Chapter 21

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The live chat was filled with exclamations, but there were more comments that only had ‘f*ck’ written on them. The curse word basically filled up the screen from midway of the video until the end.

It was Lin Jin’s first time interacting with netizens and online lingo. However, it did not stop him from understanding slang words. He read them with a smile on his face and it was obvious that he was happy.

“Father, your acting skills are amazing. You’re a born actor.”

Lin Yu rewatched his own video and could not help but give his father a thumbs up. He said with a mix of sarcasm and genuineness, “If you joined the entertainment industry early on, there wouldn’t be a Chow Yun Fatt1.”

“Stop sucking up to me.”

Lin Jin waved his hand and said jokingly. He continued watching Lin Yu’s other videos.

He continued watching the videos with relish despite not appearing in them and the comments no longer being about him. He read nearly all of the comments on the live chat with a proud smile on his face.

If Lin Yu was great, does that not mean that I am great too? No matter how awesome he is, he is still my son!

“You made an axe as well? Why didn’t I see it?”

“I can’t carry it, it’s heavy and collecting dust in the dorm.”

“Why are there comments saying your gauntlets doesn’t have combat capabilities? Didn’t I see it with great power just now?”

“That was a previous version of the gauntlets that doesn’t have combat capabilities.”

“There are so many people commenting and some are saying pretty horrible things as well. Why aren’t you filming this one to show them?”

The father and son continued chatting. Lin Jin frowned occasionally at the nasty comments, especially the ones on the self-made Exo suit video. He felt so uneasy about them that he began joining the debate.

“I haven’t had the time to do it. Although the Piston Exo Gauntlets sounds simple, its structure is pretty complicated. For example, even if someone knew the recipe for your cooking, he may not do it as well as you do. I don’t have the courage to take the gauntlets apart just yet.”

1Lin Yu shook his head after hearing what Lin Jin said.

“You could film a demo video to counter the haters’ nasty comments.”

Lin Jin gave a suggestion combined with the online lingo he had just learnt.

“Okay, I’ll do it when I find the time.”

Lin Yu nodded.

“You should take your studies seriously as well. It seems like your superpower can only be utilized well if you learn more about it. You’ve always said that the knowledge from school is useless but now you’ve been proven wrong, haven’t you?”

2Lin Jin had beaten around the bush to land on the ‘main subject’.

Lin Yu was left speechless.

Studies were indeed the biggest concern of parents.

Lin Yu said with a smile, “Father, I understand that knowledge is power. I’ve been taking my studies seriously, haven’t I? As long as I have the tools and materials, I’ve been able to make things on my own.”

“You have grown up a little. Seeing how you’re pretty articulate in the videos, you should keep up your effort in this area.”

Lin Jin nodded in acknowledgment to Lin Yu’s growth.

“Father… I will.”

Lin Yu was quiet for some time. He felt unexplainably choked up.

Not only did Lin Jin receive his first present from his son today, but Lin Yu was also praised by his father for the first time since as long as he could remember.

A simple sentence felt more poignant than all the comments on the live chat of his videos.

Although he had a million thoughts and feelings, he ended up saying nothing more than, “I will.”

Lin Yu pulled out his textbook on that night itself and started revising—which was a rare occasion.

Although he could not focus at all and only thought about creating the strongest Academic Genius System in the future, he still forced himself to read his book for nearly two hours.

Unfortunately, he gained nothing at all.

2Having low IQ and intelligence were just excuses. Bad habits and other elements were inevitable truths; no matter how determined he was to read, his subconsciousness was doing the opposite. He could not calm down and focus, only staring into blank space while holding a book. There was no way any learning efficiency was achieved.

Procrastination, laziness, anxiety, escaping from reality, and self-doubt seemed to be jokes to everyone, but these issues did exist and could not be controlled by one’s consciousness.

2These things were like smoking—they were addictive!

They were capable of destroying a person but it could not be blamed on anyone else. These issues were a result of a person’s choice and were the consequences of long-term slacking. Lin Yu was suffering from those consequences.

…

“Hey, Brother, are there any geniuses in your school? Ones with exceptional results?”

“Hey handsome, can I ask you something? With such good results, how do you usually study?”

“Do you pay attention in class? Is there any specific learning method you adopt?”

“Is it simple? Do you flip through your books and remember what you saw?”

Lin Yu began appearing at prestigious schools and universities over the next week.

However, he was destroyed by the answers to his questions.

The academic geniuses either had good habits as well as patience for boring classes, homework, and self-learning at night since they were young, or they had high IQ—they could understand anything easily.

2There was one weirdo who claimed that he slept every day but magically knew the answers to tests. Could it have been a method of sleep-based learning?

These were basically ‘superpowers’ exclusive to academic geniuses. Lin Yu was on the brink of breaking down from envy and jealousy.

I cannot do any of that!

What kind of geniuses are you? Can you not say anything that is real, doable, and skillful?

The only things Lin Yu gained from the week were the uncountable hits to his soul and a few notebooks and booklists from the hardworking-based geniuses.

However, since that day, Lin Yu consciously cultivated his study habits and would take time out to read for two hours. Although there was not much progress, he did learn something after doing it every day.

Interest was the best teacher—the saying was accurate. Although he had no interest in learning, he was interested in his superpower. He could persevere through the short-term boredom by reading what his superpower ‘required’ him to. However, its efficiency was too low.

Coincidentally, he found what he had been searching for by sheer luck.

Lin Yu had been struggling to find a skill-based academic genius, but he unexpectedly received some reliable news after taking a trip to his dorm today.