Cheating

Boom!!!!!

Jiang Ran hit the water flat on his back, sending up a huge wave.

"Ptooey!"

Cheng Mengxue wiped her face.

"If I was a bomb just now, that was a full-on atomic bomb! Do you even know how to dive?"

"Does he look like he knows how?"

Qin Feng stood on the diving board.

"But I didn't expect you'd actually dare to jump."

Jiang Ran surfaced and rubbed his back.

"Your turn!"

"I'm not jumping."

?

"Trying to weasel out of it?" Jiang Ran flipped him off.

"You went first. That's on you."

Qin Feng grinned and walked off the platform.

Night fell.

The top-floor suite had a private observation deck where they could dine.

After the staff served them their meal, they left.

The three sat around a small round table, marveling at how well the rich knew how to enjoy life.

From where they sat, the sky above was full of dazzling stars, while below, people danced to the DJ's music on the cruise ship's deck.

To the west lay the brightly lit city of Donghai.

Neon lights stretched along the coastline. Among all the colors, the Oriental Pearl Tower stood out like a beacon that would never fade.

To the east lay the pitch-black sea.

It was darker than black—a place where you truly couldn't see a thing.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

As their wine glasses clinked, all three phones chimed with WeChat notifications at the same time.

It was their high school class group chat.

When they'd first started college, the group had been lively every day, with classmates complaining about school, military training, and their dorms.

But little by little, it had gone completely quiet.

The three checked their phones. The message was from Wang Hao.

Wang Hao had been their high school class president. Everyone had gotten along well with him. They weren't as close as the three of them were, but their friendship had been more than just casual.

The message was pretty long:

[Wang Hao: Hey, everyone! It's been almost two years since we graduated from high school. We should get together!

Let's have a class reunion this summer. We can settle on the exact date later. There are still a few months to go, but I wanted to give you all a heads-up.

If you're free and can make it, come along!]

"A class reunion..."

Jiang Ran put down his phone.

"It really has been a long time since we saw them. We got along pretty well back then. We said we'd keep in touch even after starting college, but we've all ended up scattered in different directions, and eventually the messages stopped."

"Figures."

Qin Feng put down his fork.

"Distance may make the heart grow fonder, but it definitely doesn't make people fall in love."

"Why else do you think I applied to the same university as you two? The admissions officers from Tsinghua and Peking University practically moved into my house, but I still insisted on coming to Donghai University with you."

"I've always believed in our friendship, but that's just how distance works. A little farther is still farther. You can't just wish it away."

"Honestly, nothing in the world is more important than true friends... especially the friends you make when you're young."

Heh heh.

Cheng Mengxue scratched her head sheepishly.

"Sorry we held you back. With our grades, Donghai University was our best option. And since Xu Yan's sister was here too, we applied here."

"Speaking of... Wang Hao went to a junior college, right? Doesn't that mean he'll have to start working next semester?"

It seemed like a pretty heavy topic.

Junior college took three years. Their old buddy Wang Hao really was about to go out into the working world and become a wage slave.

"Even the dumbest person can get 500 points, can't they?"

Qin Feng was genuinely baffled.

"You only need a passing grade in each subject."

"Give it a rest." X2

Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue spoke in unison.

Cheng Mengxue especially had no room to talk—she'd failed two courses last semester.

"You don't need to worry about Wang Hao. His mouth is more powerful than a Positron Cannon. He'll have no trouble finding a job."

Jiang Ran peeled a shrimp.

"Plenty of people with bachelor's degrees can't find work these days. Apart from not being able to go to graduate school or take civil service exams, there isn't much difference between junior college and university in the working world. In the end, it comes down to your abilities."

"Wang Hao was class president in high school. Everyone knew he was capable. For all we know, he'll enter the workforce a year before us and end up doing better than we do."

Qin Feng wiped his mouth.

"That's possible, but... it won't happen now."

He smiled faintly.

"Now that we have the Spacetime Bulletin, we can change history as we please and correct our mistakes."

"Unless we deliberately keep a low profile and stay hidden, it'll be hard for any of our classmates to do better than us."

"Hey, you two are getting me off track. Who cares who does better? We're all classmates. There's no need to rank people."

"Once we make it and gain some standing in society, we can give our classmates a helping hand."

"But only the three of us can know about the Spacetime Bulletin," Jiang Ran stressed again.

He'd lost count of how many times he'd said it.

"We might only want to use the Spacetime Bulletin to make a little money and take a shortcut in life, but other people might not."

"[If the Spacetime Bulletin fell into the wrong hands... they could take revenge on society, start wars for world domination, or even destroy the world.]"

"So we have to protect this secret. Protecting it means protecting the whole world."

"Of course." "We're not stupid."

Cheng Mengxue tilted her head, a fork between her lips.

"Since we're talking about it, what are we going to use the Spacetime Bulletin for?"

"Or, more specifically... what do we ultimately want to do with it? What's our end goal?"

"To make our dreams come true," Jiang Ran replied.

"By the way, what are your dreams? What kind of life do you want?"

"I want to become a Rhine Cat designer!"

Cheng Mengxue's eyes lit up.

"After I graduate, I'm definitely applying to Rhine. I want so badly to design a Rhine Cat I love!"

Jiang Ran smiled.

"That's a pretty normal dream. What about you, Qin Feng?"

"I want to work at... the best laboratory in the world."

Qin Feng was just as serious.

"There are plenty of problems in this world that one person can't solve. I want to work with the brightest minds in the world and explore the secrets of physics, the microscopic world, and even the deepest reaches of the universe."

"Wow, that's quite the ambition."

Cheng Mengxue marveled, then turned to him.

"What about you, Jiang Ran? What's your dream?"

"Me..."

Jiang Ran rubbed a napkin between his fingers. He couldn't think of an answer right away.

"I might not have a goal as specific as yours. I guess... I just think that everyone should do something meaningful with their life."

"On a smaller scale, that means living well and protecting the family and friends around me. On a larger scale, it means making a contribution to society, our country, or even humanity, and making the world a little better."

"Oh..."

Cheng Mengxue thought it over.

"So... a savior?"

"That's way too dramatic!"

"Then... a scientific genius like Einstein, someone who advances science?"

"Do I look like one?"

"Then..."

Cheng Mengxue smiled faintly, the neon lights along the shore reflected in her pupils, all running together.

"[Then just keep being a hero, like you are now.]"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!

It was time for the fireworks.

Countless fireworks shot up from the cruise ship's deck and burst into flames of every color. It was as if the universe had opened countless eyes, quietly watching the conversation atop the ship.

"..."

Jiang Ran swirled his wine glass.

"Am I really a hero?"

"Of course. You saved Xu Yan's sister and those two children who fell into the water."

"That was cheating."

He looked at Cheng Mengxue.

"I already knew the answer and how to solve it. Without that buoyancy vest, I wouldn't have jumped in at all."

"You would have jumped."

After a few glasses of wine, Cheng Mengxue was a little bolder than usual.

"We grew up together. This isn't the first time I've seen you be brave. Even without that vest, you would've jumped in."

The waves rocked the ship, and the wine glasses swayed.

The fireworks drifted down, like tears falling from the sky.

"And besides... so what if it was cheating? Whatever the reason, you still jumped in."

Cheng Mengxue's cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were hazy, reflecting the last glimmers of light in the night sky.

"If cheating can make the world a better place... if it can help you become a hero who saves lives..."

The world sank back into darkness.

"[Then why not... cheat for the rest of your life?]"