Early Morning. Two Days Later
In Maggi's Living Room
Johny Lee and his mother, Sarah, had originally planned to go grocery shopping in the South City District with Maggi, as the produce and meat were cheaper there.
However, when they entered Maggi's apartment, they found Tony and his mother, Aunt Sue, already sitting on the sofa, chatting.
Not wanting to be rude, Sarah didn't bring up the shopping trip and instead pulled up a chair to join the conversation.
While the relationship between the Lee and Sue families was strained especially since Johny and Tony had never gotten along , most people in Beijing cared deeply about appearances ("face"). Neighbors often engaged in polite small talk about family matters when they met, masking any underlying tension.
"Sarah, I heard your Johny has been studying hard lately?" Aunt Sue asked, her tone dripping with feigned concern.
"Yes, the national exam is in six months. What about your Tony?"
"He's also been looking at books, but as long as the next exam isn't too difficult, he'll definitely pass."
"Ah, your son is so easy to manage. Unlike our Johny, who hasn't been very good at studying since he was little."
Johny glumly held the cold can of Coca-Cola Maggi had given him, sipping it without joining the conversation.
After the disastrous interview the day before yesterday, he knew his chances were slim to none.
The tall interviewer clearly had a prejudice against him, which meant he had almost no chance of passing.
Consequently, Johny had been in a foul mood for the past two days, speaking very little.
"Drink slowly." Maggi pulled out a napkin and gently dabbed a drop of cola from the corner of Johny's mouth. "What are you thinking about?"
Seeing Maggi treating Johny with such tenderness, Tony's eyes sharpened with jealousy.
Johny gave an awkward smile.
"Thinking about the exam."
Maggi sighed softly. "Just let nature take its course. Don't push yourself too hard; it makes my heart ache to see you like this."
Aunt Sue interjected with a sense of superiority. "That's right. I said it before: the probability of fresh graduates passing the civil service exam is too low.
You should first go out into society, gain some experience, and then focus on the national exam after two or three years. This is called 'sharpening the axe before cutting wood.' Otherwise, you'll end up like the child of one of our colleagues, struggling with exams for three years after graduation and still failing. Just wasting time."
Maggi frowned; she didn't like hearing Johny being put down.
"That's not necessarily true."
Aunt Sue nodded sagely.
"If they're lucky, maybe they can pass the written exam once in three tries."
Maggi patted the back of Johny's head protectively. "Our Johny is smart too.
He'll definitely have no problem with the next national exam."
Tony shifted his gaze from Maggi to Johny. In the past month, Tony had emerged from his post-exam slump and regained his arrogance.
"My written exam score is out.
I got 85 on the Administrative Aptitude Test. I heard the questions were difficult this year, and very few people scored above 90.
What did you get?"
An 85 on the Aptitude Test meant Tony likely scored very low on the Essay portion; otherwise, passing the 110-point interview cutoff for the Customs Office would have been easy.
He was fishing for validation.
Johny glanced at him dismissively.
"I forgot."
Tony smirked. "Didn't do well, did you? Do you need me to tutor you?"
"No need. I'll just study on my own."
The cat crying over the mouse...fake sympathy, Johny thought bitterly.
Perhaps because he was in front of Maggi, Tony was constantly trying to show off. "Alright then. But if you have any questions you can't answer, come ask me."
Aunt Sue smiled broadly and patted Tony's shoulder. "My son's Aptitude Test is his strong suit. I asked several neighboring children who took the exam this time, and none of them scored above 80.
The best one only got 65 that's a big difference. And although my son's essay score was a bit low, it's not bad compared to others.
Many didn't even score fifteen points on the essay."
Sarah sighed, playing the role of the humble neighbor. "Your son will definitely be as capable as Section Chief in the future."
Aunt Sue chuckled, feigning modesty. "Who knows how he'll turn out."
Ring, ring, ring.
Johny's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and put it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Johny Lee?" A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end. It was hard to tell his age—maybe forty, maybe fifty.
"This is him. And you are?"
"This is the Political Department of the West City National Security Sub-bureau. The City Bureau sent over the political review results this morning."
The man spoke with a formal, bureaucratic cadence.
"We are notifying you to report to the West City Sub-bureau Political Department at 9:00 AM next Monday. Please take note of the address: the large compound without a sign, fifty meters east of the Zixin Road intersection on the south side of the road in the West City District.
Due to special security circumstances, we will not issue a reporting certificate. You only need to bring the originals and copies of your ID card, household registration book, and graduation certificate."
Johny was stunned. "Ah? You mean... you mean..."
The man continued, ignoring Johny's shock. "You have passed the civil service exam and the political background check.
We are in a bit of a hurry here, so your reporting time is earlier than other agencies. If you cannot report before next Friday for any reason, the bureau may cancel your admission qualification.
Please pay close attention to this deadline."
Johny stammered quickly, "No, no, I have no problem! I will definitely be there next Monday!"
"Alright." There was the sound of papers shuffling on the other end. "You have been assigned to the Comprehensive Department. As for the specific duties, we will brief you when you report."
Unlike other agencies, National Security did not require applicants to fill out detailed department preferences.
Instead, there was only a broad category of "Administrative Department," and specific assignments depended on internal allocation.
"Okay. Okay! Thank you!"
"That's all."
Beep, beep, beep. The line went dead.
Johny slowly lowered the phone and sat back in his chair.
He felt emotionally volatile, his hands trembling slightly.
Sarah looked at him with concern. "Did you find a job? What company is it? How's the pay?"
Aunt Sue chimed in with unsolicited advice. "Yes, start working first, and take the civil service exam while you're working.
Auntie is going to say something unpleasant, so please don't take offense, but this way, even if you don't pass next time, you'll still have a monthly salary to support yourself."
Tony looked down at Johny condescendingly. "Does that company even pay two thousand a month?"
Johny couldn't be bothered to argue with him. He sat up straight and faced his mother, his eyes shining.
"Mom, I have something to tell you."
Sarah blinked. "What is it?"
Johny cleared his throat. "Um, well... cough... I passed the civil service exam."
Sarah almost spat out her tea. She coughed and slammed down her teacup.
"What did you say? Passed what!?"
"I said I passed the civil service exam."
"Nonsense!" Sarah glared at him. "Are you trying to make Mom happy with a joke?"
Maggi also playfully pinched his arm.
"You became a civil servant without even telling us you had an interview? You little rascal, when did you get such a sense of humor? Hmm, it's okay, it's just one exam. Work hard next time and you'll pass.
Don't think about failure all day; think about happy things."
Johny exclaimed, his voice rising in excitement. "Mom! Maggi! When have I ever lied to you about something this big? I really passed! They just called to inform me to report for duty on Monday!"
"Ah?"
Sarah, Maggi, Aunt Sue, and Tony were all stunned into silence.
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