The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

boom!

The entire internet burst out laughing.

"Pfft—!!! I fucking spat a mouthful of water all over the screen!"

"You're telling me this is a second-level swimming champion???"

"I'd believe you if you told me she was a second-level shot putter! Swimming? Could she even swim?"

"Level 2 swimming champion? Does that mean you can sink to the bottom quickly at level 2?"

"I get it, it's because you sink faster, right?"

"So, the Level 2 certificate was earned by soaking in hot springs? Or was it issued by a public bathhouse?"

"This is outrageous! It's ridiculous! They give me 10 points for this? If I go to the swimming pool every day, does that make me a first-class athlete?"

"You said it was reasonable and compliant before, and this is it? This is it??"

"Investigate! This must be thoroughly investigated! If there's nothing fishy going on, I'll eat my phone!"

The comment section, which was originally trying to stir up trouble for Ji Bai, instantly went completely off-topic.

No one cared anymore whether guessing the quiz was harder or the college entrance exam was harder; everyone rushed to watch this "swimming champion."

The hashtag #SecondaryLevelSwimmingAthlete# shot to the top of the trending searches at lightning speed, completely overshadowing #CollegeEntranceExamIsHarderThanBrotherGuessed#.

The online trolls were dumbfounded.

They spent half a day supporting the building, only to have it all ruined by a single photo?

And it's so crooked that even eight oxen couldn't pull it back!

There's no way around it; anyone with a normal IQ can see that something's fishy going on here!

……

Meanwhile, in a dark-themed office.

Su Wan leaned against the matte black desk, her white French-style blouse making her skin appear pale and cool, and her long, slender legs encased in black stockings beneath her pencil skirt.

She held a thin cigarette between her fingers, and held her phone to her ear with her other hand.

"I'll ask one last time, have you found out who's behind this? Everything was going so smoothly, how did it suddenly veer off course like a madman?"

Su Wan's brows furrowed, her tone revealing obvious impatience.

The public opinion was all arranged perfectly, and everything was proceeding according to her plan. How did a second-level swimming champion suddenly appear?

The subordinate on the other end of the phone trembled: "President Su... we've investigated everything, and no one has actually intervened. It's just a graduation photo that circulated in a parents' group chat for a high school in the provincial capital, and was casually reposted to Weibo by a netizen."

"There were no big accounts stirring up trouble, no marketing accounts pushing it; it was all spread spontaneously by netizens, purely... purely accidental."

"What?"

"Accident?"

Su Wan's hand suddenly stopped moving.

The cigarette burned down to near the filter, and a piece of white ash fell onto her knees, which were covered by black stockings, without her noticing. She stood there stunned, as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world.

Her meticulously planned scheme, which was neither thwarted by Ji Bai's counterattack nor suppressed by the authorities, was actually shattered by a completely unrelated "second-level swimming champion".

You're telling me it was purely an accident?

Outrageous!

That's fucking outrageous!

Su Wan felt a tightness in her chest, unable to escape or come down, making her temples throb.

It was even more frustrating for Ji Bai to personally confront her.

Before anyone could even make a move, fate casually tossed a melon at her, shattering her carefully laid plan into a complete mess.

"This is weird..."

She muttered a curse under her breath, then suddenly sat up and shoved the cigarette butt into the crystal ashtray with such force that it almost knocked the ashtray off the table.

"Forget about that lousy melon, all online trolls, immediately go back and push the hashtag #CollegeEntranceExamIsHarderThanBrotherGuessed# back up!"

"Add more money, triple the budget, I refuse to believe we can't bring them back!"

The words were harsh, but Su Wan's heart sank inexplicably.

This kind of uncontrollable and irrational "accident" is more unsettling than any overt adversary.

Ji Bai... could his luck be so bizarrely good?

……

In just half a day, the hashtag #SecondaryLevelSwimmingAthleteGaokaoBonusPoints# shot to the top of the trending topics list like a rocket, completely suppressing the negative hashtags that were originally being promoted by online trolls, leaving them nowhere to be seen.

The comment section exploded, with hundreds of thousands of comments piling up, from memes and insults to calls for a thorough investigation, reaching a peak of public outrage.

"Are you kidding me? This guy can be a national second-level athlete?"

"Swimming, you fucking thing?"

"160 or 170, if I didn't tell you, would you know which is height and which is weight?"

"I accept the extra points for winning an Olympiad gold medal; that's the result of people staying up all night studying. But what exactly is the basis for this Level 2 swimming certificate? Are extra points for college entrance exams really that arbitrary?"

"Twelve years of hard study are less valuable than a certificate that can be obtained by paying money? Is this fair to ordinary students who honestly take the exams?"

"At least the four competition-based bonus points are related to academics, but what does swimming have to do with the college entrance exam? If you have athletic talent, go for the sports-specific admissions program. What kind of skill is it to take up a spot in the regular college entrance exam?"

"I declare this the most outrageous joke in the history of college entrance exam bonus points this year, bar none!"

As the criticism continued, people naturally steered the conversation back to Ji Bai, and public opinion completely reversed:

"Hilarious! They were criticizing Ji Bai for only ranking sixth in the province on the college entrance exam, but it turns out that four of the top five got bonus points for Olympiads and one got a watered-down sports bonus. Ji Bai is the real top scorer without any bonus points!"

"A true genius gets suppressed to sixth place despite scoring high marks, while a mediocre student climbs up by getting bonus points, and then they turn around and accuse the genius of doing poorly. This world is too ironic."

"Originally, it was all going to be a free ride for Oki, but then they accidentally uncovered a college entrance exam cheating scandal. What do you call this? Even God couldn't stand it anymore."

"Where are those education influencers who were most active before? Come out and say something! Why aren't they talking about college entrance exam scores anymore? Why aren't they talking about the issue of undeserved moral character?"

"I've never questioned the college entrance exam before, nor have I questioned Ji Bai. Only a fool would think there's something wrong with the college entrance exam, but now I realize I was the fool!"

"So they had so many tricks up their sleeves, we just didn't know it!"

"Investigate! We must investigate thoroughly! From issuing certificates to awarding points, investigate every step of the way! See how much corruption is involved!"

……

The Great Hall of the People is a complex of corridors and rooms.

Of the 118 halls, the most renowned Golden Hall is located in the very center and has never been open to the public. Only extremely important figures can set foot here.

The verification conference was held in a side hall that can accommodate a thousand people.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the white marble corridor outside the Golden Hall suddenly became tense.

An elderly woman wearing a dark blue cheongsam with subtle patterns stood under the eaves. Her hair was neatly combed, and a jade bracelet with excellent clarity on her wrist complemented her warm complexion.

Her clothes were ordinary, but standing there, she exuded a composed air of someone who had long held a high position. At this moment, her brows were slightly furrowed, and her tone betrayed obvious anxiety.

"My little girl is missing!"

"Just a moment ago, I turned around and said a couple of words to someone, and when I turned back, they were gone."

The security chief next to him, wearing a headset, instantly changed his expression, his back involuntarily bending slightly, his voice lowered but full of solemnity:

"Madam, please don't be anxious! Tell me slowly, which direction did Miss go? What color clothes was she wearing?"

He knew very well who this old lady was.

Let alone losing a child in the Great Hall of the People, even a minor bump or bruise would be a serious matter for their entire security team.

"Wearing a white tutu, with two little braids, and holding a small spoon in her hand, she must have run towards the water feature."

The old lady spoke at a steady pace, but her fingertips tightened slightly, revealing that she was not at peace.

"Yes! I'll arrange it right away!"

The head of internal security immediately pressed his earpiece and issued a rapid-fire order: "Attention all units! Immediately search the area north of the Golden Hall for a four-year-old girl in a white tutu! Review all CCTV footage from the corridors and around the water feature! Quickly!"

The people in the monitoring room sprang into action instantly!

The old lady also clenched her hands tightly.

Although you won't lose your child here, it would still be extremely distressing if they got hurt.

Just then, a very pleasant voice came from around the corner.

"Your name is Nannan..."

"Don't run around like that next time, it's dangerous near the water..."