Chapter 354: Another Face-Saving Success!

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the glass windows of the examination hall, casting long, narrow shadows across the tabletops.

Tang Ye unfolded the essay question paper, his gaze sweeping over the topics, and he felt a secret joy in his heart.

He had accurately predicted the exam questions!

In an internal open selection filled with experts, the scores for the administrative aptitude test were often nearly identical.

What truly created a gap was the essay portion.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and pulled out a sheet of draft paper to begin organizing his thoughts.

Thirty minutes in, he had outlined a rigorous logical framework on the paper;

Sixty minutes in, he had polished his scattered viewpoints into a fluent argument;

For the remaining hour, the tip of his fountain pen rustled across the answer sheet, every character as neat as print, with even the punctuation marks striving for precision.

With less than an hour and a half left in the exam, Hu Zhongping closed his pen cap and was the first to stand up to submit his paper.

Following that, other candidates also began to pack up their stationery one after another.

Tang Ye remained unmoved, still staring intently at the paper.

As time passed, there were fewer and fewer people in the examination hall.

When the last candidate left, only Tang Ye's figure remained hunched over the desk in the vast space.

He was so completely immersed in the exam that he didn't even notice the invigilator frequently checking their watch.

It wasn't until five minutes before the submission deadline that he stopped his pen, checking his answers word by word to ensure there were no omissions whatsoever.

The moment the bell rang, Tang Ye gently pushed his test paper toward the invigilator.

When the other party took the paper, their eyes were a mix of confusion and dissatisfaction.

In everyone's eyes, submitting early was a sign of confidence.

And because Tang Ye submitted right at the deadline, he was inevitably labeled as "lacking ability."

Tang Ye understood the resentment in the examiner's eyes.

He had prevented them from getting off work early!

Walking out of the examination hall, Tang Ye tilted his head back to stretch his stiff neck; the spring sunlight spilled onto him, bringing a long-lost sense of relief.

Only when placed in an examination hall could he enter that marvelous state—every cell highly excited, adrenaline secreting wildly, his thinking sparking with astonishing brilliance under pressure.

In the parking lot, Hu Zhongping stubbed out the cigarette in his hand and watched Tang Ye walk out of the Examination Institute's main gate, a mocking smile curling the corner of his mouth: "I thought he had snuck out the side door!"

His Party School classmate beside him saw this and jokingly patted him on the shoulder: "It seems Tang Ye is nothing special after all, dragging the essay out until the very end. I was even sweating for you before the exam!"

"Competing with him is indeed stressful." Hu Zhongping started the car, the rearview mirror reflecting Tang Ye's figure as he walked further and further away, "But looking at today, I'm very disappointed. Where is the look of a Top Scorer?"

The classmate lowered his voice to remind him: "This selection is full of hidden talents; the municipal civil service exam Top Scorer from two years ago also came, though they applied for a Section Chief position, so there's no competition with us."

Hu Zhongping feigned indifference, draped an arm over the other's shoulder, and said insincerely: "Forget him! I don't want to think about it after the exam. Let's go, let's go eat and properly relax!"

……

The curtain fell on the Hanzhou City open selection exam.

Undercurrents surged through the entire city's officialdom, with countless eyes fixed on the movements of the Organization Department.

On the morning of the second day after the exam, as soon as Jiang Jing stepped into the office, she called Tang Ye over: "How did you do on this exam?"

Tang Ye's tone was humble: "I performed average; I hope to make it to the interview."

Jiang Jing raised an eyebrow and chuckled: "You are a renowned exam expert, how is it that you've lost your confidence?"

Tang Ye let out a long sigh: "It's been too long since I've been in an exam hall, I really have no idea."

Jiang Jing said with a smile: "Even if you didn't do well this time, don't take it too much to heart; the road ahead is still long."

Tang Ye felt a warmth in his heart, "Thank you for your encouragement!"

Jiang Jing pondered for a moment and lowered her voice: "The candidate for the Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary-General has been decided; it's a comrade transferred from the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. I have worked with him for many years; this person is meticulous in his work, upright in character, and very capable."

Tang Ye immediately straightened his back, his expression solemn: "I will certainly cooperate fully and do a good job with the support work!"

Before the Executive meeting began, Du Chengfeng specifically found Xia Hong, asking her to tell him the results the moment the open selection results were out.

"Don't worry, I know your son-in-law participated in this exam. Many people are asking, but I will definitely put your request first."

"Thank you, Minister Xia."

Xia Hong knew that Du Chengfeng rarely took the initiative to ask people for favors.

This time it involved his son-in-law, so it seemed his son-in-law was very important to Du Chengfeng.

After the Standing Committee meeting ended, he reached out and patted his shoulder: "Secretary-General Chengfeng, seeing you chatting with Xia Hong before the meeting, were you concerned about Little Tang's exam?"

Du Chengfeng feigned composure and said with a smile: "Secretary Zhou, you really guessed it in one."

Zhou Chengwu laughed upon hearing this: "With Little Tang's level, this exam is just a piece of cake; set your mind at ease and wait for the good news."

Three days later in the Organization Department office, Xia Hong received the grade sheet from her subordinate.

This selection process was strictly monitored throughout.

When she opened the list and locked eyes on that familiar name, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but lift.

When she dialed Du Chengfeng's phone, she deliberately lowered her voice: "Secretary-General, there's some bad news—Little Tang's scores this time aren't ideal; it's looking shaky for the re-examination."

A questioning voice came from the other side of the phone: "Don't joke! With Tang Ye's level, even if he slipped up, he wouldn't fail to make it to the interview. I demand a paper review!"

Xia Hong couldn't hold it back anymore and burst out laughing: "I'm teasing you! Tang Ye is first in the written exam, leading the second place by over ten points!"

Du Chengfeng was both angry and amused: "You, you scared me into a cold sweat! Still, I have to thank you for notifying me immediately."

Just after hanging up the phone, Du Chengfeng couldn't wait to dial Xiao Qin's number: "The results you've been fretting about every day are out; Little Tang is first in the written exam, with a huge advantage!"

Xiao Qin let out a long sigh of relief: "I knew he could do it! Every time I asked him, he was vague, it was really worrying. By the way, how did Hu Zhongping do? Zhao Disheng's wife has been bragging everywhere recently, saying he did extremely well."

Du Chengfeng's tone was firm: "Regardless of what he scored, he poses no threat to Little Tang. Remember, don't spread the word before the results are officially posted."

Just after giving this instruction, Xiao Qin still couldn't resist dialing Qin Lan's number.

As soon as the call connected, she couldn't hide her excitement: "In-law! Little Tang got first place in the open selection written exam, leading the second place by a wide margin!"

Qin Lan's hand holding the phone tightened abruptly, yet her voice remained exceptionally calm: "This child takes after his father; he has never made me worry about exams since he was little."

Women, after all, are inconsistent; the more indifferent they appear on the surface, the more turbulent their hearts are!

Her son had brought honor to her again this time!

Qin Lan dialed Tang Yu's number; Tang Yu had just finished a surgery.

"Old Tang, let me tell you some good news: the written exam results for our son's open selection have come out, and he is far in the lead!"

Tang Yu was stunned for a moment, then said with a smile, "When the college entrance exam results came out back then, I didn't see you this happy!"