The Heart of Genius Episode 12 Recap
> The Heart of Genius Recap
Lu Zhihao found the best postgraduate entrance exam training class, 99 Education, and immediately sent the information to Ji Jiang. Ji Jiang drove Lin Zhaoxi to the school, located on the second floor. Lin Zhaoxi thanked him, but told him to go on his way as she knew he had other commitments. She mentioned that she planned to take the bus later and assured him she would be fine.
Before driving off, Ji Jiang mentioned he would visit Pei Zhi after he was done with his work. At 99 Education, Lin Zhaoxi consulted with a staff member about applying for a master's degree in the math department at Sanwei University. The consultant was concerned about her philosophy background, explaining that the Sanwei University math department's 601 program only admitted a few students each year, a highly competitive field for top math students nationwide.
Lin Zhaoxi confidently declared she would be one of them. However, the consultant, prioritizing 99 Education's high admission rate, refused to accept her, suggesting she try other tutoring centers. As Lin Zhaoxi prepared to leave, she saw Zhang Shuping arriving. She greeted him, reminding him she had attended his Olympic math training camp as a child. Zhang Shuping apologized, saying he had no memory of her. Disappointed, Lin Zhaoxi left.
The consultant later reported to Zhang Shuping about the "philosophy major" who wanted to study math at Sanwei, and Zhang Shuping affirmed her decision to turn Lin Zhaoxi away. Meanwhile, Luo Jing confronted Pei Zhi at the gym about missing a job interview that her sister had painstakingly arranged for him. Pei Zhi insisted he was content with his current situation. Lin Zhaoxi entered the room, greeting Luo Jing, who recognized her as Lin Zhaosheng's daughter and complimented her.
However, Luo Jing politely but firmly asked Lin Zhaoxi to leave, stating she had not finished her conversation with Pei Zhi. Outside, Lin Zhaoxi was approached by Coach Ding Minghai, who called her "Mrs. Pei" and invited her to practice some punches. Luo Jing soon emerged and overheard Ding Minghai's address, which visibly angered her. Ding Minghai quickly made an excuse and departed.
Luo Jing then spoke to Lin Zhaoxi, expressing her happiness to see her and acknowledging she hadn't raised Pei Zhi well. She told Lin Zhaoxi she hoped someone like her could accompany Pei Zhi and take care of him, giving him someone to rely on. Luo Jing stated she wouldn't object to their relationship, but then sternly warned, "If you don't want him to die, then don't let him learn math." Perplexed, Lin Zhaoxi asked Pei Zhi for an explanation.
Pei Zhi clarified that his mother believed he was interested in math again. He decided not to hide anything from Lin Zhaoxi and revealed that his maternal grandfather, Luo Jiayi, was a math teacher and a genius mathematician in the 1980s, who researched combinatorial mathematics in his spare time. Luo Jiayi made significant achievements, leading to an invitation from Beijing scholars to an academic conference.
However, Pei Zhi's grandmother strongly opposed his attendance, seeing no practical benefit like a pay raise or promotion. Luo Jiayi, undeterred, borrowed 200 yuan for travel expenses and attended. After the conference, he was invited to Germany and never returned. Pei Zhi's mother, Luo Jing, always believed that math "took" her father away, which fueled her aversion to Pei Zhi studying the subject.
Pei Zhi continued, explaining that when he was in Grade 9, his father, Pei Donglai, passed away, making Luo Jing even more extreme. In senior high, when his mother discovered he was secretly learning math from Lin Zhaosheng, she forced him to Germany to meet his grandfather. To Pei Zhi's dismay, his grandfather was in a mental hospital.
Although his grandfather found a better academic environment in Germany, the guilt he felt towards his wife and daughter led to a diagnosis of mental illness. Luo Jing feared Pei Zhi would inherit this condition if he pursued advanced math. Her fears were seemingly confirmed when Pei Zhi was diagnosed with a minor mental illness. He started boxing, combining it with professional treatment, and eventually recovered.
However, he had to obey his mother, remaining in Germany to study a major unrelated to mathematics. Lin Zhaoxi realized this was why Pei Zhi had suddenly left and ceased all contact. Pei Zhi apologized for his silence, admitting he didn't know how to face her as a "patient," and confirmed this was why he had said they weren't suitable.
Lin Zhaoxi reassured him that her feelings for him had nothing to do with whether he studied math or was ill. She told him she trusted he could overcome his illness again. Pei Zhi, however, confided that he felt sick again, believing his father, Pei Donglai, was still alive. He showed Lin Zhaoxi a recording pen that inexplicably appeared by his bed after a long sleep.
The pen contained a recording of a traffic police officer from February 22, 2013, whose voice Pei Zhi confirmed was identical to his father's through voiceprint analysis. This was despite his father having passed away in 2009, and the recording pen only being produced in 2010. Lin Zhaoxi suggested it might be a second recording, but Pei Zhi emphasized the computer's accuracy and his father's prior use of identical police recording pens.
Lin Zhaoxi asked if he saw his father's cremation; Pei Zhi said he only saw the body. He mused about his father faking his death, a scenario Lin Zhaoxi dismissed as illogical. Lin Zhaoxi then revealed her own experience: about a month ago, she received an illogical photo, a group picture from Zhang Shuping's training camp that included a younger version of herself and Pei Zhi. She realized the phenomenon indicated the existence of a parallel world, or "Cheese World."
Pei Zhi, now convinced, asked Lin Zhaoxi how he could travel to that world to find his father, but she admitted she didn't know. Pei Zhi approached his mother, Luo Jing, to discuss his father. Luo Jing, having personally witnessed Pei Donglai's cremation, urged him not to be delusional. Pei Zhi insisted his father was alive in a parallel world. Luo Jing, visibly distressed, then suggested he make an appointment with Dr. Jia for a check-up, fearing a relapse.
Pei Zhi denied being sick, asserting that someone had been to that other world. He promised to find a way to visit it and asked Luo Jing if she had anything she wanted to say to his father. Through tears, Luo Jing asked him to tell Pei Donglai that she missed him. Pei Zhi also said he missed him.
Later, Ji Jiang called Lin Zhaoxi, who explained she hadn't found a suitable postgraduate tutoring class due to strict admission requirements, and that Zhang Shuping hadn't recognized her. She then asked Ji Jiang if he was free the next day to discuss something important for Pei Zhi. Misinterpreting her intent, Ji Jiang enthusiastically checked his schedule and agreed to meet. Back home, Lin Zhaoxi began self-studying calculus.
Her father, Lin Zhaosheng, offered encouragement, explaining that great mathematicians throughout history collectively laid the foundation for calculus, a profound and beautiful subject that shapes the modern world. He told her that experiencing difficulty in learning it was natural, and encouraged her with the motto, "Studying hard always improves strength." The next morning, Ji Jiang arrived early at Lin Zhaoxi's house with a king crab for Lin Zhaosheng.
Lin Zhaoxi told Ji Jiang she had informed Pei Zhi about Cheese World. Ji Jiang realized she had omitted a critical detail: for her, traveling to Cheese World required not just the photo but also erasing a formula. Now that Pei Zhi had a recording pen from Cheese World, he still needed to erase a formula to trigger travel. Lin Zhaoxi, however, was terrified of the risks—Pei Zhi not returning, becoming vegetative, or returning irrevocably changed.
Ji Jiang, torn by her dilemma, admitted he didn't know what to advise. Lin Zhaoxi planned to attend Pei Zhi's boxing match. Ji Jiang, having managed to clear his schedule, insisted on accompanying her, and she reluctantly agreed. Meanwhile, Lu Zhihao visited Zhang Shuping at 99 Education, and later went to Lin Zhaoxi's home looking for Ji Jiang. At the boxing match, fans cheered loudly for Pei Zhi. Ji Jiang directed his own fans to support Pei Zhi as well.
The announcer introduced Pei Zhi's experienced opponent, Pilavakhun. The match began intensely, with both fighters exchanging blows. During a difficult moment, Pei Zhi's mind flashed back to his parents arguing about his math studies. Distracted, he was knocked down. Luo Jing, in the audience, desperately yelled for him to get up, proclaiming his father wouldn't be defeated so easily. Pei Zhi, envisioning his father reaching out to help him, rose to his feet.
He quickly rallied, analyzing his opponent's moves, and delivered a decisive uppercut, knocking out Pilavakhun. The crowd erupted in cheers. Luo Jing, overwhelmed with emotion, shed tears but quietly left before the final announcement. Lin Zhaoxi noticed her departure. Later, Lu Zhihao arrived at Lin Zhaoxi's house, where Bao Xiaomeng answered the door. She tried to impersonate Lin Zhaoxi, but Lu Zhihao quickly saw through her attempt.
He clarified he was Ji Jiang's manager and was looking for him, as Ji Jiang wasn't answering his phone. Bao Xiaomeng, acting possessive of Ji Jiang, refused to call him and challenged Lu Zhihao to prove his identity by showing her Ji Jiang's merchandise. Lu Zhihao pointed out the absurdity of her request given her implied authority to have Ji Jiang fired, leading Bao Xiaomeng to accuse him of being a bad person.
