Genius Playground

Chapter 39 Goal
"Qin Feng, you've been hiding your true colors very well."

Once this blind spot is overcome, the logic of spacetime becomes instantly clear.

Qin Feng's purpose was very clear—

He saved his biological father's life.

Since Qin Feng's time-traveling text message was indeed sent 10 years ago;
If ten-year-old Qin Feng had known of his father's death in advance, he would have tried his best to save his father from that accident and save his life.

From that moment on...

The world line shifts, and the trajectory of history changes.

The enormous temporal and spatial butterfly effect created by reviving an adult who had been dead for ten years has swept away the history of those ten years like a tornado.

Many things change, and many people's fates change accordingly.

From Jiang Ran's perspective, the most direct changes are as follows:

1. Qin Feng's growth trajectory has changed. He did not come to Hangzhou No. 1 High School, did not become good friends with me, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

2、本该健康成长的程梦雪，在2023年6月8日遭遇车祸身亡，生命永远定格在18岁。

3. His life has also undergone tremendous changes. Although he doesn't know the details yet, he is actually able to date a girl like Nan Xiuxiu and mingle in this circle... He feels that his life has been completely turned upside down.

"hehe."

He burst out laughing for no apparent reason.

I don't know what they're laughing at.

“I miss my father very much, and I cherish you both. Both sides of the scale are the same to me.”

This was said by Qin Feng.

Jiang Ran didn't believe he was lying.

If Qin Feng really broke his promise and wanted to send time-travel text messages to Cheng Mengxue without her knowledge, there were obviously simpler methods.

The positron cannon was kept in the activity room, and he could use it secretly at any time.

This is also the point that Jiang Ran can't understand the most:
"Since Qin Feng has plenty of opportunities to send text messages behind our backs, why does he have to put on this show in front of us?"

In his mind, he recalled the last look Qin Feng gave him.

"I'm sorry, Jiang Ran."

Those were eyes filled with guilt, yet also harboring a hidden expectation:
"forgive me."

Could it be...

Qin Feng was still hoping that he, with his memories of the original timeline, would find him again, forgive him, and the three of them would become friends again.
Ok.

Probably.

Qin Feng had discussed this topic with him when the first text message was interrupted.

At that time, Qin Feng asked him:
"If the timeline shifts, causing me to drift apart from you and become strangers on the new timeline... will you find me on the new timeline?"

At that time, Jiang Ran didn't think too much about it and answered from the bottom of his heart:

"Yes, it will definitely happen."

"No matter how the timeline changes, I will never abandon any of you."

"No matter how the butterfly effect of time and space changes our relationship, I will definitely find you both and make up with you as before, just like we are now."

……

and so.

Is this why Qin Feng delayed implementing his plan until the very last minute?
He wanted a commitment.

He wanted a promise that Jiang Ran would find him again.

"You're too cunning."

Jiang Ran muttered to himself.

He understood Qin Feng's desire to save his father, but he completely disagreed with Qin Feng's actions.

"Xiaoxue is dead..."

This is something Jiang Ran cannot forgive or pardon.

He couldn't wait to find Qin Feng and have a good fight with him.

But now.

With Cheng Mengxue's death as a stark reality, he had no time to distinguish right from wrong. History had to be corrected.

Cheng Mengxue must be saved.

The world line must be reversed.

He has only one thing on his mind right now—

[The positron cannon was found again, and the time-space text message was sent once more, reviving Cheng Mengxue!]

This is why he immediately took a taxi to Tunghai University.

He had to check whether the positron cannon was still at Tunghai University or within the film studio.

If the positron cannon is found, Cheng Mengxue can be saved.

This is not difficult.

He used the time-space text message to revive Xu Yan, and Qin Feng also used the time-space text message to revive his father... The time-space text message is omnipotent; as long as the positron cannon is found again, everything lost can be made up for!
squeak--

The taxi came to a stop.

The driver turned around:
"Young man, we've arrived at the west gate of Tunghai University."

Jiang Ran paid and got out of the car.

The West Gate is the abandoned old gate of Tunghai University. It has long been out of use and is closed all day.

There's a reason why we didn't come through the main entrance.

It's 1 a.m., and the main gate is already locked. Not only can I not get in, but I'll also inevitably be interrogated by the security guard and eventually have my counselor notified... I might as well not go in at all.

The west gate area had been abandoned for a long time, and a section of the fence was rusted and corroded, which "coincidentally" created a hole that people could crawl through. This was the solution devised by countless heroic senior students.

Of course, this "coincidence" is definitely man-made; heroes are not judged by their origins, but by the fact that they keep their achievements and fame hidden.

Jiang Ran had studied at Donghai University for two years, so he was naturally a seasoned pro and skillfully found a gap in the railing and squeezed through.

The campus was eerily quiet at midnight. As I hurried along the tree-lined paths, all I could hear were the croaking of frogs and the soft chirping of cicadas by the lake.

This was his first time strolling through Tunghai University late at night; he felt nervous but also incredibly lonely.

Think about the past two years.

When has he ever acted alone?

He was always surrounded by Qin Feng or Cheng Mengxue, and never felt lonely for a moment.

But now.

Especially considering that on this timeline, Qin Feng didn't become friends with him, and Cheng Mengxue died during the college entrance examination.

How exactly did he spend the last two years?
Am I destined to come to Tunghai University all alone, just like now? To live a life confined to the cafeteria, classroom, and dormitory? To experience the sunrise and sunset, the spring, summer, autumn, and winter all by myself?
A moment of empathy reminded Jiang Ran of Qin Feng's words:
"After the world line shifted, we, who were so close, instantly became strangers; all our emotions and experiences disappeared, and we each went our separate ways... No one will remember our current trio."

"Jiang Ran, don't you think this feeling is cruel?"

Yes.

It's certainly cruel.

and so.

Jiang Ran clenched his fist.

We must find the positron cannon and fix all of this!
……

He quickly slipped into the club activity building.

The spare key from the film company was always kept under a flowerpot on the windowsill in the corridor. Jiang Ran picked up the flowerpot and sure enough, he saw the small silver key.

“Lucky.”

It seems that the traditions of the film company have not changed.

He picked up the key, walked to the familiar wooden door, inserted it, and turned it. The lock clicked, and the door opened a small crack.

For some inexplicable reason, it seemed as if the gears of fate were turning, connecting the two spaces, the inside and the outside, and the two times...

Time, history, cause and effect, the past and the future are intertwined.

In the distance, streetlights shone through the gaps in the branches onto the door panel, swaying and blinking like hundreds of eyes... staring intently at the visitor who had crossed world lines; whispering softly, all the answers lay behind this door.

Jiang Ran took a deep breath.

He pushed it in forcefully—

(End of this chapter)