He fiercely criticized the Manchu scholar clique and the twelve emperors of the Qing Dynasty.

The girl's sobbing echoed amidst the static, and the live stream fell into a ten-second silence.

Zhao Shuyao leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on the computer screen, his fingers resting on the edge of the table instead of the mouse.

There was a noticeable pause in the comment section in the lower left corner.

A few seconds later.

The engineering student from the south sighed deeply, breaking the silence: "Girl, hearing about your situation gives me the creeps. If I went out to find a job with a second-tier university degree, I'd probably get about the same pay as you. Why does this world value a piece of paper so much?"

"Exactly." The man with a Beijing accent on microphone number one chimed in, his tone tinged with deep helplessness. "Things are different now than they were decades ago. Back then, if you got into university, you were guaranteed a job, and even a junior college degree could get you a good job."

"And now? Graduates from prestigious universities go to foreign companies and big factories, while ordinary people like us work our butts off for months, only to be kicked out in the end, without even a reasonable explanation. Getting things done depends on whether you have connections or money in your pocket."

The eldest brother of the third microphone also spoke up: "This is called solidification. The thresholds for big companies and good units are getting higher and higher. The margin for error for children from ordinary families is too low. If they make a wrong step, it will be difficult for them to turn their lives around."

Through the earphones, several people were talking amongst themselves, all lamenting the reality, compromising with the rules, and being pessimistic about the future.

The comment section also came alive again, and the screen was no longer filled with jokes, but densely packed with comments such as "So true," "I can relate," and "I have an interview tomorrow, I want to cry after hearing this."

In this vortex of negative emotions, Zhao Shuyao remained silent.

With his eyes fixed on the words on the screen and his ears listening to several people from different regions and of different ages pouring out their grievances, he waited for the pent-up frustrations that had accumulated from empathy to finally reach a breaking point.

When people are at their most emotional, they can't listen to any reasoning.

A full five minutes passed.

The sound from the microphone gradually faded, leaving only the occasional sob from the girl on microphone number five.

"Have you finished speaking?"

Zhao Shuyao put down the water glass, the metal bottom of the glass touching the table.

The voice was steady, without deliberately raising the pitch, but it was extremely penetrating, instantly tearing a hole in the pervasive gloom in the live broadcast room.

"Now that I've finished speaking, I'd like to say a few words." Zhao Shuyao leaned forward, closing the distance between himself and the camera, fully displaying his expressionless face to everyone.

"The girl with microphone number five, don't be sad." Zhao Shuyao's gaze seemed to be fixed on the unfamiliar girl through the camera lens. "I heard your question very clearly. I've seen hundreds and thousands of similar complaints in the comment sections online."

"This problem can be broken down into two parts."

He stretched out a finger and waved it in front of the screen.

"In the first part, you are a college graduate from a remote county. You did the most work in the company, but in the end you were fired because of your educational background."

Zhao Shuyao tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"On this point, I won't give you that kind of empty platitudes. I have to tell you an objective fact: it's extremely unethical for a company to fire you because of your education, or to say that they planned to use you as cheap labor from the beginning and then kick you out. But in the reality of business, it's very common."

The girl on microphone number five abruptly stopped sobbing, clearly not expecting Zhao Shuyao to be so blunt.

The man with the Beijing accent on microphone number one couldn't help but interject: "Teacher Zhao, are you saying we just have to accept our fate? Having a low level of education means we deserve to be treated like disposable material?"

"I didn't say they deserved it." Zhao Shuyao glanced at the avatar of microphone number one and said calmly, "I mean, we need to see through the underlying logic behind their decision."

"Think about it from the employer's perspective. Most ordinary people will only come into contact with small to medium-sized companies after graduation. What is the biggest characteristic of these companies?"

"The pressure to survive is high and cash flow is tight. Their core requirement for hiring people is 'plug and play'. Once you come, sit down, and can immediately generate benefits for me."

"Given this premise, if a boss has two resumes in front of him, one for a bachelor's degree holder and the other for a junior college graduate, which one would the boss choose? He would definitely choose the bachelor's degree holder."

Zhao Shuyao spread his hands, making no attempt to conceal his status as a student from a prestigious university.

"It's not because that student from a prestigious university has a better character or is more capable than that student from a junior college right now, but because, from the boss's perspective, the student from the prestigious university has passed the selection process of the college entrance examination, a single-plank bridge."

"After four years of more rigorous academic training at university, students from prestigious universities are more likely to have stronger learning abilities, resilience, and execution skills than ordinary students."

"Note that I used 'high probability'."

Zhao Shuyao emphasized his words and looked directly into the camera.

"Of course, there are outstanding individuals who come out of junior colleges, and there are also good-for-nothings who just coast along in 985 universities. But the boss doesn't have the time or energy to delve into your excellent soul. He's working on a math problem."

"If they hire graduates from top universities, the probability of them winning is 70%; if they hire graduates from junior colleges, the probability of them winning is only 30%. For small companies with extremely limited capital, reducing the cost of trial and error is the only rule for them to survive."

"Therefore, academic qualifications are indeed a solid stepping stone. Many people are indeed blocked from entering society because they do not have this stepping stone. This is a cruel reality."

The live stream room was so quiet you could hear the static.

The barrage of comments slowed down; there were no insults, only a silence that came from being stripped naked by reality.

Because Zhao Shuyao was telling the truth, not preaching from a high place, but a bloody analysis of the rules.

"But so what?" Zhao Shuyao suddenly laughed, a sharp glint in his eyes that seemed to see through everything.

"Student with microphone number five, you've lost your job, you feel like you have nothing, and you think that hard work is a joke, but that's precisely your biggest misconception right now."

"I don't deny your efforts. You stayed up all night writing proposals and did the work of three people. These are your real contributions. For the past three months, it may seem like you've been exploited, but have you ever thought about what you've taken away?"

The girl's voice sounded somewhat bewildered: "What did I take with me? All I had was exhaustion and a resignation form."

"Wrong." Zhao Shuyao corrected her mercilessly, his voice firm and resolute.

"You took away three months of intensive, hands-on media experience; you took away the mindset framework for independently completing project planning; you took away the complete closed-loop capability of copywriting from conception to final product!"

"If you're just serving tea and water to the boss every day, then you're definitely losing money. But you yourself said that you did all the planning and copywriting yourself. The company exploited your physical strength, but you also used this platform to complete the initial accumulation of your professional skills."

Zhao Shuyao leaned back, his eyes revealing a wise and insightful look.

"In today's society, a diploma can determine which door you enter, but only the real skills in your mind can determine how far you can go on this path. You have gained the most valuable experience in the workplace, and you didn't spend a penny of your own money. You feel like you lost out, but I think you made a huge profit."

The microphone indicator light on microphone number five flashed twice. The girl didn't speak, but a long inhale was heard.

A shift in mindset often only requires a single word of guidance from an observer.

The guy with microphone number three couldn't help but speak up: "Teacher Zhao, I understand what you're saying. It's called 'suffering a loss is a blessing,' and what you learn is what you truly own. But the environment is what it is."

"Even if this female student has the ability, with that associate's degree, wouldn't she still be at a disadvantage when interviewing at other media companies? Do students graduating from ordinary schools really have a chance to succeed in this industry that values ​​academic qualifications?"

"Chance?"

Zhao Shuyao picked up his water glass, took another sip, and a half-smile appeared on his lips.

"Brother, there's one word you used that's extremely accurate: 'in this industry.'"

He put the water glass aside and tapped his finger on the table.

"Ordinary people are not without opportunities, but they follow the old path and opportunities are indeed very scarce. In the traditional pyramid structure, resources are distributed from top to bottom."

"This means that people at the bottom must pay ten or a hundred times the price if they want to climb up. This is an objective law of social development, which I do not deny, and you cannot change it either."

"We must acknowledge this reality and shatter those unrealistic fantasies."

Zhao Shuyao stared directly into the camera, his eyes suddenly radiating a fervor and clarity befitting a visionary of the times.

"but."

"Young lady, think carefully. What's your biggest trump card right now?"

"Is your copywriting skill honed under pressure over the past three months, or your execution ability developed through all-nighters?"

The girl with microphone number five asked in confusion, "These... don't count? Then what advantages do I have?"

"These are the basics." Zhao Shuyao smiled slightly. "Your real advantage is that you are in the eye of an extremely large storm, and you happen to have the most crucial entry ticket to this storm."

"You've been working at the media company for the past few months, dealing with copywriting, planning, and content distribution every day. Let me ask you, didn't you notice anything extremely unusual while you were working?"

Before anyone could react, Zhao Shuyao sped up his speech, delivering a bombshell with an undeniable penetrating force.

"You see traditional newspaper sales declining every day."

"Watching those local TV stations that rely on television for survival cut their budgets."

"Look at those old-fashioned media companies that put on airs, getting drunk with clients over a few tens of thousands of yuan in publicity contracts."

"Has none of you really noticed that the traditional media industry, with its impenetrable walls built by capital, highly educated talent, and layers of connections, is undergoing an unprecedented collapse?!"

The entire live stream room was completely silent.

Everyone held their breath in front of the screen, staring at the young man sitting in the simple dormitory, whose eyes were as deep as black holes.