I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

The post initially received very little attention, with only a few "share the joy" replies. After all, at this time, the main topic in the community was the Lu Tinglan incident, and everyone was focused on that.

Then, the second post came.

The second post appeared on the same night that Lu Tinglan responded.

The poster, named "Xiaohua Wants to Go Ashore," had few followers and was just an ordinary user on the Beiming Community forum. The post's title was quite long.

I bought a set of secondhand essay writing notes on Huanhuan.com, and then I found out that the original owner and I had applied for the same position...

The main text is short, but it basically says that she casually bought a second-hand essay writing notebook last week, and when she was organizing it today, she found a note inside that the original owner had written "Tax Bureau of a certain city," which is exactly the same as the position she wanted to apply for. She thought it was too much of a coincidence, so she posted it online to ask everyone if this counts as superstition.

At first, the post didn't get many views. A few replies came out saying things like "I'll share in the good fortune" or "I'll try my luck," and someone even said, "Just keep it as a pet."

Then, someone forwarded the link in a civil service exam preparation group, adding the comment, "Take a look at this, I think it's a bit far-fetched."

Then, people started clicking in.

"The same job? Do you know how small the odds are...?"

"She probably only found out after she bought it, which means she didn't know when she bought it."

"Don't be so superstitious... but it is indeed a bit exaggerated."

"I'm now hesitating whether to buy a set of civil service exam study notes online instead."...

Compared to the previous post about "scoring 70 on the civil service exam", this post is a bit more popular.

But what really started to change things was the third post.

I've compiled statistics on the civil service exam study notes currently being sold on Huanhuan.com, and the distribution of the positions the original owners successfully filled.

The poster listed the civil service exam study notes currently being sold on Huanhuan.com, along with the original owners' successful job positions – provincial, municipal, tax, development and reform, and a certain bureau.

The post received a lot of replies, with some asking "Which book will sell out the fastest?" and others saying "I don't care about the job, as long as I can get a job."

The number of people is significantly higher than before.

On the one hand, after the groundwork laid by the first two posts, people preparing for civil service exams gradually began to pay attention to such posts and topics on the Beiming Community Square.

On the other hand, the Lu Tinglan incident reached its climax yesterday with Lu Tinglan's response. After the climax, the focus of the discussion inevitably decreased, and some people were diverted to other topics.

Among them was Mr. Wang, the general manager of AAA Building Materials Wholesale.

He even appeared under this post and left a comment.

"If you're going to buy one, I suggest you buy the one directly from the provincial government first; that one looks the most spiritually potent."

As always, Mr. Wang's comment from AAA Building Materials Wholesale quickly rose to the top of the trending comments. There were also quite a few replies below.

"Hahahaha, I can't stop laughing! What do you mean by 'most abundant spiritual energy'? Are you trying to cultivate immortality?"

"So you have to look at the spiritual energy when buying notebooks, right? Then I'll bring a compass to change my net tomorrow, and I'll buy whichever notebook is glowing."

"The provincial-level schools definitely have more spiritual energy, but the city-level schools are thirty yuan cheaper. I'll buy the cheaper one first, just in case I pass the exam and can save thirty yuan to buy milk tea to celebrate."

Mr. Wang, the general manager of AAA Building Materials Wholesale, seems to be in high spirits today.

Posting "Very spiritual" wasn't enough; she then posted another comment.

Moreover, the comment that followed was even more popular than the one that came before.

"I think this thing is actually quite similar to cultivating immortality. The annual civil service exam is like an ascension ceremony; those who successfully pass are accepted as disciples by a sect; promotion to department head means successful Foundation Establishment; promotion to provincial head means becoming a Golden Core expert; promotion to provincial or ministerial level means becoming a Nascent Soul expert, terrifyingly powerful; promotion to national level... wow, that's a Divine Transformation Ancestor!"

The replies below were even more numerous and joyful.

"What's so special about that deputy director? Foundation Establishment Great Completion, half-step Golden Core? That high-ranking official is a Nascent Soul old monster, who in a fit of rage directly brought down a Heavenly Tribulation—and transferred you to guard the reservoir."

"Following this logic, taking the civil service exam is like cultivating immortality. The study materials are the cultivation manuals, the aptitude test is the outer sect assessment, and the essay is the inner sect cultivation method. The interview is like undergoing tribulation, the physical examination is like testing spiritual roots, and the political background check is like verifying one's background—those with unclean backgrounds are directly thrown into the demonic Hehuan Sect."

"My great-grandfather was a landlord, and he suggested that I be directly recruited into the Hehuan Sect."

"Mr. Wang, your system is too comprehensive. I suggest you cooperate with Huanhuan.com and categorize their civil service exam notes into blue, purple, and gold levels. Add a label: 'This technique has helped the original owner successfully establish their foundation, and the cultivator has the potential to break through to the Golden Core stage.' I'll buy the gold one first, no matter the price."

"Which book did Han Li buy? I want the one Han Li bought!"

"Who is Han Li?"...

With this "civil service exam as easy as cultivating immortality" mentality, everything that followed seemed to grow out of nowhere.

Someone posted a question asking, "Has anyone else bought secondhand notes and then slept with them under their pillow like me?" Someone else said, "I bought a set of secondhand civil service exam notes, and when I received them, I found a note from the original owner that said 'Keep it up'." Someone else said, "I just checked on Huanhuan.com and found that the two notebooks that were there yesterday are gone today."

Then people started compiling summaries. An account called "Civil Service Exam Mutual Aid Group" posted a thread:

"An Incomplete Guide to Secondhand Civil Service Exam Notes from Huanhuan.com (Continuously Updated)"

The post compiled several pieces of information: which notes sold the most, which original owners' jobs were the most in-demand, and which notes had the most participants checking in. It concluded with the statement: "The above information is for reference only and does not constitute any guarantee, but if you're lucky, you might buy a set that's actually useful."

This post was forwarded to several civil service exam preparation groups.

Someone in the group said, "You guys should go check Huanhuan.com, the provincial-level essay writing notes are sold out." Someone else replied, "I just ordered a municipal-level administrative aptitude test book, it will arrive tomorrow." Someone else said, "You guys are going to drive up the price."

On the third day, the term "check-in" appeared.

It started when someone who bought the notes posted, "I received it, here to check in." Someone asked, "What does 'checking in' mean?" He replied, "It's just recording when I bought it, so I can come back and give thanks when I've succeeded."

This idea spread quickly, and later, under every post about "buying notes," people would comment "Day 1 of check-in" and "Day 2 of check-in."

Then, the term "landing buff" appeared.

I don't know who said it first, but it started appearing frequently in the posts.

"This set of notes has a job-getting buff." "The original owner was a provincial-level official, so the buff is high." "Before buying, remember to check the original owner's position; different buffs have different effects."

It started as a joke, but after being repeated so many times, it started to become real – people were actually seriously discussing which set of notes had a stronger "buff".

It was around this time that the news started to spread beyond the civil service exam circle.

That night, an ordinary male student from Yangko University posted a message.

The post was published in the Yangon University of Science and Technology square, and the title was very short:

I'm not taking the civil service exam, but I bought a book of notes on the civil service exam's quantitative reasoning section on Huanhuan.com.

The main text consists of only two sentences:

"I'm not taking the civil service exam. But I'm doomed to fail my final exams, and I need some help."

The accompanying picture showed him buying a second-hand civil service exam preparation notebook, placing it on his desk with a glass of water next to it, as if he were performing some kind of ritual.

The post didn't initially cause much of a stir, but he casually shared a screenshot in his class group chat with the caption: "Guys, I bought a civil service exam study guide to use as a lucky charm."

The class group was originally discussing the final exams, but after this message was sent, the tone instantly changed.

Someone asked, "Is this thing useful?" He replied, "I don't know. The original owner went ashore, and I feel like I've absorbed some divine energy." Then another person said, "Then call me when you worship it."

The screenshot was forwarded by people in their class group to other groups, and then it was posted on the Beiming Community.

By noon the next day, similar posts began to appear in the square.

An account called "Final Exam Dog" posted a picture of a civil service exam notebook on a desk with the words "I have prayed today, please don't fail" written next to it.

Someone asked, "Are you taking a civil service exam or finishing your final exams?" He replied, "What civil service exam? I'm finishing my final exams."

Then another post popped up, with an even more direct title: "I'm not taking the civil service exam, but I bought a book of aptitude test notes and plan to practice every day."

The main text is very short, shockingly short:

"I've heard this stuff guarantees a pass, so I'll give it a try first."

The accompanying photos are quite interesting; on the left is a poster of Chris Lee (Li Yuchun), and on the right are notes for taking the civil service exam.

Clearly, this is a cautious person. Not only did he have to study the civil service exam notes, but he also had to involve Brother Chun in his preparations.

It's like a switch being flipped.

Over the next two or three days, several similar posts appeared sporadically on the square. They were all from people who weren't taking the civil service exam, who bought secondhand civil service exam notes from exchange websites, took a picture, and posted it online with captions like "recharging faith," "lifesaver for final exams," and "a magic weapon to avoid failing."

Some people preparing for the civil service exam saw this and were very dissatisfied, commenting, "This is making it impossible for genuine civil service exam takers to buy study notes!"

Someone replied, "Sorry, I didn't think that much when I bought it. I just thought praying would help. We're all at our wits' end, let's try to understand each other."

Someone else said, "Can you guys stop making jokes? This is for civil service exams." The reply was, "I bought the same things for my civil service exam too, but I don't think there's anything wrong with them using them. The notes are just copied and pasted from the internet anyway, so what difference does it make who buys them?"

The moment the story truly went viral was a post by someone named "Go to bed early today too".

He was just an ordinary student who wasn't taking the civil service exam. He was extremely anxious before the final exams, and then he saw these posts, so he bought a second-hand set of notes for the civil service exam.

But after receiving the goods, he sent a photo of the notebook cover with the caption: "From today onwards, I am a person of faith."

This post was forwarded to several large groups of Yangko University of Science and Technology, and the comments were very consistent—some people said "laughing to death", some said "I also want some faith", and others said "Do you still have those civil service exam notes on Huanhuan.com? I want to buy a copy too".

Later, someone summarized this phenomenon as follows: "The superstitious industry chain during final exam season goes like this: those preparing for civil service exams buy notes to review, while those not preparing buy notes to pray to gods. The former is for exam preparation, the latter is for prolonging life. The two are not contradictory."

Later, someone said something even more concise:

"What you're selling on Huanhuan.com isn't secondhand notes, it's your final exam faith."