Genius Playground

”Hee hee~”

Chi Xiaoguo skipped forward and began to show off the spoils.

”These were all left behind by our upperclassmen, batch after batch.”

”Were the upperclassmen just a crop to be harvested?” Jiang Ran couldn’t help but retort.

”Oh, come on! Don’t get hung up on the details!”

Chi Xiaoguo was in a fantastic mood today.

”These cameras are all really well-maintained. From now on, we can use them freely for our photoshoots!”

”However, everyone will have to wait a bit for film. We just submitted our budget proposal, and it’ll probably take some time to get approved.”

”Sigh, there’s nothing to be done about it. We’re a small club—probably the smallest one in the school—so naturally, we get the least funding... So when you’re shooting, please be sure to cherish the hard-earned film.”

”I can sponsor some,” Jiang Ran offered.

”I had a bit of luck over the break and made a decent amount of money. Plus, I’ll be needing President Xiaoguo’s and the Film Club’s help with a lot of things going forward.”

”So... how about I cover all the costs for the film we need for club activities, as well as the chemicals and equipment for developing photos in the darkroom?”

”Sugar Daddy!!!” Chi Xiaoguo threw her hands in the air.

Jiang Ran smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

”Let’s skip the ’Sugar Daddy’ part.”

”Huh? In that case...”

Chi Xiaoguo seemed to perform a subtraction in her head. She hesitated, looking as though she’d just made a momentous decision.

”Da... Daddy?”

”Ewww——” ”My god...”

Cheng Mengxue and Fang Ze both recoiled, not expecting that such a small Film Club could be so twisted!

Cheng Mengxue shot Jiang Ran a disdainful look.

”Jiang Ran! It’s been two years! How did you develop such a weird fetish!”

”What in the world are you guys thinking!”

Jiang Ran quickly tried to salvage his dignity.

”What I meant was, as a member of the Film Club with the means to help, it’s only right for me to pitch in where I can... Calling me a ’sugar daddy’ is too distant.”

Jiang Ran was speechless.

’This was clearly a question of reading comprehension, not a math problem. It was just a polite response to being thanked, like saying, ”Don’t mention it,” or ”It’s nothing at all.”’

But who could have thought!

’Chi Xiaoguo actually treated it like a math problem... she interpreted my sentence as ”drop the word ’Sugar’.” What kind of screwed-up logic is that? Which teacher taught her to think like this?’

’It nearly put me in an impossible spot.’

’Sigh.’

’Even Teacher Zhang Yang had told me multiple times not to embarrass myself in front of foreigners.’

’Great. Just great. I bring two friends from abroad to their first club meeting, and this is the ”deep cultural heritage” of the Film Club I show them.’

In any case, the Film Club’s first meeting officially began under Cheng Mengxue’s skeptical gaze and Fang Ze’s faint, unreadable smile.

Chi Xiaoguo started with a brief self-introduction, talking about her love for film photography and her understanding of the unique charm of film cameras.

Compared to her professionalism, Jiang Ran and the other two were complete amateurs.

All three frankly admitted they had no prior experience with film cameras, but they were very interested in this old-fashioned method of imaging and were eager to learn and try it out.

”Of course, that’s no problem at all!”

Chi Xiaoguo didn’t mind in the slightest, patting her chest confidently.

”Just leave it to me, everyone! I’ll definitely teach you all properly so you can experience the charm of film cameras for yourselves!”

”Actually, having no experience or not knowing how to use a film camera isn’t a problem at all... In this day and age, it’s normal to have never touched one.”

”As long as you’re interested, I’m relieved. I was worried at first that you wouldn’t be interested in film photography...”

”I believe that as long as you’re willing to accept and understand something, you’ll slowly grow to love it, even if it’s something you didn’t like at first.”

”After all, humans are emotional creatures. Feelings develop slowly over time. Spend enough time together, share enough experiences, empathize with each other, and affection will naturally grow. The principle is the same as falling in love.”

At this moment, Chi Xiaoguo spoke with the eloquence of a love guru.

Cheng Mengxue was stunned as she listened.

”Wow, President Xiaoguo... you seem to know a lot about matters of the heart.”

”But of course!”

Chi Xiaoguo was pleased, planting her hands on her hips.

”I have a wealth of romantic experience!”

”Huh?” x3

Jiang Ran, Cheng Mengxue, and Fang Ze looked at each other, all three of them completely bewildered.

This...

They looked again at Chi Xiaoguo, who looked no older than a primary schooler, and found her bold claim... rather hard to believe.

”I’ve read at least 500 romance novels!” Chi Xiaoguo said proudly.

”And in practice?” Fang Ze asked meticulously.

”And at least 300 romance TV dramas, 200 romance anime, and over 100 gal games!”

”And in practice?” Fang Ze remained meticulous.

”Well, none.”

Chi Xiaoguo was still full of confidence.

”But my theoretical knowledge is more than sufficient!”

”...” x3

The trio of Jiang Ran, Cheng Mengxue, and Fang Ze were left speechless.

After all that, she was just an armchair general, a master of theory!

’Sigh, whatever.’

Regardless, she was the club president, and one who had just made a grand speech at that. They had to give her some face.

So, even though they had a million retorts on the tips of their tongues, they could only swallow them down and not rain on her parade.

But, to be fair, Chi Xiaoguo’s little ”love guru” charade did manage to instantly break the ice. The initial awkwardness between them vanished, and they all started chatting happily.

As young students in the prime of their youth, when young men and women get together, there’s always an endless supply of interesting stories and gossip to share.

Before they knew it, it was 10 PM. The atmosphere in the activity room was still lively, and no one felt they had talked enough, but it was time to wrap things up, head back to the dorms, and get ready for bed.

”I’m really looking forward to the next meeting.”

Fang Ze stood up and said his goodbyes to Chi Xiaoguo.

”I never joined any clubs in the United States. I just buried my head in my studies through high school and college. Looking back now, I really missed out on a lot of fun with friends.”

Cheng Mengxue also took Chi Xiaoguo’s hand, a look of sisterly affection on her face.

”Next time, I’ll bring some of my Rhine Cat dolls, too! We can use them to make the activity room even prettier!”

”Of course, no problem!”

Chi Xiaoguo was both excited and happy today. It had been a completely successful club meeting.

”From now on, everyone should think of the Film Club as their second home. I hope we can all have a wonderful time here over the next year!”

Afterward, Fang Ze and Cheng Mengxue left first. Jiang Ran stayed behind, using the excuse that he would help Chi Xiaoguo clean up.

The night grew deep and quiet. As it neared 11 PM, Jiang Ran glanced at his watch. With a tacit understanding, Chi Xiaoguo pulled aside a shelf and dragged out the cardboard box containing the Positron Cannon.

This was the real reason Jiang Ran hadn’t left with Fang Ze and Cheng Mengxue.

The campus had been under lockdown for the past few days, so he hadn’t had a chance to activate the Positron Cannon, and thus couldn’t go to the Future Prison in the year 2045 to find the Assassin.

Now that club activities were back to normal, he was itching to make a trip to the future of 2045 and meet the Assassin, Fang Yang, who was also a member of the Regrets Mutual Aid Association...

...to have a nice, long chat.