FI CH54: Score Control

The second night at the hotel was uneventful.

Lin Su played cards with a group of people until midnight, then went back to wash up and sleep.

At eight the next morning.

A series of knocks sounded on the door.

Lin Su opened the door with a small yawn and saw Bai Jiang standing there neatly dressed, holding a tray filled with breakfast.

He paused, blinked. “?”

Bai Jiang was full of energy. “Good morning, Brother-Teacher! The organizers said the assessment doesn’t start until 10, so I brought breakfast up for you. You don’t have to make a special trip downstairs!”

The tray was piled high like an offering.

Lin Su looked at it with admiration. “…This is too much. Have you eaten?”

“I’ve eaten.”

He patted Bai Jiang, then closed his door. “Let’s go then, to He… Xiao He’s room.”

Bai Jiang: 0.0?

They arrived at the room door.

Lin Su knocked twice, and the door opened with a “thud.” He looked up. “Surprise~”

Behind the door, a figure paused.

He Zhenling was only wearing an undershirt, his bangs casually draped over his forehead. He seemed taken aback by the offering-like scene before him, pausing for a second before asking, “…What is this?”

“Our son… Xiao Bai brought breakfast up.”

“…”

As he spoke, Lin Su called Bai Jiang into the room. He Zhenling glanced at Bai Jiang. “Thank you for your trouble.”

Bai Jiang was still a little dazed. “Oh…” 0.0

Entering the room, the food was spread out on the coffee table.

Xuenima climbed up and stealthily snatched a small piece of bread, gratified. [Although Xiao Bai hasn’t accepted Xiao He as his stepfather yet, he’s already being filial.]

Lin Su poked a yogurt tube into its small mouth, shutting it up.

By now, Bai Jiang seemed to have recovered a little. He sat up straight and asked, “Brother-Teacher, what do you think the next competition will be?”

Lin Su twirled some fried noodles. “It doesn’t start until 10, so the content itself should be very simple. But no matter what it is…” He smiled. “We’re halfway through the competition. The organizers should be eager to eliminate more people.”

Bai Jiang was worried. “I won’t be eliminated, will I?”

Lin Su encouraged him. “You’re the Grand President.”

The person before him immediately went from cloudy to sunny. “That’s true~*”

As they were talking, a voice suddenly came from the side. “You don’t eat green peppers either?”

Turning his head, he saw He Zhenling’s gaze fall on the edge of his plate, his eyebrow slightly raised. Lin Su pushed them around. “They don’t feel like they’re cooked through, they taste a bit raw.”

He glanced over. “…You want them?”

He Zhenling was silent for a second, then pushed his plate over. “Give them to me.”

Lin Su slid his plate over and pushed them onto the other plate, saying shyly, “I didn’t realize you loved green peppers so much.”

“I just find them ‘edible’.”

“So what you love is snatching food from my mouth.”

He Zhenling let out a scoffing laugh, picked them up, and ate them.

Lin Su had just pulled his hand back when he felt a poke on his leg. He looked down, and Xuenima gestured to him: […Look at Xiao Bai.]

“?”

Turning his head, he saw Bai Jiang sitting there with his mouth agape, looking as if he’d been struck by lightning! He sat there like a faded statue.

“…” Lin Su: What’s wrong with him?

[His solo stan heart was shattered.]

Lin Su was silent for a few moments, then suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the completely natural-looking He Zhenling in front of him. He savored the moment, then said with a pursed-lip smile:

Nima, I think he really cares about me…

Xuenima didn’t want to hear it and covered its ears.

As his gaze fell, He Zhenling sensed it and looked up. “What, is there something else you don’t eat?”

Lin Su sighed and dotingly pushed a few slices of bacon over. “I’ll share some of my favorites with you.”

He Zhenling’s chopsticks paused, and he turned his head. “…Mm.”

After breakfast was finished.

Bai Jiang left with a pair of sunny-side-up egg eyes, carrying the tray and taking the elevator downstairs.

Xuenima watched his retreating back: [Is he okay?]

Lin Su carried it back to his room. “He’ll be fine.”

When they went downstairs to gather at 10 o’clock.

Bai Jiang had indeed already adjusted his mood. He waved his sleeve and called out, “Brother-Teacher!” Then he cast a scrutinizing gaze at He Zhenling on the side: 0`n’0 Hmph.

He Zhenling: “…”

He glanced down faintly, then turned his gaze forward and said, “Let’s go gather and prepare for the competition.”

At the front, the staff member was already waiting.

A long table was set up in front of him, with five metal cups placed upside down on it.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, he clasped his hands behind his back and said:

“Good morning, everyone. The content of the fourth competition is: Sensing. I will hide an item under one of these metal cups, and the participants must point out its location.”

“You will need to guess a total of five times. Each correct guess is worth 20 points, for a total of 100 points. However—”

The smiling mask slowly lifted. “Guessing wrong three times or more will result in direct elimination. Please choose carefully.”

As soon as he finished, a wave of chatter erupted:

“Direct elimination?”

“So more than two people will be eliminated this round!”

“But if the mistakes are all within three times, does that mean no one will be eliminated?”

The staff member nodded. “That’s exactly right. Because we can’t calculate rankings, those with more mistakes will have to say goodbye with regret.”

Beside him, Bai Jiang turned and whispered in amazement, “Big Shot Brother, you were right…”

Lin Su smiled. “And, this is also to stabilize the rankings midway through the competition. If I’m not mistaken, Yu Yixun will still be guaranteed a perfect score.”

“Do you need me to expose him?”

“Not for now.”

“Mmm! 0`n’0”

As they were talking, the competition had already begun.

Participants only needed to turn their backs to the staff member, and then turn back around after the item was hidden to sense which cup it was under. The entire process was watched by other contestants, so there were few opportunities for temporary tricks.

But that didn’t mean there were none at all.

When it was Yu Yixun’s turn, he easily pointed out the item’s location five times.

Lin Su glanced over. “1-3-5-2-4. The organizers are really afraid their stupid son can’t remember the order.”

[Hehe, maybe they’re also afraid the smiley-faced mask can’t remember either.]

At the front, Yu Yixun came down, pleased with himself.

He even deliberately glanced at Lin Su, as if showing off his firm grip on first place.

Lin Su gave him a light glance in return.

Soon it was Lin Su’s turn. He turned around with a graceful flutter of his clothes. Almost at the same time the staff member finished hiding the item, he spoke without even turning his head. “The 2nd one.”

Behind him, there was an abrupt pause, and the location was quietly changed.

“The 4th one.”

“…”

A wave of amazement couldn’t be held back from the sidelines.

Two voices were particularly prominent. Bai Jiang turned his head and said excitedly, “See, isn’t Brother Kun amazing!”

Tang Yin nodded. “This is strength! I get it!”

The test was over in less than half a minute.

Lin Su came down with a perfect score and gave a slight smile to the stunned Yu Yixun. “I saw you holding your hand up there with such effort for so long. I thought there was some major interference.”

Yu Yixun: “…”

He was so angry his teeth were clenched, his face flushing red. Crap!

…

After one round of competition, five people were indeed eliminated.

Lin Su, He Zhenling, and Bai Jiang all got perfect scores.

Surprisingly, so did Tang Yin. His sensing ability was very strong, and he won with ease.

It was just that after the competition ended, Tang Yin insisted on stopping Yu Yixun for another test. He pounced on the table like a tiger descending a mountain, his hands quickly shuffling the cups back and forth, staring at Yu Yixun like a predator.

“Quick, say it! Which cup is it in! If you don’t say it, you’re cheating!”

Yu Yixun was trembling with anger. “…You lunatic!”

He was then stopped by the staff for “disrupting order.”

“There’s another competition this afternoon, Mr. Tang Yin. Please go back and rest for a bit to prepare.”

Tang Yin slammed the cup down and glared. “Hmph.” Then he turned and strode away.

“…”

Lin Su watched the spectacle with admiration, then went to the restaurant.

He Zhenling followed him over. “What’s your current ranking?”

“Back to fifth. What about you?”

“Eighth.”

“Looks like your 40-point paper was a great contribution.” Lin Su praised him, then added meaningfully, “But, you’re ‘safe’ for now.”

The person beside him cast a glance at him.

Lin Su curved his lips. “The main event is this afternoon.”

The afternoon competition started at two o’clock.

Lin Su took a nap at noon. When he came downstairs, two tufts of hair were still sticking up.

Ding! The elevator doors opened.

He happened to run into Hao Niubai on his way out. Hao Niubai greeted him with a “Hey!” and was about to say something when her gaze fell on the top of his head. “Um… you…”

Lin Su was oblivious. “What?”

Beside him, there was a pause, then a hand suddenly reached out.

His head was smoothed down twice, not too heavily, not too lightly. He turned his head to see He Zhenling calmly withdrawing his hand.

“Your silly cowlick.”

“…”

In front of him, a pair of eyes suddenly lit up like searchlights!

Lin Su met Hao Niubai’s gaze, savored it, and said to Xuenima, “It really wasn’t my imagination. Do you think Hao Niubai has guessed something?”

Xuenima was alert: […Is there anything about you two that can be guessed?]

Lin Su reminded it: “Some sinful forbidden fruit.”

[…]

However, Hao Niubai only stared with her piercing gaze for two seconds before modestly running away. A string of clear, bell-like giggles trailed behind her…

Lin Su turned to He Zhenling, demurely. “Getting handsy in public. Don’t you want your chastity anymore?”

He Zhenling’s profile was faint, his eyes forward. “What, do you want me to maintain my chastity?”

Lin Su pursed his lips shyly, pressing his collar. “Alright then, if you insist on being a little impure.”

“…Heh~”

Amidst the flirty waves, more people started coming down.

The two provisionally stopped their conversation and walked towards the lobby together.

When they reached the lobby, they saw a new group of unfamiliar faces. A quick scan revealed about twenty people, corresponding to the remaining participants.

The staff member stood at the front, seemingly having waited for a long time. Seeing people arrive, he raised a hand to gesture. “Everyone is here, so I will announce the content of the fifth competition.”

He stepped aside to reveal the crowd behind him. “These are the ‘volunteers’ for this event. Some supernatural-related things have happened to all of them. Please sense them.”

“Of course, it could be recent, or it could be from many years ago.”

The staff member smiled. “Who you choose is also purely based on luck. The slip of paper with the answer is on the volunteer themselves. After you give your answer, it will be checked on the spot.”

As soon as he finished, the crowd turned to discuss.

Some were already looking at the volunteers, trying to lock onto a recent answer in advance.

“It sounds a bit like the first round!”

“But the difficulty has been upgraded, and there’s also an element of luck and first-mover advantage.”

“The top few from the first round should score high in this round too, right?”

Hao Niubai sidled up to Lin Su, whispering with excitement, “This is your area of expertise, right? Hey, make another prediction. What about you and… and Mr. He’s ranking?”

Lin Su said, “He will get a perfect score.”

Ooh! Hao Niubai’s eyes sparkled. “What about you?”

Lin Su smiled but didn’t answer her.

…

At the front, preparations for the competition had been announced.

Selection was in order of points, from high to low.

Currently, the first-ranked was Yu Yixun. The crowd’s suspicious gazes were fixed on him. Suddenly, he raised a hand and said with a nonchalant look:

“Sigh, since you all suspect me, I’ll choose last.”

He shrugged. “You guys pick first, leave the rest for me.”

The crowd immediately exchanged confused glances.

Tang Yin even let out an “Ah?” and asked bluntly, “Then if you memorize all the answers first, doesn’t it not matter who you choose?”

Yu Yixun was half-dead from anger. He said hatefully, “There are over twenty answers. Even if I memorize them, if I match them incorrectly, won’t I be exposed!”

Tang Yin seemed to think that made sense and went back to his own thoughts.

Soon, the selection began from the second-place winner.

Lin Su was ranked fifth. He glanced over and also casually chose one.

The girl standing in front of him looked to be in her early twenties, probably from a nearby village. Her face was rosy, her shoes were still stained with mud, and she wore a floral-print jacket.

Their eyes met, and the girl turned her head away.

A thin layer of gold floated in Lin Su’s eyes, his gaze fell for a moment. Then a look of understanding appeared, and he called out:

“Nima, do as I say.”

[Okay.]

Before long, everyone had chosen their volunteer.

Although the selection order was different, the order for submitting answers was not fixed. As soon as you were ready, you could begin sensing and have the answer checked on the spot.

Lin Su didn’t rush to go up, instead spectating from the side first.

Yu Yixun was not the first to go up either.

He waited until he was fourth to go up, took out a mirror, and fiddled with it for a while with great ceremony, then gave his answer.

The staff member clapped his hands once. “Please reveal the answer.”

The volunteer in front of him took the answer out of his pocket, and the result was checked on the spot: “Perfect score!”

Yu Yixun came down triumphantly.

Tang Yin was holding his head, still pondering on the side. “Ah? What part of it didn’t match…”

Lin Su sighed lightly and shook his head.

There was a memory technique called associative memory. The men, women, old, and young present, all with different clothing styles, had “keyword” hints on them somewhere. There was no fear of not being able to match them.

As he was thinking, he saw He Zhenling go up.

He Zhenling stood in front of the volunteer. He didn’t use any props, just held his Tang-style saber, swept his gaze over, and gave an answer.

The staff member seemed to pause for a moment, then clapped his hands once. “Please reveal the answer.”

The volunteer took out the answer: “Perfect score!”

“Waaahhh…” Hao Niubai couldn’t help but rush to Lin Su’s side, lowering her voice in excitement. “You were right! Is this trust? Or did you predict it?”

Lin Su said, “Both.”

Hao Niubai: Huh???

Xuenima popped its head out: [Abba wants to know too.]

Lin Su said to it kindly, “He Zhenling deliberately got a 40 before to temporarily lower his ranking. He currently poses no threat to Yu Yixun. Plus, he has demonstrated his ability to exorcise spirits…”

“In this round, the organizers won’t mess with him.”

He smiled. “But I’m different.”

[How will the organizers get their hands on you?]

“…” Lin Su ruffled its fur, then looked at the staff member’s raised hand. “It is indeed getting their hands on me. This is what I needed you to do.”

As he spoke, Bai Jiang also came down with a perfect score and cast an expectant gaze at him.

Lin Su nodded in approval, and Bai Jiang immediately went: 0▽0!

Xuenima commented sharply: [《Father and Son》.]

Lin Su pressed its volume button: Shh.

…

Gradually, the contestants on the field were almost done.

All eyes were on him, filled with confusion and expectation, as if not understanding why he hadn’t gone up yet.

“This should be what Lin Kun is good at. Could it be he has no inspiration today?”

“That shouldn’t be. Maybe he’s just sleepy.”

Finally, when there were only two or three people left.

Lin Su called the girl in front of him and went up.

The two stood at the front. He held nothing in his hands, just quietly looking into the girl’s eyes. His figure was reflected in her dark eyes. Lin Su looked for two seconds and slowly opened his mouth:

“When you were 8 years old, you picked up a black cat at your doorstep. After you went back, you dreamed for a month, dreaming of your deceased grandmother. Later, your family sent the cat away. That night, someone knocked on your door, but when you opened it, you saw no one. The matter was then left unresolved.”

After he finished, the girl was stunned, a look of confusion and surprise flashing across her face.

The staff member behind him was also stunned, looking uncertainly at the prompt on the scorebook. Then his brows relaxed, and he clapped his raised hand once. Clap.

“Please reveal the answer.”

The girl opened her mouth, pulled the correct answer from her right pocket. “…Completely wrong.”

Whoosh! The surroundings instantly erupted in noise.

Disbelieving gazes were cast towards the center of the field. Two voices were particularly prominent:

“Impossible!!”

The staff member pulled out the paper and showed it to the crowd. “This is the answer that was written down beforehand. The facts prove that his answer was completely irrelevant.”

Tang Yin didn’t believe it and asked loudly, “Miss, be brave and speak! Do you have several stories, and this is just one of them?”

“…”

The girl shook her head. “No, there’s only one standard answer.”

“Alright, everyone.”

On the mask, the smile was light and easy.

The voice coming from below it carried a hint of regret. “It seems everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Since Mr. Lin Kun’s answer is completely wrong, his score for this round is 0—”

“I declare, direct elimination!”

A wave of clamor like a tide swept through the field.

The masked face finished speaking and looked up with a smile, only to see Lin Su standing in front of him, also smiling at him.

“…”

He suddenly felt a jolt, a familiar feeling welling up in his heart.

The next moment, he heard Lin Su say, “I was joking.”

As he spoke, Lin Su also took a piece of paper out of his pocket.

His fingertips flipped it over. “This here is the correct answer.”

__

Author’s Note:

Su: I was joking. (throws confetti)

Big Bird He: Being mischievous again, Kun Kun.

Su: This is the fun of a vacation. (enjoying)

*There are hints in the details. Some treasures should be able to guess the organizers’ little trick. If you didn’t guess, it’s okay. It will be written in the next chapter. ^▽^

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