novelraw Chapter 105 Class Reunion
Chapter 105 Class Reunion
The next day, Hang City High-Speed Rail Station.
Jiang Ran parked the newly purchased car in the underground parking garage, then walked into the arrival hall to wait for Wang Hao.
They had agreed on this earlier. Wang Hao had a lot of luggage for the trip home during the holiday, and since Jiang Ran had bought a car, he came to pick him up.
The arrival hall was crowded, with people continuously streaming out.
At that moment,
a very pretty girl walked out pushing a dazzling blue suitcase.
The suitcase was a piece of merchandise from a Disney animated film.
Printed on it was the sparkling princess from Frozen—Elsa.
Beside Jiang Ran, a little girl being led by her parents was instantly captivated. She pointed at the blue suitcase.
“Mom! I want that too! Princess Elsa!”The little girl’s mother smiled.
“You’re still too young. When you grow up and become a university student like that big sister, Mommy will definitely buy you one.”
The girl tilted her head.
“Then I’ll become a university student tomorrow.”
Childish innocence made the father burst into laughter.
“That’s not something you can just decide like that. You have to study hard! Learn from that big sister! Only then can you become someone like her in the future!”
Suddenly, a cold snort sounded from behind.
It was Wang Hao.
“Learn from her? If you learn from her, you’re doomed! She only came home on the night vacation started. Obviously she goes to a junior college!”
Jiang Ran and the girl’s parents turned around at the same time.
Wang Hao stood there behind them with bags piled in both hands.
“Are you sick or something?”
The little girl’s father looked extremely displeased that Wang Hao had interrupted him while he was educating his child.
“Do you know what respect is? Who talks like that?”
The mother was equally angry.
“You look down on people so casually! Which school do you go to?”
“Yeah! What degree do you have to talk about someone like that?”
“I go to a junior college!” Wang Hao shouted matter-of-factly.
“How else would I know!”
In an instant, the couple’s anger vanished.
They immediately bent over in apology.
“Sorry… sorry…”
Pulling their daughter along, they hurried away. Their evasive glances were filled with sincere guilt toward Wang Hao.
“Sorry about that… really sorry.”
Sure enough—
sincerity was the ultimate weapon.
Jiang Ran took some of the luggage and led Wang Hao toward the underground parking garage.
When Wang Hao saw the brand-new top configuration Wenjie M9, he practically pounced on it like a starving wolf, touching and rubbing every surface.
“Holy crap, this is awesome!”
“It looks amazing!”
“So cool! This thing is premium!”
“Can I lick it?”
Jiang Ran tossed him the key.
“Stop acting like a pervert. If you want to drive it, just drive.”
Buzz—
With the quiet hum unique to new-energy vehicles, the large SUV shot out of the underground garage and smoothly entered the road.
Wang Hao drove as if playing a piano, both hands restless as he pressed every button in the car, testing all the novel features unique to domestic electric vehicles.
“Man, domestic new-energy cars are really something. Compared to them, those heavy gasoline cars feel like antiques from the steam age.”
“Jiang Ran, when we go to the high school class reunion, you should drive this there! I guarantee you’ll be the coolest guy in the class!”
“It’s only been two years since graduation. Everyone’s still waiting to start their second year of college. Meanwhile you’ve already jumped straight into graduate school and bought this expensive car outright with your own money. Who can compare with you?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle telling your backstory. With my speaking skills, I’ll arrange your reputation perfectly! Everyone will admire you!”
Jiang Ran sat in the passenger seat and waved dismissively.
“Please don’t embarrass me, alright? The script you’re writing for me sounds like the arrogant villain from some novel.”
“Let’s keep things low-key. Don’t mention the car, don’t talk about making money.”
“As for going to Donghai University for graduate school, that can’t really be hidden anyway. If people find out, they find out.”
Wang Hao was having too much fun driving the new car to hurry home.
“Where should we go drive around? I want to try that famous smart driving feature. I heard it has terrible manners and even cuts in line by targeting weak drivers!”
Jiang Ran looked out the window.
He thought about the rusted iron box he had found yesterday.
He thought about Cheng Mengxue’s “time bottle” inside.
He thought about the complicated words written on that letter.
“Let’s go visit Cheng Mengxue’s cemetery.”
he said softly.
Jingshan Bamboo Cemetery.
Holding flowers in their hands, Jiang Ran and Wang Hao returned to the cemetery after two months.
This time Wang Hao didn’t need to lead the way.
Jiang Ran clearly remembered where Cheng Mengxue’s gravestone was and walked straight toward it.
In the black-and-white photo on the tombstone, Cheng Mengxue was still smiling gently and sweetly.
Time had stopped here, unmoving.
Wang Hao lit a cigarette and stood beside him, exhaling smoke.
Jiang Ran clasped his hands and bowed toward the gravestone.
Coming here to pay respects this time felt very different from before.
Last time he came, he was full of confidence. He believed he would soon revive Cheng Mengxue using the Positron Cannon.
But now…
things had not gone as hoped.
The road ahead was long.
He didn’t know when the Positron Cannon could truly be repaired.
Nor did he know when the backup plan—the spacetime shuttle—might become reality.
All hope lay within Donghai University.
The Positron Cannon of the past.
The spacetime shuttle of the future.
In this game of time travel,
Donghai University was the center of everything.
The key point of everything.
“Xiaoxue, wait a little longer.”
Jiang Ran closed his eyes and spoke solemnly.
“I’ve already entered Donghai University. Everything is progressing smoothly.”
“I’ll give everything I have to retrieve the time you lost… every single second.”
That was how worldline transitions worked.
No matter how many years Jiang Ran spent bringing Cheng Mengxue back,
in the new worldline only Jiang Ran would carry those years of memory.
From Cheng Mengxue’s perspective—
it would still be a complete life.
Yes.
Not a second missing.
A complete life.
The only price paid
would be the memories Jiang Ran himself lost.
He accepted that willingly.
“You definitely won’t be able to attend the class reunion this time.”
Jiang Ran stood up and looked at Cheng Mengxue’s unchanged smile.
He smiled as well.
“So Wang Hao and I will go in your place. We’ll enjoy it for you too… and Wang Hao will eat enough for your share.”
“Hey hey hey!”
Wang Hao crushed his cigarette and walked over.
“I swear I just heard you talking trash about me.”
“I was praising you.”
“Oh yeah? What did you praise me for?”
“For being a bottomless pit. One person eating three people’s portions.”
“Who are you looking down on!”
Wang Hao slapped his stomach repeatedly like a brushless motor spinning.
“I’m going to eat ten!”
After that,
the following days were spent helping Wang Hao organize the class reunion.
Jiang Ran handled contacting the restaurant.
Wang Hao handled contacting the classmates.
Unexpectedly, everyone was enthusiastic.
The response was overwhelming—everyone would attend.
“Honestly, it’s only these first couple years when class reunions are possible.”
Wang Hao complained while counting names.
“In a few years everyone will graduate. Some will get married, some will have kids, some will work all over the country. It’ll be almost impossible to gather everyone again.”
“Right now everyone’s still in university, staying at home in Hang City for summer break. There’s nothing to do but hang out. Of course people will rush to come to a class reunion.”
“Actually, even now we can’t really gather everyone. Our class had forty-two people originally. Xiaoxue is gone… so at most forty-one can come.”
“I also contacted our homeroom teacher. He said he could come if he has time. So that makes forty-one students plus the teacher—forty-two people attending the reunion.”
Hearing that number,
Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.
42.
Even though Cheng Mengxue had died and couldn’t attend,
the number of people attending was still forty-two.
That unsettling number again.
For some reason, it felt as though the number kept appearing around him like a lingering ghost.
He knew the feeling was probably just an illusion.
But the mysterious message saying “Don’t believe 42” still made his heart tighten whenever he saw that number.
Phone time.
Novel page numbers.
The temperature display on a water heater.
A supermarket receipt.
Anywhere the number 42 appeared, Jiang Ran would subconsciously pay extra attention.
Once bitten by a snake, one fears ropes for ten years.
Qin Feng’s incident had clearly left him a little paranoid.
“Hey! I’m talking to you!”
Wang Hao elbowed him.
“How’s the restaurant reservation? Done?”
“Oh, it’s all set.”
Jiang Ran came back to his senses.
“I booked a small banquet hall. Four tables. Each table can seat twelve people. If we squeeze in, fourteen. If we sit comfortably, ten.”
“We’ll have forty-two people including the teacher. Whether we separate by gender or mix freely, there’s plenty of room.”
“They’re all classmates who’ve spent years together. People can sit wherever they want—drinkers together, friends together, whatever.”
“The hall also has karaoke. Once the atmosphere gets going, anyone who wants to perform can go up and sing.”
Wang Hao nodded.
“Alright. Since everything’s confirmed, I’ll send the announcement.”
He took out his phone and began typing.
The exact time, restaurant location, and banquet hall floor were all clearly written.
Despite his careless appearance, Wang Hao handled these things very meticulously.
That was why during high school he had been unanimously elected class monitor for three consecutive years.
Although Wang Hao truly wasn’t good at studying, the world didn’t revolve around grades alone.
So even though Jiang Ran often teased him,
he actually respected Wang Hao greatly.
“Finished editing.”
Wang Hao showed Jiang Ran the phone screen.
“Take a look.”
Jiang Ran read it. No problems.
Then Wang Hao sent the announcement to both the class WeChat group and the class QQ group.
“When the day gets closer, I’ll send each person a private reminder one day in advance so they don’t forget.”
Wang Hao emphasized.
Jiang Ran laughed.
“You really are thorough when it comes to organizing.”
After that,
they simply waited for the day to arrive.
During this time, Jiang Ran wasn’t idle either.
He searched through countless materials, bought many books online, and studied extensively.
After all, he had jumped directly from junior college to graduate school.
Even though on Worldline 0 he had spent two years studying at Donghai University, those had been undergraduate courses. Graduate-level requirements were completely different.
So he had to study.
Especially the projects and research directions mentioned in the email from Professor Zhang Yang—he needed to at least understand them somewhat, otherwise he would look completely clueless.
“The only disciple… what can I do.”
Jiang Ran sighed when he remembered the expectations in the eyes of President Gao Jin and Professor Zhang Yang.
“In academia I pose zero threat to them. But in education I could easily ruin their reputations.”
“Honestly, President Gao Jin’s taste in students isn’t great. His previous top disciple was mediocre and ended up in prison. And now his final disciple is just pretending, enough to disgrace the whole academic lineage.”
“I originally planned to introduce Lu Yu to Professor Zhang Yang after school started, give their lineage some hope again. But this ‘welded-door disciple’ has truly welded the door shut.”
“Unfortunately… it’s a prison door.”
One problem after another.
Other people lost brain cells studying.
Studying at Donghai University might cost you your life.
And who was the root cause of all this?
That’s right.
The culprit was—
Qin Feng.
Thinking of that familiar yet distant name, Jiang Ran stopped writing with his pencil. He rubbed his head and stared out the window.
Because of the message Qin Feng had sent ten years into the past, the worldline had changed drastically—from Worldline 0 to Worldline 1.
It had been a completely disastrous move.
First of all, Qin Feng had failed to save the father he wanted to save.
His father still died.
After that, things became even worse than in Worldline 0.
Qin Feng must have gotten involved in some kind of trouble. His family home had been burned down, and he and his mother had fled their hometown. No one had heard from them for years.
At the same time, the resulting butterfly effect had also killed Cheng Mengxue
and destroyed the Positron Cannon.
Qin Feng’s move had been a complete disaster—harming others and harming himself.
“Qin Feng… where are you?”
Jiang Ran gazed outside.
“What are you doing right now?”
From the information Old Qi had provided, Qin Feng had appeared in Donghai City two years ago—shortly after Cheng Mengxue’s death—to buy a knob control board from Old Qi’s appliance repair shop.
That meant
whether he was being hunted or tangled in trouble,
Qin Feng had not simply given up.
He had been acting secretly all along.
“Could it be…”
Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.
[Could Qin Feng, just like me, be trying every possible way to revive his father… and revive Xiaoxue?]
The guess wasn’t certain.
If Qin Feng truly had such a purpose,
then why hadn’t he come to find Jiang Ran?
Why hadn’t he met him?
Someone as intelligent as Qin Feng—
if he could compress information about the knob control board into a seventy-character text message,
then how could he possibly fail to include hints about the Positron Cannon, time-traveling texts, Jiang Ran, Cheng Mengxue, or their trio?
A genius of Qin Feng’s level couldn’t possibly overlook something so obvious.
“So…”
Jiang Ran closed his eyes.
In his mind appeared once again the burned pattern on the wall—
the ferris wheel and the giant eye.
“Qin Feng…”
“What exactly are you hiding from?”
“What exactly… are you fighting against?”