Genius Playground

[September 1, 2025. Weather: Blazing Sun]

[The mission has finally, officially, begun.

I have made all the preparations and arrived at East Sea University.

East Sea University...

Heh.

I never imagined my former dream would be realized in this way.

So be it.

Regardless of how it happened, I’m finally here.

To be able to spend the final moments of my life here... I suppose that’s a kindness from fate.

I hope.

That you all won’t blame me.

It’s not that I want to dirty this place. I just have no other way, no other choice.

I’m sorry.

To make up for my regrets...

This is the only way.]

...

...

...

On the first day of school, in graduate dormitory room 314, sunlight bathed two young men in a way that seemed fated.

Jiang Ran looked at Fang Ze and nodded.

”Hello. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

He quickly extended his hand to shake hands with this fellow disciple named Fang Ze.

It was a very small hand, slightly cool to the touch and unbelievably delicate. It was clearly the hand of a rich kid who had never had to do a day’s work.

For some reason, he started to laugh.

He wasn’t laughing at Fang Ze, but at himself.

It was only then that he understood why, when he had spoken to Teacher Zhang Yang on the phone a few days ago, the professor had found him unreasonable and thought he was acting like a diva. Meanwhile, he himself had thought East Sea University was being unreasonable and just messing around.

It turned out... he and Teacher Zhang Yang had been talking at cross-purposes, leading to a complete misunderstanding.

Recalling their heated conversation now, it was actually quite funny.

The truth was, when Teacher Zhang Yang had called Jiang Ran to say a new exchange student was joining their Sect, he wasn’t talking about Cheng Mengxue at all! He was talking about the beautiful young man standing before him, Fang Ze!

It was Jiang Ran’s own fault for jumping to conclusions and assuming it was Cheng Mengxue, leading to a nonsensical conversation with Zhang Yang.

No wonder Zhang Yang had said their lives shouldn’t intersect...

No wonder he’d said it was perfectly reasonable for the two of them to share a dorm room...

It was more than reasonable!

Two guys sharing a room in the men’s dorm—what could be more natural?!

It was just too much of a coincidence.

This semester, two exchange students had chosen to study under Teacher Zhang Yang at the same time, which was what had led to the misunderstanding a few days ago.

This Fang Ze was from Harvard University. Just like Cheng Mengxue, he was here at East Sea University for a one-year exchange program.

The difference was, he must have completed his paperwork much earlier, allowing him to arrive in the Dragon Country early, choose his advisor early, and meet with Teacher Zhang Yang early.

The day Teacher Zhang Yang had called him was probably the same day he met Fang Ze, which was why he had immediately called Jiang Ran to share the good news.

For the Sect, which had been a bare-bones command, this was a huge surprise. It might have only been one more disciple, but in relative terms, the Sect’s population had jumped by a terrifying 100%!

Moreover,

there was even better news that Teacher Zhang Yang didn’t know about yet.

Namely, that Cheng Mengxue, the exchange student from the University of Pennsylvania who was about to arrive at East Sea University, would also be choosing to join Teacher Zhang Yang’s Sect without a second thought after she registered today.

’What an honor.’

’Teacher Zhang Yang, who had obtained his qualifications as a graduate advisor less than half a year ago and didn’t even have the official qualifications to accept students this year...’

’...has somehow managed to snag three prodigies for the new semester: one from Harvard University, one from the University of Pennsylvania, and the solver of Goldbach’s Conjecture (in his hidden form), who came with a personal recommendation from the director of the Longke Institute (in his public form)!’

’I bet when the three of us report to the lab this afternoon, Teacher Zhang Yang will be grinning from ear to ear.’

’This is bound to be a highlight of his life that will never be surpassed.’

’Because...’

’...after a year, the two students from prestigious United States universities will leave.’

’All that will be left is me, this ”academic simpleton,” to scheme against and try to outwit my advisor, just filling a spot. The fall of the Sect will only be a matter of time.’

’What flourishes must decline, and what reaches an extreme will reverse. That’s just the way it is.’

”You’ve already unpacked?”

Jiang Ran turned his head to look at the neat and tidy bed by the window, and the daily necessities piled up around it.

”Yeah, I got here pretty early.”

Fang Ze pointed to the bed.

”You don’t mind me taking the bed by the window, do you?”

”Not at all, not at all.”

Jiang Ran waved his hand.

”I actually prefer the one by the door. It’s more convenient. I go out a lot, so sleeping here means I won’t disturb you.”

Fang Ze blinked, looking Jiang Ran up and down.

”Do you like sports?”

”It’s not really sports...”

Jiang Ran scratched his head.

”I’m more into club activities, I guess. I probably won’t be spending much time in the dorm on a daily basis.”

Oh~

Fang Ze understood.

”Compared to you, then, I’m more of a homebody.”

His smile was clear and pure. He turned and picked up the book he had just set down.

”I usually just like to read. I read a bit of everything, all sorts of books.”

Jiang Ran glanced at the book’s cover.

It was an English edition.

But the book was so famous that Jiang Ran recognized it at a glance.

”*Narrow Gate*,”

he said softly.

”A work by the French author André Gide. He also won a Nobel Prize in Literature.”

Fang Ze was quite surprised and looked at Jiang Ran with a hint of astonishment.

”You’ve read it?”

”No,”

Jiang Ran said honestly.

”Even though it’s a love story, it’s both convoluted and depressing. And from a modern perspective, its values are all out of whack. There are a lot of videos online complaining about this book, and I happened to stumble upon some... I was pretty blown away.”

Suddenly, he felt it probably wasn’t appropriate to criticize a book his roommate was currently reading.

So he quickly tried to patch things up.

”Ah, but in terms of literary merit, it must be quite good. It’s a Nobel Prize-winning work, after all.”

”Besides, every era has its own cultural style. We shouldn’t judge the past by today’s standards, nor should we praise the ancient while belittling the modern.”