Genius Playground

Jiang Ran stood up from his chair.

”Thank you, Teacher Zhang. I understand now.”

He handed the peeled apple to Zhang Yang and turned to walk toward the hospital room door.

”Huh? You’re leaving already?!”

This abrupt retreat caught Zhang Yang completely off guard.

”You crazy cat! You can’t doubt science, you hear me? That’s the bottom line for us researchers!”

”I’ll be back in class after the National Day holiday, and you must start your research project immediately! Whether it’s Quantum Tunneling or a Time Travel Machine, your teacher is waiting for you to shine!”

Jiang Ran paused.

”Don’t worry, Teacher Zhang.”

He turned back and smiled faintly.

”As your top disciple, I definitely won’t let you down.”

With that, he pulled open the door and strode out.

THUD.

The door closed. Zhang Yang took a crisp, crunchy bite of the apple and watched the retreating figure through the door’s glass pane, puzzled.

”How bizarre.”

He shook his head.

’This kid... he’s a genius, no doubt, but his ideas are so immature and fickle.’

’But I suppose this is part of growing up. As his teacher, I need to guide him more.’

CRUNCH.

Taking another bite of the apple, Zhang Yang looked up at the bright incandescent light on the ceiling, where the image of an old friend seemed to materialize.

”This reckless streak of his... it’s a lot like you.”

He smiled faintly as memories flooded his mind.

”When I get the chance, I should tell him your story... as a cautionary tale, so he doesn’t end up a fool like you.”

...

That evening, the Film Club held its second meeting.

Chi Xiaoguo pulled over a small blackboard and explained the basics of film cameras to the group. She also handed everyone a camera without any film in it so they could get familiar with its operation.

”Oh, I see. So that’s how it works.”

”It’s a little simpler than I imagined.”

”Even though a lot of it is manual, this mechanical feel is really amazing.”

Under their little president’s guidance, the three of them learned quickly.

Jiang Ran glanced at the storage shelf...

The Positron Cannon was now packed away in a box, hidden behind the shelves.

He still needed some time to verify the secrets surrounding Cheng Mengxue, so to be safe, the Positron Cannon experiment was on hold.

After entering the club room today, he had noticed more than twenty Rhine Cat plushies of various sizes scattered around the room.

This had made Chi Xiaoguo ecstatic.

”Whoa! Whoa! Sister Mengxue, you’re so rich! You actually bought so many Rhine Cats!”

”Ahaha~ This is just a small portion.”

When it came to Rhine Cats, Cheng Mengxue’s mood was always at its peak.

”What do you think? With all these Rhine Cat decorations, doesn’t it just lift your spirits?”

”But these are all just the basic models, nothing too expensive, hehe... In a couple of days, a super-rare, limited-edition Rhine Cat might just make its grand entrance!”

As she spoke, she winked and shot meaningful glances at Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran just laughed it off...

He knew, of course, that Cheng Mengxue was referring to the rice cooker Rhine Cat he had promised her.

It wasn’t a big deal; he had already taken care of it.

It was just that...

Right now, Jiang Ran’s focus was elsewhere entirely.

He scanned the Rhine Cat plushies scattered in every corner of the room, a thought nagging at him:

’I wonder if there are listening devices or pinhole cameras hidden inside the dolls?’

It was a common trope in movies, after all.

Thinking back to Cheng Mengxue’s sudden appearance two days ago, and now her bringing so many Rhine Cats to stake out the club room, Jiang Ran’s paranoia flared up again.

As the saying goes, you can’t be too careful.

Until he could confirm Cheng Mengxue’s true identity and purpose, he couldn’t afford to make any rash moves.

Otherwise, he would very likely expose the secret of the Positron Cannon and the Time SMS, leading to incalculable consequences.

But then again...

Cheng Mengxue had left no openings, no vulnerabilities to exploit.

To uncover her secrets, he had to wait for the right time, the right opportunity.

Right now...

It was basically a standoff, both of them playing dumb, seeing who would crack first.

As the club meeting neared its end, Cheng Mengxue formally invited Chi Xiaoguo and Fang Ze to her birthday dinner on Wednesday night.

Chi Xiaoguo and Fang Ze happily accepted, both saying they would come on time with gifts.

”Hahaha, don’t worry about gifts, you guys just coming is enough!”

Then, Cheng Mengxue’s expression turned serious as she pointed at Jiang Ran.

”But you’d better have a gift!”

”I know, I know...”

Jiang Ran sighed.

”You’ve only said it a million times.”

...

At the same time, on the other side of East Sea City, in a luxurious conference room.

A middle-aged man pushed the door open and looked at the old man in a Tang suit seated comfortably in the boss’s chair.

”I have some bad news.”

His expression was grave.

”It seems Jiang Ran has noticed our movements and has become wary.”

”He was very active in the Film Club at East Sea University, but ever since he came into contact with our ’key,’ his unusual activities have stopped immediately.”

The old man in the Tang suit opened his eyes.

”Then let me tell you some more bad news.”

He propped himself up on the armrests and sat up straight.

”Someone from Genius Playground is also investigating us... From the looks of it, it’s not just the ’key’ that’s been exposed, but us as well.”

The middle-aged man pulled up a chair and sat opposite the old man.

”In that case, they might be working together. Just as we initially suspected, there must be a mastermind from Genius Playground behind Jiang Ran. We still took the bait in the end.”

”But I insist we continue. After all, the clue Jiang Ran holds is a Time Machine! If we can really get our hands on something like that, on the power to rewrite history and time itself... we can easily win this game!”

The old man in the Tang suit nodded.

”The good thing is, this person investigating us, while I don’t know who it is, at least it’s not the Witch.”

”The Witch is far too cunning; I don’t want to get involved with her for the time being. As for the others... to be honest, I’m quite curious. Who gave them the guts to provoke me?”

The old man frowned.

”For one, I’ve never suppressed or interfered with them, meaning I have no grudges against anyone. I just focus on my own affairs.”

”For two, I have the King’s gold coin now. Isn’t coming after me a death wish? What could he possibly gain from it?”

Heh.

The middle-aged man chuckled softly at this.

”That can only mean one thing... It wasn’t him who actively came to provoke you, but rather you who unintentionally provoked him, wouldn’t you say?”

”Why don’t you think hard about who our recent actions might have provoked?”

The old man in the Tang suit fell silent.

He steepled his fingers, pressing them to his lips, and thought for a moment.

”If you put it that way, then it seems we could only have provoked *that* person.”

”I really didn’t expect him to notice what’s happening here so quickly, especially with that micro-film of his being buried.”

”Logically, his own situation shouldn’t be too good right now. The Clown knows his secrets and has been hunting him for years. He shouldn’t dare to show his face so easily.”

”So, in this situation, could there really be some critical opportunity that’s making him act, even at the risk of being caught by the Clown... What person or thing could be so important to him?”

The middle-aged man blinked.

”You don’t mean... *that* one, do you? We have no grievances or grudges with him.”

”Heh.”

The old man in the Tang suit gave a helpless smile.

”We didn’t before, but it’s hard to say now... If it really is him, I find it quite a pity.”

”After all, in the entire Playground, he’s the only one I find interesting. But, as things stand, it can only be him—”

The old man’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he uttered the name:

”The Magician.”

...

「The evening of September 23rd, in a private room at a restaurant.」

”Quick, light the candles!”

”I’ll do it! I’ll do it! Hehe, this is my favorite part!”

”Wang Hao! Go turn off the lights!”

In the small private room, six people sat around a circular table:

Jiang Ran, Cheng Mengxue, Wang Hao, Xu Yan, Chi Xiaoguo, and Fang Ze.

The room’s lights went out, plunging it into darkness. Chi Xiaoguo had already lit the candles on the cake, waiting for the birthday girl to make a wish and blow them out.

”Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday dear Xiaoxue~ Happy birthday to you~”

Clapping along to the rhythm, the group sang ”Happy Birthday” in unison, followed by a roar of applause as they cheered for Cheng Mengxue to make her wish and blow out the candles.

Wearing a birthday hat, Cheng Mengxue clasped her hands together before the cake, made a sincere wish, and then leaned forward to blow at the candlelight—

”WHOOSH—”

The two number-shaped candles went out, and the group applauded again, congratulating Cheng Mengxue on her 20th birthday.

”Aww~ I’ll be heading for 30 soon!”

Cheng Mengxue said with a hint of shyness, lamenting her fleeting youth.

Fang Ze glanced around the table.

”Everyone here, except for President Xiaoguo, is probably heading for 30, right? Surely no one is still 19?”

In an instant, Xu Yan and Wang Hao burst out laughing, pointing at Jiang Ran.

”This guy is 19! Don’t be fooled by him acting all mature, he’s actually the youngest!”

”What?”

Chi Xiaoguo was completely shocked.

She had been calling him ”senior” for half a year, only to find out Jiang Ran was the same age as her!

”Sigh.”

Jiang Ran let out a weary sigh.

This was something he’d hated bringing up since he was a kid.

That’s right.

He was actually a year younger than Cheng Mengxue.

To be precise, eight months younger.

But age was age; even one day younger was still younger. As a result, every time his childhood friend Cheng Mengxue celebrated her birthday, he was bound to be teased.

It was one thing when they were little.

Now that they were older, every time Cheng Mengxue had a birthday, he couldn’t escape being teased for being her ”little brother.”

”Hee hee, what’s wrong? Is someone not happy about it?!”

As expected.

The birthday girl, Cheng Mengxue, approached with a mischievous grin and proudly began to mercilessly ruffle Jiang Ran’s hair.

”You little brother! Little brother!”

”Hey, don’t touch my hair!”

Jiang Ran was so sick of this routine. He raised his right hand to bat hers away.

However...

When he looked up and met Cheng Mengxue’s eyes, his right hand lost its strength and froze in mid-air.

It wasn’t just Jiang Ran.

Everyone noticed something was off about Cheng Mengxue.

One moment...

Cheng Mengxue, who had just been teasing him about being her ”little brother,” was now frozen in place as if petrified, her gaze vacant as she stared at Jiang Ran.

In a flash, the vacancy on her face vanished, replaced by a gentle, sorrowful expression.

Her right hand softly combed through Jiang Ran’s hair, smoothing down the strands she had just messed up.

Meeting Cheng Mengxue’s strange gaze, Jiang Ran felt odd.

He had never seen her with such an expression...

It was an incredibly deep nostalgia, and a touch that felt impossibly distant.

It was strange.

She was standing right in front of him, yet she felt so far away.

Her eyes were fixed on him, but it was as if she were looking at someone else.

That was it.

Jiang Ran could clearly feel it—

’The person Cheng Mengxue was looking at with those deep eyes wasn’t him; he had no idea who was reflected in her gaze.’

”I’m sorry.”

Cheng Mengxue’s voice was very soft, yet very heavy.

Her hand hovered just above Jiang Ran’s head, barely touching, as a glimmer seemed to flash in her eyes.

”Your sister... grew up a step ahead of you.”