Detective Conan: The Literary Genius is Actually a Great Scientist

Teitan High School, Class 2-B.

Lin Ran entered the classroom right on time. He had just sat down in his seat when the Chinese teacher walked in carrying his textbook and his signature large water bottle, and slammed them heavily on the podium.

"Attend class!"

The classroom, which had been noisy just a second ago, fell silent instantly as the teacher's powerful voice rang out.

In high school, teachers still held considerable authority.

But once you get to university, basically as long as you don't disturb others in class, no matter what you do, even if you sleep in class, the teachers won't bother you. They'll let you study or not, since you're an adult and can be responsible for yourself.

Ran and Sonoko, two beautiful girls, expertly gave each other a "good morning" look. Ran returned a gentle smile, while Sonoko winked playfully.

Lin Ran, the model student, took out her Chinese textbook and sat upright for a full ten minutes, showing respect to her teacher.

Ten minutes later, listening to the basic knowledge she already knew, Lin Ran took out the paper she had almost finished writing yesterday from her bag, spread the paper on the table, picked up her pen, and decisively embraced the goddess of mathematics.

The math goddess is usually quite harsh and strict with ordinary people, and can easily make them go bald.

But when she encounters her truly gifted "son" who possesses both good looks and intelligence, she becomes exceptionally generous and gentle, fully displaying the ultimate charm of his logical and orderly beauty.

The teacher on the podium naturally noticed the student who was daydreaming. If it were anyone else, he would have thrown a piece of chalk at them long ago, but when he saw that it was Lin Ran, the teacher did not say anything.

Excellent students always have certain privileges.

Moreover, judging from Lin Ran's focused expression, it's not that he doesn't study; he's just changing his approach, which is understandable.

Time passed second by second.

The classroom didn't return to its noisy state until the bell rang.

"Lin Ran! Lin Ran!"

Suzuki Sonoko was like a happy little bird, rushing towards Lin Ran's seat as soon as get out of class ended. Fortunately, Xiao Lan reacted in time and pulled her friend back.

"Sonoko, wait a minute."

Xiao Lan pointed in Lin Ran's direction and whispered a reminder.

Following her gaze, Sonoko saw that Lin Ran was still in the same "I'll live or die with math" posture she had during class, her brows slightly furrowed, her pen moving quickly across the paper, completely unaffected by the bell ringing for the end of get out of class.

"Huh? Seriously, officer? Studying after class?"

The young lady couldn't understand it. Shouldn't students rest and have fun after class? Why were people rolling up their clothes?

You're making us feel really awkward!

The two beautiful girls' eyes fell simultaneously on that "ocean of mathematics".

The academically challenged Sonoko only glanced at it before her vision went black.

"Stop, stop, stop, Xiaolan, can you even understand this? What is Lin Ran writing? Is this even Earth writing?"

"It looks like a math paper..."

Xiaolan said uncertainly.

As a well-known top student in her grade, her math scores were quite good, but when she tried to understand the content on the scratch paper:

[…For any infinite set A ⊆ N, there exists an infinite subset B ⊆ A such that B is either contained in or disjoint from the solution set of the given instance of RT²₂… WKL₀ does not prove RT²₂ over RCA₀…]

Xiaolan: "..."

I'm sorry to bother you; I'm not worthy.

It turns out that Lin Ran's casual remark that "literature is just a hobby, mathematics is my dream" that day was not a joke, but a statement of a terrible fact!

"A math paper?"

Sonoko was taken aback when she heard Ran's words.

Undeterred, she glanced again at what Lin Ran was writing, her little face immediately scrunching up. "Xiao Lan, you're lying! This isn't math! I don't see a single number!"

In her naive worldview, mathematics is simply arithmetic. The things Lin Ran wrote were completely different from the subject she knew, which was full of numbers and equations.

Xiaolan: "..."

Seeing her friend's "you can't fool me" expression, she explained with a wry smile, "Sonoko, this really is mathematics. These symbols are logic symbols, and these English words are technical terms... well, it's a more abstract and advanced form of mathematics."

"Is it so advanced that even numbers aren't needed?"

Sonoko felt that her worldview had been shaken.

After a long while, she sighed and pulled Xiaolan aside. "Never mind, it seems we can't play with him today. Sigh, we mortals just don't understand the world of geniuses."

Xiao Lan smiled and looked at Lin Ran.

She discovered that Lin Ran, who was seriously studying academics, seemed to have another kind of charming appeal, a unique temperament that was somewhere between elegance and rationality, which was particularly attractive.

Lin Ran had no time to pay attention to the inner thoughts of the two beautiful girls.

He was currently basking in the generous embrace of the goddess of mathematics, frantically absorbing the nectar of wisdom, while simultaneously performing final calculations and polishing on the last part of his paper, striving for perfection in every detail.

The morning passed quickly.

Lin Ran reluctantly put down her pen when the lunch break bell rang. Looking at the almost completed first draft of her thesis, she breathed a satisfied sigh of relief.

Then he heard his stomach growling.

High-intensity mental work is very physically demanding, so if he stays up all night, Mingmei will make him a late-night snack and keep it in a warmer so he can enjoy it anytime.

Now...

"Lin Ran, Lin Ran! You're finally out of seclusion!"

Seeing him stop writing, Sonoko, who had been waiting impatiently, immediately came over, leaned over to his desk, and rested her chin on her hands. "What were you writing this morning? Was it really a math paper?"

Xiao Lan handed over a small box of washed strawberries: "Lin, you must be working hard with your brain, have some fruit."

"Thanks."

Lin Ran didn't stand on ceremony. She took the strawberries, picked up the biggest one, and popped it into her mouth. Then she looked at Yuanzi, who had a thirst for knowledge, and explained, "Well, it's a short paper on mathematical logic. I'm planning to try submitting it."

"Mathematical logic?"

Sonoko tilted her head, her face full of question marks. "What is that? It sounds so complicated."

"Simply put, it's a discipline that studies the inherent laws of mathematical reasoning," Lin Ran explained, trying to use simple language. "For example, how strong of a 'rule' do we need to prove a mathematical conclusion?"

"Emmm..."

Sonoko said she didn't understand, but that didn't stop her from applauding Lin Ran, "Amazing, amazing! You can write books and do math too, Lin Ran, this young lady admits, you're a tiny bit better than me~"

She gestured a tiny distance with her finger.

Seeing her best friend's proud and smug expression, Xiaolan couldn't help but chuckle and decided not to expose the cruel truth that her "little bit" was probably "a hundred million bits".

"So, does Lin Ran aspire to achieve great things in both literature and science?"

"I guess so. Life is short, so we should always be brave enough to try new things."

As Lin Ran spoke, she opened the bento box, which contained teriyaki chicken cutlet, tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet), and some refreshing vegetables made by Mingmei. The colors were beautiful and the aroma was enticing.

"Otherwise, what's the difference between you and a salted fish without dreams?"

Xiaolan: "..."

Sonoko: "..."

Damn it, how can someone be so pretentious?

If even a genius writer like Lin Ran, who is hailed as a genius by the media, is considered a salted fish, then what are they? Salt grains on a salted fish?

Seeing the two dejected girls, Lin Ran felt much better. "Alright, stop spacing out. The most important thing now is to fill your stomachs. Mingmei's cooking is amazing, do you want to try some?"

"No need, we brought our own lunches."

Xiaolan shook her head and took out her lunchbox.

But our young lady, Sonoko, wouldn't stand on ceremony with Lin Ran.

"Let me try it, let me try it..."

A hungry tiger pounces on its prey.

By the time Lin Ran realized what had happened, the simple lunchbox in her hand had transformed into a three-tiered, foldable, and expensive-looking luxury lunchbox with multiple compartments.

"...Hey, Sonoko, leave some for me."

"Ugh~ No... It's so delicious, Lin Ran, why are you stealing my lunchbox?"

"Hiss~"

Lin Ran gasped. So, the villain is the one who's accusing first?

Ran watched the two of them fight over food like elementary school students, her eyes crinkling with laughter. Then, the next second, the lunchbox in front of her disappeared, replaced by Sonoko's deluxe lunchbox.

"well?"

"Hmm, it tastes good."

Lin Ran happily picked up a piece of fried shrimp and put it in his mouth. Noticing Xiao Lan's gaze, he blinked innocently. "Why are you looking at me? Eat! This is my bento box. You didn't think it was your pink one, did you?"

"..."

Xiaolan clenched her small fist, suppressing the urge to strike. No, she couldn't; it would be such a waste to ruin his face.