“Tsk... why are you so honest? If you go to the typing and copying office and give them ten yuan, they can make you several certificates of honor... As long as your diploma isn’t fake, who cares about the rest? It doesn’t matter for finding an internship now, but if you’re looking for a job in the future, you’ll be losing at the starting line.” Shawn Lawrence raised an eyebrow and said seriously.

“Isn’t that cheating?” Emily Thompson put her hand to her mouth and whispered to Shawn Lawrence, looking troubled. The two of them seemed to have gotten a bit closer, and anyone who didn’t know better would think they were a couple sharing secrets.

“If no one else cares, why should you? These days, even university professors plagiarize and fake their diplomas. For us undergrads, doing this doesn’t cause any psychological pressure at all. Do you know what career success means? The only standard is how many people you can fool and how many you can talk into believing you, and ultimately, how much salary you can talk into your own pocket...” Shawn Lawrence leaned in and spoke quietly, while Emily Thompson bit her lip, giggling.

After a while, Emily Thompson realized that this senior’s job-hunting experience was far from ordinary. He could describe most positions in detail, like what a cosmetics company’s sales department manager actually does. The base salary of several thousand yuan sounds tempting, but don’t believe it—when you sign the contract, it’s a responsibility-based salary tied to sales. Not even the old employees can sell those overpriced, unknown products, let alone newcomers. Or those so-called senior clerks at small and medium-sized consulting firms—don’t believe that either. You’ll just be wiping tables, organizing files, and running errands. At best, if you’re pretty, you’ll stand at the reception desk, but you won’t learn anything. As for sales representatives, regional sales managers, or business supervisors—don’t believe any of it. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Even at the best companies, you have to start from the bottom, and those slightly better companies don’t even want to hire newbies, let alone interns. So, Shawn Lawrence advised Emily Thompson to look for a more reliable job, preferably one that deals directly with customers. After all, as a marketing major, you should at least get some experience with buying and selling, right?

This matched Emily Thompson’s own thinking quite well. As they chatted, they made their way through more than half the job fair booths. When they reached the Jiahe Supermarket chain’s booth in the northeast corner, they almost simultaneously exchanged a glance. Shawn Lawrence widened his eyes as if asking for her opinion, and Emily Thompson nodded in agreement. This was a low-barrier, reasonably paid job, more suitable for part-time work while in school. But it was definitely going to be tough. Seeing Emily Thompson nodding so earnestly, Shawn Lawrence reminded her, “Be mentally prepared—this is hard work.”

“It’s fine, better than just sitting around.” Emily Thompson whispered. Seeing Shawn Lawrence stretching his neck, ready to pull his old trick again, she instinctively tugged on Shawn Lawrence’s sleeve to stop him: “Wait...”

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to go?” Shawn Lawrence asked in surprise.

“No, I mean, you’re about to shout again... ‘Whose phone is missing?’” Emily Thompson laughed—it was pretty funny. As she laughed, Shawn Lawrence’s eyes narrowed into slits as he grinned, nodding toward the booth. And sure enough, it wasn’t just the two of them who knew this job had a high success rate; there was a crowd of guys and girls jostling to hand in their resumes. The supermarket was hiring a lot—just for promoters, they needed two hundred people. Four or five recruiters behind the booth were busy collecting resumes and interviewing applicants.

Taking in the scene, Emily Thompson didn’t feel nervous anymore, just found it a bit funny and whispered to Shawn Lawrence, “You really have no creativity, do you? You can’t just use the same trick all morning, right?”

“I’d like to be creative too, but it depends on the situation... Look at these people—most of them are broke students. Besides their phones, what else do they have that’s valuable? If I shout anything else, no one would believe me... Watch this... Hey... whose phone is missing...”

Shawn Lawrence joked around, stretched his neck, and shouted again. Emily Thompson saw something and nervously tugged at Shawn Lawrence, trying to stop him, but it was too late. Shawn Lawrence was too quick and had already shouted. As the crowd shifted, he pulled Emily Thompson into the throng, but Emily Thompson didn’t move. She nervously pointed behind Shawn Lawrence. Shawn Lawrence turned around in surprise—and froze. This time, the trick didn’t work; instead of sheep, he’d attracted a wolf.

A manager in a suit with a badge, followed by a security guard, was standing right behind them, glaring.

Emily Thompson was stunned, looking at Shawn Lawrence nervously. Would they get in trouble for disrupting the job fair? The girl was so anxious she clung tightly to Shawn Lawrence’s arm, as if afraid he’d be dragged off and beaten by the security guard. Shawn Lawrence felt his right arm tighten, turned to glance at Emily Thompson in surprise, and then grinned... He turned his head, looked up at the burly security guard and manager, and chuckled sheepishly.

The manager, as if dealing with a repeat offender, pointed at Shawn Lawrence and scolded, “The moment I heard someone shout about a lost phone, I figured it was you. Can’t you come up with something new?... What, unemployed again?”

“Yeah, unemployed. I can’t find a job and I’m anxious,” Shawn Lawrence replied with a smile, though he didn’t look anxious at all.