A Beijing socialite stole my boyfriend; she went crazy after I got married.

Geneva in April is bathed in the bright sunshine of spring.

The melting snow from the Alps flows into the water, giving the lake a sapphire-like luster.

Mont Blanc in the distance is still covered in snow, gleaming in the sunlight.

The IACF Foundation's closed-door seminars are held in a historic Gothic manor on the lakeside.

The main building of the estate was once the private residence of a Swiss banking family in the 19th century, and was later transformed into a private space specifically for academic exchanges.

Jiang Chu took Xie Jing's arm and followed the staff into the main hall of the manor.

They were all dressed in casual suits, and judging by their attire alone, they seemed no different from ordinary scholars.

Many attendees had already gathered in the main hall.

Unlike international academic conferences that often have thousands of attendees, the atmosphere here is quite quiet.

The fifty invitees gathered in small groups, holding champagne or coffee, and conversing quietly in English, French or German.

No one made a loud noise, and no one rushed to hand out business cards to build relationships.

"Jiang, you've arrived!"

A scholar dressed in a navy blue suit walked over quickly and warmly embraced Jiang Chu.

She was a woman who looked to be around sixty years old, with dark brown curly hair and a very energetic appearance.

Jiang Chu was also very happy. "Professor Harrison! It's an honor to meet you!"

This is Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology at Cambridge University, who has dedicated over forty years to the field of body language and intercultural semiotics.

While preparing the article, Jiang Chu read through a large number of the other party's works.

Her eyes sparkled with the excitement and respect of a student meeting an idol. "I've read your 'The Body as Text: The Semiotic Deconstruction of Ritual, Dance, and Power' at least three times..."

"I've read your entry; it's excellent."

Professor Harrison patted her hand approvingly, then looked at Xie Jing beside him, "Is this your partner?"

"Yes, he is my husband."

"Hello, Professor Harrison."

Xie Jing politely extended his hand.

"Hello, young man." Professor Harrison shook hands with him, then pulled Jiang Chu aside. "The issue you mentioned in your previous email about the interaction model between neuroplasticity and muscle memory..."

Xie Jing watched tenderly as Jiang Chu was led away by the professor.

He knew that today was a joyous and special day for his wife, and all he needed to do was quietly stay by her side.

Five minutes later.

Xie Jing, holding a cup of black coffee, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, quietly gazing at the shimmering Lake Geneva in the distance, and then glanced at the document sent to his phone.

"Hello, are you also one of the invited scholars for this forum?"

A male voice with a distinct French accent came from behind.

Xie Jing turned around and saw a middle-aged man in his early forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a well-tailored three-piece suit.

The badge he wore on his chest showed that he was the deputy director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris.

"...I am a family member."

Xie Jing answered calmly.

"Oh?" DuPont raised an eyebrow, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. "So, what do you usually do for a living?"

"Doing business."

"Oh, businessman, of course." DuPont's smile deepened, but carried a condescending sense of superiority. "Indeed... This forum might be a bit dry for you. For example, my friend and I just discussed the topic of 'The Neural Basis of Free Will and Predictive Models of Decision-Making Behavior,' which involved a lot of fMRI data analysis and Bayesian inference frameworks. I wonder if you'd be interested? Of course, this content might be difficult for non-professionals to understand. However, if you want to know where the cigar room is, I can show you the way."

Xie Jing raised an eyebrow slightly. "That's not necessary. This topic is quite interesting."

"Oh? So what's your take on the Libet experiment?" DuPont said slowly, "Regarding the finding that 'unconscious decision-making precedes conscious awareness by 300 milliseconds,' what do you think it means for the philosophical discussion of free will?"

Xie Jing: "..."

This is a classic academic pretentious trap.

The Libet experiment is a classic case in the field of cognitive neuroscience, but it is extremely controversial, and if one is not careful, the other side will seize on its flaws and ridicule it.

Xie Jing took a sip of coffee without making a sound.

"Libet's experimental design itself has methodological flaws. He used slow cortical potentials to mark the decision-making starting point, but subsequent studies, such as Schurger's article published in PNAS in 2012, have proven through a random drift model that the so-called '300 milliseconds earlier' is likely just a noise accumulation effect rather than a true causal decision signal. Therefore, using Libet to deny free will is logically unsound."

DuPont's smile froze for a moment.

—Is there a problem with my understanding of the word "businessman" in English?

"Uh...you seem to know a lot about neuroscience?"

DuPont pushed up his glasses somewhat awkwardly.

"I've studied a little," Xie Jing said casually. "Although I'm not as good as those who do professional research, I still occasionally pay attention to some of the latest literature."

DuPont's expression was subtle. "So, is your current business related to neurotechnology or biomedicine?"

"...I've also dabbled in that."

-

Jiang Chu was very engrossed in his conversation with Professor Harrison.

The two drank coffee while sketching in a small notebook, discussing the relationship between a certain choreography move and neuroplasticity.

However, she also kept an eye on Xie Jing's movements.

I even heard a few words.

Although she knew her husband was perfectly capable of handling it, she still couldn't help wanting to help.

"Professor Harrison, excuse me, I need to go see my husband first."

Jiang Chu smiled apologetically, got up and walked towards Xie Jing.

"Mr. Xie, how did the chat go?" Jiang Chu took Xie Jing's arm and looked at Du Bang with a smile. "And this gentleman is?"

"DuPont, the deputy director of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris," Xie Jing introduced simply.

"Oh, hello, Mr. DuPont." Jiang Chu nodded politely. "Mr. DuPont studies cognitive neuroscience, so you must have done extensive research on the integration of proprioception and spatial cognition in dance, right?"

DuPont paused for a moment: "Uh... well... I mainly study the neural mechanisms of decision-making, and I don't know much about motor control."

"That's quite a coincidence." Jiang Chu's eyes sparkled. "I've been researching a topic recently: when dancers are spinning at high speed, and the vestibular and visual systems conflict, how does the cerebellum maintain balance through predictive coding? Especially during, for example, 32 consecutive whiplashes, does the coordination pattern between the basal ganglia and the cerebellar-cortical circuits undergo dynamic remodeling?"

DuPont's smile froze completely.

Although he is a neuroscientist, his research focuses on decision-making and free will. He is a complete novice when it comes to motor neuroscience, especially the highly complex fine motor control in dance!

"Well...uh...I'm not very familiar with specific cases in the field of dance..."

DuPont's forehead began to sweat.

"It's alright, let me ask you an easier question." Jiang Chu smiled even more sweetly, "Do you think that the activation patterns of the premotor and supplementary motor areas in the 300 milliseconds before the start of the 'grand leap' in classical ballet are fundamentally different in neural mechanism from the 'decision signals' in the Libet experiment you just mentioned?"

DuPont was stumped by the question.

Because this problem, though seemingly simple, actually takes the Libet experiment that DuPont used to "test" Xie Jing and applies it directly to the scenario of dance movement control.

It also forces him to admit that if even highly self-directed training behaviors like dance moves can be detected by "pre-activation," then the conclusions of the Libet experiment are simply untenable!

"I...I'm really not very familiar with motor neuroscience..."

DuPont was completely defeated, his face turning bright red.

"It's alright, Mr. DuPont. After all, every field has its own secrets," Jiang Chu said with a smile. "But I think it's best to remain humble when doing research. After all, the human brain is so complex; no one can claim to know everything, right?"

DuPont nodded awkwardly, made up an excuse, and hurriedly left.

Once DuPont was out of sight, Jiang Chu breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Xie Jing, and raised an eyebrow with a hint of smugness: "How about that? I got your revenge for you, didn't I?"

Looking at her cunning yet adorable appearance, Xie Jing couldn't help but reach out and gently pinch her cheek, his voice low and gentle.

"My wife is amazing."

"That's right!" Jiang Chu proudly raised her chin. "Although you don't need my help, I can't stand it if I see someone trying to bully you."