Genius Playground

THUD!

A dull thud sounded.

Cheng Mengxue’s face slammed onto the king crab shell. Her breathing evened out into soft snores as she fell into a deep sleep.

”...” ”...”

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng were both at a loss for words.

”She’s... drunk?” Qin Feng asked cautiously.

”Obviously.”

”No wonder! I knew something was off just now!”

Qin Feng let out a sigh of relief.

”I’ve never seen Xiaoxue be so bold! With the mood she was setting, I thought she was about to confess to you! I didn’t even know where to hide!”

”But her alcohol tolerance is just...”

He glanced at Cheng Mengxue’s wine glass. It had only been a third full to begin with, and from the looks of it, she hadn’t even drunk half of that.

To pass out after two sips of red wine, which has such a low alcohol content, was a testament to the diversity of the human species.

”This is probably her first time drinking.”

Jiang Ran shook his head.

”In all my years of knowing her, I’ve never seen her drink.”

”I had no idea her tolerance was this low... The amount she drank probably has less alcohol than a liqueur chocolate.”

”Has she ever had a liqueur chocolate, then?” Qin Feng asked, curious.

”...I don’t think so.”

...

Jiang Ran carried Cheng Mengxue into her room and laid her on the bed.

He then left, closed the door, and checked that it was locked with a few clicks, making sure it couldn’t be opened before returning to the observation deck.

The fireworks show was long over.

The DJ party on the deck was also winding down, with people leaving in twos and threes.

Qin Feng was leaning on the railing of the observation deck, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.

Hearing footsteps, he turned and looked at Jiang Ran.

”If Xiaoxue had held on for just two more seconds, she might have told you she likes you.”

”She wouldn’t have,” Jiang Ran said, shaking his head.

”Why not?”

Qin Feng leaned his back against the railing.

”You seem to be avoiding this topic. It’s a private matter between you two, so I’ve never asked.”

”But... you’re not in high school anymore. There’s nothing wrong with being in a relationship, right?”

Seeing Jiang Ran also walk over to lean silently on the railing, Qin Feng sighed.

”Don’t tell me the ’childhood friend curse’ is real?”

”It’s a strange phenomenon, for sure. In real life, the chances of childhood friends getting together are very, very low.”

”Is it because you’re too familiar with each other? Like she feels more like family, a relative, or a little sister?”

He turned back around to lean on the railing beside Jiang Ran, looking at him as the sea breeze blew.

”It’s obvious Xiaoxue really likes you. Especially after you jumped into the river to save that person... In her eyes, you’re an invincible hero.”

”That incident probably had a huge impact on her. That’s why she got some liquid courage earlier and revealed her true feelings.”

Jiang Ran remained silent.

”Hey, say something.”

Qin Feng nudged him with his elbow.

”I don’t know,” Jiang Ran said softly, staring at the seafoam.

”I’m not a genius who can solve every problem... And this is one problem I don’t have the answer to.”

”...”

Qin Feng watched him quietly.

Finally, as if he’d made up his mind:

”Jiang Ran, I’m going to tell you a [secret].”

?

Jiang Ran looked up.

”You’ve been hiding something from me?”

”Xiaoxue told me not to say anything.”

Qin Feng shrugged.

”But look, I’m telling you anyway, aren’t I? Just a few days late is all.”

”Don’t worry, it’s not a huge deal. I know what’s important.”

Jiang Ran looked at him.

He nodded.

”Go on.”

...

Qin Feng licked his lips, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

”For you, this happened in that worldline. So after the temporal shift, the Worldline Jump, you have no memory of it, and we never told you.”

”The day you pulled Senior Xu Yan back and vaulted over the bridge into the river yourself... Cheng Mengxue had something like a sudden stress reaction. She started screaming and frantically tried to jump in after you.”

”I’d never seen her lose her composure like that. To put it bluntly, she was like a mad dog... Senior Xu Yan and I had to physically hold her down, pin her, and we could barely restrain her.”

”She truly lost it. The moment you jumped, her tears just burst out. Trying to break free, she bit Senior Xu Yan’s arm so hard she almost drew blood. Of course, Xu Yan would never let you see the wound on her arm.”

He habitually touched his own left arm.

It seemed that while the bite was on Xu Yan’s arm, the pain was in Qin Feng’s heart.

After a moment, he continued:

”Xiaoxue didn’t calm down until she saw you climb ashore from a distance. Her face was pale, completely drained of color.”

”Later, when we were rushing you to the hospital, we were in such a panic that there was no time to bring it up.”

”But after we got back to school, Xiaoxue secretly found me and Xu Yan and begged us never to tell you about it. You know, about how she lost control, crying and screaming, biting people, and wanting to jump in the river to save you.”

”I can understand how she felt. Who wouldn’t have panicked in that situation? So don’t take it to heart. She wasn’t trying to hide it from you on purpose; she must have just felt she’d lost her composure and been too embarrassing.”

Jiang Ran listened in silence.

He recalled waking up in the hospital after that temporal shift and the first person he saw was Cheng Mengxue.

At the time, she had just returned with takeout, a radiant smile on her face, showing no signs of having had such a frantic, unhinged moment.

”She didn’t want us to tell you probably because she was afraid you’d worry.”

Qin Feng kept trying to smooth things over, defending Cheng Mengxue.

”But! What I’m trying to say is, from your perspective, you might not understand why Xiaoxue said such bold things after drinking.”

”But I get it. It’s because you jumping into the river was too much of a shock for her. It might be that very incident that made her decide to face her feelings and prepare to confess to you.”

”It’s just a shame her tolerance is so terrible. If she had just lasted a few more seconds, you two might have actually gotten together.”

Heh.

Unexpectedly, faced with such a moving story, Jiang Ran just let out a soft chuckle and shook his head.

”Qin Feng, you’re really good at solving problems. But I’m sorry to say, you’ve solved this one wrong.”

”Have you no conscience?”

Qin Feng was angry.

”I’m not saying you have to do anything, but with an attitude like that, do you think you’re being fair to Xiaoxue?”

”Then do you know why Xiaoxue reacted so frantically when she saw me jump?” Jiang Ran retorted.

”Wasn’t it because she was worried about you?”

”Not entirely.”

Jiang Ran shook his head.

”She knows I’m a good swimmer. We took swimming lessons together as kids, and I won a city-level medal in middle school.”

With that, he pointed to the four-meter diving platform at the swimming pool.

”That platform you don’t dare to jump from? Xiaoxue can do it, and aside from a big splash, her entry is pretty much perfect. I can even do a back layout dive from it. Is that something a typical swimmer would dare to do?”

”Besides, I was wearing a flotation vest. With one of those on, you could be thrown into the ocean and you wouldn’t drown. Even if you died, your body would float... With my swimming skills and a flotation vest, do you really think there was any reason to worry?”

”Taking a massive step back, sure, there’d be some worry. You were probably worried about me too, but would you have been so worried you’d lose control like that?”

...

After that logical, well-reasoned barrage, Qin Feng was stunned.

”The three of us have been so close for so many years. We tell each other everything. I never even thought about hiding something as game-breaking as the Time SMS from you guys.”

”But there are still some things, things between me and Xiaoxue, that you really don’t know.”

Jiang Ran stood up straight.

”You still told me what Xiaoxue asked you not to. I’m touched.”

”So, Qin Feng.”

He turned his head, looking the other man in the eye.

”I’ll tell you... a [secret] too.”