Genius Club

Creak—

Under the dim light of a few oil lamps, the old safe of Wei Sheng Jin slowly opened, releasing a small puff of dust into the air.

Lin Xian, CC, and Angelica leaned forward, their curiosity piqued, and peered inside.

It was nearly empty. The only thing inside was a small, flat metal box. Despite its age, the box hadn’t rusted. It seemed to be made of some high-tech material. However, the box was quite small—just big enough to hold a book or a notebook.

Seeing this, CC looked puzzled. “Why are there so few items in these safes? And why is everything so small? There’s barely anything in them.”

Lin Xian explained, “Most man-made objects can’t withstand time and oxidation. This is something customers are told before buying a safe. Anything that’s not metal—like fabric, crafts, or wood—will slowly oxidize, become brittle, fade, and eventually crumble. Even plastics last longer, but it depends on the type.”

He continued, “Even metals are tricky. The storage rooms for these safes have specific humidity levels, and rust and corrosion are inevitable. That’s why customers are advised against storing metals that rust easily.”

“If it’s a short period, like a few years or decades, most things can survive. But if it’s a century or more, most items will break down into fragments or dust.”

CC nodded. “You sound like you know a lot about this.”

Lin Xian smiled but didn’t say anything. After all, he owned Time Bank; he knew these things well.

Mr. Wei Sheng Jin stared at the metal box inside, his heart pounding. He knelt down, carefully reached into the safe, and gently took out the box. It was small and delicate. Why would his younger self put something so small in such a big safe? Was it valuable? Did it have a special meaning?

He unlatched the metal box and opened it. Inside, there was a letter. The envelope was still in great condition, likely made with advanced anti-corrosion and anti-oxidation technology—not ordinary paper.

“It really is a letter,” Angelica said. “The other safes we opened had similar envelopes, most of them written to their future selves. This kind of paper has high-tech content, not something you’d find on Mars. It shows that before the great disaster in 2400, Earth’s technology was way more advanced than Mars’s today.”

“So, this letter was probably written by this gentleman to his younger self,” Angelica continued. “But if he suspects he’s not Wei Sheng Jin, then this letter is pointless, because this safe belongs to Wei Sheng Jin, and the person who wrote this letter was also young Wei Sheng Jin. Trying to prove he isn’t Wei Sheng Jin through this safe is a paradox.”

“Exactly,” Lin Xian agreed, sensing that Mr. Wei Sheng Jin’s trip to Earth might end in disappointment. At best, he might find some closure. Trying to prove his identity with just a safe was unrealistic.

Wei Sheng Jin stared at the letter. His hands trembled as he carefully unfolded the thin sheet of paper. Human nature thrives on curiosity, and Lin Xian, CC, and Angelica leaned in closer, holding their oil lamps forward, eager to see what was written.

Wei Sheng Jin didn’t mind. He unfolded the letter that had been folded for over two hundred years, and on it were rows of neat handwriting. It seemed to be written by a young girl. The heading in the top left corner read “To Classmate Wei Sheng Jin,” confirming it was a letter written to young Wei Sheng Jin.

It was quite surprising—they had all guessed this letter was written by Wei Sheng Jin himself. Who would have thought it was actually written by a young girl to him?

Their curiosity grew, and they eagerly read the contents:

“To Classmate Wei Sheng Jin,

They say that after waking up from hibernation, people lose their memory, so naturally, you wouldn’t remember me—your classmate and deskmate. I was really sad to see you go, but this era couldn’t cure your illness. I truly hope you get better in the future.

There’s a ‘thank you’ I never got to say to you. I feel now is the time. If I don’t say it now… I might never get the chance again.

Do you remember our time in elementary school? I had bad teeth, and my front teeth were big. The other students often teased me about my teeth, saying I was a rabbit stealing other people’s corn.

I was afraid to speak, afraid to open my mouth, for fear of being mocked. But back then, you stood up for me. You weren’t sick then; you were tall and brave. You stood in front of me and said you’d knock out anyone’s teeth who dared to make fun of mine.

I sat in the corner of the classroom by the wall, looking at your back as you stood in front of me. You felt like a ray of light that shined into my life.

I remember you liked Ultraman. You told me your favorite was Ultraman Tiga. You said Tiga was a hero of justice, and you wanted to be like him, to protect the world and maintain peace.

I thought you would always be so cheerful and bright.

But after we entered middle school, everything changed. People no longer teased me about my teeth because they became straighter after I lost my baby teeth. But your name became everyone’s joke. People were always mocking your name and saying mean things.

After that, I rarely saw your bright smile. You became quieter and more withdrawn, rarely speaking or lifting your head.

You told me you hated your name and resented your parents for giving you such an awful name.

But I never thought that way.

I never found your name hard to say. To me, it was the name of a hero—a name that belonged to my deskmate, who I admired and looked up to. No matter how many times I was asked, I always thought it was a name as brave as Ultraman Tiga’s.

But I didn’t get the chance to do anything about it… because you suddenly got sick and had to go into a hibernation chamber and leave this era.

I really didn’t want you to go. The adults said that once someone goes into that hibernation chamber, there’s a high chance they won’t see them again in this lifetime. I regret not talking to you more before, always being too shy to say a sincere ‘thank you.’

Finally, besides wishing you good health, I don’t know what else to say to bless you.

If you really hate your name, I believe it’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. So, I hope that when you wake up from hibernation… there will be no such thing as ‘sanitary pads’ in this world, and you’ll never be bothered by your name again.

Goodbye, Classmate Wei Sheng Jin.

Will we ever meet again?

If you forget my name and what I look like after losing your memory… next time, can we switch places, and I’ll protect you?

—Your deskmate, Liu Shiyu”

Angelica, having read the letter, straightened up and looked at Lin Xian and CC. “What is a sanitary pad? Why would they laugh at him because of it?”

Lin Xian and CC hesitated to explain. This wasn’t the right time to get into that. Nowadays, Earth definitely doesn’t have the industrial capability to produce sanitary pads; they likely use something like “menstrual cloths” instead. On Mars, there are clearly better alternatives to handle such issues, and sanitary pads are long outdated.

Even though Angelica had left behind many notebooks and videotapes, who would bother to specifically introduce sanitary pads in them?

As a result, neither Mr. Wei Sheng Jin nor Angelica knew what a sanitary pad was or understood why Wei Sheng Jin’s name was so infamous.

Seeing Angelica was about to press further, Lin Xian quickly changed the subject, “So, it seems this letter was written by a girl who was Mr. Wei’s deskmate before he went into hibernation. Now… over two hundred years have passed, and she must have passed away.”

CC nodded, “Actually, whether it was the issue with buck teeth or Mr. Wei’s name, they weren’t big problems in society. But in school, where kids are immature, don’t understand respect, and like to give others nicknames, it can be a form of unbearable verbal bullying.”

Lin Xian spread his hands. “There’s no helping it. Kids are like that. It’s an inevitable part of school life. But this letter… doesn’t seem to contain anything significant. As Angelica said, what’s written on it can’t prove anything, let alone that Wei Sheng Jin is Wei Sheng Jin.”

“Not only that,” Angelica added, “Don’t you both feel like reading this letter is like drinking plain water—no special feeling at all? The same goes for me. From an adult’s perspective, looking at these trivial matters between children doesn’t evoke any emotion. It just feels like making a fuss over nothing.”

“My memory was restored by looking at notebooks and videotapes, but as I mentioned earlier, those memories don’t evoke deep emotional resonance. One has to force oneself to accept them, to convince oneself they are real, to forcibly immerse oneself in those memories.”

“But, I must say, long-term self-suggestion is quite effective. You can indeed develop feelings. Like you, Lin Xian… I never knew you or Ji Lin, only saw your photos and data on the tapes.”

“But after all these years of reviewing records about you two, constantly replaying them in my mind, it does create emotional connections. For example, if I had the chance to avenge you two… I would do it without hesitation.”

“It just takes time to accept this,” she said, looking at Wei Sheng Jin’s back as he knelt on the ground.

CC followed her gaze and softly said to Lin Xian, “I’ve thought about it too: ‘Memories are different from film clips because memories come with emotions and feelings.’ If Mr. Wei has no memories of his youth, then naturally, he wouldn’t have any feelings about this little girl’s handwritten letter.”

“Do you think he’s disappointed? Traveling all the way from Mars to Earth, only to open a safe and find a letter that doesn’t move him… anyone would feel a bit let down.”

Lin Xian nodded, deciding to go comfort Mr. Wei Sheng Jin. He was still kneeling there, staring at the letter like he had turned to stone, not moving for a long time.

So, he stepped forward, ready to speak.

“Mr. Wei, you—”

But suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

The letter, which had been smooth and white just moments ago, was now covered in large drops of tears!

The tears were so heavy they almost soaked through the paper, making it all muddy.

What’s going on? Wasn’t Mr. Wei Sheng Jin without memory? So why such a big reaction to this letter?

CC and Angelica also realized something was off. They moved to stand in front of Mr. Wei Sheng Jin and saw that he was crying silently, gritting his teeth, his tears flowing down like beads…

The two exchanged glances, unable to figure out the reason.

CC bent down and asked, “Mr. Wei, have you regained your memory?”

Mr. Wei Sheng Jin, sobbing softly, shook his head.

Angelica frowned. “Then, does what’s written on the letter resonate with you?”

Mr. Wei Sheng Jin’s tears kept falling, and he shook his head again.

Lin Xian was just as puzzled. No recovered memories, no resonance with the story on the letter, and no way for the letter to prove Mr. Wei Sheng Jin’s identity or help him find himself.

Then… why was he crying so much?

By now, most of the letter’s content had been blurred by the flooding tears. The name “Liu Shiyu” at the bottom right corner of the letter was starting to dissolve in the tears.

“Could it be…” Lin Xian bit his lip, “Mr. Wei, does the name Liu Shiyu ring a bell?”

Finally, Mr. Wei Sheng Jin wiped his eyes, lifted his head, and said through his sobs, “Liu Shiyu… that’s my wife’s name! She passed away a few years ago!”

“What?” the three of them exclaimed in unison, struggling to make sense of the logic.

Suddenly, Lin Xian recalled many details. On the hilltop, Mr. Wei Sheng Jin had praised his wife endlessly:

“Kids, you two don’t have experience with dating or marriage, but I do! My wife and I were very much in love, model partners for decades, never fought—sweet and inseparable, always close.”

He had used his wife as the model for CC’s acting as a couple—gentle, affectionate, clingy yet considerate.

And the words at the end of the letter…

“Goodbye, Classmate Wei Sheng Jin. Will we meet again? If you forget my name and face after losing your memory… next time, can I be the one to protect you?”

And most importantly!

Mr. Wei Sheng Jin’s wife, her name was Liu Shiyu—the same girl who wrote this letter!

For a moment, Lin Xian pieced it all together and gasped. “Could it be that Liu Shiyu also went into hibernation… and followed you into the future?”

Mr. Wei Sheng Jin sniffed, exhaled deeply, and came to a realization: “So, my wife… she knew everything! She knew my past! She was my past!”

“When I woke up on Mars, I was just a teenager. I went to school, got a job, and when I met my wife, we were both 27. She was so good to me, patient, caring… so we got together quickly, got married, and had children.”

“I always felt so proud to have such a wonderful wife, especially because she pursued me, which seemed like a dream! But now I see… we already knew each other! We were deskmates over two hundred years ago!”

The more Mr. Wei Sheng Jin thought about it, the clearer it became. “All these years, my wife would often ask me if I liked Ultraman, what I thought of Ultraman Tiga… I’d laugh at how childish she was, watching such an old show at her age.”

“Every time, she would just smile and let it go. Later, as we grew older, she stopped asking. It turns out she always remembered…”

“Like what’s written in this letter. Before she went into hibernation, she must have recorded these things in her notebook. That’s why, when she woke up from hibernation, she came to find me! And I… remembered nothing. Not even until she passed away did I remember.”

…

Listening to Mr. Wei Sheng Jin’s story, Lin Xian closed his eyes. In his mind, a tale of love spanning over two hundred years emerged—a youthful yet loyal love story.

Initially, Wei Sheng Jin and Liu Shiyu were just classmates in the same elementary school. Wei Sheng Jin, who liked Ultraman Tiga and wanted to be a light of justice himself, protected Liu Shiyu’s dignity from their classmates’ ridicule.

Maybe, in young Wei Sheng Jin’s eyes, he was just like Ultraman Tiga, defeating one of the many little monsters—a small act of justice.

But to Liu Shiyu, Wei Sheng Jin was a light that shined on her life—unique, eternal, irreplaceable.

It’s just unfortunate.

The cruelest part of growing up is… girls of the same age are always much more mature than boys. Liu Shiyu probably started liking her “Ultraman Tiga” back then. But Wei Sheng Jin was completely unaware of it.

This secret crush continued into middle school when they became desk mates. People no longer mocked Liu Shiyu, who was becoming more beautiful. Instead, they started mocking Wei Sheng Jin’s name as they learned more.

It’s hard to imagine what a boy with such a name might have gone through in middle school—the malice and ridicule. Did young Wei Sheng Jin’s sudden brain illness have something to do with this verbal bullying? Lin Xian didn’t know. But anyway, Liu Shiyu’s budding love never had a chance to blossom before her Ultraman entered a hibernation chamber and traveled to an unknown future.

She wrote a farewell letter, yes. But maybe, sometime later, she still couldn’t forget that light that shined on her life. She still worried about the boy who might still be ridiculed.

So…

At some point in her early twenties, she followed Wei Sheng Jin into a hibernation chamber, hoping to meet again in a shared future.

If Wei Sheng Jin was so important to Liu Shiyu, it must have been like how Ji Lin filled Angelica’s notes. This boy’s story surely occupied most of Liu Shiyu’s diary.

She might have purposely woken up a few years later to ensure they were of the same age.

Then, 27-year-old Liu Shiyu and 27-year-old Wei Sheng Jin met again.

He didn’t remember her, but she had crossed time and space just to see him.

Their love found a way, and Liu Shiyu’s wish came true. It was an era without sanitary pads, and no one mocked Wei Sheng Jin’s name.

At the same time, just like the handwritten letter from her youth said…

“Next time, can I be the one to protect you?”

Judging by Mr. Wei Sheng Jin’s self-proclaimed happy and fulfilling life, Liu Shiyu indeed kept her promise. She took good care of Wei Sheng Jin. They loved each other, grew old together, and had a complete life.

A love spanning over 200 years.

Chasing love all the way to Mars.

And all of this started with a young boy who idolized Ultraman Tiga and a moment of bravery.

Fate, indeed, is a mysterious thing.

Time turns, roles reverse—isn’t this a kind of good karma?

“Do you regret it?” Lin Xian asked Mr. Wei Sheng Jin, “Regret… finding out only now?”

Mr. Wei Sheng Jin lifted his head, stood up, and carefully folded the tear-soaked letter, putting it into his pocket.

Then…

He shook his head solemnly. “I don’t regret it,” he said softly. “Though I feel a sense of loss, I don’t regret it.”

“Because… life is like this. Every small choice, every little action, is like a butterfly effect, affecting the following years, even the lives of many.”

“If I had known from the start that my wife approached me because of my childhood embarrassment… would we still have ended up together?”

“But there’s one thing I don’t quite understand,” Mr. Wei Sheng Jin scratched his head. “When I woke up on Mars and got my memory notebook, there wasn’t a single note about Liu Shiyu. It means that young me wasn’t very mindful of that name… Boys that age are weird; most of their energy and attention are focused on games and anime, with little interest in girls their age.”

“So why… would I place her letter so carefully in a aluminum-alloy safe?”

There was a moment of silence.

Lin Xian suddenly had a thought. Could there be another reason?

He turned to look at the safe door, its eight-digit combination code—

2373 was Mr. Wei Sheng Jin’s birth year. But what about 0907?

What could it be?

Lin Xian closed his eyes, trying to connect some clues.

0907… Whose birthday could it be?

It wasn’t Mr. Wei Sheng Jin’s or Liu Shiyu’s. Then, in young Wei Sheng Jin’s world, whose birthday would be so important?

Suddenly, Lin Xian couldn’t help but chuckle. “Ultraman Tiga.”

He remembered.

Back in Lin Xian’s childhood, Ultraman Tiga was hugely popular. Every year, when Tiga’s birthday came around, Ultraman fans would organize all sorts of celebrations.

September 7th.

That was Ultraman Tiga’s birthday—the day the show first aired.

“Ah…” Lin Xian laughed and shook his head. “Mr. Wei, it seems you really liked Ultraman Tiga when you were young.”

“0907—your reason for setting that as the password was because it’s Ultraman Tiga’s birthday.”

“At the same time, the reason you treasured Liu Shiyu’s letter in the safe is the same…”

“She said in the letter that you were a brave hero like Ultraman Tiga. For the young you, that was probably the highest honor, the brightest recognition in your life.”

Hearing this, Mr. Wei Sheng Jin couldn’t help but laugh too. “Is that it… haha… just for this little thing?”

He laughed so hard his eyes turned into slits. He chuckled, and as he laughed… He began to cry.

…

After a while, Lin Xian and CC stepped out of the warehouse and came outside. They looked up at the rising moonlight and down at their watches.

9:45 PM.

It wasn’t too late. They still had time to hurry.

Lin Xian wanted to finish another task.

“CC, let’s go back to Rhine Village.”

CC turned her head. “What for?”

“I’ve figured it out,” Lin Xian said softly. “Memories are far more important than we imagine. Just like Mr. Wei Sheng Jin—he never felt complete… until this moment when he saw that letter.”

“I thought about it. I have no right to decide someone else’s memories or to stop them from getting them back under the guise of goodwill.”

“As you said, even a half-moon is still a part of the full moon. Without the missing pieces, there’d be no full moon. Many things we find trivial might be like life-changing realizations for the person involved.”

“So let’s head back to Rhine Village and see that village chief grandma—that little girl who brought perfect moonlight to Earth all by herself.”

Lin Xian looked into the distance. “It’s time… to return Zheng Xiang Yue’s memories and past to her.”