Genius Club

Tang Xin.

Lin Xian stared at the unfamiliar profile picture and name on his phone.

“Who is this? Do we have a girl named Tang Xin in our class?”

He scrutinized the profile picture again. It showed a cute kitty cat with the name Tang Xin. Lin Xian couldn’t recall anyone by that name.

He tried to view the girl’s photos on her QQ space but found it locked. Opting for a direct approach, he messaged Gao Yang on WeChat:

“Who is Tang Xin? I don’t remember anyone by that name in our class.”

“It’s normal that you don’t remember,” Gao Yang replied. “She was a transfer student who only joined us for a few days in sophomore year before moving abroad. She joined the QQ group back then, and I didn’t have the heart to remove her. She’s been inactive all these years, so I forgot about her too.”

“Does someone who was only in our class for a few days really need to come to the reunion?”

“Why not? The more, the merrier. She might have made friends with some of the girls in our class. Everyone’s welcome. It’s not like we’re short on food.”

“Alright,” Lin Xian mused. If Gao Yang felt that way, he wouldn’t dwell on it. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this girl’s reply seemed directed at him specifically.

He had no memory of this girl and didn’t see someone who was around for just a few days as a true classmate.

He closed his phone without responding in the group chat, deciding it was best not to overthink.

“I wonder how many will show up to this high school reunion after five years.”

Truthfully, Lin Xian was excited. Many friends from high school had drifted apart after college, and he was eager to reconnect.

After preparing, Lin Xian headed to his company to interview recent graduates. His team had a hefty workload, and Zhao Ying Jun had instructed them to expand to thirty or forty members, all chosen by Lin Xian.

The interviews lasted longer than anticipated. As a recent graduate himself, he empathized with these new grads. He listened patiently to each candidate, promising to notify them within two days of their results, pass or fail.

He found seven or eight promising candidates to whom he planned to extend offers in the coming days.

After wrapping up the interviews, Lin Xian returned to his private office, brewed some tea, and relaxed. Sipping his tea, he gazed out at the bustling cityscape.

The business district where his company resided thrived, surrounded by the headquarters of numerous renowned companies and banks, all housed within impressive skyscrapers.

“Bank…” Lin Xian recalled something from his dream last night about CC mentioning Time Bank.

He remembered the name. CC had mentioned that aluminum alloy safes were transported from this bank. Time Bank had declared bankruptcy for unknown reasons, alerting safe owners to retrieve their belongings by August 28, 2624.

If unclaimed, the safes would be discarded, explaining their appearance in the junkyard in his dream.

“When was Time Bank established?” Lin Xian pondered.

If the safe was indeed his, it must have been stored after Time Bank’s founding. Even if the bank had undergone acquisitions, name changes, or restructuring, the name Time Bank remained a clue.

Lin Xian searched online for Time Bank. Predictably, there were no results.

“Time Bank.” He tried to remember the name from his initial dream. Due to the angle and dim streetlights, he couldn’t recall the bank’s name, only its location.

“Wait, the sign was in English.” He had driven CC there once. Thinking back, the unlit bank sign indeed read “BANK” in English.

“Tim… TIE,” Lin Xian realized. “TIEBANK, Time Bank, maybe!”

That made sense. The bank’s vault contained no money or valuables because it wasn’t a conventional bank. Its primary service was long-term storage, safes meant to last decades, centuries, or longer.

“Interesting,” Lin Xian marveled at the diversity of the world. A bank like this existing for 600 years was intriguing, even if it had eventually gone bankrupt.

He searched again for Time Bank but found nothing relevant, only references in games and movies. This bank didn’t exist in reality.

“It hasn’t been established yet,” he concluded.

But it might be soon. Lin Xian looked across the street at the towering commercial bank headquarters. He felt that Time Bank might be established soon.

In his first dream, Big Cat Face had mentioned that aluminum alloy safes were rare and he had never seen them outside. CC confirmed this, suggesting that the safes hadn’t become mainstream due to their cost.

If Time Bank advertised that all their safes were made of this unique aluminum alloy, it would be a unique selling point, aligning perfectly with their branding.

“Maybe…” Lin Xian gazed at the warm sun. “Maybe the time for me to store the safe is coming soon.”

He wasn’t sure when.

A few months? A year?

But it should be soon.

Lin Xian didn’t dwell on this. He had written a letter to his future self, ensuring that no matter when or where he encountered the aluminum alloy safe, he would set the password to 29990203.

This was sufficient. With this time-space connection, the password for the safe 600 years in the future would likely be this.

The phone on his desk rang. It was Zhao Ying Jun’s office number.

He answered, and Zhao Ying Jun’s voice came through:

“Lin Xian, come to my office.”

…

On the 22nd floor, in Zhao Ying Jun’s office.

“Come in.”

The heavy double doors opened with a thud, and Lin Xian entered.

Everything was as usual. The thin layer of dust on the coffee table and sofa seemed thicker, and the piles of files on the large desk were as chaotic as ever.

Lin Xian felt that Zhao Ying Jun’s office had a magical power, preserving everything unchanged. The only difference was that some of the plants’ leaves had turned yellow. He wondered if Zhao Ying Jun, as busy as she was, had time to water them.

She really needed a secretary but was more resistant to the idea than anyone else. Her previous secretary must have hurt her deeply, making it difficult for her to trust anyone.

Zhao Ying Jun took a sip of her tea and placed the glass cup on the desk.

“Lin Xian, I need you to prepare a document on Rhine Cat, detailing its image, style, and design background. I’ll show it to the composers I’ll be meeting.”

“Although Rhine Cat is very successful and popular, some composers might misunderstand its image.”

Composers? Lin Xian recalled Zhao Ying Jun mentioning a meeting with composers to discuss creating a theme song for Rhine Cat.

“Did the last composer not work out?” Lin Xian asked.

She nodded and smiled wryly. “He thought Rhine Cat’s image was too childish and said he’d never written a theme song for a cartoon character before. So, he declined.”

Childish… Though it stung a bit to hear Rhine Cat described that way, it was true.

Seeing Lin Xian’s silence, Zhao Ying Jun smiled. “It’s normal. Every composer has different strengths and preferences. Collaboration should be mutual.”

“Your Rhine Cat is perfect. Its popularity and sales in both the kids’ and mature markets are proof. If we ever fail in the cosmetics market, we could easily pivot to toys.”

Lin Xian knew she was joking, so he didn’t pursue it.

“Don’t worry about the theme song. We have many more composers to talk to.”

Zhao Ying Jun took another sip of her tea and said, “I hope to find the best composer for Rhine Cat. I think it’s worth striving for. I called you here to prepare all the information about Rhine Cat so we can present it well to the top composers.”

“Alright,” Lin Xian agreed. At that moment, he understood why Chu Shan He pampered his daughter so much. He also loved Rhine Cat and wanted only the best for it.

Back in his office, Lin Xian compiled all the information on Rhine Cat, focusing on its image and design background, and sent the electronic file to Zhao Ying Jun.

After that, he left work. He had important things to do in the dream world tonight.

Garbage Dump No. 314,

Four garbage trucks arriving at 23:19,

Carrying tens of thousands of water-damaged books,

A treasure trove of history and knowledge!

“I hope to find the two books I want most among them.”

Lin Xian washed up, turned off the lights, and lay in bed.

He closed his eyes and turned over.

“Let’s go!”

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