Genius Club

Thump, thump, thump…

Lin Xian’s heart pounded, each beat louder than the knocks on the door.

“This is bad,” he thought, anxiety creeping up his spine.

It was 2 AM. He was alone in his room with a girl, both in their pajamas. This situation was far from ideal.

Chu An Qing’s eyes widened in shock as she quickly covered her mouth, her cheeks flushing a deep red. She couldn’t understand her own reaction.

Why do I feel so guilty? She wondered, realizing there was no need for guilt if she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Lin Xian, observing Chu An Qing’s panicked behavior, was at a loss for words.

Oh An Qing ah An Qing, if you acted normally, nothing would seem suspicious. But now, you’re making it look suspicious!

“I’m fine,” Lin Xian replied, glancing at Chu An Qing, who was growing increasingly anxious. “There’s no way I can open this door now,” he thought to himself. “I just got up to use the bathroom,” he called out.

“I thought I heard you talking about me,” Yellow Finch remarked suddenly.

“No, I was just chatting with Liu Feng about you on WeChat,” Lin Xian quickly improvised, trying to sound casual. “You know how secretive you can be; it’s only natural we’d talk about it.”

“All right then,” Yellow Finch replied, her tone less concerned now. “Get some rest.”

After Yellow Finch’s footsteps faded, Chu An Qing let out a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry, Lin Xian,” she apologized, still embarrassed. “It’s all my fault. I panicked.”

“It’s okay, really,” Lin Xian reassured her, realizing his own overreaction had compounded the problem. There were many better ways to handle the situation, but he had chosen the worst.

Feeling the awkwardness of the situation, Chu An Qing got to her feet. “It’s late, Lin Xian. I should head back. You need your rest too.”

“Yeah, you’re right. We have training tomorrow,” Lin Xian agreed, standing to see her to the door.

“Goodnight, Lin Xian.”

“Goodnight.” Chu An Qing waved, then opened the door.

“Ah!!!” Her scream sliced through the silence, startling Lin Xian. He turned to see Yellow Finch casually leaning against the wall, arms crossed, observing them with an amused expression.

“Impressive,” Yellow Finch commented dryly. “Didn’t know you had guests at this hour.”

Frustrated, Lin Xian flung the door wide open, facing Yellow Finch calmly. “We were just talking. Weren’t you and An Qing discussing time-space particles in the training room just earlier?”

“Yes, that’s right!” Chu An Qing chimed in quickly, her embarrassment still evident but her eyes sincere.

Lin Xian took a deep breath. “She really needs to improve her acting,” he mused to himself. “Maybe she should take lessons from VV.”

Yellow Finch straightened up, walked over, and gently patted Chu An Qing on the head, smoothing her hair. “Time to sleep.”

“Okay!” Chu An Qing hurried to her dorm room, pressed her fingerprint to unlock the door, and vanished inside, slamming it shut.

Shaking his head, Lin Xian turned to Yellow Finch. “Why are you still up?”

Yellow Finch smiled faintly, glancing down the empty corridor. “The day after tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow’s the last training day before you guys get a break, as promised.”

“We don’t need a break; there’s so much work to do,” Lin Xian insisted.

“Take An Qing out,” Yellow Finch suggested. “Hit the mall or a park.”

“There’s no need,” Lin Xian dismissed the idea.

“Goodnight,” Yellow Finch said, leaving without another word.

Lin Xian sighed and headed back inside.

“What a mess,” VV, his electronic alarm clock, remarked.

“It’s all your fault,” Lin Xian shot back at the clock. “I thought bringing you from 600 years in the future would help, but you’ve caused more trouble than anything else. Did I mess up those 130,000 lines of code somewhere?”

“Impossible,” VV asserted confidently. “I’m only looking out for you.”

“That’s the most suffocating thing a parent can say,” Lin Xian muttered, yawning as he climbed into bed. “We have training tomorrow. Goodnight.”

The next day at the training base, Lin Xian met with Liu Feng. “The time-space particle capture device is complete, but the simple detector isn’t ready yet,” Liu Feng reported.

“I still can’t confirm if the time-space particles are visible. If they are, it would make things easier. But if they’re not, I’ll need to use the simple detector and sit next to the pilot to guide him,” Liu Feng explained further.

“I have a question,” Lin Xian interjected. “Why can we now locate the time-space particles with a simple detector when it took the Guizhou telescope to find them before?”

“It’s like tracking a fish once you know its features,” Liu Feng explained. “We’ve already identified the time-space particle, so tracking it is simpler now. However, the simple detector has limited range; it needs the particle to be within 2,000 kilometers. Considering the Earth-moon distance is 380,000 kilometers, that’s still quite close.”

“Of course, the closer, the better. I believe Yellow Finch’s plan is theoretically sound. Our only challenge is the unpredictable nature of the particle’s movements, which requires a bit of luck to capture.”

“With good luck, the particle might end up in the capture device on its own. If not, we might just miss it by a hair each time.”

“I still can’t be sure what the particle’s goal is, or if it will disappear or leave Earth. Everything is unknown. I need to observe and analyze more. Currently, the particle is passing through the asteroid belt, which might reveal more about its properties.”

“Alright, take care. You need to stay in shape too, so you can handle the gravity overload training,” Lin Xian advised.

“Don’t worry, see you later!” Liu Feng replied, bumping fists with Lin Xian before leaving.

Back in the training room, Lin Xian found Gao Yang arguing with Coach Wei Cheng. “Wei, the spacesuits were white yesterday! They looked so high-tech and cool. Now they’re orange and look cheap!”

Gao Yang pointed at the new orange suits and the white ones being taken away.

“Our target altitude has changed,” Wei Cheng explained patiently. “Liu Feng mentioned that our target will be between 10 and 100 kilometers, which is relatively low. We don’t need those heavy white suits.”

“These white suits are for spacewalks and other outer space tasks, with advanced materials to block radiation and dust. They’re too bulky for lower altitudes.”

“The orange suits are for suborbital missions, focusing on flexibility and safety. They have life support, parachutes, and emergency gear like radios and medicine.”

“For our low-altitude task, these are more than enough. At 100 kilometers, we haven’t even left the atmosphere yet. Only the space shuttle can operate at this height.”

“I don’t care!” Gao Yang protested. “The orange ones are ugly. I want the white suit!”

Wei Cheng looked at Gao Yang in disbelief. “Do you even listen? The orange suits are better for our mission.”

“No way! The white ones are cuter!” Gao Yang insisted, trying to lift one of the heavy white suits.

With a grunt and a loud fart, Gao Yang exclaimed, “Wow, it’s heavy!”

Even the patient Wei Cheng was at his limit, veins bulging on his forehead as he glared at Lin Xian. “Is this your friend?”

“Sort of,” Lin Xian replied, covering his face in embarrassment.

“What is he doing here? His attitude is a disgrace to the other astronauts!” Wei Cheng fumed.

Lin Xian patted Wei Cheng’s shoulder. “Relax, he’ll show his worth soon.”

Sighing, Lin Xian thought, “VV’s assistance better come through in the end.”

That day’s training ended with praise for Chu An Qing, Lin Xian’s diligence, and Gao Yang’s scolding.

“Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, so you all have a day off,” Yellow Finch announced in the dining hall, lounging at an empty table while the others ate. “Enjoy yourselves, but be safe. After this break, we’ll be on high alert until the mission.”

“Lin Xian, where should we go?” Gao Yang asked. “How about hotpot? The food here is too bland.”

Chu An Qing chimed in. “Lin Xian, let’s go to Xidan! It’ll be lively for the New Year!”

Gao Yang, seeing the opportunity, grabbed his tray and left. “Fine, I’m leaving.”

“Join us,” Lin Xian called out.

“No thanks,” Gao Yang waved him off. “You’re so oblivious.”

The next morning in Beijing’s Xidan shopping district, it was packed with people. Lin Xian felt like there were a billion people there.

“Lin Xian, over here!” Chu An Qing called out, waving from across the street, standing on tiptoes.

Lin Xian exhaled, creating a puff of white vapor in the cold winter air. He remembered the first time he saw Chu An Qing; she wore a similar white down jacket, a red scarf, and a cute bear-ear headband.

This was how he first saw her, though they hadn’t formally met then. He had come to Donghai University to deliver some research to Professor Xu Yun and saw Chu Shan He drop off his daughter.

Although he didn’t see Chu An Qing’s face clearly that day, her outfit left an impression.

As they met more often, he learned more about her and grew fond of her. Initially, he thought Chu An Qing and CC had some special connection. But now, aside from their striking resemblance, he couldn’t find any link.

Considering CC’s unique life and memories, and the fact that Chu An Qing had a vaccine scar on her arm while CC didn’t, he ruled out the possibility of them being the same person.

Sighing, Lin Xian thought about CC. He hadn’t seen her in his third dream, and he didn’t know if she still existed in the future.

“She couldn’t have just disappeared, could she?” Lin Xian wondered. “She seemed like a significant character, not someone who would just vanish.”

He felt CC’s disappearance was linked to Time Bank. Maybe when the bank reappeared in his dreams or the future, he would see her again.

“When will I see the Time Bank’s 600th-anniversary blimp in my fourth dream?” Lin Xian pondered. “And when can I finally explore the dream freely without those soldiers or the mysterious old man?”

“It’s a long road ahead,” Lin Xian sighed, exhaling another puff of white vapor. He liked the sensation of breathing out fog in the cold, something he couldn’t experience in the milder climate of Donghai.

Walking over to the bundled-up Chu An Qing, Lin Xian smiled. “You’re dressed just like the first time I saw you.”

Chu An Qing tilted her head. “The first time we met was at the MX company’s celebration, wasn’t it?”

“It was before that,” Lin Xian recounted, explaining their earlier encounters.

“Wow,” Chu An Qing marveled. “We’ve met so many times! Life is full of surprises!”

“There’s even earlier,” Lin Xian continued, sharing another story.

“Wow!” Chu An Qing’s eyes widened with surprise. “I had no idea! This is amazing! Is there any earlier?”

“Is there any earlier time we’ve met, Lin Xian?” she asked, eyes twinkling with curiosity.

“Qian Qian!!!” Suddenly, a white-haired grandmother collapsed in front of Chu An Qing, hugging her tightly, tears streaming down her face. “Qian Qian, my Qian Qian! Mom knew you weren’t dead! I’ve been looking for you!”

“Wait, wait!” Chu An Qing tried to pull away, panic-stricken.

But the old woman clung to her like a vise. “Qian Qian! Mom found you! Don’t leave me again!”

“Let go! Let go!” Lin Xian thought this had to be a mistake and rushed to separate them.

“Lin Xian!” Chu An Qing, terrified, jumped into Lin Xian’s arms once he freed her.

A crowd gathered, watching the commotion. Lin Xian shielded Chu An Qing, keeping her close.

“Qian Qian! My Qian Qian!” The old woman cried, crawling towards them, her frail hands reaching out.

Lin Xian’s heart softened. The old woman didn’t seem harmful, just confused. Before he could decide what to do, a middle-aged man with glasses rushed over, apologizing profusely.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, helping the old woman up. “She has some mental issues.”

Lin Xian relaxed, realizing it was a misunderstanding. Chu An Qing calmed down, stepping away from him.

Looking at the man and the old woman, Lin Xian thought the man looked around 60, but the old woman seemed much older, perhaps due to mental strain.

“What’s going on?” Lin Xian asked.

The man hesitated before explaining, “We had a daughter who died in a car accident over twenty years ago. My wife never recovered and has been mentally unstable. Your friend looks exactly like our daughter, which confused her. I’m very sorry for the trouble.”

Lin Xian and Chu An Qing exchanged glances, feeling a mix of sympathy and confusion.

“Qian Qian…” the old woman sobbed, reaching for Chu An Qing’s shoes. “My Qian Qian…”

The man sighed. “I’m sorry. She just misses our daughter so much.”

Lin Xian, curious, asked, “How similar do they look?”

The man looked closely at Chu An Qing, tears welling up. “Exactly the same. Even the mole by her left eye…”

Lin Xian felt a chill. Could there be a third person, identical to Chu An Qing and CC? Or was Qian Qian somehow connected to CC?

“Wait, sir,” Lin Xian said, stopping the man. “You said your daughter looks just like her? Look again.”

He stepped aside, letting the man take a good look at Chu An Qing.

The man’s face contorted with emotion. “Yes… exactly the same…”