Genius Club

“This is Chu Shan He’s daughter?” Lin Xian asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

Zhao Ying Jun glanced at him as if he had said something incredibly stupid. “Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you sketch this yourself?”

“No, no… I didn’t sketch her!” Lin Xian quickly clarified, waving his hands to emphasize his point. “I don’t even know Chu Shan He’s daughter. I’ve never met her, so how could I possibly know what she looks like? Why would I draw her?”

To clear up any confusion, Lin Xian rotated the drawing ninety degrees so Zhao Ying Jun could see it properly. Pointing to a tiny detail in the sketch, he said, “See? There’s a teardrop mole right here by her eye.”

Zhao Ying Jun nodded, still looking puzzled. “Chu An Qing does have a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye. What are you trying to say?”

Frustrated by the misunderstanding, Lin Xian explained, “President Zhao, I honestly don’t know Chu Shan He’s daughter. This is actually the first time I’m hearing her name from you. You mentioned her once at the science fundraiser, but she wasn’t there that evening. I’ve never seen her and have no idea what she looks like.”

Zhao Ying Jun chuckled softly, realizing her mistake. “Alright, I misunderstood.”

She then pointed at the invitation in Lin Xian’s hand, changing the topic. “This is the invitation to Saturday evening’s celebration banquet. You should give it to Professor Xu Yun immediately. If he’s attending, we’ll need to arrange his transportation.”

Lin Xian nodded, examining the high-quality invitation with the MX company logo printed on the back. “I’ll deliver it to him right away.”

As Zhao Ying Jun turned to leave, she paused and looked back at Lin Xian. “By the way, although I’m not a fan of office romances, we do have some nice girls at our company. If you’re considering dating, maybe think about someone more achievable.”

Lin Xian was taken aback, realizing Zhao Ying Jun assumed he had a romantic interest in Chu Shan He’s daughter.

He quickly tucked the drawing into his black notebook. “I really have no intentions like that, President Zhao. I just felt like sketching because I hadn’t done so in a while. If they look similar, it’s just a coincidence.”

Zhao Ying Jun didn’t respond, merely nodding and saying, “Alright, get back to work, Lin Xian.”

She offered him one last look before exiting the office and closing the door behind her.

Lin Xian sat down heavily on the sofa, pressing his forehead in his hands. Despite Zhao Ying Jun’s instruction to get back to work, her eyes seemed to say, “Stop chasing fantasies.”

“Do they really look that alike?” he wondered aloud. He was certain he had never met Chu Shan He’s daughter, aside from possibly seeing a girl with a high, bouncy ponytail near the school gate once.

“They can’t be identical twins. How could they look exactly alike? CC and Chu An Qing are separated by 600 years and countless generations,” Lin Xian mused.

He considered the mysterious [Hibernation Chamber]…

“But in CC’s future, hibernation chambers don’t exist. It’s impossible for Chu Shan He’s daughter to use one to survive until 600 years later.”

Before changing Coco Cat to Rhine Cat, the dream had always featured only Coco Cat, not Rhine Cat. Even if Professor Xu Yun invented the hibernation chamber tomorrow, it wouldn’t explain CC appearing in yesterday’s dream.

[The butterfly effect from a time-space shift cannot occur in the future before the shift.]

Yet, nothing was certain. “I need to verify this before drawing any conclusions.”

Whether it was confirming with CC or Chu Shan He’s daughter, Lin Xian felt there was more to uncover. The fragmented and “unbelonging” memories CC had mentioned could hold the key.

Standing up, he picked up Professor Xu Yun’s invitation and inspected it. The unsealed invitation revealed Professor Xu Yun’s name prominently at the top, with the details of the banquet boldly emphasized.

The event was set for 8:30 PM the day after tomorrow at Victoria Hall in Donghai City.

“I should deliver this to Professor Xu Yun and confirm his attendance.”

…

Lin Xian took a taxi to Donghai University. With Xu Yun’s rising fame, security at the gate had tightened, barring media and journalists to prevent disturbances.

Thanks to his youthful appearance, Lin Xian managed to slip through security. Upon reaching Professor Xu Yun’s lab, he found it deserted. A phone call revealed that Xu Yun was at the hospital with his daughter.

Holding the invitation, Lin Xian decided it was best to deliver it personally rather than by phone, out of respect for Xu Yun’s recent achievements and his more available time with his daughter, thanks to the completion of the hibernation chamber’s fluid.

He took another cab to the affiliated hospital and found Xu Yun in his daughter’s immaculate room, performing stretches on her limbs, all the while smiling and discussing his research with her. He shared that the first simple hibernation chambers would soon be ready, potentially allowing her to wake in a future where she could be healed and live a full life.

Upon Lin Xian’s entry, Xu Yun greeted him warmly and introduced him to his daughter, “Yi Yi, this is Lin Xian, to whom we owe much. He’s been crucial in both my research and your future chances of waking up.”

“Yi Yi, when you wake and start anew, I might not be here. Make sure to visit Lin Xian often. Or, if you wake after a long hibernation… you might have to call him Uncle Lin Xian.”

Both men chuckled at the thought, pondering how long Yi Yi might sleep—she could even end up calling Lin Xian ‘Grandpa’ if decades pass.

“Professor Xu, why not consider hibernating alongside Yi Yi? Then, you could both enjoy the future together.”

Xu Yun’s response was gentle but tinged with sadness. “There’s something I haven’t told anyone yet. It will be public once my research is published and peer-reviewed…”

He looked solemnly at Lin Xian. “Do you know… what the biggest side effect of hibernation is?”