Chapter 1: Shen Yan’s Dilemma

Among the three major forms of unfilial behavior, failing to secure a government job is the worst.

“You tell me, you’re also a senior in college.

Why can’t you be like Xiao Tian upstairs, handling civil service exams in one hand, government-affiliated positions in the other, graduate school entrance exams in the third, and job applications in the fourth?”

Sitting on the sofa at home, listening to her parents’ continuous nagging and scolding, Shen Yan had a headache.

She rubbed her temples.

“No one can handle civil service exams in one hand, government-affiliated exams in another, graduate school exams in a third, and still find a job.

No one.”

She emphasized.

Her mother, Xu Yue, quickly refuted, “Your Aunt Tian told me.

She wouldn’t just make things up, would she?”

Shen Yan didn’t believe it.

“Impossible.”

Her father, Shen Wei, sighed and tried to comfort her.

“Maybe Xiao Tian is too outstanding for you to compare to.

But look at Old Wang’s son next door.

When you were kids, you played in the mud together, and you used to run behind him calling ‘Brother, Brother.’

Do you remember?

He made something of himself.

He graduated last year and got a stable government-affiliated job in the township.”

Shen Yan remembered Xiao Wang.

He was a year older than her.

A few years ago, during winter break, she even added him on WeChat.

It was true that he had secured a government-affiliated job, but she also recalled a recent post from him:

“A monthly salary of 3,500 yuan, plus overtime writing reports until midnight?”

“You child, what’s wrong with you?”

Xu Yue was displeased with her daughter’s words.

“Even if the salary is only 3,500, he is serving the people!

And it’s a government job the hidden benefits must be great!”

“Mom, be careful with your words.

If you keep talking like that, you and Xiao Wang might end up in the same place!”

Shen Yan was alarmed and quickly told her mother to stop talking nonsense.

Xu Yue snapped, “Shut up!”

Shen Yan couldn’t help but retort, “And since when is a government-affiliated position the same as being a civil servant?”

“You…”

Xu Yue was at a loss for words after being rebutted.

Hearing Shen Yan argue so eloquently, Shen Wei snorted coldly.

“You argue with us at home like a pro, answering back after every sentence.

But why do your scores in real interviews always rank so low?”

At the mention of interviews, Shen Yan was immediately reminded of her sore spot.

“It’s not my fault.

In the provincial exam, I was ten points ahead of the second-place candidate in the written test.

But I got overturned in the interview.

What could I do?”

Shen Wei was frustrated.

“If you could speak in interviews like you do at home, would you really score 50 while others get 70?”

At this point, he suddenly thought of something.

“Wait a minute.

You always score around 50.

Are you arguing with the interviewers too?”

Shen Yan muttered in protest, “Structured interviews don’t require back-and-forth conversation with the examiners.

And I don’t always get 50.”

Shen Wei nodded.

“Right, right.

This time, you did manage to score above 60.

But the third-place candidate scored over 80.”

Shen Yan stared at the score sheet from today’s municipal government-affiliated exam, feeling complicated emotions.

She had thought this time would be different.

But an interview expert had come out of nowhere.

The expert had placed third in the written test, ten points behind her and eight points behind the second-place candidate.

But in the interview, they skyrocketed to 80 points.

Despite putting in her best effort and achieving her highest-ever interview score of 64, she was still effortlessly surpassed.

She lowered her head in silence.

There was nothing she could do.

She just couldn’t bring herself to speak confidently in front of strangers.

Shen Wei, seeing his daughter hang her head, became even more frustrated.

“Where did this problem of yours come from?!

You’re already graduating college!

Why are you still afraid of interviews?

Afraid of what?

Just pretend there’s no one in front of you!”

The more Shen Wei thought about it, the angrier he got.

“Have you ever watched inspirational movies?

That guy, Will-something he had a stutter as a child, so he practiced speaking with pebbles in his mouth and eventually became king.

You should do the same!

No one is born able to speak fluently in public!

I’ll send you back to the countryside.

You can practice speeches at the village entrance!”

Hearing her dad getting more and more ridiculous, Shen Yan couldn’t help but correct him.

“Are you talking about Demosthenes, the ancient orator, or Colin Firth in The King’s Speech?”

Shen Wei was thrown off.

“Mo… what?

Firth?”

He clicked his tongue.

“Stop changing the subject!

I’m telling you to practice!

Speak more!”

Then he remembered something and grew even more frustrated.

“You signed up for an interview prep course, didn’t you?

Don’t they have mock interviews?

Do you freeze up in those too?”

Shen Yan lowered her head even more.

She wanted to say that scoring above 60 this time was already the result of all the interview courses she had taken.

Seeing Shen Wei scolding their daughter nonstop, Xu Yue couldn’t take it anymore.

She pulled him aside.

“Why are you pressuring Yan Yan so much?

You know she’s timid!”

Shen Wei frowned at the mother and daughter, then sighed.

Their daughter had grown up he couldn’t scold or beat her anymore.

Graduation was approaching, and she hadn’t secured a stable job.

Their expectations weren’t even high.

They just wanted her to pass a government exam.

Why was it so difficult?

Why couldn’t their family’s ancestral tombs bless them just one more time and give them a civil servant in the family?

Fortunately, they had some savings.

Even if she stayed home after graduation as a full-time daughter, they could afford it.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.

If it doesn’t work out, just stay home.

We can support you.

If you don’t pass this year, try again next year.

Since we’re not paying social security, you’ll still count as a fresh graduate for the national exam in the fall.

For the next year, your job is to prepare for exams.

Take them all national, provincial, municipal, grassroots service programs, military administrative positions.

If nothing else works, we’ll go for non-staff positions.

One day, you’ll pass.”

“Dad, Mom… actually, I…”

Before Shen Yan could finish her sentence, Xu Yue’s phone rang.

“Who is calling at this hour?”

Xu Yue was in a bad mood.

Seeing this, Shen Wei quickly signaled to Shen Yan, hinting at her to grab her mother’s phone from the kitchen counter.

“Dad, are your eyes uncomfortable?”

Unfortunately, Shen Yan didn’t get the message.

Shen Wei: …

This child is too literal-minded.

He shook his head, got up quickly, and fetched the phone himself.

When he saw the name on the screen, he was stunned.

“Ah Yue, isn’t this your powerful best friend from S City?”

As soon as Xu Yue heard the words “powerful best friend,” she immediately jumped up from the sofa and ran over to Shen Wei in just a few steps.

Seeing the name on the phone screen, her sadness turned into joy, and she grinned from ear to ear as she hurriedly answered the call.

“Hello? Xin Xin!”

Xu Yue’s tone changed completely, as if she were a different person from the one scolding Shen Wei just moments ago.

“Yes, yes, yes, Shen Yan, ‘Yan’ as in fireworks.

She graduated from A University, majoring in Chinese Language and Literature.

Great, great!

She starts next Monday?

Thank you!!

Xin Xin, you’ve really done us a huge favor!!!

We’ll go to S City and treat you to dinner.”

Shen Yan and Shen Wei exchanged glances and saw the same confusion in each other’s eyes.

After Xu Yue hung up, she looked at their puzzled faces.

Her smile froze for a moment before turning into frustration once again.

“What’s the use of you two?

One can only score 50 in interviews, and the other refuses to use connections to get into a state-owned enterprise!”

“But isn’t it mandatory to take exams for entry now?”

Shen Wei felt wronged, but hearing Xu Yue’s words, he suddenly realized something.

His eyes lit up.

“Wife, you… you got it settled?”

Xu Yue smirked proudly.

“Of course!

Yan Yan, start packing up.

Get ready to move back to S City.”

Shen Yan looked completely lost.

“Huh?”

Shen Wei helped explain.

“While you were preparing for your exams, your mom contacted her old best friend from S City.

Aunt Chu you met her when you were a kid.

Do you remember?”

Shen Yan shook her head blankly.

“That’s not important.

You’ve heard of the Lu Corporation in S City, right?”

This time, Shen Yan nodded.

“I’ve heard of it.

A lot of my classmates have applied there.

But I heard it’s pretty hard to get in.”

Xu Yue nodded proudly.

“Your Aunt Xin Xin is a close friend of the chairman’s wife at Lu Corporation.”

Shen Yan blinked in disbelief.

“Mom, your connections are incredible.”

Xu Yue smiled mysteriously.

“Go pack your things.

We’ll head to S City early tomorrow to get familiar with the environment.”

Shen Wei sighed with some regret.

“It’s a shame, though.

No matter how prestigious Lu Corporation is, it doesn’t come with government benefits.”

Hearing her dad’s “what a shame,” Shen Yan shuddered.

She had heard of Lu Corporation because her roommate had a crush on a top student from the economics department who applied there.

But even he got rejected.

That student had won the National Scholarship three years in a row!

And Lu Corporation still didn’t accept him.

He was so furious that he ignored her roommate for three days, and she was equally upset.

Shen Yan glanced at her mother, only to see Xu Yue nodding in agreement.

“It really is a shame.

If only we had set up our business in S City back then.”

Shen Wei was stunned.

“There are coal mines in S City too?”

Xu Yue: …

Shen Yan obediently returned to her room to pack her things.

While sorting through her belongings, she found a small Bluetooth speaker in her drawer.

She hesitated.

This Bluetooth speaker was the only valuable gift her ex-boyfriend, Zhong Cheng, had given her.

It was practical, and she actually liked it.

She could still clearly remember their breakup.

She also remembered the “nice person” speech he gave her.

He said he still liked her, but as two outsiders in S City, they would have to work for 800 years without eating or drinking to afford a house.

He couldn’t hold her back.

At that time, Shen Yan had been dumbfounded.

She was just about to tell him that it didn’t matter if he couldn’t afford an apartment her family could.

Before she could say anything, Zhong Cheng continued.

“Look at Yang Ming from our class.

The two of us together don’t even match the price of one of her hair clips.”

Shen Yan remembered that hair clip.

She had seen Yang Ming wear it at least eight out of the ten times they met.

She had even seen that clip in a store while shopping with her mom.

It wasn’t even pretty.

Except for the huge brand logo, it looked just like the cheap ones in roadside accessory shops.

In fact, those cheap clips had way more designs to choose from.

She never expected Zhong Cheng to pay attention to girls’ accessories.

She had always thought of him as an honest and hardworking guy.

Shen Yan summed it up for him.

“So, you’re saying you want to break up with me and pursue Yang Ming?”

Zhong Cheng looked a little embarrassed.

“She hasn’t agreed to be with me yet, but I think we should break up first.

After that, I’ll go after her.”

Shen Yan: …

She should really thank him for his honesty.

“Well, good luck then.”

At that time, Shen Yan didn’t know what else to say.

Zhong Cheng had broken up with her while she was overwhelmed with civil service and government-affiliated job exams.

After hearing his breakup speech, she had simply walked away.

She didn’t have the time or energy to deal with him.

But now, sitting in her room and reflecting on his words, she felt a surge of anger.

Wasn’t this exactly the kind of situation people talked about online?

The whole debate about whether someone should tell their current partner if they had emotionally moved on?