The topic of who the murderer was gradually subsided as days passed.
Initially, many of Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan's classmates, driven by curiosity, had inquired about it.
However, both of them used excuses to brush off the questions, and eventually, no one bothered to ask anymore.
Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
By late November, the price of Bitcoin had broken through one thousand US dollars, not far from the peak price Qin Tian remembered.
Therefore, Qin Tian had been paying close attention to this matter for the past few days, constantly prepared to sell the Bitcoin he held.
Under these circumstances, he hadn't noticed at all that his twentieth birthday had arrived.
It wasn't that he didn't remember the date of his birthday, but he had simply forgotten the day itself.
This day was a Saturday.
At two in the afternoon, Qin Tian sat in front of his dorm computer, watching the price of Bitcoin, which had surpassed $1100 and was fluctuating slightly, debating whether to start selling.
"Strange, where did Siqi and the others go today, do you know, Brother Tian?"
Chen Zhuang's voice sounded.
Qin Tian turned and looked at him, saying, "Didn't they go shopping with Nuannuan? Didn't she tell you?"
"No, she didn't say she was going shopping. I wanted to ask her to have dinner together!"
Chen Zhuang shook his head.
"Didn't say?"
Qin Tian was slightly stunned.
That shouldn't be the case. When they ate together in the cafeteria at noon, Nuannuan told him that she was going shopping with her dorm sisters that afternoon.
"I messaged her, but she didn't reply. I don't know what she's doing."
"She probably didn't check her phone!"
"I don't know, I'm bored. I'm a bit tired of playing games too."
Chen Zhuang stretched lazily.
Only the two of them were in the dorm now. Zhuang Zhe had likely gone out with Tian Jing.
As for Cao Mingliang, who knew who he was fooling around with where!
Just then, Chen Zhuang's phone suddenly rang.
He quickly picked it up and looked at the caller ID, answering with a smile.
"Hello, Siqi, where are you?"
Not knowing what Shen Siqi said, Chen Zhuang's face broke into a bright smile.
"Alright, I'll be right there... Mmhmm, I'll hang up now!"
"Where are they?"
Qin Tian asked.
"On the pedestrian street. They said they bought a lot of stuff and asked me to help carry the bags!"
Chen Zhuang replied with a face full of smiles.
Qin Tian didn't think much of it and nodded, saying, "Then go ahead!"
"I'm leaving then!"
Chen Zhuang closed his computer and stood up.
Qin Tian returned his gaze to the computer screen and hummed in response.
Chen Zhuang grinned and turned, leaving in a hurry.
...
...
Outside the campus, in a luxurious private room of a restaurant.
Xia Nuannuan and the girls were busy decorating the private room with the various decorations that were left over from her birthday.
Zhuang Zhe and Tian Jing were also present.
"Siqi, did your Chen Zhuang give anything away?"
Cheng Meng asked with a smile as she saw Shen Siqi put away her phone.
"Who knows? I was worried he might slip up, so I didn't tell him. I reminded him to act natural, but whether Qin Tian noticed, I can't say."
Shen Siqi pouted her lips.
"Nuannuan, did Qin Tian really forget his birthday? Could it be that he guessed we were planning something and is playing along?"
Su Yan asked Xia Nuannuan.
"He probably forgot. He's been sitting in front of the computer busy all these days and hasn't paid attention to the date."
Xia Nuannuan smiled.
"That's good then. It would be bad if we went to all this trouble and it didn't work, and he even laughed at us."
"Don't worry!"
"By the way, Nuannuan, what did you prepare as a birthday gift for Qin Tian?"
Shen Siqi asked out of the blue.
As soon as she said this, everyone's curious gazes were all directed at Xia Nuannuan.
Everyone was very curious about what gift Xia Nuannuan would give Qin Tian after receiving the lavish birthday gift he had so carefully prepared for her.
"Why would I tell you now? You'll know later."
A slight smile appeared on Xia Nuannuan's pretty face as she refused to answer.
"Why are you smiling so mysteriously? You've been preparing for this for a long time!"
Cheng Meng teased her with a smile.
Xia Nuannuan smiled and nodded, "I have been preparing for a long time."
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances.
"No way, I just said it casually and you guessed it? Nuannuan, give me a little more detail."
Cheng Meng looked at her intently.
"I'm not saying anymore."
Xia Nuannuan shook her head.
This behavior made everyone even more eager.
"Sister Lei, what did she prepare for Qin Tian's 19th birthday last year?"
Shen Siqi asked Lu Lei.
"LEGO. She assembled it herself, a really big one."
Lu Lei replied with a gentle smile.
"Oh, right, I remember now. She spent a month or two assembling it in the dorm back then!"
Shen Siqi nodded as if she had just remembered.
Last year, Qin Tian's birthday was also celebrated in this restaurant, in the same private room.
When it was time to give gifts, Xia Nuannuan called a waiter, who then brought in a large gift box.
After Qin Tian opened it in front of everyone, it contained an assembled model of a house.
Although it couldn't compare to the eighteen birthday gifts Qin Tian had given her, it was still made with great care.
Moreover, at that time, their new house had just started renovation, and giving this LEGO model had a very good symbolic meaning.
Xia Nuannuan had never played with LEGO before, and she didn't let Shen Siqi and the others help. She spent many days assembling it alone, expending a lot of effort and time.
"This is Qin Tian's 20th birthday. The gift must be even better, and she herself said she prepared for a long time. Ahhh... I can't, the more I talk about it, the more curious I get."
Shen Siqi vigorously shook her head and glared at Xia Nuannuan with a resentful look.
Xia Nuannuan smiled sweetly at her.
After a while, Chen Zhuang strode into the private room.
"Zhuang Zhe, you quiet guy, you're here too. Brother Tian's birthday is today, why didn't you give me and Cao Thief a heads-up?"
Upon seeing Zhuang Zhe, Chen Zhuang immediately complained.
"Cao Thief knew. You just didn't."
Zhuang Zhe said with a calm expression.
"Holy crap!"
Chen Zhuang couldn't help but curse.
"We discussed not telling you. If we had all come over and you weren't in the dorm, Qin Tian would have gotten suspicious!"
Shen Siqi said indignantly.
"Oh, is that so!"
Chen Zhuang scratched his head with a simple smile, then added, "You could have told me, though. I could have acted. I'm a good actor."
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Shen Siqi rolled her eyes.
"Then what about Cao Thief? Why don't I see him?"
Chen Zhuang asked curiously.
"He went with Senior Wang Zijun to order the cake!"
Xia Nuannuan replied with a smile.
"Senior Wang Zijun is coming too?"
"Yes, I invited her. I forgot last time for my birthday."
"Alright, is there anything I can help with?"
Chen Zhuang asked with a smile.
"Go to the supermarket across the street and buy some alcohol and drinks. It's expensive here."
Shen Siqi instructed.
"Got it!"
Chen Zhuang readily agreed, walked over, and put his arm around Zhuang Zhe's shoulder.
"Old Zhuang, you're just standing here doing nothing. Come with me!"