Genius Playground

’Qin Feng, you really know how to hide your secrets.’

Once he broke through this blind spot, the temporal logic instantly became clear.

Qin Feng’s goal was crystal clear—

To save his biological father.

Since that Time SMS from Qin Feng was indeed sent 10 years into the past, then the ten-year-old Qin Feng, armed with advance knowledge of his father’s death, would have undoubtedly done everything in his power to save him—to help his father avoid that accident and survive.

From that moment on...

The worldline shifted, and the course of history was altered.

Saving an adult who had been dead for ten years created a massive temporal Butterfly Effect that, like a tornado, tore through the history of the past decade.

Many things changed, and the fates of many people were altered along with them.

From Jiang Ran’s perspective, there were three immediate changes:

1. Qin Feng’s life path changed. He never attended Hang City High School, never became my good friend, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

2. Cheng Mengxue, who should have grown up healthy, died in a car accident on June 8, 2023. Her life was cut short at the age of 18.

3. My own life also underwent a massive change. Although I don’t know the full details yet, the fact that I’m dating a girl like Nan Xiuxiu and running in her circles... I feel like my life has been turned completely upside down.

He chuckled drily, though he wasn’t sure why.

”I miss my father very much, and I cherish you guys, too. Both sides of the scale are equal to me.”

Those were Qin Feng’s words.

Jiang Ran didn’t think he was lying.

If Qin Feng had really wanted to betray them and send the Time SMS behind his and Cheng Mengxue’s backs, there were obviously much easier ways to do it.

The Positron Cannon was just sitting in the club room; he could have used it secretly at any time.

This was also the one thing Jiang Ran couldn’t understand:

’Since Qin Feng had plenty of opportunities to send the message behind our backs, why did he have to put on such a show in front of us?’

He recalled the look in Qin Feng’s eyes at the very end.

”I’m sorry, Jiang Ran.”

It was a look of guilt, yet it also held a hidden expectation:

”Forgive me.”

’Could it be...’

’Was Qin Feng still hoping that I, with my memories of the original worldline, would find him again, forgive him, and the three of us would become friends once more?’

Yes, that seemed very likely.

Because when the first attempt to send the message was interrupted, Qin Feng had discussed this very topic with him.

Back then, Qin Feng had asked him:

”If the worldline changes and I get separated from you guys, becoming a stranger in the new timeline... In that new worldline, would you come find me?”

At the time, Jiang Ran hadn’t given it much thought and had answered from the heart:

”I would. I definitely would.”

”No matter how the worldline changes, I would never leave either of you behind.”

”Regardless of what the temporal Butterfly Effect does to our relationship, I will absolutely find you both and make things right, just like how we are now.”

...

’So, is that why Qin Feng waited until the very last moment to carry out his plan?’

He wanted a promise.

He wanted a promise that Jiang Ran would still come looking for him.

”You’re too cunning,” Jiang Ran muttered to himself.

He understood Qin Feng’s desire to save his father, but he couldn’t condone his methods at all.

”Xiaoxue is dead...”

That was something Jiang Ran could never forgive. It was unpardonable.

He wished he could find Qin Feng right now and beat some sense into him.

But now, with the reality of Cheng Mengxue’s death laid bare before him, he had no time to distinguish right from wrong.

History had to be corrected.

Cheng Mengxue had to be saved.

The worldline had to be bent back.

His mind was consumed by a single thought—

Find the Positron Cannon, send another Time SMS, and save Cheng Mengxue!

This was why he had immediately hailed a cab to East Sea University.

He had to confirm whether the Positron Cannon was still at East Sea University, still in the Film Club’s room.

As long as he found the Positron Cannon, he could save Cheng Mengxue.

’It shouldn’t be that difficult.’

He had used a Time SMS to save Xu Yan, and Qin Feng had used one to save his father... The Time SMS was omnipotent. As long as he got the Positron Cannon back, he could fix everything he had lost!

SCREECH—

The taxi screeched to a halt.

The driver turned around.

”We’re here, kid. West gate of East Sea University.”

Jiang Ran paid and got out of the car.

The west gate was the university’s old, abandoned entrance. It had been out of use for a long time, its massive gates shut tight and never opened.

There was a reason he had come here instead of using the main entrance.

It was one in the morning, and the main gate would have been locked long ago. Not only would he be unable to get in, but he’d also inevitably be questioned by the guards, who would end up calling his student counselor... It was better to just avoid it altogether.

The area around the west gate, however, had been abandoned for ages. A section of the fence had rusted and corroded away, ”coincidentally” creating a hole just big enough for a person to slip through. This was the workaround discovered by countless heroic upperclassmen.

Of course, this ”coincidence” was definitely man-made. But a hero’s origins don’t matter, and their deeds remain unsung.

Having been a student at East Sea University for two years, Jiang Ran was an old hand at this. He expertly found the gap in the fence and slipped through.

The midnight campus was utterly silent. As he hurried along the tree-lined path, the only sounds were the croaking of frogs by the lake and the chirping of cicadas.

This was his first time walking through East Sea University so late at night. Beyond the tension, all he felt was loneliness.

He thought about the past two years.

When had he ever done anything alone?

It was always either Qin Feng or Cheng Mengxue by his side; he’d never felt lonely for a single moment.

But now...

Especially when he thought about how, in this worldline, Qin Feng hadn’t become his friend and Cheng Mengxue had died during the college entrance exams.

’How on earth did I get through these past two years?’

’Did I just go to East Sea University all alone, like this? Did I just shuttle between the cafeteria, the classroom, and the dorm by myself? Did I watch the sun rise and set, the seasons change from spring to summer, autumn to winter, all by myself?’

A sudden wave of empathy made Jiang Ran recall Qin Feng’s words:

”After the worldline changes, we, who are so close right now, will instantly become strangers. All the feelings and experiences will cease to exist as we go on to live our separate lives... No one will remember the iron triangle we have now.”

”Jiang Ran, don’t you find that cruel?”

Yeah. Of course it was cruel.

That’s why.

Jiang Ran clenched his fists.

’I have to find the Positron Cannon and fix all of this!’

...

Soon, he snuck into the student club building.

The Film Club’s spare key was always kept under the flowerpot on the hallway windowsill. Jiang Ran lifted the pot, and sure enough, he saw the small silver key.

”Lucky.”

It seemed the Film Club’s tradition hadn’t changed.

He took the key, walked to the familiar wooden door, inserted it, and gave it a twist. The lock made a soft CLICK, and the door gave way, opening a small crack.

For some reason, it felt as if the gears of fate were turning, connecting the two spaces—the two timelines—inside and outside the room...

Years, time, history, causality, past, and future all tangled together.

The light from a distant streetlamp filtered through the gaps in the tree branches, casting swaying patterns on the door, like hundreds of blinking eyes... staring intently at the one who had crossed worldlines. A faint whisper seemed to promise that all the answers lay behind this door.

Jiang Ran took a deep breath.

And pushed the door open—