Game Theory
Have you seen the messages in the group chat?
Li Xiaohong turned around, his eye slightly squinting.
Cai Jiarong's expression was even more exaggerated; she frowned and opened her mouth.
"...Messages in the group?" Cai Jiarong turned her head and looked at Li Xiaohong, her tone very soft and unreadable.
Li Xiaohong raised an eyebrow: "How do you know those things?"
What kind of look is that?
“I overheard it last night when I was passing by,” Zhu Shiyi told a little lie, “and I just wanted to explain to you that there’s been some misunderstanding between us.”
Cai Jiarong spoke up, her tone indifferent: "I think there's probably no misunderstanding."
In an instant, the nostrils furrowed along with the eyebrows.
"You guys... what didn't you understand?" Zhu Shiyi tried her best to remain polite.
Li Xiaohong's eyelids twitched.
The two exchanged another glance, but remained silent.
The magnetic field revealed in their eyes is exactly the same.
Zhu Shiyi's intuition told him...
That's not very friendly; it's negative.
"So, you were eavesdropping on our conversation and now you're questioning us?" Cai Jiarong crossed her arms and spoke bluntly.
"What do you mean by eavesdropping?" Zhu Shiyi asked breathlessly. "It means overhearing unintentionally."
"How could you hear so much, so clearly, unintentionally?" Li Xiaohong and Cai Jiarong chimed in.
"...That's because you're talking badly about others behind their backs. If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place." Zhu Shiyi was speechless.
"Whether you know it or not is up to you," Cai Jiarong said with a smirk, her right shoulder twitching. "We saw the information, so what? Do you dare say you put in more effort than us? Do you dare say you got our permission to change the PPT? Do you dare say you didn't steal my chance to answer on stage?"
“But I’ve already explained all of this to you,” Zhu Shiyi retorted, still confused. “Didn’t you see my explanation? Xiao Yuhan said the PPT could be changed, but things happened so suddenly on stage, how could I…”
“Xiao Yuhan said it was okay, but did we say it was okay? Didn’t I tell you that this is an award-winning project? If you don’t understand, why are you changing it?” Cai Jiarong interrupted.
"...Does winning an award make you better? What gives you the right to say I don't understand, that you do, that you know the most?" Zhu Shiyi was getting emotional, and each sentence grew louder than the last.
“You—” Cai Jiarong took a step forward, but Li Xiaohong grabbed her arm.
“There’s no need,” Li Xiaohong said quietly, shifting his gaze to Zhu Shiyi. “We’ve already given you a lot of face by not scolding you in the group chat. I didn’t expect you to go looking for a scolding. You’re really missing a screw.”
Zhu Shiyi didn't understand.
Looking at Li Xiaohong's expressionless face, which showed indifference and even some disgust, I could tell he was completely unmoved.
"It was Xiao Yuhan who told me..."
"Yes," Cai Jiarong sneered, her voice long and loud, "Xiao Yuhan is no good, and you are one of them?"
“Let’s go,” Li Xiaohong said, pulling Cai Jiarong’s sleeve without looking back. “Arguing with her and then going to the dorm manager would be a losing proposition.”
......
Grass.
How can there be such an unreasonable person in the world?
Zhu Shiyi, unable to contain his anger, retorted, "So rude and brainless!"
She was met with a closed door.
Suddenly I lost my appetite.
Zhu Shiyi didn't understand where things went wrong.
She went straight to Xiao Yuhan's dormitory.
Xiao Yuhan acted as if nothing had happened: "Shi Yi."
He was smiling and very friendly, as if nothing had happened.
You can't hit someone who's smiling.
But it only applies to tone and attitude.
"Aren't you going to explain the messages in the group chat?" Zhu Shiyi crossed her arms, put on the same fake smile, and said with a barbed tone, "You were the one who asked me for help back then. Cai Jiarong and the others scolded me, and you didn't say a word in my defense?"
"I won't defend myself?" Xiao Yuhan scoffed, turning her gaze away. "We're all adults. You go on stage, I'll treat you. Let's each take care of our own business and get what we need."
Her tone was so matter-of-fact: "Why are you trying to morally blackmail me?"
"Take responsibility?" Zhu Shiyi forced a trembling voice, not showing any fear. "You dare say you're not lying to me? You knew all along that this group had no chance of making it to the national competition, yet you still dared to use it as a condition."
"You even said I changed things arbitrarily. Did you discuss it with them?"
"...Who says it's definitely impossible?" Xiao Yuhan said confidently, refusing to discuss anything else. "No one can predict the outcome before it happens."
"If the data isn't even ready, how many opportunities can we expect?" Zhu Shiyi said firmly.
Xiao Yuhan's face darkened, and she reached out her hand: "I don't want to say anything harsh, but we're classmates, why do you have to make things like this?"
A strong wind howled, whipping up stray hairs.
"Bang!"
A loud bang was right next to my nose, almost hitting me.
Zhu Shiyi suddenly closed his eyes, and his neck trembled as if he had been electrocuted.
"Are you crazy?!" Zhu Shiyi shouted at the door.
She went back to her dormitory and started cursing.
Ni Yuqi was furious after hearing this: "Get off me! Do you even understand what I'm saying? Is tickling what you call an insult?"
Xu Mengyao was both amused and annoyed: "Your manners need to be lowered."
“Wait here,” Ni Yuqi rolled up her sleeves, “I’ll come help you.”
Zhu Shiyi pulled back: "No."
Ni Yuqi frowned.
"I can accept being scolded alone, but I can't let you all get dragged into this and suffer the same abuse."
“Xiao Ni,” Zhu Shiyi gestured with his chin, “is from the same hometown as Xiao Yuhan.”
“Mengyao, we still have to be in the same group as her for the national competition,” Zhu Shiyi said, turning her head slightly. “We’ll be seeing each other all the time.”
"So what?" Ni Yuqi's tone became more forceful. "Ms. Zhu, are you an idiot? How could I possibly continue to associate with someone as stupid as her?"
“She’s more afraid of problems arising in the national competition than anyone else,” Xu Mengyao said with a raised eyebrow, “not afraid that she’ll dare to cause trouble in the group.”
"But you're the class monitor. If you help me, what will others think?"
“It’s okay, I…” Xu Mengyao began.
“Then I’ll go,” Ni Yuqi interrupted. “No one can blame me for anything.”
"Alright—" A warm feeling welled up in her heart, but Zhu Shiyi still wanted to stick to her principles.
“Here’s how, we’ll teach you to brainstorm,” Ni Yuqi suggested, “you can curse them to death in that group.”
She rubbed her hands together, eager to get started: "Let me prepare for something big."
"I'll send it to you on WeChat," Xu Mengyao concluded directly, emphasizing, "Make sure you don't miss a single word."
The two of them turned on their phones, cursing and swearing.
That's also a good method.
Zhu Shiyi lay down on the bed alone.
......
But the more I think about it, the angrier I get!
How can there be such shameless and unethical people in the world?
They should have just called them brain-dead instead of explaining.
That's not enough; we also need to offer a few words of blessing.
May they fail their exams forever.
......
It's still not enough.
Stubborn and stubborn, hurry up and start cursing!
Zhu Shiyi broke down and went berserk, digging at his head with all his might.
I didn't perform well again!
I really want to give each of them a hammer.
Imagine that scene.
Wait... I can't think about that. This is a civilized era. We can't solve problems with violence.
A message suddenly appeared on WeChat.
Xu Mengyao: [What are you idiots bragging about? You think you're so great just because you won an award? Taking it out on others is just for fun, but when it comes to real farting, it's up to you @#￥%……&]
The tiger's body trembled.
Zhu Shiyi calmed down.
I almost thought she was being insulted.
That's some serious scathing criticism. What's she so proud of? She's already made good changes; even professionals agree.
......
Pan Yue, a professional.
Zhu Shiyi sprang up like a carp.
Yesterday, Pan Yue said that an explanation was an option.
This can be explained as not yielding good results.
Could she give him some feedback?
Zhu Shiyi stated frankly: "I went to explain today."
The other party did not reply.
She hesitated again.
They're busy; what if they don't want to reply? That would be so awkward.
Who cares?
I don't know where they got the courage.
He doesn't want to reply; he'll just ignore it or give a perfunctory response.
She doesn't say much, and she's not annoying.
If Zhu Shiyi were to continue his tirade...
Five minutes later, Pan Yue replied: [Feeling better?]
Zhu Shiyi recounted the whole story.
Zhu Shiyi: [They insist that I did something wrong.]
Recalling Xiao Yuhan's comment about being an "adult," Zhu Shiyi felt annoyed: [She's even mocking me for being childish.]
Pan Yue remained silent throughout.
He probably waited two minutes after she posted it before speaking.
Pan Yue: [Do you think you were wrong?]
Zhu Shiyi: [Definitely not.]
Zhu Shiyi was somewhat resistant.
Her greatest strength is finding problems within herself.
She actually knew she had some problems.
For example, changing the PPT without asking questions, or lacking experience.
She is also good at understanding others.
Xiao Yuhan wants to win the national scholarship.
...Cai and Li minded her, so they hitched a ride halfway through and tried to curry favor with the national competition.
But she had no malicious intent, and her actions were not without reason.
Why is there no one who can understand her?
Zhu Shiyi felt a lump in his throat and tilted his head back.
...
Don't be so pessimistic.
Some people understand her.
For example, her two roommates who supported her.
Pan Yue: [If you misunderstand someone, and they come to you to explain, will you change your mind?]
Zhu Shiyi: [If it makes sense, I will.]
Zhu Shiyi: [I still feel very sorry.]
Pan Yue: [What truly constitutes a reasonable argument?]
Zhu Shiyi pondered: "Those that everyone generally agrees on."
Pan Yue: [What are the generally accepted standards?]
......
They're interrogating the criminals.
Her mood plummeted, and she didn't want to say anything more.
Zhu Shiyi: [This is a consensus among people of good character.]
Pan Yue: [Clearly, the people you're dealing with lack manners.]
...
In a daze, her mood improved a little.
Zhu Shiyi: [Support. How can there be such unreasonable gauze in the world?]
Zhu Shiyi wished she would never encounter such a person in her life, but she knew that was impossible.
Pan Yue: Not everyone is this kind.
Zhu Shiyi's eyes flickered. She secretly thought that Pan Yue had omitted two words—
Not everyone is as kind as she is.
After being praised, Zhu Shiyi's heart softened. She spoke from the heart: "I'm quite sensitive; I always overthink things and can't control myself."
Pan Yue did not reply.
...
Zhu Shiyi sighed softly. Never mind, she wasn't familiar with Pan Yue, and there was no need for him to listen to her complaints.
Suddenly, Pan Yue sent a string of messages.
Pan Yue: [The Prisoner's Dilemma describes a game-theoretic situation where individuals' optimal choices are not necessarily the optimal choices for the group.]
Zhu Shiyi: ...?
Her eyes automatically filtered out a string of inhuman words.
What are they doing?
She knew the term; management majors study economics, and the prisoner's dilemma is a classic model in game theory.
She couldn't remember what it meant exactly.
Pan Yue's behavior was so bizarre that Zhu Shiyi couldn't resist searching for it on Baidu.
The explanation was too long, so Zhu Shiyi just looked at an example—
In layman's terms: Two prisoners are brought to the police station and interrogated in two separate interrogation rooms. They are free to choose to accuse each other or remain silent. Accusing each other is called betrayal, while remaining silent is called cooperation.
This leaves only four possible scenarios—
A and B collaborated, and both ended up in jail for two years.
A cooperates, B betrays, A serves 10 years in jail, B is released;
A betrays, B cooperates, A is released from prison, B serves 10 years;
A betrayed, B betrayed, and the two of them spent 8 years in jail together.
Anyone with eyes can see that, for the prisoner personally, the best outcome is to choose betrayal and get out of prison.
Because no one knows what the other party will choose, if you choose to cooperate and the other party chooses to betray, then you will be the only one who suffers, and you will have to wait 10 years.
Why not take a gamble and choose betrayal? What if you get out of prison? At worst, you'll only serve 8 years, which is better than 10.
Although cooperation is the best option for the group, rationally speaking, no one dares to gamble on whether the other party will betray them.
So both of them chose to betray.
In other words, the collective loss is maximized, and both A and B suffer.
...
Zhu Shiyi's head was buzzing.
She asked, "What do you mean?"
Pan Yue: [When you care too much about the other person's choices, you fall into a prisoner's dilemma.]
Zhu Shiyi's brain was about to shut down.
The Prisoner's Dilemma?
...
Cooperation, betrayal.
Perhaps it can be interpreted as her wanting those three idiots to understand her, which means cooperation; cursing them to death, which means betrayal.
Zhu Shiyi prefers cooperation and enjoys a friendly atmosphere. Mutual understanding, mutual trust, and compromise—what a better world! In this dynamic, collective interests can be maximized—how wonderful!
But so far, things haven't gone as planned.
Now, those guys on the other side have clearly chosen to betray us.
If she, as A, doesn't choose to betray, wouldn't she just have to spend 10 years in prison alone and suffer in silence?
Zhu Shiyi was unsure whether there was a correct answer to this prisoner's dilemma problem.
But as a person, one thing is certain: she doesn't want to "go to jail."
She asked, in a completely irrelevant way, "Can I avoid going to jail?"
Fortunately, Pan Yue understood her point: "No."
Pan Yue: [Her choice is already made; whatever she chooses now, you'll go to jail.]
A string of exclamation marks flashed through Zhu Shiyi's mind.
Yes, B has clearly chosen to betray. Now, only the second and fourth scenarios remain.
The second scenario would mean 10 years in prison, and the fourth scenario would mean 8 years. So, 8 years is better.
But the two prisoners together will serve a total of 16 years, which is the worst-case scenario for the group.
Zhu Shiyi: [There's no other choice but to choose the worst solution.]
Pan Yue: [This is not the worst solution.]
Zhu Shiyi was somewhat bewildered.
Pan Yue: [The purpose of game theory is to achieve equilibrium.]
Pan Yue: [In interpersonal relationships, mutual betrayal and complete separation are equally possible.]
Zhu Shiyi seemed to understand.
So, Pan Yue went through all that trouble just to tell her—
Don't care what the other person thinks, just hate each other and that's it?
...
She suddenly realized.
That's just how it is; people hate each other, curse each other to death, and that's it.
She didn't choose to make a mistake; it was others who felt she was wrong.
If she realizes she's wrong, she'll change on her own.
Right and wrong are inherently subjective.
Why let others decide right and wrong?
...
Zhu Shiyi felt like laughing for no reason.
How can anyone use economics to comfort someone?!
I don't know if Pan Yue ever had a romantic relationship.
When he talks to girls, is it just about discussing economic principles?
Zhu Shiyi pulled out his phone again, excited?
[Master! Your disciple has understood! jpg.]
Forget about guilt and self-reflection!
She wasn't cursing anyone; she was using the power of scientific economic theory to uphold justice!
Pan Yue: [Society has a reward and punishment mechanism, and the same principle applies to relationships between people.]
Pan Yue: [Return kindness to collaborators; show no mercy to betrayers.]
Treat others as they treat you.
It's a very simple principle.
...
Zhu Shiyi couldn't help but recall.
She always feels that she is the one who is wrong when others treat her badly;
Then she treats others even better, hoping that they will reciprocate in kind.
She personally told the other person, "If you treat me badly, I will treat you well."
......
Perhaps it's the passage of time, or perhaps it's the awakening we experience today.
Zhu Shiyi finally understood the meaning behind it—
Don't try to please.
Have the courage to be disliked.
As expected of the boss, he speaks with great confidence and authority.
She randomly picked an abstract "attention" emoji: [Yes, sir!]
Zhu Shiyi: [Go learn how to argue right now.]
She abruptly pulled back the bed curtains: "Masters! Teach your disciple a few arguing techniques!"
"You've suddenly come to your senses?" Xu Mengyao smiled kindly, as if looking at her own daughter.
"Don't try to prove yourself; ask more questions."
"When there's nothing to say, just keep repeating the same thing."
If you can't speak, then remain silent and show contempt.
"Get others caught up in your logic, and drive them crazy!"
"Go for it, Zhu Shiyi!"
Xu Ma and Ni Ma sang in unison.
Zhu Shiyi used his mind to tie a red ribbon around his forehead: "Watch me slaughter everyone in my path!"
As if eager to offer some practical opportunities, a message popped up in the group chat at that moment.
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