Chapter 80: Zhuang Zhou Mengdie

When they arrived at the Television Station, Station Manager Zhao, Wang Guosheng, and Old Wang rushed to the lounge.

Station Manager Zhao was the first to ask with concern, "None of you three have run into any accidents recently, have you?"

Wang Lin shook his head, "No. The two of us have been eating, drinking, and having fun at Teacher Jiang's place. When we had free time, we went downstairs to play basketball or badminton. We haven't gone out."

Xiao Shiyi looked dissatisfied, "Why did this happen? Don't they have enough of investigating us constantly? And why are reporters allowed to tail us so unscrupulously?"

Wang Guosheng said thoughtfully, "Sigh, if the authorities forcibly made the reporters outside the residential complex leave, they would make a huge fuss about it. Regardless of the final outcome, the reporters and paparazzi would only add fuel to the fire. It's not just the three of you; all the staff at our Television Station have been tailed and monitored by reporters."

Station Manager Zhao added an explanation, "I've been interviewed by over a dozen reporters in the last few days; it's annoying as hell. But after a while, when there's no news, they won't continue to dig into the Mysterious Person affair."

Old Wang looked at Jiang Zhe, Wang Lin, and Xiao Shiyi curiously, "If the Mysterious Person is one of you three, I'd be more inclined to believe it's Little Jiang, rather than Little Wang or Xiao Shiyi."

As soon as these words were spoken, Jiang Zhe smiled in agreement, "Is that so? Uncle Wang, you think too highly of me."

Xiao Shiyi and Wang Lin examined Jiang Zhe carefully and nodded repeatedly.

"This physique, these muscles, this aura… it actually kind of matches."

"If my dad hadn't said anything, I really wouldn't have noticed."

Of course, they all knew it was a joke.

Station Manager Zhao asked, "Little Jiang, the floor director said you haven't submitted your script to them. What about tonight's content?"

Jiang Zhe replied, "Tonight, just have the floor director add some music. I'll handle the rest."

Of course, he couldn't say that he hadn't done any preparation work because he had been having too much fun on his break.

This secluded lifestyle actually allowed Jiang Zhe to enjoy his vacation!

Upon hearing this, the corner of Station Manager Zhao's mouth twitched. He immediately knew that Jiang Zhe had been having too much fun during the break and likely hadn't done any preparation, but he trusted Jiang Zhe's personal ability and naturally didn't care about the details.

"Alright then, as long as you're confident."

Afterward, Station Manager Zhao, Wang Guosheng, and Old Wang left.

After chatting with Jiang Zhe for a few more moments, Wang Lin and Xiao Shiyi also went to the leadership conference room to prepare to watch the program.

...

At 8:00 PM sharp, the program aired as scheduled.

At the same time, the online live stream also started right on time.

The number of viewers on television surpassed one million in seconds, while the online live stream was slightly less, with 600,000 viewers, and the number was steadily rising.

Facing the camera, Jiang Zhe smiled. There were no draft papers or notes on the table.

"Hello everyone. Sorry to have worried you. Xiao Shiyi, Wang Lin, and I didn't run away. We were just playing games in our dorm too much recently and didn't get on social media."

"My hosting today is impromptu; I haven't prepared any scripts or materials in advance."

"Also, I hope that when the program enters the Q&A session, everyone won't waste opportunities testing whether our Television Station is using a script."

"There has never been a script; please cherish the upcoming call-in opportunities."

He resolved all the previously occurring issues in one go.

At this moment, in the Kun City Television Station conference room.

Professor Ouyang Baili watched, looking melancholic and helpless as he looked at Station Manager Zhao, Old Sun.

"Look at you, they've remembered that incident. I followed your instructions and wasted one of his call-in opportunities. Tell me, aren't you embarrassed? Jiang Zhe doesn't even have drafts or notes this time; can you still say it's a script, Old Sun?"

Old Sun turned his head, his face full of embarrassment, "Let's not bring up the past, let's not bring it up."

These words, however, took on a different meaning in the eyes of the audience.

"Damn, I was so worried about you, and it turns out you're telling me you were just having too much fun on your break?"

"The performance is impromptu? Do you hear yourself? What official host would dare to do that like you?"

"Exactly, exactly. The previous call-in opportunity was wasted; Kun City even claimed it was a script, and only apologized after their official website was bombarded."

"As long as you're safe, but what are you talking about today?"

"..."

The audience was ten, or even nine-tenths suspicious—it seemed Jiang Zhe hadn't prepared a big move this time.

At this time, in the Kyoto University of Science lecture hall.

Seeing Jiang Zhe safe and sound, the plans of Professor Hua Yunfeng and Professor Feng were dashed.

They had been hoping that when the program started, Jiang Zhe wouldn't be there, so they could privately offer him an appearance fee and then conduct a remote connection for the whole thing, as a one-on-one live stream.

Professor Hua Yunfeng said thoughtfully, "The previous call-in opportunities really weren't enough; many questions I'm curious about haven't been resolved."

Professor Feng nodded repeatedly, "I really want to invite him to connect with us once, or have him come to Beijing for a business trip; we'll pay the appearance fee."

On the big screen.

Jiang Zhe said straightforwardly,

"Today, the topic we are discussing is a dream that Professor Zhuang Zhou of Tsinghua University once had!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was confused at first, but when they realized what he meant, everyone was stunned.

Professor Hua Yunfeng looked horrified, "???"

Professor Feng was even more dumbfounded, unable to help but swear, "Holy crap!"

Whether they were experts or members of the audience, everyone felt it was completely unexpected!

They had originally thought Jiang Zhe would continue to decipher various difficult paradoxes.

But they really didn't expect—this time it was seemingly a paradox but not quite, or even a challenge by Jiang Zhe to humanity's cognition of self and the world!

"Wait, wait, is it the one I'm thinking of?"

"Professor Zhuang Zhou had a dream, is it Zhuang Zhou Dreams of a Butterfly?"

"Damn, is it that dream of Tsinghua philosophy Professor Zhuang Zhou?"

"It's that dream. You can even find the Weibo post he made ten years ago online. Wait, let me look for it."

"No need to look, it's that dream of his. The Weibo post has been found—[Yesterday, because I drank too much alcohol, I woke up feeling a bit muddled today. I had a dream. In the dream, I turned into a butterfly, soaring freely in the sky; but when I woke up, I turned back into a terrible middle-aged/elderly body, feeling very heavy all over, feeling bound by shackles. I am feeling very melancholic now, so I started to think about a question: 'Was it I who had a dream and turned into a butterfly, or was it a butterfly that had a dream and saw me? This makes me very melancholic!']"

"How could anyone tell the difference? This is completely a thought experiment on the same level as the 'Brain in a Vat', right?"

"The gold-medal professor's worth is indeed high; even having a dream can become a research topic for others. I had a dream that I turned into a zombie; why is no one coming to study me?"

"Upstairs, don't be funny. If you raise your popularity, you can be like Professor Zhuang Zhou too."

"That's right. If you are like Teacher Jiang Zhe now, whatever dream you have can also trigger contemplation and learning in some people."

"..."

In the leadership conference room.

Station Manager Zhao, Wang Guosheng, and the others, including Wang Lin, were all dumbfounded.

Now they finally realized why Jiang Zhe didn't reveal the content in advance.

It turned out he was brewing this big move!

Only Wang Lin knew—Jiang Zhe was challenging the perception of the illusion and reality of the world.

The content this time was very sensational!

At the same time, the difficulty of the challenge skyrocketed!

On the big screen.

Jiang Zhe pinched his headset.

He was currently listening to the barrage report from the backstage floor director.

"Hmm, many viewers already know about this dream."

"Zhuang Zhou Dreams of a Butterfly is a dream that Tsinghua philosophy department gold-medal Professor Zhuang Zhou had ten years ago."

"It was a doubt that arose after he woke up from a hangover; did the butterfly dream of me, or did I dream of the butterfly?"

"Professor Zhuang Zhou only posed one question: Is the butterfly in the dream me, or is the me who is awake now the real me?"

"This is not only a challenge to humanity's cognition of the world, but also a challenge to the human brain, consciousness, and even the soul!"

"Today, we will address this question and proceed with the deciphering!"

"I have seen various long-winded discussions about this dream online before."

"Today, we refuse long, meaningless discussions and will only discuss the reality of this dream."