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

The sky outside the window had completely darkened at some point.

In room 302, the ceiling light with its cool color temperature emitted a slight electrical hum, casting several long, narrow shadows on the slightly mottled floor tiles.

Zhao Shuyao lay flat on the single bed, breathing evenly. The uninterrupted high-frequency output for more than two hours had pushed the information processing center in his brain to its limit.

After the live stream ended, as the adrenaline subsided, a deep sense of fatigue instantly took over all bodily functions.

He didn't even take off his gray hoodie before falling into a deep sleep, a self-protective mechanism of the body when faced with high pressure.

Zhao Shuyao's eyelids twitched slightly, and he opened his eyes. His vision went out of focus for two seconds the moment he saw the halo of light on the ceiling.

Support yourself with your elbows and turn your body to the left.

My gaze had just shifted downwards when I came across a face with completely taut facial muscles.

Yang Wei sat upright on the edge of the opposite bunk, holding a still-lit phone in his hands. His eyes were wide open, staring intently at them.

The two stared at each other for a full three seconds.

"What's with that expression?" Zhao Shuyao sat up, rubbing his cheek where there were red marks from sleeping. "What's wrong? Did that girl class monitor from the next class who's got you hooked up with finally announce her boyfriend on social media today?"

This joke did not put Yang Wei at ease.

Yang Wei straightened up abruptly, the movement so large that his forehead almost brushed against the safety railing of the upper bunk.

"Old Zhao!" Yang Wei's voice changed noticeably, trembling almost cracking. "Do you even have a single word of truth in your mouth? At noon you swore you were going to host some fellow villagers and sent me to the library, but what were you doing all alone in your dorm?!"

Yang Wei took a big step forward, crossing the narrow passageway, and shoved the phone screen in front of Zhao Shuyao's line of sight.

"You still tell me it's just a simple matter of proving your innocence? How many things are you hiding from me?" Yang Wei took a deep breath, his chest heaving. "Do you know how famous you are right now? The entire internet, all the major platforms, are full of reports about you!"

Zhao Shuyao did not answer the phone.

Still sitting on the edge of the bed, her gaze passed over Yang Wei's wrist and landed on the other man's neck, which was flushed with excitement.

"Old Zhao, don't look like you've just woken up!" Yang Wei, seeing Zhao Shuyao's composure, became even more frantic. "Did you even hear what I said? The Yan family apologized! That arrogant Yan Jianhui, the Yan family that threatened to ruin you, they issued an apology statement through the official account of a cultural foundation!"

Yang Wei swallowed hard, trying to calm his rapid breathing: "In their statement, they said there was a contextual misunderstanding in the recording at noon, that there was absolutely no intention of class discrimination, and that they are withdrawing all defamation lawsuits against you!"

"Old Zhao, you single-handedly, sitting in this shabby dorm room, and you've ruined three generations of their business! How come I never realized you were such a ruthless and ambitious person!"

A glint of clarity flashed in Zhao Shuyao's eyes.

Yan Jia's kneeling slid down even faster than he had predicted. This was a standard strategy of cutting off an arm to save the day, especially given that public sentiment had been ignited by the term "peasant" and that it involved a crisis of trust in the social foundation.

If they don't quickly issue a low-key statement to quell public anger, the relevant departments' questionnaires will be placed directly on their foundation's desk tomorrow.

"An expected choice." Zhao Shuyao smiled, leaned forward, and took out his phone from beside the pillow. "However, the way he apologized was quite reminiscent of the efficient manner of a Qing Dynasty servant meeting his master, which they admire. It's just a pity that he lacked the integrity that a cultured person should have."

Press and hold the power button.

The boot screen had barely flashed by, and the desktop icons hadn't even fully loaded yet.

The phone immediately began to vibrate violently and continuously, and a series of high-frequency notification sounds rang out, forming a long, uninterrupted tone.

The red number in the upper right corner of the WeChat icon is stuck at "99+", and the missed call notifications fill the entire lock screen's swipe-down notification bar, making it impossible to distinguish whether the number is local or from another region.

Zhao Shuyao ignored the private messages that were trying to find out the truth or build rapport. He placed his thumb on the screen, swiped up to unlock it, and his eyes were fixed on the "Toutiao" app on the desktop.

Click to enter.

The app launcher's splash screen flashes by, the homepage recommendation feed loads automatically, and the red dots for background messages are also a deep, almost purple red.

Zhao Shuyao pressed the center of the screen and slowly pulled it down.

Page refreshed.

Of the ten latest news items that caught my eye, five featured high-definition screenshots of him during his live stream that day. In the images, he was pointing to the chest area of ​​his hoodie with a determined look in his eyes.

More importantly, the entities publishing these reports are no longer the self-media marketing accounts that make a living by attracting attention and starting out by fabricating sensational news.

All the major media outlets with the blue official certification logo have entered the fray.

Zhao Shuyao sat up straight, his gaze sweeping across the headlines and leads, his brain automatically extracting the public opinion guidance from the media matrix.

The first article, published on the official account of the Nanguo Metropolis Daily, featured a striking title: "The Integrity of Young Scholars and the Foundation of Seeking Truth from Facts."

The article begins by quoting Zhao Shuyao's core question during the live broadcast, as the main commentator wrote in the main text.

"The academic community is by no means a private domain for certain vested interests. Zhao Shuyao has demonstrated to us the conscience that a scholar should have through his detailed county gazetteer archives and impeccable logic. He is not only a pure person, but also a young role model who has not lost his ideals in this turbulent era."

It continues to decline.

The second point is a commentary article in "Yan Zhao Youth" that follows: "History cannot be altered, and the bottom line cannot be trampled on."

This commentary uses extremely strong language, not only severely criticizing Yan Jianhui's class arrogance displayed in the recording, but also elevating Zhao Shuyao's struggle to the level of faith.

"Faced with the coercion of capital and privilege, we saw a warrior with unwavering faith in himself. He used the most basic qualities of a laborer to shatter the cultural lies woven by some people."

The third article is an in-depth piece published in the culture column of the Jiangzuo Evening News: "Looking at the awakening of cultural confidence in the present day through a local county gazetteer."

The article focuses on analyzing the historical evidence presented by Zhao Shuyao, arguing that this behavior of not blindly following general textbooks and daring to face the scars of history is a vivid lesson for those pseudo-scholars who are obsessed with "the arrogance of three generations".

Three major local media outlets, with three different perspectives, but their final conclusions were surprisingly consistent—fully affirming Zhao Shuyao's academic stance and motivations.

The official stance is now set in stone.

Zhao Shuyao slowed down the pace of his finger swiping. Under the guidance of official media, various self-media influencers with millions of followers also began a full-scale traffic frenzy and in-depth analysis.

The top history blogger "Reading History Old Wang" released a ten-minute analysis video: "Teacher Zhao's move is a textbook example of a dimensional reduction attack. The unedited Yellow Book of Deficits that he released directly nailed those old men in the circle who have been praising the Qing Dynasty's prosperity for years to the pillar of shame. His high level of professionalism is admirable."

Financial blogger "Money Logic" takes a different approach: "Without emotional venting, he only talks about the underlying logic. Zhao Shuyao is not only fighting against pseudo-history, but also teaching us how to see through the trap of sunk costs. His remarks can be regarded as a sobering guide for contemporary professionals."

The "late-night radio" segment in the emotional field focuses on plot twists: "You think he's talking about history? He's teaching you how to fight moral blackmail. A consumer bill is worth more than a thousand words."

Another commentator, "Cold Eyes on Things," summarized: "By speaking with facts and fighting back in the manner of a cultured person, Zhao Shuyao has demonstrated an extremely rare art of expression. He has made those behind-the-scenes manipulators who tried to destroy him with cyberbullying experience what it means to have a real backlash from public opinion."

The media's evaluations are building his illustrious image, while the discussions among netizens in the comments section fully demonstrate the breadth and depth of this empathy.

A netizen named "Working Old Li" commented: "I used to think that people who study history are all pedantic intellectuals. But after watching Teacher Zhao's live broadcast today, I realized that this is what it means to be reasonable and well-founded. That sentence, 'Who did we offend by relying on our own efforts?' made me, a grown man, wipe away tears on the bus."

Netizen "Sober Brick" commented: "The eldest son of the Yan family is probably writing a self-criticism overnight. Teacher Zhao's move directly showed the other party what the wisdom of the people is. That sentence, 'Not only not afraid, but even amused,' is amazing."

A netizen named "Kaoyanshangan" replied: "I have already saved Professor Zhao's screen recording on my phone. If I feel that life is too difficult in the future, I will take it out and watch it. This is what we young people of today should be like."

Zhao Shuyao looked at the words quietly, a gentle light flashing in his eyes. He knew that this was not only a show of support for him personally, but also a cry from countless ordinary people in this rule-bound society, made through his window.

A light touch of the screen edge returns you to your personal homepage.

A seven-digit number appeared prominently in the fan section.

128 million.

It took less than ten hours to go from zero to over a million views. In 2016, a time when short videos were just emerging and text and images still dominated the self-media landscape, this was an extremely terrifying scale that could directly change an individual's destiny and social class.

Open your private message inbox.

Amidst a plethora of disorganized comments from netizens, a dozen or so private messages from officially certified organizations were automatically captured and pinned to the top by the system.

The deputy editor-in-chief of Southern People Weekly sent a message: "Hello Mr. Zhao, our team is very interested in your views on the revision of historical materials from the Ming and Qing dynasties. We hope to invite you to do an exclusive video interview to further explore the current youth's search for historical truth and how young people should adhere to their original aspirations in the present day."

The director of the culture channel of a major portal website left a message: "Professor Zhao, we sincerely invite you to participate in our online roundtable salon. The theme is 'The Whitewashed Dynasties and the Real Underclass.' We look forward to your participation."

Faced with these offers of opportunities, Zhao Shuyao accepted them without hesitation.

At this time, accepting an exclusive interview with a reputable media outlet not only allows one to leverage the credibility of the official platform to completely transform personal popularity into an unshakeable academic barrier, but it is also an excellent way to solidify one's image.

With the backing of these major platforms, the University of Tokyo will be more cautious in handling his case. Those hidden historical drama capitalists who want to make dirty moves will have to think twice before they can withstand the spotlight of mainstream media.

After thinking it over, Zhao Shuyao typed on the keyboard and replied to two of the most influential media outlets.

"Thank you for the invitation. Seeking truth is the duty of a scholar. I am happy to have an in-depth exchange with everyone at any time.

Press the send button.

Zhao Shuyao looked up, casually tossed his phone onto the table, stood up, and straightened his collar.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Zhao Shuyao turned to Yang Wei, who was still processing the information. "Let's go downstairs to the cafeteria. Now that we've finished building our spiritual civilization, we need to improve our material foundation too."

Yang Wei swallowed hard and pointed outside: "You still dare to go to the cafeteria now? Do you believe that if you show your face now, you'll be surrounded like a rare species?"

Just as I finished speaking, the phone on the table vibrated violently again, and a caller ID popped up on the screen: Counselor.