"What is 1 plus 1?"
In the cramped room, An Qingyu looked at the stern-faced doctor across from him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
"Are you joking with me?" An Qingyu asked.
"My apologies, Vice-Captain An. These are necessary questions to test whether your thinking has been affected." The doctor smiled politely.
"...2."
"What is 19 plus 18?"
An Qingyu frowned. After thinking for a moment, he answered, "37."
"What is 21 times 9?"
An Qingyu opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but then he suddenly froze.
His brow furrowed tighter and tighter, as though he were struggling to think of something. His face was filled with strain, and only after five seconds did he tentatively say:
"189."
Seeing this, the doctor did not continue with the arithmetic and instead changed the question directly.
"Suppose there is a class, and the students are lined up in a row. Whether you count from the left or the right, you are fifteenth. How many students are there in the class?"
"There are... there are... 30 students."
The doctor gave him a deep look. "Pumpkin, grape, cucumber, corn, pea—which one is the most unusual?"
"The most unusual?" An Qingyu thought for a moment. "Corn."
"Why?"
"Because aside from corn, all the others grow on vines."
"Suppose there is a codebook. 'Banana Apple Pear' means 'Secret attack on Wednesday,' 'Apple Sugarcane Peach' means 'Execute the secret plan,' and 'Orange Banana Tomato' means 'Victory on Wednesday belongs to us.' What does the code word 'Pear' mean?"
An Qingyu sank into thought...
The doctor nodded slightly, put away the documents in his hand, and pointed at the building blocks nearby. "It's all right. In a while, I'll show you a shape, and you can recreate it with the blocks."