Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

October 25th.

Magic City's temperature has dipped below ten degrees, accompanied by a persistent drizzle.

Today was supposed to be the long-anticipated campus recruitment day for Tengying Group.

Yet, for reasons unknown to all, Tengying Group unceremoniously postponed the event by a month.

Now set to occur in November.

This unexpected delay has led to widespread disappointment among the well-prepared students of Financial University.

Isn't the schedule for major corporations' campus recruitment fairs set well in advance by their HR departments?

Why such an abrupt change?

Not only was Tengying's recruitment fair canceled, but Professor Chen has also been absent from the school for several days.

Unlike others, Lin Qiunan had certainly figured out Professor Chen's true identity.

But all she could do was keep her lips sealed, because even if she told anyone, it's doubtful many would believe it.

The Tengying Group's big boss, it turns out, has been teaching at their school.

And she had even attended one of his lectures, which she didn't find particularly impressive.

Thinking back, perhaps it was because he was on such a different level.

It wasn't the scholarly type, full of eloquent prose and literary references, but rather an everyday language that even elementary school students could easily understand.

Her current dilemma is indescribable; who wouldn't feel upset being seen at their most vulnerable?

But what could she do?

Being beautiful was nothing more than her foot in the door; her true origins were always in a small rural town.

Her parents had spent hundreds of thousands for her to complete university, and her sister had started working in a factory from a young age.

The constant message through phone calls was: study hard.

There was a year she visited her sister, stuck in the monotonous routine of daily life.

Working over a dozen hours a day for a meager four to five thousand yuan a month.

Performing a dull, repetitive task that required no thought, akin to a machine's work.

With no prospects and no hope for a raise or promotion, there was only an endless consumption of life.

Consumption—that's the terrifying part.

Such work slowly erodes a person's soul, their dreams, or any hope for the future.

Anyway, she couldn't let that happen to her.

Not even if it killed her.

So she studied desperately, striving tirelessly.

But laughably, many of her seniors, one or two years ahead, who had also worked hard, ended up in the same mundane jobs.

Whether delivering takeout or working as real estate agents.

Did they even need a university diploma for that? A junior high school education would suffice.

So when the Tengying Selection Group appeared, she wrestled with it for three nights.

In the end, she decided to give it a shot.

For a woman like her, when academic credentials couldn't open the doors of a large corporation,

All that was left were her looks and her body.

Reluctantly realistic.

She just didn't want to disappoint her parents or her sister any further.

Lin Qiunan didn't think she was wrong; it was the soul-eating corporations and the system that were to blame.

Why after so many hard-fought years of study, she couldn't even find a decent job.

What good were the multitude of college degrees if all those after her were like those high-school classmates who just wanted to sleep with her?

Afterward, they might buy her a couple of expensive gifts.

Then it was on to the next hunt.

And women like her would be left alone in a corner, their beauty wilting as they cry and grieve.

If that was the case, why couldn't she use her body as a weapon?

To sleep with those who could really help her, who could provide her with value, for a couple of days.

It wasn't just her thinking this; Han Ya, Jiang Yilan's gorgeous friend, likely thought the same.

Only Jiang Yilan herself had no desire to remain in Magic City, naturally, she wouldn't join such a Tengying selection group.

And she went.

The answer lies in that she was personally arranged to be there by someone.

The purpose was to investigate how many were involved behind the scenes of this affair.

Lin Qiunan found it all rather ironic.

She had been ready to sacrifice herself, but those big shots who demanded her sacrifice,

They're probably powerless to save themselves now, trembling with fear.

And instead of successfully offering herself, she was tossed aside like a clown.

The reality is absurd and ironic.

Perhaps at this moment, she could only find common ground with Jiang Yilan's friend.

After all, their situations were practically identical.

As for Jiang Yilan herself, she was dragged back to the dorm by her friend, and Lin Qiunan was now there too.

Under their relentless questioning, she admitted that she had been placed there by Professor Chen.

But she also had no clue about Professor Chen's identity beforehand.

Even now, her little head hadn't connected him with the big boss of Tengying Group.

"It's really helpless, you know. Once that Professor Chen arrives, how are we going to face him, let alone ask him to give us another fair job interview opportunity?"

As she spoke, tears unconsciously fell from the corners of her eyes.

Jiang Yilan's friend Han Ya was probably feeling the same way as Lin Qiunan at this moment.

"It's not us who should feel ashamed; it's he himself," Lin Qiunan said through gritted teeth.

"If this path is blocked, then we can only rely on job interviews."

Job interviews?

Easier said than done.

Tengying Group was looking to hire a thousand new graduates this year.

If it were just their school, they would probably stand a good chance of getting hired.

There would be no need to compromise their dignity by tapping on doors.

But in reality, the group was recruiting nationwide.

Just think of how many 985 and 211 universities there are across the country!

Every year, more than ten million students graduate from college, and they were just one of those millions.

A one in ten thousand chance. Any mature person wouldn't bank on a sure hire.

Securing just one job was already this difficult.

Yet they were graduates from Magic City who had fought through the grueling gauntlet of college entrance examination that took years of their lives.

The deafening countdown to the college entrance exam their senior year teacher mentioned still echoed in their ears.

"Fate lies right before you."

"Overcome it, and there's light ahead."

"Studying changes fate. If you don't endure the hardship of studying today, you'll suffer the hardships of life tomorrow."

They had endured the hardships of studying, and now, when it was time to face life's hardships.

Why haven't they broken through to that so-called road of light?

Perhaps life is just a constant stream of doubts.

...

Magic City, Tengying headquarters.

A major incident had occurred, something all the senior executives were acutely aware of.

Upon the boss's return, he didn't speak a word but went to the top floor of the headquarters building and started summoning people one by one.

Now, it was finally the turn of his childhood friend, his "brother" Gao Hu.

"Old Gao, we've been brothers for decades. I never said anything about you fooling around with flight attendants before. I thought it was just your interest and hobby. It didn't interfere with the group's development, so there was no need to manage. But today, you've lost that reverence for yourself and for the group."

When Gao Hu first heard the news, he realized it was serious.

But he believed that, as Chen Pingsheng's brother for so many years, it wouldn't come down too hard on him.

At worst, he'd be fined a bit more and then offer a sincere apology.

Then a notice would be sent from the group informing everyone such things are unacceptable.

However, when he spoke with Chang Fu on the phone, all he got was three minutes of silence.

Then he was told to resign on his own initiative.

Was the situation really that severe?

Did it have to go that far to get resolved?

Gao Hu, still smiling as ever, said, "Old Chen, it's true that I was wrong, but isn't it just that I didn't manage that bit of male nature?"

"Yes, you just failed to manage your nature, but made a bunch of small-town rural girls, who worked hard for a decade or even twenty years, begin to doubt their lives."

Chen Pingsheng said, "Sometimes, being in our position, what we fear most is losing that reverence and the heartfelt understanding of ordinary people. Try to consider it from another angle. If your daughter had worked hard for more than a decade, only to have to find a job in such a way upon graduation, what would you, as a parent, think?"

Gao Hu responded, "It's not just me who does this!"

"Indeed, many people do. I can't control other people's companies, but in my own company, this just cannot happen."

Chen Pingsheng said, "Because I have two daughters, I need to set an example for them, and tell them that a large enterprise must undertake certain social responsibilities, which must not be undermined by anyone, especially not by means unknown to me."

The discussion had reached a point where it was irreversible.

Although Gao Hu was reluctant, he knew what he had to do.

Rather than letting Chen Pingsheng utter those final relationship-damaging words, it was better for him to take the initiative.

This way, he could retain a sliver of dignity and salvage some semblance of brotherhood.

It's easy to conquer a land.

But it is truly difficult to hold on to it.

Even Chen Pingsheng had to constantly remind himself not to be arrogant or inflated.

To be low-key, to be a responsible and good boss.

Gao Hu had caused such a situation, and the only thing Chen Pingsheng could do was to prevent it from reaching Xiao Danchun's ears.

This time, it wasn't just Gao Hu who would leave Tengying Group. Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

It would be a whole group of veteran employees who had fought with Tengying.

This made Chen Pingsheng painfully aware that a storm that would transform the entire group.

Was about to arrive.

And with the coming of this storm, countless people who had conquered territories with him and Tengying Group.

Would have to leave Tengying.