Genius Playground

Everything was going more smoothly than expected.

The gatekeeper at Malan Middle School was very easygoing. After they explained their purpose, he let them in and even helpfully told them which floor the student affairs office was on.

They went up to the second floor of the administration building.

Someone happened to be on duty in the student affairs office—a male teacher who looked to be in his fifties.

Jiang Ran explained their purpose with great sincerity, saying that a good friend of his had been out of contact for a long time and he was very worried. He hoped to get his friend’s home address or contact information.

At first, the teacher on duty was reluctant to help them, but his expression changed drastically when he heard the name "Qin Feng."

"You know Qin Feng?"

The teacher’s sudden seriousness took Jiang Ran by surprise.

He nodded.

"Yes, but I haven’t been in touch with him for a long time. Sir, do you remember him?"

The teacher seemed to want to say something but held back.

Finally...

He sighed and looked out the window.

"That poor kid. How could I not remember him? Over a decade ago, I was still teaching and served as the homeroom teacher for his grade."

"Qin Feng was an exceptionally gifted and incredibly bright child. You could tell right away he was destined for great things. I was very fond of him."

"It’s just a shame... I remember it was about ten years ago, Qin Feng’s father passed away. The boy dropped out of school shortly after and disappeared."

’What?’

Jiang Ran sat up straight.

’Qin Feng’s father... still died?’

’This doesn’t make any sense.’

If Qin Feng’s father really did die in an accident ten years ago, then a young Qin Feng, knowing about it in advance, should have easily been able to prevent the tragedy.

Besides, the world line had changed so drastically. Logically, the cross-temporal rescue mission should have been a success.

’This is too strange.’

Jiang Ran frowned.

On the current world line...

’The person who should have been saved wasn’t, but the person who shouldn’t have died did.’

’What on earth was the reason?’

He could only think of two possibilities:

1. There was more to Qin Feng’s father’s death; it wasn’t an accident.

2. Qin Feng didn’t send the Time SMS to save his father, but for some other secret purpose.

For a moment, this baseless speculation sent a chill down Jiang Ran’s spine.

He still refused to believe Qin Feng could be so insidious and cunning.

He would rather believe there was more to his father’s death and that Qin Feng had tried his best to save him but failed, rather than the excuse itself being nothing but an act.

’This isn’t the time to be thinking about this.’

’First, I have to find Qin Feng!’

"Sir."

Jiang Ran pleaded again.

"Could you please give us Qin Feng’s home address? We want to ask his old neighbors about him."

Hearing Jiang Ran’s words, the teacher fell silent again.

After a moment of hesitation, he opened his computer and began searching the student records.

"By rights, I shouldn’t be giving you this kind of private student information..."

He picked up a pen and began writing on a notepad.

"But over the years, I’ve often worried about that boy. If you really do find Qin Feng, please tell him I said hello."

After he finished writing, he capped the pen and handed the note over.

"This is the home address registered in his student file. I also wrote down his parents’ phone numbers, but I’ve tried calling them before, and they’re all disconnected. You can give them a try, though."

"Thank you, sir!" "Thank you so much!"

Jiang Ran and Wang Hao both expressed their thanks and left with the note.

The address written on it was in a remote village, so the two decided to keep driving.

As the car moved, Jiang Ran dialed the two phone numbers recorded on the note.

Just as expected, they were both disconnected and wouldn’t go through.

With a sigh, he reclined his seat and lay back with his eyes closed.

’Qin Feng’s father wasn’t saved after all.’

That was something Jiang Ran had never expected.

Qin Feng had gone to such great lengths, deceiving his best friend and putting on a dramatic show to turn against him at the last second, only for it all to end in failure.

Not only was his father not saved, but he himself had disappeared, and the Butterfly Effect had even led to Cheng Mengxue’s death...

’What was it all for?’

’Was it really worth it?’

...

The road conditions on the way to the village grew progressively worse.

After the paved cement road ended, it gave way to a muddy, rutted dirt track that made the car sway and lurch.

"My God, don’t tell me Qin Feng lives in the mountains! What kind of crappy road is this?!"

Wang Hao’s road rage continued to flare up.

Jiang Ran, however, was already mentally prepared.

When he first met Qin Feng, he knew his family wasn’t well-off. His mother had to work several jobs to support him and pay for his schooling.

Qin Feng had said that when his father was alive, their living conditions were pretty good.

Although he didn’t know what his father did for work, he always managed to bring home some money. They weren’t wealthy by any means, but in the village, they never had to worry about food or clothing, and tuition and living expenses were never a problem.

But on this "World Line No. 1"...

Qin Feng’s father still died.

This also meant their impoverished life as mother and son wouldn’t have changed.

Wang Hao drove the old Jetta to the village entrance, parked on the side of the road, and the two of them walked into the village.

Following the numbers at the alley entrances, the two made several turns and finally arrived at the address for Qin Feng’s home—

"This is..." "What happened here?!"

Seeing the devastated scene of broken walls and ruins before them, Jiang Ran and Wang Hao couldn’t help but gasp.

There were no houses standing on the lot, only a collapsed ruin as far as the eye could see.

Broken bricks, rotten beams, overgrown weeds, and... charred scorch marks covering the shattered walls.

If the house had simply collapsed, it wouldn’t have been strange.

Many villages across the country were now deserted, with hardly anyone living in them. It was common for houses to fall into disrepair and collapse without anyone to manage them.

However, this self-built house clearly hadn’t collapsed from old age. The aged scorch marks were undeniable proof—

There had been a fire here. The house had burned down!

Instantly, a sense of danger washed over them.

Wang Hao sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hiss... Was there a fire here?"

"Looks like it."

Jiang Ran looked around.

"But look, the neighboring houses are all intact. Only Qin Feng’s house was burned."

"Then again, it’s possible they all burned down back then, but since other people still live here, they rebuilt on the ruins."

"And according to the teacher, Qin Feng went missing ten years ago, so naturally, no one would have taken care of the house even if it did burn down."

After hearing this, Wang Hao nodded.

"You have a point."

From behind them, the gradual TAP, TAP, TAP of a cane grew closer.

The two turned around to see a hunched-over old man walking with a cane.

Wang Hao pointed.

"With that leisurely stroll, he’s got to be a local. How about we go ask him about this house?"

Jiang Ran had the same idea.

He walked forward.

"Hello, sir. We’re friends of Qin Feng and wanted to ask you about his family."

The old man was a bit hard of hearing. He turned his head to the side, signaling for Jiang Ran to repeat himself.

After Jiang Ran shouted the same words again, the old man’s cane trembled and his eyes widened.

"Qin Feng? Isn’t that Yongxiao’s boy?"

"Yes, yes, that’s right."

Jiang Ran agreed. It was a match.

Back in school, Jiang Ran had seen Qin Feng fill out many forms: family member surveys, student records, application forms, and so on...

They all required him to fill in his parents’ information.

So Jiang Ran remembered that Qin Feng’s father’s name was Qin Yongxiao. The "Yongxiao" the old man mentioned could be no one else.

"Sigh..."

The old man let out a long sigh.

"That whole family... they were so ill-fated."

Wang Hao, quick on the uptake, swiftly pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offered one to the old man, and lit it for him.

"Grandpa, could you tell us..."

"...what exactly happened to Qin Feng’s family?"