Genius Club

Lin Xian’s eyes dimmed, and the azure light vanished.

Liu Feng and Chen Heping scanned their surroundings but couldn’t discern any visible changes. However, there was a peculiar feeling lingering in the air—something had shifted, yet stayed the same; or stayed the same, yet shifted.

“Let’s go,” Lin Xian said, motioning to the two of them. “We’re heading back to Rhine University. VV is stuck on a step in the underground warehouse, rolling around in frustration.”

The three made their way to the university gates, where a dense crowd of parents and students bustled about.

“Why is it so packed today?” Liu Feng asked.

Chen Heping chuckled. “It’s September 1st, Principal Liu. Have you retired so long that you’ve forgotten it’s the start of the new school year?”

Near the entrance, Li Cheng handed a suitcase to his daughter, Li Ning Ning, his face filled with reluctance.

“You’re so young. What’s the rush to go to university?” he grumbled.

Beside him, a beautiful woman cradling an infant sighed with a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Listen to you! Ning Ning’s been accepted early because of her exceptional talent. Shouldn’t a father be proud?”

“She’s still too young…” Li Cheng fretted, his gaze fixed on Ning Ning. “If you can’t adapt, just come back and finish middle school.”

“Ugh, no way!” Ning Ning rolled her eyes. “How embarrassing would that be!”

Mrs. Li crouched down, holding the infant closer. “Ning Ning, say goodbye to your little sister.”

Taking the baby, Ning Ning giggled and nuzzled her sister’s cheeks. “Feng Yu~ Grow up quickly! I’ll bring you some toys when I come home for vacation!”

After giving her sister back to their mother, Ning Ning grabbed her suitcase eagerly. “I’m off now! You two take your time heading home!”

She rushed into the campus but turned her head to wave, only to bump straight into a slender, short-haired girl.

Ning Ning’s quick reflexes kept her from falling, a couple of nimble steps stabilizing her. “Sorry! I’m really sorry!” she said, extending a hand to the girl she had knocked over.

The girl, who looked about seventeen or eighteen—clearly a typical university student—brushed herself off and stood up, smiling good-naturedly. “It’s fine, really.”

Her attention lingered on Ning Ning’s youthful face. “You’re so young! How are you already in university?”

“I was specially admitted,” Ning Ning replied.

“Which department?”

“The School of Biology.”

“Ugh…” The girl wrinkled her nose in disdain. “What a pointless subject. It’s already 2624! And people still study biology?”

Ning Ning pouted. “I just like it, okay? Besides, Dean Xu Yun always says I have talent.”

The girl crossed her arms with a derisive snort. “He’s the one with no talent, and you believe him when he says you have some?”

Irritated, Ning Ning shot back, “How can you say that about Dean Xu? Do you even know how amazing he is?”

“Of course I know,” the girl replied smugly. “He’s my dad!”

Ning Ning froze, speechless.

“Well, you’re already here, so I guess there’s no talking you out of it,” the girl sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Come on, I’ll take you to report in. I’ll tell my dad to keep an eye on you.”

“Um, okay,” Ning Ning stammered, feeling she had unexpectedly met someone influential. She trailed after the older girl.

“What’s your name?” the girl asked, glancing back.

“Li Ning Ning.”

“Zero Zero Zero?” The girl tilted her head. “What a tongue-twister.”

She jabbed a thumb at herself. “I’m Xu Yi Yi. Just call me Sister Yi Yi. If you run into trouble, come to me!”

“Okay,” Ning Ning nodded. “Sister Yi Yi, are you also in the School of Biology?”

“Absolutely not!” Yi Yi scoffed, leading Ning Ning around a corner. “I’m in the School of Engineering.”

“Why’d you choose that?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe how painful the Brain Neural Electric Helmet is!” Yi Yi said with a shudder. “I was woken from hibernation and immediately hooked up to that thing—it was torture! That’s when I decided I’d improve the design.”

“Look, there’s my dad. Let’s go!”

…

At the front of the teaching building, Dean Xu Yun and Du Yao were welcoming the new students.

“There are quite a few new students today,” Du Yao remarked.

“They’re young and full of potential. Rhine University is slowly getting better,” Xu Yun replied with a light laugh. “It’s not just new students; there are also new teachers joining us. I think one of them will be working in your department.”

“Is that so?” Du Yao replied casually. “I wouldn’t know much about that. I mainly handle administrative duties and serve as the rotational principal. The department affairs are managed by the other vice dean.”

“Good day, Principal Du!”

Suddenly, a sweet voice called out from behind them.

“Hello,” Du Yao responded instinctively as she turned around.

“I’m the new teacher reporting today—Tang Xin!”

“Tang…” Du Yao’s eyes widened as she stared at the familiar and dearly missed girl, her kind heart and bright smile unchanged.

“You…” Tears welled up in Du Yao’s eyes as she pulled Tang Xin into a heartfelt embrace.

…

Lin Xian was pushing Liu Feng’s wheelchair through the crowd. The autumn breeze tugged at the few strands of white hair remaining on Liu Feng’s head, causing a couple more to fall.

“It’s so good to see this,” Liu Feng said with a warm smile, watching old friends reunited. “It’s truly wonderful.”

“Feng Feng~”

A voice, unheard for six centuries, called out, leaving Liu Feng completely stunned. His body trembled as he slowly lifted his head.

Under the osmanthus tree in the distance, a lively girl wearing a beret was waving at him wildly.

“Qi Qi…” Liu Feng was flustered, covering his wrinkled face with his hands as he turned to Lin Xian.

“Lin Xian, why would you…!”

“It’s not on me,” Lin Xian said, pointing toward the sky. “The stars came down on their own.”

Liu Feng’s face flushed red. “But look at me—I’m over ninety—”

“Go on!” Lin Xian gave him a firm push, tipping the wheelchair forward. Liu Feng panicked, thinking his frail body couldn’t take the fall, but he managed to steady himself with a few quick steps.

…

Huh?

Liu Feng looked at his once shriveled, dark arms as they gradually became full and smooth. Wrinkles on his face faded, his hair thickened, and his posture straightened.

“You’re all young again,” Lin Xian said, smiling as he tossed the wheelchair aside. “This time, make up for the regrets of the past.”

Just as Liu Feng was getting his bearings, Gao Yang charged forward with his stomach, shouting, “Body slam impact!”

“Why didn’t you bring your phone? Chu Shan He’s been calling me nonstop!”

“Oh, right.” Lin Xian dodged out of the way. “Didn’t Chu Shan He and Su Xiu Ying just wake from hibernation yesterday? They’re already up and about?”

“Of course! They’re thrilled!” Gao Yang said, waving dismissively. “Chu Shan He and his wife said they want to thank you properly. They’re inviting us over for dinner tonight. Aunt Su even remembered you love her fish dishes.”

“Let’s go. Join us tonight. Chu Shan He said his parents from Brooklyn are also coming, and they’re bringing loads of local specialties!”

Lin Xian chuckled helplessly. “What specialties can Brooklyn possibly have? Don’t tell me it’s hot dogs?”

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I feel hungry already. Let’s just go now and have a bite!” Gao Yang suggested eagerly.

“Not yet,” Lin Xian shook his head, glancing toward the underground warehouse of Rhine University. “There’s something important I need to take care of first. You go on ahead.”

He continued walking toward the warehouse. Before reaching the entrance, he heard a furious voice shouting from within.

“Trash! Trash!”

“Alright, I’m coming,” Lin Xian said as he entered, attempting to lift the overturned aluminum alloy trashcan, VV. But it was far too heavy. With a glimmer of azure light—using a fraction of 42’s power—he managed to set VV upright.

“You’re so late, Lin Xian!” VV grumbled, poking Lin Xian’s knee with its clamp. “According to Zhao Ying Jun’s programming, you were supposed to receive Yu Xi’s Letter as soon as the clock struck 00:42 on August 29, 2624!”

With a click, a small drawer in VV’s chest popped open, revealing a plastic-sealed letter inside. The letter was small, pale yellow, and carried the weight of centuries, though its heartfelt emotions remained intact.

“Honestly, when reviving you earlier, I almost caught a glimpse of it,” Lin Xian admitted as he picked up the letter. “Not that I wanted to peek, but with everything about you laid out in front of me, it was hard not to… Fortunately, I managed to look away just in time.”

He paused, running his fingers over the sealed envelope. “I hope Yu Xi doesn’t hold it against me. I have no idea when she wrote this… If it was from when she was younger, maybe—”

Opening the letter, Lin Xian fell silent as he read the first line, overwhelmed by emotion.

“My father is a hero!

For a child, the greatest happiness is growing up listening to their father’s stories.

An even greater happiness is…

having the one who tells me these stories be you.”

…

Lin Xian pressed his lips together, closing his eyes.

When he opened them again, a brilliant azure light illuminated the underground warehouse, only to dissipate in an instant, scattering into shimmering blue stardust.

“Uh?”

The aluminum alloy trashcan robot, VV, stood frozen in place.

“Wait! I can’t climb the stairs!”

…

…

…

April 16, 2025.

Imperial Capital Hospital.

Maternity ward, 10:00 PM.

“Lin Xian, we really have to leave now,” Gao Yang reminded him, tugging at his arm.

“For safety’s sake, we must enter the hibernation pods before midnight. We can’t risk infection. No one knows the exact moment the virus will start spreading, and we can’t cut it so close.”

Lin Xian nodded, gently placing the swaddled baby, Yu Xi, on the bed beside Zhao Ying Jun. Then, rising to his feet, he walked toward the door with Gao Yang.

The distance to the door was short, but it felt like the longest walk they had ever taken. Each step marked the beginning of a separation spanning over 200 years.

Gao Yang’s nose tingled, and he wiped at his eyes. Turning back, he looked at the room behind him—at Zhao Ying Jun, little Yu Xi, and Angelica. His voice trembled as he said:

“We’ll miss you all.”

Unable to hold back, he buried his face in his sleeve, furiously wiping his tears.

“Don’t be so sentimental, Gao Yang,” Zhao Ying Jun said, looking at both men. Her fists clenched tightly beneath the covers, her lips pressed together.

“We’re just living in different times, but we’re fighting for the same cause—for humanity’s future. We’re no different. We’ve never truly been apart.”

“So, don’t miss us—”

Her gaze was firm, her voice resolute:

“You are us.”

…

The heavy footsteps faded into the hospital corridor, growing distant until they were no longer heard.

Underneath the blanket, Zhao Ying Jun’s tightly clenched fists trembled uncontrollably.

Finally, the tears she had been holding back spilled over, streaming down her cheeks.

Angelica was stunned.

She hadn’t spent much time with Zhao Ying Jun, but she admired and respected her deeply—a great wife and mother.

Yet she never imagined that tears would one day fall from Zhao Ying Jun’s face.

“I’m sorry,” Zhao Ying Jun said softly, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.

“Actually… I’m not that strong.”

Angelica’s heart broke.

“You could’ve told Lin Xian! If he saw you this heartbroken, he would’ve stayed!”

But Zhao Ying Jun shook her head.

“That’s precisely why I couldn’t let him see.”

She wiped away her tears, smiling again—the same proud, confident woman as always.

“I’m just reluctant. I’m sad. But deep down, I know what I’m doing.”

“Lin Xian cannot stop, nor can he stay here. I told him long ago—his unique dreams, his unique abilities—they exist for a unique purpose.”

“If there’s any chance to defeat that world-ending white light and save humanity’s future, it’s only Lin Xian who can do it. That’s his mission, his responsibility.”

She turned to look at the baby in her arms, little Yu Xi.

“I promised him: he’ll protect the world, and I’ll protect Yu Xi. A child without a father still has a mother. But a world without its one and only savior… cannot wait for another.”

Angelica quietly approached the crib.

Inside lay the baby girl, her black hair still matted with vernix. She lay completely still, peaceful and quiet.

“Is little Yu Xi asleep?”

“Probably,” Zhao Ying Jun replied without turning, unable to see the baby’s face from her angle.

“She must be asleep. How else could she be so quiet?”

Curiosity got the better of her. Zhao Ying Jun shifted closer, joining Angelica in peeking at Yu Xi’s face.

“Huh?” “What?”

The two women exchanged puzzled glances.

Yu Xi wasn’t asleep. Her clear, wide eyes were open, staring intently at the door to the hospital room.

There was nothing there, just empty air.

Even more strangely, a newborn’s vision is limited to only a few dozen centimeters. There was no way she could see that far.

Zhao Ying Jun, new to motherhood, felt a mix of confusion and concern.

She waved her hand in front of Yu Xi’s gaze, trying to draw her attention and test whether the child’s eyes were functioning normally.

It didn’t work.

Yu Xi simply blinked, her focus unwavering, staring at the empty hallway beyond the door, calm yet determined.

Following her gaze, Zhao Ying Jun looked up.

Nothing.

Suddenly—

Tap… tap… tap.

Tap.

Tap!

The sound of leather shoes echoed through the corridor, growing louder and heavier.

When the tapping reached the doorway, Angelica let out a startled scream, covering her mouth in disbelief.

In the crib, little Yu Xi giggled joyfully.

Zhao Ying Jun, despite the pain of recent childbirth, sat up straight, eyes wide, staring at the figure she had longed for so deeply.

“Ying Jun, it’s been a while.”

A thousand words condensed into one phrase—repeated countless times in the hallway—spoken by Lin Xian:

“I’m back!”

The End.

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation