Friendship

Jiang Ran understood.

"This isn't exactly difficult, it's just..."

He scratched his head.

It's just that, isn't this wish a bit too small?

He felt that such a minor matter was really letting Qin Feng down.

After all, his previous wish was to revive his father, but now he was compromising and shrinking it down to buying a circuit control board... and all because of guilt.

Jiang Ran always wanted Qin Feng to fulfill some grand, meaningful wish.

"Qin Feng, this is official business~"

Cheng Mengxue was sharp-witted.

"Modifying the positron cannon, this should count as official business for our club."

"Since it's official business, don't use up your personal wish opportunity... right?"

She looked at Jiang Ran.

"Right, right, right."

Jiang Ran understood and smiled faintly.

"Qin Feng, Xiao Xue is right. This wish counts for the club, not for you personally. We'll handle it specifically later."

"Think about it again, do you have any personal wishes that are exclusively yours? This is a rare opportunity... you should get some benefits for yourself."

However...

Qin Feng shrugged.

"I really can't think of anything right now. My desire for material things has always been very low."

But he didn't want to dampen the mood.

"How about this."

He looked left and right at Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue.

"How about... you give me two more days to think about it?"

"After all, you suddenly asked me to think, and I really can't come up with anything. Why don't you give me more time to consider it?"

"In two days, if I can think of a better wish, I'll use the better wish. If I really can't think of anything, we'll still go with the control board wish, how about that?"

Jiang Ran hummed.

"Okay."

What Qin Feng said made sense.

The spacetime message could be sent later, let him think about it more.

Evening.

Because the Arts College had a performance, Cheng Mengxue went to the venue for rehearsal.

Only Jiang Ran and Qin Feng were left in the activity room.

Qin Feng was still tinkering with the positron cannon, while Jiang Ran sat on the sofa reading a book.

After a long while, he finished the book.

Jiang Ran placed the book on the coffee table and looked at Qin Feng.

"What have you been tinkering with?"

He asked with some doubt.

"The positron cannon is already perfect now, what are you still busy with?"

"Perfect?"

Qin Feng chuckled.

"Far from it."

He straightened up and stretched.

"Did you forget? The positron cannon can currently only operate for 0.7 seconds. In such a short time, we can barely send one text message, which is about 70 characters."

"And after each operation, the capacitor blows and burns out, making replacement very inconvenient."

"I'm trying to see if there's any way to solve this problem, either to let it run for a few more seconds, increasing the margin of error, or to simply add a self-protection function to forcibly cut off power before the capacitor blows, saving some trouble."

"Okay."

Jiang Ran leaned back on the sofa.

Being prepared is the right approach.

Currently, a 70-character limit for text messages is more than enough, basically solving any problem.

But what if...

In the future, longer messages are truly needed...

Then we'll have to make the positron cannon hold out longer, allowing them to send two text messages in a row, or even more.

In short, suppressive fire is something you can do without, but you can't be without it.

"But this is too difficult."

Qin Feng put down the tools in his hand:

"I don't dare to dismantle the picture tube in the core component. Just tinkering with the external circuits... won't achieve anything."

"Honestly, I'm about to give up too. After all, this is an issue with the internal structure's legacy. External manipulation alone can't compensate for it."

Jiang Ran nodded:

"If it doesn't work out, then so be it. Chinese expression is profound and extensive; 70 characters are perfectly sufficient."

"Don't get any funny ideas about dismantling the [core component], okay? That thing looks like a picture tube, but who knows what its actual structure is... If you open it, it'll definitely be irreparable. Then the loss will outweigh the gain."

"I'm not stupid."

Qin Feng snorted:

"This thing is one of a kind in the world, an accidental product cobbled together. Of course, I have to protect it."

"Otherwise... I would have already lost my patience and dismantled it."

The clock ticked closer to ten.

The lights in the club activity building gradually went out, and the two prepared to leave.

After packing up their things.

Qin Feng suddenly turned back, looking at Jiang Ran:

"Want to go for some beer?"

"Now?" Jiang Ran was a little surprised.

"Yeah, Xiao Xue isn't here anyway. The weather's getting warmer, how about we go for some night market barbecue, something we haven't done in a while?"

Have to say.

That idea was incredibly tempting.

What man could refuse barbecue and a couple of beers on a cool evening?

"Let's go."

Jiang Ran waved his hand grandly, and the two left the club activity building, heading towards the school gate.

"Should we call [Wang Hao]?"

Jiang Ran suggested:

"The barbecue place is close to his school, and we haven't eaten together in a long time."

"Sure."

Qin Feng agreed without hesitation:

"Let's call him. We can catch up together."

Wang Hao was the class monitor of their high school class. Not long ago, he had posted a preview for a class reunion in the WeChat group.

In the two years since coming to Donghai University, Jiang Ran, Qin Feng, and Wang Hao often met for casual barbecues. They had a very good relationship.

Speaking of which.

Jiang Ran knew Wang Hao even earlier than he knew Qin Feng.

They attended the same junior high school. Jiang Ran was in Class 1, and Wang Hao was in Class 3. Coincidentally, Cheng Mengxue was also in Class 3.

Wang Hao had been a "social butterfly" since he was young, treating everyone like a brother and being extremely popular. Wang Hao knew half the boys in Jiang Ran's class and would often come over to hang out during breaks.

So, through this connection, Jiang Ran and Wang Hao also became friends.

"Don't worry, Wang Hao is number one when it comes to eating and drinking. If you call him for a meal, he'll definitely be more enthusiastic than anyone else."

Jiang Ran smiled and picked up his phone to call Wang Hao.

"No problem! I'm on my way! I'll be there soon!"

Wang Hao agreed immediately:

"I'm broke these days, so I'll take the bus. I'll be a little later than you guys."

"You two get to the place and start drinking. Save some beer for me! I'll catch up when I get there!"

Just as expected.

Wang Hao was just that kind of useless glutton.

He'd come when called, and drink too much when he drank.

After hanging up the phone, Qin Feng hailed a taxi and set off.

Twenty minutes later.

The taxi arrived at a street lined with night market stalls. Jiang Ran and Qin Feng went to their usual shop, ordered drinks and food.

After a few drinks, amidst the clinking of glasses, many true feelings were revealed.

"I hope you don't hate me."

Jiang Ran put down his wine glass:

"I know you've always been very understanding, and I know I keep bringing this up, making it sound like I'm nagging."

"But Qin Feng... I still want to say, I hope you won't dislike me because of this. I know what I did was unfair, but--"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Qin Feng interrupted him, chuckling softly:

"How could I possibly hate you? You're my best friend for life, I'll never hate you."

He picked up his beer mug, drained it in one go, and placed it on the table with a thud.

"Jiang Ran."

His voice was low:

"Do you still remember... how we became friends?"