Genius Club

Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Chapter 15 Confrontation Chapter 171: Chapter 15 Confrontation Lin Xian’s mind wandered back over the many faces he had encountered…

But ever since Professor Xu Yun’s death, the various people he met had simply been too numerous.

Not just in the professional realm, where he had vast interactions with designers, industry personnel, and various business clients; but also in his personal life, where he had attended alumni gatherings and met many old classmates; and then there were those he’d met fleetingly...

Just from that aspect alone, he really couldn’t tell which encounters were deliberate and which were natural.

“I should still look at this from a different angle.”

Lin Xian closed his eyes…

Currently, the situation in this game of hide-and-seek was very unfavorable to him.

According to Huang Que, he was supposed to be in the light, while the enemy lurked in the shadows.

Open attacks are easy to dodge; hidden ones hard to defend against—where are there successful stories of guarding against a thief every single day?

“To survive in this game of Catch Me If You Can, I have to catch my opponent before they catch me.”

It was a race against time.

...

Lin Xian opened his eyes...

“Whoever reveals themselves first, dies.”

…

On the outskirts of Donghai City.

A villa, usually dim, was unusually brightly lit.

Ji Lin perused the printouts that filled the room, all of which were official documents released by East Sea University...

all gathered from Professor Xu Yun’s laboratory.

Because of the sudden nature of Xu Yun’s death, these manuscripts were quite chaotic, a hodgepodge of various kinds.

East Sea University didn’t bother to organize them, instead photographing and releasing them in accordance with Professor Xu Yun’s last wishes.

What Ji Lin had printed were those manuscripts that bore handwritten annotations.

Next to the desk sat the Rhine Cat Doll signed by Lin Xian.

The signature on it had already been traced and magnified.

Not only Chinese characters, but also English, numbers, and punctuation marks.

Handwriting comparison is a very important part of criminal investigation, as each person’s writing habits are unique.

The pressure of the strokes horizontal and vertical, the direction of turns in the numbers, the connections and lifts in the English writing, the sequence of the strokes...

Professionals can easily determine whether the handwriting comes from the same person just by looking at a few characters.

In some ways, handwriting is like fingerprints—regarded as an individual’s anti-counterfeit label, impossible to perfectly forge.

Ji Lin sat with half-closed eyes, staring at the last manuscript on the table.

Focusing intently on every symbol and stroke...

Eventually.

He sighed and shook his head.

Tossed the paper in his hand onto the floor carelessly.

Then, clapping his hands behind his head, he lay back amidst the scattered papers behind him, gaze fixed unblinkingly on the lavish chandelier above.

Drip, drip.

A hidden cellphone chimed with a message alert.

Ji Lin followed the sound and dug out his phone.

It was a message from Jealousy:

“He’s back in Donghai.”

Ji Lin tapped a few times on the T9 keypad:

“Let’s begin.”

…

In the days that followed, Lin Xian finally caught up with all the work that had piled up since the course started.

Tasks of his own, as well as those entrusted by Zhao Yingjun.

Since he had become Zhao Yingjun’s part-time secretary, if he was taking on the role for a day, then he was determined to do a day’s work well.

It had to be said that Zhao Yingjun placed immense trust in him.

Whether it concerned company secrets or business experience, she was incredibly forthcoming, sharing many things with Lin Xian who honestly benefited greatly.

There is a world of difference between industries.

For Lin Xian who had never dealt with high-level business operations before, Zhao Yingjun’s experience and guidance were akin to the Nine Yin Manual—in any other place, no one would impart such skills so openly.

A master teaching an apprentice still holds back some secrets, let alone in the cutthroat world of business, right?

So, for this Lin Xian was truly grateful to Zhao Yingjun.

Actually, this knowledge about business operations was extremely vital to Lin Xian’ current situation.

He had already considered it before.

Liu Feng’s research was likely to be very expensive, especially since he had promised to build him a laboratory.

The costs couldn’t be covered merely by royalties and licensing fees.

One day, he would have to leave MX Company and find a way to make a large sum of money to ensure Liu Feng had sufficient capital to fully research the cosmic constant 42.

Lin Xian was eager to know what the cosmic constant was, what 42 was.

Unfortunately...

even Liu Feng didn’t understand these things yet.

The father of Big Face Cat also based his research on Liu Feng’s and it took him more than a decade to come up with 42.

Tang Xin was still dressed prettily, while Zhou Duanyun was still suited and booted.

Compared with those two...

Lin Xian and Gao Yang felt like henchmen holding an umbrella for the crooked Dragon King.

Gao Yang even muttered to Lin Xian when he got the chance:

“What’s with those two...

Getting so formal just for a casual dinner?

Are they going to have afternoon tea with the Queen?”

“Perhaps the suit is Zhou Duanyun’s true self,” Lin Xian whispered in reply.

The four of them chatted happily in the private room.

Deliberate or unintentional, Gao Yang started off sitting with Zhou Duanyun, which meant that Tang Xin ended up sitting next to Lin Xian.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, Zhou Duanyun was in high spirits, drank quite a bit, and shared his experiences over the years.

He got into a decent university, but dropped out to start a business.

He did more and grew bigger, becoming the epitome of a young man’s success story.

“So what are you primarily doing now?” Gao Yang asked curiously.

“I’m involved in a bit of every industry,” Zhou Duanyun said with a smile.

“You didn’t come for the graduation photo when we finished high school...

Many people said you won the lottery.

Is that true?” After a few drinks, Gao Yang’s curiosity got the better of him.

Zhou Duanyun picked up his glass, drank it in one gulp, and wiped his mouth:

“We’re all classmates here, so I won’t hide it.

Indeed, I was lucky at that time, won the lottery, and that’s how I started my fortune and got to where I am now.”

“Envious!” Gao Yang raised his glass to Zhou Duanyun:

“Let us also share in your luck!”

“Yeah, share some of that luck with us!” Tang Xin also raised her glass with a cheerful smile, and everyone drank up.

“What are you doing now, Tang Xin?” Zhou Duanyun looked at her.

“I’m working at Donghai Fuxing Pharmaceutical Research Institute,” Tang Xin answered truthfully.

“Oh~~~~”

Zhou Duanyun had an epiphany and laughed heartily:

“I know your boss!”

“Really?” Tang Xin said cheerfully:

“That’s a big shot...

He was even Professor Xu Yun’s tutor before!

You actually know him!

Are you close?”

“Not bad, we’ve done business a few times, but I don’t like him as a person,” Zhou Duanyun spoke candidly:

“He’s too full of himself.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Tang Xin shrugged:

“I think he’s quite nice.”

“If he’s such a nice person...

why did he abandon Xu Yun back then?” Lin Xian interjected.

Lin Xian knew how Xu Yun had struggled over the years, so he didn’t have a good impression of this mentor.

“It seems you hold quite a grudge against this gentleman, Lin Xian,” Tang Xin turned to look at him:

“Are you and Professor Xu Yun close in private?

You also complained about him at the reunion because of Professor Xu Yun’s matter.”

“It’s alright, Xu Yun is also a teacher at East Sea University, though he never taught me...

But our company has business dealings with him, so I’ve met him privately a few times,” Lin Xian said, looking into his glass reflecting the incandescent light:

“Professor Xu Yun also has a comatose daughter in the hospital, and sometimes when I think about it, I really feel his life is hard.”

Bang!

Gao Yang slammed his fist on the table:

“This makes me so angry!

The year has passed and the two culprits who hit and killed Xu Yun haven’t been caught yet!”

Gao Yang was clearly intoxicated, swearing angrily:

“Those bastards!

I have no respect for people who murder scientists!

If they’re so capable, why don’t they go kill the real bad guys instead of a hardworking scientist?

If caught, death penalty wouldn’t be enough for them!

They should be flayed alive!”

After ranting, he snorted coldly and looked around at the three others:

“What do you guys think?

Right?”