Chapter 279: Stupid Man, You’re Distracting Me!
At the national civil service exam site, there was a huge crowd of people.
The test was held at a middle school in Fucheng. Before this, Lin Yibai didn’t know much about government job exams, but now she was shocked.
There were people from all walks of life, from fresh graduates like her to people in their 30s. For the first time, Lin Yibai truly felt the pressure of real-world competition.
She had applied for a government job in Fucheng, and there were only about 100 job openings. But it was said that tens of thousands of people had signed up.
She couldn’t help but complain, “Damn, some positions have over a thousand people fighting for one spot. Even the easier ones have 700–800 people trying for one job?”
Honestly, the people who get hired must be the best of the best, like one in a thousand. That’s not even an exaggeration.
That’s also why Lin Yibai was feeling unsure of herself.
She knew very well that she wasn’t super hardworking. She also wasn’t smarter than others when it came to studying. So, if she wasn’t as hard-working and wasn’t as smart, how could she compete on the same level as others?
It all felt like she was reliving her past student days.
Before the test started, she still tried to go over some key points, but it was already too late.
Once the loudspeaker gave the announcement, she had no choice but to stop reviewing.
After going to her test room and checking her ID, she sat down and waited. Then the test papers were handed out.
Lin Yibai took one look at it, and immediately felt a wave of panic.
“What the hell, 135 questions?! But we only have 120 minutes... That’s less than one minute per question! Even if I can finish them all, I won’t have any time to go back and fix mistakes. Once I pick an answer, that’s it.”
Even though she had practiced with lots of real past test papers before, when she finally got the real thing in her hands, she still felt nervous.
But there was no turning back, she had to push through.
Only by doing tons of practice questions can you learn to quickly spot the correct answer just by glancing at the question.
What really made her frustrated weren’t the normal questions, though. It was the ones written by those damn tricky test makers who liked to hide little traps in the wording.
And it’s like, what’s with all these riddles in a serious test?
When she saw those questions, Lin Yibai felt like she was going into battle. She was terrified of falling into a word trap or messing up a question just because her brain didn’t twist in the right way.
Her eyes locked onto one tricky question. It was a typical language problem. Lin Yibai had figured out it had two possible meanings. She had to guess what the test maker really meant.
She muttered under her breath, “Screw you.”
If that test maker had appeared in front of her, Lin Yibai swore she’d hang them by the road and run them over with a dump truck, a hundred times.
Like, seriously, what the hell are you even trying to say with this vague, confusing question?
But it was fine. If she remembered correctly, she had seen a similar question on a past practice paper. So the answer should be...?
Wait, what was it again?
She tried hard to remember the scene from that day when she did that test paper. She only vaguely remembered she had just started doing the question when Xia Changyu showed up. And not long after, she heard him loudly say,
【...Baiyi, I’m about to sprint!】
Lin Yibai: “???”
What the hell? Why was this happening?
Why couldn’t she remember the actual question?
Why was Xia Changyu suddenly filling her whole mind?
His voice echoed in her ears, repeating one word: Sprint!
Crap. Crap crap crap. Dammit!
Okay, no more wasting time.
She trusted her gut and picked the answer that seemed the most likely.
Because in these government exams, luck is also part of your skill, and you have to know when to guess and move on.
Next came another question.
Lin Yibai’s eyes lit up, “Nice! I think I’ve done this one before. The answer is...?”
【Please, let me in!】
Wait a minute… what’s this strange voice that just popped into my head again?
The more Lin Yibai tried to remember the answer to the test question, the louder that voice in her head became.
【Please, let me in!!】
It kept getting clearer and clearer.
Her round, cute eyes widened, and in the middle of the exam room, she clenched her teeth in frustration. What exactly had gotten into her head and messed up her thinking?
She looked around, trying to find where the voice came from, and sure enough, she spotted the culprit. It was Xia Changyu, that guy! The voice begging her to “let him in” was definitely his.
"Sh*t!!!"
She had to admit, she might not be the best student in the exam room, but she had worked hard to prepare for this test. She had really tried!
Otherwise, how could some of these questions feel so familiar, yet also so blurry in her memory?
That could only mean, she did study them, but forgot because of something outside the test?
Then it hit her. She realized something serious was going on. Thinking carefully, she noticed a pattern.
She mumbled quietly to herself,
“Damn it... back then, I was with Xia Changyu almost every day... three times a day, sometimes even five! What exactly was I studying for? Was I preparing for the exam... or for Xia Changyu?!”
Can someone understand what I’m going through here??
Her dog boyfriend either wanted it three times a day or five. Who could focus on studying in that situation? All her “review” time basically went to the dog!
So in the end, she didn’t study, she didn’t prepare, and she was just wasting time!
Xia Changyu, this is all your fault!
This was bound to be a heart-breaking test.
When the final bell rang and they told everyone to put their pens down, Lin Yibai still had a bunch of questions she had just guessed randomly on. Whether she got them right or wrong would be pure luck.
She walked out of the school looking totally out of it. Xia Changyu had been waiting outside for a while.
As soon as they saw each other, he rushed over and asked, “How was it? Do you feel confident?”
Lin Yibai gave him a fierce glare and gritted her teeth, “I got nothing out of it. Can you believe that?”
“Huh? You didn’t do well?”
That was unexpected. He had seen how much effort Lin Yibai had put in, he didn’t think it would go that badly.
But then again, so what? Even if she didn’t get the job, it’s not like Xia Changyu couldn’t take care of her, right?
He was just about to comfort her and proudly declare his plan to support her, but then he realized something was off. The look in her eyes made him nervous. He rubbed the back of his neck and said sheepishly,
“B-Baiyi, what’s wrong? It’s okay if it didn’t go well…”
Lin Yibai snorted coldly and said, “It’s not just about the test. I was thinking about something else.”
Xia Changyu was confused, “What were you thinking about?”
Lin Yibai said, “I clearly remember seeing similar questions before, definitely on the real practice tests.”
Xia Changyu said, “Then that’s good, right?”
Lin Yibai shook her head, “But every time I try to remember the details of those questions, I don’t remember the answers.”
Xia Changyu asked, “Then… what do you remember?”
Lin Yibai replied, “I remember someone yelling that they were about to ‘sprint,’ and begging me to let them in or something...”
Xia Changyu: “!?”
Lin Yibai looked at him seriously and asked, “Dear Xia Changyu, can you please explain why my brain is full of those weird voices and images? Do you have any idea why this is happening?”
This wasn't just some excuse for failing.
She was completely blaming him. If he hadn’t kept asking for it so much, maybe she would’ve remembered more test answers!
So the final lesson is…
The more you do it, the more mistakes you make.
The less you do it, the fewer mistakes.
In conclusion, stop doing it so much!