Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1454: Chapter 181: Butterfly Society Grand Opening

“… Then, we’ll continue discussing the specific concepts of the Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit in our next class. If you work hard enough, I suggest you learn about these concepts in advance… Any other questions?”

As the class was about to end, Teacher Prin looked at the students in the class — he hadn’t posed any more questions after asking, “What exactly is God?” at the beginning of class, which made this entire class seem relatively dull.

“Teacher!” At this moment, Claudia raised her arm directly… This female student was probably the most studious in the class, wasn’t she? Her questions were always plentiful, and several times she had wanted to ask questions during class, but Teacher Prin had ignored her.

“What question do you have, Claudia?” Perhaps thinking it would be hard to ignore her this time, Teacher Prin had to face this inquisitive female student.

“Regarding the concept of the Trinity, do we only have the most commonly used explanations of person and essence? I mean, apart from the Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit, is there nothing else that can reflect the Trinity?” Claudia even stood up as she spoke.

Teacher Prin thought for a moment and said, “What do you think? Aside from the conventional concepts, what other ideas do you have?”

Claudia said directly: “The Past, the Present, the Future!”

Because class had been dismissed, quite a few students were already leaving their seats, about to walk out of the classroom… Among them was even the master and maid duo who wanted to experience the university’s cafeteria.

But upon hearing Claudia’s statement, Boss Luo and the maid paused in their tracks… or nearly stopped simultaneously, then looked back at the braided female student.

Teacher Prin gently frowned at this moment, and after pondering for a while, he slowly said, “So, Claudia, can you tell me what made you think this way?”

“It’s because of the question you asked before class and the answer from the new student,” Claudia said, not even looking at Boss Luo, the new student she mentioned. She earnestly thought, “He said God is a passerby, answering your question about former prophets and scholars!”

Teacher Prin thought about it, set down his briefcase, and made a gesture to continue.

Encouraged, Claudia’s face lit up, and she said, “If God is a passerby, then at a past point in time, a person is the future God! Past, future, it is only now that can link them together, forming a complete timeline. So, doesn’t God perfectly unify these three elements: past, present, and future? Moreover, it is not simply having these three elements, but always, at every moment, embodying these three elements simultaneously! I hypothesize that in the second I am speaking with you, Teacher, if a God exists, then it includes not only the past and present of my conversation with you but can also directly present the result. That is, the question, the exploration, and the answer; the beginning, the end, and the process all appear together.”

Teacher Prin thought again and said, “Claudia, I think you should know that time flows, and indeed, there is a second between one second and the next. We first pose a question, and then the answer comes. If a question and its answer appear simultaneously, do you still think the question itself is a problem that needs solving? The starting point and endpoint may indeed coexist, but they are also separated by a circle… the circle is the process between the start and end.”

Claudia said, “But precisely because of this breaking with convention, God can be called omniscient and omnipotent, right? Like when we observe a two-dimensional plane, we can see both the starting point and the endpoint at a glance… To two dimensions, we are their God!”

Teacher Prin shook his head, “But in fact, even in a two-dimensional plane, if it’s vast enough to be beyond our sight or monitoring means, we can’t see its start and end at the same time. Similarly, assuming there are higher dimensions beyond our three-dimensional space, it may not possess such means either. Claudia, you must know that when we observe two dimensions, we’re only seeing the X and Y axes; but in three dimensions, we also need to see its time axis. Moreover, the future is a variable with uncertainty, and if the future were already a known outcome, don’t you think the world you live in would be terrifying?”

Claudia hastily said, “Teacher, I’m not a supporter of fatalism; I’m only exploring whether there is a unity of past, present, and future.”

Teacher Prin shook his head, “I think this is a quantum mechanics issue. If you expect your theology teacher to answer your questions, I fear you will be disappointed, Claudia.”

“Teacher, I…” She wasn’t planning to give up and wanted to continue speaking.

But Teacher Prin waved his hand, “Claudia, I will seriously think about your question… but I’m sorry, it’s time for my break. And for the sake of your health, I suggest you have your lunch too.”

“Alright…” She knew she could no longer insist and had to give up.

Teacher Prin left the classroom like this… Before leaving, he glanced at Luo Qiu and the maid, who had stayed because of Claudia’s question.

Without saying anything, he just nodded slightly and hurried away.

…

“Wait a minute!”

Just as Boss Luo and the maid were about to leave, Claudia hurriedly approached.

She had just slung a backpack over her shoulder, her hands still carrying a stack of books — she appeared to be a female student with scholarly attributes… at least in appearance.

“Is there something you need?” Luo Qiu stopped, glancing at the titles of the books in Claudia’s hands.

Claudia asked, “What do you think?”

“What do you mean?” Boss Luo blinked, exhibiting an attitude of feigned ignorance.

Yet Claudia seemed not to mind or perhaps hadn’t noticed, “What I just said, about the unification of past, present, and future, the Trinity!”

“Claudia… is that right?” Luo Qiu smiled slightly.

“Just call me Claudia!” She replied straightforwardly, her eyes full of a pure desire to know.

Luo Qiu thought for a moment and said, “Claudia, before answering this question, can you tell me why you are so eager?”

Claudia was taken aback, “I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“About the question itself,” Luo Qiu said calmly, “Or, why do you so eagerly want another interpretation of the Trinity? If I remember correctly, at first, Claudia, you thought of God as a kind of faith, a spiritual support for humans, right?”

“That’s it!” At this point, Claudia hesitated for a moment, then hastily pulled out a note from her backpack — it was the note she passed to Luo Qiu during class. Of course, Boss Luo had written a response on it.

“Because of my answer?” Luo Qiu was instantly curious… He wasn’t surprised he could change someone’s thinking, but the key was that he never used his ability to directly change people’s thoughts.

“Yes!” Claudia nodded earnestly, then thought for a moment and said, “Can we find a place to discuss this matter thoroughly?”

Boss Luo glanced at You Ye, and the maid responded directly, “Why not go to the club room? It’s quieter there.”

The club room the maid referred to was naturally the newly decorated Butterfly Society activity room, or rather… the club’s new lounge.

…

…

“Is this… really a new club that was just created yesterday?”

Even when Claudia truly arrived in the room of the Butterfly Society and sat down on the sofa, she still couldn’t calm the surprise in her heart.

This place looks like an antique shop filled with various valuable items; even the vintage-style sofa she’s sitting on gives Claudia the feeling of sitting on a fortune.

Of course, she doesn’t really believe that all the things here are truly valuable items… who are we kidding, what kind of club could have such a budget?

Could it be that these two new students, who are also the founders of the club, are actually a prince and a princess of some country?

Perhaps they’re all imitations, but even so, it’s clear a lot of thought went into it… But was this club really only created yesterday?

Unconsciously, in Claudia’s eyes, these two new students immediately acquired a mysterious aura… Could they really be members of a royal family of a small country, or perhaps the children of some wealthy magnate?

Claudia instinctively became a bit more reserved.

“Relax, Ms. Claudia.” Boss Luo smiled slightly at this moment, “A relaxed mind is more conducive to your thoughts and the decisions you make.”

Claudia didn’t notice the change in how Luo Qiu addressed her; she was only curious about the so-called “decisions” Luo Qiu mentioned… She shook her head, recalling the real reason she came, and directly took something out of her backpack.

A notebook wrapped in leather.

“What’s this?” Luo Qiu glanced curiously… It seems that lately, he has had quite a connection with books and similar items!

“This is my father’s work notebook… you could also consider it his diary,” Claudia explained. “It’s also the only thing left behind after his disappearance.”

Boss Luo pondered for a moment and said, “Your father is?”

Claudia replied, “His name is Xie Jiatu, and he used to be a professor at this school’s Theology Institute… six months ago.”

“So, Ms. Claudia, your father has been missing for half a year, right?” the maid asked while bringing in tea.

Even using honorifics?

Claudia finally felt that something was amiss… After serving the tea, this ridiculously beautiful female student stood behind the new male student as though she were a servant?

“That’s right…” But she had no choice but to answer the question.

“I heard Teacher Prin took office six months ago,” the maid said calmly, standing behind her master. “It seems he took over your father’s position, Ms. Claudia, right?”

Claudia nodded again in silence.

The maid continued, “Ms. Claudia, did you deliberately choose Teacher Prin’s course… or, rather, did you intentionally choose the Theology study?”

“How do you know that?” Claudia was suddenly taken aback.

Luo Qiu slightly smiled and said, “Perhaps it’s because seeing the things in your hands, we made such a guess… These are all mathematics books.”

“Your powers of observation are quite impressive.” Claudia chuckled bitterly, “Indeed, it’s only this semester that I signed up for Theology study… My major is actually Mathematics research.”

“Because of your father, Mr. Xie Jiatu.” Luo Qiu pondered and said, “Do you believe his disappearance is related to the Theology Institute?”

Claudia shook her head, “I actually can’t be sure of anything. I just know the last place my father was before he disappeared was his office… Actually, the police have been investigating for a long time, but there hasn’t been any progress. And the reason I enrolled in Theology study was just to figure out some of the contents left in my father’s work notebook… Have a look here.”

Claudia opened the work notebook in front of Boss Luo and the maid, directly flipping to the last page with content.

Written prominently were “Past,” “Future,” and “Present,” presented in a triangular relationship, using the most common construct of the “Trinity.”

At their center was written “God,” followed by a large question mark.

“You said ‘God’ is one who has come, and then you told me that man is the future ‘God’.” At this moment, Claudia stared closely at Boss Luo, “Your view is very similar to the last thing my father wrote, very similar!”

“Is that so?” Luo Qiu shook his head, “If that’s all, I think we don’t have any way to help you for now… Ms. Claudia.”

Claudia was momentarily stunned.

Boss Luo continued, “After all, mutual help needs to be built on honesty… of course, the same goes for contracts.”

“I… don’t quite understand,” Claudia was taken aback.

Boss Luo said calmly, “Take this notebook as an example… Ms. Claudia, don’t you find that it is simply a coincidence that my views resemble certain contents left by your father in his notebook? To me, it also remains a mystery.”

Claudia moved her lips, somewhat crestfallen, “Indeed… I was too reckless… I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

She was about to leave like that.

“It’s no problem,” Boss Luo smiled and said, “One of the purposes of creating this Butterfly Society was to provide those in need with a place to voice their concerns… Unfortunately, we couldn’t help you this time, Ms. Claudia. Of course, if you need to share more, you’re always welcome here.”

Claudia walked towards the door of the room, feeling somewhat disheartened.

But the moment she put her hand on the doorknob, she suddenly turned around, “Actually, I found another item!”

This time, she cautiously took out a file folder from her backpack… the contents seemed to be some kind of photocopies.