Chapter 214: A Lighthearted And Cheerful Morning
In the early morning, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains into the room, sprinkling onto the soft bedding, carrying a touch of laziness and tenderness.
Sulli slowly opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering lightly. She was momentarily stunned, then stretched lazily, her face bearing the unique tranquility and satisfaction of the morning; her mood seemed pretty good today.
But soon, she noticed the emptiness beside her. Krystal, who had clearly shared the bed with her last night, was already nowhere to be seen.
Stunned for a moment, Sulli felt something was off, a trace of doubt rising in her heart, because she clearly remembered that the two of them had fallen asleep shoulder to shoulder last night.
And now that piece of bedding was already ice-cold, as if nothing had been left behind overnight.
Could it be that the other had woken up early and quietly gotten out of bed?
Or perhaps…
“No way…”
Muttering to herself, Sulli brushed her messy hair, got up and put on slippers, rubbing her sleepy eyes, preparing to go out and find her.
However, just as she pushed open the door, she happened to run into Krystal coming out of Lin Xiuyuan’s room.
Their gazes briefly met in the air, as if the air had frozen for a second.
The next second, Sulli was first stunned, then the corners of her mouth lifted in a mischievous smile, her eyes flashing with half-genuine, half-fake dissatisfaction.
“Hey, Soo Jung, aren’t you a bit too quick to ditch a friend for a guy? Leaving me alone and sneaking off to find oppa in the middle of the night—isn’t that a little disloyal?”
Faced with Sulli’s ‘interrogation,’ Krystal laughed too, unpanicked as she linked arms with her, softly explaining, “No such thing. I just went in this morning to check if he was awake. It’s not what you think.”
“Yeah right.”
Sulli pursed her lips, her tone blatantly saying “I don’t buy it,” and laughed back, “When I woke up, I felt your spot right away—that bedding was already cold through and through. ‘Just now,’ my foot?”
Krystal wasn’t annoyed; instead, she went along with it, smiling as she asked, “Sulli, when did you wake up?”
“About ten minutes ago.”
“That checks out. I got up half an hour ago.”
When lying, Krystal’s tone was calm as if stating the weather, looking utterly like “you can’t do anything about it.”
At the same time, she directly amused Sulli into laughter. “Hey, Soo Jung~ Do I look like a fool to you? Who’d believe that nonsense?”
Krystal shrugged and stopped arguing, just playfully hugging her arm and gently shaking it. “Really, if I’m lying, I’m a puppy!”
“?”
Sulli paused, then as if thinking of something, her expression changed. “So you were in oppa’s room pretending to be a puppy barking ‘woof woof’?”
As Sulli’s words came out, Krystal’s face finally flushed red, directly exposed by her. Her originally calm expression cracked slightly, and she pretended to be composed with a glance.
“Hey, Sulli~ You can’t just eavesdrop on what people do in their rooms like that.”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. This is intuition—woman’s sixth sense, got it?” Sulli countered smugly.
Seeing this, Krystal quickly changed the subject, pulling her toward the kitchen. “Alright, enough fooling around. Let’s make some breakfast. I’m hungry.”
While being pulled along, Sulli grinned mischievously at her back. “Isn’t it because you expended too much energy?”
Krystal didn’t turn around, just waved a hand dismissively. “Shut up!
Seeing her start to “flee,” Sulli laughed even harder and suddenly turned to head back to the room.
“Sulli~ Where are you going?”
“To freshen up. I haven’t yet.”
“Oh, right. Me neither. Together?”
“You go find oppa.”
Krystal choked at that, standing there stunned for a few seconds before reacting.
At this moment, in the bedroom bathroom, Lin Xiuyuan stood in front of the mirror, water droplets trailing from his hair tips onto his shoulders and chest.
He gazed at himself in the mirror, but his thoughts weren’t on the present; what emerged was the scene from when he woke up in the morning.
That was Krystal quietly curled in his arms, sleeping against his chest like a kitten.
The moment he saw her, Lin Xiuyuan’s defenses crumbled instantly. Almost instinctively, he reached out to hold her tight, his hand tracing the outline of her back bit by bit.
Recalling last night’s scene, that hazy, drunken, ambiguous night.
Those repeated initiatives and close physical contacts.
Those deliberate yet unobtrusive body touches had already ignited an uncontrollable impulse in his heart.
So much so that upon waking and seeing Krystal’s soft, tender body nestled in his arms again, Lin Xiuyuan really couldn’t hold back from mounting her.
Then he played a little human-animal interaction game with Krystal.
She laughed and dodged, he pressed forward, and in the end, she surrendered, panting and nestling in his arms.
Thinking of this, Lin Xiuyuan turned off the shower, grabbed a towel to dry his hair, and smiled comfortably. “Good thing I got drunk last night and forgot to lock the door—otherwise, I’d really have been pent up.”
After showering, Lin Xiuyuan casually straightened his clothes, opened the door, and walked out of the bedroom.
He happened to hear the clatter of pots and pans from the kitchen—Sulli was preparing breakfast, while Krystal stood by, seemingly helping obediently.
Sulli looked up and saw him, a playful smile on her face. “Oppa, morning. Breakfast is almost ready. Sit down first.”
Krystal smiled at him as if carefree, her gaze carrying a hint of teasing. “Morning, Xiuyuan~ Did you sleep well last night?”
Lin Xiuyuan glanced at her, his brows furrowing slightly, his mood not improving as he softly replied, “Yeah, pretty good. Very deep.”
He tried to act like nothing had happened, avoiding her gaze and heading straight to the dining table to sit down.
Completely unaware that Sulli already knew, she smiled at him and continued with her tasks.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiuyuan took out his mobile phone and started browsing today’s news.
Sure enough, the headlines were still dominated by Kim Soo-hyun’s exposé, with the comments and hot searches flooded by that incident.
Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan smiled contentedly, then kept browsing the news on his phone until Sulli finished breakfast and Krystal started setting the tableware.
“Alright, oppa~ Breakfast’s ready. Eat up.”
“What are you looking at?”
Krystal, who had come over, asked curiously.
“That idiot’s news. Pretty explosive. Looks like it’ll drag on for a while—by then, he’ll be skinned alive whether he dies or not.”
Krystal, who leaned over to check, pursed her lips in a smile. “With this hype, it might really send him inside.”
“You want him inside?” Lin Xiuyuan looked up and asked.
“Of course I want that, but I still think it’s kinda unlikely.” Krystal, setting the meal trays, pursed her lips.
Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan put down his phone. “Don’t worry. Whether it succeeds or not, he’s as good as dead. Sometimes social death tortures a big star more than prison, right~”
After that, he picked up the milk nearby and took a sip; the warm liquid slid down his throat, as if washing away some of the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
Soon, breakfast was served. The three sat down, eating and chatting about their respective arrangements.
While eating and chatting, they each mentioned their plans for the day, starting with Sulli.
“I’ve gotta report to the film crew every day lately. Some early filming has started, so I need to go learn the ropes.”
Krystal nodded with concern. “Take care of your body. Don’t overdo it.”
Lin Xiuyuan, chewing a fried egg, teased, “Yo, that quick? So has Jung Soo Jung turned into a crystal ball?”
Before the words finished, a kick came from under the table.
Lin Xiuyuan, wincing in pain, looked up across the table, meeting Krystal’s half-smiling gaze. “Crystal ball? Xiuyuan~ You beating around the bush, huh?”
“No, I meant Jung Soo Jung.”
“I started the crystal ball nickname. Think I don’t know?”
Sulli watched from the side, stifling laughs like she was enjoying a sweet couple’s bickering.
Lin Xiuyuan surrendered, raising his hands. “Alright, alright, my bad.”
He continued, “I’ve been missing too long over in ’25—longer than the last Neon trip. Today I gotta go sort out the info and meet everyone.”
Krystal nodded lightly in understanding. “Yeah, Ji-yeon and the others called me a bunch. If not for Eun-jung unnie helping inside, they’d think I imprisoned you.”
Lin Xiuyuan laughed upon hearing it. “Kinda like that, imprisoned here in 2013.”
Soon, after breakfast, Sulli tidied things up and prepared to head out.
Before leaving, she didn’t forget to remind Lin Xiuyuan, “Oppa, don’t come back at noon. I scheduled housekeeping at 1. About an hour. I’ll be back before 2 to oversee the end. Don’t bump into them.”
“Got it.”
Knowing the situation, Lin Xiuyuan took Krystal back to the villa in ’25.
During the shoe-changing gap, he looked up at Krystal beside him. “Right, you interrupted earlier—what’s your plan today?”
Krystal shrugged, looking relaxed. “I said already—this month is mostly Wimbledon-related schedules. Other times I’m free to rest. You go see Ji-yeon and them; I’ll meet friends. Haven’t hung out in a while.”
Hearing Krystal’s answer, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly thought of Jung Soo Yeon from last night and asked, “What about Jessica?”
Krystal smiled and gave him a sidelong glance. “She’s working, of course. Unlike your leisure.”
After some brief chit-chat, the two lingered sweetly in the living room for a bit, finally parting reluctantly to head to their own worlds.
Lin Xiuyuan drove off, glancing at the mobile phone on the front passenger seat mid-way, then swiped the screen to find “Park Ji-yeon,” dialing without hesitation.
At the same time, the Big Dragon Cub, who was exercising in the gym, was chatting animatedly with a figure.
Hearing the phone ringtone, she picked it up from nearby, and seeing the caller ID, her already cheerful face lit up even more.
Excitedly answering, “Hey, Xiuyuan~”
The figure beside her, who had been quietly listening, brightened fiercely at the name.
Daily Ten Thousand ended. Thanks to godfathers for support and votes.
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