Genius Playground

Evidently, he still hadn’t given up on his research into Quantum Tunneling. Neither Jiang Ran nor Gao Yan had been able to persuade him.

It couldn’t be helped.

’I’ll just have to take it slow and try to talk him around in the future.’

Afterward, Zhang Yang showed him the way to the lab, and the two said their goodbyes.

"Jiang Ran, starting next semester, we’ll officially be teacher and student. Don’t let your summer vacation go to waste. Remember to study and prepare, and whatever you do, don’t squander your talent."

"I understand."

Jiang Ran waved to Zhang Yang.

"Well then, Teacher Zhang, I’ll see you in September."

...

After leaving the lab, Jiang Ran took out his phone and checked WeChat.

There was still no reply to the message he’d sent Chi Xiaoguo, which meant her exam wasn’t over yet. She was probably wracking her brain over the questions right now.

Lately, Jiang Ran hadn’t done any experiments with Chi Xiaoguo, nor had he been to the Film Club’s activity room.

For one, he’d had a lot on his plate: getting into graduate school, Nan Xiuxiu, dropping out of his current program, letters of recommendation, and all that.

For another, Chi Xiaoguo had scraped into East Sea University with the lowest possible scores, and Jiang Ran really didn’t want her to fail any classes. So, he’d let her focus entirely on studying during exam week.

’I’ll go to the Film Club and wait for her.’

However, just as he entered the club activities building, Jiang Ran was shocked.

’What’s going on?!’

The first thing he saw was a white seal pasted across the door of the Film Club’s activity room, bearing the red stamp of the Club Management Office!

’What happened?’

’I’ve only been away for a few days, and the Film Club has already gone under again?’

"Hey, Jiang Ran? What a coincidence."

A familiar voice drifted from the stairwell.

He turned around.

He saw a tall, beautiful girl smiling as she descended the stairs, her small heels clacking against the steps.

It was Xu Yan.

The head of the Film Society, Cheng Mengxue’s cousin, his childhood playmate, and... the girl from World Line 0 who had been brought back from the dead with the Positron Cannon.

"Long time no see."

Jiang Ran greeted her.

It really had been a long time. The last time they’d met was when he’d come to East Sea University to ask her to pull some strings, after which he’d written the shooting script for *Genius Playground* for her. He hadn’t seen her since.

"What’s this all about?" he asked, pointing to the seal on the activity room door.

"Oh, that’s a seal from the management office."

Xu Yan explained,

"Summer vacation officially starts tomorrow, and the club activities building is closed during the break. They seal all the doors and shut off the power... It’s like this every year."

She pointed to the notice board outside the door.

"There’s a ’Notice on Summer Safety Management for the Club Activities Building’ posted out there. It says power will be restored after school starts on September 1st."

"It’s all for safety reasons. After all, no one’s here during summer break. If an electrical fault or a fire started in one of the rooms, no one would notice in time. Sealing the doors and cutting the power is the safest thing to do."

Oh.

Jiang Ran let out an "oh."

’So that’s how it is.’

Since he’d never really participated in club activities before, he hadn’t known about this.

’It’s fine, though.’

’If I really need to get into the Film Club later to grab something, or to activate the Positron Cannon for a trip to 2045, I can just climb in through the window.’

The Film Club’s window had long been rickety, its lock practically useless. In both World Line 0 and World Line 1, they had all treated it like a second entrance, climbing in and out as they pleased.

It was a Skill everyone except for Chi Xiaoguo possessed; even Cheng Mengxue could climb through with ease.

"Hey, congratulations."

Xu Yan gave him a light punch on the arm.

"I heard you’re starting graduate school at East Sea University next semester? That’s amazing! I’d expect nothing less from you!"

"You already know about that."

Jiang Ran looked back at her.

"Who’d you hear it from?"

"Wang Hao."

Xu Yan smiled faintly.

"Wang Hao told me as soon as it happened. I knew you were busy, though, so I never got the chance to formally congratulate you. Who would’ve thought we’d run into each other here?"

"Oh, wow. From now on, I guess I’ll have to call you ’senior.’ A graduate student senior, no less!"

Jiang Ran laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Stop messing with me."

He was actually a little surprised that Xu Yan and Wang Hao knew each other.

In World Line 0, Xu Yan and Wang Hao hadn’t known each other. They might have heard of one another from Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue, but they definitely didn’t have each other’s contact info.

Judging from the natural, matter-of-fact way she’d just said Wang Hao’s name, it seemed their relationship in World Line 1 was pretty good.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t that hard to understand.

In World Line 1, due to Qin Feng’s absence, the "iron triangle" trio had become Jiang Ran, Wang Hao, and Cheng Mengxue.

And like clockwork, Xu Yan would come to stay at Cheng Mengxue’s house for two months every summer.

With that happening year after year, and with Cheng Mengxue as the bridge between them, they would have certainly become friends.

Hm?

Huh!

Wait a minute!

Jiang Ran suddenly went rigid.

The identity of Xu Yan’s boyfriend had always been a mystery.

He wasn’t even sure if her boyfriend in World Line 1 was the same one from World Line 0.

It couldn’t possibly be...

Wang Hao, could it?!

’No way, impossible.’

He instantly shook his head, rejecting the terrifying thought.

He couldn’t explain why, but his gut just told him it was impossible.

"I’m suddenly a little curious."

Jiang Ran looked at Xu Yan.

"Before... you and your boyfriend helped me out in a huge way, and I never got the chance to thank him."

"Ah, don’t worry about it."

Xu Yan waved her hand dismissively.

"He’s not a student here."

DANGER!

The description was matching up with Wang Hao even more!

"Do you want to meet him?" Xu Yan giggled.

"I do."

Jiang Ran was genuinely curious.

"I mean, he helped me out so much. Even though you keep insisting it was a small thing, I feel like I should thank him in person."

"Sure, no problem."

Xu Yan agreed readily.

"He’s been wanting to meet you, too. He read the script you wrote and saw the finished short film, and he was full of praise."

"Okay, then. When I get a chance, I’ll introduce you two. It’ll definitely have to wait until the next semester starts, though."

"Anyway, you’ll be here at East Sea University next semester, so it’ll be convenient with us on the same campus. We should keep in touch. My boyfriend comes to visit me all the time."

"Hehe..."

Speaking of her boyfriend, she gave another mysterious smile.

"You’ll never guess who my boyfriend is!"

"Hahaha..."

Jiang Ran let out an awkward laugh.

’I hope it’s a pleasant surprise and not a nasty one,’ he thought.

’But on second thought, it can’t be Wang Hao.’

Xu Yan wasn’t trying to hide anything; it wasn’t some secret relationship, and she showed no hesitation about him meeting her boyfriend.

If it really were Wang Hao, she would have just said so frankly and arranged a meeting without any fuss.

From the way Xu Yan talked,

it was clear that this boyfriend had never met him, and he had never met the boyfriend. They were complete strangers, which was why she talked about finding an opportunity for an introduction.

"Ah, speaking of the movie."

Jiang Ran had completely forgotten about it until now.

"That short film your Film Society shot—wasn’t it submitted to the East Sea City University Student Film Festival? What were the final results? Did it win any awards?"

Xu Yan shook her head.

"The results haven’t been announced yet, but it should be any day now."

She took out her phone and checked the calendar.

"The official social media account said they’d be announced in early July. The day after tomorrow is the first of July, so they should be out within a week at most. But by now, the winners have definitely been decided internally; they just haven’t been announced publicly yet."

"Hehe, don’t you worry, I guarantee it! We’re definitely going to win an award! Your script was fantastic, and our filmmaking was top-notch!"

"By the way, did you watch the rough cut I emailed you?"

Jiang Ran gave an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet. I’ve been really busy lately."

"Oh, that’s okay. Just watch it when you have time. I’m sure you’ll love it."

Xu Yan said, full of confidence:

"Besides, we gave your name top billing! After the final scene ends and the credits roll, the very first line that pops up is yours—"

"[Original Story & Screenplay: Jiang Ran!]"