Spacetime Message

"I really don't remember."

Jiang Ran was a little surprised.

He really hadn't expected Qin Feng to be so interested in this matter.

If he remembered correctly...

It seemed like this was the second time it had been brought up since that day they were acting.

"It was really too long ago. Do you remember the diary you wrote in junior high?"

Jiang Ran smiled and retorted:

"Besides, it wasn't written that brilliantly. It was all the groundless fantasies of a chuunibyou teenager."

"If you really like this theme, how about I recommend a similar novel to you?"

Thump thump thump!

A black wall came tumbling over:

"Damn, finally here! What were you guys talking about?"

The two turned around.

The one arriving was Wang Hao.

The little fatty had gotten even wider in the two months since they last saw him.

"I'll punish myself with three bottles first!"

The big guy sat down on a small stool, chugged a bottle, and let out a burp:

"This beer has a bit of a kick, I'll take it slow. Waiter!!!"

He roared:

"Add two more dishes!"

"Alright, alright, you can rest a bit..."

Jiang Ran waved his hand:

"You just arrived and you're acting like a conductor. This isn't your last meal, what are you panicking about? Are we going to let you starve?"

"Hehe, it's just been a while since I've had some meat."

Wang Hao nimbly broke open a disposable pair of chopsticks:

"My living expenses are almost gone, I've been eating vegetarian at the cafeteria every day. I finally caught you guys treating me, so I have to indulge, right?"

He quickly devoured the food:

"Oh, right, right."

With his cheeks puffed out, he looked at the two:

"What were you guys just talking about? I heard something about chuunibyou, novels, fantasies..."

"Oh, we were talking about that."

Jiang Ran opened a bottle of beer:

"Just the novel setting I casually wrote in junior high, a messy chuunibyou fantasy."

"Oh, oh, oh, I remember."

Wang Hao nodded vigorously:

"Genius Playground, right?"

?

?

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng looked at Wang Hao in disbelief:

"You know about it?"

"Of course I know! I've read it too!"

The two widened their eyes:

"You've read it?"

"I, of course I've read it! Hey, hey, hey, why are you two acting like parrots?"

Wang Hao couldn't understand their expressions:

"No, is this really that big of a deal?"

He couldn't understand why the two opposite him were reacting like this:

"Qin Feng probably doesn't know about this, but Jiang Ran, how could you forget?"

"That thing you wrote in junior high, didn't many people in your class read it?"

Jiang Ran nodded.

"Indeed, many people have seen it, but most just glance over it… What surprises me isn't that you've seen it, but that you remember the name so clearly."

Genius Playground.

This was indeed the name Jiang Ran had given to that setting book during middle school.

He himself had forgotten all the details within it.

He hadn't expected that…

Wang Hao, who always seemed so carefree, would remember it so clearly.

Jiang Ran chuckled lightly and looked at Qin Feng.

"Perfect, your curiosity can be satisfied now. Perhaps Wang Hao even remembers some details from that setting book."

Qin Feng was interested in this story, but Jiang Ran had completely forgotten it.

Although he had promised the other party that he would go to his old home's basement to look for it during the holiday… it was just a polite brush-off, really.

Looking for middle school scratch paper was like searching for a needle in a haystack; it was highly unlikely he'd find it.

He thought the stories in that setting book would be lost forever, like the last 40 chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber. He hadn't expected a loyal reader to suddenly pop up out of nowhere.

Qin Feng poured wine and clinked glasses with Wang Hao.

"Wang Hao, do you still remember… what kind of game Genius Playground was?"

"Don't remember," Wang Hao said, picking up some pickled peanuts in vinegar.

Qin Feng frowned slightly.

"Then… do you still remember how to join this game, as written in the setting book?"

Wang Hao downed a beer and wiped the foam from his mouth. "Forgot that too."

"..." "..."

Qin Feng suppressed the urge to slam his beer mug on Wang Hao's head. "Then what the hell do you remember?"

"Screw you!"

Wang Hao spat out a fish bone. "It's been almost ten years! It's a good thing I even remembered the title! Besides, the original author is right here, why are you asking me?"

Well.

He had thought Wang Hao might provide a breakthrough, but unexpectedly, he performed as usual, never failing to disappoint.

Qin Feng sighed helplessly and looked at the two of them. "Your brains, I really suspect they're second-hand. How can you forget things you've written or read so thoroughly?"

"Who can be like you!" "You think we're like you?"

Jiang Ran and Wang Hao were indignant.

Qin Feng could indeed achieve photographic memory, but how many people in the world could be like him?

"Alright, alright. If you're really that interested, come home with me for the summer holiday."

Jiang Ran patted Qin Feng on the shoulder. "You can stay at my place for a few days then, and we'll thoroughly search the basement to see if we can find my middle school scratch paper."

"My parents don't like throwing things away, so all the old books and textbooks are stuffed in the basement. The setting book is probably in there."

Afterward, the three continued drinking and chatting.

Wang Hao told them that many people had responded positively to the alumni reunion during the summer holiday and that they should bring Cheng Mengxue along.

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng both said it was fine, as they had nothing else to do during the summer holiday anyway.

Catching up, complaining, looking forward, boasting…

An enjoyable little gathering thus concluded.

As expected, Wang Hao got drunk. Jiang Ran hailed a ride-hailing car for him and put him inside.

"See ya! Next time!" Wang Hao said groggily as he got into the car.

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng also got into the back of a taxi. "Driver, take us to Donghai University."

The car started.

It drove into the night.

The slight buzz from the alcohol was starting to kick in.

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng watched the scenery outside the window recede, falling silent, neither of them speaking.

"Qin Feng, what have you decided?"

Finally, Jiang Ran broke the silence.

Qin Feng turned his head.

"Decided what?"

"I mean, about using the spacetime message."

This matter had been weighing on Jiang Ran's mind. He wouldn't feel at ease until it was resolved.

"Have you thought of any better wishes? Or are there any regrets you want to make up for with the spacetime message?"

"As long as the sending time is within a month, anything is possible. Xiao Xue and I will unconditionally support you."

However.

Qin Feng shook his head.

"I really can't think of anything. If not, you can just skip me. Or, we can just fulfill the previous wish, to let me buy that more stylish knob control panel first."

"That's certainly no problem."

Jiang Ran agreed.

Regardless, he had rejected Qin Feng before, so there was no way he would skip him this time when they were taking turns to fulfill wishes.

Since Qin Feng couldn't think of a better wish, they would just make do with the circuit board. The important thing was participation.

Although this small matter was like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken.

But...

Finishing this matter sooner, and fulfilling the wish he owed Qin Feng sooner, would be like a weight lifted off his mind.

"Then let's not delay. Tomorrow night it is."

Jiang Ran looked at the full moon outside the car window.

"Tomorrow night, call Xiao Xue too."

"We're going to... send another spacetime message!"