Perhaps it was because I had been drinking, but I had trouble falling asleep last night. Combined with the sound of people drinking outside, I barely slept at all.
I woke up early in the morning, took a shower, put on my suit and dress shoes, and went downstairs with Huanhuan to have breakfast before heading to the exam site. I had thought wearing a suit might make me stand out, but when I arrived, I noticed everyone else was also dressed formally, which put me at ease. I also ran into many younger classmates, who clearly had a fresh, student-like vibe. One junior was struggling to button the top button of his shirt—it was obviously too tight. I reassured him, “It’s fine, you don’t have to button it. It might affect your performance, and the examiners won’t mind. You’ll feel better if you’re more comfortable.”
A-Lin was there too. He had kindly picked up my exam admission ticket for me, and I was very grateful. After performing well in the last interview, I’ve grown increasingly confident. This time, my interview went smoothly—at least I didn’t stutter excessively or feel overly nervous—and I scored 82.33. Initially, I thought it was an average score, but after chatting with others afterward, I realized it was actually quite good.
After the interview, A-Lin and I went to a busy area nearby to grab a bite and relax. There weren’t many options, so we settled for a beef and bean hotpot. Gui’an is truly remote—there wasn’t even a Mixue Ice Cream & Tea shop, which was a bit disappointing.
At noon, Xiaomeiling brought Huanhuan back, and we sat together briefly before accompanying her to have a bowl of noodles. After resting for a bit, we prepared to return to Panzhou.
By the time we reached Panzhou, it was pouring rain. We both got completely drenched—the small umbrella we had was useless against the downpour. Once we got back to our place, we ordered some takeout on our phones. I overestimated my appetite and ordered way too much. Watching those mukbang videos where people eat enormous amounts made me think I could handle more, but in reality, eating just a little extra left me feeling uncomfortable. After eating, I played some video games but was so exhausted that I dozed off without realizing it.