Puzzle Madness

Chapter 184 Levitation Technique (Part Two)
But Ruan Jingbo also had to participate in the school basketball team's training, and it's unclear whether he studied properly after class: anyway, the homework he copied was full of mistakes, and when it was handed back, it was often marked with crosses covering most of the page.

He was too embarrassed to say much to her, as he couldn't expect Ruan Jingbo to balance her studies and grades at the same time—who knew how much she had torn herself up in that arcade called [Electronic Underground City] to barely move around freely—in the end, Dou Dou could only integrate and learn from the strengths of others.

One student might copy a little bit, another might copy a few questions; but it's never as efficient as directly studying Ai Xi's homework.
-
That day, after having that bizarre dream, he finished his English and math classes while yawning—
When the practice papers were being handed out, DouDou found a flyer among them. It felt slightly heavy and had a slippery texture, making it stand out immediately from the papers; it reflected the sunlight and was particularly eye-catching.

The other students were all sighing and groaning, worried about the new assignment that had been added tonight; no one mentioned the glittering flyers.

DouDou scratched his head, picked up the flyer, shook it, and held it in front of his face.

[Celebrating 1997: Mong Cai New Year's Eve Grand Celebration]
A line of large characters caught my eye.

The print is vibrant and sparkly, and the figures are quite cartoonish. Five or six small figures with big heads and no facial features are wrapped around each other's arms, forming a circle, with their lower bodies dancing and creating movement and afterimages; the lettering is gilded and sprinkled with gold powder, making it look quite exquisite.

Below is a list of programs in small print:
[Century-defining light show/Super fireworks extravaganza/Band performance/Singer solo/Fun magic/Fun social interaction].

The list was quite elaborate and long, much more elaborate than the school's science and technology festival; it just didn't list the performers and staff.

[Location: Viewable throughout the city.]
[Date: December 31, 1996.]
At first glance, it doesn't seem special at all.
Ai Xi was still asleep at her desk when Dou Dou casually picked up her test paper, flipped through it, and then glanced at the desks in front of and behind her.
None of their practice papers contained flyers, and it seemed that only they had this piece of glossy paper—how strange.

[So early? It's only a little past October, there's still more than a month, almost two months, until New Year's Day.]

He flipped through the flyer and discovered that there was writing on the back, a whole page of densely packed text—the handwriting was neat and precise, yet somewhat crooked, as if it had been copied; the ink in the pen hadn't even dried completely.

[My good buddy DouDou:]
[Do you remember me? We met at the provincial library last month. My name is Sidney, and my nickname is SID: does that ring a bell?]
[Huh? Who? Using an English name? How did we become good friends?]

DouDou squinted and noticed that above the three English letters were several small Chinese characters enclosed in parentheses, written in a scrawled mess: (Sidney).

Uh, I think I have a vague recollection of that?

He continued reading, racking his brains and darting around with his eyes:
[You might not remember, but my makeup and styling were intentionally designed to be memorable. I was the Irishwoman with dyed hair and a bottle cap headband. That day, I wore a white dress and very red roots.]
As if anticipating DouDou's forgetfulness, the following content described her appearance in great detail:
[Oh, I remember now! That weird foreigner from the day the typhoon was coming, the one who even held his books upside down at the provincial library. How did he find his way to class?]

It was only then that DouDou realized—it seemed she had been watching too much "Sophie's World," constantly talking about things like the "fourth wall," "character development," and "driving force." DouDou had even asked Richard about these things a couple of times back then.

He shrugged and continued reading:
[I heard you gave the Human Cataloging Center a good beating, that's impressive! You even beat up their leaders and catalogers together, that's remarkable. I also heard your telepathic message that day, and I immediately pledged to follow your important instructions, haha!]
[Thanks to you, no one dared to cause trouble in Mong Cai; things have been peaceful lately because everyone is focused on getting you into a good class and doesn't dare to fight to the death.]
[The nail that sticks out gets hammered down! (Am I using this phrase correctly? My Chinese writing isn't very good.) Whoever jumps around too much might get a punch. But they haven't been idle; they're preparing for something big!]
DouDou raised his eyes and glanced at the new math teacher who had recently transferred to the position—he was shakily picking up the teapot and gulping down tea, coughing intermittently as if drowning. [This flyer is part of an important year-end event. Just so you don't miss out; let me tell you in advance: this is the New Year's Eve event organized by the Internet Promotion Committee, and has nothing to do with me.]
[They messed up their "mother city" in South America and are now planning to bet even more heavily on Mong Cai. However, I'm not too optimistic about this multi-pronged approach; Mong Cai is full of hidden talents now, and the Asia-Europe Post's attitude is quite ambiguous—there might be a big conspiracy.]
[The Mother? What is that? It feels like I've seen it somewhere before.]

Suddenly seeing an unfamiliar word, DouDou squinted, but couldn't quite recall it:
[However, I'm not entirely sure what will happen at this "New Year's Eve party"? Anyway, you definitely won't want to miss it; it'll be a huge event.]
[PS: Have you connected to that "DreamNet" yet? Actually, it won't last much longer, so if you haven't, connect to it a few more times.]
[PS2: Don't worry about your studies. I'll write to you if anything fun happens!]
Finally, a signature line was added:
[My best friend, Sidney.]
"What bet did the mother bet on? It feels like she didn't actually say anything. Why don't you go and set up riddles for the lantern riddle competition?"

"And I should practice my handwriting! Speaking of which, I really should start practicing."

Dou Dou frowned—even though his own handwriting wasn't very good either.

He felt that the flyer must have reached him through some kind of frenzy: if it was inserted in the normal order of homework assignments, the randomness would be too great.

However, the story of dreaming has become increasingly widespread: not the dreams we have while sleeping, but the [dream web] that Richard Leechk mentioned.

Previously, it was only in some public squares that elderly people were seen dancing – now they are holding small stools and cushions, holding hands in park pavilions – I heard that even the children's palace in Mong Cai is opening related extracurricular classes.

But Mong Street News never reported these strange stories: it is a local station with a very keen sense of smell.
-
Halfway through pondering this, Ai Xi suddenly woke up. She grimaced and frowned; she seemed quite unwell.
"Tsk. That's weird, my neck is so sore."

She gripped the back of his neck so tightly that her fingers were digging into his flesh.
"I think I got a stiff neck from sleeping on my stomach. This desk is so hard."

DouDou pointed to the table and demonstrated by stacking her hands horizontally:
"You can't tilt your head like that! Look at me, try resting your forehead on the table—"

Ouch!

Oh dear, oh dear
Ah!
DouDou was performing when a wave of groans and writhing suddenly surged through the classroom. Everyone was either carefully rubbing and twisting their necks or groaning in discomfort.

"Oh no! My neck hurts."

"I can't move, I can't move, my neck feels stuck."

Some people even made strange "clucking" sounds from their bodies, unsure whether to curl up or stretch out; every student trembled like seaweed, reaching out to touch their necks and backs.

(End of this chapter)