Genius Club-Chapter 19: Invitation

"Genius Club…"

The moment he saw those five words, Lin Xian felt as if he were being pulled away from the entire world.

The noisy hall, everything disappeared, leaving only a relentless ringing in his ears.

Gasping for air, just like a dolphin weighted down by lead, sinking deeper into the icy waters...

Drip, drip, drip, drip,

"What’s wrong? Just standing there?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice snapped Lin Xian back to reality.

He turned around and saw Zhao Yingjun standing behind him.

Today, she was wearing a black coat, and the diamonds on her black earrings sparkled brilliantly.

"Rhein Cat? Have you finished it?"

Zhao Yingjun saw the Rhein Cat Doll in Lin Xian’s hands, took it directly, and examined it from all sides:

"Mmm, not bad, even cuter than I thought. The craftsmanship is quite good too; we can work with this factory on a long-term basis."

When she turned to the back of the doll, Zhao Yingjun even flicked the Rhein Cat’s little tail.

Noticing that Lin Xian was still standing there motionless, Zhao Yingjun looked at the dark red card in his hand and pointed:

"Is this also for me?"

"Yes, President Zhao." The receptionist answered when she saw Lin Xian was not reacting, "This invitation is also for you."

Zhao Yingjun pinched the invitation from Lin Xian’s hand.

She looked at the front, then turned it over to the back, and then walked to the elevator with the invitation and the Rhein Cat in hand, her high heels clacking...

"President Zhao is so beautiful today!"

"Yeah... and she never repeats an outfit! She’s so fashion-forward!"

"Ah, that poise of President Zhao’s is truly innate and impressive; we can’t help but envy her."

"Most importantly, she’s capable and strong! She’s just too perfect!"

After Zhao Yingjun got on the elevator, the receptionist girls chatted away, all revealing their envy and admiration for Zhao Yingjun.

Lin Xian looked at his empty hands...

He was still sensing the touch of the dark red card, as if it was still in his hand.

"What if it wasn’t an invitation?"

Lin Xian tried to convince himself.

"I have to find a way to confirm it."

...

After arriving in his office, Lin Xian took the latest design drafts, ready to report to Zhao Yingjun in her office.

22nd floor. He waited in front of the heavy password-protected door for a while.

"Come in."

As the voice came through the intercom, the password door opened as well.

Lin Xian walked in.

It was the same lifeless office.

Lin Xian even doubted that Zhao Yingjun ever sat on the sofa in the office. The only sign of human activity in the vast space was the office desk piled with documents.

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"Okay, continue pushing forward like this."

Zhao Yingjun had great trust in Lin Xian’s work; she quickly flipped through the materials and then closed them, handing them back to Lin Xian.

"Oh, and..."

Just as Lin Xian grabbed the folder, Zhao Yingjun looked up at him:

"Did you find out anything about Professor Xu Yun’s situation?"

"I did some digging."

This morning, on his subway ride to work, Lin Xian had made a phone call to his former advisor, asking about Professor Xu Yun:

"I contacted my advisor and some classmates who are graduate students at the university," Lin Xian took the folder and continued:

"I found out... the reason Professor Xu Yun is so committed to researching the Hibernation Pod is because of his paralyzed daughter."

"Professor Xu only has this one child. His wife died from amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth, and the daughter has always been raised single-handedly by him; he never remarried."

"But there was an accident at an amusement park one time, the daughter fell from a height, landing on her head, and it was severe... Not only did she end up with high-level paralysis, but she is also in a coma and has been in a vegetative state ever since."

"His daughter has been lying in Donghai University Affiliated Hospital for almost ten years now. They say... there’s no possibility of her waking up, and experts, both domestic and international, have said the same."

Lin Xian swallowed hard and paused:

"Many people have advised Professor Xu Yun to give up on his daughter, who has no chance of awakening, and to start over with his own life. But you’ve seen Professor Xu’s attitude... he just insists on researching the Hibernation Pod, studying something that’s completely hopeless."

"Professor Xu’s thinking is like this: he believes that although current human technology and medicine cannot cure a vegetative person, that does not mean the future can’t. So... he hopes to use the ’Hibernation Pod’ to send his daughter to the future, to heal her with the medical technology of tomorrow."

...

Zhao Yingjun listened while frowning.

After Lin Xian had finished speaking, she let out a sigh and tucked the stray hair behind her ear:

"It sounds like a science fiction novel I’ve read. Have you read ’The Three-Body Problem’?"

Lin Xian nodded:

"The protagonist in ’The Three-Body Problem’ did the same, couldn’t cure their virus, so they were put into a hibernation pod to wait for future technology to advance and then be defrosted for treatment, saving their life."

Zhao Yingjun shook her head:

"Misfortunes always strike those already suffering..."

"But science is a matter of gradual progression. How could a field with absolutely no theoretical support and prior accumulation suddenly claim a research breakthrough and succeed?"

"Science fiction is, after all, just people’s fantasies, things that can’t be achieved in reality. Professor Xu must be too devoted as a father and has become muddled."

Having said that, she bent down and continued to review the documents:

"Lin Xian, when you have time, buy some things and visit Professor Xu’s daughter at the hospital."

"Yeah, okay."

Lin Xian turned around, ready to leave.

But...

This wasn’t actually the purpose of his report today; those design drafts were just a cover.

His real purpose was to figure out what that card with ’Genius Club’ written on it was, exactly.

Was it an invitation?

Was it an advertisement?

Or just a simple prank?

"Ah right, President Zhao, there’s one more thing."

Lin Xian acted as if he just remembered, turning back to speak:

"You were in a hurry this morning and forgot to mention it to you."

"What’s up." Zhao Yingjun stopped writing and looked up.

"About that red invitation card, you remember, right? You took it from my hand along with the Rhein Cat Doll," Lin Xian gestured the size with his hands:

"I forgot to tell you who brought it over. It wasn’t delivered by courier; the receptionist said... a woman personally delivered it."

"Oh, that."

Zhao Yingjun didn’t seem concerned and lowered her head to continue going through the documents.

"Was it... an invitation?" Lin Xian tentatively asked.

"It’s an invitation letter," Zhao Yingjun stated indifferently.

She put down her pen and looked up at Lin Xian:

"Anything else?"

"No, nothing else."

Bang!

The heavy coded door closed once again.

...

Lin Xian stood outside the door.

He couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

An invitation letter...

It really was an invitation letter!

He had just dreamed about it last night, and today it appeared right before his eyes.

What on earth was this...

What’s going on?