049 So many things that seem impossible become possible with you!

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Fang Qingye was in no hurry. His life mattered, and safety came first. He had no intention of returning from the dead only to start enjoying life and then wind up dead in a car accident.

He went back to the riverbank to pack up his fishing gear. Seeing the seven fish in the plastic bucket, he found himself in a quandary. It looked as though he had no choice but to release them back into the river. Surely he could not carry them to the city-branch competition?

He had just lifted the bucket and was about to pour the fish back into the river when someone called out to him.

“Hey, brother, what are you doing?”

Fang Qingye looked up and saw a middle-aged man in his forties standing not far away. He wore a straw hat—clearly an angler.

“I have something urgent to take care of, and I can’t bring the fish with me, so I was going to release them,” Fang Qingye replied honestly.

At that, the man hurried over, pulled a pack of Su Yan cigarettes from his pocket, and offered Fang Qingye one with a broad smile.

“Brother, let me ask you something. Would you sell me the fish you caught? At market price!”

Fang Qingye waved his hand to indicate that he did not smoke, then asked, “What about you? Why don’t you catch your own?”

The man’s expression immediately turned awkward.

“Ah, my luck’s been terrible today.”

He sighed again and introduced himself. He liked fishing too, but his skills were poor, and he often came home empty-handed. His wife was always making fun of him for it.

Eventually, he had learned his lesson. Whenever he failed to catch anything, he would go to the city’s farmers’ market and buy a few fish to make up the numbers.

“Now that you already have some, I won’t need to make another trip to the market,” the middle-aged man concluded.

Fang Qingye burst out laughing when he heard that.

What a good idea.

“Take them. You don’t have to pay me. Bring your bucket over!”

“Thank you so much!”

The man hurried off to a nearby fishing stand and returned with a plastic bucket. Fang Qingye poured the fish into it.

“Wow... You caught quite a lot. There’s even a mandarin fish! You’re an expert!” the man exclaimed admiringly as he watched the fish leap about in the bucket.

“Nothing special,” Fang Qingye said.

He finished packing his little folding stool and fishing gear, then prepared to leave.

“Brother, what do you do for work? Will you come again next weekend?” the middle-aged man asked hurriedly.

“I work at a bank. As for next weekend, I’ll have to see,” Fang Qingye answered honestly.

“I work at the Development and Reform Bureau. If you come fishing next week, I’d like to ask you for some pointers.”

“We’ll talk about it then.”

Fang Qingye gave him a casual reply, picked up his bucket, and left the riverbank. He climbed into his small car, wolfed down some bread, drank some water, and then drove straight toward downtown Jinghai.

It took him less than an hour to reach the site of the city-branch competition. Everyone was startled when they saw him in a straw hat, undershirt, and oversized shorts.

Was he really going to compete dressed like that?

Xia He frowned slightly as well, though she knew Fang Qingye had been fishing. It was impossible to expect him to look like the other contestants, all of whom were wearing white short-sleeved shirts and ties.

“Xiao Fang, have you eaten?” she asked with concern.

“I had some bread. I’m fine.”

“All right. The afternoon competition hasn’t started yet. Go find somewhere to rest for a while.”

There was only so much she could say. Xia He gestured for Liu Meili to hurry to the organizing committee and request a substitution.

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At that moment, Zhang Rong, who had been standing nearby, could not resist asking in a low voice, “Fang Qingye, how many characters can you type in a minute?”

“That depends on how I perform on the spot. Anywhere from a few dozen to a little over a hundred,” Fang Qingye replied honestly.

Zhang Rong said nothing, merely shaking his head slightly.

His performance was far too unstable.

Chen Meimei, however, was full of confidence.

“Fang Qingye, I believe you’ll perform wonderfully today!”

“Why?” Fang Qingye asked.

“Because you’re so calm. Besides, so many things look impossible, but somehow they become possible when you’re involved!” the young woman said.

Huh?

If she meant that he was calm, she was certainly right.

After all, he had already lived through one lifetime and experienced countless things. He was not quite at the level of being unmoved by honor or disgrace and remaining serene through every change, but there was truly nothing about a competition like this to make him nervous.

As for the second half of Chen Meimei’s statement, that was pure idealism.

Liu Meili soon returned with the news that the organizing committee had approved the substitution.

“Xiao Fang, get ready. The competition is about to begin,” Liu Meili said.

Get ready for what?

Fang Qingye honestly had no idea what there was to prepare.

He was not like some people who felt nervous and immediately wanted to drink water or use the restroom.

At two o’clock, the afternoon competition officially began.

Before long, Fang Qingye’s name was called, and he entered the competition room.

The room had originally been the city branch’s computer lab and had been temporarily converted for the contest. Following his number, Fang Qingye sat down at computer seven. He noticed that the contestant at station eight was a curly-haired woman in her forties.

Wasn’t that Li Lifen?

Fang Qingye had seen her photograph before.

Li Lifen noticed him as well. So this was the young man temporarily substituted in by the Nanxin Branch? What was his name again? Fang Qingye.

Seeing him in an undershirt and oversized shorts, with a faint smell of fish clinging to him, she could not help wrinkling her brows.

He had clearly been dragged here just to make up the numbers.

And that smell...

How disgusting!

She wanted nothing more than for Chairman Yang to throw him out.

But she held herself back.

She had already used her connections to drive away the contestants who used the Sogou input method. Asking for this as well would be going too far.

That Liu Meili would probably come storming over again.

Forget it. She would just have to endure it.

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Fang Qingye paid no attention to her. He tested the computer keyboard instead.

Hmm... It felt good.

The keyboard was surprisingly high-end. It was a Logitech.

Wait. Why was there a small piece of adhesive tape stuck to the upper-left corner?

Had someone marked it?

A thought flashed through Fang Qingye’s mind.

Someone must have secretly brought their own keyboard into the computer lab. Naturally, they would be most comfortable using something they were accustomed to.

But how had it ended up installed on the computer he was using?

Had there been a mistake?

Never mind. Since it was on his computer, he might as well make good use of it.

It felt so smooth. What an unexpected stroke of luck.

Those thoughts passed through his mind in an instant. His attention soon settled on the sample article he was required to type.

Fang Qingye read it carefully. It was an economic article.

With the Wubi input method, familiarity with the subject matter and the presence of technical terminology were not important. What mattered was recognizing the character roots and knowing how to break each character down.

Fang Qingye quickly scanned the article, opened a Word document, placed both hands on the keyboard, and made all his preparations.

Li Lifen, however, was beginning to panic.

The keyboard at her station was not the one she usually used.

To ensure that she would win first place, she had privately approached one of the employees arranging the competition during lunch. The employee happened to be someone she knew. She had asked him to use her usual keyboard for the contest and had even marked it specially, arranging for it to be installed on computer eight.

That was the computer she would be using in the competition.

But she had never expected her familiar keyboard to disappear and, through a bizarre twist of fate, wind up on Fang Qingye’s computer next door.

Damn it!

But what could she say now?

Ask Fang Qingye to exchange keyboards with her?

Only an idiot would agree.

Besides, would that not make it obvious that something shady was going on?

For the first time, she felt flustered.

The competition began soon afterward. The room filled with nothing but the rapid clatter of typing.

Fang Qingye concentrated completely, bringing his typing speed to its absolute limit.

Hmm. He was in good form today.

This keyboard really was wonderful to use...