Genius Club

“Nine times,” replied Yellow Finch.

“How much longer can my body hold up?”

“This is the last time,” Liu Feng said, coughing twice, while massaging his sore back. “So… we’ve already met eight times before this?”

“Not exactly,” Yellow Finch sighed. “You don’t always make it to this age, Liu Feng. Sometimes, you die even earlier than Lin Xian.”

At the mention of Lin Xian’s name, a heavy silence settled between them.

Liu Feng closed his eyes, unease tightening in his chest. Not long ago, Lin Xian had passed away. They had failed, and their failure was absolute. But Lin Xian had taken all the blame, ensuring that none of them got caught.

As Yellow Finch had put it, “This time, I came back too late. There were so many things I couldn’t fix.”

The battle had cost too many lives. In a world that no longer held any hope, Yellow Finch was setting out once again.

“This time… Ooph, Ummph.” Liu Feng, now elderly and frail, paused to catch his breath before continuing softly, “This time, which era do you want to go to?”

Yellow Finch exhaled through her nose. “Since this is my last chance, let’s go as far back as possible—to the earliest time I can meet Lin Xian.”

Liu Feng swiped across the screen of the time machine, watching the numbers flicker and change. “There are two choices. One is the end of 2022. There’s a slight temporal rift there, but it’s small. Given the energy you have left, the chances of getting through aren’t great. I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Then earlier,” Yellow Finch said softly. “I don’t mind waiting a few more years. I’m used to waiting for him.”

“In that case…” Liu Feng squinted at the screen. “That leaves us with early 2000, around January. When Zhang Yu Qian turned into blue stardust and marked the millennium, many time rifts were created. It’s full of holes, making the traversal nearly foolproof—100% success rate, though the exact timing is uncertain. It might be off by a week or two, but that’s no big deal. The bigger issue is that in 2000, Lin Xian isn’t even one year old yet! Are you really going to stay in that unfamiliar world… for over twenty years, waiting for him to grow up?”

“Why not?” Yellow Finch chuckled. “I’ve never seen what he was like as a child.”

“Ah.” Liu Feng shook his head, pressing the time settings. “If only we had an entangled temporal particle, you wouldn’t have to worry about running out of energy or disappearing. With one, you could return anytime.”

“What would I come back for?” Yellow Finch said softly. “If Lin Xian isn’t there, what’s the point of me coming back? I’m always going to look for him. If I turn into stardust, I want to do it in the time where he is.”

She smiled. “Besides, ordinary temporal particles have their own charm. They’re like a one-way ticket, abandoning one’s existence to become an anomaly in time—no destination, no origin, frozen forever.”

“So, I’ll never grow old. I’ll always be this age,” she added, closing her eyes.

“If I used an entangled temporal particle to go back, by the time I waited twenty years for Lin Xian to grow up, I’d be an old lady in my fifties. I wouldn’t dare meet him like that.”

“Oh, come on,” Liu Feng snorted. “At a time like this, you’re still worried about how old you look.”

“Haha.” Yellow Finch opened her bright blue eyes, her gaze resting on Liu Feng. “Lin Xian always told me you understood women well. He said… if you put as much effort into studying women as you do into math, you’d have figured out the Universal Constant by now.”

“Which Lin Xian said that?”

“All of them.” Yellow Finch replied softly. “Every single one of them said it. So I always thought you understood women, but now I realize… you don’t quite get it.”

“It’s not that I don’t understand—it’s that you’re just strange!” Liu Feng retorted. “By any logic, entangled temporal particles are way better than ordinary ones. Why is it the opposite for you?”

“Isn’t the answer obvious?” Yellow Finch closed her eyes, lying quietly in the pod. “Because… I don’t want him to see me grow old.”

…

January 27, 2000. Qufu, Shandong.

A flash of blue arcs zipped through the forest, startling the stray cats huddled under a warm pipe, scattering them in all directions. Yellow Finch stepped out of the rift, dressed in her custom-made black suit. She surveyed the deserted street scene and exhaled a puff of white breath.

“So cold.”

She walked over to a nearby building, using the one-way glass as a mirror to look at her unfamiliar reflection. She touched her cheeks.

“Why is my face round now?”

She looked left and right, visibly displeased by her new appearance due to temporal rejection.

“This doesn’t look like me at all,” she muttered.

…

A few weeks later…

March 23, 2000. Chunan, Hangzhou. A park.

A young father held his newly one-year-old son’s hand, helping him learn to walk on the grass.

“Come on, son! Don’t be scared! Come to Daddy… You’re doing great!”

Nearby, the boy’s mother sat on a bench, watching her son’s wobbly steps with a warm smile.

“Is that your son?” A stylish woman wearing sunglasses, blue earrings, and a fashionable coat suddenly approached.

“Yes.” The young mother beamed. “He just turned one, and look—he can walk already!”

“How wonderful,” the woman said with a smile. “He’s going to grow up to be a smart kid.”

The mother’s pride shone bright as she laughed in response.

Just then, the father scooped his son up from the grass and carried him towards the bench.

“Had enough, little guy? Let’s go home now!” he said, smiling at his son.

As the father approached, the baby’s eyes caught sight of something—a blue glint—and he reached out eagerly.

“Ah!” he babbled.

The father smiled at the sunglasses-wearing woman, then turned to his son.

“Lin Xian, this is Auntie. Can you say Auntie?”

“Ah!” The little Lin Xian babbled, still not quite able to form words. He kicked his legs, seemingly wanting to walk by himself.

The father put him down, and to everyone’s surprise, the little boy wobbled straight towards the woman.

She knelt, steadying him, ensuring he wouldn’t fall.

Then, quick as a flash, little Lin Xian reached out and grabbed her blue earring.

“Oh, let go!”

“That’s not polite!”

The young parents hurriedly pulled him away, embarrassed.

But the woman didn’t mind. She turned her head slightly, letting the blue sapphire earring sway, casting colorful reflections.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” she asked, smiling.

“Ah!” Little Lin Xian blinked, then grinned broadly.

It was clear he really liked the color blue.

…

June 2004. Hangzhou. Police Station. Household Registry Office.

Yellow Finch handed her first-generation ID card over the counter. “Hi, I’d like to upgrade to a second-generation ID card.”

Her current ID was actually a fake—though officially approved by the government, it counted as genuine.

Recently, she’d managed to establish contact with state authorities and provided some cryptic but crucial hints regarding significant intelligence matters.

Even just the level of hints she’d shared were of utmost importance to the country. Because of this, she’d developed a connection with the officials.

As long as it didn’t stretch the limits of temporal elasticity, she would periodically share information.

The registry officer took the ID and glanced at the number. “Oh, a fellow Chunan native, huh? Which part?”

“Thousand Island Lake,” Yellow Finch replied.

“What a coincidence! I’m from there too!” The officer chuckled, sizing her up. “But… your accent doesn’t sound local.”

“Oh?” Yellow Finch blinked. “Where does it sound like I’m from?”

“Sounds like you’re from the capital. The way you speak, it’s got that imperial city vibe.”

Yellow Finch smiled but didn’t comment further. It seemed she’d been found out, so she added, “My household is here, but I grew up in the capital.”

“Oh, I see.” The officer started processing the request, asking casually, “Got any family around here?”

“Yes,” Yellow Finch nodded, “My husband’s here.”

“Living apart? That’s no good for a relationship. Why don’t you either come back here, or have him move to the capital with you?” the officer said, clearly nosy.

“His family wouldn’t agree,” she replied.

“Hmph.” The officer snorted. “All grown up and still listening to his parents? Lacks a bit of backbone, doesn’t he?”

“It’s not that.” Yellow Finch shrugged, smiling. “My husband’s quite young.”

“How young could he be!” The officer slammed a paper down on the counter for her to sign. “He’s not a toddler!”

…

August 2017. Hangzhou. Youth Parkour Championship.

“Lin Xian! Go, Lin Xian! You can do it!!”

A chubby boy in a crop-top shirt yelled himself hoarse. Boys and girls—all his classmates—stood behind him, cheering and clapping rhythmically.

A tall woman in sunglasses and blue earrings stepped to the front of the crowd, watching the young athletes warming up.

“Is this the final?” she asked, turning towards the chubby boy.

“Yeah!” he nodded. Then his face shifted, eyeing her suspiciously. “Who are you here to cheer for? It’s definitely not Lin Xian, is it?!”

This chubby boy was Gao Yang, Lin Xian’s childhood friend and neighbor. He knew all of Lin Xian’s relatives—and this lady definitely wasn’t one of them. So clearly, she was rooting for a competitor!

Gao Yang started waving her away. “Hey, lady! Our Class 17 already claimed this spot. Move over!”

“Alright, alright.” The woman shifted a few steps to the side, smiling at Gao Yang. “You’re just as annoying as you were as a kid.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!” Gao Yang huffed. “I don’t even know you!”

Just then, a girl pulled on his arm. “Class rep! Don’t get distracted! Lin Xian’s up next, shout for him!”

Dressed in black and white sports gear, headband tied in place, and wearing fingerless gloves, Lin Xian shot off like a bullet as soon as the referee blew the whistle.

He jumped side to side, over obstacles, across walls—like it was nothing.

Anyone watching could tell that this teenager was on a completely different level from the other competitors. He was practically unbeatable.

He leaped over a high wall with just two steps. He jumped between distant pillars without a second thought.

Everything flowed effortlessly, each move more relaxed than the last. And to top it all off—after finishing an impressive sequence of jumps—he yawned. As if it was all too easy.

“Haha,” Yellow Finch couldn’t help but laugh at his smug expression.

The timer stopped, and the scoreboard lit up—full marks across the board! They declared Lin Xian the champion then and there.

“Wooooooo!!” Gao Yang cheered like a howling monkey, pounding his chest in excitement. “Quick, take a picture! Post it in the group!”

He swiftly pulled out his phone, snapping a few shots of Lin Xian showing off in the arena, and posted them to their class group chat with the caption: “Lin Xian, the king! Champion of Hangzhou Youth Parkour once again!”

During the awards ceremony, all the students and parkour enthusiasts applauded wildly for the champion. Yellow Finch stood among the crowd, clapping along.

As the crowd dispersed, Lin Xian approached Gao Yang, holding his trophy.

“Quick! Let me touch it!” Gao Yang grabbed the trophy, rubbing it all over. He frowned. “This is the same as last year! Did they just use leftovers?!”

“Eh, who cares.” Lin Xian didn’t seem bothered. He looked around, “When I was warming up, I saw you arguing with some lady. What was that about? Why were you yelling at her?”

“You’ve got sharp eyes!” Gao Yang snorted. “She wasn’t here to cheer for you, so I had to chase her off. Who knows if she was someone else’s sister, trying to mess you up!”

He turned his head left and right. “Weird, where did she go? She was just here.”

Lin Xian scanned the area too, but she was nowhere in sight.

…

September 2021, Donghai University, Freshmen Welcome Party.

“Wow, Senior Lin Xian is really handsome!”

“Yeah… But he’s graduating next year. No chance for us, sigh.”

“Ha! Like you’d have a chance even if he weren’t graduating!”

Yellow Finch, wearing sunglasses, sat in the audience, listening to the excited chatter of the girls nearby.

The opening ceremony had just taken place, with Lin Xian and another female host appearing on stage. The sight of him made the group of young girls squeal with excitement.

Yellow Finch turned to look at them—they were all students from the Arts Department.

“What year are you all in?” she asked.

“We’re second-year students,” one of the girls replied.

“Oh, I see.” Yellow Finch nodded. “That male host just now, he’s Lin Xian, right? The one you were cheering for?”

“Yes, yes!” the girl beamed. “He’s from our department! Isn’t he handsome?”

Yellow Finch gave a light laugh. “He’s very handsome. You all seem to like him a lot—why don’t you be a bit more proactive?”

“Oh, we don’t have a chance,” the girl said regretfully. “Senior Lin Xian barely leaves his room. They say he’s always sleeping—sometimes he starts napping at noon and doesn’t wake up until evening… What kind of college life is that, just sleeping in the dorm all day?”

“I heard Senior Lin Xian isn’t interested in girls,” another girl said seriously. “In our ballroom dance elective, a group of senior girls took turns dancing with him. He looked like he’d rather die. The teacher even scolded him for not controlling his facial expressions.”

“Oh? Really?” Yellow Finch perked up, intrigued, ready for all the gossip.

January 2022, Zhao Ying Jun’s apartment building, front door.

“Woof!”

VV, the Pomeranian, heard the familiar sound of high heels approaching and started barking.

But then…

“Woof?”

The dog’s ears perked up. Something wasn’t right.

Why was its owner walking up the stairs instead of using the elevator today?

It was still daytime—why was she home already, before work ended?

Beep beep.

The fingerprint lock clicked open, the identity confirmed, and the door swung open.

VV stared at the woman outside, its eyes glowing blue, fur standing on end.

“Woof woof woof woof woof!!”

Frantic barking! Call 911! Save me!

“What’s with all the noise?” The woman outside walked in like she owned the place, even scolding the dog. “You’re really ungrateful, you know. I waited so long for her to bring you back from overseas… The first thing I did was come to see you, VV, and this is how you behave.”

“Woof?”

VV widened its eyes. This woman… How did she act like she owned the place? Whose house was this?

The woman picked up the bag of dog food and expertly poured it into the bowl.

“Here you go. Today, you get an extra meal as a treat.”

“Woof!”

VV decided to eat first and think about who this woman was later.

It was confused. Not because it wasn’t being a good guard dog, but because this woman felt strange.

She wasn’t its owner, yet everything about her—even her faint scent—was exactly the same.

What was going on?

After eating, VV went over to the blue-eyed woman, sniffing her carefully.

Yes, definitely.

She smelled exactly like its owner. Though she looked different, the scent was undeniable.

“Woof~~” It snuggled closer.

A master who fed it on time was the best!

The blue-eyed woman laughed, picking VV up and cuddling it. “That’s more like it. Be good, and I’ll come feed you extra meals more often.”

“Woof~~”

VV was delighted. It suddenly thought—wouldn’t it be amazing if the owner could split into several versions of herself? One for morning, one for noon, one for afternoon, and the original coming home at night—it could get extra meals all day!

After playing with the dog for a while, Yellow Finch got up to leave. “See you, VV. I’ll come again soon.”

Before she left, she poured VV another bowl of dog food.

“Woof~~~~~”

VV barked happily at the closing door, wagging its tail. She better keep her word! If she didn’t come back… it would cry all night! No one could calm it down!

…

January 14, 2023, under the overpass.

The moon tonight was full and round, hanging bright in the cloudless sky—it seemed bigger than usual.

“Excuse me, miss!”

Behind her, a couple was taking pictures. The guy holding the phone waved at Yellow Finch.

“Excuse me, could you move a little to the side? I’m trying to take a night photo of my girlfriend.”

Yellow Finch smiled. Hooking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, she said, “Of course.”

She stepped aside in her high heels, watching the boy photograph his girlfriend. He kept adjusting angles and zooms, sighing with admiration.

“The moon is beautiful tonight,” he said.

“Yes,” Yellow Finch agreed, looking up at the giant moon hanging over the overpass. “But soon… it’ll be even more beautiful.”

Boom!

In the distance, a blue Bentley suddenly launched off the left side of the overpass, soaring into the air!

It was a spectacular sight—the car arced beautifully.

Click.

The boy snapped a photo.

“Huh?” He looked at the picture, wide-eyed in disbelief. A convertible car had flown from one side of the overpass to the other, a man and a woman inside. The man gripped the steering wheel, the woman had her eyes covered.

The moment he captured it, their car had just leapt to the center of the moon, making the moonlight a romantic backdrop—wild and magnificent.

“James Bond?” The boy scratched his head, looking up at the convertible now crashing on the other side. “Donghai 007?”

Next to him, Yellow Finch chuckled, turning to the boy who had caught such a great moment by chance. Ah, so this was where the nickname had come from.

“What? What is it?” The girl ran over, curious, using the live photo feature on the phone. Pressing and holding, they could see a few seconds of video.

“Whoa! This is so cool! Quick! Post it on Douyin! It’ll go viral!” she said after watching it twice, amazed.

The boy was equally excited, opening the app.

“I’m going viral! What caption should I use?”

“How about ‘The best driver in Donghai’?” Yellow Finch suggested. “That’s what I think, anyway.”

Beep beep.

The digital watch on her wrist beeped softly. Midnight had passed, automatically triggering the alert. It was now January 15, 2023, 12:00 a.m.

Facing the moon, Yellow Finch raised her right hand, as if holding a bouquet, the moon in her grasp. Softly, she said to herself:

“Happy birthday.”

…

March 2023, outside a western restaurant, parking lot.

The window of a fiery red Ferrari rolled down, and Yellow Finch turned her head to look at the second floor of the restaurant. The entire front wall was glass, giving a clear view inside.

Lin Xian and Zhao Ying Jun were there, talking and laughing, while downstairs, a woman dressed in revealing clothes was angrily marching up.

“Ha.” Yellow Finch chuckled like a spectator. “The show’s about to begin.”

“Lin Xian… You really are popular, aren’t you?”

She watched quietly as the woman stormed upstairs, only for Zhao Ying Jun to refuse to leave, leading to a confrontation.

The two women and one man took over the entire second floor, the tense atmosphere keeping the restaurant manager from daring to intervene.

Not long after, a red McLaren sped onto the highway in the opposite direction of Lin Xian’s house.

Yellow Finch got into her Ferrari, shutting the door.

Vroom!

She floored the gas pedal. The V12 engine roared like a feral beast, quickly catching up to the McLaren, weaving through traffic effortlessly.

For Yellow Finch, driving like this was as natural as breathing.

“You taught me well,” she said, glancing to her right at Donghai University Hospital, signaling a right turn off the highway.

“This time… can you find Zheng Cheng He? If you do, maybe you can win without paying such a heavy price.”

…

January 2024, the capital city, astronaut secret training center.

“Cough, cough! Cough—”

A sudden wave of weakness hit her, and she fell to her knees in the bathroom.

It had happened…

It had happened several times recently.

More frequent. More severe.

Time.

How much time was left?

“Sister Yellow Finch!”

The bathroom door burst open, and Chu An Qing rushed in.

Yellow Finch quickly covered her head, hiding her extinguished eyes from Chu An Qing.

“Don’t call anyone! I’ll be fine… just fine…”

After a while, her symptoms finally subsided. Together with Chu An Qing, she headed to the training room, explaining some of the details about capturing time-space particles.

“What happened earlier, you mustn’t tell Lin Xian,” Yellow Finch said.

“Everyone’s training hard every day. I don’t want to be a distraction, or for anyone to worry because of me.”

Chu An Qing nodded, hesitant, but eventually spoke up.

“Sister Yellow Finch, can I really… help in this mission like you said? I’ve always wondered if I’ll be of any use. When you found me at school, you said I’d be a key part of the mission. Honestly, I’m scared I’ll just be a burden.”

Yellow Finch looked at Chu An Qing for a long moment, then slowly moved closer, ruffling her hair and pulling her into a hug.

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” Chu An Qing was surprised.

“Sister Yellow Finch, why are you apologizing?”

Yellow Finch didn’t answer, just hugged her tightly, closing her eyes.

“I’m sorry…”

…

April 2024, Copenhagen, The Little Mermaid statue.

The dark waves of the night lapped against the shore like ink.

Yellow Finch was held in Lin Xian’s arms, her vision slowly blurring.

Her body felt so light. Like foam.

Lifted by the evening breeze, floating higher and higher into the sky.

The Little Mermaid statue in the shallow waters lifted her head, watching Yellow Finch turn to bubbles, drifting upwards.

“Do you regret it?”

“No.” She shook her head in the haze and void.

“I never regret it for him. I would only regret not coming.”

From the sky came a bright light.

“Is there anything you regret?”

Regret…

Yellow Finch felt herself drifting as if on wind.

“Not really,” she said, smiling with her eyes closed.

“I’ve seen him old. I’ve seen him middle-aged. I’ve seen him young, even as a teenager, and I’ve held him as a baby.”

“So I’m content. Though we never grew old together, at least…”

“I’ve watched his whole life unfold.”