Chapter 32

"I really don't remember."

Jiang Ran was a little surprised.

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

If he remembered right...

This was already the second time Qin Feng had brought it up since that day they'd put on an act.

"It was so long ago. Do you remember the diary you kept in middle school?"

Jiang Ran smiled and asked,

"Besides, it wasn't anything special. It was all just the wild fantasies of an edgy teenager."

"If you're really into that kind of thing, how about I recommend you a similar novel?"

Thud, thud, thud!

A black wall came barreling over, stumbling as it went.

"Damn, I finally made it! What were you two talking about?"

They both turned around.

It was Wang Hao.

The little fatty hadn't seen them in two months, and he'd gotten even wider.

"I'll punish myself with three bottles!"

The heavyweight plopped down on a little stool, chugged a bottle, then burped.

"This beer's got quite a kick. I'll take it slow. Waiter!!!"

He bellowed,

"Add two more dishes!"

"Okay, okay, take a breather..."

Jiang Ran waved him off.

"You show up and start giving orders like a conductor. This isn't your last meal, so what are you panicking for? It's not like we're going to let you go hungry."

"Heh heh, I just haven't had a proper feast in ages."

Wang Hao deftly snapped apart his disposable chopsticks.

"My living expenses are almost gone, and I've been eating vegetarian at the cafeteria every day. Now that you guys are treating, I've got to make the most of it, right?"

He polished off the food in no time.

"Oh, right."

Cheeks bulging, he looked at the two of them.

"What were you talking about just now? I heard something about edgy teenagers, novels, and fantasies..."

"Oh, that."

Jiang Ran cracked open a bottle of beer.

"It was a collection of novel ideas I jotted down in middle school. A bunch of random, edgy fantasies."

"Oh, oh, I remember."

Wang Hao bobbed his head.

"Genius Playground, right?"

?

?

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng stared at Wang Hao in disbelief.

"You know about it?"

"Of course I do! I even read it!"

The two of them gaped at him.

"You read it too?"

"I—I did! Hey, why are you two acting like broken records?"

Wang Hao couldn't make sense of their expressions.

"What? Is that such a big deal?"

He couldn't understand why the two across from him were reacting like that.

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

"Lots of people in your class read that thing you wrote in middle school, didn't they?"

Jiang Ran nodded.

"Lots of people did, sure, but most of them only skimmed a few pages... I'm not surprised you read it. I'm surprised you remember the title so clearly."

Genius Playground.

That really was the name Jiang Ran had given the collection of ideas he'd written in middle school.

He'd forgotten every last detail of it himself.

And yet...

He hadn't expected the usually carefree Wang Hao to remember it so clearly.

Jiang Ran chuckled and looked at Qin Feng.

"Well, now your curiosity can be satisfied. Maybe Wang Hao even remembers the details from that collection."

Qin Feng was interested in the story, but Jiang Ran really had forgotten it all.

He had promised Qin Feng he'd look for it in the basement at his parents' house when he went home for break... but he'd only said that to brush him off.

Looking for a middle school rough notebook would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. He probably wouldn't find it.

He'd assumed the story in that collection would be lost to time, like the last forty chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber, but then, out of nowhere, a devoted reader had appeared.

Qin Feng filled his glass and clinked it against Wang Hao's.

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

"Nope." Wang Hao picked up a few vinegar peanuts.

Qin Feng frowned.

"Then... do you at least remember what the collection said about how to join the game?"

Wang Hao downed a glass of beer and wiped the foam from his mouth.

"Forgot that too."

"..."

Qin Feng resisted the urge to slam his beer mug down on Wang Hao's head.

"Then what the hell do you remember?"

"Hey!"

Wang Hao spat out a fish bone.

"It was almost ten years ago! Remembering the title is impressive enough! Besides, the author himself is sitting right here. Why are you pestering me?"

Well, so much for that.

He'd thought Wang Hao might come through with a last-minute breakthrough, but instead, he'd stayed true to form. When it came to disappointing people, he never disappointed.

Qin Feng sighed helplessly and looked at them both.

"You two really make me wonder if you're working with secondhand brains. How could you forget something you wrote or read so completely?"

"Who can do what you do?" "You think we're like you?"

Jiang Ran and Wang Hao were both indignant.

Qin Feng really could remember anything after seeing it once, but how many people in the world were like him?

"Enough, enough. If you're really that interested, come home with me during summer break."

Jiang Ran patted Qin Feng on the shoulder.

"You can stay at my place for a few days. We'll search the basement and see if we can find my old middle school notebooks."

"My parents don't like throwing things away. All the old books and textbooks are crammed into the basement, so the collection is probably down there somewhere."

After that, the three of them kept drinking and chatting.

Wang Hao told them that lots of their classmates had responded to the summer reunion invitation, and asked them to make sure they brought Cheng Mengxue along.

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng both said they'd be there. It wasn't as if they had anything else to do when they went home for summer break.

Catching up, complaining, looking ahead, bragging...

The small gathering ended with everyone wishing it could last a little longer.

As expected, Wang Hao got drunk. Jiang Ran called him a rideshare and stuffed him into the car.

"I'm off! See you next time!" Wang Hao slurred as the car carried him away.

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng got into the back of a taxi too.

"Driver, Donghai University."

The car pulled away.

It drove into the night.

The pleasant buzz of alcohol had gone to their heads a little.

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng watched the scenery slide past outside the window. They sat in silence, neither saying a word.

"Qin Feng, have you made up your mind?"

At last, Jiang Ran spoke first.

Qin Feng turned to look at him.

"About what?"

"I mean using Spacetime Bulletin."

The matter had been hanging over Jiang Ran's head. Until it was settled, he couldn't feel at ease.

"Have you thought of a better wish? Or is there some regret you want to make up for using Spacetime Bulletin?"

"As long as we keep the send time within a month, anything goes. Little Xue and I will support you, no questions asked."

But...

Qin Feng shook his head.

"I really can't think of anything. If there's nothing else, just skip me. Or we can go with my previous wish and let me buy that better-looking rotary control panel first."

"Of course, we can do that."

Jiang Ran agreed.

After all, he'd turned Qin Feng down before. There was no way they could skip him when it was his turn to have a wish granted.

Since Qin Feng couldn't think of a better wish, they could make do with the circuit board. It was the thought that counted.

It was completely overkill for such a small thing.

But...

The sooner they settled this, the sooner he could make up for the wish he owed Qin Feng. Then he could finally put the matter behind him.

"Then there's no time like the present. Let's do it tomorrow night."

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

"We'll ask Little Xue to join us."

"We're going to... send another Spacetime Bulletin!"