Chapter 19: The Rule of Six

Returning to the classroom, I found myself lost in contemplation over the recent game.

The most perfect things often conceal the greatest dangers.

This time, the target was someone from our class. Excluding the students who had died, Ye Xinran, and Xiao Zheng—who had been taken away—forty-five students remained. Taking myself out of the equation, that left forty-four people, and among them, there had to be one who would die because of hatred.

But who among them could possibly harbor such hatred toward another? There was no way to know for certain. And even though the rules stated the victim would be from our class, it didn’t exclude the possibility that the hatred originated from someone outside of it.

Should I investigate each one individually?

I checked the time: one hour and forty minutes remained. Perhaps there was a way—through the Six Degrees of Separation.

This theory posits that any two people are connected by a chain of six acquaintances at most.

In other words, two strangers can be linked through approximately six people, a concept also known as the Six Degrees Law.

A stock market expert once conducted an experiment: he sent investment information to a stranger and asked him to forward it to someone else who was interested in stocks. After the message was forwarded six times, it returned to the expert’s own hands. He tried this multiple times, and each time, it circled back after about six steps—thus, the Six Degrees Law was established.

If I applied this method, forty-four remaining classmates, each multiplied by six, would be two hundred sixty-four. That meant there would be two hundred sixty-four points of inquiry, which would overlap among the forty-four people, so each student would be questioned at least six times.

If each inquiry took five minutes, that would be forty-four times five—two hundred twenty minutes, nearly four hours.

If Fatty and I split up, that would be one hundred ten minutes each. I now had one hundred minutes left, minus ten minutes for the upcoming class break—ninety minutes remained.

In ninety minutes, Fatty and I could each question half the class. Some students were close friends, which would speed things up further. It was feasible.

Gossip is human nature—even over trivial matters—so I wasn’t worried my classmates wouldn’t comply.

Curiosity, that’s all it was.

With that in mind, I used the ten minutes before class to send Fatty a message.

Fatty replied, confused, “What are you doing? Running a census?”

“Does your family conduct censuses this way?” I shot back, rolling my eyes at him via text.

To get him to take it seriously, I added, “This is how we’ll find the one responsible for the curse.”

I knew Fatty well—if you touched on something he cared about, he’d be more serious than anyone. The so-called curse was precisely what weighed on him now.

He believed in talismans for protection, so if I said this method would reveal the curse’s source, he’d believe it too—or at least be willing to try.

“So, tell me what to do!” he agreed.

“I’ll send you a list. Ask everyone on it, but make sure they answer within five minutes!”

I emphasized the five-minute limit, otherwise I’d run out of time.

After sending him the list, I put my phone away. Fatty was prepared, and so was I. The only remaining problem was Teacher Chen Bing.

I hoped she would help.

The bell rang.

At once, I grabbed my prepared paper and pen. I’d already written down whom I needed to ask.

I started with Wu Yaqi behind me. “Wu Yaqi, do you think Fatty gets along poorly with anyone in the class?”

Wu Yaqi looked puzzled, then replied, “I’m not sure. I haven’t really paid attention. Aren’t you the closest to him? You should know!”

With her answer, I moved on to Chen Mingqi, since Wu Yaqi had said Fatty and I were best friends. I suspected Fatty and Chen Mingqi might have a minor grudge—Chen Mingqi always called Fatty “the chubby guy.”

I confronted Chen Mingqi, “Why do you tease Fatty about his weight?”

He didn’t think much of me and replied coldly, “What, are you trying to avenge him?”

I shook my head and smiled. “No, I just wanted to ask. We’re all classmates; there’s no need for conflict. I’d like to help you two reconcile.”

It’s hard to be rude to a smiling person. Chen Mingqi wasn’t stupid and didn’t refuse. He said he was just joking, but Fatty couldn’t take a joke. Besides, it wasn’t him who started it—it was Lu Yuchen.

I went to Lu Yuchen next. She said it was Zhao Xiaoyang who told her.

Next, I found Zhao Xiaoyang, who said it was Liu Yuxi who started it.

I found Liu Yuxi. “Why do you call Fatty ‘the chubby guy’?”

He shot me a disdainful look. “Didn’t you start it? You call him Fatty, so I called him chubby. Is that so wrong?”

So, after all that, it came back to me.

But the Six Degrees approach worked. I checked the time: five minutes, each person only took ten seconds or so.

I ticked off Fatty’s name on my list.

Fatty and I busied ourselves, and the class soon buzzed with our activity.

The bell rang again as I was questioning the third person. The class fell silent—Fatty looked at me for help.

I signaled for him to continue.

But now, the classmates began to refuse.

The next class was Math, taught by the discipline director—everyone feared him.

But when I saw a graceful figure at the door, I relaxed.

I remembered the director’s fat, lecherous face. If Teacher Chen Bing spoke gently, she could handle him.

When Teacher Chen Bing stepped onto the platform, the class erupted in excitement.

I gave her a look; she threw me a flirtatious glance that almost floored me.

She announced, “The Math teacher can’t make it today, so I’ll be taking over for Chemistry. I like the lively atmosphere I just saw. Given your current academic pressure, letting off steam is a good thing. I don’t mind giving up a period, so you may continue.”

A loud cheer went up.

I gave her a thumbs-up; she lifted her chin and left the classroom.

Thus, Fatty and I continued our round of class gossip.

[1 hour left…]

I checked the countdown message and my list—fourteen people remained.

We needed to hurry!

[30 minutes left…]

Six people to go…

The bell rang.

Fatty and I were completely engrossed.

The next period, Teacher Chen Bing announced she was staying, so we could continue.

The bell rang.

[20 minutes left…]

One person left…

[15 minutes left…]

Done!

I looked over my list—just minor issues, nothing resembling real hatred.

But then, trouble broke out on Fatty’s side.

Fatty was caught between Liu Yuxi and Pan Fuming.

Pan Fuming, furious, pointed at Liu Yuxi and shouted, “What the hell are you talking about? When did I ever cheat you?”

Liu Yuxi, not backing down, pointed back and yelled, “I’m talking about you! Last time, you borrowed a hundred from me to spend all night at an internet café. I only had fifty, but gave it to you. Not only did you not return it, you went around saying I refused to lend you money! I treated you as a brother, but you treated me like a fool!”

If Fatty hadn’t been between them, they would have come to blows.

Pan Fuming’s face darkened. He pulled a crumpled hundred yuan note from his pocket, balled it up, and threw it right at Liu Yuxi’s face. “Take it! Damn it, I never said anything like that behind your back! Don’t ever say you know me again!”

As soon as the money hit Liu Yuxi’s face, I rushed over.

Liu Yuxi’s face contorted with rage. He shoved Fatty aside and kicked Pan Fuming in the stomach, roaring, “You bastard!” and lunged at him.

“Stop!” I shouted, but the two were oblivious.

The fight caused nearby classmates to scatter; several girls screamed for them to stop.

But nothing could hold back these two furious boys—they were like raging bulls.

Teacher Chen Bing hadn’t returned yet.

I dashed up and grabbed Liu Yuxi’s arm, but he pushed me off instantly.

I rushed in again. Since I had started all this, I had to stop it.

This time, instead of grabbing his arm, I wrapped my arms around his waist, trying to pull him back.

But just as I did, a sudden pain shot through my nose—his elbow had struck me. Dizzy, I let go.

As I fell backward, the world slowed. Now I understood why TV dramas used slow motion—when you’re dazed, everything moves in slow motion.

In my confusion, I heard someone calling my name. I touched my nose—a warm wetness told me it was bleeding.

Through my blurred vision, I saw Pan Fuming with blood at the corner of his mouth, raising a stool and bringing it down hard on Liu Yuxi.

Liu Yuxi raised his arm to block, pain etched on his face.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

[10 minutes left…]

My phone vibrated just then. Lying on the ground, a sharp pain throbbed at the back of my head—I must’ve hit the floor.