Chapter 228: Your Gaze and the Riddle

“Mirror?” Lin Xian mused aloud, puzzled by Yellow Finch’s cryptic hint. The sound of her heels clicking against the floor echoed as she walked away, not bothering to look back. Her footsteps gradually faded into the distance and disappeared around the corner, leaving a haunting silence in their wake.

Liu Feng, looking utterly confused, nudged Lin Xian. “Who is that woman, Lin Xian? I can’t make heads or tails of what she says. It’s definitely Mandarin, but she never gives a straight answer, always talking in riddles.”

“She’s a puzzle, a real enigma,” Lin Xian explained succinctly. “The kind of person that would give even Batman a headache.”

“Is she always like this?” Liu Feng asked, his voice tinged with sympathy.

“I wouldn’t know,” Lin Xian shrugged. “I’ve only met her twice, and altogether, we haven’t spent more than ten minutes in each other’s company.”

Liu Feng’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Really? Just twice?”

“Yes, why do you find that so surprising?”

“It’s just... you two seem to know each other so well, like old friends,” Liu Feng remarked, still shocked. He looked from Lin Xian to the doorframe where Yellow Finch had briefly lingered. “You called her Yellow Finch, right? The way she looked at you... it wasn’t like someone you’ve only met twice. Her gaze was familiar, like she’s known you for a long time.”

“Like what?” Lin Xian prodded, intrigued by his friend’s observation.

“Like...” Liu Feng struggled to articulate his thoughts, scratching his head. “Like a lover.”

A brief silence followed his words.

Then, unexpectedly, Lin Xian burst into laughter, giving Liu Feng a playful slap on the shoulder. “I always pegged you as the serious, down-to-earth type, Liu Feng, not one for making jokes. You really got me there.”

“No, I’m not joking,” Liu Feng insisted, waving his hand earnestly. “I’m serious. It’s exactly as I said.”

Lin Xian, still skeptical, quipped, “You’re a scientist; what do you know about romantic looks?”Discover new chapters at novelbin(.)com

“That’s a stereotype, Lin Xian,” Liu Feng retorted. “Remember, I’ve been in a relationship before. Have you?”

“I...” Lin Xian hesitated, his smile fading. “No, I haven’t.”

Liu Feng, however, seemed distant, his mind racing since reading the note. Sweat beaded on his forehead as a thought struck him.

“What if the Ji?quán Satellite Launch Center is the key?” he speculated, his voice rising with excitement. “The Universal Constant—it’s about the universe, right? We should explore cosmic phenomena like background radiation, gravitational waves, dark matter...”

Muttering technical jargon, Liu Feng grabbed chalk and began furiously scribbling equations on the blackboard, erasing and rewriting with intense focus.

Lin Xian watched briefly before stifling a yawn. Seeing Liu Feng would not be distracted, he announced, “I’ll step out. Let me know if you make any breakthrough.”

“Mm-hmm,” came the absent reply, Liu Feng’s gaze fixed on his calculations.

Lin Xian left the lab with a smile, admiring Liu Feng’s dedication—it was a reassuring, albeit somewhat humorous, depiction of a scientist lost in his work.

“I hope Qi Qi’s vision comes to life soon,” Lin Xian whispered as he shut the heavy steel lab door with a resounding thud.

In the solitude of the restroom, Lin Xian leaned against the sink, staring at his reflection. The problem of the Universal Constant loomed large, but it was Yellow Finch’s cryptic parting words that now captured his thoughts. “Look in the mirror more, Lin Xian. There’s something you want in there.”

Typically, such a statement could be seen as an insult, but coming from Yellow Finch, it suggested something deeper. What did the mirror represent?

Lin Xian examined his reflection, moving closer until his nose nearly touched the glass. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

He recalled countless anime where mirrors served as gateways to other dimensions. Half-jokingly, he pressed his hand against the mirror, half-expecting to pass through to another world.

Of course, nothing happened.

“Ugh, I hate riddles,” he muttered in frustration. The clue about the mirror remained elusive. What did he want that could be hidden in a mirror? Answers, power, membership in the Genius Club, the secrets hidden in his dreams by Zhao Ying Jun...

Then it struck him. He paused, staring intently at his own image. Zhao Ying Jun, the dreams, Sky City, the buried secrets.

“Could it be...” Lin Xian pondered, his heart racing as he looked deeper into his own eyes in the mirror. “Could Zhao Ying Jun have left something for me... in the mirror?”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation