Genius Playground

”I’m warning you. You absolutely! Absolutely! Absolutely! Must not say anything stupid later on!”

The car cruised down the highway.

This was the 12.7th time Jiang Ran had stressed this point to Wang Hao today (one attempt had been cut short).

Back in the Future Prison of 2045, Jiang Ran had experienced far too many failed escape attempts. He knew from bitter experience the devastating blow a pig teammate could deal to a perfect plan.

There was the stupid young man who always jumped the gun, and Sang Biao, who loved to kneel and ”feed the dogs”... Every time one of these cringeworthy scenes played out, Jiang Ran couldn’t help but exclaim that the day was a total waste.

So.

To avoid another pig-teammate incident today.

Jiang Ran had been repeating himself ever since he picked up Wang Hao.

Today, he was going to use her past memories as a way to properly verify whether the Cheng Mengxue who had suddenly appeared before them yesterday... was real or fake.

If she was an impersonator—a Disguiser.

Then no matter what technology she used to make her appearance, figure, and voice identical to Cheng Mengxue’s... she could never have replicated Cheng Mengxue’s life.

In other words, a fake would never possess the memories of the genuine article. She could only rely on her acting skills and assumptions to play the part in the present, but she could never know every single minute detail of the original’s past and childhood experiences.

And this was both Jiang Ran’s tactic and his advantage.

This opportunity was precious.

This kind of subtle probing would lose its effectiveness if used too often. The target would inevitably become suspicious and find ways to counter it.

Reality wasn’t like the Future Prison of 2045. There were no do-overs, no chances to reload a save and try again. Every misstep, every failure, was an irreversible, locked-in outcome.

Therefore, this meeting today was of the utmost importance. He had to ensure it went off without a hitch.

With that in mind...

...he had to keep Wang Hao’s mouth shut!

Wang Hao was a good guy, a reliable friend, but he was blunt and had absolutely no filter.

Take yesterday’s class reunion, for example.

If he hadn’t gotten drunk, thrown a fit, and run his mouth, maybe all that horrifying stuff wouldn’t have happened later.

”Alright, alright, I get it!”

Wang Hao was getting annoyed. He started drumming his fingers on the passenger-side console like he was playing the piano, pressing random buttons.

”How many times have you said that, man? You going senile or something?!”

”If you can manage not to say a word today, I’ll buy a car from you when you start your internship at the dealership next year,” Jiang Ran said, trying to entice him.

”Oh!”

Wang Hao immediately sat up straight.

”In that case, don’t you worry! I absolutely won’t say a single word today!”

Jiang Ran chuckled.

”Then you’d better stick to it. Not a single word. Otherwise, the deal is off, and you can forget about that car.”

”Shit! I can’t just go to the teahouse and act like a mute, can I?”

Wang Hao was very concerned about his internship performance; he had to nail this inaugural sale.

”I promised I wouldn’t say anything stupid and get in the way of your ’True or False Cheng Mengxue’ test. But you can’t seriously expect me not to say a single word, right?”

”You’re friends with Cheng Mengxue, but so am I, aren’t I? I haven’t spoken to her in two years, either. I’ve definitely got things I want to talk about!”

”Right? You can’t be so bossy just because you two were childhood friends! How about this: let’s agree on a signal. I absolutely will not say a single word until you give me that signal.”

”Once you’re done interrogating Cheng Mengxue and you’ve got your answer, you give the signal, break my seal, and I can chat with her for a while. That’s okay, right?”

Jiang Ran considered this. It did make sense.

It’s said that a drunk man speaks a sober mind. Last night, a wasted Wang Hao had grabbed Zhou Xiong and demanded he bring Cheng Mengxue back to life. It was obvious just how much he treasured their friendship.

Besides, the moment he’d seen Cheng Mengxue, Wang Hao had practically collapsed to his knees. Making him stay completely mute the entire time today didn’t feel right.

”Alright, fine.”

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

”This finger snap will be the signal. Before I snap my fingers, you keep your mouth shut. Not a single word!”

”And I’m warning you now, I’m going to have to tell some lies and set some traps to get her to talk... which is exactly why I’m worried about you running your mouth. You’re too blunt. You’ll take the bait before the trap even has a chance to catch her.”

”Okay.”

Wang Hao agreed instantly.

”A deal’s a deal, man. Don’t you go backing out of buying that car!”

...

Jiang Ran pulled up to the hotel. Cheng Mengxue waved; she’d clearly been waiting for a while.

Cheng Mengxue was dressed in a fresh, preppy style today, her white pleated skirt swaying as she waved.

”Her sense of style hasn’t been Americanized, at least.”

Wang Hao commented, resting his chin on his hand.

”Still the same style Xiaoxue used to have.”

”You know a lot, do you?”

Jiang Ran slowly pulled the car to the curb, rolling his eyes at Wang Hao in the passenger seat.

”You make it sound like you actually went to school in the United States. What do you know about their style?”

”West Coast style, duh!”

Wang Hao started to rap.

”I’m reppin’ the West Coast~ Reppin’ the West Coast~”

”But I was on the East Coast!”

Cheng Mengxue opened the car door, heard Wang Hao’s rap, and giggled.

”The University of Pennsylvania is in Philadelphia, you know! That’s on the East Coast of the United States. We don’t do that West Coast stuff!”

Jiang Ran glanced at Cheng Mengxue in the back seat via the rearview mirror.

’It feels like...’

’Today’s Cheng Mengxue seems even more like Cheng Mengxue.’

’When they first met yesterday, after two years apart and with the need to explain her faked death and long silence... it was obvious that Cheng Mengxue was a little awkward and tense. She’d looked at him with such cautious eyes.’

’Today, by contrast, she seemed much more natural.’

’The once inseparable trio, two in the front and one in the back, were laughing and talking in the car. In that moment, the old feeling of closeness, where they could talk about anything and everything, was back.’