Genius Playground

Roommate #2 had lost all his money on an online lottery because the "big bro" in his group chat kept telling them to double down when they lost. The idea was that one win would recoup all their previous losses. In the end, he doubled down with his entire savings... Now, he had joined a new group chat. Every day, he and a new set of "big bros" discussed soccer betting, and he was currently going on about the dark secrets of betting company odds and match-fixing conspiracies.

Roommate #3 was even more talkative, lecturing the group of girlfriends on the art of financial management:

"If you don’t manage your money, your money won’t manage you."

Roommate #3 proclaimed:

"As college students, we don’t get much for living expenses. That’s why it’s even more important to use financial management techniques to make our money work for us and get more disposable income."

Jiang Ran actually agreed with that point.

At East Sea University, many teachers and students played the stock market. Although most of them ended up losing money, the market had been doing pretty well this year, and a lot of people had recouped their losses.

"Playing the stock market is fine, but don’t invest all your money. You have to be rational," Jiang Ran cautioned.

"Pfft! Only idiots play the stock market!"

Roommate #3 scoffed.

"How much can you even make from stocks?"

"The market’s been pretty good this year."

Jiang Ran said:

"If you’d held from the beginning of the year until now, you could have easily made a 20% or 30% profit. The overall market is up by that much, after all."

"Only 30%!"

Roommate #3 chuckled.

"A 30% return in half a year? You call that financial management?"

"Oh?"

Jiang Ran was suddenly filled with awe.

’Who would have thought? A master hiding in plain sight. Right here in dorm 7B523 of the East Sea College of International Trade and Economics, there was a financial wizard!’

"What’s your rate of return?" Jiang Ran couldn’t help but ask, his curiosity piqued.

Roommate #3 snorted coldly.

"I can get a 300% return in a single day—I triple my principal!"

Jiang Ran laughed, exasperated.

"That’s a bit of an exaggeration."

’If there weren’t so many girls present, I would have spared him no mercy and just called him out on his bullshit. Even Warren Buffett wouldn’t dare make such a boast.’

’Tripling your principal in one day? Could that possibly be legitimate financial management?’

"Heh, underestimating me, are you?"

Roommate #3 really did have the air of a great general. He faced the skepticism with a nonchalant smile, calm and unbothered.

"This is totally legitimate financial management, with zero risk. As soon as my monthly allowance comes in, I turn 1,000 into 3,000. I’ve been doing it for several months now."

"For real?"

The guy was so confident that he was starting to confuse Jiang Ran.

’It’s true,’ he thought, ’I can’t write off all my roommates just because of the ridiculous stunts of #1 and #2.’

"Of course it’s real."

Roommate #3 spread his hands.

"Otherwise, where would I get all the money to go to the internet cafe every day?"

Suddenly, everyone’s interest was piqued.

Even the rich young ladies from the group of girlfriends eagerly gathered around, staring at this financial guru with astonished eyes.

"How do you do it?"

"Come on, teach us!"

"We want to manage our money too."

These young ladies were already wealthy, but who would say no to more spending money?

"It’s very simple."

Roommate #3 sat up straight and took a sip of red wine.

"In fact, the secret to getting rich through financial management is all around us. It’s just that most people lack the vision and courage."

Everyone nodded, listening intently, waiting for the True Scripture Burning Technique.

"I, too, had to visit many places before I discovered the one with the highest rate of return."

Roommate #3 looked around at the crowd.

"The Kerry Internet Cafe behind our school has a year-round promotion: deposit 1,000, get 2,000 free."

"The very first moment my allowance arrives, I deposit it directly onto my internet cafe membership card. In one second, 1,000 yuan instantly becomes 3,000 yuan, achieving a 300% rate of return!"

...

...

...

...

...

A cold wind blew through Desolate Valley. The entire living room was dead silent.

The group of girlfriends stared, wide-eyed, and hastily took a few steps back, distancing themselves from this peerless prodigy of the financial world.

"Genius."

Jiang Ran racked his brain and squeezed out the only word he could find to describe Roommate #3.

...

「And so.」

Jiang Ran’s 19th birthday party ended in an atmosphere that was both joyful and surreal.

The dorms at the East Sea College of International Trade and Economics had a strict 11 p.m. lights-out and lock-up policy.

If they were a little late, the dorm mother would of course wait for them, but she wouldn’t if they were too late.

So after the party, everyone split up into a few taxis and headed back to the school.

Strolling along an unfamiliar path, through scenery he didn’t quite recognize, Jiang Ran walked Nan Xiuxiu back to the women’s dormitory.

Along the way, Nan Xiuxiu chattered nonstop, as if trying to make up for all the conversation they had missed over the past few days in one go.

But it all went in one ear and out the other for Jiang Ran; he barely heard a word.

Ever since the party ended, his mind had been preoccupied with Cheng Mengxue and Qin Feng.

Ever since the three of them met in high school, those two had never missed his birthday...

Even if there weren’t such grand decorations,

Even if there weren’t so many friends who came,

Even if there weren’t so many gifts,

Often, it was just the three of them getting a meal, strolling down the street, watching a movie, or singing karaoke.

But.

That was an irreplaceable, genuine happiness that came from being with friends.

"June 1st."

Suddenly, Nan Xiuxiu stopped walking. She turned around and inexplicably called out the date, interrupting Jiang Ran’s thoughts.

"What?" Jiang Ran was baffled.

"It’s the day our agreement ends."

Nan Xiuxiu wagged her index finger.

"I already calculated it. The ’vacation’ I promised you, plus the one week I owed you as compensation, starting from today... your vacation ends at midnight on June 1st!"

"Oh."

Jiang Ran nodded.

’So that’s what she was talking about.’

Nan Xiuxiu stood up straight, blinked, and looked at Jiang Ran.

"Don’t worry. This time, I’ll keep our promise."

Her pupils reflected the moonlight and the myriad lights from the dormitory windows.

"Jiang Ran, I promise that for the next ten-plus days, I won’t send you a single WeChat message or give you a single call."

"You know I’m not the kind of girl who goes back on her word. When I promise you something, I always follow through."

"So... on June 1st, when I message you, call you, ask you out to eat, and ask you to go shopping..."

"Will you spend time with me, like you used to?"

A gentle breeze stirred, carrying the faint fragrance of willow branches, which danced in her flowing pink hair.

It was almost time for the dorms to lock up and turn out the lights, leaving the campus vast and empty.

In front of the women’s dormitory, only Jiang Ran and Nan Xiuxiu stood facing each other, looking into each other’s eyes, feeling the same night breeze.

A place the moonlight couldn’t reach, the cicadas couldn’t disturb. Unseen by the night, unheard by the summer.

Jiang Ran looked at Nan Xiuxiu.

But he didn’t know who Nan Xiuxiu was looking at.

"...Alright."

After a long hesitation, Jiang Ran gave his irresponsible promise.

"Hee hee! It’s a promise!"

Nan Xiuxiu’s face instantly lit up with a smile. She hurriedly grabbed Jiang Ran’s right hand, linking her pinky with his to force a pinky promise.

"I’ll be waiting! I don’t know what kind of competition you’re busy with at East Sea University, but..."

"I hope you succeed!"

With that, she waved and jogged toward the dormitory building.

Jiang Ran watched her retreating figure.

He looked down.

At his pinky, which still held a trace of her warmth.

Nan Xiuxiu.

He had to admit, he had severely misjudged this girl before.

Whether it was prejudice or dissatisfaction, they had met at the strangest and most wrong time in Jiang Ran’s life.

After clearing up the misunderstanding, Jiang Ran did find that Nan Xiuxiu was a genuinely good girl, wonderful in every way.

It was just...

She was wonderful, yes.

’But he truly felt nothing for Nan Xiuxiu, not a single romantic emotion.’

Suddenly, he recalled what Qin Feng had said before he sent the last Time SMS:

"The emotions in a person’s heart come from a series of shared experiences. Without those experiences, all adjectives are just empty talk."

...

’Yes.’

’Shared experiences.’

’That’s the source and foundation of all emotion.’

He only had shared experiences with Qin Feng and Cheng Mengxue. With Nan Xiuxiu... he had none at all.

At the entrance to the women’s dormitory, her bright, flowing pink hair bounced as she passed the facial recognition gate, safely making it to base.

Jiang Ran watched that free and brilliant back, knowing full well in his heart that their meeting was, in the end, just a dream.

Once he successfully sent the Time SMS using the Positron Cannon, he would be at East Sea University, waiting to welcome Cheng Mengxue’s rebirth.

And Nan Xiuxiu would remain at the East Sea College of International Trade and Economics. She might be single, or she might meet a better guy.

But no matter what...

In Nan Xiuxiu’s life story, there would be no boy named Jiang Ran.

"Hey!"

Having passed through the gate, Nan Xiuxiu turned back and waved to Jiang Ran from a distance.

"It’s almost lights-out! You should hurry back!"

As if in response to the Magician Girl’s summons, the lights in all the dormitories went out at that very moment.

Everything as far as the eye could see was plunged into darkness, leaving only the moonlight.

That meant it was 11 p.m.

There were only seven hours left until his meeting with Chi Xiaoguo the next morning.

"Goodbye."

Jiang Ran waved to Nan Xiuxiu through the moonlight.

’This time,’

’perhaps...’

’this really is goodbye.’