Chapter Five: The Price of Genius

By opening her laboratory, she had allowed the subject to observe the experimenters. The dean canceled Lin Yan’s scholarship for disrupting the assessment. Five minutes later, a video from the rescued families reached the trending list. Twelve minutes after that, the board restored his scholarship and declared the exercise “a lesson in social responsibility.” Applause followed him from the hall. He did not stop. Too many motives filled it; equations fell over faces like snow. On the roof, Su Mi caught up and covered his eyes with both hands. “What do you see now?” “Black.” “Congratulations. That’s the ordinary world.” He should have moved away. He did not. The warmth of her palms shut out every variable.