However, once the results were announced, Xu Hui’s entire mood soured.
Lin Wan: 100 points, first place!
Xu Hui: 78 points, second place.
Third place was Su Hongwei with 69 points.
The score gaps between each rank were quite large.
Especially between first and second place—over twenty points apart!
It was a complete landslide.
“Lin Wan got a perfect score!”
“She was the first to hand in her paper!”
“She finished in thirty minutes and still got full marks… could she have known the answers in advance?”
“Exactly. Maybe she cheated—and went overboard!”
“The exam was so hard, how could anyone possibly get everything right?”
The group of young men and women surrounding Xu Hui were whispering loudly.
Lin Wan heard it too.
Xu Hui took a deep breath and said, “Everyone, please don’t speculate blindly. Comrade Lin Wan dared to score so high—she must not be afraid of scrutiny.”
That statement…
It was practically implying that Lin Wan had seen the answers beforehand!
Lin Wan didn’t care at all.
After all, she really did know the answers.
“Comrade Lin Wan, don’t be angry. We’re all children of the postal and telecommunications system, so we know how difficult this exam was.”
“So it’s normal for everyone to have doubts about you!”
“However, Comrade Lin Wan, you should prove yourself so everyone can clear up the misunderstanding!”
Lin Wan gave a cold laugh.
“Who are you?”
“Why should I prove anything to you?”
“If you suspect me of cheating, then bring evidence. Whoever makes the claim bears the burden of proof. Otherwise, I’ll report you for defamation!”
Xu Hui’s expression stiffened.
Indeed, disliking someone always comes with a reason.
This Lin Wan was simply too much.
“Comrade Lin Wan, we didn’t say anything serious. You’re the one getting worked up. Why are you so sensitive when people question you?”
As soon as Xu Hui said this, the others were stirred up again.
“That’s right! If you didn’t do anything wrong, why are you afraid of explaining?”
“If you won’t explain, then there must be something fishy!”
“If you’re even threatening to report us for defamation, that just proves you’re guilty!”
Lin Wan sneered.
“Then you should just report me to the Public Security Bureau.”
“Leaking exam questions is also a crime. Let the police investigate it. If it’s real, then arrest all of us and throw us in jail. Why waste so much breath here?”
“And you—Xu Hui, right?”
“You just don’t like me, so come at me directly. What’s the point of stirring everyone else up to be your tools?”
“You get them worked up until they start talking nonsense, and then if I report defamation, it has nothing to do with you, right?”
“Tsk. Clean on the outside, but your heart’s pretty dirty.”
Xu Hui clearly disliked her very much.
Since that was the case, Lin Wan would not be polite.
They were likely to become colleagues in the future anyway—she wasn’t going to give Xu Hui any chance to isolate or gang up against her.
The crowd: “……”
Everyone looked at Lin Wan as if she were some kind of fool.
But when they replayed her words in their minds…
Their gazes toward Xu Hui subtly changed.
Xu Hui nearly fainted from anger.
The system: “……”
This host is a bit overpowered.
“Stop arguing. The bureau chief is here!”
The bureau chief clearly had heard the commotion.
Once the scene quieted down, he said:
“This exam paper was assembled by randomly selecting questions from three different departments—the labor union, the office, and the personnel division—each pulling from their own question banks. At 6:30 this morning, the papers were delivered to me for compilation, and I also added three questions that were not in any question bank…”
“So, if anyone suspects that the candidate who scored full marks had prior access to the exam, then I would be the only one with the opportunity to leak the questions.”
As soon as he said this, many faces in the crowd changed.
Xu Hui’s expression turned especially ugly.
Those who had just followed her lead in accusing Lin Wan also looked uneasy.
The bureau chief continued:
“To dispel doubts, the leadership team will conduct interviews with the top ten candidates.”
“They will be questioned on their answers, with extended follow-up questions to test not only whether they know the answers, but whether they truly understand them.”
As soon as he finished speaking, several of the top ten candidates were stunned.
All because of Xu Hui!
If she hadn’t stirred things up, there wouldn’t even be this interview test!
Xu Hui immediately felt a piercing sense of unease, like a thorn in her back.
The panel of leaders was just about to begin questioning Lin Wan.
But Director Zhao stopped them.
“Start from the tenth place,” he said.
“Anyone who fails the interview gets eliminated. The next person will be called up to continue.”
The leadership group: “…”
Director Zhao was newly transferred in, and this testing method was his idea.
Some things didn’t need to be said out loud—everyone understood.
The people they had pushed in had already exchanged questions in advance, planning to muddle through right under the leadership’s noses.
Who would’ve thought…
Even Section Chief Xu was receiving resentful looks.
The questions they asked were already made as simple as possible.
But the tenth-ranked young man was sweating profusely and couldn’t answer a single question.
He was the nephew of the general affairs section chief.
Director Zhao said flatly, “Tenth place eliminated. Move the eleventh up.”
The general affairs section chief shot a sharp glare at Section Chief Xu.
The eleventh candidate was a girl named Luo Jiahui. She had a round face and rosy cheeks—very cute.
She answered every question correctly.
Director Zhao immediately instructed the HR office to add her name to the hiring list.
Luo Jiahui was stunned with joy.
Next, ninth place, eighth place, and seventh place were all eliminated.
The candidates who came up afterward actually performed much better.
Finally, it was Xu Hui’s turn.
She managed to answer about 60% of the questions and was barely retained.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Hui clenched her fists and looked toward Lin Wan.
All eyes in the room focused on her.
Lin Wan, however, showed no nervousness at all.
Completely calm and composed.
Worst case scenario, she still had the system to back her up.
While others were answering questions earlier, she had already negotiated prices with the system.
Twenty points per answer.
If she encountered a question she couldn’t answer, she would simply buy it with points.
Section Chief Xu was the first to ask.
All because of Lin Wan, he had been resented by his colleagues and offended several people.
“During your delivery route, you encounter a mass criticism rally. Do you prioritize delivering the mail or participating in the struggle session?”
After asking, Section Chief Xu smiled faintly at her.
The others below muttered:
“Obviously deliver the mail. Isn’t that obvious?”
“There’s a question on the exam about serving the people. This must be based on that. It’s a free point!”
“Exactly. They asked us such hard questions, why is hers so easy?”
Section Chief Xu thought: you idiots know nothing. But I’m relieved you think this way—this question is a trap, and Lin Wan is about to fall right into it.
No need to ask further questions after this one.
Lin Wan spoke:
“I would immediately stop the vehicle and join the struggle session. The letters would be entrusted to a Red Guard on site for safekeeping. After the session ends, I would continue delivering the mail.”
She looked at him calmly, confidence in her eyes, a faint smile on her lips.
“Section Chief Xu, are you satisfied with this answer?”
Trying to trap her?
She simply wouldn’t step into it.
Heh.
Silence fell over the room.
Not a single person could refute it.
How could they?
To argue would be to question the Red Guards.
Or to say participating in the struggle was wrong?
Everyone smacked their foreheads. How had they not thought of this?
Choosing to deliver the mail was correct—but could be nitpicked.
Choosing to join the struggle was also correct—but could be criticized for mishandling mail.
But Lin Wan cleverly added: “entrust the mail to a Red Guard.”
That completely closed off every angle of attack.
Section Chief Xu’s face turned dark with frustration.
After that, every leader’s question was answered perfectly by Lin Wan.
She didn’t even spend a single point, which disappointed the system greatly.
Director Zhao gave her an approving smile.
And Secretary Tang, who believed he alone understood the truth, looked at the others trying to make things difficult for Lin Wan with smug satisfaction.
Only he had not made things difficult for her!
He was certain—Lin Wan must have taken Director Zhao’s backdoor route!