Genius Playground

「The next day. Hang City High-speed Rail Station.」

Jiang Ran parked his new car in the underground parking lot, then went to the arrivals hall to wait for Wang Hao.

They had arranged this beforehand. Wang Hao was coming home for the break and had a lot of luggage. Since Jiang Ran had just bought a car, he came to pick him up.

The arrivals hall was crowded, with a steady stream of people walking out.

Just then, a very pretty girl walked out, pushing a dazzling blue suitcase.

The suitcase was a piece of Disney merchandise.

Printed on it was the sparkling princess from *Frozen*, Elsa.

Next to Jiang Ran, a little girl holding her parents’ hands was instantly captivated. She pointed right at the blue suitcase.

"Mommy! I want that one too! Princess Elsa!"

The little girl’s mother smiled faintly.

"You’re still little. When you’re a college student like that lady, Mommy will definitely buy you one."

The little girl tilted her head.

"Then I’ll be a college student tomorrow."

Her innocent words made her father chuckle.

"It’s not something you can just become whenever you want. You have to study hard! You should learn from that young lady! That way, you can grow up to be just like her in the future!"

Suddenly, a cold sneer came from behind them.

It was Wang Hao’s voice.

"Learn from her? You’ll be screwed if you learn from her! Coming home this late for the break? You can tell with one look she goes to a vocational college!"

Jiang Ran and the little girl’s parents all turned around to find Wang Hao standing behind them, loaded down with bags.

"What’s wrong with you?"

The little girl’s father was very unhappy that Wang Hao had interrupted his lesson.

"Don’t you have any respect? Who talks to people like that?"

The little girl’s mother was also angry, joining in the indignant questioning.

"What makes you so special, looking down your nose at people! What school do you go to?!"

"Yeah! What are your qualifications to be judging others like that!"

"I go to a vocational college!" Wang Hao roared, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"How else would I know!"

...

In an instant, the parents’ anger dissipated. They immediately bowed and apologized.

"We’re so sorry... so sorry..."

They pulled their little girl and quickly walked away, their averted gazes filled with sincere guilt toward Wang Hao.

"Our apologies, our apologies."

Sure enough.

Sincerity is the ultimate weapon.

Jiang Ran took some of the luggage and led Wang Hao to the underground parking lot.

When he saw Jiang Ran’s new, fully-loaded Aito M9, Wang Hao couldn’t help but lunge at it like a starving wolf pouncing on its prey, touching and rubbing it all over.

"Holy crap, this is awesome!"

"It’s gorgeous!"

"So sleek! This is so luxurious!"

"Can I lick it?"

Jiang Ran tossed the keys over to him.

"Don’t be such a pervert. If you want to drive, just drive."

WHIRRRRR——————

With the unique quietness of an electric vehicle, the large SUV glided out of the underground garage and drove smoothly onto the road.

Wang Hao’s hands were restless, like he was playing the piano, constantly pressing all sorts of buttons inside the car to try out the novel features unique to domestic electric vehicles.

"Damn, you gotta hand it to domestic electric vehicles. In comparison, those clunky gasoline cars feel like antiques from the steam age."

"Jiang Ran, when we have our high school class reunion, you should drive this! I guarantee you’ll be the coolest guy in the class!"

"It’s only been two years since we graduated high school, and everyone else is just waiting to start their third year of college. But you not only went straight from a vocational program to a graduate program, you also bought such an expensive car outright with your own hard work. Who’s more impressive than you?!"

"Don’t you worry, leave your backstory to me. With my gift of gab, I’ll make sure you look good from every angle! I’ll absolutely make sure you get to hold your head high in front of our old classmates!"

Jiang Ran, sitting in the passenger seat, waved his hand dismissively.

"Can you please not embarrass me? The script you’ve written for me is straight out of a novel for some Long Aotian-style villain."

"Let’s just keep a low profile. Don’t mention me buying a car, and don’t talk about making money or any of that nonsense."

"As for going to East Sea University for grad school, that’s not something I can hide anyway, so it’s fine if it comes up."

...

Wang Hao was having a blast driving the new car and was in no hurry to get home.

"Where should we go for a spin? I want to try out that super popular smart driving feature. I heard this thing has no manners and even cuts off easy targets!"

Jiang Ran looked out the window.

He thought about the rusty iron box he had gotten yesterday, about Cheng Mengxue’s Time Glass Bottle inside, and about the words on the letter that left him with such mixed feelings...

"Let’s... go see Cheng Mengxue’s grave."

he said softly.

...

「Jingshan Bamboo Public Cemetery.」

Jiang Ran and Wang Hao each held a bouquet of flowers. Two months had passed since they last came to this cemetery.

This time, he didn’t need Wang Hao to lead the way. Jiang Ran clearly remembered the location of Cheng Mengxue’s tombstone and walked straight to it.

On the black-and-white photo on the tombstone, Cheng Mengxue’s smile was still as gentle and sweet as ever. Time had stopped here, not moving forward even an inch.

Wang Hao lit a cigarette and stood to the side, taking drags.

Jiang Ran put his hands together and bowed before the tombstone.

Coming to pay his respects this time, his state of mind was different from before.

The last time he came, he had been filled with confidence, thinking he would soon be able to save Cheng Mengxue with the Positron Cannon.

But now...

Things hadn’t gone as planned, and the road ahead was long.

He wasn’t sure when he would actually be able to fix the Positron Cannon.

He also didn’t know how long it would take to build the Time Travel Machine as a backup plan.

All his hope lay on the campus of East Sea University.

The Positron Cannon of the past, the Time Travel Machine of the future.

In this game of time travel, East Sea University was the center of everything, the crucial point.

"Xiaoxue, just wait a little longer."

Jiang Ran said solemnly, his eyes closed.

"I’m at East Sea University now. Everything is going smoothly."