Throwing Out a Theory, Then Proving It

During dinner, Xiang Kun naturally relied on the two pebbles with which he had established a "Super-Sensory Link" to suppress his nausea. However, compared to dining with only two or three people, in this situation of dining with multiple people, now that he could rely on his new cognitive mode to build cognitive models for multiple people, there were actually many ways to eat less or even not eat at all under everyone's noses.

For example, make chewing motions even if there's nothing in your mouth; occasionally pick up your bowl to drink soup, even if you don't actually drink it; when someone notices you, talk more and don't let them notice that you're daydreaming or doing nothing, otherwise they will naturally urge you to eat and even use serving chopsticks to put food on your plate.

If Xiang Kun were someone easily overlooked, there would be no need for such trouble. But unfortunately, at this dinner table, no matter how low-key he is, he is the most noticed person, especially to Zhang Qian and the other three.

So at the dinner table, Xiang Kun took the initiative to introduce his cooperation with Zhang Qian's company to the others, partly to help Zhang Qian explain her earlier attitude and partly to explain why he hadn't answered the phone—of course, he wouldn't mention details involving his own privacy or the confidentiality of the company's projects;

On the other hand, it was also an opportunity to guide the conversation, leading everyone to talk about company operations, the current state of various industries, corporate management, market expansion, and entrepreneurial opportunities. He dragged Zicheng, Chang Bin, and Chang Bin's childhood friends into the conversation with Zhang Qian, and then he gradually faded out, allowing their attention to focus on each other.

However, Xiang Kun also knew that since he was having dinner with Zhang Qian, some issues would inevitably be brought up no matter how he tried to guide them.

Sure enough, when Chang Bin brought up the "fortune-telling skill" that Zhang Qian had mentioned earlier at the suit tailor shop, Zhang Qian immediately "took the opportunity" to talk about the first time she and Yang Jie "bumped Xiang Kun and Liu Chuang at the bar. Of course, she omitted the initial "flirting" process.

After Zhang Qian finished telling Xiang Kun's "A4 paper magic trick," Chang Bin and his childhood friend, who were hearing about it for the first time, looked at Xiang Kun with surprise.

"You can do magic?" Chang Bin couldn't help but ask. He hadn't known that Xiang Kun was such a good cook before, which already made him feel like he was a fake friend. But now he had discovered that Xiang Kun could also do magic tricks, and magic tricks that sounded really cool. Since losing his job and going bald, his good friend of four years in college had been constantly redefining his understanding of people.

"It's just a trivial little trick," Xiang Kun said with a smile. "Zicheng has seen it before too."

Zi Cheng immediately said, "That's no small trick. To be honest, I was stunned at the time. It was really awesome!"

Sitting next to Zhang Qian, Yang Jie laughed and said, "Master Xiang, my brother is your idol. Ever since I told him about that 'magic trick' you do, he's been asking to see it. Since everyone is so interested, could you let us see it again tonight?"

Yang Zhuo, standing beside Xiang Kun, nodded vigorously in response to his sister's words, indicating that he was indeed a "fan".

After Zicheng accepted Zhang Qian's invitation to have dinner together, Xiang Kun had already provided several solutions for possible problems.

He knew that Zhang Qian or Yang Jie would definitely find an opportunity to bring up that A4 paper "magic trick" again and ask him to perform it once more.

He certainly had many ways to refuse naturally without making anyone uncomfortable. But he knew that once they mentioned the A4 paper magic trick, it would definitely pique the interest and attention of others. No matter how good his excuse was, their enthusiasm wouldn't be completely dampened; they would keep thinking about it and would probably bring it up again the next time they met.

Therefore, Xiang Kun decided to choose a solution that would directly give them the answer they wanted.

Xiang Kun smiled and said, "When Chang Bin and I bumped into you guys at the bar last time, we already said that there was no fortune telling involved. It was just observation, reasoning, and a bit of luck."

Yang Jie shook her head. "Being able to tell the relationship between us siblings is on a completely different level from being able to guess what I wrote on an A4 sheet of paper."

"The difficulty levels are indeed different, but the underlying principles are the same."

"What's the logic? Xiao Jie specifically went to the vicinity of the bar entrance to write, so you couldn't possibly have seen her. If you couldn't see her, how did you deduce that she wasn't writing Arabic numerals but Chinese characters?" Zhang Qian asked, frowning.

Xiang Kun and Yang Jie had discussed, speculated, and analyzed Xiang Kun's A4 paper "magic trick" countless times in private, but they could never come up with a completely reasonable explanation. This is why they couldn't help but bring up that "magic trick" every time they saw Xiang Kun —they were just too curious, they couldn't figure it out, it was unscientific!

Seeing that everyone's attention was on him, Xiang Kun took a tissue and wiped his mouth, deliberately pretending that he had just finished eating.

"Do you remember your expression and reaction when I told you to write any number on an A4 sheet of paper?" Xiang Kun said.

Yang Jie was taken aback, frowned, thought for a moment, and asked in confusion, "What expression or reaction did I have?"

Xiang Kun adjusted his glasses and made an exaggerated expression of squinting and raising his eyebrows, which drew laughter from everyone.

Yang Jie laughed and said, "I'm not like that."

"It wasn't that obvious, but you did have a very clear reaction, especially the smug look on your face when you looked back at me and Liu Chuang after your quiet discussion with President Zhang. It was as if you were absolutely certain we couldn't guess it," Xiang Kun said slowly. "But why were you so sure we couldn't guess it?"

Seeing that Zhang Qian and Yang Jie both looked like they were recalling the situation, Xiang Kun continued, "After you finish writing at the entrance passage, fold the paper and bring it back. Do you remember the game I played with you where we guessed which hand the paper was hidden in? Actually, guessing which hand the paper was in wasn't the point. The real purpose was to test your personality and analyze your habits."

"Do you remember what you said? You said, 'Guess the number, what number did I write down?' You emphasized the word 'number,' with a hint of teasing. And you also slightly raised the last syllable of the word 'number,' conveying a sense of smugness and secret delight."

"If you were writing integers within ten normally, I'd have a good chance of guessing correctly no matter what, but you probably wouldn't be that confident. So I'm guessing you didn't write Arabic numerals, but Chinese numerals."

Yang Jie stared wide-eyed at Zhang Qian beside her. "What do you mean by teasing, smug, or smug? Do you think my expressions are that rich?"

Honestly, three months had passed; how could they possibly remember so many details, down to their expressions and glances? But when Xiang Kun repeated her words, Yang Jie recalled them; it seemed she had indeed said those words. Xiang Kun remembered even that sentence so clearly, were those expressions really as obvious as he claimed?

Zhang Qian frowned and said, "Even if you guessed that she wrote Chinese numbers, how did you guess that it was six?"

Xiang Kun said, "Based on my previous guesses about which hand she hid the paper in and my judgment of her personality, since she chose Chinese numerals, she wouldn't choose numbers like 'one, two, three' which have too simple strokes and structures. But the wall in that aisle isn't smooth, and it's not easy to write on an A4 sheet of paper, so numbers like 'four, five, seven, nine' with long strokes are also unsuitable. So the most suitable one left is 'six.' Of course, there's still a lot of luck involved, but it seems I'm pretty lucky."

After Xiang Kun finished speaking, everyone in the private room stared blankly at each other, and Zhang Qian said with obvious disbelief, "Your explanation is so unconvincing! You can't even convince people sincerely. Do you think we're three-year-olds?"

Not only her, but Chang Bin and Zi Cheng, though silent, clearly shared the same attitude, not quite believing his somewhat far-fetched explanation.

Xiang Kun remained calm and said, "Indeed, it's hard to understand just by hearing me say it. How about this, words are no proof, let's try it out right here. Mr. Zhang, or Ms. Yang, either of you can do it. You can whisper a number to the person next to you, from one to nine, and I'll guess it."

So Zhang Qian leaned close to Yang Jie's ear, cupped her hands to protect her ears, and whispered a number.

With her voice so soft, even Yang Jie, sitting on the other side of Yang Zhuo, couldn't possibly hear her, let alone the others in the private room.

Of course, Xiang Kun is not included among these "others".

With his hearing, he could still penetrate Zhang Qian's hands and receive the vibrations of the sound waves. He could even directly hear the sound of Zhang Qian's vocal cords vibrating and clearly knew that she was saying "nine".

"Let's guess," Zhang Qian said leisurely after whispering in Yang Jie's ear, sitting down and looking at Xiang Kun across the table.

"Given your personality, you probably wouldn't choose 'six' like Yang. You're not the type to 'follow the crowd.'" Xiang Kun didn't give the correct answer directly, but instead "analyzed" in a calm voice. "Compared to Yang, you're more assertive. In your interactions with Yang, you treat yourself like an older sister, so the number you chose should be higher than Yang's, between seven, eight, and nine. Judging from your phone number, if you chose it yourself, you probably prefer the number 'nine,' so I guess it's nine."

Zhang Qian and Yang Jie exchanged a glance, the shock in their eyes already letting the others in the private room know the outcome.

"You really guessed right?" Chang Bin asked Yang Jie in utter surprise.

As Yang Jie nodded, Zhang Qian said, "Let's do it again." With that, she pulled Yang Jie up, and the two of them huddled in a corner of the private room away from Xiang Kun to talk.

This private room is over 30 square meters in size, so the space is quite ample.

In just a few seconds, Zhang Qian and Yang Jie returned to the table and sat down together. "Alright, guess again this time. If you guess correctly again, I'll believe your explanation!"

Xiang Kun, of course, heard her tell Yang Jie that the number was "one," but he still pretended to analyze. "Like I just said, Mr. Zhang, you have a very strong personality, so you must care a lot about what I just said. You also care a lot about your relationship with Yang Jie, so you definitely won't choose a number higher than 'six,' but most likely a number lower than 'six.' Since you're already 'going against the grain,' then given your personality, you'll simply go all the way and choose the simplest one, the one you're least likely to choose normally. I wonder if I guessed right this time?"

Zhang Qian's expression was complex, her eyes shifting, as if she was genuinely recalling her thoughts when she chose that number, wondering if she really was as Xiang Kun had said.

Yang Jie adjusted her glasses and said in surprise, "Why do I feel like I've encountered a cheater in a game? It's like you can read minds!"

While Zhang Qian was quietly confirming the numbers in the corner, her eyes were fixed on and observing Xiang Kun, but she couldn't see anything unusual about him. It seemed that he really had analyzed the correct answer based on that information.

"You guessed right again? That's impressive, A Tu! You're really getting the feel of a fortune teller!" Zicheng said excitedly. He had witnessed Xiang Kun's "magic trick" with A4 paper at the bar last time and had always thought that there might be something fishy about the A4 paper, or that some other magic trick was used to know the numbers Yang Jie had written on the paper. But seeing Xiang Kun guess the numbers Zhang Qian chose twice "on the spot" today, and even explain his analysis process, it really felt like watching a movie.

Zhang Qian frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "I want to try one more time, the last time."

Yang Jie was about to get up and go to the corner to listen to her friend's numbers when Zhang Qian directly called over a waiter and asked her to bring a pen and paper.

So Zhang Qian went outside the private room alone, wrote down some numbers on a piece of paper, and then returned to the private room with the folded paper.

"What number did I write on the paper?" Zhang Qian asked after returning to her seat, deliberately keeping a straight face and controlling her expression.

Compared to the bar they had been to before, the restaurant wasn't actually much quieter, especially since Zhang Qian was writing outside the private room with the door closed. With all the surrounding noise, Xiang Kun couldn't use the paper with which he had established a "Super-Sensory Link" to anchor his sound waves, so the details he heard were blurry, and he couldn't determine exactly which number she was writing. However, he could hear her tear up the paper, crumple it up, throw it away, and then write another number.

Clearly, this woman, who has always been decisive in her personality and style, is beginning to hesitate.

Even without a direct "X-ray vision" cheat, Xiang Kun remained calm. He had many methods and information to use for making judgments, especially after the two previous number-guessing games, which allowed him to further refine his cognitive model of Zhang Qian. Of course, his judgment on Zhang Qian's choices in other areas might not be very accurate, but in the "number-guessing game," Xiang Kun was quite confident in making inferences based on real-time changes in sensory information.

"You should choose an integer within ten, right?" Xiang Kun said.

"That's right." Zhang Qian nodded without changing her expression.

"Are they Arabic numerals or Chinese numerals?"

"Guess," Zhang Qian, her face remaining expressionless.

Although her expression remained unchanged, her heartbeat, breathing, pupils, and other vital signs did provide feedback. Through this information, Xiang Kun had already concluded that she had written Chinese numerals.

"Could it be that, like Yang, you wrote 'six'?" Xiang Kun asked.

"Who knows?" Zhang Qian said expressionlessly.

Xiang Kun could tell from her various physical cues that her emotions were a mix of nervousness and relief. Based on this, he deduced that the paper she had written on and torn up outside was probably the same Chinese number "six" as Yang Jie had written last time.

Under the watchful eyes of the other seven people in the private room, Xiang Kun continued his "serious" analysis of the numbers Zhang Qian might choose. "Given President Zhang's personality, even if she wanted to surprise us, she probably wouldn't choose six. So, from one to five, from seven to nine, which one would it be? Would she deliberately repeat what she chose before, one, or nine? Or two, three, four, and five?"

He spoke these numbers very slowly, using a cognitive model to analyze Zhang Qian's feedback.

"Does Mr. Zhang have any thoughts on the number seven?"

Zhang Qian was getting impatient. "Why are you being so long-winded? Just tell me the numbers I wrote down."

"I'm not using superpowers or mind-reading abilities. There has to be an analysis process, right?" Xiang Kun said with a smile. "Since Mr. Zhang's reactions to numbers one through seven and nine are all normal and frank, it seems that the chosen character should be eight."

Zhang Qian looked at him. "Are you sure? Is it 'eight'?"

Xiang Kun nodded and said, "It's confirmed, it's 'eight,' and it's the Chinese numeral eight." In fact, it was Zhang Qian's last question that led him to a completely certain conclusion.

"I give up!" Zhang Qian slammed the piece of paper she was holding onto the dining table, her expression finally breaking down. She looked at Xiang Kun with a mixture of astonishment, frustration, and helplessness, and asked, "How did you even manage to get that out?"

"Actually, it's not that mysterious. It's just a little bit of psychology knowledge plus luck. I was talking to Mr. Zhang the whole time, trying to test and observe him. Although Mr. Zhang tried to remain calm, he eventually gave himself Xiang Kun said with a smile.

"Xiang Kun, when did you become a psychology expert?" Chang Bin asked, quite puzzled.

"What expert? I just read a few books, and a friend gave me some pointers. If you want to talk about expertise, my friend is the real expert. He earned master's degrees in psychiatry and mental health, and applied psychology. He's a super genius with an IQ of over 140. He's a professional. I'm far from that level. I'm just good at talking and showing off by luck," Xiang Kun explained.

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, everyone's attention was naturally drawn to the "real professional" he mentioned. Before long, through his eloquent description, he established an image of a genius and master in psychiatry and psychology in everyone's minds.

By the time everyone left the Hunan restaurant and went to a coffee shop to meet up with Wang Han and the others, they had all basically accepted his explanation of the "A4 paper magic trick," even Zhang Qian and Yang Jie, who had been thinking about it for a long time.

In fact, he had used this tactic several times before, such as when he explained to Yang Jie and her brother at the bar how he deduced their sibling relationship, and when he explained to Zhang Qian the second time he met her how he deduced her and Yang Jie's zodiac signs during their first meeting at the bar.

This time, however, a few more steps were added. First, an explanation or theory was presented, no matter how unreliable it seemed. Then, other methods were used to prove this explanation or theory. Once the proof was complete and everyone was convinced, someone stronger than oneself was introduced to attract attention and explain the reasons for the proof process.

Anyway, no one in the private room tonight knew Lao Xia except for him. Even Chang Bin might have heard about Lao Xia before and seen Lao Xia's video on Christmas Eve, but he didn't know anything else about him.

Later, when everyone met at the coffee shop, someone mentioned what happened in the private room. Nana and Yang Zhen'er didn't see him guessing numbers in the private room with their own eyes, nor did they think what he said was exaggerated—because what he said was basically true. Lao Xia did indeed have those two degrees, was indeed a genius with an IQ of over 140, and had indeed often consulted Lao Xia about psychology and mental illness.

Moreover, tonight's performance can allow Xiang Kun to re-establish his understanding and judgment of Chang Bin and Zi Cheng, so that he can demonstrate this "specialty" more in future interactions.

More than half an hour later, Xiang Kun and his group of eight met up with Wang Han's bridesmaids and Yang Zhen'er at the coffee shop.

With thirteen people gathered together, they naturally introduced themselves to each other again.

The biggest question that had been on Zhang Qian's mind had been answered by Xiang Kun in the restaurant, so Zhang Qian and Yang Jie no longer paid attention to Xiang Kun. Instead, they chatted very congenially with Wang Han, Tang Baoting, and the others.

Instead, Yang Zhuo, who hadn't said much in the private room, leaned closer to Xiang Kun and whispered, "Brother Kun... uh, Brother Xiang, could we add each other on WeChat?"

--

I highly recommend the new historical fiction series "Han Que" by the renowned author, which premiered in July. It's incredibly good! If you don't like it, you'll have to retaliate!

Thanks to the helmsman Qiead, thanks to book friends thug112366, poor monk Dharma Ritian, ppjjj123, Hell Mingxi, my king Billy, Yun Linqiu, book friends 20190508193533364, hiehiehh for the reward