Prodigy’s Playground

Chapter 115 Checkmate

After escorting Cheng Mengxue back to her room, Jiang Ran went downstairs, got into the car, and told the designated driver:

“Sir, take us to this barbecue stand. Just follow the navigation on the screen.”

He and Wang Hao had no intention of going home. Instead, they headed to an old barbecue stall near their neighborhood.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t eaten enough.

It was that they needed to discuss what had happened today somewhere else.

To conduct a [post-mortem].

“This Cheng Mengxue is fake.”

The moment they sat down at the barbecue stall—before they had even ordered any food—Jiang Ran dropped a bombshell.

“Huh?”

Wang Hao stared at him in disbelief.“You’re still thinking that? I thought with how cheerful things were just now—and you even escorted Xiaoxue upstairs—you’d finally given up that stupid idea! Honestly, Jiang Ran, you’re impossible. You asked Xiaoxue so many questions earlier—was there a single one she couldn’t answer?”

“Whether it was things from high school, things from childhood, or even that car accident you yourself had forgotten about… wasn’t Xiaoxue able to answer every single one fluently?”

“I seriously don’t know how you grew those so-called ‘fiery eyes of insight,’ but from where I’m standing, this Xiaoxue couldn’t be more real! She’s exactly the Xiaoxue I knew back in high school!”

“I’m telling you to stop while you’re ahead, Jiang Ran. That’s enough. You keep saying this one’s fake, that one’s fake—if we follow your logic… then honestly, you’re the one who seems the most fake of all!”

Jiang Ran waved his hand dismissively.

“I have evidence.”

He didn’t waste words arguing with Wang Hao. Instead, he laid out two key pieces of proof.

First, Cheng Mengxue’s alcohol tolerance showed a huge discrepancy.

Second, that glass bottle buried for more than ten years—he had actually dug it up long ago. Cheng Mengxue didn’t remember the contents of the letter at all.

“So what!”

Unexpectedly, Wang Hao didn’t care in the slightest.

“Have you ever drunk alcohol with Xiaoxue before? On what basis are you declaring that she has the alcohol tolerance of an ant—that she gets drunk the moment she drinks?”

“Let me tell you something. People’s bodies are different. You can’t generalize.”

“I once saw someone online claim that when he’s extremely angry, he can punch through a thirty-centimeter-thick steel plate. Can you do that?”

“Don’t change the subject,” Jiang Ran cut him off.

“Xiaoxue’s alcohol tolerance really is that bad. Don’t ask me how I know—that’s simply the truth.”

In fact, Jiang Ran originally hadn’t minded telling Wang Hao about the Positron Cannon, the time-traveling text messages, and the Worldline Transition.

He believed Wang Hao was someone he could trust. He had even planned to find an appropriate opportunity to tell him everything, so that on this Worldline No.1 he would have another ally.

But now, he decided to slow down and hold back.

Because it was obvious that Wang Hao had already been blinded by the fake Cheng Mengxue, completely taking her side. For the sake of his own safety—and to prevent his most important secret from leaking—Jiang Ran had no intention of revealing everything at this stage.

“Wang Hao, I know you want to argue that maybe Xiaoxue drank frequently in the United States and built up her tolerance or something.”

“But don’t forget—she said at the dinner table herself that she had never drunk alcohol before. That it was her first time drinking in her life. So the idea of ‘building tolerance’ doesn’t exist.”

“Not necessarily.”

Wang Hao continued defending her.

“In the cultural environment over there in the United States, who eats without drinking something? Xiaoxue probably just didn’t want you to misunderstand her—didn’t want you thinking she was the kind of girl who drinks—so she told a small lie and said it was her first time.”

“Besides, the eating habits in the United States are very different from Dragon Country. Even if she doesn’t drink alcohol, what about sparkling water with a bit of alcohol content? Or cooking steak with wine for flavor? Those are all possibilities!”

“If Xiaoxue had been living in Dragon Country these past two years, sure—I’d believe her tolerance was low. But she spent two years eating meals in the United States. How can you be certain those different habits wouldn’t increase her alcohol tolerance?”

“Hmph.”

Jiang Ran let out a cold snort.

“Then how do you explain the glass bottle and the letter? Xiaoxue said she doesn’t remember anything written in it.”

“That’s completely normal!”

Wang Hao slapped the table.

“You just said that letter was written when Xiaoxue was seven years old, right? My god… how could you even ask such a question? Who in the world remembers a letter they wrote at age seven!”

“Come on, Jiang Ran. Prove it to me. Whether it’s a diary entry you wrote at seven or a drawing you made—try reciting it from memory!”

Jiang Ran sighed.

“How is that the same? A time capsule like that has special meaning. It’s not the same as some random diary entry. Shouldn’t she at least have some impression of it?”

He leaned back in his chair and looked at Wang Hao helplessly.

“Wang Hao, you can’t just twist logic like this simply to prove that this Cheng Mengxue is real.”

“You’re the one twisting logic!”

Wang Hao finally exploded.

“You’re so obsessed with proving Xiaoxue is fake that you’ve lost your mind!”

“I’ve actually wanted to ask you something these past couple of days, Jiang Ran.”

“Why are you so determined to prove Xiaoxue is fake?”

His face was full of confusion.

“Our friend who we thought had died turns out to be alive after all. It was just a misunderstanding. She spent two years quietly living in the United States, and now we’ve reunited after all this time.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be something worth celebrating? Something to be happy about? Something to celebrate like crazy?”

“But you keep worrying about this and that, constantly suspecting Xiaoxue is fake.”

“So let me ask you something.”

“What benefit do you get if Xiaoxue is fake? Would that make you happy? Or do you simply not want Xiaoxue to be alive at all?”

Wang Hao was furious.

This anger had been suppressed for a long time.

Now it finally erupted.

“Of course I hope Xiaoxue is real.”

Jiang Ran answered quietly.

“I want her to be real more than anyone. I want her to come back to life more than anyone.”

“But don’t you find this whole situation strange?”

“Zhou Xiong took out his phone and had that supposedly omnipotent Lilith grant everyone’s wishes. And every single wish was fulfilled exactly as promised.”

“The last wish Zhou Xiong made to Lilith was to revive Xiaoxue.”

“And then Xiaoxue actually appeared right after the reunion ended.”

“Don’t you think that coincidence is strange?”

Wang Hao sighed.

“Bro!! That was fake! Zhou Xiong was drunk when he said that!”

“You don’t seriously believe he could revive Xiaoxue with a single phone call, do you? Are you still sane?”

“Everyone could see that when Zhou Xiong helped our classmates earlier, he used money and connections—not some supernatural power.”

“When Zhou Xiong told Lilith on the phone to revive Xiaoxue, she clearly refused or said it couldn’t be done. Otherwise why would Zhou Xiong have reacted like that and gotten angry?”

“I remember after hearing Lilith refuse, Zhou Xiong even shouted something like ‘Don’t give me that nonsense!’ It was obvious she didn’t agree.”

“As for Xiaoxue appearing after the reunion ended, that’s just coincidence! She saw the reunion notice in the QQ group and rushed back from the United States as fast as she could. The time she arrived at the restaurant just happened to be that moment.”

“That’s called [coincidence]!”

Jiang Ran listened quietly.

He stared at Wang Hao.

After several seconds of silence, he spoke in a low voice.

“You think the connection between these two events is purely [coincidence]?”

“What else would it be?”

Wang Hao shrugged.

“You don’t seriously believe there’s some omnipotent god who can bring the dead back to life, do you?”

“Fine.”

Jiang Ran nodded and straightened up.

“Then I’ll tell you another even bigger [coincidence].”

“You remember that ridiculous, extremely edgy setting collection I wrote in middle school, right? You even read it.”

“I remember.” Wang Hao replied immediately.

“Wasn’t it called Prodigy’s Playground?”

“Do you remember the content?”

“No.” Wang Hao shook his head.

“That was seven or eight years ago. My memory’s not that good.”

Jiang Ran smiled slightly.

“It’s fine if you don’t remember. I’ll tell you now. I’ve forgotten most of it too—but there are a few settings I still remember. I even adapted them into the script for that micro-film Xu Na shot.”

“In the setting of that collection, there really was a character called Lilith, an omnipotent being. As long as you contacted her through a special phone and made a wish, she could fulfill anything.”

“Anything means exactly what it says.”

“Whether you wanted the sky to suddenly go dark, or night to turn into day, or even the dead to come back to life…”

“Lilith—the omnipotent one—was the god of that world. She could fulfill any wish.”

“Of course, it was just childish fantasy. Those settings were completely made up. Pure nonsense.”

“But isn’t it strange?”

“That ridiculous setting was recreated almost perfectly at our class reunion. Every little detail matched.”

“So tell me.”

“Doesn’t that count as a kind of [coincidence]?”

It was the first time Wang Hao had heard about this.

He was completely stunned.

“You… you’re serious? Something that coincidental actually happened?”

“Mm.”

“It’s really the same as the setting collection you wrote in middle school?”

“Exactly the same.”

“The name Lilith too? Contacting this god through a phone?”

“Identical.”

“I don’t believe it.”

Wang Hao shook his head and extended his hand.

“That’s too ridiculous. Show me the script you wrote—or that micro-film. Let me see it.”

“Ah… I deleted them.”

Jiang Ran regretted deleting those files so quickly.

But suddenly—

He remembered that setting collection.

Right.

The original manuscript he wrote in middle school was probably still in the basement of his house!

“But the original setting collection I wrote back then should still be in my basement.”

He turned to Wang Hao.

“If you don’t believe me, want to go check it right now?”

“Sure!”

Wang Hao tossed aside the menu.

“We haven’t even ordered yet. We can eat anytime. But I seriously don’t believe something this coincidental could exist!”

“You’re saying a story you made up years ago actually came true years later? That’s insane! I have to verify it myself.”

Jiang Ran grabbed his car keys and stood up.

But he noticed…

Wang Hao didn’t follow him.

He turned around.

Wang Hao was still sitting on the small stool, lighting a cigarette and smoking silently.

Jiang Ran looked at his lonely back.

Of course he knew what Wang Hao was thinking.

So he walked over and patted his friend on the shoulder.

“Wang Hao, don’t be upset. I understand how you feel.”

Jiang Ran spoke softly.

“I’m not deliberately suspecting Cheng Mengxue. I said from the beginning—if Cheng Mengxue really did go to the United States for two years, or if she truly came back from the dead… as long as she’s real, I’d be happier than anyone.”

“You might think I’m cold-blooded. You might think I don’t trust Xiaoxue.”

“But precisely because I value our friendship so much, I can’t allow a fake Xiaoxue to replace the real one in our trio.”

“I admit that this Xiaoxue feels incredibly real. At one point I was almost 99.9% certain she was genuine.”

“Isn’t 99.99% enough?” Wang Hao turned around.

Jiang Ran smiled helplessly.

“It’s extremely high, yes. But it still isn’t 100%.”

“A lot of strange, unbelievable things have happened around me lately.”

“So… if the probability that this Xiaoxue is real doesn’t reach one hundred percent—even if it’s only slightly below—I still can’t fully trust it.”

“Come with me to the basement first. Let’s find that setting collection I wrote back then. Once you see what’s inside, you’ll understand why I’m so worried.”

Wang Hao sighed and stood up.

“Fine, fine. Let’s go to your basement.”

Then he shook his head and laughed bitterly.

“Man… how the tables have turned.”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Ran asked.

“Hahaha!”

Wang Hao suddenly burst out laughing like a madman.

“You brought this on yourself, Jiang Ran!”

“Serves you right! Now that the same situation has happened to you, how does it feel?”

“What are you talking about?”

Jiang Ran punched him lightly.

“You’re talking nonsense. Are you crazy?”

“I’m talking about what you did to Xiuxiu!”

Wang Hao finally let out his frustration.

“Back then, in Xiuxiu’s eyes, you suddenly seemed like a completely different person. You made her lose all her confidence. Whenever you ignored her, she’d come complain to me, wondering if you didn’t like her anymore.”

“Well now look at you!”

“You bullied Xiuxiu back then, and now karma’s come around! Now you’re the one facing someone who might or might not be the childhood friend you once knew. Now you know what that feels like!”

Wang Hao’s words made Jiang Ran fall into thought.

The two situations weren’t really related.

But the comparison…

was strangely similar.

In Nan Xiuxiu’s eyes, Jiang Ran had become a different person.

And in Jiang Ran’s eyes, Cheng Mengxue seemed fake.

“….”

Jiang Ran smiled helplessly.

“You’re right. It really is kind of similar.”

Wang Hao took one final drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke into the night air.

“But when faced with the same situation, Xiuxiu reacted very differently from you.”

“How so?”

Wang Hao flicked the cigarette butt to the ground.

“You’re facing someone who seems almost completely real, yet you keep doubting her, searching for flaws to prove she’s fake.”

“But in Xiuxiu’s eyes, you are still you.”

“No matter how much you changed, Jiang Ran is still Jiang Ran—the only Jiang Ran in the world.”

“Xiuxiu’s thinking is simple. Pure.”

He crushed the cigarette under his shoe and looked up at the starry sky.

“For Xiuxiu…”

“No matter what you become, she’ll still love you.”