novelraw Chapter 48 True History
Chapter 48 True History
A closed loop of the temporal butterfly effect.
Unpredictable, yet tightly interlinked.
Strictly speaking, the lives altered by this shift weren’t limited to Chi Xiaoguo alone.
On this brand-new worldline, Jiang Ran, Qin Feng, and Cheng Mengxue had all failed to enroll at Donghai University.
Therefore—
In total, three people would have their fates changed by the temporal butterfly effect, “replacing” the trio and being admitted to Donghai University.
It was fascinating.
Jiang Ran sighed inwardly.
The tornado of the butterfly effect could change countless things, yet history stitched itself back together—no position was ever left vacant.
“I was just guessing. Pure coincidence.”Jiang Ran looked at Chi Xiaoguo and chuckled softly.
“I have a friend who really wanted to get into the School of Art at Donghai University too. She applied to the same major as you.”
“But obviously… she got squeezed out by you. You were the lucky one admitted last.”
Chi Xiaoguo scratched her head in embarrassment.
“Ah, that’s kind of awkward. Then—then is she doing okay now? Did she get admitted to her second choice in the end?”
“She’s doing fine.”
Jiang Ran brushed it off casually.
“Everyone has their own fate.”
……
After that, Yan Rui took them to the club management office to handle the procedures.
Everything went smoothly.
The club’s life was extended, the presidency was transferred, and Chi Xiaoguo officially took on the heavy responsibility of leading the Film Camera Club as its new president.
“Like this, I can finally leave school without any lingering worries.”
Triggering the same plot dialogue once more, Yan Rui spoke like an NPC, repeating to Jiang Ran exactly what he had said on the original worldline:
“The future of the Film Camera Club is in your hands!”
“Of course, if you run into any problems later on, contact me anytime. I’ll definitely help with everything I can.”
Jiang Ran waved, and together with Chi Xiaoguo, saw Yan Rui off, watching his back as he left the cramped activity room for the last time.
“From here on out, it’s up to us.”
He lowered his head to look at Chi Xiaoguo.
“Let’s go. We’ll write the application and the guarantee letter, and get the confiscated Positron Cannon back.”
What followed was another round of running around.
But for Jiang Ran, it was already second nature—step by step, by the book.
Chi Xiaoguo was completely clueless, like a little foodie tagging along. She stuck close behind Jiang Ran wherever he went;
when he told her to sign, she signed;
when he told her to swear, she swore.
Finally—
All the procedures were complete. Only the final step remained.
Holding the stamped retrieval application, Jiang Ran led Chi Xiaoguo toward the school warehouse.
With this approved form, they could retrieve the Positron Cannon from storage.
Perfect.
At last, everything had gone smoothly.
Although there would still be a lot of work to do after retrieving the Positron Cannon, as long as they got it back, it meant that the “Save Cheng Mengxue” plan was at least 90% complete.
“Senior!”
Chi Xiaoguo hurried along behind him.
“You’re walking too fast!”
Jiang Ran’s one step was worth two of hers. With her short legs, she really couldn’t keep up.
“Sorry.”
He had been lost in thought and hadn’t noticed, so he immediately slowed his pace.
Even though he had explained multiple times that he wasn’t a senior and that they were the same year, she seemed to like calling him that anyway.
He didn’t bother arguing and let it go.
“Senior.”
Chi Xiaoguo walked closer.
“I can tell—you must really love film photography. What camera do you usually use?”
The question caught Jiang Ran off guard.
He had never used a film camera even once—he had never even touched film.
“Why do you think that?” Jiang Ran asked instead.
“Because you must really love film photography to care so much about whether the Film Camera Club lives or dies, running around nonstop like this.”
Chi Xiaoguo’s eyes were full of anticipation.
“You’re not even a student at Donghai University, yet you’ve done so much for the Film Camera Club. That can only be pure passion.”
“Thank you so much, Jiang Ran—senior. If you hadn’t led me step by step and guided me, there’s no way I could’ve handled all these procedures.”
“You’re definitely more suitable to be the Film Camera Club president than I am. That’s what I think too… I hope you’ll come here often in the future. I’ll listen to whatever you say!”
……
Chi Xiaoguo’s soft, sweet voice chattered on, and it actually lifted the mood.
“And you?”
Jiang Ran smiled slightly.
“Why do you like something so old-fashioned? What kind of special charm does a film camera have for you?”
“Of course it does!”
Talking about what she loved, Chi Xiaoguo hopped and skipped to stand in front of Jiang Ran, hands clasped behind her back as she walked backward.
“Film cameras and digital cameras are completely different. Digital cameras, when you get down to it, use photosensitive sensors to analyze pixel colors and then convert them into data for storage.”
“In my view, that kind of color simulation is completely fake—it’s not the true color of the object itself… no matter how high the resolution or how accurate the colors are, they’re all the same.”
[…What’s real is real. What’s fake is fake.]
“But film cameras are different. The moment you press the shutter, real light hits the photosensitive film. The silver halide grains on the film also form the most authentic image in that instant.”
“This kind of truth has not a hint of falseness. That’s the biggest difference between the imaging principles of film cameras and digital cameras—and it’s also what I think is the most romantic thing about film photography—”
She lifted her head, looking at the brilliant sky. Squinting her eyes, she giggled.
[…What film cameras record is the truest history of this world.]
[…Every ray of light, every grain of color, even every bit of noise… is the world in its most original form at the exact moment the shutter is pressed.]
……
Following Chi Xiaoguo’s gaze, Jiang Ran also looked up.
The sunlight was just right, illuminating everything.
Against the deep blue sky, a distant airplane left a white contrail cutting across the clouds;
brown birds leapt from treetops, shaking tender green branches, drawing a rainbow arc right along the tips of the leaves.
Yes.
All of this was the world’s truest colors.
Jiang Ran also had some understanding of the basic principles of digital and film cameras.
At present, the color depth of digital cameras was generally 8-bit or 12-bit, with high-end products reaching 14-bit.
But that also meant that the number of colors digital cameras could present was limited—they couldn’t fully display all the colors the human eye could see.
Film cameras were different.
They had no photosensitive sensors or electronic structures. They relied directly on the shutter to capture nature’s most authentic light. The silver halide on the film absorbed light at a molecular scale, presenting the corresponding colors.
So Chi Xiaoguo was right.
In a sense, the colors film could record were infinite—and real.
It was amazing.
Jiang Ran himself had never thought much of this.
But hearing Chi Xiaoguo put it that way, it really did feel a little romantic.
This was probably… the art of language.
“We’re at the warehouse.”
Jiang Ran handed the retrieval application to Chi Xiaoguo.
“You’re the president. You should negotiate with the warehouse administrator.”
After verifying the paperwork,
the administrator led them into the school warehouse and unlocked the storage door.
Huff.
A damp smell rushed out, heavy with the scent of age, as if telling the weight of history.
Following the administrator, Jiang Ran arrived once more in front of the familiar shelf.
The Positron Cannon.
That square, boxy machine with a cylindrical barrel in front, like an enlarged vintage camera… lay there quietly.
Jiang Ran’s heart raced as he recalled the scene of the original trio carrying it away.
“At last, I’ve found you.”
But then—
“Hm?”
He blinked, sensing something was wrong.
He hurried over, wiped away the dust with his palm, and stared at the casing of the Positron Cannon.
“Why is there a dent!”
He stroked the clearly crushed indentation on the top of the Positron Cannon, then turned back to look at the administrator.
“What happened here?”