Genius Playground

’Xiaoxue’s... home in the United States?’

Now that Xu Yan had reminded him, Jiang Ran took the photo back and studied the details carefully.

And what do you know.

He actually did recall something.

During summer break, on July 21st, the day of the class reunion.

After Zhou Xiong was hit and killed by a truck and Cheng Mengxue suddenly appeared, Teacher Gao had used Cheng Mengxue’s phone to video call her father.

Jiang Ran had seen it then. Although Cheng Mengxue’s father looked a little older than he remembered, he seemed to be in good spirits.

Because of the time difference, it was noon in the United States, so Cheng Mengxue’s father had been sitting in the courtyard of his house.

Thinking back, that yard was indeed very beautiful, with many flowers and lush grapevines.

”Now that you mention it, I remember.”

Jiang Ran put down the photo and looked at Xu Yan.

”You’re right. I’ve also seen Xiaoxue’s home in the United States. The yard was very tidy, and there weren’t so many weeds. That was in July, so the grapes weren’t ripe yet, and the background was all lush, green grapevines.”

”See?”

Xu Yan threw her hands up.

”So, you see, back in July, Xiaoxue’s yard was very clean. And during summer break, when we were at my place, Xiaoxue’s dad even showed us the ripe grapes.”

”That being the case... the date this photo was taken is clearly questionable.”

”It’s very likely this photo you’re holding was taken a few years ago. Back then, Xiaoxue’s family hadn’t moved in yet, which is why the yard is so overgrown, with weeds growing past the walls.”

Jiang Ran fell silent and didn’t speak.

He didn’t think Qin Feng would have any reason to fake the date the photo was taken.

The guy had gone to so much trouble to suddenly appear and give him this photo. It couldn’t be just to mess with him, right?

Qin Feng wasn’t that kind of person.

”Oh, right.”

He suddenly thought of something.

”*Why haven’t Xiaoxue’s parents returned to the country yet?*”

Jiang Ran looked up.

”Ultimately, we’ve only ever seen Xiaoxue’s parents on a video call. We’ve never seen them in real life.”

”I remember during summer break, Xiaoxue said her parents would be returning to Dragon Country to settle down soon. Why aren’t they back yet?”

Xu Yan picked up her fruit juice, unconcerned.

”Xiaoxue’s father has businesses over in the United States. Since they’re planning to move back for good, he’d definitely have to sort out his assets over there. That’s not something you can wrap up in a day or two.”

Jiang Ran pursed his lips.

From a logical standpoint, all of these reasons made sense.

But...

’If every part of a person’s story needs an excuse to be explained, and there’s never any hard evidence, isn’t that a little too strange?’

”Actually, I don’t think this photo is a fake,” Jiang Ran said frankly.

Xu Yan blinked.

”Then... what are you trying to say?”

She thought for a few seconds.

”Are you saying... that Xiaoxue’s home in the United States really looks like this? Uninhabited and overgrown with weeds?”

”But, Jiang Ran, that clearly contradicts the facts. Why would you believe this photo is real but not believe that our video call with Xiaoxue’s parents was real?”

Jiang Ran shook his head.

”If the photo could be fake, then the video call... couldn’t that also be fake?”

He proposed a bold hypothesis.

”I don’t know if you’ve seen those livestreams with virtual avatars on platforms like TikTok, or those narration videos generated by AI.”

”AI technology today has gotten so terrifyingly good it can pass for the real thing. Especially those VTuber streamers, and those group streams where the people look real but are actually AI fakes, and those 24-hour sales livestreams... a lot of those streamers are actually generated by AI.”

Xu Yan nodded.

”Of course I know that. AI technology is developing so fast. With enough preparation, you can definitely achieve a real-time effect that’s indistinguishable from reality.”

”Not to mention faking a background. You don’t even need AI for that. Green screen technology was already quite mature years ago.”

”But... but this... you’re not going to suspect that Xiaoxue’s parents in the video call... haha... were fake, are you?”

Xu Yan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

”That idea is just too terrifying. What reason could there possibly be to do something like that?”

Suddenly, she froze.

She recalled the night before she met Xiaoxue during summer break. Jiang Ran had called her, acting all weird and spouting nonsense like, ”Could Cheng Mengxue be a fake?”

CLINK.

She set down her milk tea cup.

Leaning back in her chair, she crossed her arms.

”I see. So that’s how it is... Jiang Ran, it looks like you still haven’t given up on the ideas you had during summer break. You don’t quite believe what’s happened with Xiaoxue’s family.”

”That’s right.”

Jiang Ran told her the truth.

”I’m not saying I absolutely don’t believe it, it’s just... I always have these doubts. But now there’s a very real problem right in front of me—”

”*Xiaoxue’s parents definitely haven’t returned to Dragon Country, and we haven’t seen them in person. At the same time, if this photo is real, and that house is overgrown and abandoned... doesn’t that mean there’s a huge problem?*”

...

Xu Yan closed her eyes.

She let out a long sigh through her nose.

”I get it.”

She slowly opened her eyes.

”You asked me out so mysteriously today because you wanted to ask me for a favor about this, right?”

”Are you hoping I’ll find a chance to video call Xiaoxue’s parents again, then ask them some tricky, hard-to-answer questions to test if they’re real people?”

Jiang Ran let out a soft chuckle.

”You’re so easy to talk to. You get it right away.”

That was exactly what he meant.

”Hmm...”

Xu Yan tilted her head back, looking at the ceiling.

”I think your method is too much trouble, and not very convincing.”

”If you suspect that Xiaoxue’s home in the United States is uninhabited and her parents aren’t there, why not go see for yourself? Do a field investigation?”

Jiang Ran threw up his hands helplessly.

”The United States isn’t a visa-free country. You need a visa to go, and I can’t just get one at a moment’s notice.”

Heh.

Xu Yan let out a soft laugh and raised her eyebrows.

”Why not just ask my boyfriend?”

!

Jiang Ran was stunned.

”No way! Is my brother-in-law that resourceful?!”

He had thought Xu Yan’s boyfriend just had some connections at East Sea University. He never would have imagined it! This mysterious man, who existed only in legend, was like a fish in water even in the United States? He had that much power!

”Oh, shut up!”

Xu Yan slapped the back of Jiang Ran’s hand, pouting.

”What are you shouting for! Geez, he’s just my boyfriend right now!”

”Hahaha...”

Jiang Ran laughed awkwardly.

No matter what, this mysterious boyfriend had helped him a lot in both timelines.

Though he had yet to meet the man, deep down, Jiang Ran already approved of this incredibly resourceful ”brother-in-law.”

’This marriage, whether Xu Yan’s family agrees or not, definitely has my blessing.’

”Besides, I’m not asking my boyfriend to get you a visa. I’m just saying we could have him help us confirm things.”

Xu Yan tapped the photo with her index finger.

”It’s just a matter of confirming the current state of this house, whether anyone is living there, and who’s living inside...”

”For an investigation of this level, you don’t need to be there in person at all. You just need a trustworthy friend in the United States.”

Uh...

Wasn’t that the problem?

Jiang Ran didn’t exactly have any trustworthy friends in the United States.

But the way Xu Yan said it, it sounded like it was no big deal at all.

’Just what is the deal with this brother-in-law, this mysterious boyfriend...’

’Is he Doraemon?’

’A jack-of-all-trades?’

’Does he have the Face Fruit? Does the whole world have to give him face?’

”Didn’t you say before that you wanted us to meet? To introduce me to him?”

Jiang Ran reminded her.

”When are you planning to let us meet?”

”The semester just started!”

Xu Yan thought for a moment.

”National Day is coming up. You’re probably not going home for the holiday, right? How about you come with me to see him then?”

”But you have to promise me, when you meet him, don’t laugh at me! Ah... even though he’s quite handsome, I still feel like he’s not very presentable.”

”No, no, no, how could I!”

Jiang Ran frantically waved his hands.

In his eyes, this brother-in-law was incredibly resourceful, almost omnipotent.

And he owed the guy so much, having him help with so many troublesome things for free.

Who would dare to look down on such a great brother-in-law!

”Hehe.”

Talking about her boyfriend, Xu Yan started chewing on her milk tea straw again and smiled sweetly.

”Actually, he’s a really good person. He’s much more stable now and has his own things going on.”

”But his style is not something that can be changed overnight. He still has that bleached-blond hair and wears these punkish clothes, like some street punk from the early 2000s. That part really troubles me.”

”Then just have him dye his hair back,” Jiang Ran said without thinking.

”Have him dye his hair back to black, and then you can help him pick out some new clothes. Wouldn’t that make it less awkward?”

Xu Yan fell silent.

She looked up at Jiang Ran.

”Is that really necessary? He has his own style that he likes, his own hair color that he likes. How could I interfere with his preferences just because of my own?”

”Hehe~ You’ve never been in a real relationship, have you, kid? *’To love someone is to love all of them. And at the same time, to respect their preferences.’*”

Pink.

Suddenly.

A flash of pink crossed Jiang Ran’s mind.

It was on the rooftop of the low building by the school gate. A girl in pink, blooming like a spider lily, held a Recurve Bow. She shot an arrow through his suitcase, her icy gaze reigning over all.

The image flashed by in an instant.

But the chill left by her gaze seemed to intensify the ice in his milk tea, condensing a trail of water droplets down the side of the cup.

”Besides,”

Xu Yan was still talking about her boyfriend.

”Besides, that blond hair of his, compared to his other problems, is already the smallest one. I accepted it a long time ago.”

”Heh.”

Jiang Ran smiled knowingly, thinking of a meme he saw online.

”Just as I thought. Dragon Country People always like to compromise.”

”If you were to say you wanted to open the window in the room, I might refuse you. But if you first said you wanted to blow up the roof, and then compromised by saying that just opening the window would be fine... then that request would definitely be granted.”

”Ooh, ooh, ooh!”

Xu Yan gave him a ”you get it, don’t you” look, pointing at him with a laugh.

”You! You’ve really mastered the art of ’PUA’! You even know the ’two lashes then a piece of candy’ routine!”

”But let me give you a piece of advice. When you really do get into a relationship, don’t ever play these little games, because...”

She propped up her chin, looking out at the night scenery through the window.

”*’Whose feelings aren’t real feelings? As a man, you can’t go around bullying girls, you know.’*”

CRACKLE.

An ice cube in the milk tea cup fractured. A piece from the bottom floated up and, under the force of buoyancy, resettled, achieving a new equilibrium.

Jiang Ran stared at the ice cube that had just surfaced and nodded.

”Yeah.”

Xu Yan glanced at her watch.

”It’s about time. We should head back to school. I’ll take this photo with me, okay?”

”The photo captured the house number plaque. It has the street name and number, so it’ll be easy to find.”

With that, she picked up the photo from the table, flipped it over to see a blank back, and slipped it into her handbag.

That was Jiang Ran’s doing.

The back of the photo had a smooth finish. He had used an eraser to remove Qin Feng’s handwriting, leaving it flawless, without a single trace.

For now, he didn’t want to expose anything about Qin Feng.

In this Timeline 1, he was the only one who knew Qin Feng’s past and what the future held for him.

His intuition told him that Qin Feng was probably in some kind of danger, or was involved in something dangerous.

As things stood, since Qin Feng was trying to help him, he should help protect his whereabouts in return.

”Oh, right.”

Jiang Ran stood up.

”Since we’re already troubling your boyfriend once, could you ask him... to also check on the University of Pennsylvania?”

Xu Yan was confused.

”The University of Pennsylvania? Isn’t that Xiaoxue’s school in the United States? What are you going to check there?”

Jiang Ran pursed his lips and took a final slurp, finishing the milk tea in his cup.

”I want to confirm...”

”...whether a student named Xiaoxue is actually enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania.”