Genius Playground

This remark instantly made everyone laugh.

The classmates all chimed in, saying that Teacher Gao must say the same thing to every graduating class. It was just too phony.

In an instant, the atmosphere became warm and convivial, returning to the festive and boisterous spirit a class reunion ought to have.

"I’m not lying, you know!"

Teacher Gao roared with laughter.

"I’m really not kidding you. To this day, not only do I remember every one of your names, I even remember all of your student ID numbers! I guarantee I can match them up perfectly, with no mistakes!"

It was hard to tell if Teacher Gao was deliberately trying to steer the mood or if he was truly that impressed by their graduating class.

In any case, he succeeded.

The obsequious flattery, drunken madness, and noisy arguments that had filled the private room for the past two hours now vanished completely.

Left in their place...

...was a genuine, deep affection between teacher and students, and the strong bond of old classmates.

"Heh, you don’t believe me, do you?"

Teacher Gao was supremely confident.

"Fine, then I’ll do a roll call right here and now! I’ll go by student ID number, calling out the number, the name, and pointing to where you’re sitting. I’ll match them up one by one for you!"

"For every one I get wrong, I’ll take a penalty drink! For every one I get right, whoever’s name I call, the guys drink liquor and the girls drink juice! How about it?"

"YEAH———————"

The classmates’ spirits soared.

They genuinely couldn’t believe it. Two years after graduation, could their homeroom teacher really remember everyone’s student ID number with perfect accuracy?

Sure, he’d remember their names; he’d never forget those. But student ID numbers? Many of them couldn’t even remember their own. Surely the teacher wouldn’t escape without having to down a single penalty drink?

They weren’t having it!

They had to see how many he’d get wrong! How many penalty drinks he’d have to take!

And so, they all urged Teacher Gao to hurry up and start the roll call.

"Alright!"

Brimming with confidence, Teacher Gao waved his hand magnanimously.

"Number 1! Feng Jie!"

"Here!"

A girl stood up, grinning. The teacher had pointed to the right person and remembered correctly.

She picked up her glass of juice and drained it.

This drew a round of applause.

"Number 2! Jia Dongsheng!"

"Here!"

A boy stood up in the direction Teacher Gao was pointing, raised his glass, and downed it in one go.

The student ID numbers at Hang City High School were assigned without any discernible pattern.

At least, Jiang Ran had never figured it out.

Genders were mixed, surnames were jumbled, character stroke counts were irrelevant... In short, there was no logic whatsoever. It was as if they were assigned completely at random.

"Number 17, Wang Hao!"

"Here!"

Wang Hao stood up, patting his stomach.

"Teacher Gao, you’ve got a great memory! Not a single mistake so far!"

With that, he raised his glass and tilted his head back, downing the contents.

...

"Number 27, Wang Jixin!"

"Here!"

...

"Number 39, Tian Qi!"

"Here!"

This was met with another round of stunned applause.

From the start of the roll call to now, Teacher Gao hadn’t made a single mistake. Every call was a perfect match.

He was about to finish calling all the names.

’Could it be... ’

’...that Teacher Gao really won’t have to take a single penalty drink?’

Jiang Ran sat up straight, gripping his glass.

He knew the next one, number 40, would be him.

Teacher Gao chuckled and shouted:

"Number 40!"

Jiang Ran raised his glass and immediately stood up.

"Song He!"

"Huh?" "Huh?"

For a moment...

Jiang Ran and Song He, who had both stood up, stared at each other, stunned.

They looked over at Teacher Gao...

...and saw that his finger was indeed pointing at Song He.

Jiang Ran was confused.

’Shouldn’t number 40 be me?’

Song He was the unfamiliar classmate he’d run into at the hotel entrance earlier.

Clearly, he was the person who had replaced Qin Feng on World Line 1, filling his spot in the class.

’If that’s the case, shouldn’t his student ID number be 42?’

When he had first laid eyes on Song He at the hotel entrance, Jiang Ran had thought exactly that. He had even given Song He a few extra glances, making a mental note to keep an eye on this "number 42."

But now...

’Song He is number 40?’

"Jiang Ran! You’ve got it wrong!"

Song He looked over, a wry expression on his face.

"You’re number 41! Right after me! How could you forget that?"

Jiang Ran’s awkward predicament drew a ripple of laughter from the other classmates.

He gave a helpless smile and sat back down.

’As I thought.’

’The student ID numbers at Hang City High School really are a mess.’

He remembered it clearly: on World Line 0, he, Cheng Mengxue, and Qin Feng had consecutive student ID numbers—40, 41, and 42.

He never expected that on World Line 1, Song He’s arrival would place him *ahead* in the numbering, taking his spot as number 40 and bumping him to 41.

"Number 41! Jiang Ran!"

Teacher Gao, still maintaining his 100% accuracy, pointed his index finger at Jiang Ran.

"Jiang Ran, your memory! You don’t even remember your own student ID number as well as I do! Drink up!"

Urged on by his classmates, Jiang Ran stood up and downed the liquor in his glass.

Huh?

’Wait a second.’

His train of thought had been interrupted by the teacher.

But as the harsh liquor slid down his throat, he immediately realized something!

’If both his and Cheng Mengxue’s student ID numbers were pushed back one spot because Song He cut in...’

’...if he went from number 40 to 41...’

’...then wouldn’t Cheng Mengxue be—’

"And now, let us all raise our glasses."

Teacher Gao’s expression turned solemn as he raised his glass high.

"Let us drink this toast together, in memory of that bright, sunny girl we all adored, who was also the very last student number in our class—"

"Number 42! Cheng Mengxue!"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Suddenly!

A knock came from the double doors at the entrance of the private room.

Everyone held their breath.

’Who is it?’

’Who could possibly be knocking at a time like this?’

The same terrifying thought flashed through everyone’s mind!

All eyes snapped to Zhou Xiong.

A moment ago, he had indeed used his phone to give Lilith an order: resurrect Cheng Mengxue and have her come to the class reunion immediately.

Everyone knew it was absurd, of course.

But tonight, every single wish Zhou Xiong had made to Lilith had, without exception, come true.

He was undefeated, maintaining a 100% success rate.

’In that case...’

The classmates’ eyes darted around, looking from one person to another.

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