Chapter 004: Mutual Praise in Business
This group interview was neither particularly difficult nor exactly easy.
When Lin Luyou and the other nine candidates were led into the conference room, they saw that three examiners were already seated at the head of the table. Among them, the one sitting on the right was immediately recognizable to Lin Luyou—it was the same examiner from her first-round interview.
Throughout the entire interview, Lin Luyou felt as if she was simply not "in the zone." It wasn’t that she performed poorly, but everything that had just happened seemed to pass in a blur, unreal and fleeting. By the time she regained her senses, she realized she had already left the conference room and returned to the waiting hall.
“Hi, hello.” Lin Luyou was still in a daze when someone gently tapped her on the shoulder.
“Oh, hello, hi.” Her voice offered a friendly greeting before her mind had even caught up.
As her awareness gradually returned, she realized that the person who had stopped her was the formidable rival from the interview just now.
That girl was Candidate Number 5. During the interview, whenever the examiners didn’t specify an order, she was always the first to raise her hand and answer. Despite speaking first, her responses were always exceptionally clear and well-organized. Lin Luyou tried to find loopholes in her statements, but to her own surprise, she kept agreeing with the girl’s points and couldn’t find a single counterargument.
When it was her own turn to speak, the girl would always spot the immaturities in her reasoning. Although Lin Luyou managed to recover and round out her answers, compared to her, the difference was clear as day.
“You did really well just now,” Chen Man was the first to show her goodwill. “Let’s introduce ourselves properly! My name is Chen Man, and I’m majoring in Marketing at University B.”
“I’m Lin Luyou. So you’re from University B! What a coincidence.” Lin Luyou smiled, her eyes narrowing into crescents and two dimples appearing on her cheeks. “My school is right across from yours—University A. I’m studying Finance.”
As expected, when Chen Man heard Lin Luyou’s major, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes. “No wonder! A top student from University A’s Finance Department. You were really impressive just now!”
“Not at all,” Lin Luyou replied, equally surprised. She hadn’t expected the most outstanding candidate, Chen Man, to offer her such praise. “You’re the impressive one! A few of your questions almost left me stumped...”
“Really? I didn’t notice at all, haha.” Chen Man adjusted the strap of her backpack as she spoke. “Anyway, there aren’t any standard answers in these interviews. As long as we can justify our points and keep our logic sound, we’re fine.”
Chen Man had already participated in several campus recruitment interviews at major internet companies, and with a relevant major, she handled this kind of group interview with ease. Lin Luyou, on the other hand, was still in the process of accumulating her interview skills. In comparison, Chen Man’s performance was much more natural.
The two chatted for a while. Seeing that Yu Yuan hadn’t come out yet, Lin Luyou turned to Chen Man and asked about her plans for the rest of the day.
“Did you come with friends today? Are you going to stay here and wait?”
“No, I already have plans for tonight,” Chen Man smiled, declining.
After Chen Man left, Lin Luyou let out a long breath, her whole body suddenly slumping.
Exhausted. This kind of commercial flattery really isn’t for me.
She glanced around but didn’t see any sign of Yu Yuan. After hesitating for a moment, she messaged her a quick goodbye and, slinging her backpack over her shoulder, headed towards Zhen Hao’s company.