"I agree with what you said!"

Zhou Duanyun laughed heartily as he poured wine for Gao Yang. They both drank it down in one gulp.

"Those two can really hold their liquor," Tang Xin said with a smile, looking at the two men. She turned her head to look at Lin Xian's wine separator. "You've also had quite a bit to drink. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I can handle my alcohol."

"No wonder you're so interested in hibernation, Lin Xian. Is it because of Professor Xu Yun?" Tang Xin blinked her eyes as she looked at Lin Xian.

"Not really." Lin Xian filled his own glass with wine. "I just pity Professor Xu Yun's daughter and hope she can live to see the day when hibernation pods are available. Here's to the early success of your project. I'm sure many patients are waiting for you."

"I'll work hard."

Tang Xin had also had quite a bit to drink today. She smiled and raised her glass to clink with Lin Xian's.

Actually...

Lin Xian had thought that Tang Xin wouldn't drink much today.

After all, she was the only girl here, and it wasn't a business occasion. No one would say anything if she didn't drink. They were all classmates, so she could do whatever she wanted.

But he hadn't expected her to be a heavy drinker as well.

Zhou Duanyun and Gao Yang were clearly getting drunk… and they were dragging out the battle lines.

After finishing two bottles of baijiu, Zhou Duanyun had his driver bring two more bottles. The two of them continued to drink, with no intention of calling it a night.

Lin Xian and Tang Xin had already reached their limit, so they ignored the two men on the other side and chatted among themselves.

Tang Xin told Lin Xian that her orchestra had a performance at the Donghai City Music Festival soon, and invited Lin Xian to come and watch.

An orchestra…

Lin Xian wasn't very interested.

But Tang Xin was so enthusiastic, and she said that there would be not only orchestral music, but also performances by many celebrities, as well as dance and other programs. It would be a grand event, so Lin Xian agreed.

It wasn't until the waiter came to urge them that the restaurant was closing that Gao Yang and Zhou Duanyun were willing to call it a night. The two of them had been drinking from seven or eight in the evening until dawn, so they could be considered evenly matched.

After going downstairs, Zhou Duanyun's driver opened the rear door of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, letting Gao Yang and Zhou Duanyun get into the car.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom was a four-seater car, so Zhou Duanyun could only send Gao Yang home. Lin Xian was preparing to take a taxi to send Tang Xin home.

"Lin Xian! When are you coming to buy a car from me?" Gao Yang rolled down the car window and shouted from inside the Rolls-Royce.

"I'll go when I have time. Don't worry, I'll keep my word."

Lin Xian waved goodbye to the two of them.

"Lin Xian, let's take a car too."

Tang Xin pointed to the taxi parked on the side of the road.

Lin Xian looked up.

Under the influence of alcohol, his vision was a little blurred, as if there was a delay. Everything in front of him seemed to be moving in slow motion.

The whole street was very quiet.

After Zhou Duanyun's Rolls-Royce drove away, the world was silent except for the sound of the restaurant staff tidying up the tables and chairs behind them.

A taxi was quietly parked on the side of the road, waiting for passengers.

The roads on both sides were shrouded in darkness. This scene… felt familiar.

Tang Xin walked in front, already reaching the taxi and reaching out to open the car door—

*Pa!*

Behind her, Lin Xian grabbed her hand.

"Ah?"

Tang Xin turned her head, looking down at Lin Xian holding her hand. There seemed to be a moment of panic in her eyes.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but she felt Lin Xian's palm was warm. The electronic watch on his wrist was exposed from his sleeve, and the silver numbers displayed the time—

00:42

"Lin... Lin Xian?" Tang Xin's cheeks were slightly red, and her free hand reached behind her ear, twirling her hair with her index finger.

"Want to chat a little longer?" Lin Xian said with a smile.

"Okay." Tang Xin turned her head, looking at the end of the road. "Do... do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Right here is fine."

"Here?" Tang Xin was a little puzzled. She looked left and right, then smiled at Lin Xian. "This doesn't seem like a good place to chat. A colleague took me to a nice clear bar the other day. Should we go there?"

Lin Xian looked at his watch.

00:43

"Okay, that's just the place to sober up."

He released Tang Xin's hand and went to pull open the back door of the taxi—

He opened it very easily.

Then he gestured for Tang Xin to get in. "You sit in the back, I'll sit in the front."

He reached out to pull open the front door—

It also opened smoothly.

He breathed a sigh of relief...

Was he really being too sensitive?

Sitting in the passenger seat, he turned his head to look at the driver, an ordinary middle-aged driver.

"Where to?"

The driver threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, touched his nose, and looked at the two of them.

"Here."

Tang Xin handed the driver a location on her phone.

……

Inside the music clear bar, the resident singer was on stage, playing and singing a soothing folk song.

Lin Xian and Tang Xin sat at a small table in the corner, drinking their drinks.

Tang Xin was like a chatterbox, talking non-stop, chirping like a sparrow, completely different from the way she was in the restaurant before. She shared bits and pieces of her life and told interesting stories about her work.

Lin Xian mostly responded with a smile.

His mind was full of the road he just saw with no traffic or people, and the taxi that had absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Countless details showed…

He was indeed being too neurotic about 00:42.

In his opinion.

He might be killed, and Tang Xin might be killed… He was getting a little paranoid.

But the facts proved.

Whether it was the class reunion or today, it was all a false alarm, just him scaring himself.

Come to think of it, it was quite difficult to kill someone at 00:42. There were only 60 seconds in total. The target had to be standing on the road, and a car had to be speeding towards them…

It was too demanding.

Lin Xian believed that if he or Tang Xin were the targets of the murderers in the situation just now, then the vehicle on the other side of the road should have accelerated when Tang Xin reached out to open the car door. Otherwise, it wouldn't have had enough speed to kill someone.

But the fact was…

There was no movement at all.

The taxi driver was also normal, and the door opened smoothly. Even if he hadn't stopped Tang Xin, she would have been able to get into the taxi safely from the sidewalk.

So.

Maybe he really was being too sensitive.

This feeling of being on tenterhooks wasn't good.

The two continued to chat for a while before preparing to leave.

After leaving the clear bar, Tang Xin tugged on Lin Xian's sleeve and pointed to the other side of the road. "Over there, I called a Didi taxi! I just learned how to use it a few days ago. It's much easier to use than Uber. It's more convenient to use our own domestic software."

Tang Xin wasn't at ease with Lin Xian, so she sent Lin Xian home first.

"Bye Lin Xian."

"Goodbye."

Lin Xian waved goodbye as the Didi car disappeared into the night.

……

The next day, Gao Yang's gossip hotline arrived on time.

"Hehehe, yesterday…"

"Nothing happened." Lin Xian was at the office, operating his mouse and adjusting the model of Rhine Cat, interrupting Gao Yang's fantasy. "Can't you fill your head with something clean?"

"Tsk! Zhou Duanyun and I saw it yesterday!"

Gao Yang let out a disdainful "tsk". "Our car had just left! You immediately held her hand! We saw it clearly in the rearview mirror! You scumbag, don't do something and not admit it!"

"I was just afraid she wouldn't be safe crossing the road."

"Tsk tsk! Do you even believe that reason yourself? Is Tang Xin a three-year-old child or an eighty-year-old grandma? You're not even at ease with her crossing the road!?"

"I have something to do, I'm hanging up."

*Dudu.*

Lin Xian hung up the phone directly.

*Dīng líng líng, dīng líng líng, dīng líng líng, dīng líng líng, dīng líng líng!*

As soon as he hung up the phone, the ringtone rang again.

Was Gao Yang still haunting him?

Lin Xian looked at the caller ID, and it turned out to be an unexpected name—

Chu Anqing.

What did this little princess want from him?

After answering the phone, her sweet voice came through. "Senior Lin Xian, are you in the company office? I just happened to be passing by and wanted to bring you something!"

"I am, on the 20th floor. I'll have the receptionist pick you up."

"No need, no need. I can go up myself!"

A few minutes later.

The Donghai little princess arrived.

She was still dressed in the youthful and beautiful style of a college student, making Lin Xian's entire office seem to be filled with the fragrance of osmanthus from Donghai University.

"What wind brought you here today?" Lin Xian poured her a glass of water.

"I'm here to give you a ticket!"

Chu Anqing giggled and took out a delicate ticket from her pocket, handing it over.

Lin Xian took it and looked at it…

Donghai City Music Festival Special Seat?

He had just heard about this concert from Tang Xin yesterday, and today he received a ticket from Chu Anqing? What a coincidence!

"Could it be… that you have a program?"

Lin Xian directly stated the most likely guess.

"That's right."

Chu Anqing put her hands in her pockets and swayed her body. "I have a ballet program! At my dad's New Year's banquet before, you danced with me… I said I should return the favor to thank you! This concert performance is great!"

"Not only me, but there are several programs from Donghai University! There are also some famous singers and orchestras performing. Senior, you will definitely like it!"

Lin Xian smiled helplessly.

Could it be that the waltz they danced at the banquet that day caused Chu Anqing to misunderstand something?

He wasn't the kind of petty bourgeois youth who liked singing and dancing performances. Most of his understanding of music came from movies, and as for dancing… he only had a little bit of knowledge, and it just happened to coincide.

"Thank you for the ticket. I'll go if I have time."

"Okay, then I'll go first, Senior. Goodbye."

The cheerful girl came and went quickly, waving goodbye and leaving.

Lin Xian re-examined this special seat ticket.

Good heavens…

This location was simply the VIP of VIPs.

But with Chu Shanhe's status, it wasn't surprising that Chu Anqing could get any ticket. Even her ballet program… was probably a backdoor deal?

"But it's hard to say."

Lin Xian shook his head, not wanting to look at this rich daughter with tinted glasses.

That day at the New Year's banquet, Chu Anqing's outstanding dancing skills had already proven everything. What's more, it was under the drag of Lin Xian, this second-rate dance partner, that she couldn't fully exert herself.

If she were given a perfect stage to perform… she couldn't be underestimated.

……

In the evening.

A high-end French restaurant.

Tang Xin placed her handbag on the seat next to her and looked at Zhou Duanyun, who was smiling and sitting opposite her. "I really didn't expect you to invite me to dinner."

"We're all classmates, we should deepen our relationship." Zhou Duanyun called the waiter over and asked them to start serving appetizers.

"You said you wanted to talk to me about Lin Xian?" Tang Xin looked at Zhou Duanyun.

Zhou Duanyun lowered his head and smiled. "Miss Tang, the appetizers haven't even been served yet, and you're already getting straight to the point. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Don't keep me in suspense." Tang Xin smiled politely and spread out the napkin on the table. "Just tell me what's going on."

"You like Lin Xian, don't you?" Zhou Duanyun smiled as he looked at Tang Xin. "I'm sorry for being so direct, but I don't think you're deliberately hiding your affection for Lin Xian. I hope you don't mind."

"There's nothing to hide." Tang Xin said softly. "I'm not a teenage girl. It's normal for me to like someone at my age. It's not something to be ashamed of. I can say it openly."

"I really like Lin Xian." Tang Xin smoothed her bangs and looked at Zhou Duanyun. "I didn't expect you to gossip about these little things. Although we haven't known each other for too long and have only met two or three times, I get the feeling that you should be very busy."

"Don't say that, old classmate." Zhou Duanyun raised the aperitif that the waiter had poured. "I didn't call you here to gossip. I want to help you."

"Help me?" Tang Xin blinked her eyes, a little surprised. "Although I'm very grateful for your kindness… I feel that there's no need for outsiders to help with things like dating."

"Hey… you still don't understand the Donghai business circle. You have no idea how popular Lin Xian is with women, and you don't know who your competitors are."

Zhou Duanyun shook his head with a smile and sighed. "Let me be frank…"

He put down his wine glass and looked at Tang Xin seriously.

"You have no chance, no chance of winning."

……

……

The two didn't speak for a long time.

The waiter quietly walked up and placed the first plate of appetizers on the table, bowing and leaving.

Tang Xin snorted lightly and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Zhou Duanyun, isn't that a little impolite? Did you specifically ask me out just to say something sarcastic to me?"

"How could that be? You've misunderstood my good intentions."

Zhou Duanyun crossed his hands and placed them on the table. "Even though Lin Xian is surrounded by beauties, they're not related to me. Why would I care about them? In the end, the two of us are classmates, so I'll definitely always be on your side."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I've already said it. I want to help you." Zhou Duanyun looked at Tang Xin and smiled. "I have a plan that can 100% help you win Lin Xian…"

"Are you interested in hearing it?"