Genius Playground

"It lets them look up and see the ceiling, see the geniuses dancing above, but no matter how hard they try to jump, they can never touch it. All they can do is watch from afar."

He paused.

Zhang Yang opened his eyes.

"And the Longke Institute is full of such one-in-ten-thousand geniuses."

...

Teacher Zhang Yang’s words struck a chord with Jiang Ran.

Before high school, he and Cheng Mengxue had both considered themselves geniuses. They always ranked first in their class, and their parents and teachers said they were Qingbei material.

But after starting high school and meeting Qin Feng, he finally understood what a true genius was.

Tasks that took him and Cheng Mengxue ages of effort to complete, Qin Feng accomplished with ease.

The Math Olympiad they didn’t even dare to dream of competing in, Qin Feng entered as a joke and won a gold medal.

Even with the learning ability he had always prided himself on, Qin Feng still outscored him by more than 60 points on the college entrance exam.

That was a true genius.

Compared to that, he and Cheng Mengxue... were merely the "ordinary people" with a little bit of talent that Teacher Zhang Yang spoke of.

And that wasn’t all. In 2045, he had learned of someone who made even Qin Feng seem ordinary, a genius among geniuses named Lu Yu.

There’s always someone better out there.

Oftentimes, the limits of an ordinary person were just that depressingly clear.

It was just as Teacher Zhang Yang had said.

’It’s better not to let them see the ceiling at all...’

’If you can’t see it, you won’t long for it. It’s fine being a frog in a well.’

But you just so happen to have a sliver of talent, enough to crane your neck and glimpse that ceiling. You’re doomed to spend your life watching the geniuses dance, always from a distance. And that one glimpse... condemns you to a lifetime of mediocrity.

Genius.

Suddenly, Jiang Ran recalled the Setting Collection he had written in junior high, "Genius Playground."

’Why did I write that story back then?’

’Perhaps it was because, back when I was sweeping up first place in every junior high competition, I naively believed I was an out-and-out genius?’

But so what if you were a one-in-ten-thousand genius?

In a higher world, in this most elite of games—

Genius is just the price of admission.

...

"So, my selfish reason is that I want you to research Quantum Tunneling with me."

Zhang Yang wiped his glasses and put them back on.

He continued his earnest confession.

"When I got the call from Teacher Gao and learned that a super genius, whose background couldn’t be revealed, was going to be my lead student, I was ecstatic. I was on cloud nine for days."

"From Teacher Gao’s attitude toward you, I could easily tell that your talent and gifts far surpass my own. So... I thought my chance to prove myself had finally arrived. With your help, maybe I could truly achieve a paradigm-shifting breakthrough, live up to Teacher Gao’s guidance, and bring honor to our academic lineage."

"This is also why I hope you’ll join my project and research Quantum Tunneling with me. I firmly believe this path is the right one. It’s sure to upend macroscopic physics, maybe even touch upon the fundamental truths of the universe, and change humanity’s understanding of everything!"

He looked up at Jiang Ran, his gaze filled with relief.

"That’s all I wanted to say. This is my most sincere confession, with nothing held back."

...

Meeting Zhang Yang’s gaze, Jiang Ran felt as though he were looking across time and space, meeting the eyes of the elderly Teacher Zhang Yang, the Bookworm from the year 2045.

At this moment, the man before him surely had high hopes for him.

’He’s probably hoping I’ll settle down, join his project, and research Quantum Tunneling with him.’

Honestly, Jiang Ran was genuinely moved by Zhang Yang’s heartfelt words.

But...

He forced himself to resist.

’I can’t break character now!’

’If I agree to Zhang Yang here, all my previous effort and persistence will be for nothing!’

’Besides,’ he thought, ’if Teacher Zhang Yang wants to prove himself and produce academic results so he doesn’t disappoint Teacher Gao Yan, the Time Travel Machine isn’t a bad option either.’

’Of course, I can’t build it myself.’

’But based on the Assassin’s words and actions, it’s easy to deduce that someone at East Sea University did invent a Time Travel Machine, and it was most likely the super genius, Lu Yu.’

’I have this information ahead of time, and next semester, I can continue to ’ferry’ more information back from the future.’

’Once I get Lu Yu on board, building a Time Travel Machine shouldn’t be too hard.’

’In any case, I can’t let myself be swayed by Teacher Zhang Yang’s sincerity. I have to stick to my plan. I absolutely must get him to give up on Quantum Tunneling!’

"I also need to apologize, Teacher Zhang Yang. My attitude earlier was terrible," Jiang Ran said, offering his own apology.

It’s true that you don’t really know someone until you’ve had a proper fight.

He could clearly feel that after their hysterical argument, the ice between them had broken, and they were actually closer.

It was a case of sincerity begetting sincerity. After all, both of them had good intentions; their personal considerations had just led to a major miscommunication.

"However, I’m not just being stubborn. I am also genuinely serious about researching the Time Travel Machine."

Jiang Ran’s expression was earnest. "Teacher Zhang, I also want to achieve something great under your guidance and bring you honor, which by extension, would bring honor to Dean Gao. To research the Time Travel Machine, I truly need your help."

"So... since our goals are the same, why don’t we let Dean Gao make the final decision?"

"If Dean Gao agrees to support my research on the Time Travel Machine, I hope you’ll really give up on Quantum Tunneling, and the two of us can work together to create a miracle!"

Teacher Zhang Yang let out a soft chuckle.

Finally, he sighed helplessly and shook his head with a smile. "Alright, I’ll agree to that. But I’m adding a condition, because a bet has to be fair on both sides—"

"If Teacher Gao doesn’t approve your research on the Time Travel Machine, then you’ll obediently join my project and research Quantum Tunneling with me. Do you agree to this condition?"

Jiang Ran smiled faintly. "No problem!"

And so, the bet was made.

Jiang Ran was secretly overjoyed.

’I’m 100% certain that Dean Gao Yan will support me unconditionally.’

’Because Gao Yan is one of the few people in the world who knows I proved Goldbach’s Conjecture.’

’Faced with a peerless genius like me, who would refuse any research proposal?’

’Even if it were more outrageous—if I said I wanted to prove the universe is an egg, Dean Gao Yan would still applaud and support me without a second thought!’

’After all, I even proved Goldbach’s Conjecture, which has stumped humanity for three centuries. What is there left to question?’

’The only thing is... Zhang Yang doesn’t know this.’

’So, this bet...’

’I’ve already won!’

On the other side, a smile was also spreading across Zhang Yang’s face.

’This kid, Jiang Ran, he still doesn’t understand Dean Gao Yan well enough.’

’He’s certainly capable, but he doesn’t know that Dean Gao Yan is very conservative when it comes to academic research. There is a 1,000,000% chance he will never agree to such a ridiculous research topic.’

’He was absolutely sure of this point.’

’He’d been a student at the Longke Institute under Teacher Gao for ten years. He understood Gao Yan far better than Jiang Ran did.’

’Forget a Time Travel Machine; even much more plausible research projects had been shot down by Gao Yan, who told them not to waste resources on such things.’

’Heh.’

’Jiang Ran doesn’t know this piece of information.’

’So, this bet...’

’I’ve already won!’

Jiang Ran and Zhang Yang looked at each other and grinned.

"Heh..."

"Hahaha..."

"Heheheh."

"Hahahahaha!"

"Bwahahahahaha!"

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Watching each other’s bafflingly confident faces, their laughter grew louder and louder, finally erupting into a hearty roar. The earlier gloom in the office vanished, replaced by a vibrant, cheerful atmosphere.

"We have a deal, then!" Zhang Yang laughed so hard his eyes narrowed to slits. He pointed at Jiang Ran. "You better not go back on your word!"

"Of course not!" Jiang Ran, his own face beaming with confidence, high-fived Zhang Yang. "No one’s backing out!"

’It’s in the bag!’ ’It’s in the bag!’

The same thought flashed through both their minds at once:

’The Time Travel Machine is as good as mine!’ ’Quantum Tunneling is as good as mine!’

SLAP.

Zhang Yang slapped his phone down on the desk.

He opened his contacts and selected Teacher Gao Yan’s number.

"Hmph."

He shot Jiang Ran one last smirk and pressed the call button—

.

.

.