Chapter 253: Park Ji-yeon: “old Woman, Better Unwanted Than Cuckolded”
In the following time, when she had no shots of her own to film, Jung Soo Jung quietly sat on the resting chair.
Her hands naturally rested on her knees, her gaze falling on the pen on the tabletop.
At first, her gaze was still slightly drifting, as if she was spacing out, but as her breathing gradually slowed, her gaze began to focus bit by bit, taking on a rare concentration.
Under the lighting, a faint sheen emerged in those clear pupils, as if she was having a tacit understanding exchange with that cold pen that no one else knew about.
At the same time, Krystal far away in the apartment was also doing the same exercise.
It was just that her object wasn’t a pen, but Lin Xiuyuan sitting across from her.
In the room, the chair backs, carpet, and sofa corners were scattered with clothes, appearing casual and messy.
Krystal held a large piece of food in her hand, but delayed lowering her head, instead lifting her eyes to look straight at Lin Xiuyuan.
According to the “rules” she had set herself, she couldn’t avoid eye contact while eating, but had to learn to fix her gaze on the other person.
And in Lin Xiuyuan’s “words,” that was: you have to look at the other person when eating, that’s polite.
Krystal’s gaze wasn’t flashy; rather, it was like a thin silk thread that firmly held him.
There weren’t many words between the two, only their gazes colliding and intertwining in the air.
That silence carried a hidden tension, as if silently pulling their distance closer.
Outside the window, nightfall was deep, the city’s lights refracting through the glass, casting mottled light and shadows in the room.
A breeze blew, making the curtain sway gently, producing a rustling sound, adding a touch of ambiguity to the quiet indoors.
In such an atmosphere, even breathing seemed exceptionally clear.
Krystal blinked lightly, her lip corner slightly quirking up, revealing a faint, imperceptible smile, as if secretly enjoying the closeness brought by this “training.”
Lin Xiuyuan looked at her and finally couldn’t help but chuckle softly, “Your training feels a bit off, Soo Jung~”
She didn’t dodge or evade, softly countering, “Just say if you like it or not.”
“I like it.”
“There you go then.”
A few short sentences, yet the atmosphere quietly stretched in the ambiguity and stillness.
Until the neon outside the window gradually dimmed, the night color fading bit by bit, as the faint light of early morning sprinkled in through the mist over the city.
……
The next early morning.
The bedroom still retained the quiet precipitated by the night, the air carrying a lazy temperature.
Krystal turned over, slowly opening her eyes in a half-dreaming, half-awake state.
Sunlight passed through the sheer curtain onto her eyelashes, reflecting fine golden light, adding a hazy softness to her expression.
She lifted her hand to brush away the few hair strands from her forehead, her tongue tip unconsciously licking her lip corner lightly, as if last night’s mood still lingered between her lips and teeth.
Lin Xiuyuan had already woken up and was casually scrolling through messages on his mobile phone.
Hearing her movement, he turned his head to glance at her, his tone gentle with a hint of teasing, “Time to get up, the sun’s about to shine into the quilt.”
“Mm…” Krystal responded softly, her voice carrying the laziness and hoarseness of just waking up.
Then she reached out to tug his clothes corner mischievously, slipping her hand inside his clothes and playfully rubbing a few times on his firm abdominal muscles like a washboard, before sitting up contentedly.
Soon after, the two finished washing up and walked out of the bedroom one after the other.
On the living room sofa, Sulli, who had only returned in the early morning last night, was surprisingly already awake.
At this moment, she was hugging a big pillow and nestling in the sofa corner, holding her mobile phone and scrolling through news, her expression very focused.
Only after hearing the footsteps did she slowly look up, her eyes lighting up, her mouth corner raising a mischievous arc, “Soo Jung, oppa, you two big lazybones are finally up. Any later and I was going to knock on the door.”
Krystal walked over with a light laugh, unhesitatingly sitting close beside her and linking arms with her, her voice carrying a hint of complaint, “All Xiuyuan’s fault. Last night he insisted on pulling me to look at the stars and the moon.”
Sulli raised her brow at her, then gave Lin Xiuyuan a meaningful glance, her eyes gaining a bit of teasing as she laughed with deliberately drawn-out tone, “Stars and moon? Hmm… sounds pretty romantic.”
“Huh? Me?” Lin Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment, pointing at himself, a trace of innocence appearing on his face.
But the next second, he was met with a cold glare from Krystal. Seeing this, he wisely raised his hands in surrender, laughing as he changed his tune, “Alright, alright, it’s me, it’s me.”
However, the two forgot that the little snowball in front of them wasn’t an outsider.
Their little actions and expression changes were naturally plain to see in her eyes.
So Sulli pursed her lips, her gaze circling between the two, her mouth corner hooking into a mischievous smile, “So last night you two pulled open the curtains to play little games? So much foreplay, huh? Not because you video-called Soo Jung over here and got some weird dopamine-fueled ideas, right?”
One sentence made Krystal blush bright red. Even her ear tips turned pink, her gaze flickering as if wanting to hide but not daring to.
Lin Xiuyuan, on the other hand, remained much calmer on his face, just coughing lightly twice and raising a hand to cover his mouth.
“Cough cough… As if.” He shook his head, unable to hold back a laugh, “Jinjin, your little mouth has gotten so sharp-tongued lately.”
“Hmph hmph hmph~” Sulli hugged the pillow, laughing smugly, “Good thing we prioritized soundproofing during the decoration back then, or it’d have bothered my ears to the point of calluses, oppa~”
Lin Xiuyuan raised his brow at her, drawling back, “Should’ve known not to soundproof it then.”
“Ah~ Hey, oppa~” Sulli was stunned, then burst out laughing.
After a few moments of banter, the three didn’t delay any longer and simply got to work making breakfast together.
The kitchen occasionally transmitted the clatter of pots and pans and the aroma of oil. Lin Xiuyuan handled cutting fruit, Sulli skillfully fried eggs, and Krystal set out the bowls and chopsticks.
Soon, the table was filled with fried eggs, toasted toast, milk, and a plate of colorful salad.
The three sat around the dining table, chatting and laughing, the atmosphere light and warm.
As breakfast was nearly finished, Sulli wiped her mouth and stood up, “Oppa~ Soo Jung, I gotta go. The film crew is urging for the script.”
Krystal nodded, also a bit curious, “Snowball, you haven’t handed in the full script yet?”
“How dare I finish it in a month? Writing a whole script that fast would make people jealous. I always drag it out to the last minute before submitting.”
“True.” Krystal couldn’t help but laugh.
“Go on, be careful on the road.” Lin Xiuyuan waved at her, his tone casual with a touch of care.
“Got it.” Sulli slung on her bag, stuffed her mobile phone into her pocket, waved at them with a smile, and went out the door.
The house suddenly quieted down, leaving only Krystal and Lin Xiuyuan.
After finishing the last piece of fruit, Krystal hugged her laptop back to the desk in the bedroom, lowering her head to review the draft she wrote last night, while telling Lin Xiuyuan about her plans for the day.
“Xiuyuan~ I need to organize a systematic lesson plan today, and teach Soo Jung online at noon, so I probably won’t have time to come back. Check my mobile phone for messages later, okay?”
“Got it, but you could just go over there and do it.” Lin Xiuyuan leaned against the doorframe, holding a glass of water, his tone lazy.
Krystal inside didn’t even lift her head, “Nah, Snowball just said something about a noon class. I’ll wait for her to call me.”
Sunlight fell on her shoulders, outlining a faint halo.
Her serious expression furrowed her brows slightly, her whole person entering another state of focus.
Lin Xiuyuan looked at her focused profile, yawned, thinking he had nothing much to do for the moment.
Just as he was about to go lie flat on the sofa for a nap, the mobile phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated.
Looking down, the call was from Park Ji-yeon.
He picked it up.
Not long after, the doorbell rang.
Lin Xiuyuan went to open the door, and upon opening it, saw Park Ji-yeon, who had just spoken to him on the phone, holding a small bag at the doorway.
Park Ji-yeon, seeing Lin Xiuyuan as well, raised a smile, “Oppa~ I was worried you wouldn’t be here today.”
“Didn’t go back last night.”
After welcoming Park Ji-yeon in, Lin Xiuyuan softly explained.
Then, Krystal in the room heard the noise, came out to greet Park Ji-yeon, chatted idly for a couple sentences, and returned to the room to busy herself.
This scene made Park Ji-yeon blink, somewhat surprised, leaning close to Lin Xiuyuan and whispering, “Oppa~ What’s up with Soo Jung?”
“Preparing to give online lessons to Soo Jung over there, working on the lesson plan.”
After pulling Park Ji-yeon to sit on the sofa and explaining, Lin Xiuyuan asked her in return, “Right, Ji-yeon, what did you say you were going to Big Ji-yeon for earlier?”
“To chat about my father’s situation. Although intervention happened early here, for the follow-up recovery and conditioning, the 25-year her definitely knows more and has more experience, so I want to talk to her about it.”
Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan nodded slightly, his expression sobering a bit, “Yeah, needs to be discussed.
But he soon thought of something, “Wait, Ji-yeon, the doctor should have given medical instructions, right? And the condition over there isn’t the same as here.”
“That’s why I’m going to discuss it.” Park Ji-yeon pursed her lips.
Seeing her attitude, Lin Xiuyuan didn’t say more, waving with a smile, “Alright then, go ahead. Anyway, I need to go over there too to check if Soo Jung’s mobile phone has any messages.”
So, after telling Krystal in the room, Lin Xiuyuan took Park Ji-yeon to the villa side 25 years over, checked Krystal’s mobile phone which seemed to have no important messages, and left it.
Then he picked up his own mobile phone and called Big Dragon Cub.
“Hey~ Xiuyuan, looking for me?” As soon as the call connected, Big Dragon Cub’s excited voice came from the other end.
Park Ji-yeon, who had been standing next to Lin Xiuyuan, rolled her eyes upon hearing this, pursing her lips and mimicking her tone sarcastically, “Looking for me~ Looking for me, why else call you if not looking for you, you idiot, old age really messes with the brain.”
Lin Xiuyuan, who was thinking how to start, heard the complaint by his ear and immediately laughed, “Ji-yeon.”
Big Dragon Cub, who also heard this, had been leaning back with her feet on the wall, but instantly sat up straight, her mouth corner quirking up slightly, “Yo ho, Xiuyuan~ You brought me a defeated opponent from over there?”
“Hey~ Old woman, got the guts to fight again?”
“Little brat only knows fighting and killing, doesn’t know gentleness at all, no wonder no one wants you.”
“Ah, yeah yeah, better than being cheated on.”
“…”
The other end went silent for a few seconds, followed by an ambiguous grunt.
Big Dragon Cub was clearly choked but not really angry.
Then she understood the purpose of the call and said to Lin Xiuyuan, “Xiuyuan, come over. No one’s home.”
“Mm, see you soon.”
Lin Xiuyuan smiled and hung up, turning to look at Park Ji-yeon beside him, half helpless, half teasing.
“Ji-yeon, can’t you two get along peacefully for a bit? Every time you meet, it’s a battle of words, and I’m breaking out in cold sweat on the side.”
“Oh~ I’ll try next time.” Park Ji-yeon pouted, her gaze glancing aside, clearly brushing off Lin Xiuyuan.
Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan didn’t bother persuading more, knowing they just liked bickering with no real malice, so he treated it as a show.
So he took Park Ji-yeon back to the 13-year apartment, explained the situation to Krystal, then opened the time-space door, bringing her into Big Dragon Cub’s apartment in 25 years.
Big Dragon Cub, already waiting in the living room, rushed up almost impatiently upon seeing them enter, directly ignoring Park Ji-yeon, smiling brightly as she linked arms with Lin Xiuyuan, her voice carrying a coquettish tone.
“Xiuyuan, you’ve been a bit busy these days, not even calling me once.”
Park Ji-yeon beside them immediately interjected unhappily, pursing her lips and snorting coldly, “Oppa isn’t like you, an unemployed drifter, how would he have time to stick to you all day?”
As soon as the words fell, Big Dragon Cub turned her head, giving Lin Xiuyuan a meaningful look, unable to hold back a laugh, “Xiuyuan~ Are you sure you’re not an unemployed drifter?”
“You two are getting a bit wordy.”
Lin Xiuyuan shook his head helplessly, reaching out to gently pinch Big Dragon Cub’s little hand, the action so natural as if long accustomed to this intimacy, then led her to sit on the sofa.
Meanwhile, Park Ji-yeon, visiting this side for the first time, curiously toured her own residence ten years in the future. Over the ten-year span, both the decoration and layout had changed tremendously.
She walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the Seoul scenery outside, a flicker of ambition in her eyes.
But having seen Lin Xiuyuan’s villa, this apartment didn’t shock her; she even glanced back at Big Dragon Cub with a hint of disdain, opening with, “Ten years and you can’t afford a villa in Gangnam District? Your money wasn’t really taken by that guy, was it?”
Big Dragon Cub, who had just come back with a Coke, flushed with anger upon hearing this, glaring, “Hey~ Little brat, don’t you know if you like villas or not? We all prefer high-rise apartments. You say this stuff to me? Asking for a beating?”
This time it was Park Ji-yeon’s turn to feel awkward, after all, she had been nitpicking a bit, “But you could buy a nicer one. This is too small.”
Big Dragon Cub rolled her eyes, about to retort, when inspiration struck, her gaze landing mischievously on the spot where Park Ji-yeon stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, her mouth corner curving into an ambiguous arc.
“Thought about changing houses, but there are too many memories of me and Xiuyuan here. Like right where you’re standing, I’ve done backbends there for Xiuyuan several times.”
“Backbend…”
Park Ji-yeon, who had been reaching out to touch the glass, froze instantly upon hearing this, quickly withdrawing her hand, her expression subtly like she’d been scalded.
But Big Dragon Cub wasn’t done, continuing cheerfully, “What’s wrong? Don’t believe me? No problem, you can touch that glass. My hands were braced on it back then.”
“Cough cough cough… Stop messing around.”
Lin Xiuyuan, choked by Big Dragon Cub’s bold words into coughing, even with his tolerance built up, still couldn’t quite handle it, quickly changing the subject, “Little Ji-yeon, didn’t you come to talk to Big Ji-yeon? Get chatting.”
Park Ji-yeon then pursed her lips, letting out a soft hum from her nose.
Big Dragon Cub no longer teased her, arms crossed as she leaned on the sofa, eyeing her sideways with elder-sister-like teasing, “Come on, little sister. What do you want to know? Older sister will explain.”
“Hey…”
Over four thousand words of leave-taking rest, godfathers, this sincerity is plenty, right!?!?
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