Genius Club.

Chapter 502 Halloween and Einstein
Listening to CC's trembling words, Lin Xian said nothing.

【worry about gains and losses】

This is probably... CC's current situation.

Just as she said just now, when she had nothing, it was actually her most carefree moment. She was not afraid of loss, tomorrow, or even death.

But now that I have a lot, it is inevitable that I become more afraid of losing and feel insecure.

That’s right, a sense of security.

This is what the first generation CC has dreamed of since its birth, but has never been able to find.

Just like in the animated film Alice in Wonderland, Alice was just having a daydream... CC was also worried that she would accidentally wake up and find herself still curled up on a street corner in Brooklyn, hugging her legs in the cold wind, helpless.

Lin Xian looked at the sharp light in CC's eyes and felt really distressed.

He wanted to comfort her.

but……

CC's words came true and revealed the final outcome.

To put it bluntly, wasn't this encounter in Brooklyn in 1952 just a dream?
CC will eventually turn into blue stardust and dissipate, laying the first thousand-year stake in the long river of time and space;

Lin Xian will eventually leave 1952 and return to 2234 with the truth and answers to continue his journey of saving the world.

As time rolls forward, no one will stay in 1952. There will be no Lin Xian or CC here.

Lin Xian also realized it.

This was indeed a dream.

It is the dream of the first generation CC, it is my own dream, it is Zhang Yuqian’s dream, it is Chu Anqing’s dream, and it is the dream of every girl who has been following the millennium pile.

At the same time, what is even more cruel is...

It is a dream with a destined ending, and also a dream that will inevitably end.

Lin Xian hesitated to speak.

But in the end.

He stretched out his broad right palm, stroked CC's head, ruffled her smooth hair, and smiled:
"How is that possible? What a joke you are talking about."

He chose to lie.

Just like many lies he had heard, it was well-intentioned but helpless:

"How can you be like a child, watching cartoons and thinking about reality... Can the settings in cartoons be taken seriously? We are in the real world."

He grabbed a handful of popcorn from the popcorn bucket in CC's arms, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed and swallowed:
"Have you forgotten? You said that you didn't know what a hot dog tasted like in your dream before, but today you're eating steak and popcorn. How could it be a dream?"

"So... don't worry, this is not a dream. You are standing firmly in Manhattan, in the center of the world. And I'm not going anywhere. You can see me whenever you wake up."

……

After listening to this, CC nodded and wiped his eyes.

I smiled embarrassedly:

"That's true. I was thinking too much. Hehe, how could this be a dream? Come on, pinch me. If this is a dream, it will definitely wake me up in pain."

It is better to obey orders than to be respectful.

Lin Xian pinched the skin on CC's arm through his clothes and twisted it!
"It hurts, hurts, hurts!"

The popcorn in the popcorn bucket bounced with CC's body, and CC punched Lin Xian:
"Why are you so cruel?"

"To reassure you."

Lin Xian didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"Now you believe it, right? The fact that you didn't wake up despite the pain is enough to prove that this wasn't a dream. Don't worry, I'm a professional at proving the difference between dreams and reality."

"You are really too professional!"

CC rubbed his arms and stood up:
"Let's go, everyone has left, and there are only two of us left."

Lin Xian also stood up and followed CC.

Walk out of the theater.

Walk out of the cinema.

It's windy outside and very cold and chilly.

Although the snow only fell for a short time last night, the power of the cold wave was still there, bringing the entire city into winter early.

It was late, and there were few cars on the street.

Lin Xian and CC took a taxi back to the Empire State Building Hotel, ready to wash up and go to sleep.

“It’s not good to have a house that’s too big.”

CC brushed his teeth and said:
"A small room is more cozy. If it's too big... like now, it feels empty."

"It's going to be crowded in a small room."

Lin Xian sat on the sofa and picked up the latest issue of the New York Evening Post to read:
"It's like that day in Brooklyn's 30-cent motel. The room was so small that there was nothing but a bed, and we had to choose one person to sleep on the floor... Isn't this much more comfortable than that time? And each person has his own room."

rustling rustle...

CC kept the toothbrush in and out of her mouth. She looked at Lin Xian on the sofa.

"Actually...it's pretty good there."

she whispered.

The sound was drowned out by the friction of toothpaste.

……

The next day, Lin Xian slept until he woke up naturally.

Stretch.

Looking at the time on the bedroom clock, the hour and minute hands show 12:42 noon.

"This is a really long sleep."

Because it was very late when we got back to the hotel yesterday.

Perhaps for this reason, CC did not call him to get up for breakfast today, not wanting to disturb his rest.

"what?"

He opened his eyes wide:
"No, wait!"

12:42 US time is exactly 00:42 Dragon Country time!

Could it be that I just said those words to CC yesterday, and today happened to be her birthday, and then I turned into blue stardust and disappeared?
Lin Xian hurriedly got up, put on his slippers, and opened the bedroom door.

"Huh? Lin Xian, you're awake!"

look up.

Lin Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw CC sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed watching TV.

I am indeed a little paranoid.

The current CC should not have turned into a thousand-year-old pile yet, so it should not have the conditions to turn into blue stardust and dissipate.

"What's wrong, Lin Xian?"

CC tilted his head and looked at him:
"You look so nervous, are you having a nightmare?"

"No, ahem."

Lin Xian coughed twice:

"I just... um? Ahem, my throat?"

He rubbed his throat and felt that the voice did not sound like his own.

"Ah, your voice is hoarse."

CC jumped off the sofa, poured a glass of water and handed it to Lin Xian:
"Drink some water to moisten your throat."

Lin Xian took the cup of water and gulped it down:
"It seems like he's really angry."

He tried again, but his voice didn't return to normal, it was still hoarse and broken:

"This burning sensation is so uncomfortable...my voice breaks when I speak."

"Getting angry?"

CC is confused:
"My throat is hoarse, why are you talking about fire? How can my throat be on fire?"

"It's not a fire, it's a heat."

Lin Xian explained in an uncomfortable voice:

"Getting angry... is a term used in traditional Chinese medicine. Actually, strictly speaking... it's not traditional Chinese medicine, but the Dragon people's term. It's basically caused by food and weather... cough cough."

After speaking such a long speech in one breath, Lin Xian felt like his throat was being rubbed by sandpaper.

Needless to say.

It must be because the food I have eaten these days is too unhealthy.

Hot dogs, cheese, hamburgers, French fries, steak, popcorn, cola...

Thinking about this diet structure now seems terrifying.

"Can you still understand me when I speak with this voice?"

Lin Xian looked at CC and asked:

“It feels like I’m always breaking my voice, like a broken-down blower.”

“Hahahaha, they do look a bit alike!”

CC was amused by Lin Xian's adjective:
"But your hoarse voice is not bad either. It sounds a bit like an Irish accent, which makes your English pronunciation seem more standard."

"Is there still this?"

"Yes."

CC smiled and said:

"Your English pronunciation before was so pronounced that I could tell you were from Longguo. Your voice was full of intonation, just like singing. Now that your voice is hoarse, you dare not speak loudly, and you really sound like a [European man]."

"That's how normal English should be pronounced. Your broken voice has made you speak English better. It can be considered a blessing in disguise... Ah, but I didn't say your voice was bad before. Your voice was pretty nice before, very attractive."

"I understand."

Lin Xian nodded.

In other words, this hoarse and irritated throat changed the way I spoke and made me sound more like a foreigner:
"But this is not good news. I feel very uncomfortable."

He went to the phone and picked up the receiver:
"I have to order some light meals to reduce internal heat. Every day I eat either snacks or high-calorie foods. If I continue to eat, I will become mute."

Turn the telephone wheel and dial the hotel kitchen phone:
"Hello, can you make some mung bean soup, millet porridge or some other thin porridge?"

The chef on the phone was stunned:
"What is that? It can't be made." "You can at least make seaweed egg drop soup, right?" Lin Xian asked again.

"what is that?"

The chef still didn't know anything:

“No seaweed.”

Lin Xian sighed:
"Well, bring me two raw eggs."

“Raw eggs?!”

The chef's voice on the phone was too high:
"Are you sure, sir?"

"Well, the baby is about to be born, hurry up."

Soon.

The waiter brought two raw eggs to the table. CC curiously followed Lin Xian to see what kind of magical oriental magic he was going to perform:

"Are you a savage? You want to eat raw eggs."

"This is a folk remedy for treating internal heat."

Lin Xian said.

Crack a raw egg into a soup bowl, then immediately pour in boiling water and stir quickly with a spoon.

immediately.

The egg white and egg yolk are beaten and solidified into frangipani in the vortex of hot water, floating in the bowl.

“Plumeria frangipani.”

Lin Xian scooped a spoonful and introduced it to CC.

Then, under CC's shocked gaze, he drank up the bowl of "dark food":

"Well, it feels much more comfortable."

CC frowned:

"But...your voice isn't healed yet. It's still as hoarse as before."

"No, do you really think this is magic?"

Lin Xian chuckled, but then he started coughing because he spoke too quickly:
"It takes time to get rid of heat, and the same goes for cooling down. You have to do it slowly."

He picked up another egg:
"Would you like a bowl?"

CC took a step back and shook his head like a rattle.

……

At night, the two walked on the street.

Street vendors gradually lit up eerie lights, with all kinds of scary pumpkin lanterns and horror dolls placed outside their doors, as well as bloody plastic models dressed as vampires.

Seeing these uniquely shaped toys and decorations, Lin Xian suddenly realized:
"Today is Halloween!"

"It's tomorrow."

CC explained:
"November 11st is Halloween, and today, October 1st, is Halloween Eve... But there's nothing wrong with you saying tonight is Halloween. After all, the most lively time of Halloween is Halloween Eve, with costume parties, parades and so on."

Because of cultural differences.

Lin Xian was very unfamiliar with Halloween, having only seen it in American movies.

In China, some people still celebrate Christmas from time to time, but as for Halloween... it is indeed somewhat culturally incompatible and not widely spread. Only some small bars like to take advantage of the popularity.

However, in the United States, Halloween is still very prestigious.

"How did you celebrate Halloween before?" Lin Xian asked.

"Go pretend to be a ghost and ask for candy~"

CC giggled, her eyes curved into beautiful little crescents:
"Halloween is the holiday that children look forward to the most, just as much as Christmas. However... we can no longer dress up as ghosts after we grow up. After we left the orphanage and wandered the streets, we naturally didn't participate much."

"After all, how can I afford to attend a masquerade? Even if I participate in a parade, I have to at least dress up."

Hey.

Lin Xian stopped and looked at CC who turned back:

"Do you like to dance?"

CC in the dream loved dancing very much; the Liancun tap dance was taught to her by Lin Xian, and it will always exist in CC's memory as a fragment of memory.

Needless to say, Chu Anqing has been learning dance since she was a child and is at a professional level.

and so……

This was a question that was asked despite knowing the answer. Before CC answered, Lin Xian had guessed the answer.

"Of course!"

The straightforward CC never hides anything. He jumped to the side and flicked the pumpkin lantern on the railing.

dong dong.

It's a real big pumpkin.

After hollowing it out, light a candle.

"The grandma at the orphanage taught us to dance."

CC touched the head of the pumpkin lantern:
"When my grandmother was young, she was a professional actor in a theater troupe. She was a very professional one."

"Grandma is really omnipotent..."

Lin Xian couldn't help but sigh.

This legendary old lady is a bit like Emperor Gawain, and can be described as an all-rounder.

"Since you said so..."

Lin Xian put his hands in his pockets and smiled at CC:
"【Then let's go to the masquerade now.】"

"Eh?"

CC was stunned:
"Now? Isn't it a little too late?"

"How come~"

Lin Xian took out a stack of US dollars from his coat pocket:

"Money can make the world go round!"

……

Participating in a masquerade ball is not something that requires a particularly high threshold.

Halloween Eve is a traditional American holiday with a very high tolerance rate. No matter how serious you are about dressing up as a ghost, you can participate freely, even just wearing a mask. Having fun is the most important thing.

Lin Xian and CC got into a taxi and asked the taxi driver about the masquerade ball.

In any city.

Taxi drivers are the most reliable information dealers. Just ask them if you want to know anything.

"Oh, for a masquerade, you can go to the clubhouse across from the cinema... They hold the most lively Halloween party every year!"

The bearded driver laughed:
"We've taken several groups of guests there today. It's really lively. There are also special stalls selling clothes, makeup, and masks at the entrance of the hall, which is very suitable for people like you who are not prepared in advance."

"very good."

Lin Xianduo gave the driver some tips:
"That's where we'll go."

After a while, the taxi stopped in front of the cinema, which was the one where Lin Xian and CC watched "Alice in Wonderland" yesterday; opposite was the hall where a masquerade ball was being held. At this moment, the hall was crowded with people in all kinds of strange costumes coming in and out.

"What a coincidence."

Lin Xian got out of the car and looked at the two movie posters on the wall at the entrance of the cinema.

"The Dashuling Revenge" and "Alice in Wonderland".

It's them again. I saw them just yesterday.

He stared at the poster of "The Revenge of Dashuling", on which the name of the lead actor was written in huge fonts -

Kirk Douglas

"Let's watch this movie if we have a chance."

Lin Xian turned around and looked at CC:

"I always feel like there's some bad fate..."

"Lin Xian!"

CC suddenly interrupted Lin Xian, grabbed Lin Xian's arm and shook it violently, pointing at the other side of the road excitedly:
"Look! Look at that old black car!"

Lin Xian looked up.

It is a very common and ordinary old car in this era:
"What happened to that car? Have you seen it?"

"of course!"

CC opened his eyes wide and looked at Lin Xian:

"That's Einstein's car that often passes by the welfare home! His license plate number is this. I won't be wrong. It's definitely Einstein's car!"

Einstein's car...

Upon hearing this information, Lin Xian immediately became alert.

He instinctively pulled CC to his side, made her face him with her back to the road, and put the hood of her coat behind her neck, covering her tightly.

Then he narrowed his eyes and stared at the old car that had just stopped.

I saw.

A driver wearing white gloves got out of the car from the front door, then walked around to the right rear door, opened it, and bent down.

The white Afro first appeared from the door frame.

The old man stepped on the ground, straightened his clothes and turned around.

His face was drooped with fatigue, his lifeless eyes were looking into the distance, and even his thick mustache looked haggard.

Lin Xian took a deep breath...

This face.

He wouldn't admit it.

I have seen this countless times in textbooks. This is a monument that can never be avoided in the history of human physics. It is also the true identity of the person on the mask of the president of the Genius Club.

Albert Einstein!

(End of this chapter)