The Heart of Genius Episode 3 Recap
> The Heart of Genius Recap
Lin Zhaoxi adamantly sought recognition from Lin Zhaosheng, who, unaware of their relationship, refused to acknowledge her. He explained his hobbies to her as motorcycles, billiards, clubbing, and hiking, claiming to have even worked in Shanghai for two years and demonstrating his Shanghai dialect, all of which Lin Zhaoxi dismissed as dreams. Their conversation was interrupted by Yao, Lin Zhaosheng’s girlfriend and a dance teacher at the Youth Palace, who came to pick him up from the mail room.
Lin Zhaosheng quickly introduced Lin Zhaoxi, Pei Zhi, and Ji Jiang as his math students. Yao didn't question it, and they left on his motorcycle. Ji Jiang, amused, remarked on Lin Zhaosheng's succession of "pretty girlfriends," but Lin Zhaoxi remained firm in her denial of him being her father. Pei Zhi then prepared to leave for his Go class.
Lin Zhaoxi, still holding a grudge from her future self in the Strawberry World, lashed out at him, telling him she hoped he would "never come back" or call her again. Confused, Pei Zhi didn't understand her words, and Lin Zhaoxi quickly apologized, explaining she had mistaken him for "an asshole with the same name." She revealed she knew his name because teachers at Hongxing Elementary School constantly praised him as the top student from Experimental Elementary School.
Before he left, Pei Zhi asked her name, and she introduced herself as Lin Zhaoxi. Lin Zhaoxi reflected on past events in the Strawberry World in 2010. She and Pei Zhi were both honored as outstanding students. During the award ceremony, a clumsy Lin Zhaoxi accidentally bumped into Pei Zhi. Later, conversations among her classmates highlighted Pei Zhi's brilliance in math, earning him the nickname "alien."
They also discussed a superstition that if two people shared the same number of strokes in their names, their chances of a predestined marriage would double. A classmate noted that Lin Zhaoxi and Ji Jiang both had twelve strokes in their names, but Lin Zhaoxi playfully suggested changing her name to Lin Dongxi to match Pei Zhi's name stroke count. Lin Zhaosheng, amused, teased her about the name change while reminding her to do her homework.
The next day, Lin Zhaosheng brought Pei Zhi to their home for math tutoring. Lin Zhaoxi was thrilled, seeing it as a sign that the "probability has been doubled." Pei Zhi remembered Lin Zhaoxi from school, but she corrected him, offering her new nickname, Lin Dongxi, instead. Lin Zhaosheng began teaching Pei Zhi about graph theory, including vertex sets, edge sets, and undirected edges. Lin Zhaoxi tried to participate but couldn't grasp the concepts, despite her insistence on listening.
Lin Zhaosheng explained that such advanced topics were beyond her age and praised Pei Zhi as a genius. Later, Ji Jiang led Lin Zhaoxi to their childhood "secret base," a room he hadn't visited in years. The light bulb suddenly burst, plunging them into darkness. Da Tou then appeared, revealing that their friend Jiao Zi had been adopted by college professors named Ji, who also planned to help with Jiao Zi's illness.
Ji Jiang was devastated, realizing he had missed his chance to be adopted by his own future parents in this world because he had been out with Lin Zhaoxi. Lin Zhaoxi felt deep regret, but acknowledged that her relationship with her father in the Strawberry World was also strained by his constant disappointment in her, suggesting that perhaps not having him here might be easier.
Lin Zhaoxi then confessed her lifelong struggle with math, recalling her failure to get into Zhang Shuping’s training camp and her father's unspoken disappointment. She contrasted herself with Pei Zhi, who became a prodigy and a close friend to her father, only to leave for Germany without a trace, leaving her father heartbroken. Despite her lack of talent, Lin Zhaoxi admitted her love for math, acknowledging her chances of success were slim, perhaps "one percent."
Ji Jiang reassured her, "one percent is better than zero," praising her intelligence and emphasizing that hard work trumps IQ. Lin Zhaoxi then confided that her father in the Strawberry World was in a coma after a robbery, intensifying her desire to return to him. Ji Jiang, now an orphan in this world, vowed to help her, and they made a pinky promise to "do their best to go home together."
The following morning, a welfare worker woke them up to meet potential adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jia. Determined to avoid adoption in this parallel world, Lin Zhaoxi and Ji Jiang hatched a plan. During the interview, Ji Jiang declared his ambition to be an actor, while Lin Zhaoxi claimed to read obscure philosophical texts like "The Phenomenology of Spirit," even reciting passages.
Ji Jiang then shocked the couple by describing the "scratching reflex" in brainless frogs, a detailed and unsettling account that successfully scared off Mr. and Mrs. Jia. Afterward, Mrs. Li expressed her frustration, reminding Lin Zhaoxi of the immense challenges a girl without family support and education would face.
Lin Zhaoxi apologized for her "willfulness" but stood firm, revealing their goal: to get into Zhang Shuping’s Olympic math training camp, win a gold medal in the Jin's Competition, and prove that even orphans from the welfare home can achieve greatness. Moved by their ambition, Mrs. Li agreed to support them until the competition. Lin Zhaoxi spent all her free time trying to get Lin Zhaosheng to acknowledge her.
Her sincerity slowly began to wear down his defenses, though he still tried to push her away. During one visit, she attempted to engage him by discussing a book by Lu Xun’s grandnephew, but Lin Zhaosheng dismissed her, insisting he had other plans. Meanwhile, Zhang Shuping met with education officials to discuss his Olympic math training camp. He laid out his strict conditions: complete autonomy, three months' use of the Oasis Camp, and support from Sanwei University’s math department.
He asserted that Olympic math was "crueler than the college entrance exam" and not a shortcut, dismissing concerns about student psychology and parental acceptance. As summer vacation began, their teacher announced that Lu Zhihao, Lin Zhaoxi, and Dang Aimin (Ji Jiang) had signed up for the camp. Their classmate Lu Zhihao boasted about enrolling only because his father promised him a computer to play "World of Warcraft" and disparaged Lin Zhaoxi and Ji Jiang's chances.
Lin Zhaoxi and Ji Jiang diligently worked on math problems. They tackled a riddle about a gold bar needing two cuts to make daily payments for seven days. Ji Jiang struggled until Lin Zhaoxi revealed the solution: cuts creating segments in a 1:2:4 ratio. Realizing he once knew this, Ji Jiang lamented his forgotten knowledge, which Lin Zhaoxi attributed to his long break from math.
He begged her to teach him, emphasizing that they needed to enter the camp together to take the crucial photograph. Lin Zhaoxi, acknowledging her own limitations, suggested Pei Zhi could teach them. They found Pei Zhi at a Go class, where he effortlessly defeated Zhang Liang, his classmate and rival. Ji Jiang rushed to hug Pei Zhi, imploring him for Olympic math tutoring.
Zhang Liang intervened, mocking Ji Jiang and Lin Zhaoxi as "trash students from a trash school" and warning Pei Zhi not to associate with them, lest he become "stupid." Lin Zhaoxi retorted, defending Ji Jiang and questioning Zhang Liang's "sense of superiority." Zhang Liang challenged them to a game to determine who was "stupid." Lin Zhaoxi proposed a game of Bash Game with seventeen beans, with players taking one to three at a time.
She secured her victory on the first move by taking one bean. After Zhang Liang conceded, surprised by the quick loss, Pei Zhi explained the winning strategy: by taking one, Lin Zhaoxi ensured she could always leave Zhang Liang with a multiple of four beans, guaranteeing her victory. Ji Jiang suggested they flee, but Lin Zhaoxi insisted on staying, explaining that Zhang Liang was a "core character" in the photograph they needed to replicate.
Zhang Liang soon returned with four other boys—Jia Bing, Liu Xu, Shi Zhe, and Chen Chengcheng—proudly introducing themselves as the "Winning Five Tigers." Ji Jiang jokingly called them a "boy band." Zhang Liang then challenged Lin Zhaoxi to another game, using four boxes of Go pieces and allowing them to take one to five pieces at a time.
Pei Zhi offered to play for Lin Zhaoxi, but she refused, asserting it was a "battle between Hongxing and Experimental" schools, though Pei Zhi clarified there were "no enemies." As they began, Zhang Liang's friends left to rally more students from Experimental Elementary School.
