My IQ has been increasing year by year.

Chen Zhuo stuffed the cards into his pocket and put on his disposable white slippers.

"Wait, I'll go call for backup."

"Call for backup?"

Wang Yang was stunned.

"Who should we shake?"

"Call Zhao Chen and the others over."

Chen Zhuo walked to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

"This kind of pre-exam syndrome shouldn't be just one person getting it; everyone should go crazy together."

"No...please stop."

Wang Yang was startled.

"Old Zhao is at the other end of the corridor; let him hear us gathering..."

"I can't hear you, but I know what I'm doing."

Chen Zhuochong winked at him.

"Spread that thick quilt on the floor, I'll be right back."

Like a secret agent from the Republican era, Chen Zhuo slightly opened the door and peeked into the corridor.

The corridor was quiet, covered with a thick red carpet that absorbed all footsteps, with only a few ceiling lights emitting a pale glow.

The door to room 302 was tightly closed, and the sound of a television could be faintly heard inside.

Old Zhao and Old Zhou are probably watching the news or drinking tea.

Safety.

Chen Zhuo crouched down, slipped on his slippers, and sneaked to the door of apartment 305 next door.

This is Zhao Chen and Liu Kai's room.

He didn't dare to knock hard, but instead stretched out his knuckles and gently tapped three times.

"Knock knock knock".

There was no movement.

He tapped it twice more, this time a bit harder.

"Knock knock."

A few seconds later, the door lock clicked.

The door opened a crack, revealing Zhao Chen's large face.

The kid had a constipated look on his face and was holding a vocabulary book in his hand.

"Team leader? What's up? Is Old Zhao making rounds?"

Zhao Chen lowered his voice, looking wary.

"Why aren't you doing rounds?"

"I'm trying to memorize formulas... but I can't concentrate. Liu Kai is eating instant noodles next to me, and it's making me so hungry."

Zhao Chen looked resentful.

"Stop carrying it, come to 306, bring your pillow."

"What are you going there for?"

"play cards."

Chen Zhuo shook the playing card box in his hand.

"How about we play 24 points? You dare?"

Zhao Chen's eyes lit up instantly, as bright as the ceiling light in the corridor.

He'd been holding back for ages, and now that someone was leading the charge, it was a lifeline.

"How dare you! You're too daring! Just you wait!"

He turned around and shouted into the house.

"Fatty! Stop eating! The team leader is calling us!"

Having won over the boy, Chen Zhuo slipped away to room 304 across the street.

This is the girls' dormitory.

Chen Zhuo hesitated for a moment at the door.

Girls are shy and timid; if they knock on the door at this time, they might be mistaken for hooligans.

But thinking about how preoccupied Nan Xiaoyun looked during dinner, he still raised his hand and knocked on the door.

The sound was soft and rhythmic.

After a long while, the door opened a crack, revealing a security chain hanging there.

Nan Xiaoyun cautiously peeked out with one eye.

She wasn't wearing glasses, and her eyes were a little red; it seemed she had been crying or missing home.

"Chen Zhuo? Is something the matter?"

The girl's voice had a slightly nasal quality, which made people feel soft-hearted.

"You're not asleep, are you?"

Chen Zhuo tried his best to make his smile appear harmless.

"No... I can't sleep. Lin Xiao is doing geometry problems, but she can't solve them and is getting angry."

As expected, the entire army was wiped out, and everyone was anxious.

"Stop doing it, the more you do it, the more panicked you become."

Chen Zhuo lowered his voice.

"Come to 306, I'll show you a brain-training game to help you relax."

"Huh? At this time?"

Nan Xiaoyun glanced at the other end of the corridor.

"Teacher Zhao will scold us to death."

"Keep it quiet, don't let him know."

Chen Zhuo used a provocation tactic.

"Wang Yang and Zhao Chen both went. Even if it's a 24-hour game, a pure math problem, you guys aren't too scared to come, are you?"

Nan Xiaoyun was stunned for a moment.

She glanced back into the room.

Lin Xiao was lying face down on the table, scratching her hair like a madwoman.

At times like these, the temptation to stick together and support each other is simply too great.

Even if it's a violation of rules, it doesn't seem so scary as long as we're all together.

"......Wait a moment."

Nan Xiaoyun bit her lip.

"Let's change our clothes."

Five minutes later.

Room 306 became the underground meeting point for the No. 1 Middle School delegation.

Six people crammed this small standard room to the brim.

The curtains were drawn tightly, the door was locked from the inside, and a security chain was hung on it.

They put the two carpets together, then pulled off the thick quilt from Chen Zhuo's bed, folded it in half and then in half again, and placed it in the middle.

Six heads huddled together, forming a circle.

The main lights weren't on inside; only the dim yellow table lamp was left on.

Under the lights, everyone's faces looked somewhat mysterious, yet also exuded an excitement of doing something naughty.

"Is this...okay?"

Liu Kai was hugging a pillow and still stuffing crumbs of instant noodles into his mouth.

"If Old Zhao catches us, will we all have to write self-criticisms?"

"If you catch them, it's on me."

Chen Zhuo sat cross-legged in the middle, like a dealer.

He disassembled the new deck of cards, and the smell of ink filled the small space.

"Don't be scared, this is pre-exam brain activation training, it's based on science."

"The rules are very simple."

Chen Zhuo shuffled the cards while setting the rules.

"We're playing a game of 24 points. We have four cards. It's all about addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Whoever gets it right first gets to beat the blanket. You have to show the process. Just guessing doesn't count."

"Whether it's the final calculation or the one that can't be calculated..."

Chen Zhuo looked around, then grabbed Wang Yang's draft notebook from the table and tore it into strips.

Then he picked up the glass that was half-filled with water from the table.

"Sticker stickers".

"Dip it in water, stick it on your forehead, one point per round, no cheating allowed."

"Bring it on! Who's afraid of who!"

Zhao Chen was the first to roll up his sleeves.

"Let me tell you, I'm known in our class as the genius calculator, just wait until my face is covered in calculator stickers."

"Keep bragging."

Lin Xiao stopped doing her homework, sat cross-legged, and casually tied her hair into a ponytail.

"I couldn't solve that geometry problem, but I've never lost a math problem."

The atmosphere in the room changed.

The dull, oppressive, and suffocating anxiety of exam preparation was diluted by this atmosphere with a touch of unruly pleasure.

Everyone looked at each other, their eyes gleaming with competitive spirit.

These are some of the top minds in the junior high school section of the city's No. 1 Middle School.

This isn't a card game; it's a battle of wits.

"Get ready."

Chen Zhuo placed his hand on the deck of cards.

"Let's test the waters in the first round."

"Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!"

The four cards were thrown onto the thick blanket without making a sound, but everyone's heart skipped a beat.

3 of Hearts, 8 of Spades, 4 of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds.

"(12-8+4) x 3!"

Less than two seconds.

Wang Yang practically shouted it out.

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhao Chen, who was standing next to him, covered his mouth.

"Waaaaah..."

"Keep your voice down! You want to attract Old Zhao's attention?"

Zhao Chen lowered his voice and roared.

Wang Yang pried Zhao Chen's hands off, his face flushed red, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"I figured it out! 24! I'm the first one!"

That confidence, that domineering air of "I am the only one who can do it," instantly returned to this usually somewhat timid young man.

"Damn, that fast?"

Liu Kai dropped all the dough crumbs from his hand.

"I just saw the cards."

"Yang Ge is awesome."

Chen Zhuo smiled, picked up a piece of paper, moistened it with water, and handed it to Nan Xiaoyun, who was the slowest to react.

"Put it on, Nan."

Nan Xiaoyun didn't hesitate and slapped the note on her forehead, the note fluttering with her breath.

"Again!"

Second round.

5 clubs, 5 diamonds, 5 hearts, 1 spade.

This game is going to be tough.

The room fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of rapid breathing remaining.

Everyone was quickly arranging and combining ideas in their minds.

"(5 - 1/5) x 5!"

This time it's Lin Xiao.

The girl's voice was clear and crisp, and she spoke very quickly.

"I already said, I've never lost a math contest."

Lin Xiao raised her chin smugly.

"What... fraction calculation?"

Zhao Chen was dumbfounded.

"This works?"

"Why not? Chen Zhuo didn't say we can't use scores, did he?"

Lin Xiao looked at Chen Zhuo.

"You didn't say anything, so you win."

Chen Zhuo nodded with a smile.

"Zhao Chen, Liu Kai, put up the ticket."

After several rounds, the situation was completely out of control.

Everyone had completely forgotten about the exam tomorrow, and also forgotten about the terrifying Old Zhao living next door.

Everyone's mind is filled with numbers, and only addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

The brain is working at high speed, like a series of sophisticated engines being preheated to their optimal state.

Wang Yang has completely lost his mind.

His mathematical intuition is truly terrifying.

As soon as the cards land, his eyes scan like a scanner, instantly locking onto the optimal solution.

"(3 + 3/7) x 7!"

"(4-2) x (6+6)!"

He slaughtered everyone in his path, without posting a single note in front of him.

On the contrary, Zhao Chen and Liu Kai on the other side had white paper strips stuck to their foreheads, chins, and even ears, looking like two zombies that had just been unearthed.

Watching the two "zombies" scratching their heads, Wang Yang laughed until his stomach hurt, and he rolled around on the carpet.

"Hahahaha... Zhao Chen, you looked like... a ghost..."

He laughed until tears streamed down his face.

The fear that had been building up for half a month, the inferiority complex about the provincial experimental school, and the confusion about the unknown were all released in this unrestrained laughter, flowing out with the tears.

Nan Xiaoyun had a strip of tape stuck to one side of her face, looking like a matchmaker. She looked at Wang Yang and smiled, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh herself.

As I laughed, the redness in my eyes disappeared.

9:30.

Chen Zhuo glanced at his watch.

almost.

This state of excitement is a double-edged sword; in moderation it is activation, but in excess it is overdraft.

"Alright, let's pack up and leave."

Chen Zhuo gathered the cards in his hand.

"In the final round, Wang Yang won decisively; he is the God of Gamblers tonight."

"Hey, let's play one more round! I'm sure I'll win this time!"

Zhao Chen, still not satisfied, protested through the gaps in the paper strips covering his face.

"no."

Chen Zhuo put on a stern face and adopted the authority of a team leader.

"It's 9:30. My brain is still hot. I should go back to sleep. When I wake up tomorrow morning, my brain will be full of oil."

"If you keep playing like this, you'll be dreaming about playing cards during tomorrow's exam."

Although everyone was reluctant to part ways, they also knew their limits.

The girls stood up and helped each other tear off the paper strips from their faces.

It hurt a bit when it was being torn, and everyone grimaced.

"Oh dear, Chen Zhuo, this note of yours is too wet, it's stuck really well."

Nan Xiaoyun rubbed her forehead, which was now completely red.

But her eyes were much brighter, and the timidity she had when she entered was gone.

"Thanks, team leader."

As she reached the door, Lin Xiao turned back and said something.

"If this hadn't happened tonight, I probably would have been sleepless until dawn."

"Don't mention it."

Chen Zhu waved his hand, like an old man chasing someone away.

"Go back to sleep now."

The boys also slipped back.

Before leaving, Zhao Chen also took half a bag of biscuits from Chen Zhuo, saying that he was hungry because he had just exerted too much mental energy.

The room, which was just packed with people, suddenly became empty.

A few sunflower seed shells remained on the carpet, and the air was filled with the unique smell of sweat and paper that was characteristic of teenagers.

Wang Yang sat on the carpet, not in a hurry to get up.

His face was completely clean, without a single piece of paper on it.

He held the King of Hearts, the card that had just won the game, in his hand, looked at the empty room, and suddenly chuckled to himself.

"Team leader."

"Um?"

Chen Zhuo was carrying the quilt back to the bed and patting off the dust.

"I suddenly realized that tomorrow's exam isn't so bad after all."

Wang Yang stood up and threw the cards in his hand into the box.

His voice was steady, and his hands were no longer shaking.

"Even if they have projectors, internal handouts, and individual desks."

"But I have you all."

"In that last round, I think the combined computing power of the six of us was enough to blow up their crappy computer."

"I calculated it faster than anyone else, didn't I?"

Chen Zhuo stopped what he was doing and looked at his teammate who had finally regained his senses.

He smiled.

He walked over and patted Wang Yang on the shoulder.

"Yes, you're the fastest."

"When you go to the exam hall tomorrow, treat that exam paper like a deck of cards."

"Those questions are just like the 24-point game you're supposed to solve."

"Go and collect your chips, God of Gamblers."

Wang Yang nodded vigorously.

"sleep!"

He quickly took off his clothes and crawled into bed.

Less than five minutes later, even breathing could be heard from the other end.

This time, he didn't talk in his sleep or grind his teeth.

Chen Zhuo turned off the table lamp.

The room was plunged into darkness.

Moonlight filtering through the curtains shone on the few scraps of paper on the carpet.

......

Chen Zhuo: "May all lovers in the world eventually become siblings."

A beautiful smile~