diff --git a/tests/cc/current_py_cc_libs/python_libs_linking_test.cc b/tests/cc/current_py_cc_libs/python_libs_linking_test.cc
index f3221ad8be..64d7e5ae0a 100644
--- a/tests/cc/current_py_cc_libs/python_libs_linking_test.cc
+++ b/tests/cc/current_py_cc_libs/python_libs_linking_test.cc
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-#include <cstdlib>
 #include <Python.h>
 
 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
+
+  PyObject *s = PyUnicode_FromString(argv[0]);
   // Early return to prevent the broken code below from running.
-  char* val = std::getenv("HELLO");
-  if (val || argc >= 1) {
+  if (argc >= 1) {
+    printf("%d\n", (int)s->ob_refcnt);
     return 0;
   }