Genius Playground

[July 23, 2025. Weather: Light Rain.]

[I went to the hospital today.

I hate this place.

A book I read once said that if you think life is hard, you should go to a hospital and see how many people are fighting just to stay alive.

Every time I come to the hospital, I think of those words.

But it never makes me feel any better.

Because there are no spectators here, only Clowns toyed with by fate.

If I could, I’d wish for all the hospitals in the world to be empty of patients, of suffering, of struggle, and of regret.

It’s just a shame...

I can’t save everyone.

I can only save myself.

The Mutual Aid Association will grant my wish.

After that...

I’ll never have to come to the hospital again.

And as for me.

I’ll be able to die without any regrets.]

...

...

...

PITTER-PATTER, PITTER-PATTER.

Outside the hospital, a light rain began to fall.

Jiang Ran stood before the main entrance of the building, DNA report in hand, listening to the patter of the rain.

He never expected this.

The DNA report showed a biological uncle-niece relationship between Cheng Mengxue and Xu Yan’s father... That meant she was his biological niece. The family connection was undeniable.

This...

Could it possibly be fake?

Beside him, Wang Hao exhaled a long plume of smoke and patted Jiang Ran’s shoulder.

”A deal’s a deal, man.”

”Yeah.”

Jiang Ran nodded.

For some reason, even though he had mentally accepted the fact that the real Xiaoxue was indeed alive, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of happiness. On the contrary, this irrefutable proof left him feeling incredibly down.

Looking up at the dark, silent night sky, he felt completely lost.

Until now, everything he had done—his entire motivation—had stemmed from the need to save Cheng Mengxue.

Whether it was by using a Time SMS from the Positron Cannon or by using the Time Travel Machine, all of his efforts had been for one purpose: to save the deceased Cheng Mengxue.

But now...

The worldline had played a huge joke on him.

Cheng Mengxue hadn’t died at all! She was alive and well!

’Then, what was he supposed to do now?’

Repairing the Positron Cannon, getting to know Lu Yu, building the Time Travel Machine—did any of it still have a point?

No.

Jiang Ran shook his head.

There was still a point.

To return to World Line 0 completely, he had to repair the Positron Cannon and send the Time SMS again.

Although for now, there didn’t seem to be much difference between World Line 0 and World Line 1... he still ended up at East Sea University, and Cheng Mengxue was still alive and well.

But no matter how he tried to convince or numb himself, he just couldn’t find any sense of belonging in this worldline.

The same went for this Xiaoxue.

Even though all the evidence proved she was real, Jiang Ran still couldn’t see her as the Cheng Mengxue in his heart—the Cheng Mengxue from World Line 0 who had been by his side day and night.

Besides, there was something else he couldn’t ignore—

”Qin Feng.”

He once again muttered the name that remained so clear in his mind.

Jiang Ran had no idea what the current Qin Feng was secretly up to.

But it wasn’t hard to conclude that Qin Feng’s plan must have already started back on World Line 0.

The text message he’d sent ten years into the past wasn’t just to save his father; there had to be other plans and conspiracies involved.

Ever since finding out that Qin Feng had bought the knob circuit board and stolen from his basement, Jiang Ran truly couldn’t tell if Qin Feng was a friend or a foe.

Suddenly, he recalled the promise he had made to Qin Feng during the Worldline Jump:

”No matter how the worldline changes, I won’t leave any of you behind.”

”No matter what the Butterfly Effect of spacetime does to our relationships, I’ll definitely find you both and we’ll make up, just like we are now.”

Looking at it now, that promise seemed a bit idealistic.

But...

He had to follow through on what he said and the promises he made.

This had always been Jiang Ran’s code.

In any case, the first step was to find Qin Feng. He had to see what the hell the guy was up to and what dark secrets he was hiding.

’If I can’t find him in the present world, then I’ll find him in the Future World!’

The year 2045, the Future Prison, the Magician, the execution ground, the execution platform...

”Qin Feng, I’ll see you in 20 years.”

Jiang Ran picked up his phone and checked the date.

It was 11:00 PM on July 23, 2025.

There was just over a month left until the registration date for graduate school at East Sea University.

In a little over a month, he would return to East Sea University, work with Chi Xiaoguo to activate the Positron Cannon again, and travel to the Future Prison in 2045—

to find the truth behind all the secrets, the answers to all the questions.

...

After that, time flew by.

Jiang Ran finally understood what Cheng Mengxue meant by ”counting down the days.” In all his years as a student, he had never hated summer vacation so much.

’Why can’t it go by faster?’

’Why can’t the break be shorter?’

He wanted to go to school!

As for Cheng Mengxue, at Xu Yan’s strong insistence, she ended up staying for nearly a month.

If she hadn’t needed to return for her studies, Xu Yan wouldn’t have let her go, seeming determined to make up for two years of lost sisterly bonding all at once.

Today was the day Cheng Mengxue had booked her flight back to the United States.

Jiang Ran drove, taking Wang Hao and Xu Yan with him to see Cheng Mengxue off.

”Alright, this is far enough! I have to go through security now!”

After checking in her luggage, the three of them said their goodbyes to Cheng Mengxue at the security checkpoint.

Cheng Mengxue looked at Jiang Ran, giggled, and skipped over to him.

”Next time I come back, I’ll bring that limited-edition Brooklyn Gangster Godfather Rhine Cat with me. You can use it as a phone charm too, okay?”

”I’ll pass.”

Jiang Ran gave a wry smile.