Genius Club

Chapter 73: Chapter 73 Good Person

Ji Lin did not pick up the list.

Instead, he flipped his pencil around, picked up the April issue of “Mathematical Monthly” lying beside him, turned to the Sudoku page, and continued to fill in the numbers…

“I’ve always found the way you talk strange,” he said.

As he rapidly filled in the numbers, he spoke softly,

“Even though all kinds of things affect the future, why do you always talk about ‘history’?”

“That’s not important, it’s just a way of speaking.”

The old man walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the moon outside, his eyes slightly reddened:

“Xu Yun… was the student I cherished most in my life.”

“I can tell,” Ji Lin replied without looking up.

“You even promised your own daughter to him. Afraid he wouldn’t agree, you lied and claimed she was your little niece. But it’s not really a lie since my sister didn’t know her own background; she didn’t know she was the product of a youthful dalliance.”

The old man’s eyes widened as he turned around:

“How do you know that? I haven’t told anyone…”

“Is it that hard to see?”

Ji Lin tossed aside the April issue of “Mathematical Monthly” as it seemed this month’s problems were a bit more challenging, taking up noticeably more of his time:

“From the time you adopted me, it was my sister who practically raised me by herself. Although I call her sister, to me, she’s more like a mother.”

“It’s not difficult to see that she is your illegitimate daughter… But I must say, you’ve hidden it well, so well that even she hasn’t discovered it.”

“Did you tell her?” the old man asked, staring intently at Ji Lin.

“No, why would I say that?” Ji Lin dismissed the idea and picked up the May issue of “Mathematical Monthly” from the ground, turned to the Sudoku page, and continued solving puzzles:

“Back then, my sister complained to me that you insisted on matchmaking her with Xu Yun, whom she didn’t like because she thought he was a bookish nerd… those were her exact words.”

“But after spending time with him, she began to think Xu Yun was quite alright, and they got married. You were the one who took care of the wedding arrangements, putting in a great effort.”

The old man was silent for a long time.

He sighed:

“So… Xu Yun’s death, it pains me more than anyone else. I must find out who caused his death!”

“After your sister died of amniotic fluid embolism giving birth to Xu Yiyi, and Xu Yiyi ended up in that state… Xu Yun became obsessed with researching the Hibernation Pod. I tried to dissuade him, to persuade him with all my might, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“So in the end, I kicked him out of my tutelage in frustration, hoping that after a few years he’d come to his senses and come back to me… But it’s all because of the person who ‘disrupted history’ that Xu Yun died!”

“Honestly, there was no way Xu Yun could have come up with anything significant… The Hibernation Pod, something he could figure out? Let alone him… even the world’s top scientific geniuses couldn’t single-handedly tackle the Hibernation Pod Filling Liquid!”

…

Whoosh.

Ji Lin tossed aside the June issue and picked up the July issue:

“I actually liked Xu Yun quite a bit. When I was a kid, Xu Yun often visited my sister’s place, and he would always bring me a lot of books.”

“My sister used to tease him, asking who gives books to kids, calling him a stubborn bookworm.”

“But actually, I liked all the books Xu Yun gave me. He really wasn’t a very smart person, neither in research nor in emotions… but like my sister, I didn’t dislike such people.”

“The first time he met me, he gave me a set of ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.’ He said it was children’s literature, but he didn’t buy the children’s version. I truly loved this set, and I even believed the stories were real. So every time after that, I looked forward to Xu Yun coming over to our house… I was eager to see what book he would bring me next.”

“It was just that after Xu Yiyi’s accident… the two of you fell out, and he never came again.”

The old man chuckled, his eyes filled with memories:

“So, could it be said that Xu Yun was your mentor in writing? I’ve never really heard him mention that.”

“No wonder you, the owl who never leaves his nest, ran all the way to Donghai City to attend his memorial service without a word after hearing of Xu Yun’s death.”

“This isn’t like you at all. You didn’t even consider planning your route to avoid those fans and journalists. I’ve seen the reports in the media… you were stuck at the airport for a long time and the reporters took many photos of you. Now many entertainment news headlines are about you, discussing your relationship with Xu Yun.”

Whirr.

“So what if they took photos?”

Ji Lin tossed aside the July issue and picked up the August issue, continuing with the new edition of the Sudoku:

“I’m not a recluse; it’s just that I don’t bother going out.”

“If I could encounter something interesting, meet interesting people… I would actually be quite willing to socialize.”@@novelbin@@

“It’s just that my sister passed away early, and you drove Xu Yun away… I lost my interest in socializing.”

“I felt very down when I found out Xu Yun would never come to see me again. Although he wasn’t exceptionally talented in scientific research… he was, after all, a scientist. His knowledge and insights were quite shocking to me at that young age.”

…

Speaking of Xu Yun.

The old man’s expression quickly grew dim again:

“Actually, things shouldn’t have developed this way…”

“I was always waiting for the day Xu Yun would turn back, lots of tycoons and capitalists were actually interested in his research and wanted to sponsor him. But when I found out, I stopped them halfway.”

“I thought he would inevitably reach a day when he couldn’t go on, a day when he would have a change of heart, realize his mistake and come back looking for me. Even though your sister had passed away, I always treated Xu Yun as if he were my own son.”

“Really, there was no difference. Even though I don’t have children and you were adopted, if I had a child, I believe I would have been as good to him as I was to Xu Yun.”

“The day Xu Yiyi had her accident, I was more upset than Xu Yun. Since you know everything, just say it, that was my granddaughter after all, would I not wish her well?”

“At that time, I invited all the world’s experts in this field to Donghai City. I chartered flights for every one of them, bringing them in to consult for Yiyi. But not a single expert offered hope for recovery and awakening… not one.”

The old man closed his eyes and bowed his head.

Whirr.

The August issue of ‘Mathematical Monthly’ was tossed onto the ground by Ji Lin.

The Sudoku in this issue was the highest difficulty level, “Killer Sudoku,” and its pristine pages bore no traces of correction.

“So, now can you tell me the answer?”

Ji Lin picked up the September issue of ‘Mathematical Monthly,’ but he didn’t open it.

For the first time, he stopped what he was doing.

He looked up at the old man:

“Why… did you kill Xu Yun?”