Genius Playground

The next day, Jiang Ran brought the film camera Nan Xiuxiu had given him and arrived early at the East Sea University Film Club.

It was quite early, and the clubroom door was locked tight, which meant Chi Xiaoguo hadn’t arrived yet.

So he went to the window in the hallway, took the spare key for the clubroom from under a small flowerpot, and opened the door...

Here, everything was as it had been.

It was already past mid-May. No matter what, the Film Club’s activities would have to be postponed until the next semester.

Therefore, before summer break, no one other than Jiang Ran and Chi Xiaoguo would be coming into this room for the time being.

Sunlight streamed in through the glass window. The Positron Cannon, a device capable of changing the state of the world, lay quietly on the lab bench, having passed another peaceful and quiet night.

To be honest, there really was no need to hide this thing away.

It had been lying in this dilapidated clubroom like a piece of junk for so many years, and in all that time, no one had stolen it. In all likelihood, it would never be stolen.

On this No. 1 worldline, only two people could possibly know the Positron Cannon’s secret.

One was himself.

The other was Qin Feng.

He wasn’t sure if the Time SMS Qin Feng had sent to ten years in the past would mention the Positron Cannon.

A 70-character limit wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either. If you really wanted to explain a lot of things, you’d have to make some difficult choices.

’Forget it. I’ll stop thinking about Qin Feng for now.’

Jiang Ran shook his head, clearing it of stray thoughts, and sat down on the sofa.

He took the dust bag out of the gift box, then took the film camera Nan Xiuxiu had given him out of the dust bag. He carefully examined the heavy, old object.

’This thing isn’t very useful in my dorm room, and I’d just worry about bumping or breaking it. It’s much more fitting to leave it here in the Film Club’s clubroom.’

He turned the camera over and looked at the film compartment.

On the first frame of film inside... was etched the first photo he had ever taken of Nan Xiuxiu.

Those were the world’s truest colors, and also the truest piece of history on this worldline.

He found it inexplicably amusing.

’I never would have thought.’

’At first, I’d only gotten involved with the Film Club because I was forced to, just to get back the Positron Cannon. But through a series of coincidences, my connection to the club has somehow grown deeper and deeper.’

’I even have my own film camera now.’

”Ah, Senior, you’re already here!”

A cheerful, energetic greeting came from the doorway as Chi Xiaoguo pushed the door open with a smile:

”Sorry to keep you waitin—GGGGGGGGGGGW690!!!”

For some reason, Chi Xiaoguo suddenly broke down like a skipping radio.

”What?” Jiang Ran looked up.

”Oh my god! A GW690!!!”

Chi Xiaoguo, like a fully wound-up toy frog, bounded over in just a few steps! Her face was a mere centimeter from Jiang Ran’s hand, and she was panting heavily!

”Oh.”

Jiang Ran hefted the old camera in his hand:

”You mean this?”

”Mhm, mhm, mhm!!”

Chi Xiaoguo bobbed her head like a chick pecking at rice, her eyes wide as her gaze remained fixed on the camera:

”This is the super-awesome! Super-precious! The groundbreaking Fuji GW690 Third Generation!”

Only then did Jiang Ran understand. So that was the camera’s name.

”Is it expensive?”

”Super expensive!”

Chi Xiaoguo restrained her hands, which were itching to touch it:

”On the normal second-hand market, the price is usually around seven or eight thousand, but for one in a condition as good as yours, it would definitely go for over ten thousand!”

Hiss...

’Ten thousand yuan.’

Although he had been mentally prepared, knowing Nan Xiuxiu wouldn’t give him a cheap gift, he was still somewhat surprised that this old, plasticky-feeling camera in his hands could sell for so much... he hadn’t quite expected it.

”This thing is really heavy,” Jiang Ran said truthfully.

”Of course it is! That’s because it’s built so solidly!”

Chi Xiaoguo’s eyes were sparkling:

”The Fuji GW690 camera is legendary in the film photography community. You could call it the cream of the crop among medium format cameras. If I remember correctly... it should weigh about 3.3 pounds, which is definitely a lot heavier than your average camera.”

”I’m just so amazed—how is this camera in such good condition? You have to understand, this is a product from the 1990s, so it’s almost thirty years old! And the one you’re holding has been maintained so well it looks brand new!”

”Senior, Senior! Where did you get this camera?!”

Jiang Ran chuckled lightly:

”A friend gave it to me.”

”Is your friend looking for more friends?!”

”Do you want to take a look?”

Jiang Ran had already seen how eager Chi Xiaoguo was, so he handed the camera to her.

”Huh? Can I?!”

Chi Xiaoguo took it with both hands, treating it with extreme care.

”Of course.”

Jiang Ran couldn’t help but smile:

”This is the Film Club. A film camera belongs here, doesn’t it?”

”Speaking of which... I wanted to ask you something. If I want to get the photos I’ve taken developed later, where should I go?”

Chi Xiaoguo reached out and pointed to the mini darkroom sectioned off inside the clubroom:

”We can develop them by hand in here. If you trust my skills, I can do it for you when the time comes.”

”But... either way, we’ll have to wait until next semester to develop any photos.”

She spread her hands helplessly and gave a wry smile:

”Our club doesn’t have any funding for activities right now, so we don’t have the money to buy the chemicals and materials for developing photos. But things will be fine once the new semester starts. We can apply for funding then.”

Jiang Ran listened and nodded silently.

”Alright.”

’Next semester, huh...’

’Such a long, distant time. It feels like it will never arrive.’

”It’s getting late. Let’s start the experiment.”

He braced his hands on his knees and stood up, looking at the Positron Cannon on the lab bench:

”I hope everything goes smoothly today.”

...

Once all preparations were complete, the two of them returned to their positions from yesterday.

Jiang Ran stood by the transformer distribution box outside the window, responsible for sending the text message.