Genius Club

The next day, Liu Feng skipped class and his usual delivery job.

“Today… you’re staying in?” Li Qi Qi, seated in her wheelchair, eyed him with curiosity.

For the last two years, Liu Feng hadn’t missed a single day of work. He was always on the move, like a machine that never stops.

Li Qi Qi had often urged him to take a break, but to no avail. Seeing him at home today was as surprising as the sun rising from the west.

Liu Feng smiled and shook his head as he bustled about the kitchen, whipping up a meal for Li Qi Qi.

“I’m staying home for a few days. I’m worried about your safety with that lunatic bothering us.”

Li Qi Qi chuckled. “You mean Lin Xian? He doesn’t strike me as dangerous. If he were, he would’ve shown his true colors by now.”

“And besides, what do we have to steal? We’re broke.”

“I know, it’s weird,” Liu Feng said, lowering the heat under the porridge and taking off his apron. “He’s fixated on that ‘Introduction to Universal Constants’ book. I don’t see where his confidence is coming from.”

“I’ll give back that money he left us next time I see him. Since I can’t help him, I shouldn’t keep his money.”

“What did he talk about with you yesterday?” Li Qi Qi asked, maneuvering her wheelchair to help set the table. She had watched their conversation from the window.

Liu Feng paused, then continued setting the table without a word.

“Just small talk,” he replied eventually.

That day, staying home with Li Qi Qi, Liu Feng noticed just how much her condition had deteriorated.

She consumed painkillers constantly, like they were mere snacks, but still, her pain would resurface, leaving her pale and sweating. Liu Feng hadn’t realized it had gotten this severe.

Filled with regret, he picked up the nearly empty bottle of painkillers and shook it.

“Qi Qi…” His voice was laden with sorrow. “When did it get this bad?”

Li Qi Qi coughed weakly and managed a smile. “Cancer does that. It’s just some pain, nothing more.”

“You should have told me,” Liu Feng said, his face etched with concern.

“It’s really not always this bad. Today’s just worse, and you happened to be here.”

Liu Feng turned away, heart heavy.

They had been together since university; he knew her too well. This was just a kind lie. She had been enduring her pain quietly, always showing her best side whenever he was home.

He now understood the sad look she had when she talked about the upcoming meteor shower.

With her condition… she might not make it that far. Her situation was worse than what the doctors had indicated.

“I was thinking…” Liu Feng choked up as he took her hand, “of proposing during the meteor shower.”

“We’re not kids anymore. Why bother proposing?” Li Qi Qi laughed softly, leaning in to embrace him. “I can’t hold you back…”

That evening, Liu Feng wheeled Li Qi Qi out to the yard. They gazed up at the sky, knowing well that no meteor shower was expected. No amount of looking could change that.

Meteor showers are caused by comet debris burning up in the atmosphere, a natural spectacle. But they don’t just happen randomly.

Both remained silent. Liu Feng hadn’t mentioned Lin Xian’s claims about artificially creating a meteor shower, knowing how unrealistic it sounded, even though Lin Xian had believed in it as much as he believed in the flawed physics book.

But now, Liu Feng, a staunch believer in the unchangeable laws of mathematics and physics, held a faint hope that Lin Xian might prove himself right.

It was irrational, but if it could grant Qi Qi’s last wish, Liu Feng was ready to believe in miracles.

“Let’s head back inside, Qi Qi. It’s getting cold,” he murmured gently.

“Okay,” Li Qi Qi agreed, closing her eyes as they moved.

Over the next few days, Lin Xian was nowhere to be seen. The man who had been a constant presence suddenly disappeared. Each morning, Liu Feng looked out at the usual spot where Lin Xian hung around, hoping yet not hoping.

Then another week passed.

Liu Feng wasn’t sure if it was just his perception, but Qi Qi seemed to be fading faster than before. She was like a worn-out instrument, a candle struggling against the breeze.

“Maybe I should have spent more time with you,” Liu Feng confessed, embracing her from behind as she sat in her wheelchair, feeling her growing frailty.

“I think I made a mistake,” he whispered. “I worked so hard to afford your treatment, but I missed out on our time together.”

“It turns out I chose the worst option.”

“Life isn’t a math problem. There’s no definite answer,” Li Qi Qi replied, her hand trembling as she touched his cheek. “Not every problem has a solution, and not everything can be split into right and wrong.”

At dinner, she didn’t eat a thing. She couldn’t.

Outside, the moon rose, casting a luminous glow. It wasn’t a good night for star watching.

“I really… want to see a meteor shower…” Li Qi Qi murmured, tears streaming down her face, absorbed by the soft fabric of her collar.

She wanted to make a wish.

It was all she could do for Liu Feng.

Suddenly, the Phone Rang

Liu Feng glanced at the vibrating phone on the table. An unfamiliar number from Donghai in Long Country flashed on the screen. Could it be…?

Eyes wide, he answered the call.

“Liu Feng, bring Qi Qi outside,” Lin Xian’s voice crackled through the poor connection. “Look towards the south.”

The call ended abruptly. Liu Feng and Li Qi Qi exchanged puzzled looks, but he did as instructed, bundling Qi Qi in a thick blanket and wheeling her into the yard.

They looked southward, the moonlight dulling the night sky.

Liu Feng was skeptical. How could anything be visible under such bright moonlight? Even if a meteor shower occurred, spotting it would be challenging.

But then, the wheelchair under his hands trembled.

“Feng Feng… look! A meteor! It’s a meteor!” Qi Qi’s voice broke through her sobs.

Liu Feng looked up, astonished. A slow-moving, yellow-tailed meteor streaked across the sky, its brilliance outlasting any typical meteor.

One meteor.

Three meteors.

Five meteors.

Ten meteors.

Dozens.

Hundreds!

A cascade of yellow meteors filled the sky, their long tails resembling fireworks, illuminating the night. Liu Feng and Li Qi Qi were speechless, their eyes wide with wonder.

This was no ordinary meteor shower. It was like something out of a fairy tale, either heralding the end of the world or fulfilling a heartfelt wish.

“Meteor shower…” Li Qi Qi’s vision blurred with tears, the meteor light shimmering off the droplets, casting a sacred glow around her.

“Make a wish! Quick, make a wish!”

Qi Qi closed her eyes, her hands clasped at her chest, whispering fervently. Liu Feng watched in awe, mesmerized by the shower of meteors.

He couldn’t fathom how Lin Xian had achieved this. This artificial meteor shower was more spectacular than any natural one. No natural meteor shower could send hundreds of meteors cascading across the sky, each lasting nearly a minute.

Even after Qi Qi made her wish and opened her eyes, the meteor shower persisted. The meteors wove a dream catcher in the sky, capturing the girl’s wish.

“This isn’t a real meteor shower…” Liu Feng, ever the scientist, felt compelled to acknowledge the reality.

But Qi Qi, with her background in astronomy, knew this too. Yet, at that moment, all her pain seemed to vanish. She smiled, took Liu Feng’s hand, and placed it on her cheek.

“This is a real meteor shower,” she said joyfully. “Just as I imagined.”

“So wonderful, letting me make such a long wish.”

Liu Feng looked down at Qi Qi. “What did you wish for?”

Qi Qi shook her head. “If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

She smiled, her eyes reflecting the fading meteors. “Actually, I’ve prepared a gift for you for a long time, but I never found the right moment to give it to you.”

“What is it?” Liu Feng was taken aback.

“Wait a second. No peeking!” Qi Qi wheeled herself into the house.

THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM