No, no.
Wang Hao laughed at the foolish thought he had just entertained.
He firmly believed in his own judgnt—
In this world, luxury goods, food, and all kinds of products could be fake. But people could not be fake!
If a person stood alive right in front of you, then they had to be real.
Therefore.
The two best friends of his life standing before him—the Iron Triangle that would last a lifeti.
Jiang Ran was real!
Cheng ngxue was real!
Hmm?
Suddenly, he thought of sothing.
Logically speaking, the whole incident back then—Song He vomiting and having diarrhea, the supermarket changing owners—had caused such a huge commotion that year… Jiang Ran couldn’t possibly have zero mory of it, right? That would be too fake no matter how you looked at it.
But judging from Jiang Ran’s reaction just now, he truly had no idea about it. It was clearly the first ti he had ever heard the story.
Could it be…
[This is also part of Jiang Ran’s plan?]
—
On Jiang Ran’s side, he laughed casually and chatted with Cheng ngxue.
After several failed attempts at verification earlier—and making a complete fool of himself—it obviously wasn’t the right ti to keep probing.
Better to slow things down for now. His suspicion about whether she was genuine or not couldn’t be too obvious.
They talked casually, just like normal friends, normal childhood sweethearts who hadn’t seen each other for a long ti.
To be honest, it really had been a long ti.
In Cheng ngxue’s eyes, they hadn’t contacted each other for two years.
In Jiang Ran’s eyes, they had been separated by worldlines for three months.
They talked about what each of them had been doing over the past two years. They talked about Cheng ngxue’s life in the United States, about the world-class university in Pennsylvania, about her studies there.
“I chose a major I would never have chosen before—pharmaceutical and dical research.”
Cheng ngxue gently swirled her teacup as she spoke.
“You know . I never liked science subjects. I never liked research or experints. I’ve always preferred humanities.”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“Then… why choose pharmaceuticals? That field usually takes a long ti to study, and graduating isn’t easy.”
Earlier Cheng ngxue had ntioned that the scientist was extrely prestigious. She had even shown Jiang Ran the person’s online encyclopedia page.
She said the two-year confidentiality period had already expired. The scientist had told her family that aside from the experintal details—which still had to remain confidential—nothing else was particularly important anymore. If they wanted to talk about it publicly, that was fine.
Jiang Ran had glanced at the page and morized the scientist’s na.
From the reports online, the man was indeed remarkable. People were saying he would inevitably win the Nobel Prize in dicine soday. The only reason he hadn’t yet was that he was still too young—only in his thirties—and lacked one truly epoch-making achievent to prove himself.
Maybe such standards only applied to geniuses.
At least in Jiang Ran’s opinion, the scientist was already extrely impressive. He had won countless awards and held a very high academic status. He definitely qualified as young and accomplished.
“Probably… those doctors changed my mind.”
Cheng ngxue answered honestly.
“Watching them do everything they could to treat , helping recover, attacking one dical problem after another with such passion… honestly, I was really moved. And deeply influenced.”
“They told there are many diseases in the world that still can’t be cured. Most treatnts in hospitals still rely on the human body’s own immune system. dicine mostly just helps your resistance hold on a little longer.”
“That scientist himself told sothing even more brutal. In the pharmaceutical field, the cruelest thing isn’t failing to develop dicine that can cure diseases. It’s when dicine is developed… but patients can’t afford to use it.”
“It’s not because companies are greedy. The cost of developing dicine itself is terrifyingly high. Even top pharmaceutical companies struggle to bear it.”
“So… I want to try too. I survived because of their dical expertise. I also want to rely on my own efforts to help more people like —people suffering from illness.”
Her voice was gentle.
But filled with strength.
Jiang Ran quietly looked at her.
Looked at this girl who… felt more and more familiar to him.
Cheng ngxue had always been like this.
Pure.
Kind.
Compassionate.
He was starting to believe more and more that the girl in front of him might truly be Cheng ngxue.
Because.
He had already done everything he could.
He simply could not find any flaw.
No detail, no place, no subtle feeling suggested any difference between the girl in front of him and the childhood sweetheart in his mories.
In fact, the longer he talked with her, the more Jiang Ran felt himself slipping into warm mories, relaxing both body and mind, lowering his guard, smiling naturally from the heart.
That overlapping sensation left Jiang Ran deeply conflicted.
Should he truly open his heart and believe that the Cheng ngxue in front of him was real?
Emotion told him to believe.
Reason told him he couldn’t.
If he had to quantify it.
At this point.
He was 99.99% certain that the Cheng ngxue before him was the real Cheng ngxue—the childhood sweetheart he had been searching for all this ti.
Only a 0.01% possibility, with no evidence and no reason at all, made him suspect she might be false.
Murphy’s Law.
For no reason, Jiang Ran rembered sothing Professor Zhang Yang had once said in his general-education class:
“Anything that can go wrong will eventually go wrong. No matter how small the probability of sothing happening, it will happen.”
Therefore.
Even if the doubt had shrunk to just 0.01%, he still dared not relax for even a mont.
After that, the three of them left the teahouse and went to the mall to wander around for a while. They tried the claw machines, browsed boutique shops, and even sang for a bit at the rooftop KTV.
Carefree.
Lively.
Everything felt just like the old days of their trio—except Wang Hao had replaced Qin Feng.
That evening, Jiang Ran treated them to dinner at the best Black Pearl restaurant in Hangzhou.
For Wang Hao and Cheng ngxue, it was their first ti at such a high-end restaurant. Everything they saw left them stunned.
Not to ntion Jiang Ran had reserved the most luxurious private room on the very top floor. From the vast floor-to-ceiling windows, they could overlook the entire city of Hangzhou.
Even soone as mischievous as Wang Hao behaved himself sitting here.
Watching Jiang Ran act completely at ease made him a little annoyed.
“Bro, stop pretending to be so calm. You just got rich recently too—this must be your first ti here, right?”
Jiang Ran smiled.
“Sothing like that.”
That had been on Worldline 0—on the most luxurious cruise ship in Donghai City—when Qin Feng had spent an enormous sum to book the top-floor luxury suite just to give him a belated celebration banquet.
By rough estimation, that had been the happiest night of Jiang Ran’s life.
Young.
Wealthy.
Successful.
Holding the power to change ti and the world itself.
Standing at the highest point above the ocean with his two best friends.
Fireworks drifted slowly downward. Wineglasses were quietly raised. A girl’s flushed face and a brother’s proud spirit burned like the fiercest flas of youth.
“I want to beco a Rhine Cat designer!”
“I want to work in the best laboratory in the world!”
Under the dazzling sky, Cheng ngxue and Qin Feng had spoken their most cherished dreams.
And when it ca to Jiang Ran—who had no specific plan at all—
Cheng ngxue had swirled her blood-red wineglass, her eyes hazy with alcohol.
“Then just keep doing what you’re doing now… be a hero.”
Imdiately after that—
Thunk.
Her face had slamd straight into the king crab shell and she fell asleep.
That was her alcohol tolerance.
Back then Jiang Ran and Qin Feng had joked that even a single liquor-filled chocolate could knock Cheng ngxue out.
Her alcohol tolerance was that ridiculous.
Like an ant’s.
Jiang Ran slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head from the thick, heavy stack of nus.
“How about… we have so wine?”
He smiled slightly and suggested.
“That afternoon tea earlier doesn’t count, and Xiaoxue missed yesterday’s reunion. So tonight’s dinner is the first official gathering of our trio after being apart for two years.”
“So for such an important and aningful mont… shouldn’t we drink so wine to celebrate?”
“Do they have beer?”
Wang Hao pouted.
“Wine tastes terrible!”
Jiang Ran stared at his pig-headed teammate again, speechless.
First of all, a high-end Black Pearl Western restaurant obviously wouldn’t serve beer.
Second, if he wanted to verify Cheng ngxue’s alcohol tolerance scientifically—following the strict principles of controlling variables—then it had to be red wine.
Last ti on the luxury cruise ship, Cheng ngxue had blacked out after just half a sip of red wine.
So if he wanted to test whether her alcohol tolerance was the sa this ti, red wine was naturally the best choice.
That’s right.
Alcohol tolerance was Cheng ngxue’s ultimate anti-counterfeiting trademark!
Appearance, knowledge, personality, voice—any external or internal trait could theoretically be imitated.
But alcohol tolerance was different.
It was a physical constitution people were born with.
And constitution varied from person to person.
Nothing could serve as a better authenticity marker.
Jiang Ran had never seen anyone with alcohol tolerance like Cheng ngxue’s.
And he didn’t believe any impostor could replicate not only her tolerance but also the way she acted when drunk with such authenticity.
Perhaps.
Only now.
Was the true climax of “The Real and Fake Cheng ngxue.”
He was certain that before age eighteen, Cheng ngxue had never touched alcohol even once.
Her parents wouldn’t allow it.
She herself didn’t dare.
She had always been obedient and responsible toward herself. Alcohol was sothing she wouldn’t even taste.
And precisely because she had never tasted it, no one knew what her alcohol tolerance was.
It was a black box with no known answer.
No one.
Not even Jiang Ran of Worldline 1 knew.
Only he—the Jiang Ran from Worldline 0.
Only the one who had personally witnessed Cheng ngxue drink for the first ti at that celebration banquet.
He alone knew the truth.
The only person in the world.
In the universe.
In spaceti.
Who accurately knew Cheng ngxue’s alcohol tolerance.
He narrowed his eyes.
Looking at Cheng ngxue across the table.
Real.
Or.
Fake…
Everything would be revealed by what happened next.
“Sure, sure!”
Cheng ngxue clearly liked the style of this restaurant and was very happy today.
“I’ve actually never had alcohol before! Even though Arican students love throwing parties… their parties are way too wild. Totally different from what we think of as parties back ho. I never go, and my parents wouldn’t allow it anyway.”
“Today is a rare chance. After being apart for so long, the three of us are together again. Of course we should celebrate properly!”
“No problem!”
Wang Hao imdiately started taking off his shirt.
“Then I’ll drink with you like a true gentleman!”
“Hey, hey, hey—”
Jiang Ran hurriedly stopped him.
“This isn’t a street barbecue stall. Why are you stripping? Act normal!”
“Sorry, hahaha!”
Wang Hao was genuinely happy today. Happier than ever before.
“I’ve really never been to such a high-end restaurant before. It’s making nervous.”
After a while.
Two beautifully prepared appetizers were served. A waiter used silver knives and forks to divide the dishes into three portions and place them before them.
Then a male attendant wearing white gloves carried over the decanted red wine and poured a small amount into their large wineglasses before bowing and leaving.
The three of them raised their glasses.
“Co on,” Jiang Ran said eagerly.
“Let’s congratulate Xiaoxue on returning.”
“And at the sa ti… let’s celebrate the reunion of the best trio in the world. Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Jiang Ran and Cheng ngxue only took small sips.
Wang Hao drained his glass in one gulp.
“You’re going to visit Xu Yan—your uncle’s family—tomorrow, right?” Jiang Ran asked while eating his appetizer.
“Yeah.”
Cheng ngxue nodded.
“I can’t stay in a hotel forever. And I also need to explain our family’s situation to my sister and uncle.”
She stabbed a piece of charcoal-grilled salmon with her fork and praised it enthusiastically.
“Could you two co with ?”
“If I go alone… I don’t know. I’d feel a bit nervous. Our family situation is really hard to explain. If you’re there to help explain things, it’ll be much easier.”
“No problem.”
Jiang Ran agreed imdiately.
“We’re on sumr vacation anyway. And we have a car. Tomorrow we’ll pick you up and go to Xu Yan’s house together.”
“Oh right, speaking of Xu Yan, I just rembered sothing…”
The blade finally t the map.
The conversation had finally reached this topic.
Jiang Ran set down his knife and fork and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“So ti ago, I t Xu Yan. We talked about you. She ntioned how she used to spend two months every sumr staying at your house.”
“She told that one year, after watching so cartoon or movie, the two of you suddenly got the idea to write letters to your future selves twenty years later—and bury them in the yard as a ti capsule.”
“Haha.”
Cheng ngxue lowered her head and ate her salad.
“Did sothing like that really happen?”
“It did.”
Jiang Ran continued.
“Xu Yan rembers it very clearly. She said the two of you each wrote a letter to your future selves twenty years later, put them in glass bottles, and buried them under the yard at your house.”
“She rembers exactly what hers said. She wrote that she must persist with her dream, make a great film, and beco a great director.”
“Then… what about yours?”
Jiang Ran lifted his wineglass and smiled at Cheng ngxue.
“Xiaoxue, do you rember the glass bottle—your letter to yourself twenty years in the future…”
“What did you write in it?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)