Lin Wufeng felt they finally had a chance to break the awkward silence, so he greeted them with a warm smile. "Yiming, Xiangyang, come in! Come in!"
Li Yiming and Song Xiangyang couldn't very well turn around and leave, so they braced themselves and went inside, greeting everyone in the room.
Li Yiming had no idea what was going on in the room. He figured it was better to get straight to the point so he could take his leave, and spoke up first. "Engineer Lin, Teacher Zhuang, we should have come to visit you long ago. Both of you have helped us a great deal.
"It's just that Xiangyang and I let you down. Neither of us passed the exam, and we've failed to live up to your guidance!"
Song Ying was outspoken—or, rather, she didn't think before she spoke. She instinctively chimed in, "That's just how the college entrance exam goes. Some people pass, and some people don't. There's no need to take it too hard."
Her words were like a knife, stabbing straight into Li Yiming and Song Xiangyang's hearts and leaving them in tatters!
Huang Ling couldn't help laughing. After she'd had a laugh, she hurriedly tried to smooth things over for Song Ying. "That was supposed to be a kind word of comfort, but coming from you, it sounded downright hurtful.
"Yiming, don't take it to heart. Your Auntie Song just talks like that. She didn't mean anything by it."
Li Yiming nodded and said bitterly, "We're neighbors, of course I know. It's just the truth—but it really stings!"
Song Xiangyang gave a bitter smile. Since he didn't live here, all he could do was smile along.
Seeing how dejected the two of them looked, as if they had no intention of taking the exam