Genius Playground

Jiang Ran left Old Qi’s Home Appliance Repair Shop.

He walked to the street corner, got into a taxi, and headed for East Sea University.

Finally.

Finally.

Everything was finally progressing to the last step.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Chi Xiaoguo, telling her he was going to the Film Club to repair the Positron Cannon.

As luck would have it, Chi Xiaoguo replied that she had no classes that afternoon and would go to the club room early to wait.

CLICK.

He locked his phone.

Jiang Ran leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes, resting.

’Chi Xiaoguo...’

’That girl from Guangxi who loves film cameras and has that cute, sweet voice... After the world line changes, she’ll end up at the school she was supposed to go to.’

’It’s a real shame when I think about it.’

’But it can’t be helped.’

’If Cheng Mengxue were alive, she would have definitely applied to East Sea University after the college entrance exams.’

’The School of Fine Arts has a fixed number of spots for its design program. Each spot is spoken for. If Cheng Mengxue gets in, then Chi Xiaoguo will inevitably be pushed out.’

”Everyone has their own fate, I suppose.”

’I hope this girl, who prides herself on being lucky, will be just as lucky in the new world line.’

...

「One hour later.」

”We’re at East Sea University.”

The driver pulled over to the side of the road and held out the QR code for payment.

Jiang Ran scanned the code and paid. Carrying the parts he’d bought from Old Qi’s Home Appliance Repair Shop, he walked onto campus and headed for the Film Club’s room.

”Wow!”

Chi Xiaoguo, her hair tied up in two small buns, tilted her head from side to side as she observed the newly refurbished Positron Cannon.

”Senior, does this mean it’s fixed?”

The Positron Cannon’s power module had been replaced, and the Beam Converger was now connected to an LCD control panel with knobs.

This was the fruit of Jiang Ran’s recent sleepless nights spent studying.

’Although I haven’t run any experimental verification, all the parts are identical to those from World Line 0. So, as long as there’s nothing inherently wrong with the Positron Cannon itself, it should work without a problem.’

”It should be considered fixed.”

Jiang Ran stroked a dent on the Positron Cannon’s outer shell.

”As long as the core CRT inside wasn’t damaged when it got hit, I’m pretty confident.”

”When are we going to test it?” Chi Xiaoguo asked, her curiosity piqued.

”Hmm...”

Jiang Ran considered.

”Are you free tomorrow morning? The earlier, the better.”

”Yep! I can be here by six!”

”Okay, let’s do six a.m. then. We’ll meet here in the club room.”

’Based on previous experience, the best time to start the Positron Cannon is in the dead of night. The entire club activities building is empty then, so the power grid load is minimal.’

’But...’

’I can’t just ask Chi Xiaoguo to come here in the middle of the night and be alone in a room with me, can I?’

’We’re not related or anything, and we’re a man and a woman alone. I would never dare make such an unreasonable request. That would be completely disrespectful.’

’So, the only option is to settle for the next best time: early morning.’

’Luckily, Chi Xiaoguo is willing to help, and she never pries. She just does whatever I ask... That’s why I can trust her to operate the Positron Cannon.’

’It can’t be helped.’

’The unique mechanics of the Time SMS require the send button to be pressed near the transformer box within 0.7 seconds of the Positron Cannon’s activation.’

’With such a short window and such a strict positioning requirement, it’s impossible for one person to do it. I have to rely on Chi Xiaoguo’s help.’

”Okay, Senior.”

Chi Xiaoguo looked eager to get started.

”See you tomorrow!”

...

「The next day. Early morning.」

A light drizzle was falling over East Sea City.

As Jiang Ran got out of the taxi, he stretched out his hand to feel the raindrops. ’This kind of weather really isn’t a good sign,’ he thought.

”I hope everything goes smoothly.”

He shut the taxi door and walked into East Sea University.

”When you start the Positron Cannon, you need this front barrel to be aimed at the electrical distribution box outside.”

Inside the Film Club, Jiang Ran was giving Chi Xiaoguo step-by-step instructions.

”Keep it aimed just like this. Don’t move it during the process.”

He then started adjusting the knobs on the control panel.

He turned the ”Year” knob to 1.

He turned the ”Month” knob to 11.

He turned the ”Day” knob to 8.

This way, when the Positron Cannon activated, it would send the Time SMS 1 year, 11 months, and 8 days into the past.

Converted to a specific date, that was—

June 6, 2023.

’That was the day before the 2023 college entrance exam, and two days before Cheng Mengxue’s accidental death.’

’Two days.’

’It would be enough time for my past self to confirm the Time SMS was real, trust the message, plan ahead, and save Cheng Mengxue.’

”I’ve already set the parameters. In a moment, all you have to do is hit the start button.”

Jiang Ran instructed Chi Xiaoguo,

”When I shout that I’m ready from outside the window, you start a countdown from five: ’5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.’ Say it loud enough for me to hear you outside.”

”The moment you hit ’0,’ press the Positron Cannon’s activation button. Don’t worry about anything else. That’s your only job.”

”Uh-huh!”

Chi Xiaoguo nodded emphatically.

Although she didn’t know what Jiang Ran was planning or what was about to happen... all she had to do was follow his instructions.

”Senior, is something really interesting about to happen?”

She grinned, revealing her canines, her eyes filled with anticipation.

”I think so.”

Jiang Ran chuckled.

’Making a person appear out of thin air. I wonder if that’s interesting enough.’

’It’s just...’

’She won’t get to see this part.’

’He could already see it.’

’The instant Chi Xiaoguo pressed the Positron Cannon’s activation button, and he pressed the send key for the message...’

’...that would be their final farewell.’

’A farewell that would last only 0.7 seconds, without even time for a proper goodbye.’

”I want to ask you something.”

Jiang Ran turned to face her.

”Can you tell me... when you were choosing your universities, what was your second choice?”

”Nankai!”

Chi Xiaoguo giggled.

”East Sea University was my first choice, but my score was cutting it a little close. I had a much better chance with Nankai. Plus, they’re flexible with admissions, so I was sure I could get in somehow.”

”Nankai, huh...”

Jiang Ran found himself gazing northward.

”That’s far.”

”Yup.”

Chi Xiaoguo agreed.

”It’s a long way from my hometown... Hey? Senior, why the sudden question?”

”It’s nothing.”

Jiang Ran looked down.

”I was just thinking... if parallel worlds really exist, other possible world lines... maybe in one of them, you’re studying at Nankai University right now.”

”I wonder if Nankai University has a Film Club. Maybe you could’ve met a group of classmates there who share your passion.”

”That would be great, wouldn’t it? Then you wouldn’t be here, being the lone commander of a club on the verge of collapse, unable to find anyone else who gets it.”

Hmm...

Chi Xiaoguo rested her chin on her hand, pondering.

”Maybe.”

She looked up.

”But if I had gone to Nankai University, then I wouldn’t have met you, Senior.”

Her eyes fixed on Jiang Ran, her expression earnest.

”Meeting like-minded friends would be a good thing, of course. But I think meeting you, getting to rebuild the Film Club with you through all the ups and downs—that process has been happier, and much more fulfilling.”

”There’s a professor at our university, Teacher Zhang Yang. His general studies course is really interesting, so I signed up for it.”

”Teacher Zhang Yang once said you shouldn’t romanticize the paths you don’t choose or regret the lives you don’t live.”

”He said that every life and every choice comes with regrets and mistakes. What’s truly important is to cherish your life in the present, and the people right in front of you—”

”’What you see is beautiful, and what you encounter is what you sought.’ He also said, ’It’s impossible to make the right choice every time, but no choice is a blank slate. There will always be unexpected encounters waiting for you.’”

The raindrops pattered against the glass, and her voice was as pleasant as wind chimes.

”So, if it were up to me to choose all over again.”

”I would still want to come to East Sea University, to go through this journey with you, Senior, following in your footsteps...”

”And save this Film Club!”