"Shichen, we haven't seen each other all summer. Have you finished your homework?" Li Dongfang skipped over and patted Su Shichen's shoulder.
"Oh, right, let me ask you a question." Su Shichen turned his head and saw a pretty face, red as a rosy apple, with a small nose and dimples when she smiled.
"What question?"
"Da Ban Zhang, is your father's surname Li and your mother's surname Dongfang?" Su Shichen asked.
"Why do you ask? Of course not. By the way, is there really a surname 'Dongfang'?" Li Dongfang tilted her head curiously.
"Of course there is—Dongfang Bubai," Su Shichen blurted out.
"Who's Dongfang Bubai?"
"Hmm, you'll find out soon enough," Su Shichen replied with a mysterious smile.
The small path was breezy and shaded by lush greenery.
"Shichen, the school's this way. You're going the wrong direction." Li Dongfang pointed to the left. "The school should be over here. Don't tell me you've forgotten where it is after just one summer?" she teased, covering her mouth in mock surprise.
Su Shichen stopped walking, his gaze locking onto Li Dongfang's face with a strangely intense look.
Li Dongfang, only fourteen, instinctively stepped back under his stare.
"Why are you... looking at me like that? Is there something dirty on my face?"
"By the way, Da Ban Zhang, what's the craziest thing you've ever done at school?" Su Shichen suddenly asked.
"Crazy? Does being late for class count?" Li Dongfang pouted.
"That's it? What's crazy about that? I'm late all the time." Su Shichen curled his lips in disdain.
Both of them studied at Experimental Middle School—Class Ten, second year. Class Ten was the top class in the school, responsible for maintaining the school's stellar promotion rate. Li Dongfang was the top student of this elite class, never dropping out of the top three in grade-level exams. For such a model student, being late was indeed the "craziest" thing she had ever done.
"Have you ever heard a saying, Da Ban Zhang?"
"What saying?"
"If we don't go crazy, we'll get old. How can we commemorate our youth without memories? What else is truly immortal? Once something's missed, it can never be possessed again." Su Shichen paused. "Da Ban Zhang, we're already in our second year of middle school. In just one more year, we'll graduate. Have you ever thought that when that day comes, we might realize all we did was study — and nothing else?"
"Even though your grades are excellent, Da Ban Zhang, when you grow up and look back on these years, you'll find your memories filled only with textbooks and exams. You'll be even worse off than those so-called bad students in Class One. At least they've gone crazy once — they talked back to teachers, skipped homework. Sure, they were punished, but when they remember those rebellious days, they'll probably laugh. Don't you think so?"
Su Shichen's rapid-fire words left Li Dongfang speechless.
"Uh... what should I do then?" she asked nervously. Being told she was "worse than the bad students" made the usually proud Li Dongfang anxious. "What can I do to make my school life more memorable?"
"Do you dare to skip class?" Su Shichen asked, his tone laced with challenge.
"Ah! Skip class?" Li Dongfang was startled. Skipping class might not be a big deal for high school or college students, but for middle schoolers, it was practically a capital crime. Even the bad students in Class One had never skipped school before.
"If I skip class... and the teacher finds out, they'll call my parents! If my dad finds out..."
"Oh, so our great Da Ban Zhang is scared?"
Li Dongfang was indeed scared. At fourteen, skipping class sounded terrifying. But hearing Su Shichen's teasing tone made her flare up in defiance.
"Hmph! Who said I'm scared? I-I'm not scared at all! It's just skipping class with you—who's afraid of who?"
The moment she said it, she regretted it—but Su Shichen didn't give her a chance to take it back.
"Then it's settled! Since we're skipping class, Da Ban Zhang, I'll take you somewhere fun."
Although Li Dongfang was intelligent, she was no match for Su Shichen — who might've looked fourteen but had the mind of a thirty-two-year-old man.
The journey was uneventful, and Li Dongfang's nervousness grew with every step.
"Uh..."
"Da Ban Zhang, you're not scared and thinking of going back, are you?"
"Of course... not!" Li Dongfang's face flushed red.
"How about this—since the walk's boring, let's play a little game. A simple question: If one equals five, two equals nine, three equals thirteen, and four equals seventeen, what does five equal?"
"Hmph, that's easy! Five equals twenty-one. The pattern is multiply by four and add one," Li Dongfang answered confidently.
"No, no, no. That's wrong. I'll give you another chance."
"How can it be wrong? Look—two times four plus one is nine, three times four plus one is thirteen, four times four plus one is seventeen, so five times four plus one is twenty-one!"
"Sounds logical," Su Shichen said with a grin, "but still wrong."
"How is that possible? Then what's the answer?"
"The answer? Five equals one," Su Shichen replied with a smile.
"Equals one?" Li Dongfang blinked, confused, before suddenly realizing it. If one equals five, then five naturally equals one.
"Hmph, that's a brain teaser, not a math question."
"When did I ever say it was a math problem, Da Ban Zhang?" Su Shichen chuckled.
"Hmph!" Li Dongfang huffed and turned away, her ponytail swishing indignantly.
"Da Ban Zhang, don't be discouraged. Dr. Silas Pod, a psychologist from Yale University, once said that IQ only accounts for twenty percent of success, while emotional intelligence accounts for about sixty percent."
Li Dongfang rolled her eyes at him.
"Da Ban Zhang, the night gave you black eyes, yet you use them just to roll them. What a waste of good resources."
Li Dongfang giggled despite herself, then straightened her expression. "Shichen, I haven't seen you all summer, and you've become so glib. Since you tested me, let me test you too."
"Do you know the 'horseflieseffect'?" Li Dongfang asked proudly, spelling it out for him. "You don't know, do you?"
To know the meaning of a random English word just by hearing it — even high schoolers couldn't do that! In truth, Li Dongfang had seen this word in a book her parents were reading and had copied it down to ask her English teacher later. But now, she wanted to stump Su Shichen with it.
Su Shichen pursed his lips into a small smile.
"What are you smiling at? You definitely don't know!"
"If I do know, then what?"
"If you know... um..." Li Dongfang tilted her head, trying to think of a suitable punishment.
"How about this: if I can explain the meaning, you have to agree to one of my requests — as long as it's not too excessive."
A request that's not too excessive...
"Okay!" Li Dongfang agreed confidently, certain he wouldn't know.
"'Horseflieseffect,' when translated into Chinese, is 'Ma Ying Xiao Ying' — the Horsefly Effect. It's simple: no matter how lazy a horse is, if there are horseflies biting it, it'll become energetic. The term means that leaders should know how to motivate their employees." Su Shichen smiled smugly.
"What horse? What horsefly? Shichen, you're making this up. I've never heard of it!"
"Then Da Ban Zhang can check a dictionary or ask the teacher later," Su Shichen replied casually. "There's the Frog Effect, the Catfish Effect, and of course, the most famous Butterfly Effect."
"Da Ban Zhang, don't forget our little bet, alright?"
"Hmph!" Li Dongfang huffed again, muttering under her breath. When did Shichen become so knowledgeable? Of all those "effects," she'd only ever heard of the Butterfly Effect.
"Shichen, where are you taking me?"
"Where else? Somewhere good! Come on!"
With that, Su Shichen ran toward the morning sun with his backpack, and Li Dongfang followed behind. After about three minutes of running, Su Shichen finally stopped, while Li Dongfang was already panting.
"Alright, we're here."
"Here?" Li Dongfang looked around, puzzled. "Shichen, you brought me to... Xingxing Building? Everyone knows this place!"
"Of course they do. But, Da Ban Zhang — have you ever been inside?"
"How could I? You need a work pass to get in."
"We'll sneak in," Su Shichen said, pulling her along.
Li Dongfang's heart pounded. Weren't they supposed to be sneaking in? Why were they walking so confidently?
In this society bound by laws and morals, everyone has a spark of rebellion deep down.
Some people restrain it and live as ordinary citizens outside of prison, while others, unable to restrain it, live their lives inside one.
Even Li Dongfang, the model student, wasn't immune. From the initial anxiety of skipping class, a flicker of excitement began to rise in her chest.
When they arrived at the building's front desk, she braced herself to be thrown out — but after Su Shichen said a few words, the receptionist actually let them through.
"Da Ban Zhang, what are you standing there for? Come on!"
She followed, still dazed. "Hey, hey, Shichen, why did the receptionist let you in?"
"Simple. I used the honey trap. With my peerless good looks, she was naturally captivated and let us through." Su Shichen puffed out his chest shamelessly.
"Tsk." Li Dongfang wrinkled her nose. "Handsome? More like 'cringe-some.'"
"Where to now?"
"To the eighteenth floor, of course."
Xingxing Building had thirty-seven floors, housing many companies.
They entered the elevator, pressed 18, and the elevator began its slow ascent.
Ding!
Eighteenth floor. Doors open. Exit elevator.