"Yes."

Lin Xian did not deny it.

Gao Yang had made it so clear, what was the point of denying it?

But to shut Gao Yang up and stop him from talking nonsense, Lin Xian did not hesitate and answered directly, unifying the story about the psychologist:

"During that period, our company was rushing for the launch event of a new brand, and Rhein Cat was also under intense workload, which put a lot of pressure on me. I couldn't sleep well and had terrible headaches… so I was kind of desperate and grabbed at straws, and Gao Yang dragged me to a psychologist for a consultation."

"Later, my insomnia did improve, and my sleep became normal. But I don't think it had much to do with the psychologist... mainly because our MX company's products were successful, and Rhein Cat was widely recognized, so the pressure was gone, and my sleep quality naturally improved."

Lin Xian's explanation was reasonable.

And Gao Yang wasn't stupid either.

They had been friends for so many years since childhood, and as soon as Lin Xian said this, he understood that Lin Xian didn't want him to talk about the psychologist here.

So he quickly patched things up:

"See, that's how patients are, they turn around and deny you as soon as they get better, saying your medical skills aren't good. I took you to see a psychologist out of concern for you. You were under so much work pressure back then, with dark circles under your eyes just like Ji Lin. If you continued to suffer from insomnia like that, your body would have problems sooner or later!"

"Ji Lin, you should also stay up less often, your dark circles are also quite heavy. Many of my peers have died suddenly from staying up late. You haven't even spent all your money yet. It would be such a waste if you died young!"

Chu Anqing quickly interrupted Gao Yang.

Seriously...

It's such a festive birthday, why are you talking about death and dying, it's so unlucky!

"Oh, you guys stop chatting… look, the candles are almost burned out, Ji Lin, hurry up and blow out the candles! After blowing them out, we can cut the cake!"

Everyone then noticed that the candles on the cake were about to burn out, and hurriedly urged Ji Lin to blow out the candles.

Whoosh...

The candles were blown out, and everyone presented their prepared gifts.

Gao Yang took the lead in taking out a birthday gift box and handing it to Ji Lin. Inside was a men's belt… Lin Xian knew that Gao Yang was here today for the female college students, and this belt was just a ticket to this birthday party for him, so he was extremely perfunctory from choosing the gift to giving it.

But Ji Lin didn't care.

He seemed to be looking forward to this part, opening Gao Yang's gift, taking out the belt, admiring it with a smile, and sincerely saying thank you to Gao Yang:

"Apart from the books Xu Yun gave me when I was a child, this is the first real birthday gift I've received in my life."

"Ah…"

Hearing this, Gao Yang felt a little guilty:

"If I had known, I wouldn't have given my gift first…"

He whispered in Lin Xian's ear.

Afterwards, Chu Anqing and the girls present gave their gifts.

They were all very cute things, as well as some handmade crafts. Ji Lin liked them all very much, and many of them were placed directly in the room, very treasured.

Chu Anqing gave a very high-end neck massager, saying that Ji Lin might be a little hunchbacked because he usually wrote and read a lot, and using this for treatment would alleviate it a lot.

Actually, what she wanted to give more was the sketch + watercolor painting that she had discussed with Lin Xian before.

However, Lin Xian told her some time ago that he was too busy with work during this period and didn't have time to paint, so that plan was shelved.

There was nothing she could do, so she and Lin Xian could only prepare their own gifts.

Lin Xian didn't lie to her on this point.

He considered everything he did with Ji Lin to be just acting.

Hidden beneath this cheerful atmosphere… was actually a cat-and-mouse game of life and death.

Lin Xian wasn't so magnanimous that he could paint for a murderer.

What's more…

He was the murderer who killed Xu Yun and Tang Xin.

Even if the two appeared to get along well on the surface, it was just a facade for Lin Xian to avenge Xu Yun and Tang Xin.

"This is for you."

Lin Xian handed over his gift.

It was a very small box, and after opening it… inside was a delicate Rhein Cat doll, which was a keychain.

Ji Lin's eyes widened instantly.

This Rhein Cat doll…

Was in the Gothic style.

The petite and cute Rhein Cat, wearing a black top hat, with pentagrams and teardrop-shaped symbols painted on its face, making a grimace, wearing a black dress like a little witch, and black and white striped candy socks on its short cat legs.

"This model cannot be bought on the market."

Lin Xian looked at this strangely contrasting Rhein Cat and smiled:

"It doesn't fit Rhein Cat's positioning and will damage the product image, so it will never be sold."

"This was made by a colleague in our design team, who always likes to hand-sculpt some Rhein Cat fan creations. I thought you would like it, so I helped you get one."

Ji Lin chuckled and said nothing.

He picked up this Gothic version of Rhein Cat and carefully observed it…

To be honest.

He didn't really like this Gothic style.

The reason he said that at the New Year's Eve party was just a reason to get close to Lin Xian and obtain Lin Xian's handwriting…

It was just an excuse.

But unexpectedly.

Lin Xian actually remembered it.

"Thank you."

Ji Lin said softly.

He stood up and placed this one-of-a-kind Gothic Rhein Cat doll on the high TV cabinet:

"I will cherish it."

……

After the gift session, everyone started eating cake while chatting and laughing.

Facts proved that Ji Lin had underestimated Gao Yang.

Ji Lin didn't know where he ordered this cake, but the taste and texture were excellent, and it tasted very delicious. It must have come from the hands of a master.

So Gao Yang also ate it in big chunks, like a snake eating Pac-Man, he could solo one and a half layers of the three-layer cake. Hippo deserved his name.

After the pleasant dinner, it was naturally time to play games.

Ji Lin bought many, many board games, and everyone had a great time playing them. After finishing one round… Chu Anqing saw a very interesting game box.

"Let's play a guessing game!"

Everyone looked over.

It was a packaging box for a guessing game. From the packaging, there were many buzzer-like answer buttons inside, as well as massive guessing cards.

This was something that was rarely played usually...

Everyone was very curious.

So they opened the packaging box, one answer button for each person. Chu Anqing was in charge of hosting and the scoreboard, and the guessing game officially began.

"Question! What is the song released by Wang Xinling in 2004 that became popular again in 2022!" Chu Anqing looked at the guessing cards and directly read out the first question—

Ding-ding

A female classmate quickly pressed the answer bell:

"《Ai Ni》!" ("Love You!")

"Correct, add one point!"

"Question! How do you read 'pyramid' in English!"

Ding-ding

Ji Lin pressed the answer bell almost instantly:

"Pyramid."

"Correct, add one point!"

Unconsciously, everyone's desire to win was slowly aroused.

The initial questions of this guessing game were not very difficult. Everyone had a chance to participate. It was basically a competition of who pressed the bell faster, and even Gao Yang could guess a few correctly.

But…

As Chu Anqing

Had fewer and fewer guessing cards in her hand, and the difficulty of the questions also became higher and higher, everyone gradually began to feel pressure and couldn't breathe.

But only Lin Xian and Ji Lin still took the lead, answering questions quickly back and forth.

"Question! Which asteroid was discovered by a German astronomer and named after the Greek god of love?"

Ding-ding

Lin Xian pressed the answer bell:

"Eros."

"Correct!"

Chu Anqing smiled at Lin Xian and added one point to him on the scoreboard.

Senior Lin Xian is indeed knowledgeable… he really knows everything.

"Next question… Question! What is known to be the oldest writing system in the world?"

Ding-ding

Ji Lin pressed the answer bell with lightning speed:

"Sumerian writing."

"Correct!"

Chu Anqing added another point to Ji Lin.

Looking at the two of them going back and forth, Gao Yang and the remaining female college students were really stunned:

"Wow… Senior Lin Xian and Teacher Ji Lin are so amazing, their knowledge is too broad."

"After these puzzles become difficult, we can't interrupt at all! If I answer one more question wrong, I'll be eliminated!"

"Amazing, Lin Xian and Ji Lin are really geniuses, they know such unpopular knowledge!"

"It's a pity that these two didn't participate in *One Stop*. But then again, these two are already successful enough, so they definitely won't participate in that kind of show."

……

Gradually, there were only three guessing cards left in Chu Anqing's hand.

At this time, except for Lin Xian and Ji Lin, all the other contestants had been eliminated, and everyone stared at the two people's scoreboards…

Their scores were very close, and they were still tied.

So far, they haven't answered a single question wrong!

"Next question!"

Chu Anqing looked at the guessing card:

"Question! In a certain Sakura Country anime, there is a notebook that can kill the other person if you write their name on it. What is the name of this notebook!"

Ding-ding

Ji Lin pressed the answer bell, turned his head to look at Lin Xian, and said softly:

"Death Note."

"Correct!"

Chu Anqing continued to look at the next question:

"Question! What was the first Hollywood blockbuster introduced to Dragon Country?"

Ding-ding

Lin Xian pressed the answer bell:

"*True Lies*."

At this point.

There was only one guessing card left in Chu Anqing's hand.

Gao Yang and several female college students next to him couldn't help but sweat in their palms…

These two people are monsters!

Chu Anqing looked at the only guessing card in her hand and became nervous.

She glanced at the card in her hand and couldn't help but laugh:

"This last question is much simpler than the previous ones… it's basically a competition of hand speed."

Hearing this, Gao Yang and others quickly came over to take a look.

They also breathed a sigh of relief:

"Indeed, this question is too simple, I know it."

"There is no difficulty at all, it has been prompted to this point."

"Anqing is right, it's purely a question of hand speed."

Then, everyone looked up at Lin Xian and Ji Lin, who were sitting side by side at the table.

The two of them have the same score now.

And this last question is so simple.

Whoever presses the answer bell first is equivalent to winning this guessing game!

"Question!"

Finally, amidst everyone's expectations and attention, Chu Anqing read out the words on the last card:

"There is a word,

Which generally refers to two people having a very good relationship and having the same goals. It is the name of the most classic representative song of the famous singer Emil Chau, and it is used as the codename of the villain in the famous manga adaptation film *20th Century Boys*! What is this word——"

……

……???

Gao Yang, Chu Anqing, and the surrounding girls all widened their eyes, extremely surprised.

What's going on?

Where is the answer bell?

This simple puzzle, the answer is almost on their face, what is there to guess?

Emil Chau's most popular song!

It's almost been sung to death in karaoke!

How could anyone not guess it?

But!

At the table in front of them, neither Lin Xian nor Ji Lin looked at the bell and remained silent… as if petrified, frozen, and didn't move for a long time.

Everyone was stunned.

No way?

These two people were so knowledgeable before, how come they can't guess such a simple question now?

Finally——

Ding-ding

With Lin Xian not moving at all, Ji Lin slowly reached out and pressed the answer bell.

"You lost, Lin Xian."

Ji Lin did not look up, and continued to look at the incomplete cake on the table:

"Although I haven't heard Emil Chau's song, I've watched the movie *20th Century Boys*."

"Tomodachi."

He said softly:

"The villain in this movie, that's how his codename is pronounced. And this word translated into Chinese is…"

He turned his head to look at Lin Xian, and said softly:

"Friend."