"You're lying, kid." Qiao Jiajin coldly snapped.
"Hmph, I knew you'd say that, but do you have any proof to back up your accusation? Just because someone attacked me?" the man replied with a sneer.
"Of course not." Qiao Jiajin gave a slight smile. "Although the reasons aren't clear, all the stories we've heard up until now are somehow connected. Many of the characters in these stories overlap. If we disregard the geographical locations, everyone's accounts are reasonable."
"So what?" the man retorted.
"The problem lies right here." Qiao Jiajin extended his hand, pointing at Lawyer Zhang Chenze. "In both your story and the lawyer's, there's one common character: the 'fraudster who scammed two million yuan.' But your stories contradict each other, which means one of you is lying."
Officer Li paused, then asked, "Where's the contradiction?"
Qiao Jiajin shook his head and turned to Officer Li. "Lawyer Zhang is about to go to trial, which means in her version of the story, the 'suspect has been caught.' But you're still on stakeout, which means in your version, the 'suspect is still at large.' Isn't that a contradiction?"
Officer Li thought for a moment, then spoke. "I'll admit, you have a point, but I think you've been influenced by this 'game.' First, you have to understand one major premise: everyone who told a story before was in a different city. In other words, even if our experiences are similar, it's impossible they're all about the same event. Since these are different events, naturally, there will be different outcomes."
Qi Xia quietly observed the two men arguing, without intervening.
Let them argue, the more fiercely, the better.
As long as one of them votes for the other, the liar wins.
After all, the rules are absolute. If anyone but the liar casts a wrong vote, everyone else is doomed.
Although Officer Li had given his explanation, Qiao Jiajin's words still lingered in the minds of everyone.
This was the first time anyone had noticed a contradiction in the stories of two people.
Qi Xia couldn't help but give a subtle nod to this man, Qiao Jiajin.
He appeared reckless and unruly, but he was smarter than she had expected.
"Mm... I guess it's my turn now," a young woman spoke up.
Everyone shifted their attention to her.
This girl had screamed loudly when the body was found earlier.
Now she seemed to have calmed down, though her eyes avoided looking at the people beside her.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Lin Qin, and I'm a psychological counselor."
Qi Xia paused for a moment, as "Lin Qin" was an interesting name.
Before the Tang Dynasty, "Lin Qin" meant "apple."
The name carried a poetic feel, leaving a deep impression.
Perhaps this young lady's parents wanted her to have a unique name, but ironically, that name might cost her life here.
Among those present were writers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and police officers. Anyone of them might recognize the meaning of "Lin Qin."
Just letting the name circulate in their minds would make her story memorable.
Lin Qin noticed that no one seemed to react, so she covered her mouth and nose and continued, "I'm from Ningxia. Before I arrived here, I was waiting for a client, a kindergarten teacher."
Everyone glanced at the kindergarten teacher, Xiao Ran, who was sitting nearby. Once again, there was a connection in the story.
"According to her, the kindergarten industry is really tough now. Children can't be hit or scolded. Parents treat kindergarten teachers like nannies, and children treat them like servants. Every classroom has surveillance cameras, and parents monitor in real time. If your tone is even slightly harsh, parents will call the principal."
"But aren't parents sending their children to kindergarten to establish proper values?"
"If teachers can't discipline them, how can children recognize their mistakes?"
"She said she's been feeling lost and oppressed for a long time."
"So, I put together a treatment plan for her, about a month long."
"But for some reason, the client never showed up for the appointment, and I was just waiting in my studio."
"When the earthquake struck, I didn't have a chance to escape. My studio is on the 26th floor."
"The higher the floor, the stronger the tremor. I felt the whole building shaking."
"I never knew that Ningxia could have an earthquake, but this one made me feel it."
"Later, I vaguely remember the ceiling collapsing. Everything went black, and I lost consciousness."
After Lin Qin finished her story, everyone seemed to have had a realization.
Qiao Jiajin was the first to speak. "I have two questions."
"Go ahead," Lin Qin said, still covering her mouth and nose.
"You mentioned that every classroom had 'surveillance,' what do you mean by that?"
Everyone was surprised that Qiao Jiajin's focus was on this, but Lin Qin, being a psychological counselor, answered calmly, "I think the reason they installed 'surveillance' is so parents can view the classroom at any time."
"So it's 'closed-circuit TV'... is it a fancy kindergarten?" Qiao Jiajin muttered to himself, then asked, "Was the kindergarten teacher you met, this Xiao Ran?"
"I don't know," Lin Qin shook her head. "We only added each other on WeChat, and we hadn't planned to meet up yet."
"WeChat?" Qiao Jiajin seemed confused for a moment.
Officer Li interrupted, saying, "Hey, you're at it again. Xiao Ran is from Yunnan, and this Lin Qin is from Ningxia. Who would travel such a long distance to see a psychological counselor?"
Qiao Jiajin didn't back down. "I just find it suspicious. This is the first time someone's story mentioned another participant."
Dr. Zhao nodded, agreeing with Qiao Jiajin, and asked, "Xiao Ran, does the reason you went to see a counselor match what Lin Qin described?"
"Mm..." Xiao Ran hesitated, then said, "It's not exactly the same... I went because I was being constantly criticized by a parent, so I was feeling a bit depressed..."
"Well, that's just a coincidence then," Dr. Zhao said, nodding. "After all, these are two separate regions, so we don't need to force a connection."
Everyone fell silent for a moment, but Lawyer Zhang suddenly spoke up. "Miss Lin, half of your story is actually the kindergarten teacher's story. Isn't that a violation of the rules?"
"Ah?" Lin Qin was taken aback. "I mentioned the teacher so you could better understand my work..."
"Don't misunderstand, I don't mean anything by it," Lawyer Zhang smiled. "What I'm saying is, if the teacher's experience is made up by you, it would explain the discrepancies with Xiao Ran's story, and that would prove you're lying."
"You...!" Lin Qin didn't expect the woman in front of her to be so aggressive. She could only argue, "But Dr. Zhao and Officer Li both said it's a coincidence! We're from different provinces!"
"A coincidence, huh?" Lawyer Zhang crossed her arms and continued, "Think about it carefully. Why were we, of all people, selected to gather here? Don't forget, we're nine strangers. If we're supposed to find contradictions in each other's stories, we need a clue. And that 'clue' is that all our stories are interconnected. After hearing everyone's story, I feel like we were specifically chosen. This is the only way we could find the liar's contradiction; otherwise, the game would be too unfair, because the liar would have an overwhelming chance of winning."
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