Ch 23: Those who wronged me are now begging me for mercy

I, Hu Hansan, Am Back Again

System: Master, I feel like you’re going to get reported for clickbait sooner or later.

“That’s impossible!” Rong Ziyin replied confidently, full of conviction. He didn’t see himself as someone who relied on sensational titles to attract attention.

After all, what he wrote was not only realistic but also based on his personal experiences.

Rong Ziyin typed quickly, and since most of what he was writing was true, he only needed to think it through briefly before he had almost finished within an hour.

System: So, what are we doing now?

Rong Ziyin: It’s only eight o’clock. Let’s earn some money for a while, then go home and sleep!

The system felt a vague sense of unease, and sure enough, it watched as Rong Ziyin opened the “Invite You to Answer” section and began his wide-net approach to answering questions.

The most concerning part was that Rong Ziyin chose the same category as last time—relationships.

Yes, a straight man was about to start answering relationship questions, and the system could already feel the impending discomfort of those who would receive his answers.

Zhihu Question: My girlfriend’s best friend suddenly called me, saying she’s stuck in a desolate area with only factories around and can’t get a ride. She asked me to pick her up—what should I do?

Rong Ziyin: Thanks for the invite. Just order her a cargo van. If one isn’t enough, you can order ten.

Zhihu Question: A girl I just met, who I’ve been chatting with and getting along with well, invited me to watch a movie at night and asked me to bring my ID. What does this mean?

Rong Ziyin: Thanks for the invite. It means she wants to stay overnight at an internet cafe.

Zhihu Question: Why can’t I control myself when I see a beautiful woman?

Rong Ziyin: Thanks for the invite. Chemical castration can fundamentally solve this problem.

Zhihu Question: What’s your view on cheating?

Rong Ziyin: Thanks for the invite. It’s completely against economic principles. You might not even be able to afford one wife and one child, let alone anyone else. Also, I suggest you get into a relationship first. For a single person, cheating is like Schrödinger’s cat.

Generally speaking, posts in Zhihu’s relationship section fall into a few categories. There’s the late-night drunk type, where the truth is uncertain, but the tone is often mournful, reflecting frustration in love and a need for emotional comfort.

Then there are the posts that blatantly flaunt photos and flirtatious messages, full of passion and innuendo. However, these rarely make it to Rong Ziyin’s homepage.

Apart from the small portion of genuinely seeking help, there are those posts created simply to provoke arguments.

Like the ones asking about not being able to control oneself around beautiful women or the one about cheating, these were clearly designed to stir up trouble.

The two guys who posted these were just waiting for a fight to break out, ready to vent their frustrations from real life and enjoy the thrill of being at the center of attention.

But they never expected that Rong Ziyin would reply in such a way that completely shut them down.

“Brilliant, hahaha, this is awesome!”

“No way, chemical castration? My God, dude, you should follow his advice! You’ll never have any desires again.”

“Schrödinger’s cheating—this is epic. By the way, the guy who asked the question really can’t cheat. He was posting about looking for a girlfriend just the other day!”

“Trashy trolls, get lost!”

Instead of getting what they wanted, the two posters found themselves being mocked as sleazy men by others in the thread.

Given the strong moral sentiments nowadays, with even celebrities being publicly shamed for cheating, such blatant disregard for values was bound to be condemned.

However, the internet is still the internet, and there are plenty of people who like to stir up trouble. If it weren’t for Rong Ziyin’s righteous replies setting the tone from the first comment, the threads would likely have devolved into heated arguments.

Unfortunately for these two, in the straightforward world of a straight man, things are black and white. They went from being instigators to being the butt of the joke.

“Damn, what’s wrong with that first commenter?” The two guys were pissed, cursing out Rong Ziyin under their breath, completely forgetting that they had originally asked these questions just to start a fight. But after being roasted by the commenters, they didn’t dare lash out openly and could only silently curse in their heads.

User Liu Sanpao’s Anger Value +990, User Zhang Chao’s Anger Value +330

Meanwhile, those who were impressed by Rong Ziyin’s answers provided him with a good amount of excitement value. There were even some who had been hurt by sleazy men or cheating scumbags who gave Rong Ziyin a ton of approval points.

Rong Ziyin was very fast at answering questions. He wasn’t aiming for viral success, just quantity. After quickly securing the top comment, he would immediately move on, never looking back at the responses. No matter how many people replied to him, he wouldn’t return to the thread.

As a result, Rong Ziyin’s ID started appearing in the top comment of many posts during this time.

Gradually, people began to recognize his username.

Someone with a good memory suddenly remembered, “Whoa! Isn’t this the guy who posted last time, then ghosted and said he was going to catch wild boars?”

With that reminder, others who had seen Rong Ziyin’s previous post got excited.

“Damn, this jerk dares to log into Zhihu again?”

“Did you catch all the wild boars? I heard you lost your manhood, is this after your rehab?”

“Trash! I’ll curse you every time I see you!”

In no time, the resentment values started piling up, and the system’s notifications filled Rong Ziyin’s mind like a bullet screen.

System: …Master, shouldn’t you switch to a different account? I feel like your main account is doomed. Look, they still remember you!

As the system spoke, Rong Ziyin’s Zhihu account received a second wave of visitors, and his posts were instantly flooded with insults.

Rong Ziyin thought for a moment, then clicked into his previous post and quickly scrolled to the bottom. At the very end, he added a line: “For the conclusion, see ‘After My Disgrace and Return to the Village, All the Geese Have Stuck by My Side’.”

So, was he redirecting traffic to his new post? The system was stunned by Rong Ziyin’s audacity.

System: …You’re going to get beaten up for sure!

Rong Ziyin: Calm and composed: No, I won’t. If I die, who will write the updates?

System: Why do I feel like you’re becoming less and less human?

Rong Ziyin just smiled without saying anything but stopped answering questions and started packing up to go home.

As for the post, Rong Ziyin felt that it had reached the point where it didn’t need excessive attention. As long as people clicked on the new post, they would naturally be giving him money.

Sure enough, just as Rong Ziyin planned, his new post quickly gained popularity again.

Like the last post, with its misleading title, Rong Ziyin’s writing style remained distinctive. His clean, sharp narration and straight-to-the-point approach easily drew people into the story. However, this time, the focus was more on his experiences in the village.

The Sea King’s pig, the cowardly ducks, and the uninvited, aloof turtle.

“Whoa, whoa! Is being a vet this interesting?”

“What kind of magical village is this? I want to raise ducks there too!”

“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter. Is the village heartthrob really named Tiezhu? Does that mean his last name is Murong?”

Everyone was reading with great interest, but just when they were at the most exciting part, a familiar scenario happened again.

Continuing from where the last post left off, the rich young master still wouldn’t let the academic overachiever off the hook. However, he had started balding and had lost a lot of face at school, which felt like some divine retribution, giving people a bit of satisfaction. But the academic overachiever was also in a tough spot—the money for publishing the paper was barely scraped together, and now the rich young master was suspected of plagiarism and trying to use his connections to suppress the overachiever once more.

This was the most crucial battle! If the paper could be successfully published, the academic overachiever would have the chance to leave the village and return to the academic circle.

But just at this critical moment, Rong Ziyin’s post suddenly stopped, with no further updates.

“So what happened next?”

All the followers of the post were incredibly anxious, scratching their heads as they waited for the continuation.

However, four or five hours passed, and still, there was no update from Rong Ziyin.

Then, one night and another day went by, and they still hadn’t seen any new updates from Rong Ziyin. So, is this post going to be left unfinished again?

“Ahhh, I’m going to kill this dumb Zhihu poster!”

The resentment value provided by the users skyrocketed instantly, breaking through the 350,000 mark in just three days, and was now approaching 400,000.

Meanwhile, Rong Ziyin’s attention had already shifted away from Zhihu because it seemed that something big had happened at his school.

The class group chat was flashing like crazy, and people were constantly tagging Rong Ziyin.

Rong Ziyin quickly opened the chat app to take a look and found out that there was an issue with their previous paper.

Someone had anonymously reported to the editor, claiming that the paper submitted by the Agricultural University’s Veterinary Department had been ghostwritten.

Why would someone do this at such a critical moment? Who could it be?

Rong Ziyin frowned, feeling that something was off.

Just then, his phone rang—it was his mentor.

“Professor, I’m already aware of the situation,” Rong Ziyin said, immediately explaining his understanding of the situation to his mentor.

The mentor sighed on the other end. “Yes, I called to talk to you about this. I wanted to give you a heads-up so you can be mentally prepared.”

The mentor truly felt sorry for Rong Ziyin.

After the papers by Rong Ziyin and the rich young master passed the internal review, they were sent to the editors of the core journal. But unexpectedly, before they even entered the review process, the papers were rejected outright.

The reason was the anonymous report. The core journal was very sensitive to the words “academic fraud.” After discussing it in a meeting, they decided to increase the submission requirements.

Now, undergraduates who wanted to submit papers had to have published at least three provincial-level papers or higher during their college years to qualify.

This sudden new requirement effectively blocked a large number of people, including both Rong Ziyin and the rich young master.

With only three months left until the submission deadline, it was practically impossible to produce three provincial-level papers in such a short time.

On the Agricultural University campus forum, a student who had worked hard to get their paper accepted but had it sent back was on the verge of a breakdown.

“I don’t know which idiot in the Veterinary Department caused this mess, but I’m telling you now—I’ll remember you for the rest of my life!”

Four years! They had spent their entire university life working on this project, hoping it would be their ticket into the academic world and the key to securing a better mentor. But now, it was all for nothing.

With their careers blocked, these true academic overachievers were devastated.

Students from various departments gathered on the school forum, and they were all furious.

There were even some opportunists spreading rumors, claiming that the one guilty of academic fraud was none other than Rong Ziyin.

One anonymous user hit the nail on the head: “If Rong Ziyin is really that capable, why was his recommendation for direct admission canceled?”

Suddenly, it was as if everyone had found solid proof, and they all directed their anger at Rong Ziyin.

“Trash! You’ve disgraced the Agricultural University.”

“We urge the administration to expel this garbage immediately. Garbage doesn’t belong in academia!”

The insults flew in from all directions. However, in the Veterinary Department, many people believed that this had nothing to do with Rong Ziyin.

Everyone knew that Rong Ziyin’s recommendation had been canceled because he was set up for revenge. Moreover, Rong Ziyin had to work part-time to support himself and pay his tuition while studying. He was so broke that he would have to write papers to earn money—where would he find the money to buy a paper? It was laughable.

But the Veterinary Department was small, and with the current school climate, where rumors spread like wildfire, all the blame was pinned on Rong Ziyin. They didn’t have time to clarify, and instead, they were also dragged down and insulted.

Even the matter of Rong Ziyin’s previous recommendation was brought up, with people questioning if there had been some kind of inside deal.

Some even called out to Rong Ziyin from afar, demanding he explain how he managed to get recommended for direct admission.

“Damn, what kind of idiots are these?” The system was furious, but Rong Ziyin didn’t even furrow his brow. Instead, he calmly sorted through the system’s information in his mind.

He was categorizing the specific sources of the anger values he was receiving from people at the school, identifying which department they were from.

The system didn’t understand and cautiously asked, “Host, aren’t you angry?”

Rong Ziyin calmly responded, “Why should I be angry? Don’t you think this is a great opportunity to make money?”

System: ???

Then, the system watched as Rong Ziyin opened his phone, logged into the school forum, and skillfully replied to the person who had called him out by name.

Rong Ziyin: Some people will never understand why I received the recommendation, but of course, it’s because—

Rong Ziyin then inserted several rows of spaces after the word “because,” so that anyone reading the post on their phone would have to click on “view full reply” to see the rest.

However, when they clicked on “View Full Reply,” the text that followed was, “Of course, it’s because you’re all just too incompetent!”

“Academic research—being incompetent is the original sin.”

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