in-depth. Qin Zishi watched Gong Cheng’s performance on the surveillance screen and nodded silently, marking several red checkmarks on the evaluation form. The other two interviewers also showed appreciative smiles. Cang Ming and Xu Yizhi sat in the center, one expressionless, watching the screen with his back straight; the other, thin lips curved in a faint smile, toying with a black-gold lighter, lounging lazily on the sofa.
So far, Qin Zishi couldn’t tell what the two bosses thought of Gong Cheng. But with Gong Cheng’s capabilities, eliminating Qin Qing should be a foregone conclusion. A high school graduate versus an elite international university graduate, there was simply no comparison. Qin Zishi lowered his head and smiled scornfully. Just then, he received a text from Qin Huaichuan asking how Qin Qing’s interview was going.
Qin Zishi turned his phone screen toward Cang Ming, explained briefly, then replied: 【Not very smoothly. President Cang felt that my brother’s credentials were too low and wanted to eliminate him. I said a few words on his behalf, and President Cang gave him a chance out of respect for me. But his opponent is Gong Cheng, a Yale graduate. The gap between them is enormous.】
【A Yale graduate? What did he study?】
【Finance. Worked on Wall Street for several years, quite famous in the industry. You can search online—you’ll find his profile.】
Qin Zishi propped his forehead and waited silently. He knew Qin Huaichuan would definitely search for Gong Cheng’s information. Seeing those brilliant credentials, would he still think his biological son was the best? Sending Qin Qing to Lanyu through the back door, what was Qin Huaichuan even thinking? Senile? Qin Zishi curled his lips, another mocking smile.
A few minutes later, Qin Huaichuan sent a message: 【I’ve looked him over. A very outstanding talent. Tell Qin Qing not to be too disappointed. If he’s eliminated, he can come back to Qin Corporation; he still needs more tempering.】
【Okay, I’ll comfort him.】
Qin Zishi placed his phone face down on the table and stopped looking at the messages that sickened him. Qin Qing still needed more tempering? So Qin Huaichuan was preparing to use him as a whetstone to sharpen Qin Qing? After raising a son for twenty-five years, just tossing him away? How cold-blooded! Qin Qing, I’m truly sorry. It’s not that I’m targeting you, it’s that this family can’t have both of us. Thinking this, a hint of ruthless darkness flashed in Qin Zishi’s eyes. Meanwhile, Qin Qing was standing in the restroom, grooming his hair in front of a mirror. He used wet fingers to style his jet-black, smooth hair into a natural shape.
A few strands fell across his forehead, half-covering his slanted brows and upturned peach-blossom eyes. His black suit was simple yet stylish, perfectly contouring his slender, flexible body. Broad shoulders, a lean yet powerful waist, and overly straight long legs. He looked nothing like a job seeker; instead, he exuded an elegant, classical, noble aura.
996 sat on the sink, fuming. “Qin Qing, if you don’t follow the plot, you’ll die!”
Qin Qing removed his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing his deep, sexy collarbones. This small change gave his impeccable appearance a hint of casual flair. Satisfied with his look, he folded the black-striped silk tie into a flower shape and tucked it into his suit pocket as decoration, then lowered his head to slowly wash his hands. He ignored 996’s nagging entirely.
996 said unwillingly, “I have the script. I know what a miserable life lies ahead for you. If you cooperate with me, I can cut you some slack and make things less difficult. You think you’ll pass the interview today? Let me tell you, impossible!”
Qin Qing pulled open the restroom door and walked out, his face wearing a faint, elegant smile. His earlier frustrations, hatred, and madness had all been buried deep in his heart.
996 trotted after Qin Qing. “Qin Qing, Qin Qing, let’s make a deal. I’ll tell you the plot points, and you follow them. I won’t care how you do it anymore, okay? Advancing the plot is the only way to break the loop and get out alive!”
Qin Qing kept walking forward, completely indifferent to plots, loops, or death. His obsession was gone, his inner demon broken; he only wanted to live freely and gloriously, according to his own will.
“The interview segment isn’t in the script, but I can give you information about Thomson. Things others can’t find, I can. With that info, you can do a good interview, right? I help you, you help me, how about it?” 996 had never been so humble.
Qin Qing sat down in the lounge area on the 19th floor and searched for Thomson’s information on his phone. It was all surface-level stuff, but enough. No matter what 996 said, it couldn’t seem to move him. 996 circled Qin Qing, growing more and more anxious. Gradually, it stopped threatening or pleading, and instead showed a vicious expression.
“Fine, meow! Do whatever you want! Going against the plot will only lead to a bad end! Many things before have proven that fate is impossible to change! Let’s see how you embarrass yourself later!”
996 spat at Qin Qing, then scurried away. Back in the conference room, Cang Ming, Xu Yizhi, and the others were still watching the surveillance footage on the big screen. Gong Cheng’s interview was going smoothly. He was thoroughly familiar with Thomson’s published papers, knew his achievements in detail, effortlessly used complex technical jargon, and fully understood the scientific principles involved. Their communication was completely unhindered, moving from work to life to family, with laughter frequently erupting in the interview room.
Half an hour later, Thomson stood up and shook Gong Cheng’s hand, saying sincerely, “It was a pleasure chatting with you. I hope you become my colleague.”
“We’ll see each other often from now on.” Gong Cheng gripped Thomson’s hand firmly.
The interview ended that way, very smoothly. Thomson had detailed his work plans for the next decade to Gong Cheng, information that should be the most valuable to the company. Gong Cheng opened the interview room door and immediately saw Qin Qing sitting at the end of the corridor, casually playing with his phone. His competitor’s looks, bearing, and figure made him pause. For a moment, he thought this wasn’t a tech company, but an entertainment agency specializing in international male models or top celebrities. But at Lanyu, which mattered more: looks or talent? In an instant, Gong Cheng dismissed the thought with a smile and walked into the conference room to submit his interview notes.
“Gong Cheng, you performed excellently.” Qin Zishi smiled and applauded.
The other two interviewers also offered comments, all praise. Gong Cheng suppressed his pride, said a few modest words, and respectfully placed his notes before Cang Ming and Xu Yizhi. On the table were two application dossiers- his and his competitor’s. Gong Cheng glanced at them quickly, then showed a confused expression. Qin Qing, high school graduate, less than a year of work experience- what was this? How had a high school graduate made it onto the interview list? Cang Ming didn’t pick up the notes. His furrowed brow and cold eyes showed his dissatisfaction.
Xu Yizhi, however, smiled warmly and waved his hand. “Sit here and wait for a while. Watch your competitor’s performance.”
A high school graduate, what could he possibly do? Gong Cheng thought inwardly, but smiled warmly on the surface. “Yes, President Xu.”
A female secretary called Qin Qing into the interview room. Thomson was playing on his phone. He looked up at the sound of footsteps, and his eyes lit up. But the next moment, he frowned at Qin Qing’s unbuttoned collar. No tie, exposed collarbones, slightly messy hair, peach-blossom eyes tinged with a faint flush- this outfit and appearance were simply too informal. Compared to Gong Cheng, who was dressed like a true elite, Qin Qing’s first impression on Thomson wasn’t great. However, he was exceptionally handsome- a beauty that transcended race and gender, so Thomson quickly forgave him.
“Hello, what’s your name?” Thomson asked in English.
“Hello, I’m Qin Qing. I’m sorry, I’m not very good at English. Can we communicate in Chinese?” Qin Qing extended his hand and asked in Chinese.
“Of course. Please sit.” Thomson forgave Qin Qing once again, but inwardly found it strange.
Those who received Lanyu interview invitations were generally elite graduates of top international universities, yet this person couldn’t even speak English.
“Pfft…” Gong Cheng covered his mouth, but couldn’t stifle a light laugh.
Couldn’t even speak English- was this guy here as a joke? Why had President Cang and President Xu kept him for last? He wasn’t even as good as the earliest eliminated candidates! Gong Cheng lowered his head, hiding the dissatisfaction and mockery in his eyes. Qin Zishi glanced at Gong Cheng, then at Cang Ming and Xu Yizhi. His heart, so often clouded, finally felt a long-lost lightness and ease. He realized that he had already received something from the Qin family that Qin Qing would never have: education. Aristocratic, elite education.
996 slipped into the interview room, sat on the coffee table, and sneered, “Qin Qing, you can’t even speak English- how are you supposed to work at an international company?”
Qin Qing ignored 996 and said, “Dr. Thomson, I’ve admired you for a long time. I’ve read your recent paper on the space-based information engineering—”
Thomson, who had been quite amiable, suddenly darkened his expression and corrected him sternly, “Not space-based information engineering- space-based base information engineering.”
He couldn’t even say such a simple phrase correctly; was this guy a total tech illiterate?
996 held its belly and laughed. “Meow meow meow, Qin Qing, you’re so embarrassing! Don’t show off in front of an expert!”
Gong Cheng curled his lips, his mockery deepening. Qin Zishi pretended to awkwardly gauge Cang Ming and Xu Yizhi’s expressions, then showed an appropriate hint of embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, my brother hasn’t had much education,” he said quietly to the two interviewers.
These words were also meant for Cang Ming and Xu Yizhi. Though he didn’t understand why Xu Yizhi had given Qin Qing a chance, he now felt glad. Glad that Qin Qing hadn’t run away, but instead chose to grasp this opportunity. Otherwise, how could he have so thoroughly displayed his stupidity and ignorance right now? Everyone felt embarrassed for Qin Qing, but he himself seemed completely unaffected.
His smile was as gentle and polite as when he’d first walked in. “That’s not important.” He waved his hand.
Thomson: “…” You say you’ve read my paper, but you can’t even get the title right, and you say it’s not important? You’re so disrespectful!
But Qin Qing quickly showed Thomson that even more disrespectful comments were coming.
“This project has opened the door to interstellar travel for humanity. But I’ve heard its core technology is based on Dr. Zhao Xuming’s four-dimensional coordinate formula. Dr. Zhao’s formula came first, and then your paper. In academic terms, you were greatly influenced by Dr. Zhao, weren’t you? Are you his admirer?”
Dr. Zhao Xuming was Lanyu’s former technical director. He had resigned due to severe depression, after which Thomson was hired. In the technical field, the two were rivals who never saw eye to eye. Qin Qing’s words would inevitably provoke Thomson’s strong aversion and resistance to the interview. Gong Cheng blinked, never imagining such a fool could exist. Qin Zishi placed one hand on the table, the other on his forehead, his ears slightly red, as if too embarrassed to look up. But inside, he savored the surging pleasure and superiority. So what if he had Qin blood? His mother had ruined him. The money spent on his mother seemed to have produced its intended effect.
One of the interviewers sitting beside Qin Zishi patted his shoulder and consoled him, “After all, he was brought back from outside, no education…” His words were full of contempt.
Qin Zishi waved his hand, looking deeply ashamed. Completely contrary to the three interviewers’ dismissive attitudes, Cang Ming and Xu Yizhi crossed their long legs and leaned slightly forward, watching the screen intently. Cang Ming still had no expression, but his gaze had become intensely focused. Xu Yizhi’s faint smile had completely vanished; he looked unusually serious.
In the interview room, Thomson was already roaring in anger: “What nonsense are you talking about! My space-based base project uses my own technology entirely; it has nothing to do with Zhao Xuming! Plagiarism and copying are serious accusations!”
Qin Qing still smiled gently and politely, but his words were even more provocative: “I apologize, I don’t mean to accuse you. But isn’t it true that you got this job precisely because Dr. Zhao Xuming resigned?”
“Cang Ming spent a fortune to poach me!” Thomson clenched his fists, eyes blazing.
“Do you think you can take on Dr. Zhao’s burden? After you took over, will Lanyu start declining in technological innovation?”
“Of course not! I will create new brilliance for Lanyu!”
“But you can’t even fix the BUG in the new product.”
“I need a vacation! The BUG exists because of Zhao Xuming’s design flaws!”
“So you can’t fix Dr. Zhao’s design flaws? Your skills are still somewhat inferior to his, aren’t they? But I understand, after all, you’re younger than him.” Qin Qing pretended to comfort him gently.
But Thomson didn’t feel comforted at all. In just a few minutes of conversation, his face had turned purple with rage. The interview continued. If Gong Cheng’s style was friendly, harmonious, and heart-to-heart, Qin Qing’s style was constant provocation, words like knives. Thomson was driven into a fury several times, repeatedly talking about his various research achievements, trying to prove he was the best scientist.
“Dr. Zhao’s flying arc algorithm is said to be more advanced than your BROVO algorithm—”
After being provoked yet again, Thomson could no longer contain himself. He slapped the sofa armrest, stood up, pointed at the door, and roared, “The interview is over! Get out! My BROVO algorithm…”
What followed was a torrent of detailed explanation about Thomson’s BROVO algorithm.
After finishing, he sneered, “Why am I telling you all this? You wouldn’t understand anyway! Get out!”
996 covered its mouth with its chubby paws, gloating. “Meow, how laughable, Qin Qing! You look so stupid! Cang Ming is watching you- you’ll never work at Lanyu! Xu Yizhi is also watching, finding out you’re an idiot; he’ll definitely hate you. In the end, you’ll get nothing!”
But the moment the words left its mouth, 996’s excitement plunged into the abyss. Dammit, Qin Qing was so insidious! The script recorded that the original owner repeatedly begged Qin Zishi to get into Lanyu, then caused a series of disasters at work, forcing Qin Zishi to clean up after him. During this process, Cang Ming grew utterly sick of the original owner’s stupidity, while repeatedly witnessing Qin Zishi’s excellence; that was how the two gradually came together. Now that Qin Qing had completely ruined his chance to work at Lanyu, he wouldn’t have to follow the subsequent plot! He had completely derailed from fate! Without Qin Qing as a foil, would Cang Ming still see Qin Zishi’s shining points? Dammit! This guy was so wicked! He’d succeeded with his scheme again! Furious to the point of smoking, 996 jumped off the coffee table and scratched Qin Qing’s heels with its claws.
Qin Qing stood up and nodded politely. “If I’ve offended you in any way, I apologize. But Dr. Zhao’s abilities are well-known to everyone. As his successor, it’s only natural for the company to have doubts about your capabilities, isn’t it?”
“To hell with that! Get lost!” Thomson lost his composure completely, pointing at the door and swearing.
Qin Qing smiled indifferently and walked slowly out of the interview room. 996 chased after him, scratching at his pant leg all the way. The second interview was over, sloppy and unpleasant. In the conference room, Cang Ming took the two evaluation forms from Qin Zishi and flipped through them. Gong Cheng’s form was covered in red checkmarks; Qin Qing’s was full of crosses. Cang Ming frowned, his gaze cold as he looked at Qin Zishi. Qin Zishi’s heart froze instantly. All his sense of superiority, pride, and satisfaction turned to dust. Only now did Qin Zishi truly understand what Qin Qing had been doing. From the initial feigned ignorance to the relentless pressing, how could Qin Qing be stupid? On the contrary, he was too smart! He knew better than anyone what the purpose of this interview was.
Everyone present was an elite graduate of an international university, yet not one had grasped the true intention of President Cang and President Xu. Not only that, they thought they were the smartest ones. They looked down on Qin Qing, mocking him for being foolish, but these two evaluation forms had exposed their own foolishness. Qin Zishi’s face flushed red. He kept his head down, afraid to look at Cang Ming’s expression. Earlier, he had pretended to be ashamed; now, he was genuinely humiliated.
Xu Yizhi reached out to the other two interviewers. “Let me see your evaluation forms.”
The two interviewers had also come to realize the truth by now. They clutched their forms, hesitating to hand them over. But resistance was futile. One light glance from Xu Yizhi, and they shamefacedly submitted them. Gong Cheng’s score was very high, close to 100. Qin Qing’s score had been deducted completely from the start. Xu Yizhi flipped through the forms, shaking his head with a low laugh. The deep chuckle made everyone’s scalp tingle. Compared to President Cang’s coldness, this man’s unpredictability was even more terrifying.
Gong Cheng’s face alternated between red and white, extremely embarrassed. If he could, he’d disappear. Never before had he felt such a crushing sense of defeat. Never before had he realized how inadequate his abilities were. Xu Yizhi’s lazy gaze swept across everyone’s faces. Then, with a smile at the corner of his mouth, he summoned the secretary waiting by the door. “Amy, go tell Thomson he can take his vacation tomorrow.”
The female secretary nodded and entered the interview room. Following Xu Yizhi’s prior instructions, she said, “Dr. Thomson, President Cang and President Xu have approved your vacation. You don’t need to come in tomorrow. We’ll contact Dr. Zhao to handle the BUG in the new product—”
Before Amy could finish, Thomson spoke with a dark expression: “Tell President Cang and President Xu I won’t be taking my vacation! I have nothing else to say. I’m going back to the tech department. I have a lot of work to do. The new product launch will proceed as scheduled in three days.”
The door slammed shut behind Thomson. Amy looked up at the surveillance camera in the corner. Xu Yizhi watched the scene and applauded with pleasure.
“This interview was very impressive.” He chuckled repeatedly.
Cang Ming tossed the two evaluation forms back to Qin Zishi, his tone cold: “If you were also candidates today, I’d give you a zero.”
Qin Zishi’s flushed face turned pale. The other two interviewers wished they could bury their heads under the table. Gong Cheng had already stood up nervously, standing by the wall like a student being punished by the teacher. His initial confidence and arrogance had turned into deep self-doubt. Just then, Qin Qing was led into the conference room by Amy.
996 circled around his feet, happily saying, “Meow, I want to hear Cang Ming’s evaluation of you- it’ll definitely be harsh and cruel!”
Qin Qing smiled without a word, lifting his gaze. There were many people in the room, but the first person he looked at wasn’t Cang Ming, with his overwhelming presence and highest status, but Xu Yizhi.
Their appreciative gazes met in the air. Xu Yizhi, whose expression had been unreadable, suddenly showed a delighted smile.
“Qin Qing, who do you think will be today’s winner?” He propped his forehead, asking with interest.
Qin Qing looked directly at him, his voice soft but firm: “When can I report to the company?”
Xu Yizhi hadn’t expected this response. After a brief pause, he burst into laughter, applauding. Even Cang Ming showed an unusually gentle expression.
996 jumped three feet high, extremely disgusted: “Qin Qing, besides being stupid, you’re also this shameless!”
Thank you for reading. 💙
![The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]](https://i2.wp.com/knoxt.space/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/007S8ZIlly1ghl04hyuxyj30hs0owwgu.jpg?resize=85,105 "The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]")
DeiStarr On AFDPIRAB Chapter54