The Fool's Game 2

As soon as the host finished speaking, the other players at the round table looked up at him.

Jimo paused, then said unhurriedly, "Last night, I checked Young Master He's middle card. It was a 3, and the card to my left was a 5. I didn't want to be the fool, so I swapped the two cards last night."

"As for whether I'm lying..." Jimo glanced at Ke Yueyi. "Brother Yi can vouch for me."

Ke Yueyi gave Jimo a cool glance. "The card to my right was indeed a 5 at the start."

He Zhenglin leaned back on the sofa and scoffed. "You mean my middle card is a 5 now? You could have looked at my card and then swapped your low card for it. You didn't want to be the fool? Who knows?"

Ever mindful of the rules, the host reminded him, "Young Master He, it isn't your turn to speak yet."

With that, he gestured for Ke Yueyi to continue.

Ke Yueyi went on, "My starting cards were a 5 on the right and a 2 in the middle. As for the card on the left, it's a weakening card. There probably isn't anyone at the table with a lower total than mine: 3.5 points."

The host asked, "Then which cards did you swap last night?"

"Swap cards?" Ke Yueyi shook his head. "I didn't do anything. My total was too low. But I checked Jimo's middle card. It was a 1."

Jimo glanced at him when he heard that.

With Ke Yueyi's statement, the odds of Jimo being the fool were much lower.

After he finished, He Zhenglin looked at the host and said, "It's my turn to speak now, right?"

The host gestured for him to proceed.

He Zhenglin said, "I can prove Yi isn't lying. The card on my right is a weakening card."

At that, he looked at Jimo teasingly. "And the card on my left is a 2 now. It was originally a 3, but I swapped it for Yi's card. So even if someone swapped my middle card for a 5 last night, my total would still be very low after the weakening."

"I'm not the fool."

According to He Zhenglin, Ke Yueyi's middle card had now been swapped for a 3.

Song Wenxi was next. He said gently, "I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to start lying about their starting cards. A-Lin's left card was indeed a 3. As for whether he swapped it afterward, I don't know."

"As for last night, I checked the card of this classmate on my left." Song Wenxi looked at Jiang Wangshu. "His middle card was a 1. I didn't swap it."

Since Song Wenxi had chosen to check Jiang Wangshu's card, he now knew two of the cards in Jiang Wangshu's hand.

Jiang Wangshu looked back at him. "Yes, my middle card is indeed a 1, and my right card is a 4. You should know that too, since you looked at it. As for the one on the left..."

He turned to look at Jimo, paused, then said, "It's a 2. My total is 7."

If none of the players present were lying, Song Wenxi's left and right cards were already known to add up to 6. He was very likely to have the highest total at the table.

But none of the players deliberately questioned him, as though they knew he wasn't the fool.

Someone was lying.

Once all the players had spoken, the host said, "Next is the free discussion period. Voting will begin in five minutes."

He Zhenglin was the first to speak. He narrowed his eyes at Jiang Wangshu. "I find it strange. Everyone's totals are so low, and the weakening card has already appeared, so where's the joker? As the last player to swap cards, you were the most likely to pull something."

Jiang Wangshu fixed his dark eyes on He Zhenglin. "I hadn't finished speaking just now. Last night, I checked your right card. It wasn't a weakening card at all. It was a 5. You lied."

If it really was a 5, then without the weakening card, He Zhenglin's three cards added up to a high total. He was very likely to be the fool.

He Zhenglin folded his arms. "And? Why would I do that? I suspect you have the joker."

He turned a questioning gaze on Jimo. "You haven't said what your right card is since the beginning. I have good reason to suspect it's the joker."

Jimo said innocently, "Didn't I say? It's a 2. Xiao Shu just said so. I can confirm it's a 2. He was right."

The two most suspicious players at the table were Jiang Wangshu and He Zhenglin.

If Jiang Wangshu wasn't lying, the cards in his hand added up to 7, and Song Wenxi could confirm that his middle card was a 1. He couldn't cause much trouble.

And according to Jiang Wangshu, the weakening card in front of He Zhenglin had been swapped out long ago, replaced with a 5. On top of that, Jimo said he had swapped his own left card for He Zhenglin's card.

That meant He Zhenglin's cards were now 5, 5, and 2.

They added up to 12, the highest total at the table.

He was the most likely to be the fool.

But He Zhenglin suspected that they had the joker, and Song Wenxi and Ke Yueyi were also watching his right card.

Jimo spread his hands. "Why are you looking at me? Besides, even if I really do have the joker... 5, 1, and the joker add up to 12. Xiao Shu has the joker, a 1, and a 4; those three add up to 10, which is lower. And you have 12 even without the joker."

Jimo and He Zhenglin both believed the other had 12 points, but one of them had to be lying.

The host remained professional, smiling from beginning to end. No matter what conclusion they reached in their discussion, his expression never changed.

"The five-minute discussion period is over. A new round of voting will now begin. Players, raise your hands and point to whoever you think is the fool."

Jimo and Jiang Wangshu raised their hands at the same time and pointed at He Zhenglin.

He Zhenglin raised an eyebrow, not at all surprised. "I knew you couldn't play fair and would gang up. Looks like it'll be a tie this time."

When he finished, he noticed that the others at the round table were still staring at him, while his two good brothers had yet to make a move. Annoyed, he immediately tossed his lighter onto the table.

"Seriously? Never mind those two, but why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me you're going to vote for me."

Unfortunately for him, they knew He Zhenglin's personality just as well. It would be perfectly normal for him to want to be the fool.

Song Wenxi was the first to make his choice. He raised his hand. "I abstain. You all go ahead and vote."

He Zhenglin threw the cushion beside him at Song Wenxi. He already had two votes, so if Song Wenxi abstained, wouldn't that mean he would be voted out?

Song Wenxi caught it and tossed it right back at him.

Unexpectedly, Ke Yueyi went even further. He raised his hand and pointed straight at He Zhenglin. "I vote for him."

Jimo was slightly surprised and turned to look at him. He had thought Ke Yueyi would vote for someone in their group.

He Zhenglin was equally surprised. Looking heartbroken, he said, "Yi? Have you got it wrong?"

The host tried to smooth things over. "Games are only fun when you don't spare even your closest friends and family."

"All right." He Zhenglin leaned back against the sofa and laid his cards on the table. "I did swap the weakening card away. I'm the fool. I didn't expect the special-grade student to check my card in the end..."

He stopped halfway through, staring in disbelief as the host turned over his cards.

From left to right, they were a 3, a 5, and a weakening card.

There hadn't been a word of truth in what He Zhenglin said. He hadn't swapped his 3 with Yi at all. But unexpectedly, the weakening card he had already swapped away had somehow returned to his hand.

He exclaimed, "What happened? Who touched my cards last night?"

He had clearly gotten rid of the weakening card by swapping it for Jimo's 5.

The truth was soon revealed as the host began turning over Jimo's cards.

Everyone looked over.

A 5, a 1, and a joker.

They added up to 12. He had the highest total at the table; he was a fool who had kept himself hidden.

Jimo said, "I did check Young Master He's card, but I didn't actually swap it. The 5 was still on my side."

Jiang Wangshu said, "I swapped the weakening card Young Master He dumped on Brother back to him."

Song Wenxi had only joined the game to make up the numbers; it didn't matter to him whether he played or not. Hearing what they said, he turned to give them a closer look, his first impression of them changing somewhat.

He Zhenglin seemed to force the words out through his teeth. "Fine, fine, fine. You two are really something."

If he had been voted out for swapping cards as the fool, he would have accepted it.

But now it seemed he hadn't even become the fool, and everyone had wrongly accused him. That changed things.

He had been led around in circles, all the while thinking he was the fool.

This was an insult to his intelligence!

And just then, Jimo turned to ask the host, "I remember there's a punishment for the losing player, right?"