(Encrypted channel. Situation Room, Washington. Zhongnanhai, Beijing. “Operation Epic Fury” has "decapitated" the Supreme Leader. The Taiwan Strait is quiet — for now.)
川: Big decapitation operation. My “Epic Fury” sounds like a movie, but the missiles are real. Real deal, my friend!
習（國師在旁）: 總統先生， 此舉差矣。 “始作俑者，其無……！”
川: Enough of your Classical Chinese. Here's the deal: The tyrant pushed too far. We pushed back harder. That's how deterrence works. Amen.
習: 犯他人之境， 戮他國之君。 “人神之所同疾， 天地之所不容。‘’
川: Bull. You sound like you're worried about Tehran. Or maybe about oil? (A pause — barely perceptible.)
習: 仁，忍也。 不忍，何仁之有？
川: Again, bull. Venezuela, Iran — you've got supply lines there. Don't worry. We're not bombing oil fields. I like low prices. My voters like low prices even more.
習: 王者之邦， 仁者之尊， 不欠油水。
川: Really? Overcapacity, price wars, youth unemployment. I read briefings too.
習: 先生此言差矣。 想我中華： 歷史長河曲直延， 萬峰下拜一峰前。 此峰已在東方起， 赤馬紅羊踢老川。 指教。
川: My translator begs for plain Chinese.
習： No way.
川： Wow. I didn't know you speak English. Listen. If the Middle East stabilizes under terms I like, guess where I'll get to focus next?
(Silence.)
習: 西太平洋？
川: You said it, not me. When the Western Hemisphere is quiet and the Gulf is handled, I've got bandwidth. And I don't ignore bandwidth.
習: 台灣問題 不容外部干涉。
川: You've been flying more sorties, deploying more ships. Testing reactions. No doubt.
習: 內政。
川: When carriers move, markets notice. When missiles move, I notice.
(Another pause. Xi's tone shifts — still measured, but firmer.)
習: ‘’起來，起來……‘’
川: National anthem. Thank you. I'm not visiting China. Not yet...... I heard some of your top brass disappeared faster than Iranian drones. Anti-corruption, right?
習: 內政。
川: When generals shuffle that much, outsiders wonder — are you preparing, or stabilizing?
習: 準備與穩定， 彼此彼此。
川: Fair. But if you're cleaning house, it's either because you're about to host a party — or a war.
(Silence. The encrypted line hums.)
習: 猜的是你。
川: That's the most honest sentence tonight.
習: 台灣絕對不能成為敵對航母。
川: Then keep the status quo.
習: ‘’變幻原是永恆。‘’
川: Here's my input. If you move on Taiwan, markets crash, supply chains explode, alliances snap tight. Japan's in. Australia's in. Probably others. You don't get a quick win and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
習: 勝負不取決於一日。
川: True. But economies do. And yours is already juggling oil exposure, property cleanup, internal competition — what do you call it? “Involution”?
習: “內卷”是胡扯。
川: War isn't great for structural reform.
習: 過度擴張的軍事行動 同樣消耗資源。
川: Touché.
(A brief, restrained beat — as close as Xi comes to a smile.)
習: 若中東局勢趨穩， 美國戰略重心必會東移吧。
川: Absolutely. I'm transactional, not distracted. Once one theater calms down, I look at the scoreboard elsewhere.
習: 若中國統一進程 加速推進， 你將如何回應？
川: Define “accelerate.” Peaceful? Economic? Political? Or amphibious?
(Silence.)
習: 統一目標 始終明確。 方式取決於環境。
川: If you want a parade, I won't rain on it. But if you want sanctions that make Iran look like a tax haven, keep pushing for force.
習: 你在伊朗採取軍事行動， 是否意在向台海釋放信號？
川: I'm not a TACO man, after all.
習: 信號若被誤讀， 後果難料。
川: That's why I'm on this call.
(A longer pause. Both leaders understand the subtext.)
習: 好。
(The encrypted line clicks off. In both capitals, maps remain illuminated — one over the Persian Gulf, one over the Taiwan Strait.)
作者：紉秋蘭
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