Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.
[A different person.]
From Cheng ngxue’s words, that was the phrase he noticed first.
The phrase felt extrely familiar.
Because on this Worldline 1, both Nan Xiuxiu and Wang Hao had used the exact sa words to describe him.
He himself had jumped here from Worldline 0.
And he had lost the mories of the past ten years.
So from Nan Xiuxiu’s and Wang Hao’s perspective, he really did look as if soone had taken over his body—
a completely different person.
Then.
Following that logic.
Two years ago, on June 8, 2023, the day Cheng ngxue had her accident…
from Cheng ngxue’s perspective at the ti, Jiang Ran had also seed like a different person.
If the logic behind these situations was the sa…
didn’t that an—
two years ago, the Jiang Ran who stopped Cheng ngxue from going to the college entrance exam and dragged her into the suburbs… might also have been a ti traveler who had taken over the body?
But.
Jiang Ran frowned.
That didn’t make sense.
The Positron Cannon was already broken. It could no longer send ti-traveling text ssages to the past.
Which ant, theoretically, there was no thod left to transmit information backward in ti.
Could it be the rumored spaceti shuttle?
Jiang Ran shook his head.
Even less likely.
According to the rumors, the spaceti shuttle was a machine that physically sent a person back into the past—true ti travel, transporting soone intact to an earlier era.
But that didn’t match Cheng ngxue’s description.
If that were the case, the person dragging her away would have been an older man from the future—not the teenage Jiang Ran of that ti.
Everything was a ss.
Completely chaotic.
And then there was that strange line.
“Don’t let it happen again… don’t let it happen again…”
According to Cheng ngxue, Jiang Ran had looked nervous that day, glancing around constantly while muttering those words.
It gave the impression that soone had been chasing him.
As if he had been fleeing with Cheng ngxue.
But…
this was a lawful society.
And Hangzhou was known for its excellent public security.
Who would chase and attempt to kill a high school girl during the college entrance exams, when police officers filled the streets?
That was impossible.
Such a thing could never happen.
So what exactly had Jiang Ran been afraid of that day?
What had he been so terrified might co after them?
His thoughts spiraled into dead ends.
Finally, Jiang Ran stopped thinking.
He realized he had fallen into Cheng ngxue’s trap.
Why assu that what she said was true?
Start from the beginning.
If the Cheng ngxue sitting before him was genuine, then everything she said just now must be true. Naturally Jiang Ran would analyze it carefully to see if any clues could be found.
But—
what if this Cheng ngxue was indeed the impostor he suspected?
An impostor couldn’t possess the real person’s mories.
Which ant everything she had just said could only be fabricated on the spot.
That was a clever tactic.
Jiang Ran felt a chill.
The truth about the day he forcibly took Cheng ngxue away had always been a complete mystery—a black box no one could open.
Only two people had known the truth.
One was Jiang Ran, who had lost his mory.
The other was Cheng ngxue—who had died.
(Or so it had been assud.)
Under circumstances where the story could neither be confird nor disproven, this Cheng ngxue could say whatever she wanted.
She could even make up sothing absurd—claim Jiang Ran dragged her to a mountain valley to stage a battle between Ultraman and Pikachu—and no one could prove it was false.
Therefore.
There was no point dwelling on that question.
Everything depended first on verifying whether the Cheng ngxue before him was real.
Only then could the aning of her story be judged.
Jiang Ran sighed and shook his head.
“I really don’t rember the details anymore.”
“The doctor said it’s trauma-induced amnesia. The psychological shock was too severe, so my brain activated a self-protection chanism and erased that period completely.”
He decided not to pursue the topic further.
Instead, he looked around the room for a new subject.
Then suddenly—
his eyes landed on Cheng ngxue’s phone case.
It was shaped like a Rhine Cat, a very common design. The originally round, chubby cat face had been stretched into a rectangular shape wrapping around the phone.
So…
Cheng ngxue still loved Rhine Cat just like before.
Jiang Ran vaguely rembered that the Rhine Cat IP had launched alongside Rhine Costics near the end of 2022, when he and Cheng ngxue were still in high school.
The adorable Rhine Cat had instantly beco popular worldwide.
rchandise sold out everywhere, and Rhine Costics rode the wave of popularity into global markets.
Cheng ngxue had been a fanatic.
From that mont on, almost all of her allowance had gone toward Rhine Cat rchandise.
“Too bad the school uniform doesn’t have a Rhine Cat collaboration.”
She had joked back then.
“Otherwise I’d definitely get into Tsinghua!”
Jiang Ran also noticed a Rhine Cat charm hanging from her phone.
That matched Cheng ngxue’s habits perfectly.
But…
On Worldline 0, the charm she carried had been a limited-edition Astronaut Rhine Cat—only 4200 had been produced.
Again.
The number 42.
It really wouldn’t go away.
Suddenly, Jiang Ran rembered the mysterious ssage he had received on Worldline 0.
[Do not believe 42.]
When he had first realized the aning of that ssage, a cold shiver had shot straight up his spine.
The number 42 had surrounded him everywhere.
The transforr box had been numbered 42.
The Astronaut Rhine Cat had 42 printed on its belly.
Qin Feng’s student number had been 42.
Everything had changed in an instant, leading to the troubled Worldline 1 they now lived in.
More importantly—
on this new worldline, Qin Feng’s disappearance had shifted the class roster.
Everyone’s student numbers had moved forward by one.
Jiang Ran’s number beca 41.
And Cheng ngxue’s number…
beca 42.
Every ti Jiang Ran thought about that number, a layer of unease settled in his heart.
On Worldline 1, did the warning Do not believe 42 still apply?
If it did…
then Cheng ngxue—whose number had beco 42—might also be soone who could not be trusted.
Just as Jiang Ran suspected.
“Hmm?”
Cheng ngxue blinked.
She noticed Jiang Ran’s gaze and looked down at the Rhine Cat charm hanging from her phone.
A wedding-dress Rhine Cat.
“Hehe, you’ve definitely never seen this limited Rhine Cat before!”
The mont Rhine Cat ca up, Cheng ngxue’s eyes lit up with excitent.
“Isn’t it cute?”
Her sudden burst of joy stunned Jiang Ran again.
This trait…
was identical to Cheng ngxue.
Just seconds earlier she had looked sad while talking about Jiang Ran’s past two years.
But the mont Rhine Cat beca the topic—
the sadness vanished.
Her entire face lit up.
“Look, look! There’s a really funny detail!”
Cheng ngxue held the charm upright and pointed to the tiny object in the cat’s paw.
“See it? It’s holding a hot dog!”
“A bride Rhine Cat holding a hot dog! Isn’t that hilarious? The designer is a genius!”
…
Jiang Ran gave the sa helpless smile he always did when confronted with Rhine Cat designs.
A bride holding a hot dog?
What kind of bizarre ritual was that?
Were the Rhine Cat designers aliens from another planet?
“Is that thing limited edition too?” Jiang Ran asked.
“Oh no, it’s not limited edition, it’s regional exclusive!”
Cheng ngxue corrected patiently.
“Limited edition ans limited quantity. Exclusive ans it’s only sold in certain places or during certain events.”
“Understand?”
“So this is a Civil Affairs Bureau exclusive?” Jiang Ran joked, looking at the wedding dress.
Thunk.
His heart skipped a beat.
Wait—how did Cheng ngxue get that?
Considering the legal marriage age in the United States was only eighteen, Jiang Ran suddenly widened his eyes.
“Ha! As if!”
Cheng ngxue burst out laughing.
“There’s no Civil Affairs Bureau in Arica!”
“This wedding Rhine Cat is the Brooklyn exclusive. It’s only sold in Brooklyn—nowhere else.”
“Actually it’s part of a pair. One is this wedding Rhine Cat.”
“The other is a Mafia Godfather Rhine Cat—really cool! Sunglasses, holding a gun and a briefcase!”
“But that one is black, and I don’t really like it, so I just left it at ho.”
Then she looked at Jiang Ran with sparkling anticipation.
“I can’t believe it! After two years you’re suddenly interested in Rhine Cat too!”
“When I go back to Arica I’ll bring that Godfather Rhine Cat and give it to you. Hang it on your phone!”
“Rejected.”
Jiang Ran raised his palm imdiately.
“Ah—why are you like this!”
Cheng ngxue looked disappointed.
“It’s super popular with boys!”
“Cluck!”
Suddenly Wang Hao made a strange chicken-like noise without opening his mouth.
The aning was obvious.
If Jiang Ran didn’t want the Godfather Rhine Cat—
he did.
“Shut up.”
Jiang Ran pushed him down imdiately.
Years of friendship ant he could read Wang Hao’s intentions instantly.
Just then a waiter entered with a bottle of cola.
“Who ordered this?”
Wang Hao silently took it and opened the bottle.
Jiang Ran gave him a questioning look.
Wang Hao returned a glance that clearly said:
The tea is too bitter, I can’t stand it, you won’t let talk so I ordered sothing sweet myself.
“Hm?”
Cheng ngxue tilted her head.
“Why hasn’t Wang Hao said anything?”
“What’s wrong with him?”
Jiang Ran quickly improvised.
“He ate too much at the reunion yesterday and got mouth ulcers. Talking hurts.”
“But earlier in the car…” Cheng ngxue rembered the rap.
“Well.”
Jiang Ran shrugged.
“That’s how he learned talking hurts.”
Still.
Jiang Ran silently thanked Wang Hao.
Because that bottle of cola gave him a new idea.
Sotis small details in daily life—
especially the ones people rarely notice but that remain engraved in subconscious mory—
were the best way to determine soone’s identity.
So Jiang Ran began Question Two of the “True or Fake Cheng ngxue Exam.”
“Actually, carbonated drinks are bad for your health.”
He transitioned smoothly.
“These days I mostly drink sugar-free drinks.”
“But in high school I loved soda. You used to tell to stop drinking it, saying if I kept it up my teeth would fall out before I turned thirty.”
“Of course I never listened.”
“Do you rember? After PE class we always went to the convenience store.”
“I always bought a big bottle of Sprite.”
“Huh?”
Cheng ngxue blinked.
“That’s not right. I rember you drinking cola.”
“You always bought cola, not Sprite.”
Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.
The opponent was skilled.
That simple trap hadn’t fooled her.
He really had bought cola.
Even if this Cheng ngxue was fake, the answer could easily be deduced from context.
After all, Wang Hao had just ordered a cola.
“Oh? Was it cola?”
Jiang Ran laughed awkwardly.
“My mory is fuzzy. Yours is impressive.”
“Of course!”
Cheng ngxue puffed her chest proudly.
“You and Wang Hao used to spend all your allowance on comic books. You never had money for drinks, so you always made pay!”
“That’s why I rember clearly.”
“After PE class you always dragged to the store to pay for your drinks.”
“And you were very loyal to one brand.”
“You only drank Pepsi.”
…
A smile slowly spread across Jiang Ran’s face.
Perfect.
This fake Cheng ngxue had finally slipped.
This was exactly the kind of small detail that people rarely noticed.
Yet it was precisely those tiny details that determined everything.
Jiang Ran laughed softly.
Leaning back in his chair, he folded his hands over his stomach and looked at the girl across from him with amusent.
“One small oversight.”
“What?” Cheng ngxue asked.
“Cluck!”
Wang Hao let out another urgent chicken noise.
“Quiet.”
Jiang Ran shot him a warning look.
Wang Hao had clearly noticed the flaw too—but Jiang Ran wouldn’t allow him to interrupt.
“I did love cola in high school.”
Jiang Ran turned back to Cheng ngxue.
“There were two kinds at school.”
“Pepsi tasted sweeter, with less carbonation.”
“Coca-Cola had a slightly numbing feeling on the tongue and stronger fizz.”
“Cluck!” Wang Hao chirped again.
“Wait.”
Jiang Ran pressed him down firmly.
“I’m not finished.”
He understood Wang Hao’s reaction.
The flaw Cheng ngxue had just exposed was enormous.
But exposing her was Jiang Ran’s job.
“No matter what anyone says,” Jiang Ran continued calmly,
“I can easily tell the difference between Pepsi and Coca-Cola.”
“Compared to Pepsi’s overly sweet taste…”
“I prefer Coca-Cola. Stronger fizz, that tingling sensation—it’s refreshing.”
“So…”
Jiang Ran’s smile disappeared.
“I have never drunk Pepsi.”
“I only drink Coca-Cola.”
He looked straight at her.
“Which ans you’ve never bought drinks with .”
“And Cheng ngxue, the girl who hated spending money on , would never forget what brand I bought.”
His gaze sharpened.
“So you are not Cheng ngxue.”
He stared directly at her.
“Who… are you?”
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