Lin Xian didn't say much.

Of course, he knew the answer to this riddle.

It was a song that he and his classmates sang every time they went to KTV in middle school...

As a movie enthusiast, how could he not have seen the masterpiece *20th Century Boys*...

Of course, he knew the answer to this question.

But.

He didn't want to press the buzzer and say that word.

Especially tonight, at this special time, at this special moment when the cat and mouse were about to take off their masks and face each other.

"Ah, so Ji Lin won in the end!"

Chu Anqing added another point to Ji Lin on the scoreboard. On this bar graph, Ji Lin's score was the highest, one point more than Lin Xian, and then the two of them led everyone else by an absolute advantage, ending this guessing game.

After these few games, not only did the atmosphere pick up, but everyone also became familiar with each other, and Gao Yang got his wish and mingled with the female college students.

He even took the initiative to open a bottle of red wine treasured in the villa!

This bottle of red wine looked very high-end and old, and it must be valuable.

But Ji Lin certainly didn't care; he just wanted everyone to be happy.

While tasting the top-quality red wine, Gao Yang talked about Freud and the subconscious with the female college students.

Lin Xian felt that Gao Yang really had to kowtow to the psychologist Dr. Liu during the New Year. Dr. Liu would never have imagined that one of her WeChat moments could make Gao Yang so popular among female college students.

He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

It was already 10 p.m., but because the atmosphere was very good, everyone was having a great time and didn't seem to want to leave.

Lin Xian sat on the sofa drinking juice, wondering if Ji Lin would attack him tonight...

According to his previous analysis with Chu Shanhe.

Tonight at 00:42, was the best time for Ji Lin and his group to strike.

After all, he had been very cautious recently and never went out in the middle of the night, so they had no chance at all, given their usual methods of killing people.

To get him to go out in the middle of the night, there had to be a reasonable reason, right?

Right now, Ji Lin's birthday party was their only chance; once they missed this good opportunity, it would be too difficult to get him out again in the middle of the night.

There was also one more thing.

Chu Shanhe had also found out that Ji Xinshui had entered the country a few days ago.

He specifically returned at this time; he didn't know if it was related to Ji Lin's plan.

Lin Xian thought it definitely was.

According to the clues he had now, there was no doubt that Ji Lin, Ji Xinshui, and Zhou Duanyun were all birds of a feather.

It was just a pity...

He couldn't find Zhou Duanyun's entry information.

If he wanted to arrest Zhou Duanyun in the future, he would have to think of other ways.

But right now, the most important thing to consider was...

Chu Anqing and her classmates couldn't possibly stay here past 11 p.m. at the latest. Chu Shanhe had explicitly mentioned the curfew issue, so they were just having too much fun and staying a little late, but they would have to take the driver's car back to school in less than half an hour.

Then, the only people left in this room would be himself, Gao Yang, and Ji Lin.

Given Gao Yang's personality.

He had eaten his fill.

He had drunk his fill of red wine.

The female college students he had been longing for had left.

Then it would be meaningless for him to stay in Ji Lin's villa, and he would definitely drag himself away.

When that time came, the problem would arise.

Lin Xian put down the juice in his hand and leaned back on the soft sofa...

It was still the problem that he and Chu Shanhe couldn't figure out together at the time—

What method would Ji Lin use to keep him here until as late as 00:42?

What would he do?

What other cards did he have up his sleeve?

Lin Xian couldn't figure it out.

This was the most worrying and concerning point in all his plans tonight...

He had considered every other aspect.

But he just couldn't guess how Ji Lin would keep him here until so late.

So.

There was no other way.

He could only play it by ear.

…

The time came to 10:40 p.m.

Chu Anqing and her classmates were ready to go back to school.

Chu Shanhe's driver started the minivan and waited at the entrance of the villa, ready to take them back to the school dormitory.

"Then Lin Xian-xuezhang, Ji Lin, and Gao Yang-xuezhang, we're going back to school first."

At the door, Chu Anqing waved goodbye to the three boys.

Ji Lin nodded and stepped forward:

"I'm very happy that you could come to my birthday party. I had a great time today."

"Hehe, we should be thanking you for your hospitality!"

Chu Anqing looked at Ji Lin with a smile:

"We'll celebrate our birthdays together next year too! For next year's birthday… maybe Lin Xian and I can give you a more meaningful gift! Ahem… actually, we were planning to give it to you this year, but we didn't have time to prepare it."

"Is that so."

Ji Lin smiled:

"That's a pity. I was quite looking forward to what the two of you would give me."

"It's not a pity, it's not a pity. There's still next year!"

The cheerful Chu Anqing didn't care.

In her opinion, next year was just a short year away.

365 days.

Sophomore year of college.

The three of them would each grow one year older.

Nothing would change; everything would still be there.

Ji Lin waved his hand:

"Goodbye."

…

After watching Chu Anqing and the others leave in the minivan, Lin Xian, Ji Lin, and Gao Yang went back into the house and sat for a while.

After the girls left, the topics of conversation between the three men became more realistic and fragmented.

Gao Yang's main goal was to finish that expensive bottle of red wine.

As the liquid level in the red wine bottle gradually decreased… Lin Xian also felt the arrival of the decisive moment, minute by minute.

Finally.

Gao Yang finished the last glass of wine and burped comfortably:

"Ah, that was great! I really had a good meal, a good drink, and a good time today! I'm very happy to meet you, Ji Lin. Be sure to call me for this kind of party in the future! Lin Xian and I will come together!"

"No problem."

Ji Lin smiled and looked at the two of them:

"I'm also very happy to meet you. This is the happiest evening I've had in so many years."

"Then Lin Xian, let's go too?"

Gao Yang rubbed his stomach and looked at Lin Xian next to him:

"It's getting late. Let's not disturb Ji Lin's rest. He already has very heavy dark circles under his eyes."

Lin Xian nodded:

"Indeed, it's almost 12 a.m. Let's go back too."

With that, the two stood up, picked up their clothes hanging on the hanger, and walked towards the door.

"Bye-bye, Ji Lin."

Gao Yang waved to Ji Lin:

"We won't help you clean up, haha."

"It's okay, there's a butler." Ji Lin responded softly, then followed the two behind him to the yard.

Gao Yang patted his stomach, hummed a song, and walked in the front, already out of the courtyard gate.

Lin Xian walked behind, not as fast as Gao Yang, and had just stepped down the steps.

Ji Lin stood behind him, standing at the door of the house.

Lin Xian was very puzzled.

Could it be…

Had he really guessed wrong?

Was their murder plan not for today?

"Lin Xian."

Just as Lin Xian was puzzled, Ji Lin suddenly called out to Lin Xian from behind.

Lin Xian turned his head and looked at the slender, fair-skinned young man in the moonlight:

"What's wrong?"

Ji Lin looked up at the moon, remained silent for a while, and said slowly:

"Actually, there's something I've always wanted to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Over the years, I have been investigating the death of my parents. Now that the perpetrator of the 00:42 serial murder case has been captured, I still can't find any information about the murderer who shot my parents back then."

"So I often wonder, who exactly killed my parents? If it wasn't these crazy people who drove taxis into people… then what was their purpose in killing my mathematician parents?"

"I've been investigating for so many years, and I've found almost no useful clues, which makes me very distressed."

Ji Lin's gaze moved from the moon and looked at Lin Xian in front of him:

"It's not like I haven't found any clues at all. Actually, I did find a little bit. You are very smart. You solved this 00:42 serial murder case, and you caught the murderer. So I would like to hear your opinion."

"What did you find?" Lin Xian turned his head and asked.

"I only found one name."

Ji Lin narrowed his eyes and stared at Lin Xian's pupils:

"Lin Xian, have you ever heard of…"

"The Genius Club?"