Chapter 96: Yoona Watching Yoona Walk In
……
After lunch, Lin Dajun, who was preparing to pay the bill and leave, suddenly heard a voice by his ear, “Yoona, are you sure you want to join the cult… pfft, Yoona, are you sure you want to join?”
“What?”
This made her turn back abruptly to look at the speaker, Lin Xiuyuan, with full confusion on her face.
Lin Xiuyuan just smiled faintly, “It’s the tavern membership. Didn’t you want to meet that girl? You have to be a member to see her. That’s why I’m asking you, are you sure you want to join the tavern membership?”
Faced with this statement, Lin Dajun’s first reaction was hesitation, “There’s such a thing? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“It’s not too late to say it now.” Lin Xiuyuan smiled again.
“How much is the membership fee?”
Thinking of what Lin Xiuyuan said about the membership fee during their last chat, she continued to ask.
“No rush on that. You can decide how much to give when the time comes.”
His nonchalant attitude surprised Yoona a bit, and she couldn’t help laughing, “Aren’t you worried I’ll welch on the deal?”
In response, Lin Xiuyuan glanced at her, his gaze calm yet meaningful, “Don’t worry, you won’t be able to welch.”
After this chat, Yoona smiled and nodded, confirming her decision to join.
Then Lin Xiuyuan stopped nagging and gave a time, “Alright, it’s settled then. Meet at the small tavern at 8 p.m. No problem, right?”
“No problem.”
Later, as Lin Xiuyuan was preparing to leave the restaurant, he thought of something and suddenly gave Yoona a suggestion, “By the way, why don’t you dress up nicely tonight? It’ll be good for you.”
???
……
2025, 8 p.m.
The fine rain outside the car window was still drifting, not heavy but appearing exceptionally dreamy under the streetlights.
Yoona, arriving at the small tavern again, didn’t get out of the car immediately.
Her mind was replaying that lunchtime conversation, her gaze finally settling on the sign above the doorway.
【Solve worries】
“If it can really solve worries, then your shop is truly magical, Xiuyuan.”
After murmuring this, Yoona pushed open the car door, got out, and knocked on the tavern door lit by lights.
Lin Xiuyuan, who had been waiting inside, quickly opened the door for her and smiled, “Right on time, spot on, Yoona.”
“I just finished my stuff and came over. If you’d said earlier, I probably couldn’t have made it on time.”
Once inside, Yoona looked around; there were no other figures, just the two of them, “Huh, Xiuyuan, didn’t you say you were introducing someone to me?”
“Not on this side, on the other side.”
Lin Xiuyuan said, glancing at her again.
He had wanted to have her wear an eye mask before taking her there, but with just the two of them alone now, it clearly wasn’t realistic.
So he said straightforwardly, “Alright, let’s go. I’ll take you over there.”
“Not here?”
Hearing they had to leave the immediate spot, Yoona’s vigilance as a single woman kicked in instantly.
At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan no longer had the stubbornness and rebelliousness from lunch; he was much calmer, “It’s just next door. If you don’t feel safe, that’s fine too. We can pretend our lunchtime talk never happened.”
Hmm?
The same tone change, captured by another person again, but this time it wasn’t Lin Xiuyuan; it was Yoona.
After hearing Lin Xiuyuan’s unhesitating statement, she was silent for a moment, then looked up at the boy standing in the doorway.
Her lips pressed together lightly, a balance scale emerging in her heart—one side rationality, the other unknown.
And the next second, Krystal’s figure suddenly appeared on the unknown side.
The balance began to tilt.
Rationality lost balance, abruptly pulled toward the unknown by that invisible pull.
So in reality, she spoke softly, “It’s fine, let’s go. I’ll follow you.”
This sudden change surprised Lin Xiuyuan a bit; he turned to look at her and smiled lightly, “Oh, not afraid I’m the rainy night butcher anymore?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Yoona, who had indeed been a bit worried just now, now felt a little guilty and averted her gaze to the side.
Lin Xiuyuan said no more, just took an umbrella from the rack by the door, “Let’s go. Only one umbrella—either we share it, or you get wet following me.”
This made Yoona stunned, “Why aren’t you more gentlemanly and give me the umbrella?”
“Because your words just now hurt my feelings.”
With that, he pushed open the door and stepped into the rain, looking back at her with a smile, “To be honest, I now think lunchtime was a bit rash. Why don’t you go home and rest? We can talk about joining later.”
“Why?” Yoona, who had followed to the doorway, asked.
“Feels like I’m being too nice to you.”
This inexplicable answer made Yoona furrow her delicate brows; she really couldn’t understand, “What kind of talk is that?”
But before she could ask further, Lin Xiuyuan had already walked into the rain curtain on his own.
Yoona was startled and quickly called out, hurrying after him, “Hey, wait for me!”
And so, the two shared one umbrella, walking side by side in the misty fine rain toward the villa at the end of the alley.
Yoona, who thought they still had to go further in, had a faint impulse to retreat in her gaze, but saw Lin Xiuyuan stop in front of the villa door.
She subconsciously asked, “Why stop? Aren’t we going further?”
“We’re here.”
As Lin Xiuyuan skillfully opened the door lock, Yoona stood by, her face full of shock, “This is…”
“My home. Please come in.”
Two minutes later.
Standing in the luxurious living room that was somewhat intimidating, Yoona looked up at the crystal lantern on the ceiling refracting colorful lights, her gaze slowly sweeping over the highly techy smart furniture around, finally landing on Lin Xiuyuan, who was shaking off the umbrella at the doorway.
“Xiuyuan, this is your home?”
“Is it that strange?”
After putting away the umbrella, Lin Xiuyuan smiled, “Otherwise, what kind of place did you think I live in? An attic?”
“Not really, it’s just… this is a bit too exaggerated, right? This spot in Gangnam District is close to the business district, and this area has bustle if you want it, community if you want quiet… whoa…”
“Luck.”
Listening to her exclamation, Lin Xiuyuan just tossed out a vague explanation.
Luck? What does this place have to do with luck?
Until she personally saw Lin Xiuyuan open that room door with a brass lock, then gesture for her to enter, “Come on, taking you to join. But fair warning, you have to pay the membership fee.”
Still confused, Yoona smiled and responded, “I’ll give it to you.”
Then, she took one step across time-space, from 2025 back to 2013.
And as Lin Xiuyuan followed her in and gently closed the door, the pattering rain outside instantly fell silent, replaced by an ordinary apartment room.
And it was the high-floor kind.
Gazing at the high-rise scenery outside the window not far away, Yoona turned back to look at the door she had just come through, murmuring, “Xiuyuan, weren’t we just at the villa? How did we suddenly end up in a high-rise?”
“Why don’t you go check it out.” Lin Xiuyuan said from behind her.
Gradually sensing something off, Yoona slowly walked to the window and looked down at the street scene again.
This place was completely different from the 2025 she knew; looking up, the sky was high and the moon bright, actually a clear night.
So her breathing quickened, her pupils trembled slightly, her small hands clenched into fists, and she abruptly turned past Lin Xiuyuan, rushing to open that door to return to the villa.
But in reality, when she opened the room door, all that met her eyes was a storage room cluttered with cardboard boxes—no trace of any villa.
Turning back to Lin Xiuyuan again, she saw him holding a product from over ten years ago, a 4S mobile phone, fiddling with the screen.
Not sure if it was info overload from before, her brain felt somewhat numb at this moment.
So when Yoona saw his crappy phone now, she wasn’t surprised, just curious, “What? Why are you using this phone? Weren’t you just using a 16 Pro?”
“This is the phone on this side.”
Lin Xiuyuan shook the mobile phone casually and replied, “Alright, I’ve arranged for that girl who looks like Jessica. She’ll be here soon; let’s go downstairs and wait for her.”
After speaking, he turned to head to the door to open it, but was grabbed by the arm by Yoona behind him, “Wait, Xiuyuan, tell me, what’s really going on here?”
She had vaguely realized something, but didn’t quite dare believe it.
Why wasn’t it the villa when they opened the door just now.
Why did coming from the first floor of the villa lead to a high-rise apartment.
Why, in 2025, was someone still using a outdated product from over ten years ago.
All of this was too eerie, making her body start to tremble slightly involuntarily.
Not just confusion, but more fear.
Lin Xiuyuan turned back to glance at her, his tone calm but slightly helpless, “I just think explanations are too pale. You’ll understand soon enough.”
Back then, when he first explained this to Jung Soo Yeon, it took over half an hour, and even then he had to play news clips while lecturing to barely get her to accept reality.
So for the later ones who joined, he didn’t explain with words, but let them see for themselves and accept it themselves.
It was the same now.
Glancing again at the “exit” that had become a storage room, Yoona knew she had no way out.
So even though her voice trembled slightly, she could only nod, “I’ll go out with you, but can you wait for me? I need to use the bathroom.”
When extremely nervous and scared, an urgent need to pee is the most obvious body reaction.
More than ten minutes later.
When Yoona followed Lin Xiuyuan into that retro small tavern, gazing at the familiar yet strange decoration style, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, her nerves no longer so tense.
Lin Xiuyuan had already casually walked behind the bar counter, “Want a drink?”
“Xiuyuan, can’t you tell me now?”
Yoona looked at him, her tone no longer probing but serious.
Lin Xiuyuan just smiled, “I suggest you have a drink. It’ll make it easier for you to accept things later.”
“What’s really going on, Xiuyuan? Can we stop with the guessing games? I’m a bit scared, seriously, I’m not joking with you.”
“In that case, how about a whiskey straight up.”
The two gazed at each other, each saying their own thing, completely not on the same wavelength.
Until—
Ding bell—
The tavern door bell rang.
Lin Xiuyuan glanced to the side, then at the doorway, suddenly flashing a meaningful smile, “Alright, Yoona, your student has arrived.”
Yoona’s body jolted, and she instinctively looked toward the doorway.
Gazing as Lin Xiuyuan went to open the door, watching Yoona walk in from outside.
Then again, you gazing at me, me gazing at you.
At this moment, both Yoona’s froze simultaneously.
Not no updates, but working; I’m not full-time, godfathers.
But there’ll be another update later; promised ten thousand daily, absolutely won’t let everyone down.
So, monthly tickets please, monthly tickets.
Though no hope for top six anymore, still want to see this book’s limit.
Yoona: Maybe this is the only chance!!![!]
