In fact, Lin Xian felt that if he could know when and where Mr. Adams had heard the number 42 or the concept of the cosmic constant, perhaps he could solve the mystery.

But unfortunately.

Mr. Adams had already passed away in 2001.

Regardless of whether he had ever heard of the cosmic constant 42, it was now impossible to verify. Dead men tell no tales...

"After all this, I still have to infiltrate the New Donghai City in the dream to find Big Face Cat's father or the book *Introduction to Cosmic Constants* to figure out what the cosmic constant 42 really is."

Lin Xian shook his head.

It was almost a wasted trip.

He hadn't obtained any definite information.

He turned to leave—

"Huh?" "Eh!"

As soon as he turned, he saw an unexpected acquaintance.

A fluffy brown high ponytail, bright and intelligent eyes, lips slightly parted in surprise, and a beauty mark like an anti-counterfeiting trademark at the corner of her left eye.

"...An Qing." Lin Xian reacted after a beat, finally calling out her name.

*Pfft*—

Chu Anqing covered her mouth and laughed, her bright eyes curved into two crescent moons, and two adorable dimples faintly appeared at the corners of her lips:

"Senior Lin Xian, who are you mistaking me for?"

"Ah..." she suddenly reacted, a mischievous smile on her face, "You wouldn't... be mistaking me for that female classmate you liked in high school, would you?"

"Hold on a second." Lin Xian held out his palm to stop her imagination:

"It's true that I drew that female classmate, but I never said I liked her... That drawing was just a practice sketch, and I have absolutely no connection with that female classmate."

Sigh.

Lin Xian sighed inwardly.

It's true that once you tell a lie, you have to continue telling countless lies to justify it.

But there was no other way.

In that situation, he had clearly drawn CC, but CC wasn't from this era, and no such person could be found. He could only make up a non-existent high school classmate to deal with it.

Chu Anqing and CC looked exactly alike. If he didn't say that, the sketch couldn't be explained.

"Speaking of which, are you here to see the science fiction exhibition too?"

Lin Xian changed the subject.

"No." Chu Anqing waved her hand, pointing to the other side of the corridor:

"I was browsing the art exhibition over there. The gallery is holding an oil painting exhibition. I just happened to be passing by this venue, so I thought I'd come here to take a look... I didn't expect to run into you here. What a coincidence!"

Lin Xian nodded.

It was indeed a coincidence...

He looked towards the other side of the corridor, where various oil paintings were indeed hanging on the walls of the exhibition hall, so Chu Anqing was right.

Turning back.

Only then did he have time to observe Chu Anqing's attire today.

This should be their third meeting. The first time was at X Company's celebration banquet, the second time was in the shared classroom at Donghai University, and he hadn't expected their third meeting to be at such a coincidental place... the Donghai City Exhibition Hall.

Chu Anqing's attire was still very casual today.

The weather had been warming up recently, and the girls had taken off their heavy down jackets and overcoats, starting to dress lightly. Chu Anqing was no exception.

Today, she was wearing a fresh and bright light blue sweatshirt and a gray short skirt, with flesh-colored stockings to keep out the cold, making her look very youthful and energetic. Coupled with long boots with slightly thick soles, Chu Anqing's height seemed to have increased a bit, making her look more slender and graceful than the previous two times they had met.

"Are you here alone?"

"Yeah, I didn't have any classes this afternoon, so I came here to browse around. I've always been quite interested in painting... but I don't seem to have any talent in that area. No matter how I paint, it doesn't look good."

Chu Anqing smiled, looking at Lin Xian:

"But Senior Lin Xian, you really have a talent for painting. Have you ever considered learning other forms of painting besides sketching?"

"No, I don't really like painting that much either." Lin Xian smiled:

"But I can't say I hate it... The reason I practice sketching is just because the art exam for the national college entrance examination requires sketching. My grades in cultural subjects aren't that good, so if I want to go to a good university in Donghai City, I can only take the art exam route."

"Do you like Donghai a lot?"

"I can't really say I like it. I'm mainly just curious about this city, so I wanted to come and take a look."

Lin Xian was also telling the truth.

Because since he was little, he had dreamed of a city called Donghai, so he had always wanted to come and see this city.

It was just a pity...

Now, the city in his dreams had already undergone great changes and become a poor and backward Old Donghai. It had been replaced by the New Donghai City, a giant science fiction metropolis surrounded by 200-meter-high steel walls.

"So that's how it is..."

Chu Anqing flicked the pom-poms on the drawstring of her sweatshirt hood:

"Sure enough, everyone thinks the outside world is better."

"Actually, compared to Donghai, I prefer your hometown of Hangzhou! I've been there for tourism, and it's really beautiful, everything is beautiful, unlike Donghai... it's crowded everywhere, and it's always filled with a busy sense of tension."

"Speaking of which, the Spring Festival is coming up soon, Senior Lin Xian. Are you going back to your hometown for the New Year? Or are you staying in Donghai City?"

"Yeah, I'm going back to my hometown for a trip." Lin Xian replied.

Going home for the New Year was an old tradition in Long Country. What's more, Gao Yang was organizing a high school reunion, and he had to attend.

Chu Anqing turned around, pointing to the oil painting gallery at the other end of the corridor:

"Senior, the oil painting exhibition there has many masterpieces, and some were brought over from the British Museum. It's a rare opportunity. Would you like to go browse around together?"

Masterpieces...

Lin Xian was actually a little interested.

After all, he was in this line of work, and he had studied this subject in college. He was very curious about the masterpieces of many legendary painters.

Oh well.

Since he was already here.

He might as well go take a look.

"Okay, then let's go take a look."

"Hehe! That's great, then I'll have a tour guide! Senior, you must know a lot about these paintings, right?"

"I'm just an amateur."

……

Afterwards.

The two chatted and laughed as they browsed the oil painting exhibition.

As Chu Anqing said, there were indeed some masterpieces by modern European painters here, which was Lin Xian's first time seeing.

The technique and historical charm... were breathtaking.

He had only seen these oil paintings in textbooks or prints before.

But the feeling of two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality were completely different. Oil paintings had their own unique sense of weight and three-dimensionality. Just looking at them, it was as if you could delve into the era of the Renaissance.

Chu Anqing was like a lively lark, talking a lot and asking a lot of questions.

But fortunately, today was Lin Xian's home field. He could handle most of the painters, artistic styles, and painting backgrounds with ease. He was forced to put on a show, which made Chu Anqing admire him endlessly:

"Senior, you're really amazing... you know everything. You're so knowledgeable!"

"Not at all, I just happened to be lucky."

The two walked and looked.

Passing by a corner, they saw a black and white painting hanging on the wall.

The old man in it had wild hair and vacant eyes, scaring them both to take a step back.

"Hanging such a scary painting at the corner... it's intentional, isn't it."

Lin Xian raised his head, re-examining the painting.

Everyone was familiar with the old man in the painting. He was a great physicist who often appeared in various textbooks—

Albert Einstein.

In the painting, the great man looked solemn, as if he had suffered a great blow, and was dejected.

His hair was disheveled, his face was covered with wrinkles, and his vacant eyes were like a soul that had been hollowed out, giving people a very bad feeling.

In addition, perhaps to express a melancholy and desolate atmosphere, the oil painting used very few colors. Except for a few highlights, almost all of it was completed in black and white near-colors, which made people's first impression...

It looked like a portrait for the deceased.

Like a dead person.

"*The Sad Einstein*."

Chu Anqing approached the painting, reading out the name of the painting:

"This painting was created in Brooklyn, New York in 1952, and was painted by Henry Dawson, a famous realist painter in the United States in the last century..."

She took a step back, re-examining the Einstein in the painting, who was indeed sad, depressed, and even lifeless:

"Why... does Einstein have such a painting?"

She blinked, looking at Lin Xian:

"Isn't Einstein a very successful and powerful scientist? He should be respected and have a very high academic status. But... why is the Einstein in this portrait so sad and depressed?"

"Senior Lin Xian, do you know the background of this painting?"

To her surprise...

Lin Xian still nodded!

This surprised her greatly. How could this senior know everything? Like an encyclopedia.

Lin Xian began to talk about this painting.

This was the benefit of watching too many science fiction movies, knowing a little bit about everything.

"Actually, Einstein's later years were very sad, and he spent most of his time in melancholy and depression."

As Lin Xian spoke to Chu Anqing, he looked up, meeting the vacant eyes in *The Sad Einstein*:

"Einstein believed that his mass-energy equivalence equation opened Pandora's box, thus allowing mankind to master uncontrollable nuclear energy, which led to the birth of nuclear weapons, a weapon of mass destruction, causing the deaths of millions of people."

"But his worries weren't just about that. He was also worried about the future of mankind, worried that if the next global war broke out... countless nuclear weapons would rain down from the sky, directly leading to human extinction and the destruction of civilization."

"Although it seems now that his worries and concerns were superfluous, in 1952, a special period... his worries were actually normal and reasonable."

"Once he had this idea, he fell into a dead end of self-blame and regret, which is why he was lonely and depressed in his later years."

……

Lin Xian spoke lightly, and Chu Anqing listened attentively.

Before long, they finished watching the art gallery corridor, and the two walked to the entrance of the Donghai Exhibition Hall, waving goodbye.

"Thank you so much today, Senior Lin Xian, for telling me so many things. I really learned a lot of new knowledge!"

"It's nothing, just a small effort."

After watching Chu Anqing get into the car, Lin Xian also reached out to hail a taxi and returned home.

After going home, eating a simple meal, and washing up, he checked the time.

Five thirty.

If he went to bed at this time and fell asleep quickly, he would still have time to catch that three-sword-style thief in the dream, then join the Face Gang, and meet CC at the garbage disposal plant according to the plot development.

Lin Xian changed into his pajamas, lay on the bed, and closed his eyes.

"Come on, CC."

In his mind, he imagined the smiling face of either Chu Anqing or CC:

"I have so many questions to ask you..."

……

……

……

Still not feeling any hot summer breeze, surrounded by quiet small villages and scattered self-built houses, Lin Xian opened his eyes.

He walked to the corner of the alley.

In the distance, he heard the breathless chase of Auntie Li:

"Catch—catch the thief! Catch... catch... the thief!"