Genius Club

Inside a private room at the Peace Hotel, Yan Qiao Qiao quietly began her second round of food.

“Do you remember what we talked about before?” Zhao Ying Jun asked Lin Xian, making sure Yan Qiao Qiao was busy with her food. “I mean, when you brought that little girl, Yu Xi. We did a paternity test, then went for hotpot.”

Lin Xian nodded. “Yeah, I remember. That was just a few days ago, right?”

He watched as Yan Qiao Qiao grabbed a pastry with her hands, popping mini-cakes into her mouth one after another. “Compared to Yu Xi, Yan Qiao Qiao seems so small and weak. Like your parents said, she should eat more.”

“When we had hotpot back then, Yu Xi ate a lot. She had several plates of meat all by herself. I wish Yan Qiao Qiao could eat like that too. Otherwise… she isn’t that sharp, and she might get bullied at school.”

“If she could bulk up a bit, she might have a chance to defend herself. I’m not joking—Yu Xi could probably take on ten Yan Qiao Qiaos and still have one hand free.”

“Pfft—” Zhao Ying Jun burst into laughter. “What kind of logic is that? Little girls don’t eat to get ready for a fight! Where’d you get that idea?”

“Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to talk about. It’s not about Yu Xi at all. I meant that other thing we discussed while eating…”

Lin Xian put down his chopsticks and looked at her. He remembered the conversation. At the hotpot restaurant, when Zhao Ying Jun looked at Yu Xi, she had mentioned something like that. She said, “Sometimes I think it’d be nice if a child like Yu Xi just showed up out of nowhere. Skip the whole pregnancy and raising part, and they’re already grown up. It’d be so much easier.”

At the time, Lin Xian shook his head. He had said he’d prefer to raise a child himself, step by step, from a young age. That’s still how he feels. The idea of a child suddenly appearing… is just too shocking.

But in that situation, if it turned out that he and the fake Yu Xi were biologically related, he wouldn’t deny responsibility. Even though he hadn’t married or even dated anyone, if the DNA said the girl was his daughter, he would raise her as his own.

That’s just the kind of person Lin Xian is—someone who takes responsibility. But why did Zhao Ying Jun suddenly bring this up now? Was it because she saw Yan Qiao Qiao and started imagining her future daughter?

“I remember,” Lin Xian nodded. “Why are you suddenly thinking about that?”

“It’s just… seeing Yan Qiao Qiao made me think about it again.” Zhao Ying Jun turned to look at Yan Qiao Qiao, who was devouring the mini-cakes with cream all over her mouth. Instinctively, she leaned forward, pulled out a couple of napkins, and wiped the cream off her face.

“You see, my parents are always pushing me to get married and have kids as soon as possible. They’ve even started treating a relative’s child from back home like their own granddaughter.”

“So I remembered our conversation. If suddenly, just like that, a daughter this big appeared… would it be a good thing or a bad thing?”

Lin Xian watched as Zhao Ying Jun took care of Yan Qiao Qiao. It was a heartwarming scene. But with such a small age difference, they looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.

Back then, in that abandoned factory, when the time-space cop Lin Yu Xi had a knife to his throat, Lin Xian had wondered if she might be his and Zhao Ying Jun’s daughter. But that girl, who was determined to kill her own father, had flatly denied any father-daughter relationship, saying there was no way he could be her father.

If there had been a chance to talk back then, Lin Xian wouldn’t have minded taking Yu Xi back to the hospital for another DNA test. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the chance. She only wanted to bring him to the time-space court for trial.

Given their enemy relationship and the fact that he had just been tricked by someone claiming to be Yu Xi, Lin Xian didn’t have much emotional attachment to this supposed Lin Yu Xi.

Looking at Yan Qiao Qiao now… she seemed small, cute, harmless, pure, and naive—a soft, gentle presence. If a daughter like this were his, wouldn’t she be a better choice than a muscle-bound assassin like Lin Yu Xi?

Lin Xian started to consider the idea more seriously, reconsidering Zhao Ying Jun’s question. “I think… something like that isn’t really good or bad, you know?”

“At least in the short term, emotionally, it would take some time to accept and get along with each other.”

“In TV shows and movies, there are always stories about illegitimate children coming to find their biological parents. I think there was a show called ‘Little Daddy’? It was really popular back in the day… Even the main character in the show had a hard time accepting it, let alone someone in real life. The first reaction would definitely be resistance.”

Zhao Ying Jun nodded quietly. “That’s true; it would be instinct to resist. But… what comes after the resistance? Wouldn’t acceptance follow eventually?”

“Probably,” Lin Xian replied honestly. “After all, it’s their own flesh and blood. Blood ties can be pretty amazing sometimes. It’s hard to empathize unless it happens to you.”

He smiled at Zhao Ying Jun. “So, why are you suddenly bringing this up? Did your parents’ talk get to you? Or did seeing Yan Qiao Qiao, who looks so much like you, make you feel like you were looking at your future daughter?”

Zhao Ying Jun smiled slightly but didn’t say anything.

Just then, the private room door opened, and Zhao Rui Hai and Yan Mei walked in with cheerful smiles. “Oh, Qiao Qiao is already eating cake? Look at her, getting it all over her face.”

The elderly couple sat down and immediately began doting on Yan Qiao Qiao as if she were their actual granddaughter, completely ignoring her age and treating her like a three-year-old.

Suddenly, Lin Xian remembered. He had previously suspected that Yellow Finch’s daughter could be Yu Xi. If that guess was correct, Yu Xi would definitely look a lot like Yellow Finch. And Yellow Finch is Zhao Ying Jun…

Although in this time-space, Yellow Finch’s appearance had changed drastically due to time-space rejection, in her original timeline, she would look exactly like Zhao Ying Jun since they were essentially the same person.

This also explained why Lin Xian couldn’t be sure whether Lin Yu Xi was really Yellow Finch’s biological daughter or not. Because of the time-space rejection, Yu Xi’s appearance had also changed when she traveled from the future.

If the time-space assassin looked like Yan Qiao Qiao right now and resembled Zhao Ying Jun so much, then Lin Xian could confidently conclude—the time-space assassin is indeed the daughter of Yellow Finch (Zhao Ying Jun).

He couldn’t help but admire the time-space rejection laws. Whether it was for protectionism or some other reason, changing the appearance of time-space travelers could be to prevent the inhabitants of the current timeline from being deceived.

Thinking about this, Lin Xian grew a little more curious about Yan Qiao Qiao’s identity and background, so he asked Zhao Rui Hai, “So, who exactly is Yan Qiao Qiao? You guys seem to have such a close relationship. She must be a very close relative, right?”

“Uh…” Zhao Rui Hai was momentarily at a loss for words. What was this? Was this young man turning the tables on them, conducting his own interrogation?

“That question should be for you, don’t you think?”

“She’s a close relative from my hometown,” Yan Mei interjected with a smile, picking up the conversation. “We’ve always been very close; we went to school together and were good friends.”

“It’s just that her granddaughter has some cognitive issues, and Old Rui Hai and I are very concerned. We thought we’d take the chance while we’re in Donghai to consult some famous experts at Ruijin Hospital to see if we could find a way to help Qiao Qiao.”

“Yes, yes,” Zhao Rui Hai quickly nodded, picking up where Yan Mei left off. “We brought Yan Qiao Qiao to Donghai because we have some old friends at Ruijin Hospital who are renowned experts in the country. We’ve already set the appointments, and we’ll take Qiao Qiao for checkups tomorrow.”

Lin Xian nodded. “I see.”

A granddaughter from a close relative, huh… That means Yan Mei must have seen her growing up and has no connection to a time-space traveler.

It seemed he was overthinking things for a moment there. Zhao Rui Hai and Yan Mei were highly respected, and Zhao Ying Jun had a good relationship with him…

They wouldn’t conspire to deceive him. Besides, there was no connection between time-space assassin Lin Yu Xi and the girl Yan Qiao Qiao.

If Yan Qiao Qiao were really a time-space assassin in disguise, she might have torn his head off when she was pulling out his white hair earlier.

In any case, he hoped that time-space assassin would just disappear like blue stardust. It’d save him from always being on edge.

For now, things seemed safe. The time-space assassin hadn’t appeared in several days and hadn’t been caught on any surveillance cameras, so she was likely gone.

After all, Copernicus’s closed loop had been broken, and Elon Musk’s time-space particles had lost their energy. Why would the time-space assassin still be here?

…

Another half hour passed, and the pleasant dinner finally came to an end. The group left the private room together, took the elevator, and walked to the parking lot.

Before parting ways, Zhao Rui Hai shook hands with Lin Xian, patting his shoulder. “Lin Xian, I look forward to our next meeting.”

Lin Xian knew it was just polite talk, so he smiled and replied in kind, “Don’t worry, Uncle Rui Hai. When I get a chance to visit the capital, I’ll be sure to drop by.”

“Alright,” Zhao Rui Hai said meaningfully, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

With that, Zhao Rui Hai, Yan Mei, and Yan Qiao Qiao got into their red sedan and drove away.

Holding her Pomeranian, VV, in her arms, Zhao Ying Jun walked over to Lin Xian’s side. They stood together, watching the red sedan leave…

She was at a loss for words. Her mind was a mess; she didn’t know what to say.

“Your parents are pretty great,” Lin Xian said, smiling at her. “To be honest, I was a bit nervous at first. Your father holds such a high position, and… it’s my first time joining someone else’s family dinner like this. I couldn’t help but feel a bit restrained.”

“But that feeling went away quickly. Your family has such a good atmosphere.”

“Hmph,” Zhao Ying Jun chuckled. “I’d say… things have really changed in the past couple of years. My family used to feel stifling, so I’m very happy with how things are now.”

“But, then again, I’m sure your family atmosphere is great too. Usually, a child’s mental state and positive attitude directly reflect the family environment. With your bright and cheerful personality, your parents must be very easygoing people.”

“Since you gifted my parents two bags of tea… I should bring something with me next time I go to Hang City to meet your parents so I don’t seem rude.”

Lin Xian waved his hand. “No need for that; my parents are just simple folks. It doesn’t have to be that formal. But if you do come to Hang City, let me know, and my family and I will make sure to give you a warm welcome.”

“Really?” Zhao Ying Jun smiled softly. “Then I’ll look forward to it.”

As they spoke, two Alpha business cars arrived one after the other. Lin Xian and Zhao Ying Jun got into their respective cars and waved goodbye.

“Goodnight, Lin Xian.”

“Goodnight, Ying Jun.”

…

The next morning, at Ruijin Hospital in Donghai City.

“Height: 151 cm, Weight: 36 kg… This girl is a bit underweight,” the doctor said, frowning at the reading on the measuring device. “Does she have trouble eating? Anorexia? Picky eater?”

Yan Mei, standing beside him, shook her head. “No, not at all… This child eats a lot, anything really. She’s never been picky and always eats plenty at every meal.”

The doctor nodded. “Could it be an absorption problem then? Let’s move on to the other tests. We’ve already drawn blood, haven’t we? Take the report to the doctor later, and let them analyze it to see if anything’s wrong.”

After that, Zhao Rui Hai and Yan Mei continued with various checkups for Yan Qiao Qiao. They then took the reports to the consultation room.

Inside, several renowned experts from across the country were seated, one of whom was an old classmate of Zhao Rui Hai, and the rest were brought in through connections.

After all, it had already been confirmed that Yan Qiao Qiao was their biological granddaughter. How could Zhao Rui Hai not take it seriously? He wanted to ensure she got the best medical care possible.

After a while, the experts finished reviewing the reports. Their expressions were relaxed, showing that nothing significant was wrong.

“Rui Hai, this little girl seems perfectly fine,” said the old classmate from Ruijin Hospital, taking off his glasses and looking at Zhao Rui Hai. “From the bone age analysis, the girl’s age should be around thirteen or fourteen. Considering that kids nowadays generally develop earlier… her actual age might be a bit younger.”

“Trace elements and all body indicators are within normal limits. If she seems a bit thin, it might just be a growth phase. Honestly, she’s not too thin. Medically speaking, her weight is still considered normal.”

“It’s just that grandparents always think their grandkids are too thin. No matter how chubby they are, they’ll still worry.”

This comment lightened the mood, making everyone smile knowingly. It was true—grandparents never think their grandkids are overweight and fret over even the slightest weight loss.

“And about her cognitive issues…” The doctor flipped through the report and continued, “Based on the tests, there’s no avoiding it—her listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills are very underdeveloped. However, all brain tests show no problems… In fact, from the brain’s cortical activity and other indicators, this girl’s intelligence should actually be above average.”

“As for her memory loss, there’s no clear explanation. There’s no sign of physical trauma, her brain is completely normal, and her neurological responses are not only normal but quite exceptional. We can’t figure out what caused the amnesia.”

“Moreover, memory loss itself doesn’t have a clear definition in current medical science. We don’t fully understand how memory is stored, operated, and retrieved in the brain.”

“The only confirmed cause of memory loss so far is long-term hibernation in a hibernation pod… but even the first volunteers who entered hibernation haven’t reached the 10-year memory safety limit yet, so there isn’t any clinical data to study.”

“So, Rui Hai, raising a child shouldn’t be too stressful. Just let them grow up healthy. Our conclusion is that Yan Qiao Qiao is completely healthy, and her intelligence and reaction capabilities are actually above average for a child. Further observation is needed, but there’s no need for any intervention at this point.”

…

And so, they took Yan Qiao Qiao to the hospital early in the morning, and everything turned out normal. This left Zhao Rui Hai and Yan Mei even more puzzled.

“Forget it,” Zhao Rui Hai said at the hospital entrance, waving his hand. “Let’s not think too much about it. Let Ying Jun handle the child’s issues from now on. No matter what the result is, the child’s bloodline is real, and the doctors are right… It’s not healthy for us, as older folks, to be too indulgent and overprotective. We can’t bear to scold or punish her, and that’s not a healthy way to raise a child.”

“Ying Jun also said that since Yan Qiao Qiao is currently in a stage where her amnesia is slowly recovering, it’s a critical time for reshaping her worldview and character. If we keep pampering her like this… we might end up spoiling her. We should try to get her back to Ying Jun.”

“Both affection and emotions need time and companionship to grow. People always say that the bond of raising a child is more important than just the biological bond. A DNA test alone doesn’t automatically create a parent-child relationship; it takes time and nurturing.”

“So… it’s time for us to let go. If we want Yan Qiao Qiao to grow up healthy and strong, we need to send her back to Ying Jun. She should stay close to her mother.”

Yan Mei looked reluctant. She took out a paternity test report from her handbag. It was from the test they had just done at the hospital, using a strand of Zhao Ying Jun’s hair and a strand of Yan Qiao Qiao’s hair for the DNA test.

Though it seemed unbelievable and unscientific, DNA doesn’t lie. The result showed that Yan Qiao Qiao was indeed Zhao Ying Jun’s biological daughter.

Yan Mei finally sighed and nodded. “But having just a mom isn’t enough. She still needs a dad to support and protect her. Now that we know Ying Jun is Qiao Qiao’s mom… who do you think her dad is? Do you think it could be Lin Xian?”

Zhao Rui Hai shook his head. “Let’s not jump to conclusions or overthink things. This is all too unscientific. There’s no logical explanation for how Yan Qiao Qiao appeared…”

“So, let’s leave it at that. We just did a paternity test for Qiao Qiao and Ying Jun, and since we confirmed they are indeed mother and daughter… it’s up to her to figure out the rest. She’ll have to find the answer.”

“As parents, what can we do? Whatever the result or the truth is, all we can do is accept it. There’s no other choice.”

Yan Mei nodded. It was true. Based on current scientific understanding, there was no way to explain this situation. But Qiao Qiao was indeed their biological granddaughter, and they could only accept it and then… put her back with Ying Jun to slowly build their relationship.

She crouched down and hugged the adorable Yan Qiao Qiao. “Qiao Qiao, you are the best gift Heaven has given us… Grandma will miss you in the capital.”

…

Meanwhile, at a luxurious private hospital in the suburbs of Donghai City.

Zhao Ying Jun placed two small plastic bags containing hair samples in front of the doctor again.

In the left bag was a few-centimeter-long white hair. In the right bag was the last remaining strand of Yan Qiao Qiao’s hair.

“Please test the relationship between these two samples,” she said.

“Certainly, Miss Zhao Ying Jun,” the doctor replied.

It was their second meeting. The doctor skillfully labeled the left bag as “A” and the right bag as “B” and showed them to Zhao Ying Jun.

“I should ask again, what relationship do you expect between these samples? It’s okay if you don’t want to disclose it. But if we have a clue, it’ll help us produce results faster and focus our comparisons.”

Zhao Ying Jun looked down at the hair samples, biting her lip. Softly, she said, “Father and daughter.”

The doctor nodded and jotted it down in a notebook. “So, Miss Zhao Ying Jun, would you like to pick up the report after work again? We’ll wait for you, no matter how late it gets.”

“No…” Zhao Ying Jun shook her head. She leaned back in her chair, folded her arms, and looked at the doctor. “This time, I don’t want to come back tonight. Do the test right now and get me the results as quickly as possible.”

Her eyes were firm. “I’ll wait right here.”