novelraw Chapter 43 Starting Over
Chapter 43 Starting Over
After leaving the cafeteria, Jiang Ran went back to the dorm first to change his clothes.
There was a small dorm WeChat group chat, labeled 7B523. That had to be his dorm number.
The junior college campus was small. After exiting the cafeteria, it only took a few minutes to reach the dormitory.
An eight-person room. Bunk beds. The conditions weren’t great, but at least it was clean.
Jiang Ran had just sat down on his own bed when a roommate crept over in a sneaky manner.
“Doing what?”
Looking at Roommate No.1, Jiang Ran didn’t know his name.
Roommate No.1 shut the window, pulled the curtains, closed the door, and locked it.
“Holy shit.”
Jiang Ran immediately stood up, back pressed against the wall.This wasn’t a daytime vendetta, was it?
Roommate No.1 looked nervous. He gestured for Jiang Ran to sit down, then leaned in and whispered into his ear:
“Jiang Ran, you’re the one I’m closest to. I’m only telling you this. You absolutely can’t tell anyone else!”
“Oh. Okay.”
Looks like Roommate No.1 was actually his friend.
Jiang Ran relaxed his guard and listened carefully.
“What is it?”
“I won!!” Roommate No.1 was beaming.
“Won the lottery?” Jiang Ran was also surprised.
“Not the lottery! I won an iPhone16! Top configuration!”
Unable to contain his excitement, Roommate No.1 took out his phone with trembling hands, pulled up a text message, and almost dropped it.
Jiang Ran strained to read the message:
【Congratulations, lucky user! We are pleased to inform you that you have won the Special Grand Prize in the New Year Spin &
Win event! One iPhone16 top-configuration model! Please click the link below to fill in your shipping information and pay 180 yuan for shipping. SF Express insured delivery will be dispatched immediately!】
Jiang Ran’s mouth twitched all the way to the corner of his face as he looked helplessly at Roommate No.1.
“Bro… are you serious?”
“Of course!”
Roommate No.1 hurriedly put the phone away.
“I only told you. I don’t even dare tell the others. They’d definitely be jealous of me! What if they steal my phone!”
Jiang Ran quickly grabbed him.
“This is fake. It’s an old scam from who knows how many years ago. Their goal is to scam you out of the shipping fee. After that, they might hit you with insurance fees, deposits, verification fees… basically all kinds of charges. They’re never going to send you a phone.”
“You—!”
Roommate No.1’s expression changed instantly.
“I told you because I thought we were close, and now you’re jealous of me too? I even checked the tracking number. It’s already shipped. How could it be fake?”
“It’s not—”
“I really misjudged you, Jiang Ran! If it’s fake, why did only I get the text and not you? You’re just jealous of me!”
With that, Roommate No.1 slammed the door and stormed out.
Jiang Ran looked at the shaking dorm door, completely unable to argue back.
Forget it.
Let him spend a few hundred yuan to buy himself a lesson. You live and you learn.
Less than two minutes later.
Another roommate walked in, looking excited.
“Jiang Ran! I’ve got a secret to tell you! You absolutely can’t tell the others!”
“You won something too?” Jiang Ran blurted out.
“Huh? How did you know?”
“Don’t tell me it’s also an iPhone16?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Mine’s a legit lottery—SSC!”
Roommate No.2 took out his phone and showed Jiang Ran the number-selection interface.
“Look, this lottery website. SSC. One round every ten minutes. There’s a big shot leading us. I’ve already made a few hundred!”
Jiang Ran looked at the crude page and immediately understood.
“Bro, this is a fake site. It doesn’t matter how much you ‘earn’—the key is that you won’t be able to withdraw it.”
“How could I not withdraw it? I literally just withdrew 100!”
“That’s because it was a small amount. Once you put in more, they’ll definitely block your withdrawals. Also… don’t you guys have anti-fraud apps installed on your phones?”
“What—what are you saying, Jiang Ran! I was being nice, sharing this with you, even planning to pull you into the group to make money, and you act like this?!”
Roommate No.2 turned on him.
“I made money, and the first person I thought of was you. And now you’re blocking my path to wealth! Are you jealous that I’m about to make big money?!”
“If I make money, would I really not treat you to a meal? I’m so disappointed in you!”
Roommate No.2 was furious and slammed the door on his way out.
Jiang Ran looked at the dorm door, now on the verge of falling apart, quickly changed his clothes, and left.
If he stayed any longer, he’d probably offend every roommate there.
Before dealing with the Positron Cannon, he’d likely have to live here for a while longer. Better leave himself some room to maneuver.
He walked out of the junior college gates.
Got into a taxi and headed straight for Donghai University.
Jiang Ran didn’t even know where to start, so he decided to check the Film Camera Club again.
He arrived at the student activity building.
On the bulletin board on the first floor, Yan Rui’s disciplinary notice was still posted.
Although the public notice period had long since ended, no one bothered with it. No one tore it down. So it just stayed there, waiting for some future notice to cover it up.
He entered the building and went to the Film Camera Club room.
The door was half open.
There was someone inside.
He moved closer and peeked through the gap.
A familiar face.
The last president of the Film Camera Club.
The Positron Cannon user.
The bearer of disciplinary action.
A graduating senior.
Yan Rui.
In the original worldline, because Jiang Ran, Qin Feng, and Cheng Mengxue had taken over the Film Camera Club in March, Senior Yan Rui had handed things over early and left campus early.
But on this worldline, the trio was scattered and barely surviving themselves. Naturally, no one took over the club.
That was probably why Yan Rui was still on campus even now.
Seeing an old acquaintance again in a new worldline, Jiang Ran felt inexplicably excited and pushed the door open directly.
“Senior Yan Rui, hello. I’m a sophomore—”
Halfway through the introduction, he suddenly froze and shut his mouth.
Really.
Why bother acting familiar?
Right now, he was just a junior college student from another school, not a junior from this university. Saying less was better than saying more.
Yan Rui was packing up miscellaneous items on the desk.
He turned around and pushed up his glasses.
“Student, who are you?”
“Senior Yan Rui, I’m here about the Film Camera Club.”
This was already a second run-through of this storyline, so Jiang Ran went straight to the point, choosing the fastest clear route.
“Senior, I only recently got into film cameras, and I really love film photography, so… I want to keep the Film Camera Club alive.”
“I know the Student Union has already issued a Club Dissolution Notice, but I’ll find a way. Could you give me two more days?”
Yan Rui’s expression was calm. He took a few seconds to process Jiang Ran’s words.
“If you want to revive the Film Camera Club, I don’t have any objections. It’s just… this won’t be easy.”
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 turn in the activity room key.”
“Of course, if you truly have a way to keep the Film Camera Club, I’m willing to wait two days.”
“After all, I’ve been with this club for a long time. I’m attached to it too. 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 in two days.”
OK.
Step one of the plan complete.
Next was to find Xu Yan and make use of her unbeatable connections.
After leaving the Film Camera Club, he went straight up to the second floor and headed to the Film Club activity rooms.
The bustling Film Club was completely different from the Film Camera Club. It had several activity rooms and even a dedicated screening room—strong troops and ample resources.
He ran through several rooms in a row but didn’t see Xu Yan anywhere.
A sense of unease rose in Jiang Ran’s chest.
No way.
Don’t tell me that in this worldline, Xu Yan also jumped into the river to save children and died?
In the previous worldline, Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue had saved her with a time-traveling text.
But in this worldline… no one saved her.
A male student noticed Jiang Ran standing at the doorway and walked over.
“Hello, can I help you?”
“I’m looking for someone.”
Jiang Ran’s heartbeat quickened.
“May I ask… is President Xu Yan here?”