[Scene: A cozy noodle shop in Beijing. Li Wei and Chen Hao are sitting at a small table, surrounded by steaming bowls of noodles and plates of side dishes.]
Li Wei: (holding up a fish head proudly) Look at this beauty! I made sure to order the fish eyes today. You know, they say eating fish eyes sharpens your vision. My grandma swears by it—she’s ninety and still doesn’t need glasses!
Chen Hao: (chuckling as he sips his tea) Wei, your grandma probably has good genes, not x-ray vision from fish eyes. You don’t seriously believe that stuffing fish eyes into your mouth will improve your eyesight, do you?
Li Wei: Of course! Why else would people have been doing this for centuries? It’s tradition, Hao! And don’t forget—chicken feet make you fast. I used to eat them before every school race. Won second place once!
Chen Hao: (raising an eyebrow) Hmm, I thought you won second because you were always late and had to sprint to school.
Li Wei: (laughs) Okay, okay, maybe a little of that. But still, there’s wisdom in these traditions! My cousin ate pig brain before his exams for better memory—he passed!
Chen Hao: Wei… your cousin also studied all night before the exam. Pig brain or no pig brain, the real magic was in the textbooks.
Li Wei: But Hao, don’t you ever wonder why these customs have lasted so long? If they didn’t work, wouldn’t people have stopped?
Chen Hao: Well, humans love patterns. If something good happens after eating a fish eye, they remember it and forget the times nothing happened. It’s called confirmation bias.
Li Wei: Confirmation bias? Sounds like one of your fancy psychology terms.
Chen Hao: It means we notice things that confirm what we already believe. Like, if you eat chicken feet and win a race, you connect the two. But if you eat chicken feet and trip over your shoelaces, you just blame the shoelaces.
Li Wei: (grinning) Or the bad luck from not eating enough chicken feet!
Chen Hao: (laughs) Exactly! Look, I’m not against tradition. I love eating fish, chicken, dumplings, whatever. But thinking it has magical powers? That’s where we get into trouble.
Li Wei: Hmm. But what’s the harm? It’s not hurting anyone.
Chen Hao: Sometimes it does. Like when people skip medicine because they think food or charms will heal them. Or when parents force kids to eat things they hate, thinking it’ll change their future.
Li Wei: Fair point… my little nephew does cry when we make him eat black fungus for “good luck.” Poor guy.
Chen Hao: See? I’m all for keeping the fun parts. Celebrate, share food, tell stories. Just don’t forget the science. Fish eyes won’t fix your vision, but a good optometrist will.
Li Wei: (smiling mischievously) So, you’re saying I can stop eating these slimy eyeballs and just get glasses?
Chen Hao: Absolutely. And your stomach will thank you.
Li Wei: You know, Hao, you always ruin the magic—but I like that about you. Keeps me grounded.
Chen Hao: And you remind me life doesn’t have to be all logic. Deal?
Li Wei: Deal. Now pass the chicken feet. I need to outrun you to the subway later!
Chen Hao: (laughing) You’ll need more than chicken feet to beat me, old man.
[They clink their teacups together, laughing as the noodle shop buzzes around them.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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