The way you did is correct. It works fine with that code: x is true. probably you made a mistake somewhere else.
List<int> ints = new List<int>( new[] {1,5,7}); // 1
List<int> intlist=new List<int>() { 0,2,3,4,1}; // 2
var i = 5;
var x = ints.Contains(i); // return true or false