The Client

Once past the college gate, Chen Chuan followed the flow of people and the directional signs. At every corner stood an assistant teacher guiding the crowd, trailed by two students, with campus security guards keeping a vigilant watch. He had already been notified earlier that this re-examination would take place at the same venue as the initial entrance test: four old instructional buildings set side by side. He just didn't know which specific examination room he would be assigned to. Before long, the examinees arrived at the entrance passageway in front of the old buildings. The assistant teachers here required every student to recite their examinee card number, cross-checking it against their roster sheets before directing them to their respective exam rooms. After reciting his number, Chen Chuan learned that he had been assigned to Exam Room Four. At the same time, he was handed a number tag inscribed by hand: "Number 421." He had gathered beforehand that there might be as many as two thousand applicants this year. Following that logic, each exam room would roughly accommodate around five hundred students. If the numbering was based on individual rooms, his turn looked to be rather far back. The two sets of double doors leading into the examination room were propped wide open, allowing entry without the need to queue. Stepping inside, one was met with the sharp scent of disinfectant. The floors had been mopped spotlessly clean, and the originally open training floor was now lined with rows of back-to-back benches. The curtains that usually hung closed had all been pulled back, offering a clear view of the outside. A female teacher standing by the main doors announced, "Male students sit on the teal seats; female students sit on the vermilion seats. Choose your own spots, do not fight or scramble. The exam sequence is not determined by seating order." Chen Chuan chose a seat slightly deeper inside and sat down. He figured it wouldn't be his turn anytime soon, and sitting near the doors where people constantly came and went was far too inconvenient. The applicants streaming in one after another also settled into their seats. As more and more took their places, soft murmurs of conversation began to drift up around the hall. He caught snippets of various dialects from the surrounding counties and towns. Yet whether they were from Yangzhi City proper or the outlying towns, they basically shared one thing in common: they were all students of commoner origins, every single one carrying the dream of breaking past social boundaries to test here. A shadow shifted beside him as an applicant roughly his age took a seat nearby. Once seated, however, the youth seemed somewhat nervous. He turned sideways and offered a hand in greeting. "Hello, my name is Fang Zhiming." Chen Chuan nodded in return. "Chen Chuan." "Student Chen, I'm Number 398. What about you?" Chen Chuan held up his number tag for him to see. "Number 421." A look of delight crossed Student Fang's face. "Hey, our numbers are pretty close!" Chen Chuan nodded, though it was only natural—those with higher numbers would instinctively choose seats further inside. By now, all the examinees had entered, and the two main doors were shut tight. Chen Chuan surveyed the hall. The seats were packed to the brim. Practically no one who qualified for the college ever gave up on the re-examination. Passing or failing made a world of difference in the treatment one received, and only by passing could one climb to greater heights. Even if an applicant lacked the strength, nothing stopped them from giving it a shot—who knew if good luck might carry them through? He scanned the crowd a few times but saw no sign of Wei Dong. He was likely assigned to a different exam room. Just then, the female teacher who had been standing by the door stepped forward before everyone. Her complexion was slightly dark and her features ordinary, but her braided hair was glossy black. When she walked, she was light and agile, barely making a sound. She simply stood there regarding the crowd, an indescribable imposing presence in her gaze and expression. Though she hadn't uttered a word, the examinees below felt an invisible pressure settle over them, and the room quietly fell silent on its own. Seeing that everyone had quieted down, she spoke with utmost gravity: "The rules of the examination were already detailed in the materials given to you days ago. I will reiterate them once more: within this exam room, no loud clamoring, no causing trouble, and no wandering about as you please. "From the moment you enter the waiting area until the examination concludes, you are not permitted to leave the room without permission. Any violator caught will be immediately disqualified from the examination, and in severe cases, your student status will be revoked alongside it." The room went so silent that a dropped pin would have been heard. The female teacher paused for a moment before continuing, "All examinees will wait here for now. Hold onto your number tags. When your name is called, report to the testing station." The crowd of applicants could only wait patiently. Yet this wait stretched on for more than three hours. When ten o'clock came and went, the testing still hadn't begun. Chen Chuan couldn't help thinking, *Is this an intentional arrangement, or is there another reason?* Around the same time, at the Grand Auditorium, six teachers in charge of the college examinations—including Master Gao of the Admissions Preparation Office, Yue Hong, and Bian Feng—were waiting before the front steps. A black Junbie luxury car drove through the outer gates and pulled up right before the Grand Auditorium. A middle-aged man in his forties with a narrow face stepped out, clad in an imported black formal suit, his hair slicked back with pomade, and his hands encased in dark gray gloves. Master Gao said, "Commissioner Jiang, we have been waiting for quite some time." Commissioner Jiang replied, "Oh? I'm not late, am I?" A teacher surnamed Ning responsible for liaison quickly chimed in, "Right on the appointed time. Commissioner Jiang is very punctual." Commissioner Jiang said, "Good then. Shall we begin now?" "Very well. Please sign, Commissioner Jiang." Teacher Ning hurriedly handed over the documents prepared in his hands. An assistant beside Commissioner Jiang stepped forward to take them, then laid them out before him. Commissioner Jiang was an external party hired by the College Council to oversee the college's external admissions evaluations. The re-examination could not proceed without his presence and signature. By now, however, this role leaned far more toward serving as a representative for the financial benefactors, exercising authority on their behalf. Seeing two sheets inside the folder, he noted that the top one was the applicant roster for the entrance examination over at the old buildings, while the lower one was the roster for the recommended students here at the Grand Auditorium. Without so much as a glance, he set the top sheet aside and picked up the roster for the recommended students, scanning it carefully. Looking up, he asked, "Are all the applicants for the Grand Auditorium here?" Teacher Ning said, "They all arrived five minutes ago." Commissioner Jiang said, "Then let's test the recommended students first. There ought to be a sense of order, first come, first served. Besides, there aren't many of them; testing them won't take much time at all." With that, he took the pen his assistant offered, quickly signed his name on the roster, and capped the pen immediately after, leaving the second list untouched where it lay. Teacher Ning looked at him, hesitating to speak. Master Gao offered no objection, simply saying, "Then let us make the most of the time." Commissioner Jiang said, "Good, we mustn't keep the students waiting." He raised his wrist to check his watch. "It is a quarter past ten now. I ask that the teachers and students serving as examiners show diligence and responsibility. Let us try to wrap this up within the hour." Inside the reception hall of the Grand Auditorium, dozens of recommended students were gathered in the brightly lit room. They sat on sofas as the refreshing aroma of tea drifted from white porcelain cups on the tables. In the corner, a phonograph played soothing, melodious music, while the attendants they had brought along stepped forward from time to time to pour tea and refill water. An upperclassman dispatched by the college was keeping them company, someone who had naturally entered through recommendation himself. After waiting for a dozen or so minutes, the recommended students grew bored. One of them asked, "Senior Jiang, I hear there are a lot of students admitted to Wuyi this year?" Senior Jiang replied, "With the enrollment expansion, there are naturally more with every passing year." "Then there must be quite a few students accepting funding from the Mutual Aid Society this year, right?" Senior Jiang chuckled. "That comes down to personal choice. We never force anyone." The student raised an eyebrow. "What, there are people who actually refuse?" Senior Jiang gave a faint smile. "That's fairly normal. Those unwilling to accept it simply show they have the confidence to pass the re-examination on their own. That's a good thing—one ought to rely on oneself. Just so long as they don't complain when the time comes." Right then, another applicant grumbled impatiently, "Why is this taking so long? Isn't it just going through the motions? What time is it already?" Footsteps sounded outside the reception hall, and a person who looked like a college administrator walked in. Looking across the room, he said with a smile, "Examinees, the re-examination will now commence. Please enter the testing stations in order according to your numbers." A total of six testing booths had been set up here at the Grand Auditorium. Once the exam's start was confirmed, assistant teachers began calling numbers. One applicant seemed somewhat distracted and didn't notice when his number was called. The attendant behind him hurriedly nudged him: "Young Master, it's your turn." The applicant complained under his breath, "What a hassle." He stood from his seat and followed the corridor inside, but after barely five minutes, he strode right back out. Someone asked curiously, "Xiao Ran, how did it go?" Xiao Ran shook his head dismissively. "How else could it go? It ended before I even warmed up." Someone joked, "Look at you, all that pent-up energy. How about we go 'hunting' later?" Xiao Ran's eyes lit up. "Sounds like a plan." The recommended students were soon called in subsequent batches. They went in one by one and emerged just as quickly. In about three-quarters of an hour, all the evaluations were finished, though tidying and sorting through the subsequent paperwork took another half hour. Seeing that things were mostly wrapped up, Teacher Ning approached Commissioner Jiang once more. "Commissioner Jiang, the evaluations here are complete. Can the admissions testing over at the old instructional buildings begin now?" Commissioner Jiang glanced at his watch. "It's nearly noon already. Let's go get lunch first." Teacher Ning pressed, "Commissioner Jiang, look, there are so many applicants waiting over there. They've been there since early this morning..." "What of it?" Commissioner Jiang said with feigned surprise, "Have Wuyi's applicants lost even this shred of patience? What we are testing isn't just their martial prowess, after all." "This..." Master Gao cut in decisively from the side: "Ning Guo, Yue Hong, accompany Commissioner Jiang to lunch." "Very well." Teacher Ning and Yue Hong had no choice but to comply. Once Commissioner Jiang had departed with his entourage, another teacher said, "Master Gao, this is..." Master Gao said, "Don't come crying to me. That client was sent by those people specifically to disgust us. Just do your own jobs." Bian Feng said, "But so many applicants are waiting." Master Gao cast a sideways glance at him. "What's wrong with waiting a little? There's one thing he didn't get wrong: have Wuyi's applicants truly lost even that much patience? If they can't wait, they can head home early. No one's stopping them."