Having successfully taught a student just moments ago, Qi Xiao’s confidence surged. He was just about to offer, “How about I teach you then?” When Shen Ye wrapped up his explanation on the female guests’ side. Looking to wander over to the men’s side to check in on everyone, Shen Ye caught the tail end of Lu Xingliang’s request and offered enthusiastically, “Where are you stuck? Let me walk you through it.”
Lu Xingliang paused for a moment. “Thank you.”
Shen Ye froze for two seconds. Was it just his imagination? Even though the man’s words were polite, why did his expression practically scream “get away from me”?
“Why don’t you try performing it once first?” Shen Ye said tentatively. To be honest, he always felt that Lu Xingliang carried an intense, pressuring aura—perhaps that was just an actor’s presence?
Qi Xiao hovered nearby, curious to see how Shen Ye’s teaching style differed. Lu Xingliang lowered his eyes and went through the magic trick, his movements slightly stiff and jerky.
Shen Ye nodded in approval. “For a beginner, doing it to this extent is already pretty good.”
Lu Xingliang gave a flat, emotionless “Mm.”
Shen Ye was inclined to offer a few more pointers, but seeing that the other man had zero interest in taking a lesson, he relented. “Well, keep practicing. Qi Xiao, why don’t you keep an eye on him for me?”
Perhaps it was another hallucination, but Shen Ye could have sworn he caught a glimmer of approval on Lu Xingliang’s usually expressionless face. He shook his head hastily—he must be bleary-eyed from staying up all night grinding video games.
In truth, Qi Xiao couldn’t spot any obvious flaws after watching him once either. So, he simply performed the trick himself in front of Lu Xingliang and asked, “Does that make sense?”
Lu Xingliang tried it once more, his execution noticeably smoother than before.
As Qi Xiao watched him handle the cards, he couldn’t help but sigh with a trace of envy. “How come all of your hands look so good?”
First Zhou Chongyu, and now even Lu Xingliang. These days, the internet was all about voice-crushes and hand-crushes. When it came to physical appearance, Qi Xiao’s single biggest grievance was that he didn’t possess a pair of long, slender, finely knuckled hands. His hands weren’t ugly, but they lacked that slender length—they were a bit soft and fleshy, and Yu Ye used to tease him about his “chubby little paws” when they were kids.
Hearing this, Lu Xingliang’s gaze involuntarily drifted down to Qi Xiao’s hands.
They were very fair, and looked exceptionally soft.
Noticing the prolonged stare, Qi Xiao shrank his hands back in embarrassment. “Stop looking, mine aren’t pretty!”
Lu Xingliang averted his eyes. After a few seconds of silence, he said softly, “They’re fine.”
Qi Xiao took it as mere politeness. Still, for something he couldn’t change anyway, he didn’t mind all that much. He added, “Though, my hands do have one advantage.”
Lu Xingliang raised an eyebrow slightly.
Qi Xiao grinned. “They really pack a punch when I hit someone!” That was why every time his brother teased him as a kid, he would smack him right across the face!
Unable to hold it in, Lu Xingliang let out a soft laugh.
To think he could actually be amused by such a silly topic—was foolishness really contagious?
Half an hour quickly flew by, and Shen Ye returned to the podium.
“Next, I’m going to teach you an advanced magic trick,” Shen Ye announced. “This trick requires a partner to assist me.”
He paused, sweeping his eyes over the seated guests as if selecting a candidate.
A few seconds later, Shen Ye asked, “Jiang Fei, could you come up and help me with this trick?”
Huh? Qi Xiao’s eyes widened. This was completely off from what he had expected. He had assumed Shen Ye would definitely choose Lin Zhiyao as his partner; after all, the two seemed to get along so well. Or if not her, then Song Mei, whom he had expressed interest in earlier. It was entirely unexpected that he would end up choosing Jiang Fei.
The move was so out of character that even Qi Xiao began to harbor doubts. Before this, he had never once suspected Shen Ye of being a Liar. Now, it seemed that besides Zhou Chongyu, every single male guest was suspicious.
Although the show’s premise stated that the number of Liars was variable, previous seasons had at most featured two Liars of the same gender. After all, with only four male guests in total, having more than half of them as Liars would be far too ruthless.
His own identity as a Liar was a given. If there was another, it had to be either Lu Xingliang or Shen Ye. At this point, Qi Xiao couldn’t tell which of the two was more suspicious.
The other guests in the classroom clearly had their own thoughts as well. Lin Zhiyao didn’t react much, appearing unbothered by his choice. Jiang Fei, who had been called upon, was visibly surprised; it was obvious she hadn’t interacted much with Shen Ye in private before today.
Nevertheless, Jiang Fei nodded with a smile and agreed. “What do you need me to do?”
Shen Ye asked, “Could you come over here first?”
Jiang Fei walked up to the stage gracefully. Shen Ye gestured to the deck in his hand. “We’ll still be using this deck of cards.” As he spoke, he fanned the deck out in his hands toward Jiang Fei. “Pick a card you like.”
Jiang Fei casually drew one from the fan.
Gathering the rest of the cards back into his hands, Shen Ye picked up a marker from the table and handed it to her. “Mark this card. You can write your name or draw a pattern you like. Hand the card back to me when you’re done.”
Jiang Fei took the pen and fluently signed her name on the face of the card. “Done,” she said, handing it back.
Shen Ye took the card, casually placed it back on top of the deck, and flipped it face down. “Now, I’m going to fold this card up.”
After folding the playing card twice, he handed it back to Jiang Fei. “Could you bite down on this card for a moment?”
Even though the request was a bit odd, Jiang Fei complied.
“Now I’ll pick a card, too,” Shen Ye said, flipping over the top card of the deck. “This one’s mine. I’ll put a mark on it as well—I’ll just write my name.”
Once signed, Shen Ye flipped the card over. “Alright, I’m folding my card up too.”
After finishing, he bit down on his own card as well. Turning to Jiang Fei with a grin, he asked somewhat mumble-mouthed, “Could you extend your hand for me? I’m going to swap our cards now.”
Jiang Fei generously extended her hand, only for Shen Ye to directly take hold of it the next second.
Even though it was just a gentle touch at her fingertips, the suddenness of it made Jiang Fei turn her head away in slight bashfulness.
Shen Ye held the hand-holding pose for a moment before flashing a smile. “Alright, I’ve swapped the cards.”
Releasing her hand, he took the card out of his mouth. “You can open yours now, too.”
Jiang Fei did as instructed, unfolding the creased card. Seeing the face of the card, she let out a soft gasp, then showed it to the audience below with a smile. Written clearly across it was Shen Ye’s signature.
At the same time, Shen Ye unfolded the card in his own hand, stating, “The name of this trick is—”
He paused mid-sentence, flashed a smile at Jiang Fei, and then completed his line, “—French Kiss.”
Jiang Fei’s face flushed red in an instant.
The guests below displayed a variety of expressions. Qi Xiao couldn’t help but think: Shen Ye is way too smooth with his moves! Compared to him, I’m basically a preschooler. Excellent! The probability of Shen Ye being a Liar just went up by 1—which meant his own secret identity was even safer!
“Through the practice earlier, I imagine everyone can roughly guess the technique behind this trick,” Shen Ye said. “Do you still need me to explain it, or would everyone prefer to find a partner and try it out directly?”
As he spoke, he looked over at Qi Xiao and blinked. “You’ve definitely figured it out, haven’t you? Who do you want to partner up with? Should Teacher Shen call them out for you?”
Qi Xiao had indeed figured it out—after all, this trick relied on the double-lift technique they had just covered. As for who he wanted to pair up with, he subconsciously glanced at Zhou Chongyu beside him.
Naturally, this was a golden opportunity. Hand-holding and the like were intimate enough to easily over-deliver on the script the production team had handed them.
Zhou Chongyu was naturally not going to refuse. Just as he was about to agree, Lu Xingliang’s voice suddenly drifted from behind them in reminder: “This trick requires preparing a card in advance, doesn’t it?”
Hearing his words, Shen Ye finally realized the issue. If the audience saw the preparation part beforehand, it wouldn’t count as a performance—it would just be practice. The biting of the card and holding hands were purely for theatrical effect and had no bearing on the trick itself, making them unnecessary during a practice run.
Just then, the chime rang in the classroom, signaling that it was time for recess.
Shen Ye pivoted, “Alright, I’ll explain the technique behind this trick to everyone in a bit.”
The production crew pushed in a small cart loaded with various snacks and drinks.
Sitting around doing nothing during break was boring, and since there was a deck of cards right there, Shen Ye couldn’t help but suggest, “Why don’t we draw cards to play a game? High card wins.”
“The person who draws the highest card gets to ask the person with the lowest card any single question.”
Hearing this, Lin Zhiyao giggled. “If I draw the highest, I’m going to ask that person if they’re the Liar!”
The director off-camera promptly reminded them, “Questions regarding the identity of the Liar are not allowed.”
Despite this restriction, the chance to ask any question was still quite enticing. None of the other guests voiced any objections, so Shen Ye picked out thirteen cards—from Ace to King—from the deck, fanning them out in his hand. “Come on, everyone, come draw a card! I haven’t rigged anything, I promise.”
Lin Zhiyao had incredible luck, drawing a King right on her first attempt. Jiang Fei drew a 5, while Song Mei and Liang Yi got a Jack and a 10, respectively.
Seeing that there weren’t many cards left, Qi Xiao—afraid he might become the unlucky soul forced to answer a question—hastened over to draw. When he flipped his card over, his eyes went dark. It was a 3!
Shortly after, everyone else finished drawing and revealed their cards one by one. To everyone’s surprise, Lu Xingliang turned out to be even unluckier than Qi Xiao—he had drawn an Ace.
Qi Xiao instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the director had banned direct questions about the Liar’s identity, he was still a bit guilty; it would be bad if he were asked something that accidentally blew his cover.
Still, he hadn’t expected it to be Lu Xingliang. He glanced over at him, but Lu Xingliang showed no reaction at all, appearing completely unconcerned about whether he’d be asked a tricky question. He simply kept his head down, idling with the card in his hands.
Lin Zhiyao chimed in, “My luck is seriously exploding today! Well then, Brother Lu, I won’t hold back, okay?”
Lu Xingliang gave a faint, detached response.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Zhiyao flashed a mischievous smile. “I want to know: who did you give your Heartbeat Ring to earlier?”