Genius Playground

Jiang Ran held the large gift box in his arms.

He shook it to feel its weight. It was pretty heavy, about as much as two bricks.

That made it hard to guess.

Electronics?

He couldn’t think of any electronic device that would be this heavy.

But that was a secondary concern.

For some reason, the fluorescent green gift box felt a bit gaudy.

’But still... why did it have to be green? It gave him an ominous feeling.’

"A game console?"

He tried to guess what his counterpart from Timeline 1 liked.

"Nope~" Nan Xiuxiu denied it.

"Then..."

Jiang Ran hefted the gift box again.

"An action figure? Workout equipment?"

"Pfft— You’re way off, haha! Just hurry up and open it!"

Seeing Jiang Ran’s guesses get more and more absurd, Nan Xiuxiu quickly urged him to open it.

He untied the ribbon, tore off the wrapping paper, opened the gift box, found another box inside, opened that, and was met with protective foam... The process had the strange beauty of peeling an onion.

Finally.

After opening the last dust bag, the truth was revealed—

It was...

A camera?

It was boxy and large, with a commanding cylindrical lens protruding from the front. Every part of it looked old, yet it was so well-maintained that it exuded a sense of classic, refined dignity.

Turning it over, he could see the camera was indeed quite old. It had no screen or display components of any kind. It was thick and rugged—clearly an industrial product from the last century.

Without a doubt, this was a—

Film camera.

Jiang Ran never would have imagined that Nan Xiuxiu would give him a film camera as a gift.

"Do you like it?"

The light reflected in Nan Xiuxiu’s eyes as she watched Jiang Ran, full of anticipation.

Jiang Ran looked back at her.

"What made you decide to give me this?"

"I only just found out you like film cameras! You really kept it a secret. All this time, I had no idea you were into something so old-fashioned."

Nan Xiuxiu smiled faintly.

"If I hadn’t followed you to the East Sea University Film Club last time, I would have never known you had this kind of hobby."

"Besides, aren’t you preparing for a competition with your friends from the East Sea University Film Club right now? I figured nothing would be a more fitting gift than a film camera."

"So? Do you like this model? Sorry... I wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn’t ask you about it beforehand. I just went ahead and got it."

"But I did a lot of research online, and everyone said this camera is really good! Anyway, I hope it can be of help to you!"

...

Jiang Ran didn’t say anything.

He kept turning the heavy camera over in his hands, examining its details.

The word "FUJI" on the front indicated it was a Fujifilm camera, but Jiang Ran couldn’t make sense of anything else, nor did he have any idea what this camera was worth.

Because everything Nan Xiuxiu saw in him was a misunderstanding—nothing more than a fictional story fabricated by Wang Hao.

He didn’t like film cameras, nor was he preparing for any competition.

He had only gone to the Film Club to find the Positron Cannon. The so-called competition was just an excuse to push Nan Xiuxiu away and avoid her.

But he never expected...

That in Nan Xiuxiu’s eyes, all these lies had become truer than the truth itself.

He didn’t know how to respond to such sincerity.

Saying he liked it, against his true feelings, would certainly fit the mood of the moment.

But when would this ever-growing web of lies finally end?

The more he deceived her, the guiltier Jiang Ran would feel.

"Whoa, whoa, Jiang Ran! Are you so moved you’re speechless? About to cry?"

Wang Hao started egging him on.

"With such a cool camera, aren’t you going to take a picture of Xiuxiu right away?"

This suggestion immediately drew a chorus of agreement. Everyone urged Jiang Ran to show off his skills and take a picture of Xiuxiu with the meaningful gift.

"There’s probably no film in here, right?"

Jiang Ran tried to refuse.

"There is! There is!"

Nan Xiuxiu was eager to have her picture taken, too.

"When I bought the camera, the seller asked if I knew how to load the film. I said no, so he offered to load it for me. He said it would be ready to use as soon as I got it!"

"..."

Jiang Ran was speechless.

’It’s over.’

’I’m in a real bind now.’

’The main problem was, he had absolutely no idea how to use a film camera!’

When he was taking pictures of Chi Xiaoguo at the Film Club that morning, she had professionally picked out a Kodak camera with an autofocus function, which made it foolproof to operate.

But this bulky Fujifilm camera in his hands was obviously even older than that Kodak. He could forget about "high-tech" features like autofocus; Jiang Ran couldn’t even figure out how to turn it on.

’Just a moment ago, both Wang Hao and Nan Xiuxiu had been hyping up his supposed collaboration with the East Sea University Film Club on some major competition...’

’He couldn’t just admit that he didn’t know how to use a film camera now, could he?’

"The lighting in here seems a bit poor," Jiang Ran said, looking around for an excuse.

"We’ll provide the lighting!" The bestie squad activated their phone flashlights.

"The background is also a bit too cluttered. I can’t frame a shot."

"We’ll clean it up!" The roommate squad stepped up for the manual labor.

...

’Well, then.’

’With the time, place, and people all perfectly aligned, it looked like he had to take this picture whether he wanted to or not.’

Resigned to his fate, Jiang Ran could only recall the details of taking photos of Chi Xiaoguo that morning. He found a good position and angle and aimed the bulky film camera at Nan Xiuxiu—

"Wait!"

Nan Xiuxiu suddenly held up a hand and started quickly fixing her hair.

"You have to give me a second to strike a pose!"

"Just a casual shot is fine," Jiang Ran said perfunctorily.

"No way."

Nan Xiuxiu refused sternly.

"This is the first picture you’ve ever taken of me... It’s such a meaningful moment, so I have to take it seriously."