Genius Club

This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation

“Have you seen him before?”

Lin Xian’s voice was full of disbelief.

This was Albert Einstein, the most famous and respected physicist in the entire world. And here was CC, an orphan from a welfare home, claiming to have seen him?

They lived in two completely different worlds—not just in terms of lifestyle but in every imaginable way. The idea of them crossing paths seemed impossible.

After all, CC had grown up in the poor neighborhoods of Brooklyn, places Lin Xian had seen with his own eyes. The streets were dirty, chaotic, and unforgiving. He couldn’t picture Einstein ever visiting a place like that. It didn’t match his status or lifestyle at all.

“You’ve really seen Einstein?” Lin Xian asked again, his skepticism clear.

“Yeah, really,” CC answered, putting down the newspaper she had been reading. She pushed it toward Lin Xian.

He glanced at the front page. It was an interview with Einstein, mostly talking about the Cold War, the nuclear crisis, and the international situation—all those heavy topics that everyone seemed to worry about these days.

“You just have to trust me. I’ve really seen him,” CC insisted, resting her chin on her hands. “It wasn’t just me either. A lot of us kids from the welfare home saw him. Even Grandma talked to him once. She told us stories about him afterward, saying he was a great scientist… so I’m sure about it. It was Albert Einstein.”

Lin Xian finally set the newspaper down, deciding to accept it. “Alright. If Grandma said it was Einstein, then it probably was.”

He still found it hard to imagine Einstein hanging around the slums of Brooklyn. It just didn’t fit his image. But maybe there was a reason—a friend, or some kind of business that brought him by. It wasn’t impossible. Maybe CC had just happened to see him by chance.

“No, it’s not like that,” CC said, shaking her head, looking puzzled at Lin Xian’s continued doubt. “We didn’t see him just once. We saw him quite often.”

“Quite often?” Lin Xian raised an eyebrow, trying to wrap his head around it.

An orphan girl from a welfare home regularly seeing Einstein, the renowned scientist? It sounded ridiculous. Einstein’s status was extraordinary. If Lin Xian remembered correctly, it was around this time that Israel had even offered Einstein the presidency, which he had declined. Why would someone of that stature be seen regularly by CC?

“How exactly did you see Einstein?” he asked, standing up from his chair. “Did he come to the welfare home to visit you?”

CC laughed and shook her head. “Of course not. Our welfare home was on the outskirts of Brooklyn, quite far from everything. Not many people came by. We kids didn’t have much to do, so we often played outside by the road.”

“Anyone driving by, we’d see them. Einstein would pass by in a black car every few months or so, right in front of the welfare home,” she explained. “He usually didn’t stop, but one time, a little boy from the home ran into the road, and Einstein’s car almost hit him. He got out to make sure the boy was okay and even helped him up.”

“After that, he spoke with Grandma for a while, made sure everything was alright, then left. Since then, whenever he drove past and saw us outside, he’d wave at us from the window.”

“So, I guess we saw him quite a few times—maybe seven or eight,” CC finished.

Lin Xian nodded slowly, beginning to understand. Einstein hadn’t known the welfare home or the kids. Their interaction had been a coincidence. And the subsequent “meetings” were just waves from a passing car—hardly what he’d call actual encounters.

“Can you remember roughly when all this happened?” Lin Xian asked, grabbing a notepad and pencil. “When was Einstein driving through Brooklyn? Just give me an idea; it doesn’t have to be exact.”

CC blinked, thinking back. “Grandma passed away when I was sixteen, and that’s when the welfare home closed down. I started living on the streets then. I remember seeing Einstein shortly before Grandma passed away.”

“The first time I saw him, I must have been twelve or thirteen. After that, we saw him two or three times a year until the home closed,” she said.

Lin Xian quickly jotted down some notes. “So, CC was about twelve in 1945, and she was sixteen around 1948. That means…”

“From 1945 to 1948, Einstein appeared in the outskirts of Brooklyn several times, driving past the welfare home,” he concluded, tapping the paper with his pencil.

Everyone knew that Einstein lived in Princeton. He worked there, lived there, and even died there. If there wasn’t a special reason, there’s no way he would regularly visit the outskirts of Brooklyn.

“So why was he there?” Lin Xian wondered aloud, pacing over to the map of New York City hanging on the wall. He traced the roads and districts with his finger.

“Brooklyn… the outskirts… here,” he pointed, then turned to CC. “Is this where the welfare home was?”

“No, it’s here,” CC said, standing on her toes to point at a different spot on the map. “We saw Einstein there, but we don’t know where he was headed. It must have been far, though. We’d watch his car until it disappeared before going back to playing.”

“Alright,” Lin Xian nodded, making another note. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Einstein must have been up to something—something important and secret.

Could it be related to the Genius Club, the Millennial Stake, or the World-Ending White Light? Lin Xian had to find out more.

But for now, there was no need to rush. He had promised to take CC around Manhattan for a fun day.

He smiled at her. “Are you full?”

“Mm-hmm,” CC nodded, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I’m all done.”

“Then let’s go.” Lin Xian glanced out the window, looking at the sunlit Manhattan below—bright and magnificent. “From today, you’re going to be the Manhattan Girl, at the center of the world.”

They took the elevator down and got into the car the hotel had arranged, heading to a nearby shopping mall.

Lin Xian bought CC a new set of clothes, something warm and stylish. Though down jackets weren’t quite in fashion yet, the mall had plenty of thick wool coats and winter wear.

They ended up buying everything—hat, scarf, coat, pants, and boots. CC, the Brooklyn girl, looked completely transformed, like a young model.

“You really like white, don’t you?” Lin Xian chuckled. If he and the sales clerk hadn’t stepped in, CC would have chosen an all-white outfit. She didn’t care about matching; she just liked white. If she’d dressed in all white, people might have thought she was a snow maiden.

Thankfully, CC listened to their suggestions, and her beret and boots weren’t white, making her outfit look more balanced.

“It’s so warm!” CC beamed, spinning around with her arms outstretched. “I’ve never worn anything this warm before. It’s strange, though. This coat is thinner than the padded ones, but it’s warmer. It must be the material.”

“No wonder those rich ladies wore such thin clothes. I always thought they were doing it for fashion, but they weren’t cold at all!”

“It’s a kind of technology, I suppose,” Lin Xian said, adjusting her beret. Her fluffy dark brown hair suited it well, and the sales clerk had an eye for style.

“Let’s keep exploring. There’s still a lot more to see,” he said.

They wandered through the city like tourists. CC was fascinated by everything, and Lin Xian was just as intrigued. To him, this era was like stepping into an old film. He was possibly even more curious than CC.

They visited museums, watched performances, and bought 1950s-style souvenirs. By midday, they found themselves at CC’s favorite—a burger joint.

French fries, burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken—they ordered it all. CC’s eyes sparkled like she was in heaven, while Lin Xian felt his throat burning from the greasy food. Ever since arriving in 1952 Brooklyn, all he’d eaten was heavy, high-calorie food.

But if it made CC happy, he was willing to indulge her. This was her “revenge diet”—years of not being able to eat what she wanted, now finally enjoying it. Just like her love for white clothes, which she’d always wanted but never had.

It made Lin Xian’s heart soften. He picked up the menu. “How about… a pizza too?”

“Yes, please!” CC nodded eagerly, her eyes lighting up. “I’ve wanted to try one for ages!”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

That evening, they had steak, cheese, and roasted meat.

“Fine, eat whatever you want,” Lin Xian thought, resigned as he cut into his steak. As long as CC was happy, that was all that mattered.

With full bellies, they strolled through Manhattan once again.

This time, the lights weren’t distant—they surrounded them, enveloping them in Manhattan’s bustling warmth.

“Oh? A movie theater?” Lin Xian stopped, noticing two posters plastered on a wall.

One was for an action film, “The Great Tree Ridge Feud,” and the other for an animated movie, “Alice in Wonderland.”

The posters meant there must be a nearby theater showing both films.

Lin Xian knew “Alice in Wonderland,” the 1952 Disney animation, well. It was hugely popular, a happy-ending, family-friendly movie. Disney was still the undisputed king of animation back then.

He glanced at the other poster—

“The Great Tree Ridge Feud.” The title suggested an action movie, maybe with some romance thrown in.

The poster showed felled trees. Lin Xian wasn’t quite sure what it was about, but it probably wasn’t famous enough to be a classic.

He looked at the cast list—

“Starring: Kirk Douglas.”

“Ohhh,” Lin Xian’s eyes widened. It was an early work by Kirk Douglas!

Douglas was an iconic actor, with roles in “Spartacus” and “Paths of Glory.” Lin Xian, a movie buff, definitely knew him.

“The Great Tree Ridge Feud,” Lin Xian repeated, now more interested.

He turned to CC. “CC, have you ever watched a movie?”

“No way,” CC shrugged. “I’ve never had the chance. I’ve barely even seen a television.”

Lin Xian smiled, nodding at the posters. “Well, a day out usually ends with a movie. Since you’ve never seen one, why not now?”

“Which one do you want to watch?”