Genius Playground

"I will do everything in my power to get back all the time you’ve lost... every single second of it."

That’s how a Worldline Jump works.

No matter how many years Jiang Ran spent bringing Cheng Mengxue back to life.

In the new worldline, only Jiang Ran would be missing those years of memories. For Cheng Mengxue, from her perspective... it would still be a ’complete life’.

That’s right.

Every single second. A complete life.

The only price was Jiang Ran’s lost memories.

And he was willing to pay it.

"You definitely won’t be able to make it to the class reunion this time."

Jiang Ran stood up. He looked at Cheng Mengxue, who was still smiling, and a faint smile touched his own lips.

"Just let me and Wang Hao go for you. We’ll even cover your share... by letting Wang Hao eat it for you."

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Wang Hao stubbed out his cigarette and walked over.

"Did I just hear you talking trash about me?"

"I was complimenting you."

"Oh, that’s fine then. What’d you say?"

"That you’re a glutton who can eat enough for three people."

"Who are you looking down on!"

Wang Hao’s hands moved like a brushless motor, slapping his belly with a rapid PAT-PAT-PAT.

"I’m gonna eat enough for ten!!"

...

The following days were spent helping Wang Hao organize the class reunion.

Jiang Ran was in charge of contacting the restaurant, and Wang Hao was in charge of contacting their classmates.

Surprisingly, everyone was very enthusiastic. The response was overwhelming, and the entire class agreed to come.

"To be honest, it’s only these past couple of years that we can even have a reunion. Everyone still has some time on their hands."

Wang Hao complained to Jiang Ran as he compiled the attendance list:

"In a couple more years, everyone will have graduated. Some will get married, some will have kids, and people will be working all over the country. It’ll be really hard to get everyone together."

"Right now, everyone’s still in college. They’re all just hanging around their homes in Hang City for the summer break with nothing to do but fool around. Of course they’d all jump at the chance to come to a reunion."

"Sigh, forget the future. We can’t even get everyone together now. Our class originally had 42 people. With Xiaoxue gone, the most we can get is 41, even if everyone else shows up."

"I also contacted our homeroom teacher, and he said he could make it if he’s free. So that’s a total of 41 classmates, plus our homeroom teacher, making it 42 people coming to the reunion!"

Hearing that number, Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

42.

Even though Cheng Mengxue’s death meant she would be absent, the number of people attending the reunion was still 42.

That unsettling number again.

It felt like some unseen force was at work, as if the number was a persistent ghost that would pop up around him from time to time.

He knew this feeling was just his imagination.

But that mysterious text message, "Don’t trust 42," really did make his heart clench every time he saw the number.

The time on his phone, the page number in a novel, the temperature on the water heater, the total on a supermarket receipt...

No matter where he saw the number 42, Jiang Ran would inexplicably find himself taking a second look.

’Once bitten, twice shy, I guess.’ He had indeed become a bit neurotic because of what happened with Qin Feng.

"Hey! I’m talking to you!"

Wang Hao nudged Jiang Ran with his elbow.

"How’s it going with the restaurant? Did you book it?"

"Ah, yeah, it’s all booked."

Jiang Ran snapped back to reality and reported:

"I booked a small banquet hall. It has four tables, and each table can seat 12 people normally, 14 if we squeeze, or 10 for a bit more room."

"With the teacher, we have 42 people in total. So whether we split up by gender or mix everyone up, there’s more than enough room for any seating arrangement."

"Anyway, we were all classmates who saw each other day in and day out. People can sit wherever they want. The drinkers can sit together, or people can sit with their close friends. We’re all classmates, so it can be casual."

"The banquet hall also has a karaoke machine. Once the mood is right, anyone who wants to show off a talent can go up and perform."

Wang Hao nodded.

"Alright, since everything’s confirmed, I’ll send out the announcement."

With that, he took out his phone and started composing the message.

He clearly detailed the exact time, the restaurant’s location, and the floor of the banquet hall.

Unlike his carefree exterior, Wang Hao was meticulous when handling things, which was why he had been unanimously elected class president for three consecutive years in high school.

Wang Hao wasn’t great at his studies, it was true, but grades and scores weren’t everything in this world. So... although Jiang Ran always teased him, he actually held Wang Hao in very high regard.

"Finished writing it."

After finishing the official announcement, Wang Hao showed his phone screen to Jiang Ran.

"Take a look."

Jiang Ran looked it over. There were no issues; it was thorough and covered all the details.

Afterward.

Wang Hao sent the announcement to both the class WeChat group and the class QQ group.

"When it gets closer to the date, I’ll send it to everyone privately one day in advance, just in case they forget," Wang Hao added emphatically.

"Heh."

Jiang Ran chuckled lightly.

"When it comes to organizational skills, you really are thorough."

...

After that, it was a matter of waiting for the day to arrive.

During this time, Jiang Ran didn’t stay idle.

He looked up a lot of materials, bought many books online, and studied a great deal of information.

After all, he had jumped straight from a vocational program to a graduate program. Even though he had two years of study experience at East Sea University in World Line 0... that was all undergraduate coursework, a far cry from the demands of a graduate curriculum.

So, he had a lot of studying to do.

He especially needed to familiarize himself with the projects and research directions mentioned in the email from Teacher Zhang Yang, lest he be completely clueless when asked about them.

’The one and only star disciple... Can’t be helped.’

Jiang Ran thought of the high expectations shining in the eyes of Dean Gao Yan and Teacher Zhang Yang, and he sighed in resignation.

’I’m no threat to them in the academic world, but in the educational world, I could easily ruin their reputations.’

’To be fair, Dean Gao Yan’s eye for picking students isn’t that great. His final, hand-picked disciple was mediocre and even landed himself in prison. And his "gate-locking" disciple is just here to fill a slot, enough to bring shame upon the entire academic family.’

’I was originally thinking of introducing Lu Yu to Teacher Zhang Yang after the semester started, to give him some hope of reviving the school’s prestige. But in the end... this "door-welding" disciple really did weld the door shut. A prison door, unfortunately.’

’What a mess this all is.’

Other people go to school and burn out their brains; going to East Sea University could cost you your life.

So who was the main culprit?

That’s right.

The main culprit was—

Qin Feng.

At the thought of that familiar yet distant name, Jiang Ran stopped his pencil, lifted his head, and rested his chin on his hand, gazing out the window.

Because of that Time SMS Qin Feng sent ten years into the past, the worldline had drastically changed, jumping from World Line 0 to World Line 1.

It was a complete failure where the losses far outweighed the gains.

First, the father Qin Feng wanted to save was not saved; he still passed away.

What happened afterward was even worse than in World Line 0.

Qin Feng must have gotten caught up in some kind of trouble, which led to his family home being burned down. He and his mother were forced to leave their hometown, and there had been no news of them for all these years.

At the same time, the resulting Butterfly Effect also caused the death of Cheng Mengxue and the destruction of the Positron Cannon.

That move by Qin Feng was a classic case of losing the bait and the fish, harming others as well as himself.

Jiang Ran gazed out the window. ’Qin Feng, where in the world are you? And what are you doing now?’

According to Old Qi, two years ago, not long after Cheng Mengxue’s death, Qin Feng had appeared in East Sea City and bought a rotary circuit board from Old Qi’s Home Appliance Repair Shop.

This meant one thing.

Whether he was being hunted or just caught up in some other trouble, Qin Feng wasn’t just sitting back and waiting for death. He had been making moves in secret.

’Could it be...’

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

’Could it be that Qin Feng, just like me, is trying to do everything he can to save his father and Xiaoxue?’

He wasn’t certain about this guess.

If Qin Feng really had such a positive goal, then why hadn’t he come looking for him? Why hadn’t he come to see him?

A genius like him.

Since he could compress information about the rotary circuit board into a 70-character message... how could he possibly not have included hints about the Positron Cannon, the Time SMS, himself, Cheng Mengxue, and their trio?

A genius of Qin Feng’s caliber couldn’t possibly fail to think of or accomplish something so simple.

’So...’

Jiang Ran closed his eyes.

In his mind, the image of the symbol on the burnt courtyard wall resurfaced: a Ferris wheel and a large eye.

’Qin Feng, what are you running from?’

’What... are you fighting against?’