[Master and disciple, lighthearted, wish-fulfillment, face-slapping, golden finger, behind-the-scenes, subverting expectations]
Shen Yan, a driven PhD, is reborn as a little beggar. Seeing that the road to the imperial exams is closed to him, he decides to flip the table!
Can't take the exams? Then I'll become the best top-scorer coach around!
He picks up a homeless boy named A Gou, whose memory is astonishing, but who can't read a single character?
Perfect! We'll skip the studying and go straight into ultimate crash-course mode!
Poetry and literary arts? I'll recite, you repeat!
Formal exam essays? I've got an all-purpose template. Just plug it in!
The officials and gentry have doubts? Watch me muddy the waters with modern PR tactics!
He thought he was only tutoring a stand-in test-taker to earn enough to get by.
He never expected his disciple to be so capable, “fighting” his way from the county exams all the way to the palace exam and becoming famous across the land!
The corrupt officials panic: How does this poor scholar have no weaknesses?
The education commissioner is baffled: Just who is this disciple's teacher, some hidden master?
Shen Yan stays behind the scenes, keeping his achievements to himself: Stay low-key. This is basic stuff.
Until one day, the emperor personally asks A Gou, “Where is your beloved teacher?”
A Gou instinctively looks toward Shen Yan in the crowd...
Oh no! His secret identity is about to be exposed!
