Ever's hand slightly lifted, and among the playing cards on the table, twelve slowly rose into the air, while the remaining cards fluttered around, transforming into points of light and disappearing in an instant.
Afterward, the twelve cards all turned face-up, presenting their suits and numbers to everyone.
They were:
Square J, 2, 5.
Black Spade A, 9, 2.
Clubs K, 9, 6, 5.
Heart J, 6.
Xu Xiaoyou observed the cards, still unclear about what these cards corresponded to and why they had these specific numbers.
Ever's voice slowly erged.
"The rules of the ga are very simple. You have ten seconds to morize these cards. After ten seconds, I will draw one card, tell Miss Tang the number, tell my assistant the suit, and then pose questions to them."
As expected, the other party was from the Dawn Office. It seems that not all Dawn Office personnel are nad with card suits and numbers, Xu Xiaoyou thought with understanding glinting in her eyes.
Ever rested a hand on the table, facing Xu Xiaoyou: "Your task is also very simple. Based on the questions I ask them, guess the number of the card."
Ten seconds seed quite generous to her.
Xu Xiaoyou simply glanced at the cards and morized all the numbers. Before the ten seconds were up, she said, "Let's start directly."
"Very confident indeed," Ever said with an uplifted tone. "But let's give these two beautiful ladies a little ti, as they need to rember these cards too for the ga."
Tang Xin and the assistant quickly started recording the cards.
Tang Xin's mory was quite good, related to her often morizing textbook knowledge points in the Foster Ho. Long passages on the origins of aesthetics, the historical concepts and theories of the Star of Art, and detailed content on local art were her favorites. She found the process of morizing and retaining things in her mind very fulfilling and reassuring.
Tang Xin quickly recorded all the numbers, nodded, and looked at Xu Xiaoyou and Ever. Beside her, the assistant bit her thumb, seemingly finding it challenging to morize the entire set of numbers in such a short ti.
"Ladies, ti's up. Did you rember it all?" Ever asked at the tenth second, speaking up in a tily manner. "Of course, we should be patient with beautiful ladies and give them a little more ti, provided that the respondent cannot peek."
"I've got it," Tang Xin said.
The assistant cast a doubtful glance at Tang Xin and then at everyone in the room, coughed twice, and reluctantly said, "Such a simple thing, of course I've got it too. Let's start, boss!"
"Then, the ga begins."
Ever's hand swept over the twelve cards, and eleven cards vanished, leaving only a card with an exquisite patterned back in his hand.
He picked up the card, glanced at the number, placed it back on the table, and then walked over to Tang Xin. Half-covering his mouth, he whispered sothing in the girl's ear.
Tang Xin nodded thoughtfully, having heard the number Ever ntioned.
Then, Ever leisurely paced around the room and ca to the assistant's side. Looking at the girl, who stood on her toes, hands on her hips, and gazed at him unflinchingly, he chuckled silently.
After telling the assistant the suit of the card, Ever didn't imdiately start questioning but rather silently observed Xu Xiaoyou standing quietly under the lamp. The latter also cast her gaze over and asked, "Can we start now?"
"Of course, I'll begin my questioning," Ever replied.
"Miss Tang Xin, do you know specifically what this card is?"
Tang Xin thought carefully, comparing it to the twelve cards in her mory, and then shook her head: "I don't know."
Upon hearing this, thoughts flickered through Xu Xiaoyou's eyes.
Then Ever ca to the assistant, who showed her small tiger teeth and said, "I don't know what this card is either!"
Ever shook his head: "But that's not the question I have for you."
"What I want to ask you is, can you be sure that Miss Tang doesn't know what the card is?"
The assistant was stunned, bewildered, completely not understanding the significance of Ever's question.
"Ah, this... this..." With everyone's eyes on her, the assistant certainly couldn't lose face. Still with her hands on her hips, she spoke assertively, "Well, of course I know, haha!"
"Yes, you do know," Ever said.
Xu Xiaoyou crossed her arms, appearing contemplative.
"Alright, Miss Tang, onto your second question." Ever looked at Tang Xin and spread his hands slightly.
"Do you now know what the specific card is?"
Tang Xin closed her eyes and tried hard to think, the twelve cards flashing in her mind, logic sentences arranging and combining in her mind. She recalled doing mathematical logic reasoning problems during her exam preparation, though back then, she had pens and notebooks.
Monts later, Tang Xin nodded: "I know now."
The assistant looked at Tang Xin with wide eyes.
She knows now? How did she find out? What did she figure out?
With three consecutive questions buzzing in her mind, she maintained a composed exterior.
"Co on, assistant, you didn't even morize the cards. Stop pretending." Ever leisurely exposed the truth.
The assistant, who had little confidence to begin with, deflated like a punctured balloon, weakly said, "Alright, I admit I have no sense of participation in this annoying ga."
"Can we play a different ga? Like arcade racing or a fighter ga, I'm an expert in those."
"But this doesn't affect the course of the ga," Ever ignored her comnts and continued. "The second question I have for the assistant is, now that you know Miss Tang knows the card, do you know the card?"
The assistant was drenched in sweat, hesitating and unable to respond.
"I'll answer for you. Theoretically, you can now know the card," he said.
"Alright, the four questions are over, and now it's the respondent's turn to answer."
The card on the table slowly floated up and reappeared in Ever's hand.
He walked step by step to Xu Xiaoyou, a subtle curve at the corner of his lips, holding the card face to the young girl, he removed the rose-colored glasses from his face: "Miss Xu."
"Do you now know what the card is?"
Xu Xiaoyou snapped her fingers, and the card vanished from Ever's hand, reappearing at her fingertips. The patterned back blocking her view, the front's suit and number facing everyone in the room.
"Heart 6," she said.
Under the dim golden jewel lamp, the heart-shaped pattern of the card and its blood-red coloring gradually clarified, revealing its true form.
— Heart 6.
"Can we end this ga now?"
Xu Xiaoyou said as the card spun at her fingertips, drifting lightly back to the table.
She matched eyes with Ever's entirely unsurprised look, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"Mr. Heart 6?"
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