Huayu, my cheat code is a bit strange.

Chapter 4 Slacking off
After the self-introduction ended, the examiners nodded secretly.

Huo Xuan subtly adjusted her posture and said:

"Begin your recitation."

Gu Xiao glanced at the examiners, took out her manuscript, and calmly began to speak:

"After I came north, he wrote me a letter, in which he said: 'I am in good health, but my arm is in great pain, making it very inconvenient to lift chopsticks or write. My time is probably not far off.'"

He paused for a moment, reflecting on his past life, before slowly continuing with the final narrative:

"As I read this, through my glistening tears, I saw again that plump figure in a blue cotton robe and black cotton jacket."

Indeed, the text he chose was Zhu Ziqing's "The Back View," which everyone present was familiar with.

Gu Xiao, who has extensive job-seeking experience, understands the principle that "no mistakes are a virtue."

More important than being eye-catching is stability.

When the sound faded, the classroom fell silent.

There was no exaggerated grief, no deliberately crafted sobbing; he simply spoke calmly and gently.
The examiners exchanged a glance.

The chief examiner, Huo Xuan, sitting in the center, relaxed his serious expression slightly.

"That's enough." Huo Xuan raised her hand, gently interrupting the recitation.

Gu Xiao immediately fell silent, put away the manuscript, and bowed slightly: "Thank you, teacher."

His response was swift and decisive, without any hesitation, which drew a second glance from the male examiner wearing square glasses.

……

……

The process continued, and after the last candidate finished reciting, the group skit segment began.

The question given by the examiner was "The Vegetable Market".

The dozen or so candidates were quickly divided into two groups, with Gu Xiao's group consisting of eight people.

In the brief few dozen seconds of preparation time, the scene instantly descended into chaos.

"I'll play the customer."

"I'm an auntie who sells vegetables."

"We should design a conflict."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiao didn't say anything, but her heart began to pound.

He didn't think a group of strangers could devise a plausible conflict in a minute; they weren't professional actors after all.

After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke:

"Let's have a thief; that'll definitely grab attention. Whether he gets caught or escapes, it'll enrich the story."

Everyone's eyes lit up, but before they could even applaud, one of the tall, thin boys instinctively retorted:
"Who's playing the thief? You?"

He deliberately raised his voice, his gaze sweeping over Gu Xiao with undisguised provocation.

The air suddenly became stagnant.

The other candidates looked at each other, some frowned, some lowered their heads, and some quietly took a half step back—no one wanted to cause trouble at this critical juncture.

Gu Xiao showed no anger whatsoever; instead, she nodded slightly and said in a calm tone:
"If you're interested, you can come."

The tall, thin boy was stunned.

He hadn't expected Gu Xiao to react this way, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. His face flushed slightly, and in the end he could only force out a sentence:
"Who would want to play this kind of role!"

Gu Xiao shook her head slightly in her heart.

Being able to recognize that fellow art students are competitors and thus choose to suppress them is a wise move, but ultimately, they are too young and too thin-skinned.

In this situation, if you can stubbornly persist to the end, it will actually show your courage and let the examiner see your determination and desire to perform.

Pity.

Actually, he genuinely didn't care. As an "outsider" who never intended to pass the exam, he didn't care what role he played. His interruptions were simply because he didn't want to make things too awkward and embarrass the transmigrator.

"Since no one else is willing, then I'll do it."

Gu Xiao stopped looking at him and turned to the others, speaking faster, "Let's briefly go over the process. There's a vegetable stall at the market entrance, an auntie is selling vegetables, and a few customers are picking them out. I just walked through the crowd and casually picked something up."

A minute passed quickly, and with the examiner's command, the skit officially began.

"Fresh Chinese cabbage, only two cents a pound!"

Tomatoes on sale at a low price!

The boys started enthusiastically hawking their wares, quickly creating the hustle and bustle of the "market." Several "customers" began picking and choosing items at the non-existent stalls, their movements exaggerated and hollow due to their nervousness.

Gu Xiao retreated to the corner of the classroom, slightly hunching her back, her eyes calm and not deliberately trying to feign panic.

Pretending to know what you don't is a big no-no; if you can't perform, you can't perform.

From the moment he decided to participate in the art exam, he set the tone for the group skit—more action, less eye contact.

Gu Xiao's gaze quickly swept over the "stalls" and "pedestrians," finally settling on a "female customer" who was engrossed in selecting vegetables.

Just then, a "pedestrian" crossed between the female customer and the stall, creating a brief blind spot.

Gu Xiao moved.

Like a slippery eel, he approached lightly, his right index and middle fingers seemingly casually hooking and tugging at the zipper of the female customer's backpack. Then, with a flick of his wrist, a virtual "wallet" was held between his fingers.

The whole process was lightning fast, without the slightest delay.

"My wallet!"

A gasp rang out at just the right moment; it was from the female customer who had been patronized. Her face was filled with panic, though her movements were slightly distorted.

The market instantly erupted in chaos.

"There's a thief!"

"catch him!"

"Don't let him get away!"

Gu Xiao showed no reaction whatsoever, simply walking away with her head down until she left the stage.
The candidates stared at each other in disbelief, but the skit continued, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and move on.

The examiners were writing on paper with their heads down, the pens scratching softly.

Huo Xuan's gaze lingered on Gu Xiao for a moment, her expression somewhat strange.

He had seen confident candidates, but even more insecure and stage-frightened ones. However, someone so blatantly "slacking off" at the art exam was truly unique in all these years.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed the little guy's features were quite delicate. He suppressed a laugh and circled Gu Xiao's name.

……

……

Stepping out of the teaching building, the afternoon sun was a bit too bright.

Gu Xiao subconsciously reached into her pocket to fumble for her phone, but her fingertips only touched a few banknotes.

He sighed softly.

Everyone longs to travel through time, but once they actually do, they find it impossible to truly integrate.

Suppressing his distracting thoughts, Gu Xiao took out two twenty-yuan bills and three ten-yuan bills from his pocket.

Including the three hundred yuan hidden in the drawer of the room, this is all the funds that can be allocated at present.

In an era when a jianbing (Chinese crepe) costs only 1.5 yuan and a KFC meal is no more than 20 yuan, 370 yuan is a considerable sum of money. However, to use it as start-up capital to unlock the wealth of memories is nothing short of a pipe dream.

Looking at the art students coming and going on campus, Gu Xiao already had a general idea of ​​how to use the funds, but there was something more important to do right now.

I walked out of the school gate and hailed a taxi.

Gu Xiao said to the driver:
"Go to the flower and bird market."

(End of this chapter)