Lu Qinglian pondered:
"Next time it's my turn, let him answer that question instead."
"Doesn't really work," Ruoping shook her head. "Our original intention was to have everyone answer a question! Let me add another rule—drawing from the paper balls won't work either. I didn't prepare many paper slips, so it has to be thought up on the spot. Oh, and it must be something that can be completed right here."
As she spoke, she reservedly nodded at Zhang Shutong with a smile, as if saying, See? I'm good to you, right?
How was this called being good to him?
The gloating in her eyes was practically brimming over!
Zhang Shutong had been caught off guard just now, but he quickly regained his composure.
"What do you think?" Lu Qinglian asked, as if consulting his opinion.
"Push-ups, ten of them?"
Lu Qinglian raised her chin, but before she could open her mouth—
"Hold on, what he mentioned just now happened on Sunday, but the question was about the most recent lie told, right?"
Gu Qiumian suddenly spoke up:
"Then I want to expose him too."
"What, what?" The soul of gossip sparkled in Ruoping's eyes.
"Regarding the fox matter, he only told me the whole story at noon today, hiding it from me for several days. Does that count as lying?"
"Definitive count," Ruoping snapped her fingers.
"Then here comes the question: Classmate Gu Qiumian's statement is even more recent than last night's affair," Qingyi popped out from who-knows-where. "In that case, does Classmate Lu Qinglian's exposure still count?"
Zhang Shutong thought to himself that he truly was a good brother:
"Doesn't count," he said without a second thought.
What kind of joke was this? Having all five people run over to expose him once—what kind of Truth or Dare was that? It might as well be renamed The Adventures of Zhang Shutong.
"Then what does Qinglian think?" Ruoping blinked.
"Ten push-ups."
A faint yet undeniable voice sounded.
Ruoping spread her hands sympathetically:
"Let's have Qiumian add one more then."
Zhang Shutong shot Gu Qiumian a look, begging her not to make things too difficult for him, her lackey.
Gu Qiumian, however, narrowed her eyes at him, displaying that dangerous expression she had shown at noon. She gave a cold snort, and before Zhang Shutong could figure out what she meant, Gu Qiumian spoke calmly:
"Push-ups, eleven of them."
Zhang Shutong breathed a sigh of relief.
Just twenty-one push-ups; a piece of cake.
As expected of the eldest young lady, even her push-ups were one more than anyone else's... Zhang Shutong thought as he found an open space to drop down, returning to his seat panting shortly after.
"Again."
Ruoping picked up her gel pen once more.
The tip of the pen came to a stop in front of Lu Qinglian.
"What is your favorite animal?"
"Fox."
Zhang Shutong almost suspected he had heard wrong.
Did this question have any comparability to the two he had encountered just now?
He wanted to say there was definitely shady business going on, but Ruoping gave the pen another spin, the tip pointing at Gu Qiumian:
"What is your childhood nickname?"
Gu Qiumian paused for a moment:
"Qiumian."
"Ahem," Qiumian's voice came out crisp as she said, "Aiya, aiya! How do I remember saying something to Classmate Zhang Shutong at noon?"
She intentionally placed heavy emphasis on the two words "Tongtong."
Seeing this, Zhang Shutong kept his mouth shut.
That dark-hearted Autumn Rain Mianmian!
Ruoping didn't say anything, merely offering a profound smile:
"Come on, it's Qingyi's turn."
"When was the last time you wet the bed?"
Qingyi was stunned:
"What kind of question is this? Who would still remember..."
"Just say whether you can answer it or not."
Qingyi was quite straightforward, reaching straight toward the pile of paper balls for the dares.
"Hand-feed the person to your right a biscuit."
Qingyi looked poker-faced at the equally poker-faced Du Kang.
Ten seconds later, Qingyi tossed away the wrapper with an expression bereft of desire for life, while Du Kang similarly wiped away the biscuit crumbs at the corner of his mouth, bereft of desire for life.
Everyone laughed like crazy.
Zhang Shutong couldn't hold back either. Just then, his phone chimed with a message from QQ.
"There's shady business. She marked the paper slips, and there's a problem with the pen too."
Zhang Shutong had barely taken a glance when Ruoping shouted loudly:
"No colluding in private!"
Zhang Shutong put away his phone and exchanged a look with Qingyi.
The game continued.
It was Gu Qiumian again.
"What is your most unforgettable Christmas present?"
Zhang Shutong was just developing some curiosity when Gu Qiumian said:
"Dare."
Was there anything that couldn't be said about that? he thought in confusion.
However, this time Gu Qiumian took a glance at the paper slip, then looked at him instead.
What?
"Have your seatmate assist you in completing ten sit-ups."
And beside Gu Qiumian—the desks were rectangular, and after being pushed together, each side could only seat two people. Qingyi and Du Kang shared a desk, Ruoping and Lu Qinglian shared a desk, and as the last two to enter, the two of them naturally shared a desk.
"Come."
Gu Qiumian had always been—according to her own words—a cold, elegant beauty.
"Hold tight."
The princess-like girl opened her mouth.
Her black hair and skirt hem both spread across the desk. Zhang Shutong held down Gu Qiumian's calves, wanting to laugh yet not daring to, seeing how she was very cold, serious, and solemn. He only heard Gu Qiumian let out a light snort, followed by her slender waist exerting force as she sat up abruptly.
The girl who had been lying on the desk a moment ago appeared right before his eyes in a flash. The skin on her face was delicate and snow-white, right up close. Zhang Shutong met those eyes of hers. Before he could see clearly, Gu Qiumian's face tilted back again. Every time she came up, they would meet eyes once. Zhang Shutong felt her stamina was actually pretty good, stronger than the average girl's... Then, with a thud.
The two held their foreheads simultaneously.
"Why do you keep leaning forward!"
"It's because your range of motion was too big..."
Fortunately, the collision wasn't too severe.
Mainly, it had come without warning.
The iceberg melted; Gu Qiumian said it was his fault while catching her breath.
Zhang Shutong had no choice but to say it was his fault, his fault. He turned his head back:
"How about we don't do any more? It's already seven anyway."
"Then let's stop here," Ruoping held back her laughter and pressed the pause button. "Come, come, come! The paper slips are about to run out, let me make quick work of this."
As things stood, Zhang Shutong already regretted playing this game. Wouldn't it be better to spend this time studying?
Why did the tip of the pen have to stop in front of him again?
"How are you spending Christmas, and with whom?"
"You guys."
Zhang Shutong also intended to make quick work of it.
"Won't do. You can only report one name."
"Hard to part with any."
"You're playing dirty!"
Zhang Shutong really wasn't playing dirty. Back when he asked Gu Qiumian for help picking up and dropping off Ruoping after school, he had promised to treat her to a meal—temporarily set for dinner—so lunch would definitely be spent with his best friends.
Zhang Shutong knew Ruoping hadn't harbored good intentions from the start. He snatched a paper ball directly.
"Select a person by spinning the pen, and have them use your phone to call your parents while you aren't allowed to speak the entire time."
Ruoping read it out loud, then gave the pen a spin. The tip came to a stop in front of Lu Qinglian.
Zhang Shutong's eyelid twitched.
"My parents are working overtime."
Zhang Shutong refused without even thinking.
"Almost forgot," Ruoping slapped her forehead. "Then draw another one."
Zhang Shutong unfolded another paper ball, on which was written:
"Select a person by spinning the pen, and show them the first photo in your recycle bin."
Zhang Shutong confirmed it once more.
He remembered taking photos of the fox in the tunnel on Sunday, but because he couldn't find a good angle, he had deleted several. So the first photo in the recycle bin should be...
Zhang Shutong suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
—The selfie with Lu Qinglian.
In front of the old house, they had gone straight to chase that man, forgetting to completely clear out that photo.
Looking at Ruoping again, she was blinking her eyes innocently:
"So what is it? Wait, Shutong, it couldn't be..."
Of course it wasn't anything unspeakable, but Lu Qinglian realized something in a flash. She turned her face, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully, as if talking to herself:
"Re... cycle... bin."
Zhang Shutong handed the phone over with a numb scalp.
Lu Qinglian lowered her eyelids, then shifted her gaze away.
"So what is it?" Ruoping asked curiously.
"The photo of the fox taken in the tunnel last night," she said nonchalantly.
"Oh."
The others didn't feel anything was amiss.
Zhang Shutong, however, felt his goosebumps radar was working again. He looked toward Lu Qinglian's position, but she wasn't looking at him.
"Qingyi, it's you again!" Ruoping announced.
"Hey, wait a minute, how come I wasn't picked the whole time?" Du Kang wondered with delayed realization.
The question was:
"When was the last time someone confessed to you?"
"Yesterday," Qingyi said calmly.
"Huh?"
This time, not only Ruoping, but even Du Kang opened his mouth wide in surprise.
"When did that happen? Holy crap, brother, how come I didn't know..."
"Fake," Zhang Shutong said casually. "Exposed."
"Mm, yeah, fake." Qingyi nodded. Under the increasingly baffled gazes of the crowd, he asked again, "The requirement?"
"Draw a turtle on the back of your hand."
"Okay."
Qingyi reached out to take the gel pen on the table.
"Hey, wait..." Ruoping shouted out subconsciously.
"What?"
Qingyi lowered his eyelids, drawing a circle on the back of his hand. He made a few strokes:
"Oh, out of ink. Let's switch to another one."
He naturally pulled out a sign pen from his pocket, and after finishing drawing, placed it back on the table:
"Continue."
"Umm..."
Ruoping panicked.
"Let me spin."
Zhang Shutong took the pen. The two didn't leave Ruoping any room to interject at all. Immediately following, the tip of the pen came to a stop in front of Lu Qinglian.
He withdrew his hand with a bit of regret. He had originally wanted to spin it in front of Ruoping, but he still hadn't grasped the force properly.
Still, it was enough to disrupt Ruoping's plan.
Lu Qinglian, on the other hand, picked up a slip of paper:
"Except for ordinary physical contact, what is the most intimate act you've had with the opposite sex?"
For a time, there was absolute silence.
Everyone subconsciously held their breath.
This was indeed the most impactful question since the start of the game.
Not to mention the subject was Lu Qinglian.
Ruoping was shocked as well.
An unexpected twist.
Zhang Shutong suddenly came to a realization. From the very beginning, he had felt Ruoping harbored bad intentions, only he hadn't expected the target to be aimed at himself. And starting from last night, when her friend called and asked, "Are you and Zhang Shutong together?", her soul of gossip had begun to burn.
Zhang Shutong felt inexplicably amused yet helpless.
Looking at Lu Qinglian again, her expression remained unchanged as she parted her pink lips slightly:
"Dare."
This answer was within everyone's expectations. After all, Lu Qinglian didn't even have a single close friend, so how could she possibly have had intimate acts with the opposite sex?
Before anyone else could react, Lu Qinglian picked up a slip of paper, on which was written:
"What gift do you want to receive for Christmas, how do you plan to spend it, and what plans do you have? Please write it down."
The atmosphere fell into a rare silence. Everyone was waiting for Lu Qinglian to answer this question, yet only Zhang Shutong noticed Lu Qinglian knitted her brows slightly. This was the first time Zhang Shutong had read an emotion named vexation from her face. Indeed, regarding that Truth, she could have completely answered "none," yet Lu Qinglian's subconscious reaction had been to pick Dare.
However, before Zhang Shutong could reach a conclusion, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway.
It turned out the people from Class 4 had dismissed.