Genius Playground

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes...

"A completely different person."

That was the first thing he latched onto from Cheng Mengxue’s words.

The phrase was all too familiar.

Because on this World Line 1, both Nan Xiuxiu and Wang Hao had described him the exact same way.

He himself had jumped here from World Line 0.

He was also missing his memories from the past ten years.

So, from Nan Xiuxiu’s and Wang Hao’s perspectives, it was as if his body had been taken over—he had become ’a completely different person’.

So then.

By that logic.

Two years ago, on June 8th, 2023—the day of Cheng Mengxue’s car accident—from her perspective at the time, he had also seemed like ’a completely different person’.

If the logic connecting these incidents was similar...

...wouldn’t that mean...

’The Jiang Ran from two years ago—the one who stopped Cheng Mengxue from taking her college entrance exams and dragged her to the suburbs—could he also have been a "possessed" Time Traveler?’

But...

Jiang Ran couldn’t help but frown.

’That’s not right.’

The Positron Cannon was now damaged and could no longer send Time SMSes to the past. Therefore, by all rights, there should be no way to transmit information to the past.

’Then, could it be the rumored Time Travel Machine?’

Jiang Ran shook his head.

’That’s even more impossible.’

The rumors were very clear: the Time Travel Machine was a device that allowed the user to physically return to the past—a so-called "physical traversal"—transporting a person, whole and unchanged, back to a previous era.

That theory didn’t match Cheng Mengxue’s description. Otherwise, the person dragging her away should have been a much older person from the future, definitely not the young Jiang Ran of that time.

’This is a mess.’

’So chaotic.’

And then there was that intriguing phrase:

"Don’t come again... Don’t come again..."

According to Cheng Mengxue, he had looked tense, darting his eyes around nervously while constantly muttering those words.

It gave the impression that he was being hunted, and he was taking Mengxue to escape.

But...

This was a society ruled by law—and in Hang City, no less, where public safety was excellent.

Who would try to hunt down a high school girl during the college entrance exam period, a special time when the streets were already swarming with police?

It was something that was simply impossible.

If that was the case...

...what exactly was his past self so afraid of? What was he scared would come after them?

...

His thoughts were a tangled mess, hitting dead ends everywhere. Jiang Ran stopped thinking.

He realized he seemed to have just fallen into Cheng Mengxue’s trap—

’Why should I believe that what Cheng Mengxue said is true?’

’Let’s analyze this from the beginning.’

If the Cheng Mengxue before him was the real one, then what she had just said must be true. In that case, Jiang Ran was certainly willing to think it over carefully and see if he could find any clues.

But...

’What if the Cheng Mengxue before me is, as I suspect, a fake? An impostor?’

’An impostor couldn’t possibly have the real person’s memories.’

’In that case, everything she just said could only be a made-up story she fabricated on the spot.’

’What a brilliant move.’

Jiang Ran’s heart tightened.

The truth of why he had forcibly taken Cheng Mengxue away back then was a complete mystery to the world, a black box whose contents no one knew.

There were only two people involved.

One was him, and he had amnesia.

The other was Cheng Mengxue, who was deceased (he was assuming for now).

Under these circumstances, where nothing could be proven or disproven, couldn’t this Cheng Mengxue in front of him just say whatever she wanted?

She could make up something even more ridiculous, like Jiang Ran insisting on dragging her to a ravine to watch Ultraman fight Pikachu... and right now, there would be no way to prove if it was fact or fiction.

Therefore.

He decided not to dwell on this question for the time being.

Everything depended on first verifying whether the Cheng Mengxue before him was real or fake. Only then could he judge if her words had any meaning.

"Heh."

Jiang Ran gave a helpless smile and shook his head.

"I don’t really remember what happened back then. The doctor said it’s a form of repressive amnesia. Because the psychological trauma was too great, my brain initiated a self-preservation mechanism and completely erased the memories from that period."

He had no intention of continuing this topic.

So he glanced around, trying to find something else to talk about.

Suddenly, his gaze fell on Cheng Mengxue’s phone case. It featured a very common, original design of the Rhine Cat. The originally plump and cute cat’s face had been stretched into a rectangle to wrap around the phone.

’It seems Cheng Mengxue still loves the Rhine Cat as much as ever.’

Jiang Ran vaguely remembered that the Rhine Cat IP was launched at the end of 2022, along with the Rhine Cosmetics brand.

Back then, he and Cheng Mengxue were still in high school.

The adorable Rhine Cat became a global sensation the moment it was released. All sorts of merchandise sold out, propelling Rhine Cosmetics to international fame as well.

Cheng Mengxue was an avid Rhine Cat enthusiast. From then on, she spent almost all her allowance on Rhine Cat merchandise.

"It’s a shame there’s no Rhine Cat-edition textbook."

Cheng Mengxue had even joked at the time,

"Otherwise, I’d definitely be able to get into Qinghua!"

Jiang Ran also noticed that a Rhine Cat Pendant was hanging from her phone case, which was exactly in line with his memory of Cheng Mengxue’s habits.

Except...

The Cheng Mengxue from World Line 0 had an astronaut Rhine Cat pendant on her phone. It was supposedly a limited edition, with only 4,200 ever made.

’Great.’

’42 again.’

’That damned, haunting 42.’

Suddenly,

Jiang Ran recalled the mysterious text message he had received back on World Line 0—

"Do not trust 42."

When he first realized the truth behind that message, his scalp had tingled with fear. The chilling sensation of being surrounded by the number 42 still lingered in his mind.

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