Chapter 135: Boss Lin’s Time Management Course
Outside the private room.
Leaning against the corridor wall, Lin Xiuyuan was now somewhat amusedly saying into the phone, “Sunny teacher, this call of yours lacks a bit of sincerity, doesn’t it? Who invites someone to eat only when it’s mealtime?”
“I also temporarily couldn’t find anyone.”
On the other end of the phone, Sunny’s tone carried a bit of helplessness.
As a former member of Girls’ Generation, she surprisingly couldn’t even find a dining companion in a place like Seoul, which simply depressed her to the extreme.
She originally wanted to find Kim Tae Yeon, but the other was in class, with rehearsal for a concert tour in the afternoon, so there was no time at all.
She turned to think of finding Park Hyomin, but the other was also rehearsing, preparing for the upcoming fan meeting, and couldn’t spare any time.
Finally, holding onto hope, she called Im Yoon Ah, but the other’s response made Sunny so angry she wanted to flip the table: “Oni, I’ve already eaten. You wouldn’t not be able to find someone to eat with you, right?”
Hearing this, Sunny immediately hung up on Im Yoon Ah and called Lin Xiuyuan instead.
Can’t find anyone? Then I’ll find your little friend.
Thus leading to this current phone call.
But she hadn’t expected that Lin Xiuyuan was also eating, which added a bit more irritation to her already bad mood as this “unlucky one.”
Hearing Sunny teacher’s response, Lin Xiuyuan smiled, “How about you come over and eat with us?”
“Us? Who are you with?” Sunny’s tone shifted, curiosity rising.
“Jessica, and Krystal.”
“Hm?”
Sunny paused in silence for a second.
Moments later.
Lin Xiuyuan, reopening the private room door, looked toward the two at the dining table, holding his mobile phone, and standing in the doorway asked, “A friend wants to come over, should be no problem, right?”
Faced with this, Krystal was curious but didn’t refuse, “Sure, who is it, Xiuyuan?”
She knew Lin Xiuyuan wasn’t the type to randomly invite people regardless of the occasion; since he could bring them, it was naturally someone familiar everyone in the circle knew.
But Jessica didn’t know, so she immediately frowned, though she currently didn’t want to say those harsh words anymore.
But this kind of last-minute addition to the meal made her somewhat dislike it.
Until Lin Xiuyuan gave the person’s name, “Sunny, she just called me, said she couldn’t find anyone to eat with. What do you think?”
On the other side, he hadn’t agreed yet.
Ask first; if these two inside thought it wasn’t good, then… he’d say goodbye to these two and go have a meal alone with Sunny.
Anyway, Krystal wouldn’t blame him, and as for Jessica, who cared about her.
Fortunately, upon hearing it was Sunny, both nodded almost simultaneously.
Especially Jessica, whose reaction was the quickest, because she indeed hadn’t seen Sunny in a while.
Since leaving the group, their schedules diverged, and opportunities to meet were few and far between.
Getting confirmation, Lin Xiuyuan then turned off his phone’s mute, put it back to his ear, “Then I’ll send you the location in a bit, come over yourself. Want to order something first? I’ll send you the menu, pick in advance, and you can eat right away when you arrive.”
“OK~”
Sunny on the other end of the phone chuckled in agreement.
After hanging up, Lin Xiuyuan returned to his seat, looking at the two sisters opposite, “How about ordering first? Stir-fried dishes might take some time.”
“Sure.”
“Mm.”
While ordering, Lin Xiuyuan didn’t interject, letting Krystal and Jessica take the lead.
What he liked to eat, Krystal already knew almost exactly.
But this point made Jessica feel increasingly off; she seemed to have underestimated the intimacy between these two.
Thus, as ordering ended, Jessica’s gaze focused again on Lin Xiuyuan, sizing him up and down, finally stopping on his blond hair.
Suddenly, she remembered from their previous previous meeting, she seemed to have told him that “blond” didn’t suit him.
Unexpectedly, this meeting he came with little blond hair.
Just two days ago, he still had black hair.
Now like this, if there wasn’t some emotion or confrontational mentality involved, Jessica wouldn’t believe it even if beaten to death.
But honestly, setting aside prejudices, this kid with dyed blond hair really had a sunny and clean youthful vibe.
Noticing Jessica’s gaze, Krystal laughed loudly, “Oni, what do you think of Xiuyuan’s blond hair? I didn’t expect him to go dye it either; I was a bit surprised when we met yesterday.”
“I think he’s provoking me. Last time I just said blond didn’t suit him.”
Facing Krystal’s question, Jessica hesitated a bit, then leaned to her ear and quietly said this.
Krystal, not expecting this twist, was slightly stunned, also recalling that coffee shop meeting, then looked at Lin Xiuyuan with an even more amused gaze.
Because with Lin Xiuyuan’s rebellious personality, it was really possible that after beating that man, he went to dye blond hair to provoke Jessica.
But Krystal ultimately didn’t ask the reason for the dye; anyway, it looked pretty good.
Last night, when she looked up at him, the blond hair under the lighting was like wrapped in a layer of warm golden honey, sweet enough to make her whole body restless.
Meanwhile, Jessica suddenly started questioning Lin Xiuyuan’s background:
Like, where in China was he from? Who was in his family?
School stuff, work stuff, and what he wanted to do in the future, she asked one by one.
A string of questions left Krystal speechless, then she covered the dumbfounded Lin Xiuyuan’s mouth toward Jessica, “Ah, Oni, what are you doing? What’s the use of asking these?”
“Getting familiar.” Jessica’s excuse was perfectly reasonable.
Knowing what Jessica was worried about, Krystal sighed again, “Who gets familiar with these info? Oni, stop guessing wildly. Quietly play with your phone; we don’t have the kind of relationship you think.”
Hearing this, Jessica deeply looked at her own sister.
This isn’t a relationship yet?
They’ve already battled through ‘running a red light’ and it’s still no relationship? Does it have to be waddling with a big belly to her asking for a dowry to count as one?
Thinking this, Jessica looked toward Lin Xiuyuan opposite; she wanted to hear how he planned to answer her questions.
The one noticing the gaze slowly looked up, smiled faintly, “Inconvenient to answer.”
These four words, short and restrained, instantly exploded the already tolerant Jessica, glaring with eyes almost erupting on the spot.
But at that moment.
The private room door was pushed open from outside.
Sunny, in a shirt paired with jeans, stepped in with a bright laugh, “Hi, everyone, long time no see.”
“So fast?”
Hearing the voice, Lin Xiuyuan checked the time; it seemed only about ten minutes, dishes not even served yet.
Then Jessica and Krystal both stood up, welcoming Sunny; they all hadn’t seen each other in a long time.
“Oni, really long time no see.”
“Sunny~”
The dining table’s atmosphere finally warmed up.
A while later.
Dishes in the private room came one by one, aroma wafting in the air.
Lin Xiuyuan glanced at the three chatting happily opposite, coughed lightly, and reminded, “About time to eat? All dishes are served.”
“Let’s eat, I haven’t eaten since morning, stomach’s hungry.”
Hearing this, Sunny immediately bounced up from her seat, directly sitting next to Lin Xiuyuan, completely missing Krystal’s slightly narrowed gaze and Jessica’s surprised look.
Krystal actually knew Lin Xiuyuan and Sunny were acquainted; he’d mentioned before eating with Kim Tae Yeon and Sunny, and that he saw Sunny at a T-ara member’s birthday party.
But she didn’t know that birthday party was a swimsuit party.
Nor the outrageous “teacher-student” relationship between Sunny and Lin Xiuyuan.
Even less that after that party, their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds.
Compared to Krystal who had some info, Jessica was truly clueless.
She couldn’t understand how this young person with seemingly no background knew one after another around her, and all with deep relationships.
With such doubts, the sisters could only eat while listening to the three opposite chat idly.
Lin Xiuyuan seemed to deliberately fade into the background, barely interjecting, letting the three catch up, talk schedules, and current situations.
Chatting along, Sunny suddenly thought of something, turned to Lin Xiuyuan beside her, “Right, Xiuyuan, are you going to Taeyeon’s concert tour? She said she saved tickets for us, but I’ve been too busy lately, probably can’t go.”
This statement made Jessica’s gaze tighten again.
Even Kim Tae Yeon was close with this kid? Close enough to save tickets in advance?
Krystal’s chopsticks paused lightly while picking food, but she said nothing.
Looking up at Lin Xiuyuan opposite, he shook his head, “Concert tour? No, I’m not free next week either.”
“Going to Ji-yeon’s side? No wonder Hyo Min said Ji-yeon is already preparing to book a room for you.”
Whether intentional or not, Sunny began her revealing spree.
Sure enough, this sentence directly ignited the scene’s atmosphere.
If Kim Tae Yeon’s name earlier was just for the sisters to hear, then this Big Dragon Cub situation finally made the two unable to hold back, both speaking up.
“Hm? Ji-yeon? The one from T-ara?”
“Hm? Xiuyuan, didn’t you say next week you’re going back to your country?”
Compared to Jessica asking Sunny, Krystal went straight to the protagonist, because yesterday Lin Xiuyuan had told her next week was to accompany Sulli to Neon, but now Big Dragon Cub popped up, making her a bit displeased.
Fortunately, Lin Xiuyuan explained promptly, shaking his head at Sunny, “Ah, no, I’m not going to Ji-yeon’s side either; I’m heading back home in a few days.”
“Ah, Ji-yeon doesn’t know?” Sunny was somewhat surprised.
“Decided yesterday, was going to tell her today.”
Saying this, he stood up, preparing to go out and make a call, planning to explain the situation to Big Dragon Cub.
To avoid her actually booking the hotel, which would be trouble.
Seeing him leave, Krystal turned interestedly to Sunny, “Oni, how do you know so clearly?”
Sunny smiled, “Talked about it on Ji-yeon’s birthday; Xiuyuan was there too, just busy barbecuing and didn’t hear.”
Behind, Lin Xiuyuan’s steps suddenly paused, turning to look at Sunny.
Then Jessica’s voice came first, “Ah, were you all at that birthday party?”
“Yeah, super fun, haha. Next time for my birthday, I want a swimsuit party too.”
“Wait…”
“Swimsuit party?”
Lin Xiuyuan and Krystal’s voices rang out simultaneously.
Followed by Sunny’s surprised tone, “Ah, didn’t Ji-yeon tell you? Wasn’t it that she invited you but you couldn’t make it?”
Krystal’s brow arched lightly, smiling at Lin Xiuyuan ambiguously, “She said it was a party, but not a swimsuit party.”
That gaze seemed meaningful no matter how you looked.
Seeing the situation turning bad, Lin Xiuyuan quickened his steps and directly “slipped” out of the private room.
After the private room door gently closed, Krystal turned back to Sunny, “Oni, was it fun that day?”
“Ah~”
Only then realizing she’d pitted her “good disciple,” Sunny dry-laughed a few times, “It was okay, actually that day Xiuyuan was there just to be our barbecue master, busy grilling and didn’t get to eat.”
Krystal chuckled lightly, “Mm~ Oni, then you must’ve seen his figure, right?”
“Cough cough…” Sunny nearly choked on rice, quickly coughing twice with head down, awkwardly looking up: “S-Saw it… pretty good.”
She inwardly rejoiced she hadn’t mentioned the “birthday cake” thing, or else…
Wait.
Sunny suddenly realized Krystal’s earlier teasing tone was off, her heart skipping: Soo Jung wouldn’t have something with Xiuyuan, right?
Then by this rhythm, wouldn’t Xiuyuan be two-timing?
That wouldn’t do; she’d have to “execute justice over kinship.”
After all, for her, Krystal and Big Dragon Cub were closer than this newly taken “disciple” Lin Xiuyuan.
Jolted, she immediately looked up, staring intently at Krystal, “Soo Jung, that tone of yours earlier, you and Xiuyuan wouldn’t be…”
“No way, Oni, hahaha.” Krystal laughed innocently, “We don’t have that kind of relationship. Just purely think he got close to Ji-yeon too fast, and you might not know, he used to be Ji-yeon’s fan; they actually haven’t known each other long.”
She even pulled Jessica in, vividly recounting how Lin Xiuyuan and Ji-yeon first met on the small tavern’s opening day.
But in her brilliant smile, there seemed a faint edge.
Outside the door.
Lin Xiuyuan now leaned against the door, bitterly rubbing his forehead, like hit hard by reality.
If he knew this “teacher” Sunny was such a pit-digger, he’d never have invited her to this meal even if beaten to death.
But actually Sunny was a bit wronged; she thought Big Dragon Cub said Krystal knew about the swimsuit party, so casually mentioned it, who knew it’d backfire into “pitting disciple.”
Helplessly sighing, Lin Xiuyuan simply took out his mobile phone, preparing to handle the Big Dragon Cub issue first.
As the call went out, after two rings, Big Dragon Cub’s joyful laugh came through, “Hello, Xiuyuan, how’d you know I was about to find you?”
“Ah? What’s up?”
Lin Xiuyuan was stunned, casually asking back.
Sure enough, next second Big Dragon Cub replied, “I was just about to ask you for ID info; in a couple days our group has a performance over in Singapore, come play together.”
Facing this, Lin Xiuyuan didn’t make it difficult, directly telling Big Dragon Cub he had to head home in a few days and might not have time.
“Ah, such a coincidence?” Big Dragon Cub sounded a bit disappointed.
“Yeah, suddenly something came up to go back, was gonna tell you later, but unexpectedly while eating with Sunny just now, she brought it up, so I called you right away.”
Hearing the answer, Big Dragon Cub was a bit glum on the phone but quickly adjusted her emotions, “No problem, you do your thing first. When you’re done, our performance will just end, then we can meet up.”
“How about evening?”
Lin Xiuyuan asked softly; though only a few light words came from the phone, he caught a hint of something off.
As a young person himself, he was also a bit addicted to the taste.
Even just unlocking Krystal’s hazy “boundary,” different flavors were still addictive once tasted.
As expected, Big Dragon Cub’s retracted laughter overflowed again from the phone, “Mm, evening. But have to wait till I finish practice, okay, Xiuyuan?”
“No problem, I’ll wait for your call.” Lin Xiuyuan nodded.
Hearing this, Big Dragon Cub laughed happily twice, “Hehe, then that’s it for now, see you tonight.”
“Mm.”
After the call, Lin Xiuyuan stood at the doorway holding his phone, somewhat dazed.
Big Dragon Cub side agreed, but Krystal side… how to wrap up?
Just a short month ago, he was still a workhorse laborer, every day either working or at work; now suddenly turned into a man needing time management courses.
This rapid identity shift left him momentarily unadapted.
He took a deep breath, sorted his mood, then pushed open the private room door and walked back in.
Upon entering, Lin Xiuyuan originally thought he’d face Krystal’s barrage of questions, but only saw her smile, “What are you stupidly standing at the door for? Sit and eat.”
Then Sunny chimed in: “How’d it go? What’d Ji-yeon say?”
Lin Xiuyuan walked over and sat, picking up chopsticks while replying, “She was just about to ask me too, so I called first; set it for next time.”
Opposite, Krystal smiled like nothing happened, “Good thing I didn’t go that day; swimsuit party, tsk tsk, going would’ve been asking for trouble. Xiuyuan, how were Ji-yeon and the others’ figures?”
Looking up at that smile, Lin Xiuyuan subconsciously licked his lips, “Finally fulfilled the teenage dream.”
Krystal lightly tossed another: “Mm… definitely way better than when you knew them over a dozen years ago, right?”
“Cough cough~”
Lin Xiuyuan, who just shoveled a mouthful of rice, choked instantly.
Sunny, unclear on their coded talk, normally added, “But I think post-divorce Ji-yeon has more charm. Compared to her from over ten years ago, now she’s pretty attractive too.”
“Oni, how could it be better? If Ji-yeon from over ten years ago saw now her, she’d probably curse ‘old woman.'” Krystal pursed her lips.
Sunny was choked, couldn’t help laughing, “Uh, Soo Jung, that… isn’t unreasonable. Probably we’d all want to curse our selves from over ten years later.”
Krystal suddenly got interested, turned to her blood sister, “Jessica, if it were you, how would you curse your current self?”
Jessica, lost in thought, heard her name and looked up, “Ah? Me?”
“Mm.”
“Don’t know, don’t guess such things.”
Jessica casually replied and went back to eating.
Still that familiar response; on “past”-related questions, Jessica always avoided talking.
She knew clearly she’d turned at some fork, onto another unfamiliar irreversible path.
No need to look back, nor willing.
But now, more than memories, her attention shifted to the guy opposite.
Known less than a month, yet this kid mobilized everyone around like old friends, all getting along naturally and pleasantly.
Off, very off.
Originally not too concerned, now Jessica was truly interested, gaze drifting to Lin Xiuyuan more and more frequently.
Until Lin Xiuyuan finally couldn’t hold it, stared till hairy, simply looked up with a grin, “How about adding contacts? Any day or whenever you want to see me, video call, I’ll pick up anytime.”
“Hahaha~”
Next second, Sunny and Krystal’s laughter exploded.
Ten Thousand Daily ended, thanks to godfathers’ support and votes.
Then monthly tickets over 5K, Ten Thousand Daily +1.
Ten Thousand Daily progress bar report: 24/38.
Begging monthly tickets, begging subscriptions!!!
Subscriptions dropping lately, hope everyone doesn’t hoard books; new book period is best for boosting scores, hope for some support and encouragement, please!!!
（PS: Typhoon rainy days lately, work a bit troublesome, updates later in evening, really sorry, I’ll get back on track ASAP.）
