Are You Dumb Yet?

"You're not really saying that Gao Fei cracked your skull with that stool and scrambled your brains, are you? Why are you staring at me all lecherously?" Just then, the person who had burst in suddenly spoke, and the first thing out of his mouth was a thick, gruff man's voice.

In an instant, Ren Jie also realized the person before him had turned into a fat man barely one meter seventy tall, nearly as wide horizontally, almost a perfect circle.

Ren Jie shook his head vigorously, rubbed his eyes, and stared wide-eyed at the man in front of him.

Had his eyes been playing tricks? Or was it an illusion from just watching that primitive human reproduction art film? But no matter how delusional, there was no way he could mistake such a round fat man for that beautiful, graceful, completely naked woman.

"Boss, you... don't scare me. Let me check your injury first, okay? Do you even remember who I am?" The fat man felt incredibly uncomfortable under Ren Jie's gaze, almost wanting to turn and flee, but he mustered his courage and stepped forward.

Just then, a dozen more people rushed in, all wearing flattering smiles, and they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Ren Jie awake.

Remember who you are? At this moment, Ren Jie was also rapidly digesting the original information in his mind. That information had been there the first time he opened his eyes, but back then, it was like thousands of people trying to squeeze through a door only wide enough for one—any more and it caused a headache. Now, however, it was completely different. Though the information was vast, Ren Jie felt it pouring into his mind like water through an open sluice gate.

Ren Jie immediately thought that the biggest change before and after was that, during that nearly quarter-hour in the video, he had sensed some of the artistic conception from the Five Sages' Dao Discussion. Could it be related to that?

For now, these thoughts only flashed through Ren Jie's mind before he began to focus on other information. The fat man in front of him, asking if he recognized him, was originally named 'Gao Ren'—they had just said 'Gao Ren,' not the 'Gao Ren' (lofty person) he had imagined.

This fat man was someone Ren Jie had met in a casino a year before entering the Jade Emperor Academy. Because of him, Ren Jie had won a huge sum of money for once, and later, Gao Ren had helped Ren Jie scheme a few times, excelling in all matters of pleasure and indulgence. According to Gao Ren, his ancestors had once been wealthy, but the family had declined, leaving him alone to drift through the streets.

At the time, Ren Jie was about to be sent to the Jade Emperor Academy, so he brought Gao Ren along. The Jade Emperor Academy was known as the highest-level, most luxurious academy in the Bright Jade Dynasty, and it had another name: the Hedonistic Young Master Academy. From princes, imperial grandsons, and heirs of the great families down to local Governors and wealthy clan members, all sent their sons here. Ordinary people couldn't get in easily—the exorbitant fees alone were unaffordable—but for Ren Jie to bring someone in was no trouble at all.

"This... plus this, what does it make?" Just then, seeing Ren Jie still dazed and silent, the pale, plump Gao Ren walked up to him, raised one index finger on each hand, and asked cautiously.

Damn, he really thinks I've been beaten into an idiot.

Huh! That's not right. If you think about it, the original Ren Jie wasn't just beaten into an idiot—he was beaten to death, killed. At that moment, the previous scene flashed through Ren Jie's mind. That original fool had been chasing after one of the academy's so-called three beauties, Fang Qi, who had come to tell him she actually liked him but was being pestered by Gao Fei. So she came up with a plan: have the protagonist go to Gao Fei and claim she was already his.

What a fucking idiot. Back then, the look on Gao Fei's face and the words he shouted clearly showed that Fang Qi had said something to him too. Then that guy had smashed his head several times with an ironwood stool harder than stone, and though someone saved him afterward, he was already dead.

"Three." These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Seeing Gao Ren's fair, chubby two fingers and his expression as if he really thought Ren Jie had been beaten into an idiot, Ren Jie answered casually.

"It's over, it's over. Young Master Jie really got his brains knocked out."

"This is bad. What do we do?"

"Big trouble! The family head's been turned into an idiot. What... what do we do now?"

The group of hangers-on around them watched, their faces growing uglier by the second.

"Three? Look closely—I'm asking what one plus one equals?" Gao Ren was also startled, thinking, Could he really be stupid now?

"Four works too, or five, six, seven, eight—all fine. Equals zero or one is also fine, even a million is no problem." Looking at Gao Ren, who was very close now, Ren Jie answered casually. Anyone modern would know this was like a brain teaser; answering that way was just joking, not doing math. Ren Jie only felt that this Gao Ren was oddly pale and plump, and his eyes were definitely right—his face had some resemblance too. The more he looked, the more Ren Jie felt he hadn't been mistaken earlier. And that hadn't been with his eyes; it was what his divine sense had detected the moment he withdrew it from his Sea of Consciousness.

But no matter how he looked now, he couldn't find anything wrong. And this pale, plump Gao Ren was still holding up fingers asking him what one plus one was, so Ren Jie just joked back.

"Damn, he's really gone stupid. That's not good. Though Ren Jie's a hedonist, at least we've gotten along. If he goes dumb, I'll be back on the streets..." Gao Ren thought to himself, then stepped forward quickly. "Let me check you out. Maybe I can mix some medicine..."

Ren Jie knew that aside from a big lump on his head, he was fine now. As for the original Ren Jie, he was already dead. And from his memories, he knew Gao Ren was an apothecary with some other skills that seemed quite mysterious. Ren Jie was afraid of being found out.

"It's fine, just joking. One drop of water plus one drop of water still equals one drop of water." Though he had fully absorbed the memories, he was still cautious, especially after seeing that bizarre scene earlier. Now, with Gao Ren right in front of him, he couldn't spot anything off, so Ren Jie felt it was safer to avoid an examination.

"Huh..." Gao Ren froze there. A joke? One drop of water plus one drop of water—it really was still one drop of water.

The others around were stunned too, each pondering Ren Jie's words. Such a common modern saying, if heard for the first time, always felt like it contained some deeper meaning, like a Zen koan in a sutra.

"Then why did you say three?"

"One man plus one woman equals three, doesn't it?" Ren Jie said casually, not wanting to be surrounded by so many people. He waved his hand. "Alright, all of you, get out."

"How does one man plus one woman equal three?"

"Idiot, it's about making one."

"Oh, as expected of Young Master Jie. Impressive."

Some of them still didn't get it, but once one figured it out and explained, the others' eyes lit up. Now they truly believed Ren Jie was fine, because they had taken his words as some kind of dirty joke, and their laughter turned lecherous.

Gao Ren paused for a moment, then shrugged. This guy really hasn't changed his ways. Just beaten like that not long ago, and he wakes up saying stuff like this.

"I told you before, that Fang Qi isn't easy to mess with, but you wouldn't listen. This time, it's definitely that woman's doing. We can't let them off easy. Let me mix up a dose of Super Purgative, hmph!" Once the others had left, Gao Ren saw Ren Jie was fine. Since Ren Jie's "one man plus one woman equals three" seemed to be heading toward perversion, he quickly changed the subject.

"Yeah, that woman is no good. 'Snake-hearted' is the perfect word for her." Recalling the previous memories, Ren Jie nodded in agreement.

"You're absolutely right. Snake-hearted... ah..." Gao Ren nodded along, but the next moment, he looked at Ren Jie with even more shock than when he thought Ren Jie might be an idiot, utterly incredulous.

Heavens, is this still that lovesick young master? Before, if I said one bad word about Fang Qi, he'd argue with me for ages. If someone else did it, he'd fight them for half a day.

This guy has been pestering her for nearly a year, making a fool of himself over Fang Qi countless times. What's up with him today? "Why are you sticking so close? You're not a beauty. I'm not interested in fat guys or men. If you want to get close to me, you'll have to turn into a woman first..." They were already close, and Gao Ren, stunned and disbelieving, leaned in to get a better look and make sure he hadn't misheard, ending up even closer. Ren Jie couldn't help but think of what he had just seen. Though it was hard to connect this nearly meter-wide, pale, plump fat man with the beauty he had glimpsed, he still joked.

"Ah... what woman? You're going crazy over women..." Gao Ren was startled, leaping back two steps and glaring at Ren Jie.

Damn, Ren Jie looked at Gao Ren's expression and felt that reaction didn't seem like something a man would do. Without realizing it, the atmosphere grew awkward...

"Report to the Family Head. Today is the day of the clan elders' council. Seeing that you had not returned, I was specially sent to request your immediate return." Just then, a guard's clear voice came from outside, breaking the awkward tension.

Family head, clan elders' council...

So this guy was actually... the head of the Ren family, one of the Five Great Families of the Bright Jade Dynasty. No, wait—now it was himself!!

"Alright..." Ren Jie also felt a bit awkward. After all, looking at a man, a ball-like fat man, and always thinking of a naked woman... and no matter how he looked, he couldn't tell Gao Ren's flesh was fake, so Ren Jie quickly agreed and got off the bed to leave.

Gao Ren watched Ren Jie leave, feeling a bit off too. He felt that today, Ren Jie was somehow different from usual.

He could actually say Fang Qi was snake-hearted, and come out with 'one plus one equals one.' Did Gao Fei's blow to his head knock some sense into him, or is he just rambling from the shock?

The pale, plump Gao Ren's eyes darted quickly. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. At least, there's no way he could know...