Genius Playground

"Alright!"

Chi Xiaoguo raised her right fist high, brimming with fighting spirit.

Even though she wasn’t sure what her senior, Jiang Ran, was doing, she hoped from the bottom of her heart that the experiment would succeed.

He was her benefactor, and his incredible drive filled her with both envy and adoration.

But...

...at the same time, she couldn’t help but think.

’If Senior’s experiment succeeds, does that mean... he’ll never come back to this clubroom again?’

For a moment, she felt a pang of loneliness.

’Ugh! Seriously! What am I even thinking?!’

Chi Xiaoguo quickly shook her head, trying to clear away such distracting thoughts.

’It has to succeed!’

’It absolutely has to succeed!’

’Senior has put so much effort into this Positron Cannon. He’s worked so hard. Today’s experiment has to be a success on the first try!’

After a silent, fervent prayer, Chi Xiaoguo opened her eyes and looked at the Positron Cannon’s control panel.

It was an external circuit board with four knobs and four small LCD screens, labeled respectively: Year, Month, Day, and Hour.

Right now, all the screens were set with numbers, except for the small LCD next to "Hour," which displayed a "0".

"This... it looks like a Time Machine," she said softly.

Jiang Ran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Hahaha, of course not! It’s not like you’re Doraemon, Senior."

Chi Xiaoguo put her hands on her hips.

"But don’t you worry, Senior. I’m totally tight-lipped! Even if this really is a Time Machine, I’ll definitely keep it a secret. I wouldn’t say a thing even if you beat me to death!"

"I’m so excited! What kind of amazing thing is going to happen? Let me just confirm one more time: all I have to do is press this red button after the countdown ends, right?"

"Mhm."

Jiang Ran nodded.

"Then just stay here on standby. Don’t touch any of the other knobs, and don’t adjust the direction the Positron Cannon is pointing. When I shout that I’m ready, you’ll start the countdown and then press the activation button."

"Roger!"

After giving Chi Xiaoguo her instructions, Jiang Ran left the clubroom, walked out of the student club building, and went to the transformer box.

He opened his phone to a pre-written text message.

The recipient was the phone number he had used two years ago.

The message was exactly 70 characters long:

[To my past self, I am now informing you of two facts from the future:

1. Tomorrow’s college entrance exam essay topic is The Power of Stories;

2. The morning after next, Cheng Mengxue will die in a car accident;

You must ensure Xiaoxue takes the original route to the exam. Do not take a detour!]

These two pieces of information served a dual purpose.

The first was to let his past self verify the authenticity of the Time SMS.

The second was to inform his past self of Cheng Mengxue’s death by car accident, allowing him to prevent the tragedy.

This was the most foolproof approach.

If he had only warned that something bad would happen to Cheng Mengxue, it would likely have been dismissed as a prank or a scam text.

Therefore, a piece of verifiable information like the essay topic for the Chinese language exam was essential.

If everything went smoothly, this message would be sent to the phone of the 18-year-old Jiang Ran on June 6, 2023.

At first, he would probably be skeptical.

But the next day, June 7th, after the Chinese language exam was over, he would surely believe the message was real.

And naturally, he would also believe the warning that Cheng Mengxue was going to die on June 8th.

Once that trust was established, the rest would be easy. His past self would definitely listen and not take a detour, obediently leading Cheng Mengxue to the exam hall.

Alright.

Everything was ready.

He just had to press the send button within the 0.7-second window of the Positron Cannon’s activation. The spacetime fluctuation would occur. The worldline would shift.

And Cheng Mengxue... she would return to this world, taking Chi Xiaoguo’s place on the clubroom sofa, knitting a sweater for her beloved Rhine Cat doll.

"I’m ready!" he shouted toward the Film Club window.

"Roger!"

Chi Xiaoguo stood on her tiptoes in front of the lab bench.

"Okay, Senior, I’m starting the countdown—"

"5!"

’A clear voice. A different girl’s voice, but the same words.’

’It’s finally time to say goodbye to this unfamiliar worldline.’

"4!"

Jiang Ran stared at his phone screen, his thumb hovering over the send button.

’Come to think of it... the people I’ve met on this Worldline No. 1 have actually been pretty great.’

’Wang Hao, still as loyal and dependable as ever.’

’Nan Xiuxiu... although I don’t like her that way, she’s at least honest and kind-hearted, not a bad person at all.’

’Chi Xiaoguo, an adorable little ray of sunshine, a small club president with big responsibilities.’

’And Xu Yan and Yan Rui both helped me in their own ways.’

"3!"

’But all of that will soon be in the past.’

’After the countdown ends, everything that happened here will turn to historical dust.’

’On the new worldline, everyone will have a new history, a new life.’

"2!"

’If I had to be honest, there are still regrets on this worldline.’

’Especially concerning Qin Feng. So many mysteries are still unsolved.’

’Why wasn’t Qin Feng’s father saved?’

’Who set fire to the building? Where did he and his mother disappear to?’

’And where have I seen that Ferris wheel pattern before?’

’I wonder if after the worldline changes... I’ll ever have the chance to find the answers to these mysteries.’

"1!"

’Almost there. Just one second left.’

Jiang Ran’s thumb was poised, ready to strike.

’After using the Time SMS to save Cheng Mengxue, it’ll be time to move on to the next step: finding Qin Feng.’

’No matter how many secrets Qin Feng is hiding, no matter what he did to wrong me... in the end, I promised I would find them both and bring them back, every last one.’

’A promise is a promise.’

’Back at Malan Middle School, I already wrote down the phone numbers Qin Feng’s parents had ten years ago.’

’So theoretically, as long as I send a Time SMS to them ten years in the past, finding Qin Feng shouldn’t be difficult.’

’Everything is going according to plan. Everything is looking up.’

’Come on! Bring on the worldline that belongs to us!’

"0!"

RING-A-LING-A-LING—

Something unexpected happened!

The exact moment Chi Xiaoguo counted down to zero, his phone suddenly rang. The caller ID read: [Nan Xiuxiu].

At that instant, the Positron Cannon roared to life!

And Jiang Ran’s thumb, by reflex, pressed down hard!

It was all completely unforeseen. The spot where the "Send" button had been was now covered by the "Answer Call" button, and the pad of his thumb pressed right down on it!

"Hello?"

The last thing he heard, like an auditory hallucination, was Nan Xiuxiu’s voice as the call connected.

VWOOM!

VWOOM!

VWOOM!

The familiar dizziness washed over him. He felt a loss of gravity as the world spun around him.

’What’s happening?’

Jiang Ran was lost in the vertigo.

’I definitely didn’t press the send button... the Time SMS definitely wasn’t sent—’

’But! Why is the spacetime fluctuation still happening?!’

’Could it be... that it’s not just text messages that can travel through time? That an answered phone call can also trigger a chain reaction with the Positron Cannon?!’

’What’s the principle behind that?’

’How will the worldline change?’

The world went dark. His five senses vanished.

Like a leaf falling into water, Jiang Ran was swept away by the current, tumbling into an unknown time and space!

Two seconds later.

All discomfort vanished.

He felt the solid ground beneath his feet and the clear return of his five senses.

"Hooo..."

He let out a long breath.

Jiang Ran opened his eyes—