Genius Club-Chapter 248 - 66 Friends

"Yes."

Lin Xian didn’t deny it.

Since Gao Yang made it so clear, what’s the point in denying?

But to keep Gao Yang from spouting nonsense, Lin Xian didn’t hesitate to respond directly, setting a consistent explanation for the psychologist incident:

"During that period, our company was rushing to launch a new product release and a new brand, and then the work at Rhein Cat was also very stressful, which made me feel a lot of pressure, couldn’t sleep well, and had terrible headaches... So, it was kind of a desperate move, and Gao Yang dragged me to see a psychologist for a consultation."

"Afterward, my insomnia really improved, and my sleep returned to normal. However, I really don’t think it had much to do with the psychologist... It was mainly because our MX Company’s products were a success and then Rhein Cat was also widely recognized, so the pressure was gone, and naturally the quality of my sleep improved."

Lin Xian’s explanation made sense.

And Gao Yang wasn’t a fool.

After so many years of friendship from childhood, once Lin Xian said this, he understood that Lin Xian didn’t want him to talk about the psychologist here.

So he hastily patched things up:

"Look at this patient, once he’s cured, he turns his back and disavows the doctor, claiming the doctor’s skills were poor. When I took you to see the psychologist, it was out of concern for you. You were under so much work pressure at that time, with dark circles as bad as Ji Lin’s. If you continued to suffer from insomnia, your health would have eventually taken a toll!"

"Ji Lin, you should also stay up late less often. Your dark circles are pretty serious too. Many people my age have died from overworking themselves. You haven’t even spent all your money yet, and if you were to die young... that’d really be such a waste!"

Chu Anqing quickly interrupted Gao Yang from the side.

Really...

Such a joyous occasion as a birthday, and he’s talking about death—how inauspicious!

"Hey, stop talking already... Look, the candles are almost burnt out. Ji Lin, make a wish and blow out the candles! After that, we can cut the cake!"

It was only then that everyone noticed that the candles on the cake were about to burn down completely, and they hurriedly urged Ji Lin to blow out the candles.

Whoo…

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

Gao Yang was the first to hand over a birthday gift box to Ji Lin, inside was a men’s belt... Lin Xian was aware that Gao Yang had come today for the sake of the college girl, and the belt was essentially his ticket to the birthday party, so the selection and gifting process was extremely perfunctory.

But Ji Lin didn’t mind.

He seemed very much to look forward to this part, opened Gao Yang’s gift, took out the belt, admired it with a smile, and earnestly thanked Gao Yang:

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

"Ah..."

That statement made Gao Yang feel somewhat guilty:

"If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone first..."

He whispered in Lin Xian’s ear.

After that, Chu Anqing and the other girls present offered their gifts.

All were quite cute things, including some handmade crafts they had made, and Ji Lin liked all of them very much. Many were immediately displayed around the room and cherished.

Chu Anqing’s gift was a high-end neck protector; she said it might help straighten his posture a bit since Ji Lin seemed to hunch over from reading and writing a lot.

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

But Lin Xian had told her some time ago that he had been too busy with work to paint, so that plan was set aside.

With no other option, she and Lin Xian could only prepare their respective gifts.

In this regard, Lin Xian hadn’t lied to her.

He considered everything he did with Ji Lin an act for the occasion.

Hidden beneath this cheerful atmosphere... was actually a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Lin Xian wasn’t so magnanimous as to paint for a murderer.

Moreover...

He was the murderer of Xu Yun and Tang Xin.

No matter how well they got along on the surface, for Lin Xian, it was nothing but a pretense for the sake of avenging Xu Yun and Tang Xin.

"This is for you."

Lin Xian handed over his gift.

A small box, opened to reveal... a delicate Rhine Cat Doll keychain.

Ji Lin’s eyes widened in an instant.

This Rhine Cat Doll...

[It’s Gothic style.]

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

"This version is not available on the market."

Lin Xian looked at this eerily contrasting Rhine Cat and smiled:

"It doesn’t fit the Rhein Cat’s branding, it would damage the product image, so it will never be released."

"It was made by one of our design team members who always likes to handcraft ’second creations’ of the Rhein Cat. I thought you would like it, so I got one for you."

Ji Lin chuckled softly but said nothing.

He picked up the Gothic Rhine Cat and observed it carefully...

To be honest.

He didn’t really like this Gothic style.

He had said so at the New Year’s party simply as a reason to get close to Lin Xian and to obtain his handwriting...

It was just an excuse.

But unexpectedly.

Lin Xian actually remembered.

"Thank you."

Ji Lin said softly.

He stood up and placed this one-of-a-kind Gothic Rhine Cat Doll on the tall TV cabinet:

"I will cherish it."

...

After the gift-giving was over, everyone started to eat the cake, chatting and laughing.

As it turned out, Ji Lin had indeed underestimated Gao Yang.

The cake ordered by Ji Lin was of very good taste and texture, clearly crafted by a master. It was delicious, and Gao Yang devoured it, taking big bites like a gluttonous snake eating Pac-Man, polishing off one and a half layers of the three-layer cake, truly living up to his nickname.

After the enjoyable meal, naturally, it was time for games.

Ji Lin bought lots and lots of table games, and everyone had a blast. After finishing a round... Chu Anqing spotted a very interesting game box.

"Let’s play a trivia quiz!"

Everyone looked over.

It was a trivia quiz game box. From the packaging, it seemed that there were many buzzer-like answer buttons and a plethora of quiz cards.

This wasn’t something they often played...

Everyone was very curious.

So they opened the box, with an answer button for each person. Chu Anqing took charge of hosting and the scorecard, and the trivia quiz officially began.

"Question! What is the song released by Wang Xinling in 2004, that became popular again in 2022?" Chu Anqing read out the first question from the quiz card—

Ding ding~

A female classmate swiftly pressed the buzzer:

"Love You!"

"Correct~ Add one point!"

"Question! How do you say ’pyramid’ in English?"

Ding ding~

Ji Lin nearly instantaneously pressed the buzzer:

"Pyramid."

"Correct~ Add one point!"

Unknowingly, everyone’s desire to win had slowly been stirred.

The initial questions of this riddle game weren’t very difficult, so everyone had a chance to participate. It all came down to who could press the bell faster, and even Gao Yang guessed a few correctly.

But...

As the number of riddle cards in Chu Anqing’s hands dwindled and the difficulty of the puzzles increased, people began to feel the pressure and struggled to catch their breath.

However, Lin Xian and Ji Lin were still in a league of their own, going back and forth with rapid responses.

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

Ding ding~

Lin Xian pressed the buzzer:

"Eros."

"Correct!"

Chu Anqing looked at Lin Xian and giggled, adding a point to his score on the scoreboard.

Senior Lin Xian is truly erudite... He really knows everything.

"Next question... Question! What is the world’s oldest known form of writing?"

Ding ding~

Ji Lin, as quick as lightning, pressed the buzzer:

"Sumerian script."

"Correct!"

Chu Anqing added another point to Ji Lin’s score.

Seeing the two of them going at it, Gao Yang and the other female college students were truly astonished:

"Wow... Senior Lin Xian and Teacher Ji Lin are both so amazing. Their breadth of knowledge is just so wide."

"After the difficulty of these riddles increased, we couldn’t get a word in edgewise! If I get another question wrong, I’m out!"

"They’re incredible, Lin Xian and Ji Lin are really geniuses. They know even the most obscure knowledge!"

"It’s such a pity they don’t go on ’The Ultimate Winner’. But then again, they’re successful enough as it is, they probably wouldn’t join that kind of show."

...

Gradually, the riddle cards in Chu Anqing’s hand were down to just three.

At this point, except for Lin Xian and Ji Lin, all the other contestants had been eliminated, and everyone was intently staring at their scoreboards...

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The two men were neck and neck, still tied in score.

Up to this point, out of so many questions, neither of them had answered a single one incorrectly!

"Next question!"

Chu Anqing looked at the riddle card:

"Question! In an anime from Japan, there’s a notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it. What is the name of this notebook?"

Ding ding~

Ji Lin pressed the buzzer, turned his head towards Lin Xian, and whispered:

"Death Note."

"Correct!"

Chu Anqing continued with the next question:

"Question! What is the first Hollywood blockbuster introduced in China?"

Ding ding~

Lin Xian pressed the buzzer:

"True Lies."

And so.

Chu Anqing now only had one riddle card left.

Gao Yang and the few female college students beside her couldn’t help but get sweaty palms...

Both of these people must be monsters!

Chu Anqing felt nervous looking at the last riddle card in her hand.

She glanced at the card and couldn’t help but laugh:

"This last question is much simpler than the previous ones... it’s basically about reaction speed."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang and the others eagerly leaned in to look.

They also breathed a sigh of relief:

"Indeed, the question is too simple; even I know it."

"There’s no difficulty at all, it’s already so heavily hinted."

"An Qing is right, it’s purely a question of speed."

Subsequently, everyone looked up at Lin Xian and Ji Lin, who were seated side by side at the dining table.

The scores of the two men were equal.

And this last question was so simple.

Whoever hit the buzzer first would win this round of the riddle game!

"Question!"

Finally, amidst everyone’s anticipation and focus, Chu Anqing read out the text on the last card:

"There is a term that generally refers to two people with great rapport and like-mindedness. It’s the name of a song by the famous singer Zhou Huajian, his most classic work, and it also serves as the villain’s codename in the famous anime-adapted movie ’20th Century Boys’! What is this term——"

...

...

???

Gao Yang, Chu Anqing, and the surrounding girls all widened their eyes in utter surprise.

What’s going on?

Where’s the sound of the buzzer?

Such a simple puzzle, the answer is almost spelled out for them, what’s there not to guess?

Zhou Huajian’s most popular song!

It’s almost overplayed in KTVs!

How could anyone not guess it?

But!

At the dining table, neither Lin Xian nor Ji Lin made a move toward the bell, remaining silent... as if they were petrified, frozen, not budging an inch.

Everyone was baffled.

Could it be?

These two, so knowledgeable before, how could they not guess such a simple question?

Finally—

Ding ding~

With Lin Xian completely motionless, Ji Lin slowly reached out his hand and pressed the buzzer.

"You lose, Lin Xian."

Ji Lin didn’t look up, continuing to gaze at the remaining cake on the table:

"Although I’ve never listened to Zhou Huajian’s songs, I have seen the movie ’20th Century Boys’."

"ともだち."

He said softly:

"In the movie, the villain’s codename is pronounced this way. And this term, translated into Chinese, is..."

He turned his head to Lin Xian and said gently:

"Friend."