If I don't have money to go to college, I can only go to slay the dragon.

The chandelier in the cafe has not yet been turned on, and only the morning dawn outside the glass curtain wall of the hall provides some brightness. Occasionally, there are students walking on the street. It is still early, and everything is still quiet, just like coffee. The atmosphere in the hall is the same.

The agent lady who was waiting on the first floor stared at Shilan High School where people were gradually appearing across the street. From time to time, she looked back uneasily at the two figures playing chess behind the guardrail on the second floor. In the quiet cafe, the only thing that could be heard was the chess moves. crisp sound.

To be honest, she regretted a little, regretting letting Mandy Gonzalez do whatever she wanted again, but she actually knew that this time would not be her last regret. If she could get through this trouble safely, she would be waiting for her in the future. There are many better days to come.

The more she thought about this, the more the agent lady felt bald. Recently, when she got up every morning, she saw the hair falling on the pillow, which was shocking.

On the second floor, in front of the chessboard.

“What is chess to you?”

"Let me think about everything my life has been like so far and continues in the future?"

"Then why are you here?" Lin Nian moved to e4.

"Didn't you invite me here?" Mandy casually played e5, which was a very routine start. After Lin Nian sent the agent away, the two of them had such a tacit understanding that they didn't say anything and played another game of chess. Even if the chess players are chatting, they need to play chess as a condiment. Just like drinking alone is not enough, they have to play a game of edamame to feel comfortable.

But for both parties, there may be slightly different perceptions of what edamame is and what wine is.

"It's just a simple phone call to invite a world-class star to a foreign country for a chat. No matter how you think about it, it's incredible."

Lin Nian Nf3, opposite Mandy also Nc6 responded, "Just like how can't anyone just make a phone call and invite Marilyn Monroe to their home to perform a skirt-covering show?"

"Are you comparing yourself to Marilyn Monroe?" Lin Nian Feixiang b5, after quickly killing Mandy in the first move, he played very tentatively in the second move and had no intention of making a triumphant advance. .

"What is Marilyn Monroe's label? Sexy! I think I am quite sexy too. Sex is part of my nature, and I obey my nature. She is blonde, I am blonde. She is a label of an era. I think I It can be, so there is no difference between us." Mandy a6 caught the elephant and said in high spirits, "But you are right. If Marilyn Monroe was really called by you, it was probably not because you had a lot of money. It’s because of Marilyn Monroe’s simple interest in you.”

Lin Nianhuixiang said, "It seems that my policy is correct."

"Does it mean that the first thing you say after getting through the phone is pawn e4? I admit, your little trick is indeed very interesting. You are among the top three boys I have met who are deliberate." Mandy said with a hum.

"Who's number one?"

"Oh, honey. Don't be jealous. (Baby, don't be jealous.)" Mandy said teasingly.

It is worth mentioning that the language they always communicate with is English, and occasionally they speak a few words in Spanish. The chess queen is not very proficient in Chinese. The Chinese vocabulary is limited to hello, thank you and xiaolongbao. , probably because I ate Xiao Yang Shengjian during the competition in Shanghai and was deeply impressed.

"If chess is interesting, people must also be interesting. If I get one, I will be interested. If I get two, it will be worth my trip to China." Mandy held her chin with her right hand and tilted her head to look at the boy sitting opposite her, smiling, "Look It seems that I am very lucky. Internet fraud and electronic fraud are just ancient legends."

"You said chess is everything to you, aren't you afraid of losing after you come here?" Lin Nian asked, casting the king's rook at the same time.

Mandy craned her neck and squinted at King Lin Nian and the rook. She was probably wondering if there was anything hidden in this move. She was probably energized by the last game of chess, so she calculated the error tolerance for more than ten moves. , after making sure there was nothing dangerous, he asked, "Why do you think I'm afraid of losing?"

"According to your agent, you are now famous in chess, and you have created a persona of being an undefeated queen. If you lose to an unknown person, it will destroy your reputation, right? Throw away everything you have gained. ”

"Oh, coincidentally, one of my favorite albums is "reputation", so I'm really not afraid." Mandy said, "Besides, it's fun, isn't it?"

"Interesting? What's interesting?"

"If this world was only about winning, losing, and drawing, it would be too monotonous." Mandy expressed a relatively strange point of view.

"Are there any other results besides winning, losing and drawing?" Lin Nian asked.

"Playing chess is for fun, my friend!" Mandy said in a funny voice, "Have you ever been so flustered that you wanted to commit suicide because you had nothing to do?"

Lin Nian paused and looked up at her, "No, have you ever?"

"Often." Mandy lowered her head and rubbed the chess pieces on her rook, probably thinking about what to do next. "It often happens at night. I'm bored. I can't find anything to do, so I want to commit suicide for fun."

"Kill yourself for fun," Lin Nian said.

Mandy shrugged, "Of course, I'm not an idiot. I just said that I have had this thought, but I have never done it. Every time I have this thought, I will play a game of chess. So. This brings us back to the topic we started with, do you think I play this game of chess to win, to lose, or to draw?”

"Neither." Lin Nian probably understood what the other party meant.

"I play chess for peace of mind most of the time." Mandy moved her car, "to temporarily forget the boredom that makes me want to commit suicide. People always have to find something to do, such as a class to attend."

"Have you ever experienced a stage where you get tired of playing games when no one cares about you, and you don't even want to open the computer once, but if you need to go to work or study, and finally can only squeeze out a little time to play games, that short period of time is simply a blissful enjoyment, and you may even linger."

"I am such a person, keen on finding some trouble for myself." She said, "When I used to play chess and gamble with those people in the park and the cafe, in fact It was enough to support myself, and I even lived well, but I felt that such a life was too monotonous, so I went a step further to find the time when my agent was out, and walked into her sight, so that she could take me to the stage that was so troublesome. "

Mandy stuck out her tongue, "I know that once I step onto the stage, all kinds of things, public opinion and pressure will come to me, but after weighing the pros and cons, I think this seems to be not bad, which can make me miss the peaceful beauty in the past, so that life will have some hope after all, and I won't want to commit suicide for fun."

"The lost will appear more beautiful, so take the initiative to lose, so that the precious beauty will never fade?" Lin Nian commented accurately.

"Suck it up, great poet." Mandy suddenly covered her face, "Where did you get this habit of showing off your literary talent anytime and anywhere? I didn't expect you to be an artistic person!"

"You are just looking for fun, and your life is too satisfactory, so let yourself be a little dissatisfied first, and then enjoy the pleasure of being satisfied anytime and anywhere." Lin Nian commented again.

"Hey, it's just right." Mandy gave a thumbs up, "Aren't you still able to speak human language?"

Lin Nian ate Mandy's horse, "In order to cherish happiness, you put yourself in misfortune first. This is very dangerous."

"Girls who have fun in nightclubs know that one day they will get pregnant unexpectedly, but they will still put on the most exquisite makeup and open the strongest liquor every night to have fun until the day when their big belly cries." Mandy smiled, "Then they will definitely cherish the day when they have a vest line on their belly, right? But unfortunately, there will only be ugly stretch marks on their belly in the future!"

"This kind of thinking is very dangerous. Sooner or later, it will be targeted by people with ulterior motives." Lin Nian said lightly. It seems like a prophecy, and it seems like a statement of facts that have already happened.

"People with ulterior motives? Like you?" Mandy suddenly tilted her head and looked at Lin Nian.

Lin Nian was stunned for a moment and couldn't speak.

"Just kidding, you're not that kind of person." Mandy looked down at the chessboard again, and suddenly became confused, "This move, uh, there's no timer, right? How much time do I have left to think?"

"Take your time to think, there aren't so many rules here." Lin Nian shook his head.

"Woo!" Mandy cheered softly, "I really miss this feeling, just like playing chess in the park before. You see, I'm ready to start missing the comfortable life in the past. This is the happiness that is 'made'!"

"Then do you hate your current life?" Lin Nian asked.

Mandy thought for a while, pouted her lips, and shook her right palm flat on the chessboard from side to side, "It's just so-so. Fashion magazines design new clothes for me, perfume brands give me samples, and there are invitations to afternoon tea from the royal family. If I say I hate it, it seems a bit against my will."

"So you are very happy now." Lin Nian nodded.

"I guess so." Mandy did not deny it.

"According to your previous analysis of your own personality, based on the current happy days, if there is a greater pleasure in front of you, will you go for it?" Lin Nian asked in a more common language that Mandy could understand.

"That depends on what the price of this pleasure is." Mandy said immediately.

"Price? I thought people like you would not care about the price, and would rush up when they see the pleasure." Lin Nian seemed a little surprised by this answer.

"That's because you don't know me well enough." Mandy said casually, "I'm not a person who loves pleasure the most, and I rush up when I see the pleasure, so when I'm bored, I just want to commit suicide, but I won't really commit suicide. If the price of pleasure is too high, I won't give up everything I have to pursue it."

"But you are sitting here now." Lin Nian said, looking at her across the chessboard.

Mandy looked around and said with a smile, "So? Is this a Hongmen Feast? Am I going to pay a price soon?"

Lin Nian looked at the girl, a little dazed, as if looking at flowers through a layer of fog, and finally just whispered, "Every time I thought I understood you, I found that I still didn't understand you in the end."

"Normal, it's normal to feel this way, because I'm a liar." Mandy spit out that word, and the tip of her tongue gently slid across her upper palate and touched her teeth. It felt very special, "Do you know my childhood experience?"

"Childhood experience. I remember someone said that you were from a single-parent family. Your father died of alcoholism very early, leaving only your mother to raise you in a rented house. Later, your mother died of overwork, so you went to the streets to make a little money by gambling on chess. Later, you were spotted by an agent and became a sensation after entering the professional chess circle." Lin Nian said.

"Oh! You are a fundamentalist!" Mandy said suddenly.

"What?"

"The version you believe is the one in which both my parents died. I prefer to call this version the 'Street Little Chess King'." Mandy said proudly, "This is also my favorite version!"

"Version?" Lin Nian looked sideways at her, "You mean there are many other different versions?"

"There are also many versions of 'The God of War in the Children's Palace,' 'Father's Debt and Son's Paying,' 'Occasionally Obtaining a Famous Teacher,' 'Living Under the Fence of Others,' and 'Enlightenment in the Orphanage.'" Mandy counted on her fingers, "The version you mentioned is the one that is most widely circulated. ”

"I know why you called yourself a liar." Lin Nian's expression calmed down.

"Yes, I am a liar. If I can be seen through, it will prove that my chess strategy is easy to figure out, and then I will not win all the time. This is a necessary disguise." Mandy shrugged.

"So the things we talked about before were also false? Those parts of your self-analysis."

"Guess whether it's true or false?" Mandy smiled slyly, "If you waste so much saliva and time and all the information you get is false, won't you feel like your life has been wasted? "

"It will be a little bit."

"But what if those are all true? I just told lies by telling lies. It is also possible."

"That will make me feel better." Lin Nian said, and then fell silent for a moment, "Is this your way of survival? Being a liar, haven't you thought that this would be very annoying?"

"Is it that bad?" Mandy moved the chess piece and smiled.

"No, I just think that if you are always like this, it will misunderstand the people around you and hurt each other." Lin Nian said slowly, "If no one can see clearly what you want to do, what you have done If things go against their ideas, it will be easy for them to become strangers to each other. "

"Do you think I hurt my fans by fabricating my life experience, letting those versions spread, and creating my persona?" Mandy suddenly asked a very interesting question.

"It shouldn't count, right? You don't rely on your personality to make a living." Lin Nian asked the question and answered, "Your fans like you because of your chess prowess, your birth and past, it doesn't actually matter. unimportant."

"The most important thing about being a liar is to be clever in your lies." Mandy said, "If my lie never touches my true core, then it doesn't matter even if the lie is exposed, because I have never really hurt you from beginning to end. For the benefit of those people, maybe I did hurt emotions, but emotions are something that I believe will always be repaired over time, as long as both parties are unique and important to each other.”

Lin Nian was quiet for a while and suddenly asked, "How old are you this year?"

"Is it true or false to ask a woman her age?" Mandy looked at him in surprise, then rolled her eyes, "I am 18 years old this year."

"Have you ever thought about falling in love?"

"Hoo ho ho, have you seen Tu Qiong Dagger?" Mandy let out a strange laugh, but did not refuse to answer, "Of course I have thought about it, I am in my prime now! Rich, beautiful and famous! Noble nobles, brothers Line up and chase me!"

"Is there anyone you're considering?" Lin Nian said, "I'm quite curious about your mate selection criteria."

"I have money, good looks, and all three views suit my taste. To be honest, if a woman chooses a man, and a man chooses a woman, if the basic conditions are met, then in the end it's just a matter of eye-catching? As long as the eye-catching relationship is there, everything will be fine." It’s a matter of course.”

"How many of them suit you?"

"An oil prince in the Middle East. Others like to play sports cars. He likes to plant trees in the Middle East. He says that one day he will restore the desert to a green sea. He is a very romantic person with long eyelashes. The most important thing is that he uses a spoon to eat without using his hands. Catch. Oh, and there is a wandering painter in Italy who is very poor, but has good looks and good painting skills. His dream is to become Van Gogh. I don’t know if he can find his favorite revolver. Oh, oh, oh, still. There is a handsome young man from China who is very good at chess and even beat me once. He likes to use little tricks to bring freshness to girls, which makes people very excited." Mandy smiled and clapped her fingers like a treasure.

"Let's not talk about the first two. What are you going to do about this one right now?" Lin Nian asked.

"Nothing new. Confession, and then ask him if he is willing to have a relationship where he will jump off the cliff after breaking up. If he is willing, I will take him back to Spain, introduce him to the professional chess arena, personally train him, and let him stand on the top At the same height as me, let’s have a magical combination of talent and beauty!” Mandy’s eyes were full of stars as she slapped her hands.

"Is this also a lie?" Lin Nian looked at Mandy and smiled softly, "Either you just love Cai and don't like him. Or you just like him and want to use the excuse of loving Cai to bind him. Let’s deceive him together. Just as you said, hiding your intentions will make it difficult for people to see through your chess strategy.”

"You're on the right track." Mandy shook her finger in praise, "Are you very angry now?"

"No," Lin Nian said, "because I don't know what the answer is."

"This is the key to lies." Mandy nodded and said, "You will never really fall out before a lie is truly exposed, because you always have room to guess and forgive me. Besides, for such an ambiguous lie, No matter what the outcome is, in the end I am sincerely interested in you, and it is all for your own good. This is just like those fans who enjoy discussing one version of my life every day. It doesn’t matter whether it is true or not, they are willing to continue. The reason why I am a fan is that I am indeed very powerful at chess. As long as it is true that I am powerful, then the truth of some lies is naturally not that important.”

"What if there are some fans who only insist that you lied to them, and they like you not because of your strong chess skills, but simply because of your personal charm? Isn't your lie a kind of betrayal? ?" Lin Nian looked at her and asked.

"Then take off your fans, who is afraid of whom?" Mandy said.

Lin Nian lowered his head and looked at the chess board. He had already entered the endgame, but he couldn't quite understand the pros and cons of the situation.

"Senior sister, what is your biggest dream in this life?" he asked.

"Are you ready to call me Senior Sister?" Mandy rubbed her hands in overjoyed, very touched, "My biggest dream, how about playing the most awesome game of chess since ancient times?"

"For what? Fame, or wealth."

"In order for chess to remember me and for the world to remember me, I am a woman with a strong desire to perform. Chess is the meaning of my life and the best tool for me to achieve my goals. Nothing can make me give up it unless I like another more meaningful thing, otherwise I would rather die than give up chess," Mandy said seriously.

"To say it so absolutely, are you really not afraid of death?"

"Afraid! Why aren't you afraid? I'm always scared to death."

"This conflicts with what you said before."

"Human beings are inherently contradictory." Mandy lamented, "Before you do it, you must be afraid, but now that you have done it, don't say you are afraid, don't be afraid of doing it, don't do it if you are afraid, just do it if you are determined to do it. In the end. If you are afraid at the beginning, then stay away from it, but once you want to believe in something, then believe in it to the end, just like I first believed that I could be the best in chess and be the best in the world. , haven’t I succeeded now?”

"But you just lost to me." Lin Nian reminded her.

"I only lost once. I've never lost to someone twice. What kind of hero does he think he is if he kills me at first sight? Is he willing to overwhelm me the second time?" Mandy said with a hum.

"Did you remember wrongly? Once on the phone, and again just now, twice already."

"The phone call doesn't count. What kind of chess is blind chess? It can only be regarded as playing house at best. Do you take the victory or defeat of Chinese chess chess as the true level of a chess player?" Mandy grabbed the chess in her hand. The queen, the general, "Checkmate! There's nothing left to do! Boy!"

Lin Nian glanced at his chessboard. Indeed, he was checkmate.

Just like she said, she never loses to the same person twice.

"One more question, this is also the last question." Lin Nian raised his head and looked at the proud Mandy.

"According to what you said, you are a person who likes to have fun. If one day you choose the wrong path for an illusory fun and pay a huge price that you never expected, this price may ruin your life. Will you regret it?"

His voice was light and precious, indicating that this was a serious question.

"Yes!" Mandy nodded decisively, "Why, you are not allowed to regret even if you choose the wrong path?"

"Understood."

"Oh, no!" Mandy suddenly said loudly again, causing Lin Nian to look up at her.

"You have to add a prerequisite." She raised a finger very strictly.

"What do you mean by adding a premise?"

"Didn't you ask me if I don't regret after choosing the wrong path?" Mandy said seriously, "You have to add a premise. Didn't I say it before? I'm not a madman. Before I have fun, I will consider the cost carefully and then decide whether to Action, if the price may make me lose everything about chess, I will usually give up without hesitation. But if, if I know the price, I still do it, then this is. It represents one thing and that is——"

The blond girl stated her premise solemnly. Lin Nian listened to her words, feeling a little confused and in a daze.

At this time, the door of the coffee shop downstairs was opened, and the male clerk wearing a hat poked his head in. When he saw the agent in the lobby, he seemed a little dazed and surprised. The irritable agent immediately stepped forward and asked for help. After a cup of American coffee to wake him up, the latter could only suddenly realize that he ran into the store and started to use the coffee machine.

"We've finished playing chess and finished chatting. Now our record is one win and one loss. How about it? Are you interested in going to Spain with me to further your studies?" Mandy formally extended an olive branch to Lin Nian.

"No, let's talk about it later when we have the chance." Lin Nian refused, "It's a pleasure chatting and playing chess with you."

"It seems that we won't have this opportunity in the future." Mandy looked at Lin Nian regretfully, pushed away the chair and stood up, rummaged around in her pocket, and finally took out a lipstick and handed it to Lin Nian. "Then please leave me your contact information!"

Lin Nian took the lipstick, looked at the delicate white arm stretched out by the other party, was silent for a moment, and then wrote his phone number on it. When he put the lipstick cap on, he suddenly chuckled and said, " Maybe the number is fake.”

"Who is the liar?" Mandy raised her arm and looked at the number on it, then glanced at Lin Nian and grinned, revealing her white teeth. "A professional liar will tell you that you are definitely not the kind of person who would cheat, and you are also the kind of person that liars like the most! Because you can easily believe the words of liars like us!"

The male clerk wearing a hat downstairs came up, fumbling to the table of Mandy and Lin Nian, with his hands behind his back and speaking in a slightly broken English, "Two guests, would you like something to drink?"

"Not now." Lin Nian said.

"You have to order something when you enter the store, right?" The male clerk seemed very entangled, and his hands behind his back moved slightly.

"I said, not now." Lin Nian turned his head and looked at the eyes under the brim of the hat calmly.

The male clerk wearing a hat was stunned for a moment, raised his hand, scratched his face, and stepped aside stiffly, standing with his hands behind his back, like a door god security guard.

"In short, it's a pleasure to play chess with you, and it's also interesting to chat with you."

Mandy also felt that it was about time, so she stood up and stretched. "If I go back now, I might be able to catch up with the game I gave up. Although I don't think about getting prize money or anything, if I can win the championship, my agent will be very happy, right? So I still have to work a little harder."

"Goodbye." Lin Nian nodded.

"See you if there is a chance." She said.

Lin Nian watched the blonde girl walk to the stairs and said a few words to her agent, who hugged her ecstatically and looked very moved.

Before they left the door of the cafe arm in arm, the blonde girl in a sweatshirt and jeans suddenly looked back at him on the second floor, winked playfully, made a goodbye gesture, and jumped out of the door frame and left.

In the morning light, she was really free, bright, and quite self-aware, high-profile, and proud. The Shilan boys who were carrying buns and soy milk to school couldn't take their eyes away.

He suddenly remembered an interesting thing. The agent advised Mandy that this trip to China might ruin her career and ruin her reputation. Her achievements in chess would collapse, but she still came.

The so-called price, the so-called weighing of pros and cons, seems to be a very subjective thing, just as she said before.

[Unless the new fun is enough to surpass the significance of chess in my life, and I am willing to give up everything]

For that girl, how can the weights on the scale of weighing pros and cons be balanced? This is another unknown question. If you try to ask, I am afraid you will get another lie.

Lin Nian watched her figure completely disappear from the view outside the glass curtain wall. The light in the cafe also became brighter as time went by. He turned back and put the chess pieces on the chessboard back to their positions one by one.

After he completed a series of actions, the male clerk who had been standing there finally couldn't help it. He walked up and took off his hat to say something.

But Lin Nian didn't even look at him, and said in advance, "Sit down first, Lu Mingfei. Put down the knife in your sleeve, I'm not going to fight you here."