Chapter 141: Lin Xiaolu: Gotta Be Proactive, Here, I’ll Give It To You
Rooftop restaurant.
“Why are you spacing out? What did Ji-yeon chat with you about~”
“Hm?”
The phone had just hung up, and Lin Xiuyuan was still immersed in his own thoughts when Lin Xiaolu’s voice suddenly rang in his ears. He turned his head and saw that she had already come to his side.
He blinked, came back to his senses, smiled lightly, shook his head and said, “Nothing, just thinking… whether to take the money or save face.”
“What do you mean?”
Lin Xiaolu frowned in confusion, but didn’t press further. She just gently tugged his hand, “Let’s go eat first. No matter what it is, we have to eat our fill before thinking about it, right?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Lin Xiuyuan nodded and followed behind Lin Xiaolu back to the dining table.
After he returned to the table, Lin Xiuyuan noticed that the conversation topic among the group was increasingly leaning toward his side.
Games, cosplay, Akihabara, and so on.
When the topic turned to cosplay clothing, Lin Xiuyuan couldn’t help but glance at Lin Xiaolu.
That instinctive glance made Goo Hara, sitting nearby, pause for a moment. Her mind quickly pieced together an “incredible” ambiguity script.
Until Lin Xiaolu gave him a somewhat amused glare, “No, why are you looking at me when we’re talking about this?”
“I’m thinking, should we wholesale some back? Then you all can change into them.”
Of course, Lin Xiuyuan didn’t dare say this loudly, so he leaned close to Lin Xiaolu’s ear and said it softly.
“For example, buy some anime masks or something. When Yoona and the others come over, they can wear them out. It should be more acceptable than masks, glasses, and hats. Next time you go over and want to go out, you can use them too.”
2D stuff, though eye-catching on the street.
But with a mask added to the outfit, it’s really hard to recognize.
So after Lin Xiuyuan said this, Lin Xiaolu seriously thought about it, and then she actually felt a little tempted.
The more she thought about it later, the more potential she saw in it. So she turned her gaze to Goo Hara, “Hara, do you know where the place with the most anime cosplay clothing around here is?”
“Ah?”
Goo Hara, who was chatting with Sulli about where to relax these next few days, looked at her in disbelief after hearing Lin Xiaolu’s words.
To be precise, at Lin Xiuyuan.
At this blond, clean-cut guy full of youthful aura.
Because she realized that after this guy said a few words to Yoona, Yoona then asked her with some interest.
What did that mean?
Bed play?
Though Goo Hara’s emotions were surging inside, she still answered verbally.
“Hiss~ Older sister, you’ve really stumped me. As far as I know, Akihabara definitely has them, Harajuku has plenty too, and there’s that place called the ‘Cosplay Paradise’ Otome Road. Probably just those spots.”
After saying that, she thought again, “You’re closest to Harajuku here, right? Just a few kilometers, a ten-minute walk.”
“That’s really close. Go check it out tomorrow?” After hearing this, Lin Xiaolu immediately turned her gaze to Lin Xiuyuan.
He nodded, “I’m fine with anything, you decide.”
This phrase “you decide” was like “whatever,” an answer that subtly thrilled countless girls.
Even the usually mild-mannered Lin Xiaolu couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “Hey, Lin Xiuyuan, this was clearly your idea first.”
“It’s for you to use, right?” Lin Xiuyuan laughed.
“That’s true, but you should care a bit too. Don’t just say ‘you decide.’ It’s not like I’m going alone.”
“Fair point. Then I formally apologize.” Lin Xiuyuan’s mouth curved up, “We’ll go after waking up tomorrow, and find a place for lunch there too. Okay?”
Seeing Lin Xiuyuan’s sincere apology, Lin Xiaolu nodded very satisfied, “Okay, it’s settled like that.”
Across from them, Goo Hara, who had been lost in her script imagination, was truly stunned this time.
After staring at the two with wide eyes for a moment, she immediately pulled over Sulli, who was smiling nearby, and whispered in her ear, “Jinjin, this is Yoona older sister’s boyfriend, right? Something’s off. Their conversation is so intimate.”
“No, older sister, you’re overthinking. They’re just friends.”
Who knows how “boys and girls, friends” became a catchphrase. Now not only did Lin Xiuyuan like using it, but Sulli, Jung Soo Yeon, and others were saying it fluently too.
“Jinjin, don’t fool your older sister. Their state doesn’t look like friends at all.”
Facing Goo Hara’s question, Sulli turned to look at Lin Xiuyuan and Lin Xiaolu over there.
She saw the two sitting shoulder to shoulder, so close that even the “half-meter safety line” didn’t exist.
The gap between their cheeks, from this angle, was probably just fist-sized distance.
Breathing intertwined, auras in intimacy. One careless move and they’d touch.
On the dining table, candlelight flickered gently, atmosphere lighting casting a layer of soft warm glow. Beyond the glass railing flowed Tokyo’s quiet night scenery, neon blurring into hazy light spots in the distance.
As Sulli and Goo Hara’s voices faded, the liveliness at the table seemed to hit slow motion in that instant, with only light and shadow quietly weaving with heartbeats.
Between the two, dishes left almost no space.
Lin Xiaolu looked down at her mobile phone, a few stray hair strands falling by her ear, looking soft and lazy.
Lin Xiuyuan’s gaze lingered on that strand of hair, not shifting for a long time.
He wasn’t staring, just lost in thought.
Then a breeze blew, carrying a hint of night chill, gently lifting a lock of Lin Xiaolu’s side hair.
Lin Xiuyuan, spacing out, suddenly reached out, almost instinctively brushing that strand that had drifted to her lip corner for her.
The motion was very light, his fingertip just barely touching her cheek, like wind skimming over a lake surface.
Lin Xiaolu instinctively looked up, their gazes meeting perfectly.
That second, time seemed to lag.
“Instinct.”
The next instant their gazes met, Lin Xiuyuan immediately withdrew his hand and explained.
But Lin Xiaolu just smiled lightly, “I believe you, but do you think they across from us do?”
Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan looked across and saw Goo Hara and Sulli watching their side with spectator gazes, so he laughed helplessly, “Are you full?”
“Ah, not yet.” Sulli answered.
Goo Hara beside her laughed until her eyes curved, “Xiuyuan is asking if we’ve had enough of the drama, haha, we’re full.”
Both sides burst into laughter.
Candlelight danced in their eyes, as if reflecting some unclear emotions.
The rest of the time had no more “dramatic tension.” Lin Xiuyuan and Lin Xiaolu dove back into chat topics, eating and laughing until dinner ended.
Then Sulli called the hotel butler to arrange a car to send Goo Hara back to her apartment dormitory.
After all, it was late at night, and letting her walk alone wasn’t safe.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiaolu gently turned to Lin Xiuyuan beside her, “Back to the room or what? Go downstairs for a stroll?”
Facing Lin Xiaolu’s proactivity, Lin Xiuyuan smiled, “I think I get why you came to Tokyo now.”
“What?”
She lowered her eyes, her mouth unable to hide a smile and a bit of slight embarrassment.
“Nothing.”
But Lin Xiuyuan didn’t expose it. He stood up, rolled his shoulders, “Let’s go. I heard there’s a golf course nearby or something. See if there’s scenery like in Japanese dramas or anime.”
“Should I change clothes then?”
To this question, Lin Xiuyuan glanced at Lin Xiaolu. Her simple dress was elegant and poised, gentle and serene.
“No need, right? Are you cold?”
Lin Xiaolu shook her head, “Not really.”
After she said that, Lin Xiuyuan’s laughter came over, “Then let’s just take a walk like this. The weather and outfit are perfect, like the atmosphere in Japanese and Korean dramas. It’s the plot where the male lead walks the female lead home. Remember to fully immerse yourself.”
This made Lin Xiaolu chuckle out loud, “Who arranges plots like this?”
“It’s reality.”
After saying that, Lin Xiuyuan thought of something else and looked down at himself, “By the way, as the male lead, shouldn’t I take off my jacket and drape it over you now?”
Lin Xiaolu glanced sideways at Lin Xiuyuan’s outfit and really couldn’t hold back her laughter, “Hahaha, hey, don’t make me laugh. Others do it with suit jackets, but yours is a short-sleeve shirt? What will you wear if you take it off?”
“I have a vest underneath.” Lin Xiuyuan answered very seriously.
“Let’s go, no.”
Lin Xiaolu laughed and shook her head, pushing the still-wanting-to-say-more Lin Xiuyuan into the elevator.
……
……
Late-night Roppongi streets.
In the alley by the Mori Courtyard, Showa-style longhouses hung with strings of faded red lanterns. Salarymen crowded the grilled chicken cartilage stall, clinking glasses and drinking heartily, oil smoke mixing with beer bubbles, blurring the damp texture of the cobblestone road.
Not far away, the fifth-floor upscale restaurant still glowed with subdued warm light.
The kaiseki counter silhouetted the sushi master shaping nigiri, while the neighboring courtyard-style tavern wafted thick spicy aromas, mingled with drunk patrons’ laughter, weaving into the folds of the city’s night.
And on this late-night street, Lin Xiuyuan and Lin Xiaolu began their rare “late-night street stroll.”
Lin Xiaolu ahead stepped quickly onto the curb, like a game, trying to walk straight on the stone bricks grid by grid.
Lin Xiuyuan behind watched her somewhat wobbly steps and couldn’t help reminding, “You drank quite a bit just now. Sure you’re not drunk?”
“Sparkling wine, low alcohol. I won’t get drunk.” Lin Xiaolu turned back with a light laugh, “But my stomach has so much gas, keeps burping.”
As she spoke, she carefully stepped on the brick edges, repeatedly trying to keep balance.
But after a few steps, she’d fall off, then laugh and go back to continue.
Lin Xiuyuan watching behind knew Little Deer Bambi was a bit tipsy, so he quickened his pace to her side.
Smiling while watching, paying attention to her state, ready to steady her if she fell.
Luckily, though Lin Xiaolu was a bit dizzy, she didn’t fall.
So seeing Lin Xiuyuan come beside her, she laughed lightly, “Afraid I’ll really get drunk?”
Lin Xiuyuan nodded, not denying.
“Wouldn’t being drunk give you a chance?” Tipsy, her words gained boldness, like a thin fuse hiding sparks, gently teasing.
Lin Xiuyuan still smiled, no answer.
Seeing this, Lin Xiaolu got feisty, stopped, tilted her head at him, “Lin Xiuyuan, since you know I came this time to get some sense of experience from you, shouldn’t you take the initiative?”
“Why? I don’t need sense of experience.” Lin Xiuyuan countered.
“Because in 《The Heirs》 script, it seems the male lead proactively pursues the female lead, so…”
Without letting Lin Xiaolu finish, Lin Xiuyuan interrupted her in time.
“Reality isn’t like scripts. And you want to find the feeling of the female lead suddenly realizing she likes the male lead. Yoona said you need proactive, delicate emotional expression. Not being pursued, because that you can play naturally.”
“Yoona Yoona Yoona, always Yoona. I’m Yoona too, jerk.”
Lin Xiaolu huffed discontentedly, then turned and walked into a roadside tavern, standing at the doorway turning back to him, “Come in, I didn’t drink enough. Let’s drink more, or I can’t act out the ‘delicate emotions’ you mentioned.”
Lin Xiuyuan sighed, had to follow in.
Come to think of it, this was his first time entering someone else’s tavern.
The tavern space was narrow, like a squeezed corridor.
Middle was a one-person-wide passage, one side bar counter, the other just a skinny table.
Under dim yellow lighting, faces were barely visible.
Bar counter empty, only scattered guests.
So after entering, Lin Xiuyuan and they didn’t sit right away, but went to the deepest corner to sit.
“What to drink?”
“Long Island Iced Tea!” Lin Xiaolu without hesitation.
“Don’t mess around, I don’t want to carry you back later. Get a mojito.”
“No, then I want a Margarita.”
Lin Xiaolu stubbornly looked at Lin Xiuyuan with her little face. Unable to win, he nodded helplessly and ordered two from the bartender uncle in his fifties at the counter.
After ordering the alcoholic beverages, he looked at Lin Xiaolu, “Drink up and go back. Sulli should have sent Hara back by now, and won’t be long returning.”
“Yeah.”
Lin Xiaolu nodded, surprisingly obedient this time.
A few minutes later, two Margaritas arrived before them.
After a sip, Lin Xiaolu immediately frowned, “Eww, so sour and salty. Why’s it different from what you mixed for me?”
“Margarita, simple yet not. Tequila, orange liqueur, lime, salt on the rim. Wrong ratios and it’s overly sour or salty. Drink a few more sips, you’ll get used to it.”
Lin Xiuyuan explained while breaking down the drink’s structure logic for Lin Xiaolu.
Listening to his explanation by her ear, Lin Xiaolu started giggling midway, “So you’re showing off that your technique and skills are great? Are you teasing me, or really talking bartending?”
“???”
Lin Xiuyuan was stumped by her sudden words, staring at her blankly.
The girl beside rolled her eyes laughing, then continued sipping her drink.
As Lin Xiuyuan said, a few more sips and it was better, but Lin Xiaolu still thought Lin Xiuyuan’s was tastier.
Alcohol warming slightly, atmosphere tipsy.
Like this, the two drank and bantered, talking acting issues.
Lin Xiuyuan originally didn’t know, but after two classes and watching 《Wireless Transcendence Class》 short videos, he gradually got some basics and could chat a bit.
Not long after.
“So you and Lin Yoona both think my eyes lack spirit?”
“Not lack of spirit in gaze, but out of focus, no lens feedback. I think that’s idols’ weakness.
Too used to looking at the lens to shine. Must acknowledge its existence to show ‘starry eyes.’ But real actors ignore the lens while giving unconscious focus.”
Facing Lin Xiuyuan’s explanation, Lin Xiaolu was speechless for a moment, mind blanking.
Then, the alcohol hit suddenly. Without speaking, she extended a middle finger at him.
Under dim yellow lights, she leaned slightly on the bar counter, hands propped, head tilted watching him, eyes with laughter, tipsy.
Lin Xiuyuan laughed too, instinctively returning a middle finger.
Two fingertips lightly touched in air, a joking move that shifted tone the next second.
On a whim, Lin Xiuyuan hooked her middle finger, gently flipped, her slender hand turning with his motion. Then, his thumb naturally extended.
Lin Xiaolu paused, seemingly without much thought, raised her thumb instinctively, like muscle memory.
Instantly, a “heart” formed by middle fingers appeared abruptly yet naturally in their intertwined hands.
Their hands froze in that sudden “heart” for seconds, as if time slowed.
Bar lights gently bathed them, surrounding noise instantly muted, leaving only them and that quietly formed ambiguity.
Lin Xiaolu blanked, next second looked up at Lin Xiuyuan.
It was a tipsy, hazy yet stubborn gaze, but precisely because of the daze, it seemed exceptionally pure and real.
Lin Xiuyuan’s gaze didn’t evade, quietly watching her.
Eyes met.
That moment, their prior joking teasing and banter seemed to quietly fade without words.
Replaced by a slowly warming, faint ambiguity.
Like a soft silk thread, gently winding and fermenting in the air.
Lin Xiaolu’s head stayed on the counter, but her gaze began to waver lightly.
She felt her heartbeat messy, like drinking too much, or like it wasn’t the alcohol she was drunk on, but this person’s sudden seriousness and closeness.
Just as the stagnant air was about to overflow with emotion, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly released the hand hooking her finger, gently, as if afraid to disturb something.
Then, he slowly, quietly leaned closer to her.
Not sudden impulse, no urgency, but like night seeping into lake water—gentle, restrained, yet impossible to ignore.
Lin Xiaolu didn’t retreat.
She felt Lin Xiuyuan’s breathing draw near, with faint alcohol scent, surprisingly warm.
She didn’t know when she held her breath, as if afraid to miss an important moment.
Before she came to, Lin Xiuyuan reached out, gently caressing her cheek.
The instant his finger pad touched skin, there was a subtle tremor—Lin Xiaolu’s unmasked tension.
Next second, he lowered his head, planting a light kiss on her lips.
Very light, yet intensely warm.
Lin Xiaolu’s eyes widened slightly, as if the kiss brought a trace of sobriety.
But she didn’t pull away, just stared dazedly at him close by, gaze holding surprise, subtle confusion, and an unspoken response.
Then, those small hands originally on the counter slowly dropped, tentatively landing on his upper arm.
Lin Xiuyuan was about to pull back but felt her sudden move.
Next instant, that small hand wound gently around his arm bend, pulling to his neck—not heavy force, but firm enough.
It was a quiet yet clear response.
Want proactivity? Here.
No words needed, better than thousands.
Dim bar lights bathed them like a layer of soft glow.
Background brought gentle jazz melody, hazy atmosphere as if tailored for this moment.
Air filled with wine aroma and ambiguous tension, their faint distance quietly erased.
Only left with skin-to-skin warmth, and that slightly out-of-control beating heart.
Sober, yet indulgent.
……
……
Hotel downstairs.
Sulli, having sent Goo Hara back and returned, got out of the car, glanced at the hotel building, and smiled slightly.
“Finally back. Wonder what oppa and older sister are doing.”
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