7:58 PM
The entire school was awake.
Lights illuminated every hallway.
Every classroom.
Every staircase.
Even the rooftop.
Students walked quickly toward one destination.
The auditorium.
No one had been ordered to attend.
Yet almost everyone came.
Curiosity was stronger than fear.
Lin Xia, Yue Ning, and Mei Chen entered through the back doors.
The enormous hall could seat thousands.
Tonight...
Almost every seat was occupied.
No shouting.
No conversations.
Only quiet anticipation.
A massive screen covered the stage curtain.
Above it floated a message.
SPECIAL EXHIBITION MATCH
Beginning in...
00:01:12
🔹 AN UNUSUAL ATMOSPHERE
Mei Chen looked around.
"...This feels like a championship."
"It isn't."
Han Rui had appeared beside them without them noticing.
His eyes never left the stage.
"It's worse."
"You've seen normal games."
"You've seen ranking matches."
"But Exhibition Matches..."
He lowered his voice.
"...are where legends are made."
🔹 THE PLAYER
The countdown reached zero.
The curtain slowly opened.
Li Wei stepped onto the stage.
He wore the same school uniform from earlier.
But his hands no longer shook.
He had made his decision.
Now he would face its consequences.
A spotlight followed him as he reached the center.
The audience remained silent.
🔹 THE OPPONENT
Another spotlight illuminated the opposite side of the stage.
Someone was already there.
A girl.
She looked no older than eighteen.
She wore the same school uniform as everyone else.
Perfectly neat.
Snow-white gloves.
Long black hair tied into a low ponytail.
Round glasses.
Calm, almost expressionless eyes.
She carried a folded fan.
Nothing more.
A wave of whispers spread across the audience.
"...No way..."
"...It's her..."
"...She accepted another invitation..."
Mei Chen frowned.
"...Who is she?"
Han Rui answered quietly.
"Rank Three."
The girls stared.
"...Her name is..."
A pause.
"...Bai Shuying."
"She's never lost."
🔹 THE INVITATION'S SECRET
Bai Shuying bowed politely.
Not mockingly.
Not arrogantly.
Simply...
Respectfully.
"Thank you for accepting."
Li Wei bowed in return.
"I didn't know who I'd be facing."
She smiled faintly.
"Neither did I."
The girls exchanged glances.
"They don't choose their opponents?"
Yue Ning whispered.
Han Rui shook his head.
"The invitation does."
🔹 THE ANNOUNCEMENT
The screen changed.
GAME SELECTION PHASE
A transparent wheel appeared above the stage.
Instead of one game...
There were dozens.
Chess.
Go.
Checkers.
Mahjong.
Scrabble.
Chinese Jump Rope.
Jacks.
Shuttlecock Kick.
Five Stones.
Dominoes.
Mancala.
Pick-up Sticks.
Playing Cards.
Cat's Cradle.
Tangram.
And many more.
The wheel began spinning.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Then...
It stopped.
GAME SELECTED
TANGRAM
A murmur spread through the audience.
🔹 THE RULES
Seven geometric pieces appeared on both tables.
A large screen displayed a silhouette.
A flying crane.
System text appeared.
Both players must recreate the silhouette using all seven pieces.
No overlapping.
No gaps.
First successful completion wins.
Yue Ning's eyes lit up.
"...A tangram puzzle."
Lin Xia nodded.
"It's simple..."
She looked at Bai Shuying.
"...Until pressure is added."
🔹 BEGIN
The timer started.
15:00
Both players immediately sorted their pieces.
But...
In completely different ways.
Li Wei arranged them by size.
Trying to understand the silhouette.
Bai Shuying...
Closed her eyes.
She didn't touch a single piece.
The audience looked confused.
Five seconds passed.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Only then did she open her eyes.
She reached out.
Picked up one triangle.
Placed it.
Then another.
Then the square.
Every movement was smooth.
Efficient.
Almost rehearsed.
Mei Chen whispered,
"...She's memorized it."
Lin Xia shook her head.
"No."
"...She's visualizing the completed shape before making the first move."
🔹 LI WEI'S STRATEGY
Li Wei wasn't slow.
He rotated pieces carefully.
Testing possibilities.
Correcting mistakes immediately.
He stayed calm.
He adapted.
For a moment...
They were nearly equal.
The audience leaned forward.
Nobody blinked.
🔹 THE FINAL PANEL
With two minutes remaining...
Both players had only one piece left.
The room was completely silent.
Li Wei rotated his final triangle.
Almost.
Not quite.
He tried again.
Across the stage...
Bai Shuying gently smiled.
She placed her last piece.
Click.
The crane was complete.
Perfect.
A chime echoed.
WINNER: BAI SHUYING
No cheering.
No celebration.
Only respect.
🔹 SOMETHING STRANGE
Instead of looking pleased...
Bai Shuying looked disappointed.
She stared at Li Wei's unfinished puzzle.
"...You noticed the symmetry."
She spoke quietly.
"...Most people don't."
Li Wei blinked.
"You..."
"...Could've finished sooner."
She nodded.
"I wanted to see how you think."
That sentence sent a chill through the audience.
She hadn't been racing.
She had been evaluating him.
🔹 THE PUNISHMENT
The system displayed a message.
Winner
Select Punishment
The auditorium held its breath.
Bai Shuying looked at Li Wei for a long moment.
Then she spoke.
"...No punishment."
The audience erupted into whispers.
"She refused?"
"...Can she do that?"
The system paused.
Then another notification appeared.
Punishment Waived
Winner Reward Increased
Bai Shuying simply bowed.
Then walked off the stage without another word.
Li Wei remained standing.
Confused.
Relieved.
🔹 FINAL SCENE
As the crowd began leaving...
Lin Xia looked toward the stage.
"...She wasn't playing to win."
Yue Ning nodded slowly.
"...She was looking for something."
High above the auditorium...
Hidden behind the lighting equipment...
A tiny red camera rotated.
Following the three girls.
A message appeared on an unseen monitor.
Target Observation Complete
Potential Candidates Confirmed
The screen faded to black.