“Xiaoxue?”
“Sister ngxue!”
The sudden appearance of an uninvited guest shocked Chi Xiaoguo and the others.
Jiang Ran couldn’t understand it either. It was already 10:50 p.m.—in ten minutes, the dormitories would lock and lights would go out.
At this hour… why was Cheng ngxue still outside?
He looked at her. “It’s so late. What are you doing out here?”
“Aiya—I ca out to look for my Caimao.”
Cheng ngxue frowned tightly.
She took her phone out of her pajama pocket and held it up. The signature wedding Caimao charm was gone, leaving only half a strap dangling.
“I just couldn’t relax, so I followed the route back to the dorm to look for it.”
At the ntion of Caimao, her heart clearly ached.
“That was the Brooklyn limited edition… it’s a pair with the mob boss Caimao. I don’t want it getting lost all alone…”
“It’s here! It’s here!”
Chi Xiaoguo’s voice ca from inside the Film Cara Club room.
As soon as she heard Cheng ngxue ntion the missing Caimao, she had rushed back inside to look—and sure enough, she found it wedged in the gap of the sofa where Cheng ngxue had been sitting.
“Sister ngxue, should I toss it out to you?”
“No, no, that’s too dangerous!”
Cheng ngxue waved her hands quickly.
“Thank you, Xiaoguo. Just wait in the activity room—I’ll co in with Jiang Ran.”
With that, she tugged on Jiang Ran’s sleeve.
“Ah, that scared to death. I really thought I’d lost my wedding Caimao.”
“It’s fine as long as it’s found.”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“Let’s go back together.”
He silently ended the call with Chi Xiaoguo, slipped his phone into his pocket, and walked forward.
It’s over.
His heartbeat accelerated.
She must have seen sothing, right?
Even though he had spent two full hours in the future of 2045—
from the perspective of 2025, all he had done was stand there with his phone, take a call from Chi Xiaoguo, and space out for a few seconds.
Think. Think.
His mind spun rapidly, calculating the ti discrepancy.
Jiang Ran was certain—when Chi Xiaoguo activated the Positron Cannon, Cheng ngxue had not yet arrived behind him. That was sothing he always double-checked before every experint.
Good.
At least that ant the countdown—and the hum of the Positron Cannon—should not have been heard.
After that, he had returned from 2045, dizzy for two seconds, then opened his eyes.
At that mont, he hadn’t imdiately gone back to the clubroom. He had stayed where he was, thinking.
Not only about what the Killer had said—but also about Qin Feng’s Magician coin, and the true purpose behind his ti-traveling ssage.
That thinking had lasted about three minutes.
Cheng ngxue must have walked over during those three minutes.
As for why he hadn’t heard her footsteps—
Jiang Ran glanced down at her feet.
Fluffy indoor slippers.
She must have finished washing up in the dorm, discovered the missing charm, and co out in her pajamas, slippers, and a coat to look for it.
Those slippers were soft. Nearly silent.
That’s why he hadn’t noticed her approaching.
“Why didn’t you just ssage us on WeChat?”
Jiang Ran walked ahead.
“If you were already in pajamas, why co all the way out? Wouldn’t it have been easier to ask if it was left in the clubroom?”
“I didn’t know you were still here!”
Cheng ngxue replied matter-of-factly.
“It’s so late—I thought you’d both gone back already. Who knew you were still here?”
“Mm-hmm, so what were you two doing anyway? Acting all mysterious… even hiding from us?”
“We—”
Jiang Ran scratched his head.
“Well… didn’t expect you to catch us. Let’s go inside and I’ll explain together with Xiaoguo.”
In that brief mont earlier, his brain had already worked out an explanation.
But to make sure their stories aligned, he had to say it in front of Chi Xiaoguo.
So for now, he deliberately stalled.
“Huh?”
Cheng ngxue froze in place.
She stared at Jiang Ran, eyes wide.
“You—you two—could it be—”
“No, no.”
Jiang Ran waved his hands.
“You—you two—weren’t planning so kind of sudden confession, were you?!”
“Not that, not that.”
They finally reached the clubroom door. Jiang Ran pushed it open, stepping slightly in front of Cheng ngxue—
and began frantically signaling Chi Xiaoguo with his eyes.
Chi Xiaoguo widened her eyes too, increasing “bandwidth,” trying to receive whatever ssage was being transmitted.
Unfortunately—
no connection.
Unlike with Wang Hao, there was zero tacit understanding between Jiang Ran and Chi Xiaoguo in this regard. The Bluetooth simply wouldn’t pair. They just stared at each other.
“Xiaoguo.”
Jiang Ran spoke first.
“Our situation… has been discovered by Xiaoxue.”
“Ah? Ah!!!”
Chi Xiaoguo’s hair practically stood on end.
Wait wait wait wait—was that what Senior was trying to say with his eyes just now?!
Is this… is this a public reveal?!
To be honest, when she had first seen Cheng ngxue suddenly appear outside the window, Chi Xiaoguo had been terrified.
Because she knew—Jiang Ran didn’t want anyone else to know about the Positron Cannon. About the ti machine experints.
He had emphasized it again and again since last sester.
Chi Xiaoguo had always kept a tight mouth. She had followed his instructions exactly—coming in the morning when told, at night when told, always avoiding attention.
Everything had been fine.
Until today.
Of all days, Cheng ngxue had stumbled right into it.
At that mont, Chi Xiaoguo’s brain had completely shut down. Like being caught red-handed doing sothing bad—with both witness and evidence present—she had no idea how to explain the Positron Cannon.
So she had pinned all her hopes on Jiang Ran’s brain, trusting him to co up with a cover story on the way back.
That’s why, the mont he stepped into the room, she had tried to communicate through eye contact.
But not only did she fail to receive any signal—
Jiang Ran dropped a bombshell that nearly made her faint.
She understood his intention—to keep the Positron Cannon secret.
But—
did the lie really have to go this far?!
At its core, this was just a chuunibyou-level obsession with a “ti machine.”
If he had simply said it outright, at most Cheng ngxue would laugh at him a little.
Yet Jiang Ran was going all-in on this lie!
Gulp.
She swallowed.
Fine.
She had promised to help him keep the secret.
And since he was already committing this hard—
she couldn’t hold back either.
She’d go all in too!
“For Senior’s sake—I’ll take the fall!”
“I-it’s… been discovered…”
Chi Xiaoguo’s cheeks flushed red as she lowered her head.
“Then… we can’t hide it anymore…”
“I didn’t really want to say it yet.”
Jiang Ran spoke softly.
“Because… we actually wanted to give you and Fang Ze a surprise—”
Cheng ngxue clutched her collar and stepped back.
“What kind of surprise?”
“A surprise… is a surprise.”
She turned to Chi Xiaoguo.
“What kind of surprise is it exactly?”
Chi Xiaoguo clenched her fists.
“A surprise is—it’s—”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like.”
Jiang Ran stepped forward, standing beside her.
“That’s why we were hiding things tonight.”
“Y-yes—yes—”
Chi Xiaoguo felt like she was burning up.
But she had to say it!
Senior Jiang Ran—I understand what you an now!
Fine.
At this point—
there was no choice but to lie!
“Y-yes!”
She finally braced herself and looked up.
“Since you’ve discovered it, there’s no point hiding anymore! Right, Senior Jiang Ran?!”
“Exactly!”
Jiang Ran turned toward Cheng ngxue.
“We—”
“We—”
They took a deep breath.
“Secretly prepared a welco ceremony for you!”
“We’ve been planning it behind the scenes—”
Jiang Ran said it decisively.
Chi Xiaoguo, however, nearly collapsed backward in shock.
Wait—
you’re going with THAT?!
At that mont, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief that she had hesitated earlier.
If she had blurted out her own interpretation of the situation…
that would’ve been instant social death.
“Ah?”
Cheng ngxue blinked.
“So—you stayed here to prepare a welco ceremony for and Fang Ze?”
“Yes.”
This was the most perfect excuse Jiang Ran could co up with.
“Rituals matter, right? Even though we t earlier, Xiaoguo and I felt that—even if our club is small—we should still have a proper welco ceremony. Right, Xiaoguo?”
“Y-yes, yes.”
“We originally planned to prepare everything secretly while you weren’t here—to give you a big surprise.”
Jiang Ran sighed dramatically.
“Who knew you’d suddenly co back and catch us in the act.”
“Sigh—”
Chi Xiaoguo covered her face and followed along.
“Oh—I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”
Cheng ngxue apologized quickly.
Then she walked to the workbench and looked at the strange-looking device.
“So this machine… is part of the surprise you prepared for us?”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“Part of it. It’s not fully completed yet—so please keep it a secret from Fang Ze for now.”
“So exciting.”
Cheng ngxue bent down, bringing her gaze level with the protruding barrel of the Positron Cannon.
“What exactly does this machine do?”
She smiled slightly, narrowing her eyes as she peered inside.
“It looks like…”
“…a giant cara, doesn’t it?”
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