Genius Playground

[September 8, 2025. Weather: Overcast]

[I’ve been at East Sea University for a while now.

This time has given me a long-lost sense of relaxation and happiness.

Perhaps it’s the contentment before a hope is about to be fulfilled.

Perhaps it’s the relief before a regret is about to be mended.

Perhaps...

It’s simply that I’ve met some very nice people here, which has put me in a great mood.

But the thing that made me happiest today was—

The Priest, he called me!

I was so incredibly excited!

I can’t believe that the Priest who once listened to our prayers, our regrets, our pain—the lofty, omnipotent Priest... actually called me.

I’ve been a member of the Regrets Mutual Aid Association for two years, and this is the first time I’ve had this honor.

The Priest said he’s ready to mend my regret, but I still need to complete my mission first.

He promised that the instant I complete my mission, my regret will be mended immediately.

I don’t doubt the Priest’s omnipotent power in the slightest.

I don’t doubt for a second that he can mend my regret.

I can’t wait for that day to come.

The Priest told me...

It’s coming soon.

Very soon.

The time to mete out divine punishment for sin is not far off.

Everything will end this September.

Including regrets.

Including me.]

...

...

...

”Hehe~ I see you!”

That WeChat message made Jiang Ran’s scalp tingle instantly.

’How is that possible?’

’This is a major-specific course that only I have to take. There’s no way Cheng Mengxue is here! Where is she watching me from?!’

He raised his head and looked out the window.

It was an overcast day. The sky was gray and hazy, with no sunlight to be seen.

A north wind had also started to blow across East Sea University. The air had a damp, salty smell, and his clothes felt uncomfortably sticky against his skin.

There was no one outside the window.

There was no one at the classroom door, either.

’Could it be...!’

Jiang Ran whipped his head around to look at the very back of the classroom.

Sure enough.

Cheng Mengxue and Fang Ze were both sitting in the empty seats of the last row. Fang Ze had his head down, looking at something, while Cheng Mengxue was giggling and waving at him.

Jiang Ran turned back around, shifted his textbook to cover the draft paper, and then replied on WeChat:

”What are you guys doing here?”

His phone vibrated. Cheng Mengxue replied:

”Hehe, neither of us has class right now, so we looked up your schedule. We figured we’d come to the classroom and wait for you to finish so we can all grab a bite to eat.”

”There’s something the two of us wanted to discuss with you, about Teacher Zhang Yang...”

Jiang Ran replied with an ”Okay,” then put his phone away and focused on the lecture.

...

After class, he picked up an eraser and carefully erased the three sentences he had written in pencil on the draft paper. Then, he folded the paper and put it in his inner jacket pocket.

He stood up.

He went to the back row to find Cheng Mengxue and Fang Ze, and the three of them went to the cafeteria to eat.

”The two of us were thinking, maybe we should go visit Teacher Zhang Yang with you.”

Cheng Mengxue said while eating her char siu rice:

”You see, Teacher Zhang Yang is our advisor, after all. Fang Ze met him once during the break, but I haven’t met him at all.”

”Now that Teacher Zhang Yang is injured and hospitalized, it’s been so long, and we haven’t even visited him as his students... Isn’t that a bit rude?”

”So we were talking, and we thought, how about we all chip in for some fruit and gifts and go visit Teacher Zhang at the hospital? It would also be a chance for us two new students to properly greet him.”

Jiang Ran took a sip of his malatang.

’Time for some tactical thinking.’

Logically and emotionally, there was nothing wrong with Cheng Mengxue’s suggestion.

However.

Teacher Zhang Yang had made it clear that he didn’t want to lose face.

When he first came back from the hospital, the story he gave the two of them was that Teacher Zhang Yang had been hit by a car, and it was the other driver’s fault entirely.

’As the senior disciple of the Sect, I have to find a way to protect my Master’s dignity, right? After all, we’re in the same boat; our reputations are tied together.’

”Actually, Teacher Zhang Yang is a very thin-skinned person.”

Jiang Ran started spouting nonsense:

”He’s a bit too embarrassed for us to visit him, especially now that he’s in a cast with his leg in a sling. If we go see him now, it’ll just make him feel awkward.”

”I think we should wait a couple more days, what do you say? I’ll mention to Teacher Zhang later that we want to visit and that you two want to say hi, and see what he says.”

Push it off, delay a little—it was a stalling tactic.

In the Dragon Country, who the hell knew how many days ”a couple of days” really meant.

Especially when used for things like grabbing a meal, having a get-together, or going out. ”In a couple of days,” ”let’s wait a couple of days”... a lifetime could pass, and that meal would never happen.

...

「The calendar turned to a new page.」

At daybreak, Jiang Ran got out of bed. Instead of going directly to the Film Club’s activity room, he went around to the back of the building and found Old Tian, who was sweeping.

”Hey, Old Tian.”

Old Tian turned around, and the two shared a knowing smile.

Nothing more needed to be said.

Time for today’s sweeping duo queue.

Having swept together for so long, the two had gradually grown familiar with each other. They often made small talk while sweeping, and had learned quite a bit about one another.

Jiang Ran had already learned that Old Tian was from the Northeast, born and raised in Black River.

”What made you decide to come to East Sea?”

Jiang Ran picked up a plastic bag from a flowerbed.

”Black River is pretty far from East Sea. It couldn’t have been easy to make the trip here, right?”

”Heh, the pay is higher here.”

Old Tian was very frank, admitting:

”The economy in the Northeast isn’t doing so well these days. Not only is there less work, but the pay is also very low. Most people are heading south.”

”My daughter has a health condition and needs rehabilitation. My salary back in the Northeast could barely cover the expenses, but... things were always a little tight.”

”It’s different here in East Sea. My salary for sweeping here is more than double what I made back home. And since her rehabilitation costs here are also covered by health insurance, the expense isn’t much different.”