Chapter 12
[Beep—Task Complete.]
[Host receives 1 point.]
“Gege! So this is what a Rubik’s Cube feels like in hand! This is what it’s like to twist it! So smooth, so comfortable.”
[…] Only someone with your supreme dullness would think the other person was actually lending you the cube to play.
According to the script, this should be where the Host is forced to swallow the cube, ending up with a mouth full of blood, causing the two to turn pale with fright.
However, since the task objective was: Make the two turn pale with fright, the Host accidentally completed the task.
It was just…
Wen Rong was still dimly happy about touching the cube, pressing his lips together and looking obediently and joyfully at the two people who intended to cause him trouble and despised him to the extreme.
The one who bumped into him gritted his back teeth, eyes bloodshot. “I’m going to f—”
Before he could touch Wen Rong’s wrist, sudden severe pain struck. His body listed to the side, twisted like a fish caught in a net by the newcomer grabbing him.
“There’s no logic in asking a Junior to play and then getting angry at him.” Leon released him and took the cube from Wen Rong’s hand. “I’ll accept the apology gift on behalf of the Junior.”
The students of Floriman Academy all looked down on the commoner class, but they also paid the most attention to class hierarchy. Leon’s background and status needed no explanation; few in the entire Federation dared to provoke him. What’s more, everyone knew he had a good relationship with Shi Ye, and Shi Ye was a mad dog who could do anything without getting expelled.
The two could only glare resentfully at Wen Rong before turning to leave.
Only at this moment did Wen Rong realize he had done something wrong. The fear of causing trouble for the Senior flooded his heart again.
His two hands maintained the gesture of holding the cube, not daring to put them down, trembling straight. “Senior, did I cause you trouble again?”
Leon smiled but didn’t answer.
He took the restored 6×6 Rubik’s Cube, fiddled with it in his hand a few times to scramble the order, and then asked slowly, “You know how to play this?”
Wen Rong held up empty air, embarrassed. “In elementary school, many classmates played with Rubik’s Cubes. I wanted to play too, but I didn’t have money to buy one…”
Recalling happy memories, he couldn’t help rotating his wrists, twisting and twisting in the air, as if he were really twisting a cube. “My deskmate could solve it. It was super cool. I often peeked at him playing during class; he didn’t know!”
Leon couldn’t help but smile. Because he had no money, he had to peek at others playing and fantasize about twisting an air cube. How was this little fool so funny yet a bit pitiful?
Suddenly, realizing something, the smile froze on his face.
He asked, “Did you say… elementary school?”
“Mhm-hmm.” The fool nodded.
“You’ve never touched one all this time?”
“No money.” The fool was embarrassed.
“Have you seen a Rubik’s Cube since elementary school?”
“Classmates stopped playing with them.” The fool lowered his head in regret.
Leon took a shallow deep breath, his chest feeling incredibly stuffy. He pulled the fool onto a chair to sit. “Look at this cube. Look at every face.”
“Oh, oh.” The fool obeyed obediently.
“Now close your eyes.”
“…” Closed eyes.
“Restore the cube just like this. You aren’t allowed to open your eyes to look.”
“Huh?” He acted dumb for a second, seemingly afraid Leon would get angry, then squeezed his eyelids shut even tighter, nodding repeatedly. “O-Okay.”
Click, click, click, click.
Pale fingers manipulated the corners of the cube. The speed wasn’t fast; it could even be called slow. But every step was cautious, like a decision made after careful consideration.
The time wasn’t long, but Leon suffered through the torment. Watching the areas of color growing larger and larger, he asked somewhat unwillingly, “Little fool, have you learned blind solving?”
Wen Rong stopped his movements, a look of sincere apology and nervousness appearing on his small face. “S-Sorry Senior, what is ‘blind twist’?”
Leon didn’t want to pressure himself anymore. He turned his head to look around, thinking about how Wen Rong had been bumped into before getting to eat anything after entering. So he asked, “There’s Curry Pork Chop Udon Noodles this morning. Do you eat it?”
“…” Wen Rong moved his mouth.
“Want to eat?”
“Want…”
“Wait for me.”
The moment he stood up, Wen Rong was still obediently squeezing his eyes shut while twisting the cube. There was a stutter of a dozen seconds where his eyelashes trembled; it was obvious he wanted to open them, but the muscles around his eyes quickly crowded together, forcing the eyelids shut. His expression looked a bit ferocious.
Was this roughly his fiercest look?
When Leon returned with the bowl, the restored 6×6 Rubik’s Cube sat perfectly intact on the table. Wen Rong sat bolt upright, still using a ferocious expression to struggle to keep his eyes closed.
He couldn’t help laughing. Truly an honest and obedient child.
So obedient and devoid of temper, like a doll at anyone’s mercy. If he met someone with bad intentions in the future, wouldn’t he be bullied to death?
Leon suddenly realized his mind was wandering and hastily put down the bowl. “Open your eyes.”
Wen Rong opened his eyes to see the steaming noodles. Instantly, like a child receiving candy, his eyes curved into small moons. “Thank you, Senior!”
He held the bowl with both hands, sniffed in front of his nose, eyes smiling. “So fragrant!”
“Mn.”
“I’ve only heard classmates talk about curry before. I haven’t eaten it, don’t know what it tastes like.”
Leon leisurely handed him chopsticks. “There are also pizza, steak, tacos, and pasta over there. Want to try?”
Wen Rong shook his head so hard his hair flew. “I can’t eat that much. Noodles are enough, no wasting.”
He puffed out his cheeks to blow on the heat radiating from the surface of the udon noodles, lifting the bowl expectantly to drink a mouthful of soup.
His handsome brows furrowed slightly. Not obvious, but Leon saw it.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s sweet, and a little spicy.”
“Not used to it?”
“I will finish it.” Wen Rong insisted on stuffing the udon noodles into his mouth. As he ate, seemingly thinking of something, his eating speed got faster and faster.
Seeing Wen Rong completely relax, Leon lowered his eyes to look at the 6×6 cube on the side. “What were you thinking about when you twisted it with your eyes closed?”
“Besides thinking about what it looks like… what else should I think about…”
Seeing Wen Rong getting nervous again, Leon tried his best to comfort him with a smile. “Don’t be nervous, I’m just curious and asking. Did you memorize the positions of all 152 block faces?”
“152… block faces? What are those?”
“The small faces on the 6×6 Rubik’s Cube.”
“Oh, oh, so it has that many faces. I tried very, very hard to memorize them just now.”
Spending only a few seconds is called trying very hard to memorize? Truly infuriating.
Leon rested his hand on the table, index finger tapping intentionally or unintentionally, saying somewhat unyieldingly, “The difficulty of blind solving a 6×6 cube is very high. I only learned it when I was seven.”
Sure enough, the little fool stopped eating noodles, his two eyes widening into perfect circles. “Senior, you were that amazing at only seven years old!”
Leon proudly raised the corner of his mouth. “Mn.”
He added, “So you should be able to study mathematics. You are as smart as I was when I was seven.”
His expression froze, as if stunned.
Leon laughed. “Is being as smart as Senior not good?”
Wen Rong shook his head vigorously. “I didn’t expect I could be as smart as Senior.”
“So you can definitely learn math well. Fighting.”
“Than—”
Leon interrupted him. “I said don’t be too polite to Senior.”
Wen Rong asked like a blockhead, “Then what should I say now?”
It seemed he couldn’t say anything other than expressing thanks.
Realizing he had just nitpicked Wen Rong, Leon felt inexplicably pleased, a smile spreading across his face. “Think about it yourself?”
“Um.” Wen Rong wrinkled his small face, thinking hard. “Senior, do your knees hurt if you kneel for a long time? Or can you not grip things? I have a very special ointment here; if you need it, I can give it to you.”
Leon: “…”
Leon: What kind of weird stuff is this?
Seeing Wen Rong was already trying very hard to think, Leon stopped while ahead. He picked up the 6×6 cube. “I’ll take this as a thank-you gift.”
“That—”
Leon snapped his fingers in front of him. “Also, if you stand there dazing out waiting for others to bully you next time, Senior won’t help.”
Wen Rong: “Huh?”
“Senior isn’t a fool. Why help a little fool who always lets people bully him?”
“But—”
Leon interrupted him again: “If you get criticized for doing anything, that means you can do anything.”
Wen Rong’s whole body shook. A trace of relief appeared on his blank face, as if he had suddenly obtained an answer.
“Eat. Just leave the bowl there when you’re done; someone will come to collect it.”
Leon took the 6×6 cube and walked out of the cafeteria.
Timing starts:
1
2
…
Click, click
Click, click, click
60
The 6×6 Rubik’s Cube was finally restored.
Leon exhaled heavily.
The current world record for a 6×6 cube is 59.55 seconds.
Wen Rong, someone who had never touched a cube, used only 56 seconds.
Even without any training, he could restore a 6×6 cube with his eyes closed.
Walking along, Leon stopped and looked up at the sky. The azure eyes were deeper than the color of the sky.
Floriman Academy was a gathering place for geniuses, and also a place where geniuses fell.
Everyone was pretentious when they entered, and subsequently began to suffer—the once arrogant favored children of heaven would be defeated by geniuses with higher talent, becoming second, third, fourth…
Leon pulled the corner of his mouth helplessly, thinking his luck wasn’t bad. At least the one crushing him in talent was an obedient child.
Black Pigeon Anonymous Forum
[After meeting the Special Recruit in the cafeteria, I feel the whole cafeteria is dirty. Don’t want to eat there anymore.]
1st Floor: [Vomit— Asking for which seat he sat in. I’ll walk around that spot for the rest of my life.]
2nd Floor: [So disgusting. Can’t he just stay in the dorm forever and not come out?]
Garbled Code: [He also studies at Floriman Academy. If you guys are so disgusted, why don’t you drop out yourselves?]
4th Floor: [Garbled Code Brother, do you have a fetish for ugliness? Jumping up and down on the forum to protect the Special Recruit.]
Garbled Code: [Fuck! Can’t even speak the truth?]
6th Floor: [Suggest everyone stay away from the Special Recruit. Heard a new virus strain was detected in the outer districts with a high mortality rate. Who knows if the Special Recruit is carrying it.]
7th Floor: [Damn, don’t scare me.]
An account with the name “Zhao Zeryang” replied: [Brothers, don’t fear. Join the Tennis Club, I’ll lead everyone to force the Special Recruit to drop out.]
9th Floor: [Why does this smell like a pyramid scheme scam?]
10th Floor: [A certain old flame is anxious, right? Heard Shi Ye went to the Student Council today to handle club establishment procedures. Once the club recruitment ends tomorrow, the Tennis Club won’t exist.]
Zhao Zeryang: [Absolutely no selfish motives. Asking everyone to join the Tennis Club is hoping everyone can give me a little support.]
12th Floor: [Sure. Old Flame Brother, you force the Special Recruit to drop out tomorrow, and I’ll be the first to apply for the Tennis Club.]
13th Floor: [+1]
14th Floor: [+1]
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The world tecoed is actually 3.13 seconds now…..
Yes, but that’s for the 3×3 Rubik’s cube only. All I can see as for the updated world record of 6×6 Rubik’s cube now is 57.69, which our Wen Rong still had beaten.