Chapter 226: Jessica: “so, Who Among Us Is From The Past?”
The next day at early morning, Georgia’s sunlight filtered through the thin gauze curtains, casting pale golden light and shadows diagonally across the wooden floor of the hotel guest room, gentle and serene.
After handling things on Kim Tae Yeon’s side last night, Lin Xiuyuan finally returned to the hotel.
At that time, Krystal and Sulli were gazing at the stars by the balcony, so he joined their chat, and the three talked until early morning.
Only when the night grew deep and dew formed did Lin Xiuyuan send Sulli back to her room, then fall into deep sleep.
So the first to wake up this morning was Jessica from the next room.
Thus, a sudden phone call shattered the silence of the adjacent room, yanking the still deeply sleeping Lin Xiuyuan and Krystal out of their dreams together.
After getting up, Krystal immediately pulled open the curtains, and the sight of the just-awakening city came into view.
In the distance were mountains shrouded in morning mist, nearby were brick-red rooftops and staggered stone paths, and the air even carried a tranquility nurtured by wine.
Lin Xiuyuan was dazzled straight by the sunlight, reflexively rolling over to continue lazing in bed.
Krystal turned to look at him, smiling helplessly, then pounced on him, softly acting cute: “Get up, Xiuyuan~ We have plans to go out and play today.”
With that, she playfully left a few light kiss marks on his neck before getting up contentedly and heading into the bathroom.
After a moment, Krystal, fresh from washing up, changed into the outfit she had brought back from the villa last night.
Then she stepped out of the bathroom, looked at Lin Xiuyuan who was still lying in bed scrolling on his mobile phone, and called out, “I’m heading over to find Jessica, Xiuyuan~”
“Got it, I’m getting up now.”
Lin Xiuyuan lazily replied, and only after hearing the room door close did he finally sit up reluctantly from the bed, slowly shuffling into the restroom.
After he finished washing up, got dressed, and stepped out the door, he reached out and knocked on the neighboring door.
Soon, the room door opened, and Krystal and Jessica appeared one after the other in his view.
Lin Xiuyuan’s gaze immediately focused on Krystal, who was wearing a deep blue baseball cap, with a few strands of chestnut-brown long hair naturally falling from under the brim, casual yet neat.
She wore a black fitted short-sleeved top, layered with a light brown Polo Ralph Lauren linen shirt, sleeves casually rolled up to reveal the curve of her wrist.
On the bottom, high-waisted washed jeans paired with a woven belt and vintage metal buckle accentuated her waistline and figure, making them strikingly sharp and stylish.
Krystal leaned lightly against the doorframe, tilting her head at Lin Xiuyuan with a fresh post-wash smile on her lips. “I thought you’d laze in bed a bit longer. I was even thinking of coming to shout for you.”
“No way, let’s go. Let’s grab some food first—I’m a bit hungry.”
Lin Xiuyuan casually replied, his gaze naturally shifting to Jessica standing behind her.
Compared to Krystal’s carefree casualness, Jessica behind her appeared more languid yet refined.
A cream-white loose knitwear draped naturally over her shoulders, slightly revealing her collarbone, paired below with a light gray high-waisted A-line skirt.
The hem fell perfectly mid-thigh, her long legs illuminated by the morning light, smooth and alluring like porcelain.
This outfit perfectly suited her age’s temperament—intellectual with a touch of young girl vibe.
However, it didn’t hold Lin Xiuyuan’s gaze on her for long; instead, he asked, “Not cold?”
Jessica, who had been somewhat cheerful from the trip, rolled her eyes at these words drifting into her ear, turning to look at Krystal.
“Hey, Jung Soo Jung, can you educate him? Who talks like such a straight guy? If you’re not gonna compliment, can’t you just shut up?”
Krystal pursed her lips in a smile, then stepped forward to link arms with Lin Xiuyuan. “Haha, let’s go, Xiuyuan~ Jessica just spent forever picking clothes inside, and you killed it with one sentence.”
Lin Xiuyuan shrugged innocently. “I’m just stating facts.”
Though it was summer here too, the morning breeze carried a cool chill due to the recent rainy season.
Jessica ignored them, lightly flicking her long hair and striding toward the restaurant with her fair slender legs, exuding a “too lazy to deal with you” vibe.
The hotel restaurant was on the terrace side, with a row of floor-to-ceiling windows letting in all the morning light; outside was the slowly awakening Tbilisi street, with staggered red-roofed houses and the hillside-built old town.
The buffet table was laden with freshly baked Georgian cheese pies, yogurt, honey, dried fruits, steaming hot black coffee, and various local jams.
Lin Xiuyuan casually picked a few items, including Georgia’s traditional Khachapuri—that bread pie with egg and cheese in the middle.
Krystal held a plate of fruit salad, while Jessica piled her yogurt bowl nearly to overflowing.
Lin Xiuyuan watched Krystal slicing bread while couldn’t help snapping a few photos of Jessica eating, then couldn’t help asking, “Krystal, you planning to post on INS later?”
“Shoot first, post when we leave. Posting now feels like it’d get us mobbed.”
“Feels like? Didn’t we get mobbed before? Scared us into almost calling security.”
Jessica teased with a laugh from the side, then launched into cheerful chat on the topic.
Though Krystal’s popularity had dropped a lot compared to group days, it had filtered out casual fans, leaving only loyal ones.
From their conversation, Lin Xiuyuan learned that once during a trip, Krystal posted photos on the spot, and within minutes fans had blocked the entrance.
Though they just wanted happy group photos, it scared Krystal into never doing it again.
Lin Xiuyuan sat beside them, sipping coffee and silently watching their interaction, a rare ease emerging in his gaze.
Just then, Krystal, poking at fruit bits in her bowl with a fork, suddenly blurted out of nowhere, “Xiuyuan~ Did you talk in your sleep last night?”
“Me?” Lin Xiuyuan looked up at her. “Probably not. I don’t have the habit of talking in your sleep.”
As he answered, he mentally searched his memory—he truly had no recollection.
Jessica sipped her yogurt nearby, quietly spectating like it was a show.
But the next second, she was inexplicably dragged in, as Krystal changed tone, vaguely saying, “Not yet. Last night you kept mumbling ‘Sulli Sulli’—anyone’d think you and Jessica were super intimate.”
???
Lin Xiuyuan set down his knife and fork, tilting his head at the shocked face beside him, his tone helpless. “Are you crazy? I definitely didn’t say that. Even in dreams, I wouldn’t dream of her.”
Across from him, Jessica, who had been somewhat stunned, darkened her face at the explanation.
“Hey, say that again.”
She stared at him, her tone joking yet laced with faint anger.
Lin Xiuyuan spread his hands. “I didn’t say it.”
“I’m just stating facts.”
Krystal shot back without mercy, but the smile at her lips carried a meaningful edge.
And so, with the three bantering back and forth, they noisily finished breakfast.
After breakfast, the three set off, starting the day’s itinerary.
First to the old town, passing through vine-covered alleys, admiring ancient brick-stone buildings and colorful window frames.
Then in a vine-covered little bookstore, Jessica pulled out an old French poetry collection from somewhere and bought it on the spot like she’d found treasure.
Immediately, a voice came from behind: “Can you even read it?”
Seeing it was Lin Xiuyuan speaking, she immediately tilted her head at him, gazing silently without a word.
The few seconds of silence made Lin Xiuyuan gradually uneasy, until he could only turn and leave, leaving Jessica laughing softly in place, her smile uncontrollably spilling from the corners of her eyes.
Next, they climbed to a highland viewing platform, from where they could overlook the entire contour of Tbilisi’s old town.
Krystal, standing by the stone wall with hand on her sunglasses, looked at the winding Kura River at the mountain base and casually asked Lin Xiuyuan, “Xiuyuan~ For a place like this, would proposing be too cliché?”
Lin Xiuyuan glanced at her. “What do you think?”
“If it were someone else, yeah cliché, but if it were you proposing to me, Xiuyuan, it’d be different.”
Krystal kept her gaze on Lin Xiuyuan the whole time she said this.
The smile curving her lips was brilliantly radiant—seeming like a joke, yet carrying a hint of seriousness, leaving Lin Xiuyuan unsure how to reply for the moment.
Luckily, Jessica bailed him out, reaching to push Krystal. “Let’s go. What daydream are you having standing here?”
“Ah, Jessica, how is this a daydream?”
Pushed, Krystal huffed a bit annoyed, but linked arms with Lin Xiuyuan and followed Jessica’s pace ahead.
Tbilisi’s old town always had a leisurely rhythm, making one forget time while walking.
The three strolled slowly along the cobblestone path, the air mixed with scents of spices, earth, and sunlight.
Jessica led the way, occasionally pausing at some exquisite wood carving or antique, while Lin Xiuyuan and Krystal followed one behind the other.
“Xiuyuan~ With her stop-start walking, is she planning to buy the whole street?” Krystal teased softly, biting into freshly bought Georgian walnut candy.
Lin Xiuyuan eyed the buildings on both sides, absentmindedly replying, “Aren’t you the same? You wouldn’t leave that wool scarf earlier.”
Krystal looked perfectly justified. “Because it really looked good at first.”
“Then why not buy it?”
“Didn’t like it later.”
This very typical Krystal response made Lin Xiuyuan chuckle softly.
They wandered this way to near the castle at the old town’s end, pausing for a rest in a small square, when Lin Xiuyuan checked his wristwatch and softly reminded.
“About time to head back to the hotel. We still need to rush to Kazbek Mountain today.”
Jessica nodded, while Krystal suddenly raised her hand. “Wait for me, I need the restroom.”
With that, she dashed toward a nearby shopping mall, leaving Lin Xiuyuan and Jessica under the shade of a tree nearby.
One lost in thought, the other casually snapping photos of the surrounding scenery.
And just then, the sky suddenly changed.
One second it was sunny, the next a heavy rain cloud drifted in from nowhere; in mere seconds, large raindrops pelted down.
“What the fck, take cover! Still shooting?”
Lin Xiuyuan shouted, grabbing Jessica and running to the nearest eaves.
They’d just ducked in when the shower intensified, forming a rain curtain in seconds; the sound on the stone path was dense, and the street just ten meters away blurred, the whole old town enveloped in a serene dream.
Jessica leaned against the eave pillar, brushing rain strands from her cheek, looking oddly at Lin Xiuyuan. “Soo Jung and I never ran into this on trips.”
“What? Blaming me?” Lin Xiuyuan laughed back. “If I could control the weather, I wouldn’t be at this level.”
If he could wield such power, who’d bother with time-space doors—summoning heavenly phenomena weapons would be better.
After the mutual jab, they fell silent.
After a bit, Jessica, seeming to break the slightly awkward vibe, suddenly said, “Doesn’t this feel a bit like that Jay Chou movie?”
“Hm?”
Lin Xiuyuan recalled and grinned, turning to Jessica with a joking tone: “So, between us, who do you think is the one from the past?”
Jessica answered without hesitation. “Definitely not me.”
“So by your logic, it’s me.” Lin Xiuyuan said lightly, casually leaning against the pillar.
Jessica glanced at him, gazing at that youthful clean face and the rain-dampened yet naturally casual hair strands; her gaze paused slightly, then gently withdrew, lips lightly pursed.
A rare emotion flickered in her heart—unclear if envy or jealousy.
“If we have to pick one, it’s definitely you.” She said faintly. “You’re so young—couldn’t be me.”
Raindrops slid along the eaves, splashing tiny ripples on the stone path.
The two stood shoulder to shoulder, occasionally brushing, yet neither moved.
The air was a bit cool, the atmosphere subtly ambiguous for some reason.
Perhaps realizing her words were off, Jessica added, “Right, you know what Krystal said earlier was just a joke, right?”
“What?” Lin Xiuyuan feigned confusion.
“Don’t play dumb. I won’t repeat it. You two play however, but marriage isn’t something to take lightly.”
Lin Xiuyuan finally turned to look at her, gaze frank yet amused. “If you hadn’t said that, I might not think you’re old, but now you sound nagging, Jessica.”
At these words, the air seemed to freeze for an instant, and Jessica didn’t reply, just turning her gaze forward.
Gazing at the rain curtain ahead, she silently responded after a second, “Got it.”
With that, she stepped out from the eaves, feeling the rain with her hand. “Rain seems to be stopping. Let’s go get Krystal.”
Lin Xiuyuan hummed in agreement and followed.
Stayed up late yesterday and a bit tired, plus tendon sheath inflammation acting up, so no late night today. Will make up the rest tomorrow, good night everyone.
