"How is it possible to calculate that in half a minute?!" Jiu Chang shouted.
Jiang Siyang fell into thought.
PD Jiang wouldn't set a task that was impossible for everyone to complete. No matter how deep the tricks ran, the challenge had to be doable.
Just as he was thinking this, Jiang Siyang saw Zhang Jin'an raise his hand.
"Zhang Jin'an," PD Jiang acknowledged.
"Can we use calculators?" Zhang Jin'an asked.
Everyone: "..."
The others were tempted to laugh, but Jiang Siyang listened intently. If he wasn't mistaken, the question Zhang Jin'an just asked was the key.
PD Jiang shook his head. "Participants in the game are not allowed to use calculators, mobile phones, or any other electronic devices capable of calculation."
Jiang Siyang's eyes lit up.
"...Is that so?" Zhang Jin'an lowered his hand, looking thoughtful.
"Hahaha, Big Brother, what kind of question was that?" Jiu Chang laughed.
Zhang Jin'an didn't say a word, merely waving his hand as if he felt he had embarrassed himself.
"Begin the challenge! You have half a minute," PD Jiang announced, and the competition started.
Zhang Jin'an already had the answer in mind. As he moved to step aside, his gaze happened to meet Jiang Siyang's. With just that one look, he confirmed that Jiang Siyang was thinking the exact same thing.
Zhang Jin'an couldn't help but let a small smile spread across his face. He leaned toward Jiang Siyang's ear and whispered, "You figured it out too?"
Jiang Siyang’s clothes gave off a faint scent of laundry detergent—not overpowering, but very pleasant.
Jiang Siyang nodded and whispered back, "I know."
As for the problem at hand, everyone had their own methods. Jiu Chang and Chen Yi had picked up stones from somewhere and were scratching calculations into the dirt. Seeing them, Jing Shangshu also found a stone and crouched down to calculate. Pan Ming, on the other hand, stood perfectly still, his eyes fixed on the formulas Jiu Chang was writing.
Seeing this, Jiu Chang immediately used his body to shield his work. "Look at this guy! He's trying to peek at my answers again! No peeking!"
Pan Ming scoffed. "With an answer like yours? How could seven times eight end in a five?"
"Pfft..." Jing Shangshu chuckled, stifling a laugh.
"Five... oh, right, it's six," Jiu Chang realized he couldn't keep up. He tossed the stone aside. "Damn it! How can anyone calculate this in half a minute? I have to start over!"
While everyone was in the heat of the struggle, they heard PD Jiang announce, "Zhang Jin'an and Jiang Siyang, your answers are correct."
"Huh?!" Jiu Chang bolted upright, staring in disbelief at the two men standing next to PD Jiang. "Are you two immortals? How did you calculate it so fast?"
"I didn't calculate it at all," Zhang Jin'an said, waving a hand at them. He had produced a phone from somewhere; the screen showed a calculator interface with the number 5,783,736.
Chen Yi asked, puzzled, "A calculator? Didn't he say we couldn't use phones or calculators?"
"PD Jiang never said they couldn't be used," Jiang Siyang explained.
"Wait, didn't you just ask him? And didn't PD Jiang say we couldn't use them?" Jiu Chang asked.
At that moment, Pan Ming clapped his hands with an "oh" of realization, suddenly joining their side. "I get it... PD Jiang really didn't say we couldn't use phones or calculators just now."
Jiu Chang: "??? Am I deaf?"
"No," Jiang Siyang said to the PD. "PD, could you please say it one more time?"
"Participants in the game are not allowed to use calculators or mobile phones, or any other electronic devices capable of calculation," PD Jiang repeated.
"Exactly! We can't use them!" Jiu Chang was still confused.
"The *participants* can't use them," Zhang Jin'an said as he handed the phone back to PD Jiang, who then returned it to a young man wearing a cap. "Meaning, non-participants *can* use them. So, I just asked our friend the assistant to use his phone."
Pan Ming nodded. "Exactly."
"And Siyang too?" Jiu Chang pressed.
"I didn't borrow one," Jiang Siyang shook his head, his answer driving Jiu Chang further into despair. "I just had Big Brother tell me the answer."
Everyone: "?"
Jiu Chang clutched his hair, as if a door to a new world had just opened. "You can play like that?? You can just share the answer?"
Jiang Siyang explained, "Because once Big Brother gave his answer, he was no longer a participant in the game..."
"Oh—damn it! So that's how it is! Then wasn't all my scratching around for nothing?" Jiu Chang lamented.
"What do you have to regret? You got the middle part wrong anyway," Pan Ming added, twisting the knife. "Chen Yi is the one who should regret it; he was only two digits away from finishing."
Chen Yi sighed. "Life is too hard..."
Zhang Jin'an laughed, shamelessly drawing everyone's ire, and walked to the side under their piercing glares.
"Alright, so Jiang Siyang and Zhang Jin'an are the High School Group. We'll move on to the next question. This one will be much simpler," PD Jiang said. "Listen closely."
Since Zhang Jin'an and Jiang Siyang were now spectators, they stood about a meter away from the other four. The scene looked like a line of four people separated from a pair.
To hear the question better, the remaining four leaned forward. If one didn't know it was a quiz, they would have looked like they were about to start a sprint.
"Aren't they being a bit too serious?" Zhang Jin'an whispered to Jiang Siyang. "Are they always like this?"
"No, usually everyone doesn't care much about winning or losing," Jiang Siyang replied. "Maybe because this challenge is tied to an IQ ranking, they're feeling a bit more competitive."
Jing Shangshu suddenly looked over at them and shouted, "You two, stop whispering! You're being so loud it's hurting my eyes!"
The other three: "...?"
"Pfft..." The two who had been called out suppressed their laughter and nodded in unison. "Right, right, sorry."
"Understood, understood," Zhang Jin'an replied.
"Next question..." Under the gaze of twelve eyes, PD Jiang paused. "How do you spell 'Friday' in English?"
The four participants: ?
Wasn't the drop in difficulty a bit too extreme?
"Me!" Jiu Chang reacted instantly, raising his hand and running to whisper in PD Jiang's ear.
"Correct. Jiu Chang got it," PD Jiang said.
Pan Ming immediately ran up to answer as well and was also correct.
Thus, the Middle School Group consisted of Jiu Chang and Pan Ming. These two had been a team in the previous episode as well; they shared a high-five and walked over to stand by Jiang Siyang and Zhang Jin'an.
"Now for the final question. Whoever answers this will be the Elementary School Group," PD Jiang said.
"And if we can't answer it?" Jing Shangshu asked.
"Then based on that IQ, you might as well skip the rest of the competition," Jiu Chang shot back.
Jing Shangshu shot him a look.
These two were constantly bickering; everyone was used to it. PD Jiang let out an ill-timed snicker, and Jing Shangshu redirected his glare toward the PD.
Zhang Jin'an had only seen such scenes on TV; he hadn't expected them to be even more amusing in person. He especially admired how someone as thin as Jiu Chang could be so bold in his antics.
Jiang Siyang pressed a hand on Jiu Chang's shoulder. "Calm down, Jiu Chang. You're getting ahead of yourself again."
"Oh, right. Restraint. We shouldn't bully the elementary students," Jiu Chang said.
Jing Shangshu and Chen Yi: "?"
"Now, please listen to the question. This is a problem we actually took from an elementary school exam," PD Jiang said slowly, his expression unreadable, though a hint of a smile played on his lips.
The two sharpened their focus, hands already halfway up, ready to snatch the chance to answer.
PD Jiang held the script a bit higher and read: "For a certain task, Person A and Person B working together can complete it in four hours. Person B and Person C working together can complete it in five hours. Now, Person A and Person C work together for two hours, after which Person B completes the remainder in six hours. How many hours would it take for Person B to complete the entire task alone?"
Jing Shangshu and Chen Yi: "...?"
"PD, I... I order you to say that again," Jing Shangshu said, pointing a finger.
Chen Yi threw up his hands toward the four spectators. "To be honest, I didn't even understand the question."
The four spectators were dying of laughter, doubling over in a heap.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Hahahaha, oh my god, thank god I knew how to spell Friday, hahaha..."
Jiu Chang was laughing so hard he started slapping Jiang Siyang’s back, shouting, "Hahahahahaha! Siyang, look! Look at their faces!"
Whenever Jiu Chang was happy, he would wildly hit whatever was next to him. Since he liked to stand next to Jiang Siyang in every episode, Jiang Siyang was the one who got hit the most. After so many episodes, Jiang Siyang had almost grown used to the force. He knew it wasn't intentional, just a personal habit, so he didn't pay it much mind.
But in the next second, Jiang Siyang felt his wrist being pulled to the left. His body tilted involuntarily, and when Jiu Chang’s next slap came down, it only grazed his shoulder.
"Huh...?" Jiang Siyang straightened up and looked confusedly at the person who had pulled him.
Zhang Jin'an, however, didn't look back. His gaze remained fixed on the two people in front who were still trying to answer.
If Zhang Jin'an hadn't spoken softly, it would have been as if he hadn't been the one to pull his wrist at all. "Want to switch places?"
His voice was very faint, audible only to the two of them. Jiang Siyang blinked and looked toward the production crew. Because the two participants were so hilarious, the cameras were mostly focused on them, and the crew was so entertained by their reactions that no one was looking at the two of them.
Beside them, Jiu Chang was still laughing and had started clapping his hands.
Jiang Siyang asked, "Why?"
Zhang Jin'an answered decisively, "I think I can see better from your spot."
Jiang Siyang wasn't a fool. Switching places was just a lateral move; it had nothing to do with distance.
He knew exactly why Zhang Jin'an wanted to switch, and a trace of warmth bloomed in his heart. It was a tiny detail, much like when he had mentioned being nervous and Zhang Jin'an had cheered for him from below the stage. This man remembered every unintentional or casual word others said. Even after so many episodes, with so many different guests and so many cameras, only this person had noticed.
Gratitude was one thing, but reality was another. Jiang Siyang ultimately declined the suggestion. Given Jiu Chang's strength, someone being hit for the first time definitely wouldn't be able to take it; the first time it happened to him, he felt like his spine had nearly snapped.
Jiang Siyang said, "It's fine, it doesn't really hurt. I know him; he'll stop after a few hits and just start clapping for himself."
"Really?" Zhang Jin'an looked at Jiang Siyang skeptically. "Alright then, if you say it's fine..."
As soon as Zhang Jin'an finished speaking, the sound of those slaps echoed in his mind, and he immediately regretted his decision. He said to Jiang Siyang again, "You should still stand a bit closer to me."
"Okay," Jiang Siyang complied, taking a small step to the side.
Zhang Jin'an watched for a few more moments, and only after confirming that Jiu Chang was now only clapping did he relax. He turned his attention back to the two people answering the question and began to laugh again.
