Chapter 44: Chapter 44: The Script
"Oh, you mean Xu Yan."
The male student pointed out the window.
"She’s out on the field, looking pretty miserable. She’s in a terrible mood. I’d stay away if I were you."
Jiang Ran let out a sigh of relief.
’Good, that means Xu Yan is still alive.’
’But why is she in a bad mood?’
He asked, his curiosity piqued.
"It’s because of the Student Film Festival."
The student gave a wry smile.
"Look, the submission deadline for the Student Film Festival is coming up, but our Movie Club still doesn’t have a single decent project to show for it."
"Next year, Xu Yan will be a senior, so this is her last chance. Her biggest dream is to win an award at the Student Film Festival, but as it stands... well, you get the picture."
The student explained that because they didn’t have a good script, Xu Yan had been working herself to the bone writing but was never satisfied with the results.
The constant exhaustion and frustration had her on the verge of a breakdown.
"I see."
Jiang Ran understood. It all clicked into place.
’This is probably an effect of the Butterfly Effect, too.’
’In the original timeline, I wrote a script for Xu Yan, solving her biggest problem. That’s why she was out and about on March 26th, which led to her jumping into the river to save a drowning child.’
’But in this timeline, no one wrote a script for her. She’s been so worried, working tirelessly every day, that she wouldn’t have been in any mood to go out.’
And so, by a twist of fate, she had unwittingly dodged death.
"Thanks. I’ll go find her on the field."
Jiang Ran thanked the student and headed straight for the field.
Sure enough.
From a distance, he could see Xu Yan slumped over a piece of workout equipment, looking completely listless.
"Hey,"
Jiang Ran called out.
Xu Yan turned her head.
As if she’d seen a ghost, she suddenly jumped off the equipment and stood up straight.
"Jiang Ran!"
She shouted, her expression one of utter surprise.
This caught Jiang Ran off guard, and his hand, which had been raised in a wave, froze in mid-air.
"Haha, sorry."
Xu Yan gave a slightly awkward laugh.
"I just didn’t expect you to come looking for me here at school... You’ve been avoiding me for the past two years, and I didn’t want to bother you."
’Huh?’
Jiang Ran tilted his head.
’What’s this new plot twist?’
But he immediately guessed it had to be about Cheng Mengxue’s death.
Wang Hao had told him that Cheng Mengxue’s accidental death had hit him hard, leaving him lethargic and half-dead.
’Could it be...’
’...that because of what happened, I grew distant from Xu Yan, and we haven’t had any contact for the past two years?’
’It’s very likely.’
At least, judging from Xu Yan’s reaction just now, the two of them weren’t as close as he’d thought.
"I hope I’m not bothering you," Jiang Ran replied.
"No, no, of course not."
Xu Yan quickly waved her hands, looking at Jiang Ran.
"You, on the other hand, seem to be doing well. I’m happy for you."
"Anyway, just like we always told you, ’Xiaoxue’s death wasn’t your fault. You don’t have to blame yourself so much. No one ever blamed you.’"
"Ah, let’s not talk about that. You came all the way to East Sea University to find me. Is something wrong?"
Jiang Ran handed her the "Club Dissolution Notice" and explained his purpose.
As a student from a different vocational college, he couldn’t think of any good reason to explain why he wanted to save the East Sea University Film Club.
The two things were completely unrelated.
He made up a friend, starting with the classic "I have a friend who..." and concocted a story about loving film cameras, hoping Xu Yan would help them save the Film Club.
Honestly, even Jiang Ran himself thought the excuse was lame.
He had considered that the Xu Yan of this timeline might refuse him, which would have been perfectly reasonable.
But as he spoke, he realized...
...the fabricated story didn’t really matter.
From the way Xu Yan had looked at him from the very beginning, it was clear she would have agreed to any request he made.
The feeling was strange, yet obvious.
It even seemed like Xu Yan wasn’t listening closely to his made-up story, just humming in agreement and nodding along, waiting for him to finish.
"No problem."
Sure enough, the moment Jiang Ran finished speaking, Xu Yan immediately agreed.
"Just leave it to me. I’ll take care of it for you."
This...
Jiang Ran scratched his head.
Xu Yan’s ready agreement actually made him feel a little embarrassed.
For some reason, he felt that Xu Yan was being very gentle, careful, and considerate toward him.
Just as his initial intuition had told him, she would have agreed to anything he asked for today.
’Why, though?’
Seeing Jiang Ran’s hesitation, Xu Yan smiled brightly, her demeanor open and cheerful.
"You don’t have to look like that. It’s okay. This is a simple matter, not a big deal."
"Hehe, do you know who my boyfriend is?"
This...
The question stumped Jiang Ran.
’Is Xu Yan’s boyfriend in this timeline the same one from the last timeline?’
’Just who is this mystery man?’
However, it didn’t matter who her boyfriend was.
Any boyfriend who could get things done was a good boyfriend.
"Come find me at the Movie Club tomorrow."
Xu Yan waved the "Club Dissolution Notice," then turned and waved goodbye, as cool and composed as ever.
"See you tomorrow."
...
「The next day.」
Jiang Ran made the long trip and arrived at the East Sea University Movie Club as promised.
"Here."
Inside the screening room, Xu Yan handed a Petition Letter to Jiang Ran.
Without even looking, Jiang Ran knew what was on it.
Because this was the second time he had received this piece of paper.
The feeling was surreal.
The Petition Letter from the original timeline had found its way back into his hands, following a completely new historical path.
He flipped the Petition Letter over.
It was densely packed with the signatures of the presidents of all the major clubs, along with the signatures of five faculty advisors.
"Thank you,"
Jiang Ran said solemnly.
His thanks were from the heart.
He knew just how ridiculous and absurd his fabricated excuse from yesterday was.
But Xu Yan didn’t ask a single question.
Even if she knew his reasons were fabricated and false... she hadn’t said a word, unconditionally agreeing to help and support him.
It was hard not to be moved by that kind of trust.
Although Xu Yan was only a year older than him and Cheng Mengxue, in every respect, she was truly a reliable older sister figure.
"We’ve been friends for so many years, don’t be so formal."
Xu Yan gave Jiang Ran a friendly punch on the shoulder.
"It’s good to see you pulling yourself together. You’re still just as handsome when you’ve got your spirits up. Keep it up!"
The unexpected encouragement filled Jiang Ran with a sense of warmth.
He looked at Xu Yan, wanting to repay her somehow.
"I heard you’ve been having a headache with a script lately?"
At the mention of that topic, Xu Yan instantly sighed, put a hand to her forehead, and shook her head.
"Ugh, you have no idea. This year is my last chance to participate in the Student Film Festival, but I still can’t even grind out a script I’m happy with."
"Sometimes I think, if it really comes down to it, I’ll just shoot any old short film and be done with it. But I’m still not ready to give up."
Jiang Ran smiled slightly.
"Do you guys have a laptop here?"
Xu Yan looked up, confused.
"We do, yeah. You need to use it?"
"Yeah."
Jiang Ran nodded.
"I have a ready-made script here that I think is pretty good."
"If you don’t mind... I’d like to write it out for you to take a look."
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