Genius Playground

Chapter 38 A Lost Life

"Don't touch me!"

Jiang Ran quickly dodged and distanced himself from the girl.

He looked the colorful girl up and down.

She is about 165 cm tall, neither too tall nor too short; she has a beautiful face, a good figure, and her eyes are full of mischievousness... What makes her most captivating is her exaggeratedly long pink hair that flows like a waterfall.

The color must be dyed, shiny and smooth, with big wavy curls; this hairstyle is too trendy for Jiang Ran's aesthetic sense, and she can't accept it.

Cosplay is understandable, but who would cosplay in their pajamas in the middle of the night?

But the current situation leaves Jiang Ran no time to consider these additional issues.

It suddenly occurred to him.

Could it be... that this girl is the "Xiuxiu" that Wang Hao mentioned?
Based on what the girl just said, is she still his girlfriend?

That's utter nonsense!
Jiang Ran had never been in a relationship since he was a child. He had always liked the kind of well-behaved, quiet, and bookish girls... This pink-haired girl was not his type at all.

The girl watched Jiang Ran hop away like a rabbit.

Tilt your head.

Blink your big eyes.

I don't understand.

He tiptoed closer again:
"What's wrong? Have you had too much to drink? Or do you have a fever?"

As he spoke, he was about to place his palm on Jiang Ran's forehead.

Jiang Ran nimbly dodged again.

Although the current situation is unclear, it is not advisable to stay here for long.

He looked around, found his shoes and clothes, quickly put them on, opened the door, and left.

"Hey! Jiang Ran!"

The pink-haired girl quickly caught up:

What are you doing! Where are you going?!

Jiang Ran ignored her and stormed out the door.

really.

This isn't a hotel; it's just a bedroom on the second floor of a villa.

Stepping out of the bedroom, you enter a large living room; empty bottles and jars are placed on the bar counter, and various snack bags are scattered on the floor.

He glanced at the layout and headed down the stairs.

Squeak.

The door to the next room was pushed open.

A girl wearing a white tank top, white pajama bottoms, and short blonde hair walked out.

Both are slim and have excellent looks.

What's going on here? A models' gathering?
Oh no.

Jiang Ran recalled what Wang Hao had said on the phone; it seemed to be a birthday party hosted by Xiuxiu's best friend, who had rented a villa.

"Jiang Ran, where are we going?"

The blonde girl spoke casually, seemingly quite familiar with Jiang Ran:

Where is Xiuxiu?

Jiang Ran glanced at her, then walked over without pausing.

"Huh? I'm ignoring me?"

The girl clung to the doorframe, pressing for an answer:

"I was taking a shower just now, and Xiuxiu said she wanted to borrow your toilet. Why are you getting dressed now?"

There was still no response, and Jiang Ran had already gone down the stairs.

"nerve!"

The girl cursed under her breath, then walked towards another bedroom:
"Xiuxiu! What's wrong with Jiang Ran? She looks terrible. Did you two have a fight?"

……

Open the villa gate and step out into the courtyard, and you'll see detached villas everywhere you look.

It seems this is indeed a villa resort area, and a very high-end one at that.

Jiang Ran ran straight to the main gate and got into a taxi:
"Master, to Donghai University."

He is now completely focused.

All I wanted to do was quickly find out what had happened to me, Qin Feng, and Cheng Mengxue.

Ring ring ring ring ring ring—

The taxi had just started moving when the cell phone rang.

I picked it up and saw it was a WeChat video call from [Nan Xiuxiu].

Jiang Ran enlarged her profile picture.

The pink color is glaring.

No doubt about it, it's the pink-haired girl who just gave herself a midnight nightmare in her room.

From this perspective...

The girl's name was Nan Xiuxiu.

He couldn't understand why he was hanging out with this kind of girl on this new timeline, and even being in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with her.

But he couldn't worry about that right now; he had more important things to do.

"Is Xiaoxue... really dead?"

Cheng Mengxue was all he could think about.

Even though Wang Hao explained it so clearly, he still couldn't believe it. *Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring—*

The phone was still ringing.

Jiang Ran hung up immediately and switched her phone to Do Not Disturb mode, rejecting all calls and notifications.

Then, he opened his phone's photo album and quickly scrolled through it from top to bottom.

He tried to find traces of Cheng Mengxue among the vast number of photos...

But the reality is harsh.

Not a single one.

There isn't a single photo related to Cheng Mengxue.

Until you scroll to the very bottom of the album, a group photo of your high school graduation class appears.

Clinging to his last glimmer of hope, he hurriedly clicked on the group photo, zoomed in, and looked towards the familiar spot—

No.

No.

He found his spot immediately, but Qin Feng and Cheng Mengxue were not beside him; he searched every corner of the photo but could not find those two familiar faces.

and……

Look at your own expression in the photo.

He had his head down, his bangs covering his eyes, and he looked very sad, without any smile.

this moment.

The sorrow that transcends time and space seems to merge into one, rich and heavy, like a flood that engulfs Jiang Ran.

He was panting.

I squeezed my heart, which was pounding so hard it hurt.

Leaving the villa, a period of calm reflection finally allowed him to accept this fact—

Cheng Mengxue has indeed passed away; she died two years ago.

Jiang Ran's palms were ice-cold.

First of all.

It can be clearly stated.

All these unexpected changes stemmed from the time-traveling text message Qin Feng sent.

That text message triggered a shift in the timeline, and the powerful butterfly effect dramatically altered history.

That's absolutely correct.

Let's continue reasoning based on this premise.

A text message sent 10 days ago could not possibly affect history from two years ago or even earlier.

He suddenly recalled his conversation with Qin Feng before they ate barbecue that day:
What have you been fiddling with?

At that time, Qin Feng was modifying a positron cannon on the experimental platform, and he was very curious:

"The positron cannon is already perfect, what are you still busy with?"

"Perfect?"

Qin Feng chuckled:
"Not at all."

"Have you forgotten that the positron cannon can only run for 0.7 seconds right now? I want to try to solve this problem."

……

Correct.

That's where the doubt lies.

The positron cannon can only run for 0.7 seconds, which is a well-known design flaw that cannot be overcome. Qin Feng has no need to waste his efforts.

He's lying.

So, what exactly was Qin Feng modifying that night?
It seems the knob control panel has been disassembled.

It seems the wiring has been re-soldered.

"I see."

He opened his eyes and understood everything.

That rotary control panel allows you to digitally adjust the timing of SMS message sending.

The first knob adjusts the year.

The second knob adjusts the moon.

The third knob adjusts the zenith.

Adjust the hour using the fourth knob.

So……

What if Qin Feng modifies or rearranges the internal wiring, reversing the wiring of the first knob and the third knob...?

This means.

Although the first knob is labeled as controlling the "year", it actually controls the "day"!
The third knob is labeled as controlling "days," but it actually controls "years"!
The 10 days displayed on the control panel actually represent 10 years!

and so.

The text message that Qin Feng edited was not sent 10 days ago.

Instead, it's an unprecedented journey through distant times...

Sent to...

"Before 10."

(End of this chapter)