Chen Zhuo stuffed the deck of cards into his pocket and slipped on the pair of disposable slippers.
"Wait here. I’m gonna go round some people up."
"Round people up?"
Wang Yang was stunned.
"Who are you getting?"
"I’m getting Zhao Chen and the others."
Chen Zhuo walked to the door and put his hand on the doorknob.
"You can’t be the only one with these pre-exam jitters. If we’re going to go crazy, we’re all going crazy together."
"No... Don’t."
Wang Yang was startled.
"Old Zhao is just down the hall. If he hears us all getting together..."
"He won’t hear. I’ve got it under control."
Chen Zhuo gave him a wink.
"Spread that thick comforter on the floor. I’ll be right back."
Like a spy from the Republican era, Chen Zhuo cracked the door open a sliver and peeked out into the hallway.
The hallway was silent. A thick red carpet muffled all footsteps, and only a few ceiling lights cast a stark, pale glow.
The door to room 302 was shut tight. The faint sound of a television could be heard from inside.
Old Zhao and Old Zhou were probably watching the evening news or drinking tea.
’The coast is clear.’
Chen Zhuo hunched over, shuffled in his slippers, and snuck to the door of room 305 next door.
This was Zhao Chen and Liu Kai’s room.
Not daring to knock too hard, he used his knuckles to tap lightly three times.
No response.
He knocked twice more, a little harder this time.
A few seconds later, the lock clicked.
The door opened a crack, revealing Zhao Chen’s big face.
The kid had a constipated look on his face and was holding a vocabulary booklet.
"Group Leader? What’s up? Is Old Zhao doing room checks?"
Zhao Chen whispered, his face wary.
"No room check. What’re you up to?"
"Memorizing formulas... I can’t focus. Liu Kai is eating instant noodles next to me, and it’s making me so hungry."
Zhao Chen looked miserable.
"Stop memorizing. Come to 306. Bring your pillow."
"What for?"
"To play cards."
Chen Zhuo shook the box of cards in his hand.
"24 Game. You in?"
Zhao Chen’s eyes instantly lit up, shining as brightly as the lights in the hallway.
He’d been going stir-crazy. Someone taking the lead to stir up some trouble was the lifeline he’d been waiting for.
"I’m in! Of course I’m in! Wait up!"
He turned and shouted back into the room.
"Fatty! Stop eating! The Group Leader is calling for us!"
It was the same story with Li Hao and Zhang Wei.
With the boys taken care of, Chen Zhuo snuck over to 304 across the hall.
This was the girls’ room.
Chen Zhuo hesitated at the door.
Girls were easily embarrassed and more timid. Knocking on their door at this hour, he could be mistaken for some kind of creep.
But he remembered Nan Xiaoyun’s worried expression from dinner and raised his hand to knock.
He knocked lightly, in a steady rhythm.
After a long moment, the door opened a crack, secured by the security chain.
Nan Xiaoyun peeked out warily with one eye.
She wasn’t wearing her glasses, and her eyes were a little red. It seemed she had been crying, or maybe she was homesick.
"Chen Zhuo? What is it?"
Her voice was tinged with a nasal sound, making it sound pitiably soft.
"You’re not asleep, are you?"
Chen Zhuo tried his best to give a perfectly innocent smile.
"No... I can’t sleep. Lin Xiao is doing geometry problems. She can’t solve them and is losing her temper over it."
’Just as I thought. Total annihilation. Everyone’s a wreck.’
"Stop doing them. The more you work on them, the more you’ll panic."
Chen Zhuo lowered his voice.
"Come to 306. I’ll show you a brain-training game to help you relax."
"Huh? At this hour?"
Nan Xiaoyun glanced toward the end of the hall.
"Teacher Zhao will kill us."
"We’ll be quiet. He won’t know."
Chen Zhuo decided to goad her.
"Wang Yang and Zhao Chen are already there. We’re just playing 24 Game, a pure math game. Don’t tell me you’re too scared to come?"
Nan Xiaoyun was taken aback for a moment.
She glanced back into the room.
Lin Xiao was slumped over the desk, clutching her hair like a madwoman.
At a time like this, the temptation to huddle together for warmth was just too great.
Even if it meant breaking the rules, as long as they were all together, it didn’t seem so scary anymore.
"...Give us a minute."
Nan Xiaoyun bit her lip.
"We’ll just change our clothes."
「Five minutes later.」
Room 306 had become the secret rendezvous point for the City No.1 Middle School delegation.
Eight people packed the small standard room to the gills.
The curtains were drawn tight, the door was bolted shut, and the security chain was latched.
They pushed two rugs together, pulled the thick comforter from Chen Zhuo’s bed, folded it in half and then in half again, and placed it in the middle.
Eight heads huddled together in a circle.
The main overhead light was off, with only a dim, yellow desk lamp left on.
Everyone’s faces looked a little mysterious in the lamplight, tinged with the thrill of mischief.
"Is... is this okay?"
Liu Kai clutched a pillow, still stuffing the leftover crumbs from his instant noodles into his mouth.
"If Old Zhao catches us, we’ll all have to write written self-criticisms, won’t we?"
"If we get caught, I’ll take the blame."
Chen Zhuo sat cross-legged in the middle, like a casino dealer.
He unwrapped the new deck of cards, and the smell of fresh ink filled the small space.
"Don’t be cowards. This is pre-exam brain activation training. It’s scientifically sound."
"The rules are simple."
Chen Zhuo laid out the rules as he shuffled the cards.
"24 Game. Four cards, add, subtract, multiply, divide. First one to get the answer slaps the comforter. You have to show your work—no wild guesses."
"The last one to get it, or anyone who can’t get it at all..."
Chen Zhuo looked around, grabbed Wang Yang’s scratch paper notebook from the desk, and tore it into strips.
He also grabbed the glass from the table, which was half-full of water.
"Gets a paper strip."
"Dip it in water, stick it on your forehead. One strip per round, no backing out."
"Bring it on! I’m not scared!"
Zhao Chen was the first to roll up his sleeves.
"Let me tell you, in my class, they call me the human calculator. You guys can get ready to have your faces plastered."
"Yeah, right."
Lin Xiao had given up on her problems now. She sat down cross-legged and casually tied her hair into a ponytail.
"I might not have been able to solve that geometry problem earlier, but I’ve never lost at arithmetic."
The atmosphere in the room changed.
The suffocating, oppressive anxiety of exam prep was washed away by the illicit thrill of breaking the rules.
They looked at each other, a competitive glint in their eyes.
These were, after all, some of the top brains from City No.1 Middle School’s junior high division.
This wasn’t just playing cards; it was a high-IQ deathmatch.
"Get ready."
Chen Zhuo placed his hand on the deck.
"First round, just a warm-up."
"SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!"
Four cards were tossed onto the thick comforter. They didn’t make much of a sound, but everyone’s heart skipped a beat.
of Hearts, 8 of Spades, 4 of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds.
"(12 - 8 + 4) x 3!"
In less than two seconds.
Wang Yang practically yelled it.
The moment the words were out, Zhao Chen, who was beside him, clamped a hand over his mouth.
"MMPH MMPH..."
"Keep it down! You trying to get Old Zhao over here?!"
Zhao Chen hissed in a low voice.
Wang Yang pried Zhao Chen’s hand away. His face was flushed red, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.
"I got it! 24! I was the first one!"
That confidence, that domineering air of being the only one for the job, instantly returned to the boy who was usually so timid.
"Damn, that fast?"
The noodle crumbs in Liu Kai’s hand fell to the floor.
"I barely even saw the cards."
Chen Zhuo smiled, picked up a strip of paper, dipped it in some water, and handed it to the slowest to react, Nan Xiaoyun.
"Go ahead and stick it on, Classmate Nan."
Nan Xiaoyun didn’t hesitate, slapping the strip of paper onto her forehead. It fluttered with her every breath.
"Again!"
Round two.
of Clubs, 5 of Diamonds, 5 of Hearts, Ace of Spades.
This one was tricky.
The room fell silent for a moment, leaving only the sound of rapid breathing.
Everyone was rapidly running through permutations in their heads.
"(5 - 1/5) x 5!"
This time, it was Lin Xiao.
Her voice was clear and crisp, and she spoke extremely fast.
"I told you. When it comes to arithmetic, I’ve never lost."
Lin Xiao lifted her chin smugly.
"Holy cow... fraction operations?"
Zhao Chen was dumbfounded.
"That’s allowed?"
"Why not? Chen Zhuo didn’t say we couldn’t use fractions, did he?"
Lin Xiao looked at Chen Zhuo.
"I didn’t. You win."
Chen Zhuo nodded with a smile.
"Zhao Chen, Liu Kai, time for your strips."
After a few more rounds, the scene got completely out of hand.
Everyone had completely forgotten about the exam tomorrow, and they’d also forgotten about the dreaded Old Zhao next door.
Their minds were filled with nothing but numbers, with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Their brains were running at high speed, like precision engines warmed up to their optimal state.
Wang Yang went completely wild.
His mathematical intuition was truly terrifying.
As soon as the cards landed, his eyes were like scanners, instantly locking onto the optimal solution.
"(3 + 3/7) x 7!"
"(4 - 2) x (6 + 6)!"
He was dominating everyone and didn’t have a single strip of paper on him.
On the other hand, Zhao Chen and Liu Kai, across from him, had white paper strips plastered on their foreheads, chins, and even their ears. They looked like two zombies that had just crawled out of the grave.
Watching the two zombies scratching their heads in frustration, Wang Yang laughed so hard his stomach hurt, rolling around on the carpet.
"HAHAHA... Zhao Chen, you look... like a White Impermanence..."
He laughed until tears streamed down his face.
The fear that had been building for half a month, the inferiority complex he felt toward Provincial Experimental School, the confusion about the unknown—it all came pouring out with his unrestrained laughter and tears.
Nan Xiaoyun had a strip of paper on her cheek, making her look a bit like a matchmaker. Watching Wang Yang laugh, she couldn’t help but cover her own mouth and giggle.
As she laughed, the redness around her eyes faded.
「Nine-thirty.」
Chen Zhuo glanced at his watch.
’That’s about enough.’
This state of excitement was a double-edged sword. In moderation, it was a stimulant; in excess, it was draining.
"Alright, time to pack it up."
Chen Zhuo gathered the cards.
"That was the last round. Wang Yang is the undisputed winner. He’s the God of Gamblers tonight."
"Aw, come on, just one more round! I’ll definitely win this one!"
Zhao Chen, not yet satisfied, protested from behind the gaps in the paper strips covering his face.
"Nope."
Chen Zhuo put on a stern face, invoking his authority as group leader.
"It’s nine-thirty. Your brains are warmed up now, which is perfect for going to sleep. When you wake up tomorrow morning, your minds will be fully fueled."
"If we keep playing, you’ll be dreaming about playing cards during the exam tomorrow."
Although they were reluctant, everyone knew when to stop.
The girls stood up and helped each other peel the paper strips off their faces.
It hurt a little to tear them off, and everyone winced and grimaced.
"Ow, Chen Zhuo, you used too much water on these strips. They’re stuck on really tight."
Nan Xiaoyun rubbed her forehead, which was now red.
But her eyes were much brighter now; gone was the timid look she had when she first came in.
"Thanks, Group Leader."
As she reached the door, Lin Xiao turned back and said.
"If it weren’t for this tonight, I probably would’ve been up all night with insomnia."
"Don’t mention it."
Chen Zhuo waved his hand dismissively, like an old man shooing people away.
"Now hurry back and get some sleep."
The boys also snuck back to their rooms.
Before leaving, Zhao Chen even swiped half a pack of crackers from Chen Zhuo, claiming that the intense mental exertion had made him hungry.
The room, which had been packed just a moment ago, was suddenly empty.
A few sunflower seed shells were left on the carpet, and the air was filled with the characteristic smell of teenage sweat and paper.
Wang Yang sat on the carpet, in no hurry to get up.
There wasn’t a single strip of paper on his face; it was completely clean.
He was fiddling with the King of Hearts from the winning hand, and looking at the empty room, he suddenly let out a goofy chuckle.
"Group Leader."
"Hm?"
Chen Zhuo was putting the comforter back on the bed, patting the dust off it.
"I suddenly feel like... tomorrow’s exam is no big deal."
Wang Yang stood up and tossed the card in his hand into the box.
His voice was steady, and his hands were no longer shaking.
"So what if they have projectors, internal handouts, and single desks."
"I’ve got you guys."
"In that last round, with the combined brainpower of the eight of us, I think we could’ve calculated their crappy computer into crashing."
"I was faster than everyone else, wasn’t I?"
Chen Zhuo stopped what he was doing and looked at his teammate, who had finally gotten his spirit back.
He smiled.
He walked over and patted Wang Yang’s shoulder.
"Yeah. You were the fastest."
"Tomorrow, when you’re in the exam hall, just treat that test paper like a deck of cards."
"Those problems are just your 24 Game."
"Go collect your chips, God of Gamblers."
Wang Yang nodded forcefully.
"Time for bed!"
He stripped off his clothes in a few swift movements and dove into his bed.
Not five minutes later, the sound of even breathing came from his side of the room.
This time, there was no sleep-talking, no grinding of teeth.
Chen Zhuo turned off the desk lamp.
The room plunged into darkness.
Moonlight filtering through the gap in the curtains illuminated the few scraps of paper on the carpet.
Chen Zhuo: "May all lovers in the world end up as siblings."
A beautiful smile~

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