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

In this small conference room, which symbolizes the power center of this century-old university, the air fell into a brief stillness.

The folder with the red header lay quietly on the dark coffee table.

Zhao Shuyao's gaze followed the director of the academic affairs office's finger and landed on the bolded "List of Graduate Students to Stay on Campus for Observation" on the cover.

one second.

two seconds.

He quickly retrieved the information modules in front of him in his mind.

According to the standard script within the system: a subordinate is wrongly accused, public opinion is in uproar, superiors intervene to find out the truth, severely punish the violators, and finally offer a compensation higher than expected, and everyone is happy. The perfectly measured expectations on Dean Xu and the Dean of Academic Affairs' faces are based on this underlying workplace logic that has been operating for many years.

Zhao Shuyao slightly raised his eyelids, his gaze passing over the folder and glancing at the three people opposite him.

Instead of reaching for the pen that was prepared next to him, he raised his right hand, put his index and middle fingers together, and pressed the pads of his fingers against the bottom edge of the folder, using his arm to exert force.

"sand."

The paper folder made a soft sound as it rubbed against the smooth wooden coffee table. The list, which carried the envy of countless people, was smoothly slid forward and stopped right in the center of the coffee table, back to the side of the dean of academic affairs.

The smile on the Dean of Academic Affairs' face froze. He glanced at the document, then looked at Zhao Shuyao, and involuntarily leaned forward a little.

"What's wrong?" the Dean of Academic Affairs asked tentatively, a hint of hesitation in his voice. "Shuyao, is there something you're worried about regarding the departmental assignment? Or perhaps..."

He paused for a moment, glanced at Dean Xu beside him, and seemed to be guessing whether the young man wanted to take the opportunity to make exorbitant demands for more research start-up funding or more special treatment.

"Are there any specific requirements?" Dean Xu quickly replied, his tone still gentle but with a touch of official rigor. "Shuyao, we understand that you've been wronged and are upset."

"As long as it's within the school's policy limits and not too excessive, the school will try its best to accommodate you. This is also compensation for you being affected by this incident for no reason."

Zhao Shuyao withdrew his hand and leaned back against the sofa.

"Dean Xu, Director Liu," Zhao Shuyao looked at the two men, a relaxed smile playing on his lips. "You two have misunderstood. It's not that I, Zhao Shuyao, am ungrateful or dissatisfied with the treatment, but I really cannot sign this list."

Xu Dongming frowned. Having been in charge of the School of Humanities for many years, he was used to seeing people fighting tooth and nail for a promotion. This move of pushing away a secure job was beyond his experience.

"Why?" Xu Dongming's voice unconsciously rose half a tone. "Shuyao, you're a third-year graduate student now. After this summer, you'll be entering the workforce. Your hometown is in the south, and your parents are both working away from home. It wasn't easy for them to support your studies. Don't you understand what a stable job means now?"

He pointed to the document and added earnestly, "Besides, this is something you deserve. Your grades and your thesis—do any of them disqualify you from this opportunity? It's not a smart thing to act childishly at this point."

Zhao Shuyao was about to speak.

The vice principal, who had been sitting in the middle without saying a word, suddenly raised his hand. The movement was very light, but it carried an absolute sense of pressure, and Xu Dongming immediately shut his mouth.

The vice principal took off his glasses, took out a piece of velvet cloth and slowly wiped them, his gaze passing over the top of the frame where the lenses were no longer obscuring his eyes, looking directly at Zhao Shuyao.

"Old Xu, don't be anxious." The vice principal's voice was calm, without a trace of emotion. "Let Shuyao finish speaking. Since he's sitting here today and has pushed this document back, he must have his reasons."

The vice principal put his glasses back on and leaned back slightly. "Tell me, why don't you want to?"

Three pairs of eyes simultaneously focused on Zhao Shuyao.

Zhao Shuyao picked up the celadon teacup in front of him, took a small sip, and moistened his throat, which had become dry from the long negotiation.

Put down the teacup, interlace your fingers, and place your hands on your knees.

"Boss, since you've spoken, I'll be frank." Zhao Shuyao's casual smile faded, his expression becoming extremely solemn, but his tone remained steady. "I am very aware of the weight of this job, and I do need it very much, but precisely because I know how heavy it is, I cannot reach out and accept it."

"You two just said that this is what I deserve." Zhao Shuyao glanced at Dean Xu. "That's right. If it were before the lecture incident, I would never have refused. But today, the situation has changed."

"What has changed?" the Dean of Academic Affairs pressed.

"The nature of the matter has changed." Zhao Shuyao looked directly at the director of the academic affairs office. "If I sign this list today, and this matter gets out tomorrow, the trending search terms for Dongda University online will immediately change from 'seeking truth from facts' to 'distribution based on who makes the most noise'."

The dean of academic affairs was taken aback, opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"I have over a million followers across the internet right now." Zhao Shuyao's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm and resonant, each word striking the soundproof wall of the conference room clearly. "They support me because I stood up and spoke the truth, because I maintained the dignity that a scholar should have in the face of capital and academic cliques."

Zhao Shuyao shook his head: "If I were to denounce the hypocrisy of those who benefit from the system in a live broadcast one minute, and then use the online buzz as leverage to exchange for a secure job at the school the next, then what would be the difference between me and Yan Jianhui and his group?"

Xu Dongming's lips moved slightly: "But this was already an irregular operation by Assistant Li..."

"Others won't see it that way." Zhao Shuyao cut Xu Dongming off directly. This was a display of uncompromising sharpness between intellectuals. "The public will only see the result, and the result is that a student, by inciting emotions online, not only escaped punishment but also forced the century-old university to bow its head and provide him with a job with a permanent position."

The meeting room fell silent again.

Zhao Shuyao raised his hand and gently tapped his index finger on the left side of his gray hoodie, where a red badge that had broken the hearts of countless netizens during yesterday's live stream was located.

"Dear leaders, I pointed at it during yesterday's live broadcast and said some things. Those words weren't just pretty words to gain fame or attention; they were my bottom line." Zhao Shuyao's eyes were clear and without any impurities. "I can't wear it and then use public resources for personal gain. I can't live with myself on that level."

The vice principal unconsciously sat up straight. He originally thought that the student was just proud and wanted to take the opportunity to show off, but he never expected that the other party's perspective on the issue was not simply a matter of personal gain or loss.

Looking at the expressions of the three people, Zhao Shuyao knew that the breakthrough point in their thinking had been formed, and he needed to push this idea further and solidify it completely.

"Besides that, I'm even more afraid of setting an extremely bad precedent."

Zhao Shuyao leaned forward slightly, beginning to display his forward-thinking logic that transcended the understanding of this era: "We are now in the mobile internet age, and the speed at which information spreads is terrifying."

"I was able to win this time because I had irrefutable evidence and was in the right. But the two leaders might consider what kind of example this would set for society and future students if I actually accepted this benefit today?"

The dean of academic affairs instinctively asked, "What demonstration?"

"Path dependence." Zhao Shuyao uttered four words, his tone turning extremely cold. "I'm blatantly telling everyone—as long as you know how to use online public opinion, as long as you can stir up netizens' emotions to put pressure on management, you can get all the benefits you want."

He curled his fingers and tapped the table: "If this kind of atmosphere develops, then if anything happens at school in the future, whether it's justified, unreasonable, or someone with ulterior motives, their first reaction won't be to solve the problem through normal channels."

"Instead, they'll just set up their phones and start live streaming, writing long posts to incite online bullying. At that point, not only will the University of Tokyo be devastated, but the entire social order will be riddled with holes by this extreme backlash from online traffic."

Zhao Shuyao leaned back on the sofa, spread his hands, and gave his final conclusion.

"This is not what I, Zhao Shuyao, want to see."

"Therefore, I suggest that this spot be returned to the college's pool of available spots and reserved for students in the school who need it more than I do and who have not been involved in this controversy. Even if I really go back to farming in the future, I absolutely cannot set this bad precedent."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the conference room seemed to be completely reshuffled.

The smooth, bureaucratic feeling of "keeping the peace" that I had just experienced was completely swept away, replaced by an extremely rare and solemn atmosphere that was hard to look at directly.

Xu Dongming stiffly removed his fingers from the purple clay teapot. He stared intently at the young man opposite him, his expression shifting from confusion to shock, and finally to an undisguised sense of shame.

As a dean who has spent half his life in the ivory tower, he teaches his students every day to have the world in mind, but when faced with a real problem, his first reaction is still to spend money to avoid trouble and exchange benefits.

On the contrary, the young man in front of them, whose future was almost ruined by them, thought of "the school's reputation" and "the social atmosphere" when faced with temptation.

The dean of academic affairs took a deep breath. He suddenly felt that the farm boy in front of him, dressed in an ordinary hoodie, was much taller and bigger than himself, the dean who sat in an office.

The vice principal let out a long sigh of relief.

He didn't touch the document again, but slowly stood up, a movement that made Xu Dongming and the Dean of Academic Affairs stand up immediately as well.

The vice principal walked around the coffee table and stood in front of Zhao Shuyao. Zhao Shuyao immediately stood up, maintaining the demeanor of a junior.

The vice principal reached out and firmly grasped Zhao Shuyao's right hand.

"Shuyao." The vice principal's voice was no longer the steady, official tone from before, but rather conveyed a genuine emotion and appreciation. "I called you here today with the intention of giving you some compensation and calming you down, but I never expected that it would be you who gave us old folks such a profound lesson in ideology."

The vice-principal patted Zhao Shuyao's hand: "It is a source of pride for Dongda University to have a student like you. It is also a failure of our management to have failed to discover such a promising talent as you. This is our dereliction of duty and our regret."

Zhao Shuyao smiled, his tone regaining its humorous ease: "Principal, please stop praising me. If you keep praising me, I'm afraid I might get excited and really regret taking this list. I had to put in a lot of effort to suppress my worldly desires."

This perfectly timed self-deprecating remark instantly melted away the tense atmosphere in the meeting room. Xu Dongming and the Dean of Academic Affairs couldn't help but laugh out loud, their admiration for the young man deepening even further.