Genius Club-Chapter 602 - 22: The Sea’s Daughter (Added for alliance leader 492!)_2
"But in the end, just like the famous debate between Einstein and Bohr, each stuck to their opinion, and neither would yield. So, unable to resolve it, they simply compromised and sculpted it into this figure that has both legs and a fish tail."
...
Listening to Huang Que’s narration, Lin Xian immersed himself in this historical story and began to reconsider this world-famous statue anew.
The time was now nearly 10 PM, which couldn’t be called early.
Since he and Huang Que had left the Copenhagen Grand Theater after watching a performance, it was already nine o’clock.
They had dinner afterward before taking a cab here.
So.
At this time, on the shallow sandy beach, aside from them, there was no one else.
The quiet was such that only the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks could be heard.
For some reason.
The Little Mermaid Bronze Statue under the night sky looked even sadder and lonelier than during the day, with an added touch of sorrow.
Its location was in seawater less than a meter deep, its granite base elevating it high, far from the surface of the water.
Unless it was a very windy or high tide, the waves seldom reached so high as to wet the Little Mermaid Bronze Statue.
Despite being the daughter of the sea, she couldn’t touch the sea and had come to land.
Even though she owned everything in the ocean, she gazed longingly at the land where she had no place to stay.
Huang Que turned her head, looked at Lin Xian:
"Lin Xian, even though you know the story of ’The Little Mermaid’... that is, ’The Sea’s Daughter,’ you probably learned about the ending from the internet or short videos on Douyin, right? You haven’t read the original text, have you?"
Lin Xian nodded:
"Yes, my knowledge of the ending is probably from some marketer’s video or some internet post that I heard about. I just know the general process, knowing it’s a tragedy, but I am actually not very clear about the details."
"I only know that in the end, The Little Mermaid sacrificed herself for love and vanished into bubbles, but specifically... honestly, I’ve almost forgotten by now."
"Because I don’t particularly like tragic stories, and I’m not very interested in tragedies... even though you’ve said that ’The Little Mermaid’s story is not a tragedy to you, to me, it definitely fits the category of a tragedy, at least it’s certainly not a perfect comedy."
Huang Que exhaled deeply.
Then she took her hands out of her coat pockets and crossed her arms in front of her chest:
"You see, the problem lies right here."
"[You think this story is a tragedy because you don’t really understand the full scope of the tale.]"
Lin Xian turned his head, puzzled:
"Isn’t it written like that in Andersen’s original work?"
Huang Que chuckled softly, shaking her head:
"’Andersen’s Fairy Tales’ is in my memory, the first birthday present I ever received, given to me by my parents. I don’t particularly like or am interested in most of the stories in it."
"But ’The Sea’s Daughter’ alone, I love, and I have read many times. I think that is the real fairy tale, it doesn’t try too hard to pluck at the heartstrings, it has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and it also tells a deeply meaningful and allegorical love story."
"As a fairy tale, this story might not qualify perfectly, but if you look back at this fairy tale after growing up, becoming an adult, especially when you get older, you will definitely have deeper feelings."
She raised her head again, looking forward towards the Little Mermaid in the waves:
"Let me tell you the real ending of the original story."
Huang Que’s voice was very soft:
"On the night before The Little Mermaid knew she would vanish at sunrise, her sisters gave their hair to the Witch in exchange for a sharp knife. All she needed to do was thrust the sharp knife into the Prince’s heart, allowing his blood to flow onto The Little Mermaid’s legs... thus her legs would turn back into a fish tail, she would revert to her mermaid form, and additionally, she would regain a lifespan of 300 years."
"Of course, The Little Mermaid ultimately couldn’t bring herself to kill the Prince. She merely kissed his handsome brow, threw the knife into the sea, and herself leapt into the sea at the sunrise, turning into bubbles."
"But the story doesn’t end there. The Little Mermaid indeed turned into bubbles, true, but as she rose and floated in the air, she did not die. Instead, she gained immortality... Do you know why, what happened?"
She turned her head to look at Lin Xian:
"Because The Little Mermaid obtained an [immortal soul], which is something you probably couldn’t find in the marketer’s videos. Mermaids themselves do not have immortal souls and never would have such souls unless they could win a [mortal’s love]."
"The kindness, courage, persistence, and determination of The Little Mermaid just so happened to be her ticket to the spirit Heaven. She might have vanished as froth on the sea, yet she transformed into a greater spirit illuminating the whole world, with an everlasting soul accompanying this world, watching over this world, and embracing this world."
...
After listening to Huang Que’s narration, Lin Xian nodded gently:
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
"With this setting in mind, it doesn’t sound so tragic after all. But at the end of the day, it’s still just a fanciful fairy tale. There’s no such thing as an immortal soul in reality, nor such a great... so-called mortal’s love."
Huang Que smiled a meaningful smile.
Then, pointing at the bronze statue of The Little Mermaid in front of her:
"Then I’ll just stand under The Little Mermaid Bronze Statue, and you can take a photo of me with your phone. Standing at this distance should be enough to get both me and The Little Mermaid... At least this way, my trip to Copenhagen hasn’t been in vain; I’ll have left behind some evidence, a memento."
"No problem."
Lin Xian took his phone out of his pocket:
"Go ahead, I’m quite good at taking photos."
Huang Que closed her eyes.
She wanted to say something, but hesitated.
Then she tiptoed forward towards the beach, towards the direction of The Little Mermaid statue, taking the first step.
The second step.
The third step.
In the end, she stopped there, turning back around.
The blue circles in her pupils reflected the moonlight, sparkling and dancing under the light and shadows of the sea, just like that erratic Space-Time Particle:
"Lin Xian, actually I’ve lied to you about many things, much more than you think."
Lin Xian shook his head:
"That doesn’t matter anymore."
"I lied to you, I’ve actually never been a member of the Genius Club," Huang Que said, looking back:
"I just know a bit about what goes on inside, even if you were to join the Genius Club, we wouldn’t be able to meet there... So when I first met you and said ’I’ll wait for you at the Genius Club,’ I was bound to break that promise."
"That doesn’t matter either."
Lin Xian shook his head:
"Whether you lie to me or not, whether you’re in the Genius Club or not, this was a path I had to take. Whether the Genius Club are enemies, friends, just or evil... just as you said initially, I will have to go see for myself before I can make any judgments."
Upon hearing this,
Huang Que showed a relieved smile:
"Otherwise why would so many people be willing to follow you, to sacrifice so much for you? You do grow to be quite likable."
"There’s one more thing; I must confess now... The reason I said I wanted to come to Copenhagen was also a lie."
"That man is someone who keeps his word; he surely does what he says. So, in the matter of agreeing to come to Copenhagen and many other things... actually, I am the one who broke promises."
"That’s okay too," Lin Xian said generously, spreading his hands:
"Anyway, since we’re already here. Anything else?"
He asked, smiling:
"It doesn’t seem like there are any particularly sensational lies. In fact, they all seem like white lies; you don’t seem to have truly deceived me."
"[Actually, there are.]"
Huang Que blinked, looking at Lin Xian:
"But may I not talk about them, please?"
"Of course."
Lin Xian replied:
"You’ve already helped me enough, and I’m very grateful to you. Moreover... I often feel a sense of inexplicable guilt, not knowing how to repay you, nor what I can do to make amends."
"[Then just take a beautiful shot of me.]"
Huang Que chuckled softly, habitually tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Then she turned around.
She strode forward.
Moving towards the melancholic and pensive statue of The Little Mermaid in the night:
"After all, this is our... final lesson."
