Chirping, chattering, clacking—
*(#Y%~@#%&@%%Y$Y@!$#Y!
Academician Gao Yan frowned deeply as he stared at the phone on his desk, its speaker erupting with relentless noise.
This was the Dragon Country Academy of Sciences. The President’s Office.
A few minutes earlier—
His closed-door disciple, Zhang Yang, had called.
He said he wanted to discuss Jiang Ran’s research topic, and Jiang Ran was right there beside him.
Of course that was good news!
Gao Yan had long been looking forward to Jiang Ran’s next objective.
So he had promptly shut the office door, brewed a cup of tea, and prepared to listen attentively.
And then…
Right from the opening salvo—an absolute bombshell. He had nearly dropped the teacup onto the floor.
After that, Zhang Yang grew more and more impassioned, Jiang Ran joined the fray, and the conversation turned into a full-blown “two youths debating the sun” scenario. Over the phone, his two beloved students clashed without pause—verbal blades flashing, sparks flying.
He didn’t understand.
It was only a graduate research topic. Why were the two of them acting as if they were wagering their entire lives on it?
Being serious was correct.
But this was serious to an exaggerated degree.
Zhang Yang was desperately praising how promising quantum tunneling was.
Jiang Ran insisted that the spaceti shuttle was extraordinary.
Their back-and-forth chirping was about to blow Gao Yan’s head apart.
Sigh.
To be honest…
Quantum tunneling and the spaceti shuttle, in Gao Yan’s view—
[Were both trash topics.]
One lacked prospects. The other lacked foundation.
Why insist on researching these things?
Wouldn’t it be better to study sothing practical?
It wasn’t that he thought the two fields were bad. If there were truly a breakthrough, it would absolutely be a world-changing, perception-shattering, ceiling-breaking achievent in physics.
But…
These were not things achieved overnight.
Unless an Einstein-level genius appeared, it would be absolutely impossible to break through in either of those domains.
It sounded a little disheartening.
But in science, there was a widely acknowledged truth—
The push one Einstein gave to civilization genuinely surpassed the lifeti efforts of hundreds of outstanding scientists.
Many researchers exhausted their entire lives rely to save a bit of ti for so future super-genius.
And even that was already sothing to be proud of.
Was Zhang Yang an Einstein?
No.
Was Jiang Ran an Einstein?
He might be a Gauss.
But he clearly could not rival Einstein.
So.
Once again—
Why research such impractical topics?
Yet, on the other hand.
The two arguing endlessly on the phone—one was his closed-door disciple, the other a student in whom he placed trendous hope. The palm and the back of his hand were both flesh.
How could he possibly choose one over the other?
“Cough, cough.”
He cleared his throat.
“You two, listen to for a mont.”
The phone went quiet.
Gao Yan lifted it to his mouth.
“As for your two topics… well… both are acceptable. Or rather, perhaps they’re even complentary.”
[“I’ve always believed that if a spaceti shuttle is truly possible—if it can actually be built—then its foundational theory must be related to quantum tunneling.”]
“Do you understand? This isn’t a matter of choosing one or the other. It’s more like 1 1=2—or even 0.5 0.5=1. It’s the sa direction of research viewed from two halves.”
“So I suggest you both stop arguing. Whether quantum tunneling or the spaceti shuttle, each is unavoidable in the course of research. Why not study them together? rge them into a comprehensive project that covers both theory and practice?”
“All right, that’s enough. I’m quite busy here. I’m hanging up.”
With that, Gao Yan ended the call.
He sighed.
“Ah…”
He closed his eyes and reflected.
The spaceti shuttle.
Clever as Jiang Ran was, he truly did see far ahead. Just like when he dared challenge Goldbach’s Conjecture—utterly different from others.
“…Let them be.”
He shook his head with a faint smile and no longer dwelled on it.
“Young people having dreams is a good thing. What if they really succeed?”
“After all, the rules of the universe have been there for fourteen billion years, waiting for people to discover them.”
“Who can say that sothing nonexistent… truly does not exist?”
Donghai University. Zhang Yang’s office.
After the call ended, Jiang Ran and Zhang Yang fell silent.
It was obvious that Academician Gao Yan had no intention of acting as judge—and instead suggested they research both projects together.
Upon careful thought, what he said made sense.
Perhaps quantum tunneling was indeed the theoretical foundation of the spaceti shuttle.
And the spaceti shuttle might serve as the macroscopic experintal model of quantum tunneling.
Though they began from different points, their trajectories would eventually intersect—
And finally twist together into a rope that led toward the future… and toward the past.
Zhang Yang pondered for two seconds.
“Jiang Ran, what do you think?”
“I think it’s workable.”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“I trust Academician Gao Yan’s judgnt. Why don’t we each continue researching our own areas for now? If one day our directions converge, we can rge them into a single project.”
Zhang Yang smiled faintly.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Let’s settle on that for now!”
“We’ll each focus on our own research first. Later, I’ll study up on the spaceti shuttle and provide you so assistance.”
“And you—don’t be too resistant to quantum chanics. Learn what you should learn, research what you should research. Consider it helping out.”
Just like that—
Jiang Ran felt a quiet breath of relief in his chest.
At last, the crisis was resolved.
The spaceti shuttle was a blank field in the current research world. That very blankness was Jiang Ran’s camouflage.
But while his crisis had been defused, Zhang Yang’s had not.
Clearly, he had not given up quantum tunneling. Neither Jiang Ran nor Gao Yan had managed to persuade him.
There was no choice.
They would have to take it slowly, persuade him gradually over ti.
Afterward, Zhang Yang led him through the laboratory to familiarize him with the layout. The two parted there.
“Jiang Ran, next sester we’ll formally be teacher and student. Don’t waste the sumr. Learn more, prepare more. Never squander your talent.”
“I understand.”
Jiang Ran waved.
“Then Professor Zhang, see you in September.”
—
Leaving the lab, Jiang Ran picked up his phone and checked WeChat.
There was still no reply from Chi Xiaoguo. She had said her exams weren’t finished yet—she was probably racking her brain over test questions right now.
Recently, Jiang Ran hadn’t conducted experints with Chi Xiaoguo, nor had he visited the Film Cara Club activity room.
On one hand, he had too many matters to deal with—advancing from junior college to graduate school, Nan Xiuxiu, withdrawal procedures, recomndation letters, and so on.
On the other hand, Chi Xiaoguo had entered Donghai University ranked last. Jiang Ran didn’t want her failing any courses, so during exam week he had told her to focus entirely on studying.
“I’ll wait for her at the Film Cara Club.”
However—
The mont he entered the student activity building, Jiang Ran froze in shock.
“What’s going on?!”
At first glance, he saw a white seal pasted across the Film Cara Club activity room door, stamped with the red seal of the Club Managent Office.
What was this?
He had only stayed away a few days. Had the club shut down again?
“Hey, Jiang Ran? What a coincidence.”
A familiar voice drifted from the stairwell.
He turned.
A tall, beautiful girl was smiling, descending the stairs in small high heels that clicked rhythmically.
Xu Yan.
President of the film club.
Cheng ngxue’s cousin.
His childhood friend.
And—in Worldline 0—the girl who had been reborn through discarded electronic cannon scrap.
“Long ti no see.”
Jiang Ran greeted her.
It truly had been a long ti. The last ti they t was when he had co to Donghai University to ask her for a backdoor favor, then written the shooting script for Prodigy’s Playground for her. They hadn’t seen each other since.
“What’s this about?” he asked, pointing at the seal.
“Oh, that’s from the managent office.”
Xu Yan explained.
“Tomorrow’s the official start of sumr vacation. During the break, the student activity building is closed. They paste seals and cut off the electricity every year.”
She pointed to the bulletin board outside.
“There’s a ‘Student Activity Building Sumr Safety Notice’ posted. It says power will be restored on September 1 when school starts.”
“It’s for safety. No one’s around during sumr. If there’s an electrical fault or fire, it wouldn’t be discovered in ti. So sealing and cutting power is the safest option.”
Oh.
Jiang Ran nodded.
He had never participated in club activities before, so he truly hadn’t known.
Still—
If he really needed to enter the Film Cara Club to retrieve sothing—or activate the Positron Cannon to go to 2045—he could just climb through the window.
The club’s window had long been shaky and unreliable. The latch was practically decorative. In both Worldline 0 and Worldline 1, they had treated it as a second door.
Aside from Chi Xiaoguo, everyone could do it. Even Cheng ngxue could climb in easily.
“Oh—congratulations.”
Xu Yan shook his hand.
“I heard you’ll be entering Donghai University directly as a graduate student next sester? That’s incredible. As expected of you.”
“You already know?”
Jiang Ran turned back.
“Who told you?”
“Wang Hao.”
Xu Yan smiled.
“He told imdiately. I saw you were busy, so I didn’t formally congratulate you yet. Who knew we’d run into each other here?”
“Oh dear, in the future I’ll have to call you Senior Jiang—graduate senior!”
Jiang Ran waved his hand with a laugh.
“Cut it out.”
But he was slightly surprised.
Xu Yan knew Wang Hao.
In Worldline 0, the two didn’t know each other. At most, they had heard each other’s nas through Jiang Ran and Cheng ngxue—but there was definitely no contact information.
Yet from the natural tone Xu Yan used when ntioning Wang Hao just now, it sounded as though they were on good terms in Worldline 1.
Thinking about it, that wasn’t strange.
In Worldline 1, with Qin Feng absent, the iron triangle had beco Jiang Ran, Wang Hao, and Cheng ngxue.
And every sumr, Xu Yan reliably stayed at Cheng ngxue’s house for two months.
Year after year, with Cheng ngxue bridging the connection, friendship was inevitable.
Hmm?
Oh!
Wait!
Jiang Ran suddenly straightened.
For the longest ti, Xu Yan’s boyfriend had been a mystery.
It wasn’t even certain whether her boyfriend in Worldline 1 was the sa as in Worldline 0.
Surely it couldn’t be…
Wang Hao?!
Impossible.
He imdiately shook his head, rejecting the terrifying thought.
He couldn’t even explain why it was impossible—but instinctively, it was impossible.
“I’m suddenly curious.”
Jiang Ran looked at Xu Yan.
“Earlier… you and your boyfriend helped so much. I never had a chance to thank him in person.”
“Ah, no need.”
Xu Yan waved it off.
“He’s not from our university.”
Danger!
The profile overlapped further with Wang Hao!
“You want to et him?” Xu Yan grinned.
“Yes.”
Jiang Ran genuinely was curious.
“He helped so much. Even if you keep saying it was nothing, I still think I should thank him in person.”
“Sure, no problem.”
She agreed readily.
“He’s long wanted to et you too. He read your script and watched the finished short film. He praised it endlessly.”
“In that case, when there’s a chance, I’ll introduce you. But it’ll have to wait until next sester.”
“Since you’ll be studying at Donghai University, we’ll be on the sa campus. Easy to stay in touch. My boyfriend often cos to see anyway. Hehe…”
Speaking of her boyfriend, she gave a mysterious smile.
“You’ll never guess who he is!”
“Haha…”
Jiang Ran forced a dry laugh.
Let it be a surprise, not a shock.
But surely—it wasn’t Wang Hao.
Because Xu Yan wasn’t hiding anything. No underground relationship. No hesitation about letting him et her boyfriend. If it were Wang Hao, she’d say so openly.
From her tone—
It was clear this boyfriend had never t Jiang Ran, and Jiang Ran had never t him. Total strangers. That was why she said they should find a chance to get acquainted.
“Ah, speaking of the film.”
Jiang Ran suddenly rembered sothing he had completely forgotten.
“The short film your club submitted to the Donghai City University Student Film Festival—what happened? Did it win anything?”
Xu Yan shook her head.
“The results haven’t been announced yet. But it should be any day now.”
She checked her phone calendar.
“The official account said early July. The day after tomorrow is July. At most a week.”
“By now, the awards are definitely decided internally. They just haven’t made it public.”
She grinned.
“Don’t worry—I guarantee we’ll win sothing! Not only was your script good, our filming was excellent too!”
“Oh, by the way—did you watch the sample cut I emailed you?”
Jiang Ran smiled apologetically.
“Sorry, I haven’t had ti yet. It’s been too busy lately.”
“That’s fine. Watch it when you can. You’ll definitely like it.”
Xu Yan looked suprely confident.
“And we put your na in the center display! When the final fra fades and the STAFF list rolls out, the first line is you—[Original Work · Script · Screenwriter: Jiang Ran]!”
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