Genius Club

Lin Xian muttered curses under his breath, directing them at VV thirty-seven times before leaping out of bed.

“What about the Three Laws of Robotics?” he grumbled to himself. “Isn’t this against the first one? You’re not supposed to harm your master.”

Luckily, he had the habit of sleeping in his pajamas.

The door to his dormitory creaked open slowly, admitting a sliver of light from the hallway. As it widened, the silhouette of a girl in a nightgown appeared, framed by the light.

“Uh…”

Chu An Qing stood frozen, one hand clutching her nightgown’s neckline, her eyes blinking rapidly in surprise.

She had simply meant to say hello to Senior Lin Xian…

But now, here she was, being invited into his room for a chat.

This was definitely not how she had expected things to go.

“The moonlight looks pretty nice tonight,” Lin Xian ventured, hoping to diffuse the awkwardness. He suggested they go for a walk outside, considering it wasn’t appropriate for them to be alone in his room so late at night at the astronaut training base.

He gestured toward the outside, searching for the moon, but his view was blocked by a thick blanket of clouds.

“I mean, the moonlight was nice earlier, but it seems to be hidden now. Did you see it earlier?”

Of course, even the moon was not on his side tonight.

“No, I didn’t…” Chu An Qing replied, scratching her head and giving a nervous laugh. “I was in the simulator room studying for a bit. Then, on my way back, I heard you on the phone and thought I’d drop by to say hi…”

The awkwardness in the air thickened palpably.

As she stood in the doorway, Chu An Qing loosened her grip on her nightgown and hesitantly pointed toward the coffee table inside the room.

“Um… Can I come in?”

Lin Xian sighed and nodded. “…Sure.”

He fully opened the door, switched on the lights, and gestured her inside.

“Thank you!” Chu An Qing said, her steps tentative as she moved to sit at the coffee table, her posture stiff and formal.

Lin Xian shut the door with a thud and turned to face her.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Water! Water is fine!” Chu An Qing’s voice pitched up in her nervousness, and she laughed awkwardly. “I got a bit thirsty back in the training room.”

Lin Xian fetched two glasses of cool water and set them on the coffee table, then sat down opposite her.

Silence settled heavily between them.

This was unfamiliar territory for Lin Xian. Even in his wildest dreams, facing myriad challenges, or in real life, dodging assassins, he had never felt this level of discomfort. Unsure of what to say or do, he felt like ants were crawling all over his skin.

He could already imagine discussing this later with Liu Feng, who would likely smirk and raise an eyebrow in mock disbelief.

Breaking the silence, Chu An Qing took a cautious sip of water before looking up at Lin Xian with a serious expression.

“Senior Lin Xian, is the ‘space-time particle’ really that important to you?”

Lin Xian nodded solemnly.

“Did you know that the Alpha substance is actually a space-time particle?”

Chu An Qing nodded.

“I ran into Yellow Finch in the training room. She spent some time explaining the real plans and details to me. Whether it’s called the Alpha substance or space-time particle, I don’t really understand either. They seem the same to me.”

“Yellow Finch?”

Lin Xian glanced at the electronic clock, which displayed VV’s surprised expression: 0_0. He checked the time, and the digits switched to 01:22.

“At this hour, Yellow Finch isn’t asleep?”

“She probably isn’t and doesn’t plan to,” Chu An Qing responded. “She was fully dressed, heels and trench coat, makeup and hair done perfectly… It’s clear she had no intention of sleeping.”

“She came from the upper floors. I’m not sure what she was doing there. She just saw the light in the training room and decided to come talk to me, correcting a few terms.”

Lin Xian understood. Yellow Finch always had an air of mystery about her. Her behavior was always unusual, and he had become accustomed to it. If anyone had told him Yellow Finch was an immortal witch who didn’t need sleep, he would have just nodded and accepted it as normal.

In fact, Lin Xian would be more surprised if she started acting like a typical person.

“It’s inevitable,” Lin Xian thought aloud, “that you would learn about the space-time particles. Yellow Finch instructed me not to mention it to the pilot, Wei Cheng. Although Wei Cheng is trustworthy and won’t spread the word, and despite having the backing of the state as an official astronaut, the fewer people know about this, the better. You and Gao Yang were bound to find out eventually.”

“I remember hearing you and Mr. Liu Feng discuss it in the lab at Donghai University,” Chu An Qing added, blinking as she asked again, “Is it really that important to you?”

Lin Xian rotated his glass of water twice, then nodded.

“Very important,” he affirmed with a smile. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be venturing into space to find it. Although Liu Feng has narrowed down the altitude range for the space-time particles to between 10 kilometers and 100 kilometers—which technically isn’t considered space—it’s still a dangerous undertaking.”

The sense of danger was tangible from multiple perspectives.

The whisper of Kevin Walker in his ear…

Elon Musk’s cryptic note: “See you in space”…

And the unusual calm of recent days…

Everything compounded Lin Xian’s unease. He preferred overt challenges to the nebulous, unpredictable threats lurking in the shadows.

For the past ten days, VV had been monitoring Elon Musk. According to VV, Elon Musk appeared carefree, living a playboy lifestyle while also being a workaholic, sometimes staying up all night in his office or visiting labs to deepen his expertise.

“No flaws,” VV had concluded about Elon Musk.

Indeed, no flaws were apparent.

If it hadn’t been for the wax seal Elon Musk had given Lin Xian, bearing the emblem of the Genius Club, neither Lin Xian nor VV would have suspected him of involvement.

“Lin Xian, the more he behaves this way, the more I suspect him,” VV had analyzed. “You might not notice it, but I do. Elon Musk is deliberately crafting this image. Maybe not just for us, but as the world’s richest man, he maintains a very high profile, almost as if he’s afraid people won’t notice his every move.”

“Even his surveillance is unencrypted and open. I believe any hacker with bad intentions could easily watch him around the clock.”

Lin Xian had chuckled at that. “No need for hackers. Just follow his Twitter. He posts private cosplay photos with his celebrity girlfriends and interacts with fans. You can almost track his daily routine just by following his account. He’s quite the character.”

“But there are places we can’t monitor,” VV cautioned. “Aside from private areas like bathrooms… Elon Musk’s favorite spot is the ‘Observation Tower’ at the rocket launch center.”

“The tower itself isn’t special. It’s just a VIP viewing area he had constructed for watching rocket launches. It’s a simple steel structure with an observation room at the top.”

“When Elon Musk visits this tower, I lose all visibility. The tower has no wiring or electronic devices, and Elon Musk often leaves his phone behind… which is frustrating for me.”

No doubt about it.

Elon Musk was suspicious.

Lin Xian was certain of it. While Musk seemed transparent in some ways, he also had a secretive side, especially with his frequent visits to an unmonitored observation tower. This was undoubtedly suspicious.

“Keep monitoring him,” Lin Xian instructed VV. “Let’s hope he doesn’t interfere when we capture the space-time particles.”

This was the unknown danger Lin Xian had always feared, a major concern for this mission. It was also why he didn’t want Chu An Qing involved.

Coming back to reality, he took a sip of water and looked at her.

“So, An Qing… I suggest you return to Donghai. New Year’s Eve is the day after tomorrow. Go home and spend it with your family. We can handle things here. Don’t underestimate Gao Yang; he may seem unreliable now, but he hasn’t had the chance to show his skills yet. He’s a gaming prodigy and can operate the robotic arm to catch the space-time particles.”

“Leave it to us. At nineteen, you shouldn’t be involved in such dangerous tasks. I’m sure your father will be pleased if you go back.”

However, Chu An Qing shook her head firmly.

“Senior Lin Xian, do you remember what Professor Liu Feng told me when I first came to your lab at Donghai University?”

“Professor Liu said that people shouldn’t easily deny their own value. There’s always a moment when you realize what you were meant to do.”

“There must be something out there that is made for you, something only you can accomplish.”

“Besides you… no one else.”

She blinked, her eyes clear and bright.

“I believe that capturing the space-time particles is the most important thing in my life, something I must do, something I was born for.”

“Coach Wei Cheng also said I’m a natural astronaut. Hearing such praise makes me really happy! To be honest, I grew up being praised for everything I did. Everyone, including my father, always complimented me.”

“Remember our first meeting at MX’s celebration? My father was bragging about me, how I gave a speech as the new student representative at the military training opening ceremony and performed at the welcome party… He boasted to everyone about my small achievements. I knew these things weren’t remarkable. People praised and liked me because—”

Chu An Qing looked up at Lin Xian.

“Because Chu Shan He is my father, and I’m Chu Shan He’s daughter.”

“That’s it… In everyone’s eyes, I’m just Chu Shan He’s daughter.”

She rubbed the glass in her hands, then smiled again.

“But this astronaut training is different!”

Chu An Qing’s smile was radiant, her crescent eyes outshining any moonlight Lin Xian had ever praised. The dimples on her cheeks appeared like stars twinkling on a clear night.

“This astronaut training makes me truly happy! Yellow Finch didn’t choose me because I’m Chu Shan He’s daughter; Coach Wei Cheng didn’t praise me because of my father; and those centrifuges, rotating chairs, buoyancy tanks… they didn’t give me high scores because of my father!”

“You know, Senior Lin Xian, I’m genuinely happy here. For the first time, I feel my own value, that people praise me not because of my father, but because of my own abilities. I feel—”

She smiled, confident and proud.

“I have my own name! I am Chu An Qing!”

…

Lin Xian looked at the little princess, feeling like she was glowing under the bright lights.

“Well… that’s true.”

The aura around Chu An Qing vanished as she scratched her head and said shyly.

“I don’t know how I can help in capturing the space-time particles. So far, Professor Liu and Coach Wei are piloting the spacecraft; Senior Gao Yang is operating the robotic arm; you’re handling the passenger and equipment compartments; Yellow Finch is the mission commander; and me… Despite all my training, I don’t know what I can do. Yellow Finch just said I should handle logistics, which feels like an unnecessary addition.”

“So… don’t take what I said earlier to heart, Senior Lin Xian. I was just trying to sound impressive. You and the others will be the ones to capture the space-time particles. I’m just the helper. Honestly, I don’t understand why Yellow Finch brought me here.”

“She, well, she’s a mystery,” Lin Xian said, frustrated. “No one can understand her. She gave me a riddle last year that I still haven’t figured out. So you don’t need to take her words seriously. Just let them go in one ear and out the other.”

Knock, knock.

Suddenly!

A sharp knock on the dormitory door startled them.

The digits on the electronic clock changed to ToT, then disappeared, returning to the normal time display.

Lin Xian and Chu An Qing exchanged puzzled looks.

Who could be visiting so late?

“Who is it?” Lin Xian called out.

“Why are the lights still on this late?” came a voice from outside.

It was Yellow Finch’s voice!

Lin Xian and Chu An Qing’s hearts raced.

“Lin Xian…” Yellow Finch’s voice pierced through the door, sharp and clear. “Aren’t you asleep yet?”