Chapter 271: The Bad Woman Already Saw Through Everything
Inside the quiet apartment room, every little moment carried the special warmth of winter.
That warmth kept loneliness away, even now when most classmates had left for their internships.
Lin Yibai hadn’t been back to school in a long time. But she no longer felt lost.
Just like the love she gave to Xia Changyu, she also received comfort from him. That comfort helped her stop being afraid of living in this unfamiliar city.
She looked at the closed door and moved her red lips slightly, “Be careful on your way! Wishing you a nice day.” But unfortunately, it didn’t seem like he heard her.
Soon after, she let out a long sigh.
Unlike Xia Changyu, who had been in a good mood since earlier, Lin Yibai was feeling much heavier inside.
Even though she was now someone’s girlfriend and could just relax and let him take care of her financially. She simply couldn’t feel at ease doing that.
How should she put it?
Because of the pressure she felt deep inside, she couldn’t bring herself to stop working and just focus on studying for the civil service exam.
She wasn’t like some girls who could spend several years after graduating doing nothing but preparing for the exam.
She just couldn’t do it. Her mind wouldn’t let her. She had a mindset that was more like a typical guy’s.
People often say there are more women than men taking civil service exams, and then they start arguing over it, but honestly, there’s no need for that. Because the situations are totally different.
A girl can take three years off to fully focus on preparing, and not many people will blame her. In fact, many will even encourage her.
But if a guy dares to stop working for three years just to study?
He’s seen as an unfilial son by his parents, a loser by people around him, and a joke to his relatives. Basically, they think it’d be better if he were dead than alive.
So Lin Yibai felt a lot of pressure. Even before the exams started, she had already made backup plans for herself.
She drew out a roadmap on a piece of scrap paper.
Step 1: Take the exam → Estimate the results.
If the results are good → Prepare for the interview → Sign up for an interview prep class → Go to the interview.
If the results are not good → Start job hunting → Find a job first, so she wouldn’t be unemployed → Then think again about whether to continue studying for the exam or focus on a different career.
She had a plan and a backup.
Her short-term goals became clear. No longer running around aimlessly like a headless fly.
“Ahhh, huu~” She let out a long breath.
Lin Yibai quickly got back into her exam prep. There weren’t many days left before the test, so every minute and second was extremely valuable.
She never thought of herself as someone special. With 700 or 800 people competing for one spot, she couldn’t just sit back and act like she already had it in the bag.
To be blunt, if she studied for just a few months, how could she expect to beat others who had been preparing for years?
“Today’s essay topic is ‘Listening to the people, and speaking to the people’.”
Lin Yibai stretched lazily. She picked up a black pen and started writing quickly on the clean white paper.
For this kind of essay question, there are usually set formats and common patterns to follow. Just like those reading comprehension questions back in high school.
Deep feelings may not move people, but using the right method often wins their hearts.
Students who score well in reading comprehension usually know how to use answer templates. Those who score poorly often try too hard to guess what the writer was truly thinking. But honestly, even the writer might not know exactly what they were thinking when they wrote it!
Time passed just like that.
On the second day, her body finally started to feel much better.
On the third day, the pain slowly faded. As long as she didn’t move too much, she could do most things normally.
On the fourth day, was she fully recovered?
The pain was gone. But in her mind, there was still a bit of fear. Every time she thought her body was totally fine, she would suddenly remember the sharp pain from that night.
That soul-tearing pain that made her faint. It had become a kind of “phantom pain,” like a memory that still hurt even though it was no longer there.
So, was she really okay now? She could only say, probably.
Meanwhile, a lot of things had quietly started to change, and this made her feel troubled.
The biggest sign was she had to change her underwear very often.
Lin Yibai did a lot of research and finally sighed, “There’s nothing I can do. My body has a flaw, so the stuff Xia Changyu left inside me can’t be absorbed by my body and become part of my internal system. No matter how much he gives me, in the end, I lose it all.”
Not even one drop could stay.
Poor Xia Changyu. No matter how hard he tried, everything he left behind was treated like a foreign object and pushed out by her body.
The good part was for a long time, she wouldn’t need to worry about getting pregnant.
The bad part was the same problem she was having now. It wasn’t something she could just pee out in one go. It was more like a slow, gentle stream, coming and going little by little.
Lin Yibai scratched her head. “Ugh, it’s so annoying~”
Then she looked at her "value": 68%.
To be honest, after what happened with Xia Changyu, that number had jumped up a lot, almost reaching 70% now. And when it did, she’d have to choose a new upgrade.
Would she pick to be prettier and more beautiful? Or to become even more physically like a woman?
There were so many options to choose from. Right now, Lin Yibai still didn’t know what she really wanted. She figured she’d decide when the time came.
That evening, after Xia Changyu came home, he started cooking.
Yes, he had already forgotten how long it had been since he last went back to his own big apartment downtown. He had completely started to treat Lin Yibai’s small apartment as his favorite, coziest little home.
After all, what’s so great about a fancy 180-square-meter place, if it just makes you a lonely single guy in a big empty space?
Wouldn’t it be better to live here in the small apartment with a comfy bed, a small kitchen, and a super cute girlfriend?
Hearing the sizzling sound from the kitchen, Lin Yibai stopped her test prep and walked over.
She sniffed the air with her cute nose and asked, “Wow, it smells so good! What are you cooking?”
Xia Changyu said confidently, “I went to a seafood store on purpose and bought big prawns. I’m making tempura for you, fried shrimp, fried fish rolls, pan-seared steak, and syrup pancakes.”
The two of them had totally different cooking styles.
Lin Yibai cooked traditional Chinese meals, while Xia Changyu, maybe because of his background, tended to make more "fancy" or Western-style dishes.
The most obvious difference was Lin Yibai used a classic iron wok, but Xia Changyu preferred a flat frying pan.
Smelling the delicious scent, Lin Yibai couldn’t help but sneak a bite.
The prawn was so fragrant and tasty in her mouth that her eyes lit up. She praised him, “Your cooking is really good! Even better than the first time I went to your place.”
Xia Changyu smiled and said, “It’s not like only girls can learn recipes. I often watch cooking videos too. As long as you enjoy the food, it’s all worth it.”
When the food was ready and they sat at the table, Lin Yibai was no longer shy like she used to be when visiting his home.
After all, so much had already happened between them. If she still acted shy now, what would he even think?
They chatted about little everyday things.
While eating, Xia Changyu suddenly asked, “By the way, is your body... feeling better now?”
Lin Yibai: [staring] “W-what are you asking that for?”
But did she really need to ask why he asked? It was like asking a cat if it liked eating fish, totally obvious.
Xia Changyu laughed a little and said casually, “Nothing much, just asking.”
Lin Yibai lowered her head and whispered, “Don’t ask things you shouldn’t ask.”
So, was she really better? The answer, yes.
Xia Changyu thought for a moment, then picked up a big prawn and placed it on her plate. He said, “Oh right, I have the day off tomorrow.”
Puff~
Lin Yibai was so shocked that she nearly spit out her soup.
She quickly asked in a panic, “Y-you took a day off? Why?”
Xia Changyu replied, “Can’t I take a day off?”
Lin Yibai said, “You can! But let me say this first, I’m not free to go out and play with you. The national civil service exam is coming up soon. I need to stay home and study.”
After saying that, she felt kind of proud of herself. As long as she refused to go out with him, then she could avoid all kinds of unexpected situations. Like a broken-down car that forces them to stay at a hotel or something.
Now, she thought, she was finally safe!
No matter how strong the wind, it just brushes over the hills. No matter how wild the waves, the moon still shines on the river!
Just as she was feeling proud of her cleverness, she heard Xia Changyu say, “I wasn’t planning on going out anyway. I can help you review for the civil service exam.”
Lin Yibai: !?
What?! He wants to stay at home and tutor me?
What if this "tutoring" leads to some kind of "accident"?
Could it be that the wolf is pretending to be kind?
What is Xia Changyu really planning?
Lin Yibai silently prayed,
“Amitabha… God… Jesus… Zeus… Please… let nothing happen!”