Start Over

After leaving the cafeteria, Jiang Ran headed back to the dorm to change his clothes.

There was a small group chat for their dorm in WeChat, labeled 7B523, which he figured must be their dorm number.

The vocational college campus was small, and it only took a few minutes to walk from the cafeteria to the dorms.

It was an eight-person dorm with bunk beds. The conditions were a bit rough, but at least it was clean.

Just as Jiang Ran sat down at his own bunk, a roommate snuck over.

"What do you want?"

Looking at Roommate #1, Jiang Ran didn't know his name.

Roommate #1 closed the window, drew the curtains, shut the door, and locked it.

"Holy crap."

Jiang Ran quickly stood up, backing against the wall.

He's not going to seek revenge in broad daylight, is he?

Roommate #1 looked nervous and gestured for Jiang Ran to sit down. Then, he leaned in and whispered into his ear:

"Jiang Ran, you're my best friend. I'm only telling you this, so you absolutely can't tell anyone else!"

"Oh, okay, sure."

So, this Roommate #1 was his good friend.

Jiang Ran let his guard down and listened intently:

"What is it?"

"I won the lottery!!" Roommate #1 beamed.

"You won the lottery?" Jiang Ran was also surprised.

"Not the lottery! I won an iPhone 16! The top-of-the-line model!"

Roommate #1, unable to hide his excitement, took out his phone with trembling hands and showed Jiang Ran a text message, covering most of it.

Jiang Ran strained to read the text message:

[Congratulations, lucky user! You have been notified that you won the grand prize in the 'New Year Lucky Draw' event! One iPhone 16 top-tier phone! Please click the web link below to fill in your logistics information and pay a 180 yuan shipping fee. It will be sent out immediately via SF Express insured delivery!]

"..."

Jiang Ran's mouth stretched into a wide grin, and he looked at Roommate #1 helplessly:

"Dude, are you serious?"

"Of course!"

Roommate #1 quickly put his phone away:

"I'm only telling you. I don't even dare tell the others, they'll definitely be jealous of me! What if they steal my phone then!"

"No, man..."

Jiang Ran quickly held him back:

"This is fake. It's an old scam from years ago. Their goal is to trick you into paying the shipping fee. They might ask for insurance fees, deposits, verification fees, or other things later... basically, they'll try to trick you into paying various fees, and they'll never actually send you a phone."

"Look at you!"

Roommate #1's expression changed instantly:

"I told you because I thought we were good friends, and now you're jealous of me too! I checked the tracking number, and it's already shipped. How can this be fake?"

"No..."

"I really misjudged you, Jiang Ran! If it's really fake, why did only I receive the text message and you didn't? You're just jealous of me!"

With that, Roommate #1 slammed the door shut and walked out.

"..."

Jiang Ran stared at the shaking dorm door, unable to refute him.

Forget it.

Let him pay a few hundred yuan for a lesson. He'll learn from his mistakes.

Less than two minutes later.

Another roommate walked in, looking excited:

"Jiang Ran! I have a secret to tell you! You absolutely can't tell anyone else!"

"You won something too?" Jiang Ran blurted out.

"Huh? How did you know?"

"Don't tell me it's an iPhone 16 too?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? This is a legitimate lottery, Shuangseqiu!"

Roommate #2 took out his phone and showed Jiang Ran the number selection interface:

"Look, this lottery website, Shi Shi Cai, a round every 10 minutes, with a big brother guiding me, I've already made hundreds!"

"..."

Jiang Ran looked at the crude page and instantly understood what was going on:

"Big brother, these are all fake websites. How much you earn doesn't matter, the key is you can't withdraw your money."

"Why can't I withdraw it! I just withdrew 100!"

"That's because you withdrew a small amount. If you deposit more later, they definitely won't let you withdraw. Speaking of which... don't you guys have the anti-fraud app on your phones?"

"Wh-what are you talking about, Jiang Ran! I was kindly sharing this with you, and I even wanted to pull you into the group to make money, and you're acting like this!"

Roommate #2 turned hostile:

"When I made money, the first person I thought of was you. You're actually blocking my path to riches! Are you jealous that I'm making big money?"

"If I make money, wouldn't I still treat you to a meal? You've really disappointed me!"

Roommate #2 was furious and slammed the door shut as he left.

"..."

Jiang Ran looked at the wobbly dorm room door, quickly changed his clothes, and left.

He felt like if he stayed here any longer, he'd offend all his roommates.

Before he could deal with the positron cannon, he'd still have to live here for a while, so it was better to leave himself some room to maneuver.

He walked out of the vocational college gate.

He got into a taxi and headed straight for Donghai University.

Jiang Ran didn't know where to start, so he decided to check out the Film Club again.

He arrived at the student club building.

On the first-floor notice board, Yan Rui's disciplinary notice was still posted.

Although the public notice period had long passed, no one had removed it, so it remained posted on the board, waiting for some notification to cover it up.

He walked into the building and came to the Film Club's door.

He found the door half-open and ajar.

There was actually someone inside.

He leaned closer and peeked through the gap in the door. It was indeed an acquaintance! The last president of the Film Club, the user of the positron cannon, the one bearing the disciplinary action, a graduating senior--

Yan Rui.

In the original timeline, because Jiang Ran, Qin Feng, and Cheng Mengxue took over the Film Club in March, Senior Yan Rui handed over his duties early and left the school.

But in this current timeline, the trio was scattered and struggling to protect themselves, so naturally, no one took over the Film Club.

This was probably the reason why Senior Yan Rui hadn't left school until now.

Seeing an old acquaintance in the new timeline after so long, Jiang Ran inexplicably felt a surge of excitement and pushed the door open:

"Hello, Senior Yan Rui, I'm a second-year student--"

He stopped mid-introduction and closed his mouth.

Really, trying to get close.

He was just a vocational college student from another school now, not a junior from this school. Less said, the better.

Senior Yan Rui was packing up items on his desk.

He turned around and adjusted his glasses:

"Classmate, who are you?"

"Senior Yan Rui, I'm here about the Film Club."

This part of the plot was a repeat, so Jiang Ran got straight to the point, choosing the fastest way to clear the scenario:

"Senior, I've only recently started using film cameras and I really love film photography, so... I want to continue the Film Club."

"I know the Student Union has already issued a dissolution notice for our club, but I will find a way. Could you please give me two more days?"

Yan Rui looked bewildered.

It took him a few seconds to process what Jiang Ran had said:

"If you want to revive the Film Club, I don't have any objections. It's just... this is not an easy task."

He took the Club Dissolution Notice from the bookshelf and handed it to Jiang Ran:

"Look, the club's qualification has already been revoked. I was planning to finish packing my personal belongings as soon as possible and then hand in the activity room key."

"Of course, if you truly have a way to save the Film Club, I'm willing to wait two days for you."

"After all, I've spent a long time with this club, and it holds meaning for me. I don't want to see it dissolved."

Jiang Ran took the Club Dissolution Notice:

"Don't worry, Senior Yan Rui. I won't let you down. I'll come back to find you in two days."

OK.

Phase one of the plan is complete.

Next, I need to find Xu Yan and leverage her incredible connections.

After leaving the Film Club, he went straight to the second floor and headed to the Film Club's activity room.

The "Red Hot" Film Club was different from the Film Club; it was a major club with several activity rooms, plus a dedicated screening room. They were truly well-equipped and staffed.

However...

He checked several rooms in a row but couldn't find Xu Yan anywhere.

This made Jiang Ran feel uneasy.

No way.

Could it be that Xu Yan in this timeline also jumped into a river to save a child and died?

In the previous timeline, Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue used a spacetime message to save her.

But in this timeline, no one saved her.

A guy saw Jiang Ran standing at the entrance and walked up to him.

"Hello, can I help you with something?"

"I'm looking for someone."

Jiang Ran's heart pounded.

"Excuse me, is President Xu Yan here?"