Chapter 280: I Failed the Exam And This Is How You’re Making It Up to Me?
There’s something strange in my head. Can anyone tell me what’s going on?
Mr. Xia Changyu, do you have any idea? Is your “idea” all about rushing in and wanting to go inside?
How could he dare to say anything! He just gave an awkward laugh and said, “Uh… how about we go home first?”
Lin Yibai gave him a sharp look. “Home? Whose home?”
Xia Changyu replied, “Our apartment, of course! What’s wrong, Baiyi?”
Lin Yibai said coldly, “You’re really something, you actually call that rented apartment our home?”
She had been planning to scold Xia Changyu loudly, to find a reason for why she failed the national exam. And honestly, she was ready to just blame the whole thing on him.
But when she thought about it more carefully… It didn’t make sense.
Who told him to “rush in”? Who let him in?
There’s no point blaming others for her own failure. She reminded herself not to be like some people who always push the blame onto someone else.
Lin Yibai took a deep breath. After walking a few steps ahead, she noticed Xia Changyu was still standing there, lost in thought. She turned back, tugged on his sleeve, and said in a low voice.
“Hey! What are you spacing out for? Let’s go already! People are gonna come pouring out of the exam hall soon and block the exit.”
Xia Changyu blinked in surprise. “Go? Go where?”
Lin Yibai answered, “Go home, of course!”
Xia Changyu asked again, “Which home? Whose home?”
Lin Yibai crossed her arms, gave him a little pout but sweetly said, “Where else? Obviously our place, the apartment! What, got a problem with that?”
Xia Changyu grinned and quickly caught up to her. He gently pulled up her hoodie, then took off his scarf and wrapped it around her neck with a satisfied look.
The weather really was getting colder.
Since they didn’t have to go to school anymore, the idea of time had become fuzzy, just like people already in the working world. They didn’t think about winter or summer breaks anymore, just that the end of the year was getting closer.
Back at the apartment, Lin Yibai opened the fridge, planning to make a simple dinner.
But when she looked inside, she found it was already full of ingredients. Obviously, Xia Changyu had stocked up in advance.
“Were you planning to celebrate or something?” She raised an eyebrow, then sighed and said, “Too bad… I don’t think I did very well on the exam this time.”
So opening a bottle of champagne or something like that… just didn’t feel right.
Before she could start cooking, Xia Changyu had already stepped in, taken the ingredients from her hands, and started preparing everything by the sink.
Beef meatballs, fish rolls, shrimp paste, tofu puffs… and a bunch of vegetables.
Leaning against the counter with her arms crossed, Lin Yibai asked, “Hot pot? Are you seriously celebrating with hot pot? If this is your idea of a champagne party, then forget it.”
But Xia Changyu wasn’t the kind of guy who didn’t know how to read the room. If he was going to cheer her up, he knew when and how to do it.
So, this wasn’t a celebration. He said it was just a regular dinner, “It’s been a while since we had hot pot. Let’s eat some.”
Lin Yibai shrugged, “Sure.”
The apartment wasn’t big to begin with, and the kitchen space was even smaller.
Since Xia Changyu was already busy in there, Lin Yibai didn’t want to crowd him and get in the way.
She said she had already accepted her fate, but still, she went online to check.
The national exam papers hadn’t been officially released, but on many platforms and public exam forums, some people had already shared answer summaries.
First thing she saw, a lot of people were complaining.
With job pressure getting worse, more and more people were trying to become civil servants. That meant the competition was tougher, and the exams were now much harder too.
Finally, there was a small change in Lin Yibai’s calm expression, “Wait… do I still have a chance?”
She compared her answers to the ones online. Even though she didn’t feel like she did very well, she realized she wasn’t completely hopeless either.
She might not be one of the top scorers, but she probably wasn’t one of the worst ones, either.
She guessed her score. It seemed to be a little lower than the scores from last year that made it to interviews. And considering how much harder the test was this year, it was very possible that the passing score might actually be even higher than last year’s.
So… how should she put it?
It was her first time taking the national exam. If she got lucky, she might just make it past the cutoff score. But honestly, there were probably many others just like her.
And even if she did make it to the interview round, she would still be nowhere near the top candidates, more like someone just along for the ride.
Still, her mood was getting better. If she lowered her expectations just a little, maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad after all.
Meanwhile, Xia Changyu had everything ready. The little stove on the table was boiling the hot pot broth, bubbling away.
Feeling a bit more cheerful, Lin Yibai added some tofu puffs and shrimp paste to the pot for the two of them.
Xia Changyu walked over with a plate of beef tripe. Seeing Lin Yibai looking much better, he asked curiously,
“Huh? Baiyi… are you okay now?”
Lin Yibai smiled a little. “What could be wrong with me?”
Xia Changyu said, “You looked really down after the exam. I was so worried.”
Lin Yibai scooped up a shrimp ball, took a bite, and said while enjoying the taste.
“Come on, if you thought you did badly on something you worked hard on for months, would you be happy? That exam was the result of putting all my time and energy into one thing.”
Xia Changyu was even more confused. “Then… how can you still smile now?”
Lin Yibai let out a small sigh. “What else can I do? Cry on your shoulder and make a big scene?”
Xia Changyu quickly said, “Well… I wouldn’t mind.”
Lin Yibai dropped a prawn into the hot pot and said, “Nonsense. Actually, if I just change how I think about it, it’s not that bad. At least now that I’ve taken the exam once, I know where I need to improve. Next time, I can focus on those areas, right?”
Xia Changyu’s eyes lit up and he asked excitedly, “Really? You’ll take the exam again?”
Lin Yibai said, “Of course I will. But before that, I’ll probably find a job first. Maybe not a high-paying one, but at least something not too tiring. I can’t just stay home studying full-time forever.”
Xia Changyu said quickly, “I don’t mind! I can support you!”
Lin Yibai shook her head and said, “It’s not about whether you mind or not. For me, getting a simple and easy job is a way to reduce stress, okay?”
She couldn’t fully rely on someone else. She didn’t want to just sit around and be taken care of without doing anything. She decided to start looking for a job after the New Year.
To her, being independent as a person was really important.
So don’t even think about spoiling me too much, I won’t let myself go soft!