"Because... because..." Zhang Jingxu frowned and thought hard, but after pondering for a long time, his mind felt like mush. He came up with several answers but wasn't sure of any of them. Finally, he gave up. "Why?"
"Because he's at a crossroad (crossroad sounds like 'knowing characters' in Chinese). Dummy, can't even figure that out," she mocked, adding, "You owe me 1000. Next question."
"What does one chicken plus another chicken become?"
Zhang Jingxu blurted out, "Two chickens?"
"Wrong. They become '666' because double-click (double chicken) 666. You owe me 2000."
She gave him a meaningful look and kindly reminded him, "I need to remind you again: I'm asking brainteasers, not one-plus-one. You have to think outside the box."
Zhang Jingxu: "!"
His expression turned serious and determined. He straightened his back and vowed to answer the next question correctly.
"Question—Why is Snow White's fate so tragic?"
"..." The man, who had been so confident a moment ago, fell into deep thought again.
Why?
Why? Come on, brain, think!
He clenched his fist under the table, feeling both anxious and unwilling. Usually, he could solve even the hardest math problems in minutes, but today his mighty brain was being defeated by brainteasers. He refused to accept it.
Yu Wanwan glanced at her watch and smirked contemptuously. "Two minutes. Shall I reveal the answer?"
Zhang Jingxu didn't speak, but his forehead was about to sweat from anxiety.
The living room was silent, but the battle of wits was deafening.
Just as Yu Wanwan was about to reveal the answer, Zhang Jingxu's mind flashed with her words, 'think outside the box.' He turned his brain around, slammed the table, and, as if possessed, confidently said, "Because she has many little people (referring to the seven dwarfs, but also implying 'many villains')!"
Right? Right?
His heart was pounding. He hadn't been this nervous since graduation.
Yu Wanwan raised an eyebrow, a hint of appreciation in her eyes. She deliberately paused for over ten seconds before handing him another hundred-yuan bill. "Not bad. Here's another 100."
"Ah!" Zhang Jingxu raised his fist in a victory sign, ecstatic as if he were back in his school days solving a math problem that stumped the whole class.
After this question, Zhang Jingxu suddenly grasped the trick: the answers tended to be puns. The more absurd, the better.
He grew eager, looking forward to the next question.
"Question—Why does Superman wear a tight suit?"
Zhang Jingxu answered instantly, "Because saving people is tight (urgent)!"
Yu Wanwan reluctantly handed over another hundred. "An aunt went rowing. Why did the boat capsize?"
"Because the 'aunt's small boat capsized easily' (a popular Chinese meme)."
Zhang Jingxu felt he was getting better and better.
Another hundred lost. Yu Wanwan: "..."
This guy learns fast.
She decided to up the ante: "A kitten and a puppy want to recite their lesson to the teacher. Why did the teacher let the puppy go first?"
"Woof woof (Wang Wang) first (Xian Bei, a pun on 'crispy' and 'recite first')!"
He felt invincible.
Yu Wanwan: "..."
Argh! Turn up the difficulty!
"Why do motor vehicles drive on the right?"
"Because..." Zhang Jingxu raised a hand in the air, pondered for a long time, and suddenly lost his confidence.
Why?
National regulation?
Definitely not.
Then why?
Seeing him stuck again, Yu Wanwan gleefully said, "Because the Buddha blesses the right (Buddha blesses right, a pun on 'right' and 'you'). Dummy. You owe me 3000."
Damn!
Zhang Jingxu leaned back in his chair, unconvinced. His brain still wasn't turning fast enough.
Yu Wanwan pinched the last hundred-yuan bill from her bag and waved it in the air. "Last question: Where is Ultraman Tiga's hometown?"
"Japan." Too eager, Zhang Jingxu blurted out the answer and immediately regretted it. Such a 'proper' answer must be wrong.
But he couldn't think of any other 'improper' answer.
Thinking of the director who was born in Tokyo, Zhang Jingxu quickly changed his answer, guessing desperately, "Tokyo?"
Yu Wanwan didn't rush to reveal the answer. Instead, she shook her head confidently. "Wrong."
Zhang Jingxu continued guessing, "Osaka? Yokohama?"