novelraw Chapter 82 You and Me
Chapter 82 You and Me
Jiang Ran scrolled down his phone screen and looked at the date.
June 1, 2025, 00:00.
Time.
It really flies.
He had originally thought that by now he would have already saved Cheng Mengxue and returned to Worldline 0.
But plans never keep up with change.
Instead, things had only grown more troublesome.
June 1.
This was the date he and Nan Xiuxiu had agreed upon.
Before this day, Nan Xiuxiu would not allow herself to disturb him in any way. But after this day, he would need to accompany her occasionally on dates again, just as before.There was nothing more to say about it.
When Jiang Ran had first agreed to this promise, he had assumed that once he jumped worldlines, everything would reset. That stretch of history would vanish, and all promises would dissolve with it.
But now, since he was still on Worldline 1—
The promise he had made could no longer be ignored.
Even if…
Deep down, he did not wish to continue entangling himself with Nan Xiuxiu.
But words spoken must be honored. Keeping one’s word had always been one of Jiang Ran’s life principles.
He opened the message reply window and sent her a single line:
“Happy Children’s Day.”
Immediately—
His phone exploded with notification chimes, dinging furiously!
“Jiang Ran!”
His upper-bunk roommate leaned down from above.
“Mute it!”
It really was disturbing his roommate’s sleep. Jiang Ran simply hadn’t expected Nan Xiuxiu to begin bombing him with messages precisely at midnight.
He hurriedly switched his phone to silent mode and began reading.
There wasn’t much substance.
Mostly complaints about how he hadn’t spent time with her lately. What had happened around her these days. Which cafeteria window had given her food poisoning. How the rice-noodle shop outside the school—the one they used to frequent—had gone out of business. That she had helped him finish and submit the assignment for Political Thought class. That her hair had grown, her natural black roots showing through, and she was debating whether to dye it again but worried about color mismatch…
On and on.
Every trivial detail.
Nan Xiuxiu was like a balloon that had been inflated for days, stuffed with air, ready to burst—unloading all the conversation of the past half month in one breath. Jiang Ran stared at the chat bubbles pouring in, lost in thought.
Half a month.
Fifteen days.
Other people’s fifteen days.
His own fifteen days.
What they experienced, what they thought about, what they did—
Were entirely different things.
Finally.
Nan Xiuxiu settled down and sent one last message:
“Tomorrow’s Sunday! Let’s do the full package—shopping, food, movie?”
Jiang Ran stared at the white dialogue bubble on WeChat.
Sunday.
A whole, perfect day.
He could research the Positron Cannon further.
He could think about how to enroll at Donghai University.
He could summarize everything about the year 2045.
He could investigate the old 2005 Film Camera Club photograph.
So many things waiting.
Jiang Ran pressed his lips together.
His thumb tapped on the keyboard.
He hit send.
A single word.
“Okay.”
—
The next day.
Outside the dormitory building.
Nan Xiuxiu, dazzling as an elf, waved toward him.
“Over here!”
Jiang Ran looked over.
She was dressed beautifully today.
Simple clothes—white sneakers, youthful denim shorts, a white T-shirt printed with letters, a small reflective silver necklace at her neck. With her natural foundation, anything she wore looked good.
As she waved high above her head, her white T-shirt lifted slightly with the motion of her arm. Her pink waist-length waves swayed behind her like drifting silk.
In the brilliant sunlight, she looked like a still frame from a painting.
Passing students, male and female alike, couldn’t help but glance back at her, eyes filled with admiration and envy.
Though many had grown accustomed to it.
That waist-length pink wave alone had made Nan Xiuxiu something of a campus landmark over the past two years. Cafeteria or classroom, she was always visible. Familiarity dulled the shock.
“You’re so slow!”
Nan Xiuxiu put her hands on her hips.
“Did you eat? Should we grab something in the cafeteria first? Or go straight to the mall and eat snacks there?”
“Either’s fine,” Jiang Ran replied casually.
“Your choice.”
“Then straight to the mall!”
Nan Xiuxiu’s eyes sparkled with secret delight at seeing him again.
“We can wander longer~”
The campus wasn’t large.
To exit the school, no matter the route, one had to pass the cafeteria.
But as they walked by—
Jiang Ran nearly sprayed out a mouthful of water.
At the entrance of this junior college cafeteria, just like at Donghai University, two tables had been pushed together into a booth. Beside them stood a display board reading clearly:
“Qiu Tongcheng University Student Mathematics Competition Registration Begins! Welcome ambitious students to form teams and compete!”
That alone wouldn’t have startled him.
The key point was—
The person holding the loudspeaker and promoting it…
Was his upper-bunk roommate.
“What are you doing?”
Jiang Ran walked over, half laughing, half incredulous.
“You’re entering the Qiu Tongcheng University Student Mathematics Competition?”
“What else?”
Roommate No. 4 shrugged.
“Why would I be yelling here otherwise?”
“I mean…”
The blunt honesty left Jiang Ran momentarily speechless.
“Were you that good at math on the college entrance exam?”
“Not bad. Math’s my only good subject. I sucked at everything else. Severe subject imbalance. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.
This time, he didn’t immediately believe him.
After Roommate No. 1’s Apple 16, Roommate No. 2’s lottery, and Roommate No. 3’s investment scheme… he had developed a certain predictive instinct about how things would unfold.
“May I ask,” Jiang Ran said carefully, “when you say you’re good at math—how many points did you score?”
“How would I remember?”
Roommate No. 4 lowered the loudspeaker.
“That was two years ago. I just know I passed. I always pass math.”
“Right. Sure.”
Jiang Ran had been mentally prepared.
“You do you. Good luck.”
Smack!
“Wait!”
Roommate No. 4 slapped Jiang Ran’s shoulder, eyes sharp and full of expectation.
“How much did you score?”
“I got zero,” Jiang Ran replied.
“Oh, oh. That won’t do.”
Roommate No. 4 waved him away.
“You’re hopeless.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Jiang Ran waved back.
“Hope you bring home a gold medal.”
“Gold’s impossible.”
Roommate No. 4 shook his head solemnly.
“My goal’s bronze. Honestly, my multiple-choice accuracy’s pretty solid. If they include enough of those and I guess accurately enough, who knows?”
“Jiang Ran, I don’t like that attitude. Others can look down on you, but you can’t look down on yourself!”
“There are countless prejudices in the world! Who says junior college students can’t win a math competition!!”
The speech blasted through the loudspeaker, forceful and impassioned, quickly drawing a crowd.
Jiang Ran stood still, watching.
Who wouldn’t want to win?
On this junior college campus, no one wanted to win the Qiu Tongcheng Prize more than he did.
If he could obtain that prize, his biggest current obstacle would dissolve instantly. Academician Qiu’s recommendation letter could send him directly into a PhD program at Tsinghua University—or easily into Donghai University as an undergraduate.
It was the most direct, effective, and fastest way to get to Donghai University.
But.
Win with what?
This wasn’t a single exam.
It was five of the most elite mathematical problems imaginable.
At that level, effort alone meant nothing.
Honestly, Jiang Ran felt that even if Qin Feng were here, winning might not be guaranteed.
Then again…
He scratched his head.
Hard to say.
Back in high school, because of one of Jiang Ran’s jokes, Qin Feng had casually registered for the Mathematical Olympiad—and won the championship effortlessly.
Still.
Mathematics was different.
Unlike other subjects, mathematics truly was a game belonging only to geniuses.
If you weren’t one—
Withdraw voluntarily.
He had considered something last night.
If in 2045 he could somehow search online for the 2025 Qiu Tongcheng competition answers, memorize them, and secure a top-ten score—
But that was impossible.
His range of activity in 2045 was confined to that small prison. No computer. No internet. No access whatsoever to answers from twenty years prior.
Therefore.
Using the Qiu Tongcheng Prize as a “Junior-College-to-University PLUS” shortcut—
Was fundamentally unsolvable.
“Let’s go.”
Jiang Ran waved at Nan Xiuxiu, who had been watching the spectacle.
At the school gate.
By the roadside.
Waiting for the bus.
Nan Xiuxiu looked curious.
“What’s this Qiu Tongcheng Prize? What’s that math competition?”
Jiang Ran didn’t know where to begin.
“Have you heard of Academician Qiu Tongcheng?”
“No,” she shook her head.
“Simply put,” Jiang Ran said, taking a breath, “it’s a university-level math competition established by Academician Qiu. It’s open to all university students equally.”
“If you rank in the top ten across five subjects, you receive the Qiu Tongcheng Prize. Then you can go to any top university. Academician Qiu writes you a recommendation letter—transfer, graduate admission, direct PhD.”
“Wow.”
Nan Xiuxiu blinked.
“He’s that powerful? Even Tsinghua and Peking University?”
Jiang Ran smiled faintly.
“Tsinghua and Peking are just the basics. He has a research center at Tsinghua. If you want to go there, you wouldn’t even need a letter. You’d just follow him.”
“Not just domestic universities. His recommendation carries weight at top global institutions too. Harvard, Yale, MIT—they officially collaborate with the competition.”
Nan Xiuxiu clicked her tongue.
“Seems math really is useful. You can go anywhere. Too bad I never liked math. Didn’t listen in class. Didn’t do homework. Didn’t even open the textbook.”
“Oh? Proud of that?”
Jiang Ran shook his head.
“You don’t have to envy those with mathematical talent. Everyone has their own talent.”
“If math is archery, then your talent in archery is definitely top-tier.”
“You just don’t compete. If you did and won rankings, it would be the same principle. Athlete admissions into top universities.”
Nan Xiuxiu hummed proudly.
“So if we ever want to go to Tsinghua, I just win an archery competition?”
Jiang Ran laughed.
“You’re dreaming too big. Maybe a key university or sports college. Tsinghua and Peking? That’s overthinking.”
“And besides, that’s for high schoolers. You’re already in junior college. That window’s closed.”
Nan Xiuxiu waved dismissively.
“What’s there to regret? Even if Tsinghua and Peking begged me now, I wouldn’t go. Not Harvard, not MIT. I like it here. I like our school.”
“You’re impressive.”
Jiang Ran responded vaguely.
“Not everyone can be that carefree.”
“That’s not it!”
Nan Xiuxiu protested.
“What does carefree have to do with it? Of course people want Tsinghua and Peking. If you asked me right after the college entrance exam, I’d go happily.”
“But now? If you asked me to transfer there? I’d refuse without thinking.”
“Why?”
Jiang Ran looked at her.
“Grown attached after two years?”
Nan Xiuxiu fell silent.
In the distance, the bus rounded the corner and approached slowly.
She brushed the loose hair by her cheek back.
“I can shoot archery. You can’t.”
She reached out and gently took Jiang Ran’s left hand.
“If I really won through archery… and went alone to Tsinghua…”
Her eyes met his.
“What would you do?”