Genius Club-Chapter 269 - 78 The Heartbroken

May 17, 2023.

This was an ordinary day, one not memorialized by history.

Early morning.

At Donghai University Affiliated Hospital, in the inpatient department, on the 17th floor.

Zheng Xiangyue got up early from her hospital bed, diligently washed up, brushed her teeth, and changed her clothes.

The hospital room was quieter than it had ever been before.

In the past at this time, her brother would softly wake her up, then she would playfully turn over and pretend to sleep, dawdling in bed until her brother picked her up and placed her on the stool in the washroom. Only then would she reluctantly open her bleary eyes and accept the toothbrush with toothpaste squeezed onto it by her brother... lazily popping it into her mouth.

But now...

Zheng Xiangyue felt she had grown up.

At the instant her brother left forever, she had unexpectedly and suddenly grown up.

She discovered.

She had learned, without realizing it, to get up early, to organize everything; she knew how to fold clothes after all, and folded them very well, very neatly; she could clean the room until there was not a speck of dust, using a stool to wipe the mirror over the wash basin until it was shiny and spotless.

"Brother! Look! How well I’ve wiped it..."

Many times, Zheng Xiangyue marveled at her own capability, but as she excitedly turned around... she didn’t know with whom to share.

She was gradually adjusting to life without her brother, but always felt as if he were still by her side, still wanting to cling to him like a sloth and swing on him.

But now, that was no longer possible.

"Because, Xiangyue has grown up."

Zheng Xiangyue stood in front of the bathroom mirror and patted her cheeks, her expression resolute.

She wrung out the towel in her hand and walked to the bedside table of the hospital room.

On it rested Zheng Chenghe’s urn.

She unfolded the towel, folded it neatly, and began carefully wiping.

This was something she repeated every day.

Just like when she was little, and her brother took care of her dressing, washing, eating, and getting up.

"I wish I could grow up faster."

Zheng Xiangyue touched her brother’s urn, her expression becoming intense:

"In another 20 years... I’ll be the older sister."

After washing the cloth and hanging it to dry on the balcony, Zheng Xiangyue glanced at her watch; it was time.

She picked up the remote and turned on the network TV in the hospital room.

It had a live broadcast address she had saved for a long time.

It was the official press conference link for the renowned SPACE-T company. Today, at this time, the owner of the company, the world’s richest man Elon Jask, was to hold a conference and announce the latest progress in his moon travel plan to the whole world.

The network signal slowly loaded.

Zheng Xiangyue climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged.

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Then she extended her hands to bring over her brother’s urn and placed it in front of her, ready to watch the moon travel press conference with her brother.

This was something they had always promised each other they would do.

Only... until the time of his death, her brother had never agreed to fulfill his wish of being buried on the moon.

And in the future, there would no longer be anyone who could fulfill this wish for her.

No one...

could take her to the moon.

Whoosh.

The image on the network TV refreshed, showing the SPACE-T "Moon Travel Press Conference" had clearly been ongoing for a while now. The world’s richest man, Jask, stood at the center of the stage, passionately delivering his speech:

"The longing for moon travel clearly surpasses that for space travel in terms of enthusiasm! Up to this point... all 10 tickets for the moon travel plan have been sold out! Let us congratulate these 10 passengers; you will be the second group in human history to set foot on the moon, trailblazers and travelers!"

While saying this, Jask opened a card in his hand and read:

"Firstly, the first moon traveler! Congratulations to our old friend, who after participating in SPACE-T’s space travel project, has once again become the first passenger in our moon travel plan—"

"Larry Connor!"

Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap...

The venue for the press conference erupted into enthusiastic applause, sending heartfelt congratulations to the Mi Country super real estate mogul.

...

At Zhoupu Prison in Donghai City, in the Lethal Injection Execution Chamber.

Ji Xinshui was calmly strapped to the execution bed, with a smile at the corner of his mouth, eyes closed, as if he could already hear the warm applause greeting him at the Genius Club.

The white incandescent light in the execution chamber shone down like a cascade of brilliant light.

This farce that fooled the world and history was his stepping stone to the Genius Club and his ascent to a new, mysterious, and powerful world!

"Ji Xinshui."

Next to the execution bed, a uniformed female police officer signed the execution form and said:

"Choose a song. This is your last right."

In China.

Death row inmates can request a song to serve as their background music during the execution.

This could be considered a cultural care from China since ancient times, with practices such as the final meal before execution being passed down through generations.

In modern times, to alleviate the psychological pressure of the inmates, they were allowed the last right to pick a song to play during their lethal injection.

It’s worth mentioning that...

Because most death row inmates are in a state of collapse at this time, they typically ended up hearing the first song on the default playlist—

"Don’t Think I’m Just a Sheep"

Therefore, this children’s cartoon song, quite dramatically, became the most-played BGM in China’s execution chambers.

However...

At this moment, Ji Xinshui was different from other inmates.

He pondered for a long time, believing this to be a very important choice, a solemn ceremony of dying and being reborn.

"Then..."

His aged throat moved, and he solemnly said:

"Then play for me... "Ode to Joy"."

?

The two coroners responsible for the execution and the signing female police officer looked at each other in confusion.