"What a joke!"

Gao Yang slammed the table.

"We only have 41 people at this class reunion, max! Where did you pull 42 from? Did a ghost just pop out of nowhere?!"

Xia Yuan, next to him, coughed violently, pulling at Gao Yang.

"Cough, cough... It's the New Year, don't talk nonsense."

…

42.

Lin Xian felt instantly sober.

That mysterious and eerie number again.

He squinted at Gao Yang.

"How many people came today?"

"Definitely 41! Even if the Heavenly King himself came, it'd still be 41!" Gao Yang stood up abruptly, pulling a crumpled list from his pocket to show Lin Xian.

"Look!"

Lin Xian took the crumpled list, which had the students' names printed in three rows. The last number was indeed 41.

Each student's name had a checkmark next to it, indicating everyone was present.

"I don't believe in ghosts!"

Gao Yang hiccuped from the alcohol, turned around, and began counting the tables, pointing with his finger.

"1, 2, 3...39, 40, 41!"

After counting, he snorted and looked at the waiter.

"See! There are clearly only 41 people in this room!"

"... "Lin Xian looked at Gao Yang speechlessly.

"Are you not counting yourself, you idiot?"

"Huh?" Gao Yang scratched his head in sudden realization!

The entire private room burst into laughter, filled with joyous atmosphere.

Lin Xian looked down at the list in his hand again…

Sure enough, Gao Yang's name wasn't on it. This guy had completely forgotten to include himself!

"You're really something," Lin Xian said, exasperated.

"Hahahaha! My bad, my bad! Waiter, make it 42! Hahahaha..."

Gao Yang sat down awkwardly, raising his glass again.

"Come on, everyone! Let's celebrate!"

"What's there to celebrate? Class monitor, you should punish yourself with three drinks!" a classmate joked from the table.

Everyone burst into laughter again.

But Lin Xian…

For some reason, he couldn't quite bring himself to laugh.

He knew that this time, the 42 was neither intentional nor did it have any special meaning; it was just a blunder made by Gao Yang.

But…

It was 42, nonetheless.

If every blunder ultimately led to 42, would these blunders still be blunders?

The sample size was too small; Lin Xian couldn't make a judgment.

He just found it strange.

He found two people at this reunion to be very strange.

Tang Xin and Zhou Duanyun.

They both seemed too familiar with him… almost overly familiar.

Zhou Duanyun was somewhat understandable. Even though they didn't have much interaction in high school, they had spent three years together, so it was understandable that he remembered Lin Xian's appearance clearly.

But Tang Xin…

They were classmates for only a few days, almost like strangers who met by chance.

Yet, Tang Xin recognized him from afar at first glance and with such certainty… This was something Lin Xian couldn't understand.

Recalling the time in Zhao Yingjun's office…

The woman who called herself Huang Que (Oriole), spoke about his information as if it were invaluable treasure, readily available at her fingertips, and even knew the temporal laws he had randomly set up so clearly…

What was going on with these people?

Did they all have the ability to read minds? Or was he like Truman from *The Truman Show*, with no privacy and every aspect of his life being broadcast on some television channel?

…

Lin Xian picked up his glass, and at Gao Yang's urging, celebrated the arrival of the watermelon platter, downing it in one gulp.

He really had drunk a bit too much today.

His head was already faintly dizzy, but the chaotic thoughts mixed with the confused alcohol gave Lin Xian a strong urge to figure everything out completely.

He had been too passive all along.

Pulled back and forth by various whirlpools.

Since the clues about the Genius Club were completely cut off, and that Huang Que (Oriole) had warned him that even if he didn't court trouble, trouble would still find him, and even said that his cat-and-mouse game had already begun…

Then the only straw he could grab onto now… was the cosmic constant 42.

He didn't know if the 42nd classmate that resulted from that blunder just now was some kind of reminder from the heavens.

But…

It was indeed time to set off, to go to Shanxi University and meet the author of *Introduction to the Cosmic Constant*.

The 42nd classmate?

Lin Xian took a bite of watermelon, chuckling softly involuntarily.

An interesting thought.

So who exactly was the 42nd classmate?

Gao Yang, who forgot to include himself?

Tang Xin, who couldn't even be considered a classmate?

Or Zhou Duanyun, who arrived at the hotel last?

"What's wrong, Lin Xian? You look so happy."

Turning his head.

Tang Xin smiled at him, and Lin Xian smiled back, shaking his head.

"It's nothing, I just feel like recalling those youthful times with my old classmates is quite nostalgic."

"Well said!" Gao Yang slammed the table! Raising his glass high.

"Everyone, let's have another toast! To our youth!"

"... "Lin Xian felt that Gao Yang might really be a genius.

"Come on, Lin Xian, let's have a toast. I haven't had a drink with you today." Zhou Duanyun walked over with a smile, holding a glass, and clinked it against Lin Xian's.

"Actually, I've always been quite envious of you since we were in school."

"What's there to envy about me?" Lin Xian smiled politely.

"On the contrary, you're so successful now, it's you who deserve everyone's envy."

"You can't say that." Zhou Duanyun shook his head, his eyes looking at Lin Xian, filled with nostalgia for the days of their youth.

"In high school, you were popular, good at sports, and even won three parkour championships. Everyone in the class, both boys and girls, revolved around you. Everyone liked you very much. And you were also a very good person, always sticking up for everyone. I really admired you."

"It might be a little embarrassing to say, but my biggest dream in high school was to become someone like you, someone who could be respected, trusted, and recognized by everyone."

"You're exaggerating, you're exaggerating too much."

Zhou Duanyun's flattery took Lin Xian by surprise.

He thought this fellow was driving over in a Rolls-Royce to show off. Coming up and praising him so highly, was there something else planned?

"There's a saying that what promises much, performs little. I'm actually that kind of person. I could run and jump when I was young, but when I grew up and entered society, that's when the real test came."

"To put it bluntly, I was only a little capable in high school. Now I'm just a wage earner, far from being a big boss like you. You're the type of hero who exerts his power in the late game."

Lin Xian smiled at Zhou Duanyun.

"If we were to switch our lives, you definitely wouldn't want to switch."

"I would."

Zhou Duanyun was clearly a bit drunk as well, his eyes were red, but his answer was resolute.

"Of course I would." He smiled.

"Actually, all these years I've been working so hard, it's just to catch up to you guys back then."

"You've had too much to drink." Lin Xian patted Zhou Duanyun's shoulder, drank with him, and returned to their respective seats.

It wasn't that he didn't understand Zhou Duanyun's feelings.

Some people spend their whole lives healing from their childhood, while others use their childhood to heal their entire life.

For Zhou Duanyun, who was poor and insecure in high school, this Rolls-Royce Phantom probably wasn't even as valuable as a pair of sneakers back in high school.

Lin Xian knew.

In high school, Zhou Duanyun's clothes were always tattered, and so were his shoes. He often sat at his desk and didn't want to come out, afraid that others would see the cracks in his shoe glue.

Even though the classmates in the class were very considerate of Zhou Duanyun's feelings.

But it was this deliberate "consideration" that sometimes pricked Zhou Duanyun's heart the deepest.

Kindness turned into malice.

But fortunately, Zhou Duanyun had made it. At today's class reunion, he was the brightest star. A Rolls-Royce Phantom was enough to make everyone forget all his past hardships and inferiority from high school.

Actually.

Everyone had already forgotten.

The only one who couldn't forget was probably Zhou Duanyun himself.

…

After five years apart, the classmates had endless things to say.

People left intermittently, but the remaining staff kept gathering and combining tables. In the end, the people left at Lin Xian's table drank until dawn before reluctantly leaving.

All the girls had long since left.

Only Tang Xin was left, quietly sitting next to Lin Xian. She didn't chime in much on the topics they were discussing, but just listened with a faint smile. She seemed very happy, and insisted on staying with these drunks until so late.

There is no feast that lasts forever.

This class reunion finally came to an end. Everyone at the last table had drunk a lot… After all, with Gao Yang, the劝酒狂魔 (quàn jiǔ kuáng mó, alcohol-pushing maniac), it was impossible to drink little.

Everyone was arranged to go home one after another. Zhou Duanyun had a driver, and also took some classmates who were going in the same direction. Others who needed to find a designated driver found one, and those who needed a taxi took one.

Lin Xian and Gao Yang were definitely the last to leave.

Gao Yang went to the service desk to pay the bill, and Lin Xian saw Tang Xin to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Tang Xin, how did you get here?"

"I took a taxi."

Tang Xin pointed to the taxi waiting by the side of the road.

"I can just take a taxi back."

With that, she smiled and waved to Lin Xian.

"Then I'll be going first, Lin Xian. You and Gao Yang drive carefully. I'll see you in Donghai City!"

Lin Xian smiled and nodded.

"Then I'll see you in Donghai City. Be careful on your way too, it's so late after all."

Like a conditioned reflex, Lin Xian raised his wrist to look at his watch—

00:41

"Wait a minute!"

Lin Xian took a step forward and grabbed Tang Xin's delicate wrist.

"Eh?"

Tang Xin turned her head back in surprise.

Looking at Lin Xian, looking at her wrist being held tightly, even a little painfully.

She blinked.

Looking at Lin Xian.

A little puzzled.

Lin Xian didn't let go of her wrist, feeling that his breath reeked of alcohol, but still reacted and said with a smile.

"Actually… there are some things I still want to talk to you about."

"Sure."

Tang Xin turned around with a smile, still so poised and generous.

"Then should we talk somewhere else or…"

"Here is fine."

Lin Xian confirmed that she wouldn't walk down the steps before letting go of her wrist.

He admitted that his actions were a bit abrupt… but recalling the night Professor Xu Yun died, he couldn't help but worry if something would happen to Tang Xin at 00:42.

After all…

Tang Xin's field of research was also hibernation.

Lin Xian looked at the taxi parked by the side of the road.

The driver inside was lazily scrolling through his phone, and there were no other vehicles on either side of the road, not even in the distance…

Perhaps he was really being too sensitive.

But in any case, he should stall past 00:42. If his reasoning was correct, the murderers would only kill in the 00:42-00:43 range.

"What's wrong, Lin Xian?"

Tang Xin scratched the short hair behind her ear, then put her hands behind her back, swaying her body, tapping the ground with her toes, looking at Lin Xian, who was silent, and smiled.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Lin Xian came back to his senses, looking at her.

"Actually, there's something I'm still a bit curious about."

"What is it?"

"You said just now that the side effects of hibernation aren't just memory loss, there are other more serious side effects."

"Yes." Tang Xin chuckled twice, nodding as if to relax.

She put her hands down, stopped swaying her body, stood still.

"Are you curious?"

"I'm a little curious."

Lin Xian said with a smile.

"Can you explain it to me?"