Chapter 22: A Prickly Predicament

What!

There’s a pot of cactus left by the landlord, Zhang Bo, sitting under the windowsill of the rented apartment.

It’s chunky and round, covered all over with fine little spines.

Ke Ni pinched her burning earlobe and stared at it, using it as a landing point for her panicked gaze.

Her thoughts stalled, like an unresponsive electronic device, frozen for a long while.

Ke Ni’s earlobe was hot.

After squatting for ages, she suddenly snapped out of it: Why is she hiding?

Why should she be the one to hide?

She wanted to see just what Jing Sicun was up to.

Ke Ni felt stubborn inside, but the way she carefully gripped the windowsill as she turned around betrayed her panic.

She poked her head out from the edge of the windowsill—

Jing Sicun seemed not to have moved, still standing with both hands in his pockets, the shadow of his black baseball cap hiding his eyes and nose, making it impossible to read his expression.

Can he see me?

He probably can’t see me…….

Maybe Jing Sicun’s shoulders and neck were just sore, and he was doing those neck stretches Lin Xirun mentioned?

Maybe he was looking at the moon or the stars.

Or maybe, he was simply zoning out, staring vacantly in the direction of the old building……………….

Ke Ni, with her hair casually twisted into a Taoist priestess bun on top of her head, peeked out from the edge of the windowsill.

She didn’t think her movements were sneaky at all.

It was just that the half-squatting position was uncomfortable, and she tripped over her own slippers, her palm smacking the tiled floor with a loud slap, nearly ending up on her knees.

When Ke Ni stood up again to look downstairs, she just happened to see Jing Sicun turning his cap-covered head away.

Jing Sicun was definitely laughing!

He was laughing so hard his shoulders shook!

As for what he was laughing at……………………

Jing Sicun could really see her from downstairs, after all.

He must have seen her tentatively poking her head out again and again just now.

Ke Ni grabbed her phone from the windowsill, ready to flee.

But just then, Jing Sicun turned his head back and continued looking in her direction.

Ke Ni imagined Jing Sicun’s face suddenly turning serious after laughing enough, and she stopped, as if compelled by some unseen force.

What exactly…………….

Ke Ni put her phone back on the windowsill, propped herself up on it, and gazed at Jing Sicun through the hazy night.

The alley was deep, tree canopies casting vague shadows.

At Tuesday’s feet, a kitten appeared, hopping about and playing with Tuesday, just like Tuesday had played with Jing Sicun before, chasing and leaping, pouncing playfully.

The dog and cat tumbled around Jing Sicun’s feet.

Jing Sicun lowered his head.

Ke Ni’s heart surged with strange feelings, and for a moment, she had the impulse to visit the grocery store again.

But she didn’t move.

Ke Ni watched for a while, and before Jing Sicun looked up, she rubbed her earlobe with one hand, gripped her phone tightly, and walked away.

There was a WeChat message from Lin Xirun on her phone:

“Have you watched the video of Jing Sicun the Overlord?”

“Damn, his reactions are way too fast.”

“Still shocking to watch it again.”

“He was only in his teens back then.”

“Having an opponent like that—is it my blessing or my curse?”

Ke Ni suppressed the restless weirdness in her chest and gave her sharp-tongued friend a dose of her own medicine:

“The first two rounds are elimination rounds.”

“Don’t be nervous.”

“You might not even survive long enough to meet Jing Sicun again.”

Lin Xirun replied with a long string of ellipses.

That night, Ke Ni had a dream.

There was no Euler path or Hamilton path in her dream, nor any of those complicated points, edges, in-degrees, or out-degrees—only Jing Sicun in his baseball cap.

Information.

Jing Sicun leaned in close……………

Ke Ni thought, if he started saying those random things again, she’d knock his head off.

But he didn’t say anything, just gently blew a breath against the most ticklish spot by her ear.

Ke Ni turned her head, and unexpectedly crashed right into those eyes that were like traps……………….

Ke Ni woke up with a start.

The open window in the bedroom let in a warm breeze, which lifted the light curtain and brushed her ear.

Loose strands of hair tickled her ear and the side of her face, so itchy.

After washing up, the mutual gaze in the night and the dream both became fuzzy and unclear.

The reality of it was questionable.

Ke Ni didn’t have time to think more about it.

She unlocked her screen and was instantly flooded by messages from all sides.

The staff of “Extreme Brain Power Show” had created a group chat and posted the recording time, address, and other details for the first episode.

Ke Ni’s father must have heard about it and sent her a message, saying he’d arranged an extra lesson for the three of them with Professor Wang.

Lin Xirun said she’d squeeze in a haircut before the recording and get a lucky charm, rambling on and on.

Old Cadre Zhu Yexuezhang also sent Ke Ni congratulations and encouragement.

Song Yi sent Ke Ni a video of He Zhi.

There were only a few days left until the recording.

He Zhi was pacing around in a hotel room, muttering something under his breath.

Ke Ni asked Song Yi, “What’s up with He Zhi?”

Song Yi replied, “Ah Zhi hasn’t been eating or sleeping all day, trying to cultivate immortality or something.”

Ke Ni knew He Zhi was just overly nervous, so she took the initiative to video call him.

He Zhi said he couldn’t sleep or eat.

Ke Ni found the lavender essential oil she’d bought before to ease her own anxiety in her shopping cart, reordered it, and had it sent to the hotel room where He Zhi and Dai Fanze were staying.

Actually, Ke Ni’s own mood wasn’t much better.

As the recording date approached, those inexplicable palpitations stopped appearing in her dreams.

Instead, she kept dreaming about the match she quit halfway, and all kinds of disastrous losses that never actually happened in real life.

This continued right up until the day of recording.

Ke Ni woke from a nightmare and suddenly remembered what her father said to her before her match with Shen Min:

Ni Ni, you can definitely beat that mental math prodigy Shen Min. Dad believes in you.

What truly made Ke Ni break down in tears at the match wasn’t her mistake, but the panic she felt when she realized she’d made it.

She thought, It’s over, my secret can’t be kept anymore, everyone will know I’m only pretending to be smart.

Because of this memory, Ke Ni didn’t look so good when she arrived at the recording site.

The place was packed with staff members in charge of various duties, contestants, cameramen, and some contestants’ assistants.

Ke Ni was startled when someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind.

Song Yi greeted her with a grin: “What were you thinking about? I called you several times and you didn’t hear me? Feels like I haven’t seen you in ages. Ah Zhi said you’ve been buried in classes.”

Ke Ni forced a smile.

“How’s He Zhi? Is he okay?”

Song Yi shook her head.

“Jing Sicun drove them over. I haven’t seen them yet. Old Dai invited me to play games at 1 a.m. last night, so I guess Ah Zhi was up late again. Let’s sign in first. After that, I’ll take you to watch them play Gomoku.”

On the sign-in sheet were the contestants’ basic details.

Ke Ni saw a few familiar names.

Jing Sicun’s name was next to Song Yi and He Zhi, with their schools and grades listed after:

University of Science and Technology, third year.

Ke Ni paused with her pen.

“Song Yi.”

Song Yi seemed really interested in the Gomoku match and was standing on tiptoe to watch.

“Hmm? What’s up?”

Ke Ni asked, “Jing Sicun goes to your university?”

Song Yi replied, “Yeah, we’re classmates in the gifted youth program at University of Science and Technology. Didn’t I tell you?”

Ke Ni thought of something.

“But I heard Jing Sicun was studying abroad.”

Song Yi was still focused on the Gomoku game, distractedly saying, “Your info is so outdated. He didn’t go.”

“Why not?”

“His family situation makes it inconvenient to even attend an out-of-town university, so he can only study locally.”

Other contestants came over to sign in, so Ke Ni wrote her name after her information and handed the pen to the contestant waiting behind her.

Jing Sicun’s family situation……………….

Ke Ni thought of Jing Sicun’s father and grandmother.

Was it because his family members weren’t in good health that Jing Sicun couldn’t leave?

Song Yi hurriedly pulled Ke Ni over to the Gomoku area.

“Come on, come on, I’ll show you the gamblers.”

The “gamblers” Song Yi mentioned were actually two contestants betting on the game.

Song Yi really loved betting and excitement—she’d bought eleven cups of coffee and still hadn’t learned her lesson.

Ke Ni followed and stood at the edge of the crowd:

Color.

In the crowd, two contestants were playing Gomoku on a tablet.

One of them had a bit of a reputation, rumored to have had a cameo in some TV drama.

Maybe Song Yi even mentioned the contestant’s name, but Ke Ni wasn’t really listening.

Ke Ni stood on the side, lost in thought.

Suddenly, Song Yi nudged her with an elbow.

“Isn’t that person calling you?”

Ke Ni snapped back to reality.

Lin Xirun was waving at her from beside a marble pillar.

“Ke Ni!”

Ke Ni walked over.

“What’s up?”

Lin Xirun glanced twice in Song Yi’s direction.

“You know Song Yi?”

“Yeah.”

Lin Xirun was suspicious.

“Isn’t Song Yi with Jing Sicun?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t mean to say you know Jing Sicun too?!”

Ke Ni admitted, “We used to run into each other at the hotel all the time, had a few interactions.”

Lin Xirun asked, “Huh? How come you never told us?”

Ke Ni frowned.

“What’s the point?”

Lin Xirun said, “I thought you only knew me and Feng Zian. Whatever, whatever, but you didn’t share Professor Wang’s lecture questions with anyone else, right?”

The recording site was chaotic, with people rushing everywhere, even noisier than when they filmed the promotional photos.

Preparations before the recording probably took longer than the competition itself.

Contestants were split into groups to change clothes, pick accessories, put on makeup, and take turns getting used to the set and the lighting………………

The complicated process made Ke Ni even more irritable.

During the long wait for the pre-interview, Ke Ni spotted Dai Fanze.

She wanted to ask about He Zhi’s condition and followed him, bumping into someone at the entrance to the lounge.

Ke Ni looked up, her pupils contracting.

Jing Sicun looked at Ke Ni for two seconds.

“Second time.”

Ke Ni didn’t mention their mutual glances that night, and neither did Jing Sicun.

The atmosphere was a little subtle.

Ke Ni opened her mouth.

She wanted to ask if He Zhi was in this lounge, but her mind kept flashing with the words “University of Science and Technology” after Jing Sicun’s name.

Jing Sicun stepped aside.

“Want to come in?”

Ke Ni shook her head.

“How’s He Zhi doing?”

Jing Sicun gave Ke Ni a serious look.

“About the same as you.”

Ke Ni frowned.

“What do you mean?”

The lounge was probably the least valued place, so it was always cramped and crowded.

Several large lounges were divided into smaller ones by curtains, with narrow corridors in between.

A staff member carrying a backdrop walked past Ke Ni, saying, “Excuse me, excuse me.”

Ke Ni had nowhere to hide and could only move closer to Jing Sicun.

Jing Sicun stepped back as Ke Ni moved forward.

“At least He Zhi wants to compete. He’s nervous because he’s worried his results won’t be good enough. But looking at you now, you’re even worse.”

She’d been seen through again.

Ke Ni was like the cactus in her rented apartment, all her spines standing on end.

“What do you know?”

Jing Sicun suddenly stopped.

“You’re rejecting the competition.”

Ke Ni couldn’t stop in time and nearly bumped into Jing Sicun again.