Genius Playground

Chapter 18 Cheating
boom! ! ! ! !
Jiang Ran lay flat as he entered the water, and huge waves surged up.

"Pooh!"

Cheng Mengxue wiped her face:

"If I was a bomb, what you did was definitely atomic! Do you even know how to dive?!"

Does he look like he'd do that?

Qin Feng stood on the diving board:
"But I didn't expect you to actually dare to jump."

Jiang Ran floated to the surface and rubbed his back:

"It's your turn!"

"I won't jump."

?

"Trying to cheat?" Jiang Ran gave him the middle finger.

"Who told you to walk in front?"

Qin Feng smiled and stepped off the diving platform.

……

Night falls.

The top-tier suites have private viewing platforms where you can dine.

The staff served them their food and then left.

The three sat around a small round table, marveling at how wealthy people really know how to enjoy life.

From their current vantage point, they have an unobstructed view of the dazzling starlight above and a view of the crowd dancing to DJ music on the cruise ship deck below.

Looking west, you can see the brightly lit Donghai City.

The coastline is ablaze with neon lights, and the Oriental Pearl Tower stands out among the colorful array, like an everlasting beacon.

Looking eastward, there is a pitch-black sea.

It was a blacker black than black itself; you could see absolutely nothing.

Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

Amidst the clinking of red wine glasses, all three phones simultaneously beeped with WeChat notifications.

It's a high school class group.

When we first started university, this group was quite lively every day, with students complaining about the school, military training, and dormitories.

But gradually, it became completely quiet.

The three of them checked their phones and saw that the message was from [Wang Hao].

Wang Hao was their class monitor in high school, and they got along very well; although not as close as the three of them, their friendship was still above that of ordinary friends.

The message is quite long:
Wang Hao: Classmates! It's been almost two years since we graduated from high school, it's time for us to get together!

Let's schedule the class reunion for this summer vacation. We'll decide on the exact date later, since there are still several months to go. I'm letting you know in advance.

Those who have time and can come, please come!

……

"A class reunion..."

Jiang Ran put down her phone:

"It's been a long time since I've seen them. We used to get along quite well, and we said we'd keep in touch even after we went to university. But now we're all so far apart, and we've gradually lost touch."

"As expected."

Qin Feng put down his fork:

"Distance can only create beauty, but it can never create affection."

"Otherwise, why would I have applied to the same university as you? The admissions officers from Tsinghua and Peking Universities practically lived in my house, but I still insisted on coming to Tunghai University with you."

"Of course I believe in our friendship, but that's just how distance is. An inch further is an inch further, and we can never get closer."

"Actually, nothing in this world is more important than true friends... especially friends from your youth."

Hey.

Cheng Mengxue scratched her head sheepishly:

"Sorry, we're the ones who dragged you down. With our grades, the best option for us is Donghai University; plus, Sister Xu Yan is here too, so we applied there."

"Speaking of which... Wang Hao goes to a junior college, right? Does that mean he'll be doing an internship next semester?"

This seems like a very heavy topic.

The junior college program is three years long, and my former good friend Wang Hao is indeed going to work as a beast of burden in society.

"Even if someone is not very smart, can't they still not get 500 points?"

Qin Feng was truly puzzled:

"Just get a passing grade in each subject."

"Shut up." X2
Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue spoke in unison.

Cheng Mengxue, in particular, failed two subjects last semester.

"Don't worry about Wang Hao. His mouth is more powerful than a positron cannon. He won't have trouble finding a job."

Jiang Ran peeled open a lobster: "Many undergraduates can't find jobs now. Apart from not being able to take postgraduate entrance exams or civil service exams, there's not much difference in society for associate degree holders. Ultimately, it still depends on individual ability."

"Wang Hao was the class monitor in high school; his abilities are obvious to everyone. He might enter the workforce a year earlier and end up doing better than any of us."

Qin Feng wiped his mouth:
"That's possible, but... it's impossible now."

He smiled slightly:
"Now that we have mastered [time-space text messaging], we can freely change history and correct errors."

"Unless we deliberately try to keep a low profile, it's hard to imagine any of our classmates doing better than us."

"Hey, you guys have led me astray too. What's with all this talk about doing well or not? We're all classmates, why are we divided into different classes?"

"When we succeed in the future and gain a certain social status, we can definitely help our classmates."

"But the secret of the time-space text message can only be known by the three of us," Jiang Ran emphasized again.

This is something he has emphasized countless times:
“We might just want to use time-space text messaging to make a little money or take a shortcut in life, but others might not.”

"If the time-space text messages fall into the hands of bad actors... revenge against society, hegemonic wars, and even the destruction of the world are all possible."

"Therefore, we must protect this secret. Protecting this secret is protecting the whole world."

"Of course." "We're not stupid."

Cheng Mengxue, with a fork in her mouth, tilted her head:

"Now that we're on the topic, what exactly are we going to do with time-space text messages in the future?"

"Or rather... what will we ultimately do with time-space text messaging? What is our ultimate goal?"

"Make your dreams come true."

Jiang Ran replied:

"So, what are your dreams? What kind of life do you want to live in the future?"

"I want to be a Rhine Cat designer!"

A glint of starlight appeared in Cheng Mengxue's eyes:
"I must apply for a job at Rhine International after I graduate. I really want to design my own Rhine cat!"

Jiang Ran smiled:

"That's a normal dream, Qin Feng. What about you?"

"I want to do research in... the world's top laboratory."

Qin Feng was also very serious:

"There are many problems in this world that cannot be solved by an individual. I want to work with the world's brightest geniuses to explore the secrets of physics, the microscopic world, and even the deepest parts of the universe."

"Wow, that's amazing."

Cheng Mengxue sighed, then turned her head:

"Jiang Ran, what about you? What is your dream?"

"me……"

Jiang Ran rubbed the napkin, genuinely unable to think of anything for a moment:

"I may not have such specific goals as you, but my thought... is that since we live our lives, we should at least do something meaningful, right?"

On a small scale, it means living a good life and protecting your family and friends; on a larger scale, it means making a contribution to society, the country, and even humanity, and making the world a better place.

Oh ~
Cheng Mengxue pondered:
"That's... the savior?"

"It's not that exaggerated!"

"That's... a genius like Einstein who advanced science?"

"Do you look like me?"

"Then..."

Cheng Mengxue smiled slightly, her pupils reflecting the neon lights on the shore, merging into one:
"[Then let's continue being a hero, just like now.]"

Bang bang bang! !
Fireworks time!

A massive amount of fireworks soared into the sky from the cruise ship's deck, exploding into colorful flames. It was as if the universe had opened countless eyes... silently watching the idle chatter at the highest point of the cruise ship.

"..."

Jiang Ran swirls the wine glass:
Am I a hero?

"Of course, you saved Sister Xu Yan and those two children who fell into the water."

"That was cheating."

He looked at Cheng Mengxue:
“I knew the answer and the solution beforehand. Without that buoyancy life jacket, I would never have jumped.”

"You can jump."

After drinking the red wine, Cheng Mengxue was becoming a bit bolder today:
“We grew up together, and this isn’t the first time I’ve seen you be this brave. Even without that life jacket, you would have jumped.”

The waves rippled, and the wine glasses swayed.

Fireworks slowly fell, like tears streaming down the sky.

"Besides... so what if you cheated? No matter what the reason was, you still jumped in the end..."

Cheng Mengxue's cheeks were flushed, her eyes were hazy, reflecting the last rays of the night sky:
"If cheating makes the world a better place... and makes you a hero who saves lives..."

The world returns to darkness:

"Then why not... cheat for the rest of my life?"

(End of this chapter)