Xiang Qingde opened the door and stepped out, saying to Yu Lei, "Sorry, my child is unwilling to accept the interview. He hasn't yet decided to choose Liangzhou University."
Xiang Qingde knew very well how to refuse others tactfully, simply by saying that his child had not yet planned to choose Liangzhou University, making an interview with Yu Lei unnecessary.
Yu Lei obviously paused, then said, "But with such high scores, is he content to miss out on an elite university?"
"He has his own plans. Attending an elite university comes with risks, but with his scores, he can pick and choose among the remaining universities. We're very satisfied with that; there's no need to fret too much. Contentment brings happiness, doesn't it?"
Xiang Qingde explained cheerfully, quite adept at covering for his own child.
"Mr. Xiang, if your child is unwilling to accept my interview, then I can interview you instead. As long as you cooperate with me, I can definitely create public opinion that will get your child into a better university. As a parent, don't you want to see your child become classmates with even more outstanding individuals in an elite university?"
Yu Lei was not giving up easily.
"No need, I have other matters to attend to and cannot entertain you any longer, please understand!"
Xiang Qingde was very firm in his stance. Yu Lei spent a lot of effort trying to persuade him, but was ultimately unable to and had to leave Xiang Qingde's home.
Having descended the stairs, Yu Lei stood at the street corner, took a cigarette from his pocket, took a puff and then slowly exhaled the smoke.
The swirling smoke framed his face, casting it in a somewhat gloomy light.
"What a pair of fools, too proud for their own good!"
Yu Lei spat on the ground with disgust.
Before coming here, he had been confident about this interview. His keen senses had detected hot topics in this event that could spark discussions across all circles.
The raw score of 732, first in Jiuzhou, unable to enter an elite university due to an N-level Awakener talent, the irrationality of the recruitment system of the nine elite universities... all it needed was a little guiding, and these could become extensively sensationalized topics.
He had thought that his reasons would be irresistible, that any other parent would wisely take advantage of the media to help their child, eager for the journalist's assistance.
But unexpectedly, this top-scoring student had no intention of going to Liangzhou University, and he had been bluntly turned away!
In the past, Yu Lei had secretly bribed the parties involved to complete his "Headline Tasks," disregarding the facts to fabricate news, engaging in countless such shady dealings.
He had already figured out how to draft the article on the Xiang Beifei incident!
However, this grandfather and grandson duo were clearly unappreciative of his offer and had actually rejected his cooperation!
"If you think rejection will make me give up, then you're seriously underestimating me."
Yu Lei looked at his system interface:
"You have selected the task: Hype up the N-level top scorer incident"
"Direction for the hype: 1, help them get into Liangzhou University, positively promote the candidate; 2, prevent them from getting into Liangzhou University, negatively spin associated hot topics"
"You have chosen: 2"
"Current task: Hype up the Xiang Beifei incident, reach the top twenty in discussion heat on any media platform's trending list, earn +1000 headline points (can be cumulative)"
"Current headline points: 132783"
"Note: Buying trend spots is invalid"
"Reward for completing a trending task: Choose any two from the following"
"Stealth Talisman x1 (used for invisible tracking); Truth-Telling Talisman x1 (can extract truthful statements); Memory Talisman x1 (can alter someone's memory); Control Talisman x1 (can control the will of others)"
"What a pity that I've used up all my control talismans."
Yu Lei frowned slightly, for the Control Talisman could be used to alter a person's will, to change someone's decisions, like if someone wanted to refuse something, the talisman could make them agree. These talismans were only effective on those whose realm was lower than his own.
In the past, he used Control Talismans to make people accept his interviews and say what he wanted them to say in front of the camera.
Of course, sometimes he would exchange them for Memory Talismans too, such as after engaging in dirty activities, he would use a Memory Talisman to make a person forget what had just happened, thus freeing himself from unnecessary trouble.
To him, these system items were very practical, but they were also in high demand and short supply; currently, he only had two Memory Talismans and one Stealth Talisman.