Seeing Kyoko say this strange sentence in a serious tone, Xing had no choice but to let go of what he was thinking and change the subject: "At that time, I came into the store to greet you, and your expression was as if you knew I was coming in advance. ”

"Don't think about it, I don't know. But if you come to this place – it couldn't be more natural. ”

"Why?"

"Crowds yearn for liveliness, and solitary people yearn for quiet. A person like you with a boring and withdrawn personality can be regarded as a loner at the bottom. Kyoko seemed to be in a better mood because of the mockery of a wave of stars, and although she still looked cold from the outside, there was already some warmth in her voice: "So, you definitely won't go to those events, but sit in the corner here and drink coffee." ”

"The president is not here ...... too"

"I'm not feeling well, so I want to find a place where there aren't so many people to rest, and if I want to play, it's not-"

"It's easy," Star added.

"I don't need you to remind you!"

At this time, a student came out of the backstage, and after talking to the little girl for a few words, she looked at them, and then she patted her face and walked with a "kneading" smile: "Hello, I am the temporary manager here, congratulations on becoming the first pair of male and female customers in our store, do you know each other?" ”

Star said, "Yes." ”

The store manager asked eagerly, as if he had received some confirmation message, "Then what do you have-"

"It doesn't matter." For the first time, Hoshi and Kyoko interrupted each other with the same sentence so tacitly.

"Oh...... Okay, haha-" The store manager was a little embarrassed, but then said, "But at least it's a classmate relationship, right?" ”

"Aren't we all classmates?" Kyoko looked at the store manager.

"Oops, don't worry about the details! Since you're our first pair of customers and you know each other, you just meet the requirements for our event – sorry, I forgot to mention it. Yes, we have a quiz game, and if you answer all of them correctly, you will receive a prize from the store - only the first couple of male and female customers can participate! ”

Kyoko said, "I'm sorry, I'm not interested. ”

"Don't, don't, you can't play this game if you're gone!"

"Just because we haven't been here, let's give it to the next pair."

"How can this work......" The store manager was speechless for a moment, and stood in place in disdain, watching Kyoko drink milk tea elegantly. Suddenly, she thought of something, and immediately became excited again: "Don't you want to hear what the prize is first?" ”

Seeing that Kyoko didn't react, Hoshi said to the store manager, "I want to hear it, please say it." ”

The store manager pouted at Kyoko and leaned into Xing's ear: "Our game here is an easter egg specially set up by the academy for the art festival - the prize is to give the corresponding student the qualification to leave the academy for one day. ”

Hearing this, Xing was silent for a while, and then whispered something to the store manager, who gradually became embarrassed: "This, I think ......"

"After all, there aren't many people who can come here, so I would like to ask the store manager to accept my opinion."

Finally, the store manager nodded, and beckoned another girl, they stood in front of the star face to face, and the store manager gestured: "So, let's start the demonstration?" ”

"Hmm." Hoshiying, while noticing Kyoko's eyes, explained, "I didn't think I would suffer anyway, so I discussed it with the store manager, and she agreed to let me participate in the game alone." ”

After hearing this, Kyoko moved her gaze to the teacup: "It's really strange...... Whatever you want, though. ”

So, Xing began to look at the store manager's demonstration, only to see the store manager start clapping: "Papa-pa-pa After filming, she asked the girl in front of her, "How many people do you think there are after listening?" ”

"Nine."

The store manager continued to clap his hands: "Papa-pa-pa-pa After the shooting, she asked again: "How many people are there this time?" ”

"Six."

The applause resumed: "Papa-pa-pa-pa Then, the store manager asked, "How many?" ”

"Three." The girl replied without thinking.

“OK！ That's it, you get the idea? After three rounds like this, the manager put his hand on the girl's shoulder and said to the star, "You just have to be like her, and tell me how many people there are after each time I clap my hands - the answer is the only one, not a guess!" ”

"yes, okay."

While watching the demonstration just now, not only Hoshi, but Kyoko was unconsciously attracted by this strange game, but after watching it, they didn't seem to have a clue at all. Xing held his chin: "Is it convenient to demonstrate again?" ”

"No problem."

Still the same applause, the star notes the changes and intervals of the voices. Soon, the second demonstration is over, and Hoshi asks Kyoko, "Did you find anything?" ”

Kyoko shook her head and muttered, "If you look at it from the perspective of tone, loudness, and frequency, I don't see any patterns. Moreover, it is not possible to answer the question of 'how many people' can be answered by just clapping your hands. ”

Xing asked the store manager, "Is there a fixed answer every time?" ”

"yes." The store manager affirms, "Every time the answer is set when the question comes up - you have to answer a total of three questions to be considered successful, and you only need to answer it incorrectly once to be considered a failure." You can still watch a demonstration now, and call me whenever you want! ”

"The answer is set every time the question appears,......" Xing repeated the store manager's words, and suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he said to the store manager, "Don't look at it anymore, please ask directly." ”

"Really? Have you figured it out? ”

"I've figured it out."

Hoshi saw Kyoko looking at him suspiciously, but he felt that it would be useless to watch it again, and all he needed now was to gamble: what if this was the case......

The store manager began to clap his hands: "Papa-papa-papa-pa ”

"How many?"

"Three."

"Bang-pap-papa-papa-pa

"How many people?"

"Four."

"Pap-pa-pa-pa-papa-pa

"So how many people are here?"

"Eight."

After listening to Xing's answer in one breath, the store manager laughed: "It seems that you have figured out the rules, congratulations!" Challenge to succeed! ”

"That's it?" Kyoko couldn't help but mutter, as if she was still remembering what happened a minute ago, and she asked Hoshi, "I still don't understand...... How can you tell? ”

"Well...... It's not that complicated—" Xing said, "Thanks to the store manager for reminding me, in fact, 'how many people' has nothing to do with clapping, just need to count the number of words in the question after the shooting, just like 'how many people', there are four words in total, then it is four people." ”

Kyoko understood, and was a little unconvinced: "What kind of ...... is this?"

"Alright, alright! Now that you've completed the answers, it's time for me to fulfill my promise, please tell me your name, and I'll report it to the academy for you—the prize is said to be in the corresponding wristband and ready to use. ”

"Thanks, are there any other easter eggs at the festival?" Xing suddenly remembered and asked.

The store manager said, "Of course there is, but I can't just leak the address, I can only rely on yourselves!" ”

Kyoko didn't tell the store manager her name, so the store manager had to take Xing's name and say goodbye first. Soon after the store manager left, Hoshi and Kyoko also left the coffee shop, and Kyoko didn't let Hoshi follow her: "There's no need to go together, after all, each has a place they want to go, and I don't like to think about others, and I don't like people to think about me." ”

At this time, it was almost late, and through the distant transparent ice, you could vaguely see the distant sunset, and the orange-red light staggered through the ice and cast on the snow, which experienced the running and jumping of the students, which seemed a little dilapidated, but always covered the school road well. Everywhere you can see students dragging their long shadows, with satisfaction or reluctance to walk towards the cafeteria, and the shacks have been simply closed up one after another, waiting to be rebuilt tomorrow. The first day of the Ice and Snow Art Festival is slowly coming to an end, and all the endings are paving the way for ushering in again.

Tonight's bonfire is a good example.

Hoshi, who had already eaten dinner, returned to the intersection where he was separated from Mori and Kishitaro, and he saw Shi Kunimitsu holding a walkie-talkie, directing huge trucks to carry countless firewood to the playground.

"President."

"Yo, you're here, how are you today?"

"It's okay, Mr. Anyway, you're in—"

Shi Guoguang didn't listen carefully to Xing's words, because there was another voice on the walkie-talkie, and after he and the person on the other side of the walkie-talkie gave a few words, he turned around and said to Xing apologetically: "I'm sorry, I'm a little busy now." The leader who was in charge of tonight's bonfire meeting left first due to special circumstances, so the student council had to do it temporarily. ”

"I've worked hard."

"It should."

Xing didn't stay long, and when Shi Guoguang began to pick up the walkie-talkie again, he quietly left, and the truck next to him was slowly passing by, and he found the children's graffiti on the bundles of firewood, apparently: it was transported from outside the academy.

The red-hot flames danced wildly in the piles of firewood arranged in the shape of small hills on the snow, throwing heat and light to the outside world from time to time, overlooking the bonfire festival, like a few stars rising in the world, corresponding to the bright Milky Way in the night sky.

Hoshi saw Saii Mori laughing with her club members in front of a fire, Kyoko and Ayane Mori enjoying the night view from a distance, Kishitaro also standing with his classmates, and Shikomi Kunimitsu also finished his command and sat down on the bench to rest with relief, but from time to time someone came up to talk.

He slowly walked out of the playground where the bonfire was taking place, even though he had only recently arrived. Hoshi didn't feel isolated, on the contrary, he thought it was good, as Kyoko said: he was a loner at the bottom.

A lonely person is a person who doesn't feel lonely and feels lonely – it's just too laid-back.

[Number of eliminated: 13 people]

[Remaining: 987 people]