On the day of the examination, Dahai drove us to Green Coin Bank.
The bank was located on the northern side of the country.
It was surrounded by ancient constructions, dating even as far as the past century.
Green Coin Bank"s walls were covered in vines and moss.
The alley was packed full of luxurious cars, one more expensive than the previous.
It frustrated Dahai to no end.
He parked his worn out car right at the end before we made our way to the bank.
There weren"t many people around, surprisingly.
At the entrance, we were greeted with a smile by a man in a suit. "Hi there, here for the exam or to deposit money?"
"Exam," Dahai answered indifferently.
"Please, let me have a look at your ident.i.ty card," he requested, extending his palms out.
We handed our cards to him, and with a nod, he stepped aside. "Welcome. This way, please."
We entered the bank and saw a big sign that pointed toward the exam resting room.
We followed the directions and entered the room.
There were over ten students inside. We knew one another since there were only 27 students in this course, but we hadn"t actually met before.
I was number 27 and Dahai was 26 since these students were in Chinese Cultural Studies from the start while the two of us just switched over halfway.
In our university, the course was a self-study program and our cla.s.sroom was a small storeroom.
There were no teachers, only Dahai, myself, and our textbooks.
These people had probably been studying on their own or were from good inst.i.tutions and had their own teachers.
Within the examination group, we exchanged knowledge.
Someone stood up and asked, "You"re Goudan and Dahai, right?"
We nodded.
"I"m the leader and number one, Liu Yang. Very pleased to meet you guys, welcome." Liu Yang smiled and offered us a handshake.
"How much do you know about the examination?" Dahai questioned.
Everyone shook their head save for Liu Yang, who pointed at someone in the corner. "We"re from the current batch. Students from the previous batch had mostly given up except for one — number seven. He never talks."
I looked to where he was pointing and saw a man in a hooded jacket sitting in the corner.
"Number seven is a repeat student?" I asked.
Liu Yang nodded. "I only found out about this a few days back. He might know what to expect."
At that point, another six students entered the room with a boy with a shaved head in the lead.
He rubbed his head and smiled. "Sorry, we"re late. We"re from d.y.k.e University."
"Your inst.i.tution is indeed quite a distance away from here. So everyone is here, I suppose?" Liu Yang responded kindly.
Another door opened and the man in the suit came in. "The exam is starting. Please follow me, number one."
Liu Yang smiled. "Coming."
The man in the suit nodded before entering the room.
Liu Yang looked at us. "I"m going in, wait for my good news."
Everyone nodded except for the student in the hooded jacket.
Liu Yang entered the room and I approached the student in the jacket.
"Hi, I"m Goudan."
He raised his head to look at me. "What"s up?"
I pointed to the room Liu Yang had entered a moment ago. "You"ve been in there once, right?"
"So?"
"Don"t you plan to share some tips with us?" I asked.
He stood up slowly and coughed. "Everyone here knows that no one"s pa.s.sed in five years, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"You guys are studying this because of your parents, right? They are all rich, right?" he laughed.
Everyone looked at each other but did not answer.
"The person who pa.s.sed this exam is now the fourth richest man. Isn"t that the secret reason why you guys are here? Why, then, would I share my knowledge?" he continued, raising his mobile phone up. Information of a man was displayed on the screen.
I remember that name. Yun Huateng.
I took my own phone out and searched for him on the Internet. Indeed, he was the last person to pa.s.s this exam five years ago and he had become the fourth richest man in the world.
I thought back to the luxurious cars parked outside. It seemed that what the student in the jacket said was true. The students were all from wealthy families.
I thought about the invigilators. Could it be that pa.s.sing the examination meant getting their support?
I exhaled loudly, not daring to think about the benefits and relations involved.
The door opened and Liu Yang was escorted out by the man in the suit.
Liu Yang shouted, "My nation isn"t dead. Not dead. I did my calculations. How could it be? Why?"
Nation? Not dead?
I kept his words in mind.
The student in the jacket laughed. "What"s the point in trying to justify yourself?"
Liu Yang immediately shut his mouth and sat down.
"Number two," the man spoke.
A refined young lady stood up and took small quick steps into the room.
A guy walked over to Liu Yang. "What"s it about, Leader?"
Liu Yang stood up absentmindedly and looked at everyone. "Game... it"s a game."
"Game?" the guy asked, puzzled.
"Try it, it"s impossible. Everything"s set to their advantage. It"s not possible to win," Liu Yang finished and walked toward the exit.
He ignored the guy"s following questions and left the waiting room.
I retrieved a notepad and a pen from my bag and jotted everything down. Game, nation, not dead.
I looked at my scattered notes and was at a loss.
Dahai gave me a look. "Any clue?"
"He has." I pointed at the student in the jacket.
Eight minutes haven"t even pa.s.sed yet before the girl came out, practically sobbing.
"Your turn, number three."
A guy stood up and asked nervously, "Give me a moment, please?"
The man in the suit looked at this watch. "One minute."
He tapped the girl"s shoulder and asked, "What"s inside, Sis?"
"Game. Game of Destruction," the girl cried out.
"Details please?" he urged.
The man in the suit cleared his throat, "Remember your promise?"
The girl cried and shook her head non-stop.
The student in the jacket laughed. "Whatever happens inside is confidential. Even if you do know what"s going on, you won"t stand a chance."
The man in the suit tapped on his watch impatiently. "Time"s up."
Helpless, number three followed him into the room.
I added to my notepad: Game of Destruction.
Dahai tapped on my shoulder. "Any more pen and paper?"
I tore a few pages off my notepad and took out another pen from my bag.
Dahai walked over to the girl and asked, "Did they say that you"re not allowed to speak of and write about the things that went on inside? Did they mention that you can"t draw them out?"
Everyone got excited as the girl took the pen from him and started drawing.
Ten minutes pa.s.sed and number three came out looking dejected.
"What are you doing, Sis?"
Having stopped crying long ago, she replied calmly, "I"m drawing out what happened inside."
He slapped the paper off her hand. "Let"s go. We"ve failed so why should we help them?"
He dragged her out of the waiting room.
"Number four."
Dahai bent down to pick the paper.
There was a long meeting table with a deck of cards on one side and five separated cards in the middle. Three of the cards were being slashed by a small blade.
Dahai had a look at it before pa.s.sing it to the next person.
I was the last to see it and none before me was able to comprehend its content.
It was number seven"s turn.
The student in the jacket said, "In games, a loophole is the only truth."
He entered the room.
I kept the girl"s drawing together with my notes and wrote number seven"s words down.
In games, a loophole is the only truth.
I was still confused.
Too little was known at this point.