After a few more words, everyone quieted down to listen to PD Jiang lead the proceedings. Zhang Jin’an didn’t return to his original spot; instead, he remained standing right next to Jiang Siyang.
Everyone’s attention was on PD Jiang, so no one noticed that Zhang Jin’an was out of place.
It felt perfectly natural. Zhang Jin’an praised himself inwardly—everything was going according to plan.
“The Xiaonanshan City we’ve come to today is the place where our guest, Zhang Jin’an, grew up. Therefore, our theme for today is ‘Those Years,’” PD Jiang announced.
“I remember you left this place after graduating high school, right, Jin’an?” Pan Ming asked.
Zhang Jin’an nodded. “That’s right. It’s all thanks to the program crew that I finally have a chance to come back.”
“This episode will be divided into three pairs: the High School Team, the Middle School Team, and the Elementary School Team. Your mission today is to find the ‘Time Treasures’ hidden within this city. You will visit different locations and complete various tasks to obtain clues about the treasures. The first person to find a treasure wins.”
“So it’s a team battle and an individual battle at the same time,” Zhang Jin’an murmured to himself.
PD Jiang then clapped his hands. Three scriptwriters sitting nearby unfurled sheets of paper, displaying three different school uniforms to the group.
The photos showed adults wearing masks while modeling the three styles. From left to right, they were elementary, middle, and high school uniforms.
Jiang Siyang had expected three different colors of the standard tracksuit-style uniforms. However, the result was unexpected. Aside from the high school uniform, which was the common tracksuit style seen nowadays, the other two didn't look like tracksuits at all.
The other four likely shared Jiang Siyang’s thoughts. As soon as the photos were revealed, they instinctively stepped forward to get a closer look.
“Wow, are you sure these are school uniforms? Are uniforms this good-looking now?” Jiu Chang, who was closest to the photos, pointed at the one on the far left. “I like the middle school one. It’s so cool.”
The elementary school uniform consisted of a white shirt paired with black suspender shorts that reached the knees, complemented by black calf-length socks, leather shoes, and a red scarf.
The middle school uniform wasn't much different from the elementary one. It also featured a white shirt but added a black blazer. The trousers also stopped at the knee, and three red bars were pinned to the left shoulder.
The high school uniform was a white tracksuit with three vertical cyan stripes on the sleeves. The back would normally have the school’s abbreviation, but here it had been changed to “xqwdzc.” A name tag was pinned to the left chest.
Jiang Siyang had good eyesight, so he stayed where he was without crowding forward. Zhang Jin’an, standing beside him, didn't move either.
Jiang Siyang heard Zhang Jin’an say in a very surprised tone, “Are you serious?”
Jiang Siyang turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
Zhang Jin’an rubbed his chin and said to Jiang Siyang, “These really are my exact uniforms from elementary, middle, and high school.”
Jiang Siyang: “?”
The others: “?!”
Jiu Chang stood up and rushed over to Zhang Jin’an. “Big brother, why were your elementary and middle school uniforms so stylish?”
Zhang Jin’an pointed at the two photos on the left. “I went to a private school for elementary and middle school. See how they look similar? The middle school was just a direct continuation of the elementary school.”
Pan Ming also stood up and walked back to his seat. “Then why is the high school one so drastically different?”
“I changed schools. I tested into a public high school. That school also had a winter version—it was extremely thick but very warm. In comparison, I actually preferred the high school winter uniform,” Zhang Jin’an explained.
The other two finished looking and returned to their original spots.
Chen Yi marveled, “Wow, they actually made replicas of the same uniforms. The crew really went all out this time.”
“It reminds me of my middle school days. Right after I graduated, they changed the uniforms to something like this, but it wasn't as nice,” Jiu Chang said.
Chen Yi added, “Sigh, it’s the same for everyone. Isn't there that ‘Alumni Curse’? As soon as you leave a school, they start a massive renovation.”
“Exactly, exactly,” Jing Shangshu nodded.
Everyone expressed their agreement, nodding along with Jing Shangshu.
“And the school cafeteria. As soon as you leave, the menu definitely gets an upgrade,” Jiang Siyang recalled.
Pan Ming added, “And that classic line: ‘Your class is the noisiest in the entire grade! I can hear you all the way from the end of the hallway!’”
“Yes! That’s too real!” Jiu Chang raised his hand urgently, as if afraid someone would steal his words. “And the campus horror stories—the homeroom teacher appearing at the back door window.”
“And the PE teacher who is perpetually ‘busy’ with something else,” Zhang Jin’an chimed in.
“Damn! That’s so true! Back in high school, we basically had no PE classes. On the rare occasion we did, it would rain, and we’d be stuck playing basketball indoors,” Jiu Chang said. Having graduated from university not long ago, he was closer to his student days than the others and felt these points more deeply.
“If you want to chat more, we can continue at our next destination,” PD Jiang interrupted. “First, we need to divide into groups. Once that’s done, we can head out.”
“Is it time for breakfast?” Jiang Siyang asked.
Zhang Jin’an thought to himself that this kid was truly hungry; he couldn't go three sentences without mentioning food. There had to be food in the next segment; if there wasn't even breakfast, Zhang Jin’an would have to protest on his behalf.
“Yes. I’ll give you a hint: at every location today, if you successfully complete the challenge, there will be food rewards,” PD Jiang said.
“Alright, alright, Siyang is going to be thrilled to hear that,” Jiu Chang said. “We didn't even have time to eat last week, but this time we get food all day.”
Zhang Jin’an looked at Jiang Siyang’s expression. Sure enough, Jiang Siyang looked much more relaxed than before, with a faint smile on his face.
Seeing Jiang Siyang smile made Zhang Jin’an want to smile too. He was amused by how easily satisfied this kid was.
“We’ll start the grouping immediately. The process is simple: we have questions of three difficulty levels. The first two people to provide the correct answer will form the High School Team. The next two will form the Middle School Team.”
Jing Shangshu suddenly became excited. “This is the perfect chance to rank everyone’s IQ!”
“Then I’m definitely in the High School Team,” Jiu Chang puffed out his chest, brimming with confidence.
“Can I abstain? I’d like to volunteer for the Elementary School Team,” Chen Yi said, raising his hand.
Pan Ming turned and shook Chen Yi’s hand. “Do you also think the elementary school uniform looks better?”
Chen Yi nodded happily. “Exactly, exactly. You caught me. I like that set.”
Zhang Jin’an was smiling as he watched them fool around, but his ears caught the person beside him whispering, “Me too.”
Zhang Jin’an immediately turned his head and whispered back to Jiang Siyang, “You like the elementary school one too?”
Jiang Siyang nodded very seriously. “Because that’s the only one that isn't hot.”
“...” Zhang Jin’an covered his mouth and chuckled. That actually made a lot of sense.
He could only say it was typical of Jiang Siyang—always saying things he never expected.
“You’ve got a point there,” Zhang Jin’an whispered back.
“No abstaining. Everyone must answer,” PD Jiang began reading the question. “Alright, first question. Please calculate 4—”
Before the question was even finished, Jiu Chang raised his hand and shouted, “The answer is 1!”
PD Jiang: “...Are you sure?”
“Ninety percent of these questions end up being 1! Or 0!” Jiu Chang said. “Right? I’ve already mastered the art of predicting the answer!”
“There’s also infinity,” Pan Ming added.
“Right.” Jiu Chang looked at PD Jiang expectantly. “Am I right? In the last episode, three of the answers were 1! It has to be 1 again this time!”
Zhang Jin’an immediately understood why Jiu Chang had raised his hand so quickly.
In the previous episode, there was a segment involving math problems. Everyone had listened intently, but every single answer turned out to be one. Consequently, by the last question, PD Jiang had barely uttered a word before everyone started racing to answer, and the result was indeed one.
Jiu Chang likely thought the production crew, being as sneaky as they were, would definitely repeat the trick, so he tried to jump the gun.
PD Jiang shook his head mercilessly. “Wrong! First question: Please calculate what 4,179 multiplied by 1,384 equals.”
Jiu Chang: “?”
Everyone: “?”
