There were only a few days left until the exam. Since he had talked such a big game, he had to take action.
After dinner, Dong Xuebin went home and shut himself alone in his little room. He rummaged through boxes and cabinets, eventually digging out a stack of answer sheets and blank paper he had used in high school from a small camphorwood chest beneath his bed. He set them on his desk, prepared an eraser, 2B pencils, and the like, then began memory training. ABCD, 1234—his head was filled with answer choices.
This was the only way he could think of to pass the Civil Servants exam. Though the odds were only ten or twenty percent, he had to give it a try.
The next morning.
Dong Xuebin climbed up from the living room sofa, which was covered in answer sheets, and threw himself back into practice. "AABDDCCABDC..." With his eyes closed, he muttered away like a madman.
Mom found it rather baffling and asked, "Xuebin, what are you doing?"
Dong Xuebin coughed. "Exam prep. Exam prep."
Mom blinked. "Didn't you already buy the study materials for this year's exam? What use are those little slips of paper?"
"Oh, don't worry about it. I know what I'm doing." As long as Back could still be used on exam day, all this effort would not be wasted.
Practice... practice... practice...
One hour... two hours... three hours...
Ring, ring, ring. His phone rang. Dong Xuebin picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number. "Hello? Hello?"
"Hello, is this Little Dong?" An elderly voice came from the other end.
"Sorry, may I ask who this is?"
"My surname is Hu."
Dong Xuebin went, "Oh. Are you Grandpa Hu? How are you feeling?"
"Thanks to you, I'm doing quite well. Hehe, are