Genius Playground

After leaving the cafeteria, Jiang Ran first headed back to his dorm to change clothes.

There was a small group chat for his dorm in WeChat, labeled ”7B523.” That must be his room number.

The vocational college campus was small. It was only a few minutes’ walk from the cafeteria to the dorms.

It was an eight-person room with bunk beds. The conditions were a little rough, but at least it was clean.

Jiang Ran had just sat down on his bed when a roommate sidled over conspiratorially.

”What’s up?”

Looking at Roommate No. 1, Jiang Ran realized he didn’t know the guy’s name.

Roommate No. 1 closed the window, drew the curtains, shut the door, and bolted it.

”What the fuck.”

Jiang Ran shot to his feet, pressing his back against the wall.

’He can’t be looking for a fight in broad daylight, can he?’

Roommate No. 1, looking tense, gestured for Jiang Ran to sit down, then leaned in and whispered in his ear:

”Jiang Ran, you and I are the closest. I’m only telling you this, so you absolutely cannot tell anyone else!”

”Oh, uh, okay.”

’So, this Roommate No. 1 is a good friend of mine.’

Jiang Ran lowered his guard, all ears.

”What is it?”

”I won something!!” Roommate No. 1’s face lit up with joy.

”You won the lottery?” Jiang Ran was surprised too.

”Not the lottery! I won an iPhone 16! The top-of-the-line model!”

Unable to contain his excitement, Roommate No. 1 took out his phone with a trembling hand. He found a text message to show Jiang Ran, furtively covering and uncovering the screen.

Jiang Ran strained to read the message:

[Congratulations, lucky user! You’ve won the grand prize in our New Year’s Spin ’n’ Win event! One top-of-the-line iPhone 16! Please click the link below to fill out your shipping information and pay the 180 yuan shipping fee. Your insured SF Express delivery will be sent out immediately!]

”...”

Jiang Ran grimaced, looking at Roommate No. 1 with exasperation.

”Dude, are you serious?”

”Of course!”

Roommate No. 1 quickly snatched his phone back.

”I only told you because I don’t dare tell the others. They’d definitely get jealous! What if they try to steal my new phone?”

”No, man...”

Jiang Ran quickly grabbed him to stop him.

”That’s a scam! It’s an old trick that’s been around for years. Their goal is to trick you into paying the shipping fee. After that, they might ask for an insurance fee, a deposit, a verification fee... They’ll just keep hitting you with fake charges. They’re never going to send you a phone.”

”Just listen to yourself!”

The expression on Roommate No. 1’s face changed instantly.

”I only told you because I thought we were close, and now you’re jealous of me too! I already checked the tracking number—it’s shipped! How can it be fake?”

”That’s not...”

”I really misjudged you, Jiang Ran! If it was a scam, why did I get the text and you didn’t? You’re just jealous!”

With that, Roommate No. 1 stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

”...”

Jiang Ran stared at the rattling door, at a loss for words.

’Whatever.’

’Let him lose a couple hundred yuan for the lesson. You live and you learn.’

Not two minutes later.

Another roommate walked in, his face flushed with excitement.

”Jiang Ran! I’m going to tell you a secret! You absolutely cannot tell anyone else!”

”You won something too?” Jiang Ran interjected.

”Huh? How’d you know?”

”Don’t tell me it’s an iPhone 16, too?”

”What are you talking about? This is a legit lottery—a high-frequency one!”

Roommate No. 2 pulled out his phone and showed Jiang Ran the betting interface.

”See? This lottery site, it runs a new game every ten minutes. Some big shot is giving out tips, and I’ve already made a few hundred!”

”...”

Jiang Ran glanced at the crudely designed page and immediately knew what was going on.

”Dude, that’s a fake site. It doesn’t matter how much you ’win.’ The catch is, you won’t be able to cash out.”

”What do you mean I can’t cash out? I just withdrew 100!”

”That’s because you only took out a little. Once you deposit more, they definitely won’t let you withdraw again. By the way... do you guys not have an anti-fraud app on your phones?”

”Wh-what are you talking about, Jiang Ran?! I was nice enough to share this with you, I was even going to get you into the group to make money, and this is how you react?”

Roommate No. 2 turned on him.

”The moment I started making money, you were the first person I thought of. And you’re trying to block my path to wealth! Are you just jealous that I’m about to get rich?”

”Once I’m rich, you think I wouldn’t have treated you to dinner? You’re a real disappointment!”

Furious, Roommate No. 2 also stormed out, slamming the door.

”...”

Jiang Ran glanced at the rickety-looking door, quickly finished changing, and got out of there.

’If I stay here any longer,’ he thought, ’I’m going to end up offending every single one of my roommates.’

’I’ll probably have to stay here for a while before I can sort out the Positron Cannon. Better not to burn all my bridges.’

He walked out of the vocational college’s gates.

He hailed a taxi and headed straight for East Sea University.

Unsure of where to start, Jiang Ran decided to go check on the Film Club again.

He arrived at the student activities building.

On the first-floor notice board, the disciplinary notice for Yan Rui was still posted.

The official posting period was long over, but since no one bothered to manage the board or tear it down, it remained there, waiting for a new notice to cover it up.

He entered the building and made his way to the Film Club’s door.

He found the door was ajar.

Someone was inside.

He leaned in, peeking through the crack in the door. It was a familiar face! The last president of the Film Club, wielder of the Positron Cannon, bearer of disciplinary action, graduating senior—

Yan Rui.

In the original timeline, Yan Rui had handed over his duties and left campus early because Jiang Ran, Qin Feng, and Cheng Mengxue took over the Film Club in March.

But in this timeline, the trio was fractured and struggling to fend for themselves, so naturally, no one was there to take over the Film Club.

That was likely the reason why Yan Rui still hadn’t left campus.

Seeing a familiar face in this new timeline, Jiang Ran felt an odd sense of excitement and pushed the door open.

”Hello, Yan Rui. I’m a sophomore—”

He stopped his introduction mid-sentence and shut his mouth.

’Seriously, why am I trying to act so familiar?’

’Right now I’m just a student from that vocational college, not an underclassman from this university. The less I say, the better.’

Yan Rui was packing miscellaneous items from a desk into a box.

He turned around and pushed up his glasses.

”And you are...?”

”Yan Rui, I’m here about the Film Club.”

He’d already been through this part of the story once, so Jiang Ran cut straight to the chase, opting for the quickest route.

”Sir, I’ve only recently gotten into film cameras, and I’ve really fallen in love with film photography. So... I want to keep the Film Club going.”

”I understand the student union has already issued a notice to disband the club, but I’ll figure something out. Could you please just give me two more days?”

Yan Rui looked completely baffled.

It took him a few seconds to process Jiang Ran’s words.

”I don’t have a problem with you wanting to revive the Film Club. It’s just... that’s not going to be an easy task.”

He took a ”Notice of Club Disbandment” from a bookshelf and handed it to Jiang Ran.

”See? The club’s charter has already been revoked. I was just about to finish packing my personal belongings and hand over the keys to the room.”

”Of course, if you really have a way to save the Film Club, I’m more than willing to wait a couple of days.”

”After all, I’ve been in this club for a long time. It means a lot to me, and I don’t want to see it disbanded either.”

Jiang Ran took the notice.

”Don’t worry, Yan Rui. I won’t disappoint you. I’ll be back in two days.”

OK.

’Step one of the plan: complete.’

’Next, I need to find Xu Yan and make use of her incredible network.’

After leaving the Film Club, he went straight up to the second floor, heading for the Film Society’s clubroom.

Unlike the Film Club, the Film Society was thriving. It was a major club with several activity rooms and even its own dedicated screening room. They were, in a word, formidable.

However, after checking several rooms, he couldn’t find any sign of Xu Yan.

A sense of unease washed over Jiang Ran.

’No way.’

’Don’t tell me the Xu Yan in this timeline also died saving that child in the river?’

’In the last timeline, Cheng Mengxue and I used the Time SMS to save her.’

’But in this timeline, there was no one to save her.’

A male student saw Jiang Ran standing in the doorway and approached him.

”Hello, can I help you with something?”

”I’m looking for someone.”

Jiang Ran’s heart began to pound.

”Excuse me, is the president, Xu Yan, here?”