Genius Club-Chapter 557 - 9: Dust-covered Memories (Extra Chapter for Monthly Tickets)_2

...

Gao Yang rested his chin on his hand.

He walked around the open coffin twice and nodded,

"So that’s how it is. Then based on what you’re saying, since Chu Anqing and Zhang Yuqian are identical in appearance, age, experiences, disappearance time... everything. It stands to reason that Zhang Yuqian must be a Millennium Stake as well,"

"This deduction should also be correct, right? These two girls are exactly alike, and since Huang Que explicitly said that Chu Anqing is a Millennium Stake, then Zhang Yuqian must be one too!"

"It’s truly miraculous... Could it be that girls with this appearance always appear every twenty or so years, and then become Millennium Stakes at the moment of their 20th birthday? Why on earth is this happening!"

However...

Lin Xian shook his head in response to Gao Yang’s reasoning:

"Your deduction is not rigorous. Even if Zhang Yuqian and Chu Anqing both disappeared into Blue Stardust, it doesn’t prove that they’re both Millennium Stakes. Moreover, what exactly a Millennium Stake is, what it signifies, and how it forms... we still know nothing."

"In fact, the most crucial point still revolves around the Space-time Particles. In the two disappearances at 00:42, of Zhang Yuqian in 2000 and Chu Anqing in 2024... there remains an uncertain variable—"

Lin Xian looked up at Gao Yang:

"[Space-Time Particles]."

"Chu Anqing found out about the predetermined fact that she would disappear at 00:42 only after she touched the Space-Time Particles, and then she indeed disappeared. So, what about Zhang Yuqian? What were the circumstances when she disappeared twenty years ago? Did she disappear because she encountered Space-Time Particles as well, or did she disappear without ever encountering them?"

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"I think understanding this is the most important thing—"

"[Chu Anqing and Zhang Yuqian, did they disappear at 00:42 because they touched Space-Time Particles, or would they still disappear on their 20th birthday at 00:42 even without touching them?]"

"What’s the real relationship between Space-Time Particles and Millennium Stakes? Is there an inevitable connection? Huang Que’s words were also ambiguous... If Chu Anqing hadn’t encountered the Space-Time Particles, would she still be considered a Millennium Stake?"

"Exactly!"

Gao Yang nodded vigorously, pointing with his index finger:

"I understand your point, Lin Xian. We need to see whether Millennium Stakes are caused by Space-Time Particles, or if Chu Anqing and Zhang Yuqian are inherently Millennium Stakes."

"If their disappearance is actually because of the Space-Time Particles, then we should look for solutions in the study of Space-Time Particles."

"If their disappearance isn’t related to the Space-Time Particles but due to something within themselves, then we need to find out their personal issues! In any case, we’re just one step away from uncovering the final truth!"

...

At this point,

his thoughts were clarified.

This trip to Qufu, Shandong to excavate was indeed fruitful,

clearing up many things at least.

Lin Xian turned to look at the various items and memorabilia laid inside Zhang Yuqian’s coffin:

"Let’s search, see if we can find anything useful inside."

Together, they tilted the lid of the coffin a bit more.

Then, Lin Xian jumped in and began to rummage through the miscellaneous items.

It must be said...

These items really had a sense of an era.

Many of these objects were things Lin Xian had never seen when he was a child, truly ancient.

He picked up a Sony Walkman.

The front was labeled with a Walkman logo.

"Holy shit! A Walkman!"

Gao Yang immediately recognized it, reaching out:

"Hurry, give it here, let me see. This is a treasure... a first generation or one of the early generations of Sony’s Walkman, which in the eighties and nineties, was deemed extremely cool! If anyone walked the streets with this device, their head-turning rate would be 100%—no joke!"

Lin Xian handed the Walkman to Gao Yang.

The statement was true.

Lin Xian faintly remembered, in his nursery days, his neighbors’ older brothers and sisters were still using Bubugao Walkmans for tapes.

And Zhang Yuqian was using a Walkman from Japan back in the nineties, which showed her family’s conditions.

Then, he saw the tape box.

Inside were many album tapes, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung... all some last-century singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan, since during the era Zhang Yuqian lived, mainland music hadn’t yet become popular.

Lin Xian opened the transparent tape box and looked at those old items marked with the era:

"Nowadays, the kids of the new era don’t even know what tapes are, they’re very rare."

"Of course,"

Gao Yang continued fiddling with the Walkman:

"Who has tapes now? Forget tapes, even CDs, DVDs, a lot has vanished. The times are developing too fast."

Click.

He finally figured it out, opened the Walkman’s tape compartment, and pulled out a tape.

It was a tape of songs by Teresa Teng.

Gao Yang smiled,

"If Zhang Yuqian had lived just one more year, she would have been able to hear songs by Jay Chou, SHE; it’s too bad... her timing of death was just so, missing the most spectacular years when mainland music soared. Look at all these tapes here; Zhang Yuqian must have really loved music."

Lin Xian nodded.

Indeed.

Not only were there many tape discs in the coffin, but there were also music album posters, entertainment magazines, etc... it was clear that Zhang Yuqian was indeed a music enthusiast.

It’s just too bad... she did not live to see the miracle year of 2001 in the Chinese music scene.

Looking at the life Zhang Yuqian once experienced, Lin Xian couldn’t help but think of Chu Anqing.