Chapter 263: “i Won’t Let You Run Away, Xiuyuan”
“I’m focusing on driving.”
Lin Xiuyuan’s eyes stared ahead, while his peripheral vision secretly glanced at Im Yoon Ah, his expression overly serious.
This scene made Im Yoon Ah in the front passenger seat burst out laughing directly, her mouth curling up, her tone carrying an unconcealable teasing, “Looking at your little coward appearance, you really seem a bit like a proper driver.”
After teasing him, how could she let Lin Xiaolu on the other end of the phone off the hook.
Im Yoon Ah narrowed her eyes, like a little fox preparing to stir up trouble, her fingers dancing quickly on the screen, as if the next second she could ignite a fire on the other person’s phone.
Im Yoon Ah: 【Tied up, yes, but tied in a way you can’t imagine—I’m tied up very happily by him. Want to come join too?】
As soon as the message was sent, she immediately “puchi” laughed out loud, her shoulders shaking with laughter, and she deliberately turned her head to look at Lin Xiuyuan, smirking as she read the content she just sent to him, exaggerating her tone with a rhetorical question.
“Xiuyuan, do you think that silly girl Lin Xiaolu will be so angry after seeing my message that she’ll rush over and strangle me on the spot?”
“You really dare to send that…” Lin Xiuyuan sighed, feeling like dark clouds were already gathering above his head.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, Lin Xiaolu’s reply popped up: 【Haha.】
Just two short words, carrying a sinister aura that hit like a wave, as if even through the screen one could feel her face instantly darkening.
Immediately after…
Another message came: 【Pervert.】
Im Yoon Ah was so amused by these two consecutive descriptions that she laughed until she couldn’t straighten her waist, nearly laughing her sunglasses off, “Oh man, I can’t take it, her tone is too funny, just like someone watching a movie wanting to join in but can’t find the way.”
“Are you sure it’s not the kind where she wants to drill in and hit you?”
Lin Xiuyuan’s temple twitched, “Yoona, if you keep fanning the flames like this, next time we meet, Little Deer will really twist my head off.”
“Big head or little head?”
“???”
But Im Yoon Ah wasn’t scared at all; instead, she got more excited and continued typing rapidly: 【Little Deer, don’t worry, I’m watching Xiuyuan for us~ Watching him very closely, the tight kind, so tight he can’t escape for even a second!】
Lin Xiaolu clearly went silent for a moment over there, replying after two minutes: 【Watching closely? With your eyes, or with your hands? Or with something else?】
This made Im Yoon Ah’s eyes light up instantly, like she’d found some incredible treasure, laughing even more wildly than before, firing back quickly: 【What’s wrong with hands, what’s wrong with eyes, even if it’s with the mouth, I’m watching very seriously, and tightly too.】
At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan, who was driving, had just stopped at a red light, turned his head slightly to glance at the screen full of tiger-and-wolf words, nearly stomping the accelerator, and hurriedly shouted from his mouth, “Hey hey hey, Yoona, don’t play yourself into trouble, she’s still young.”
However, Im Yoon Ah shut him down with one sentence, “Xiuyuan, shut up, this is our women’s battlefield.”
Continued typing with her head down.
Lin Xiaolu: 【Aging skin is all loose like what, and it’s tight?? Someone must have forgotten the scene from her own birthday back then—I screen-recorded it.】
Im Yoon Ah: 【It’s all the road we’ve come, I don’t care, anyway I’m eating better than you now.】
Lin Xiaolu: 【…Are you provoking me?】
Im Yoon Ah: 【Oh, that’s not provocation. I just think sometimes it’s better to present a united front, like taking shifts, taking turns guarding, fair and just and open~】
Lin Xiaolu: 【Why are you going crazy like Ji-yeon.】
Im Yoon Ah: 【Don’t pretend, if you really didn’t care, that “haha” wouldn’t have been sent so fast.】
Lin Xiaolu: 【Too lazy to deal with you, I have work to do. By the way, take it easy spending money, this is all my private fund, the investment to the company hasn’t come back yet, and the company hasn’t settled payment either.】
Im Yoon Ah: 【Anyway, it’s not me getting tired.】
Lin Xiaolu: 【…】
After reading the last message, Im Yoon Ah finally satisfiedly tossed the phone back onto Lin Xiuyuan’s lap, with a look of successful mischief, “Done, she must be jumping mad with anger now.”
Lin Xiuyuan covered his forehead, amused yet exasperated, “Yoona, you really are a living fire-on-oil machine.”
“Roast chicken?”
She blinked, looking innocent, stubbornly summarizing “pouring oil on the fire” as “roast chicken.”
This made Lin Xiuyuan, who had heard it beside her, go completely dark-eyed, “damn, Yoona, can you stop watching those abstract videos? I’m afraid sometimes I won’t catch your references.”
Im Yoon Ah squinted with a smile, her little hand suddenly reaching over to the driver’s side, “Hehe~ It’s pretty good, I think it’s fun.”
Scared, Lin Xiuyuan hurriedly shouted, “Don’t mess around, really don’t, safety first, if something happens, we won’t have a chance to respawn.”
Hearing this, Im Yoon Ah finally released that little paw, sitting steadily in her seat, though her gaze toward Lin Xiuyuan was still full of playful mischief.
Until Lin Xiuyuan parked the car, the two sat in the car in silence for more than ten minutes before getting out one after the other.
But the wrinkles on Lin Xiuyuan’s pant leg were noticeably more than when they got in, and a bit wet.
…
Meanwhile, at the same time that day, the night breeze in 2013 Tokyo carried the chill of early autumn, the street neon lights illuminating Ginza brightly and dreamily, like someone had draped the city in a layer of flowing light.
Jung Soo Yeon, wearing a neatly tailored beige windbreaker paired with minimalist gold earrings, walked on the streets of Ginza with light, unhurried steps.
Having just finished the brand opening ceremony, she didn’t head straight back to the hotel, but chose to stroll alone, letting the city’s aura dilute the socializing feel from the daytime activity.
At the opening ceremony, she had actually kept noticing one figure the whole time, that is, Ishihara Satomi.
Even under the media’s barrage of cameras, the other maintained that smile and composure, and when asked about her previous relationship and the recent seamless scandal with Oguri Shun, she just gave a shallow smile without any explanation.
This calm made Jung Soo Yeon a bit dazed inside, and a bit curious.
Soon after, the media dispersed, and the brand side invited everyone into the store to browse.
As a guest, Jung Soo Yeon casually flipped through the new season’s ready-to-wear in the store, her fingertips brushing over pieces of fabric, when suddenly in a corner she saw Ishihara Satomi looking down at a silk long skirt, her slender fingertips lightly lifting the hem, as if seriously assessing the texture.
“This skirt suits you very well.”
The voice wasn’t loud, yet it broke the quiet in the air.
Jung Soo Yeon herself was a bit surprised that she spoke up proactively.
Ishihara Satomi looked up, stunned for a moment, then showed her signature smile, “Really? I think its lines are very clean too.”
In that instant, their gazes met, as if confirming some tacit understanding.
So the conversation naturally unfolded, from fabric and cuts to the designer’s philosophy, like an invisible thread gradually pulling them closer.
Halfway through, Jung Soo Yeon suddenly went silent, her gaze falling on the skirt, her fingertips lightly rubbing her cuff, as if brewing something.
A few seconds later, she pursed her lips and asked softly, “Ishihara-san, I’m a bit curious—how do you manage to be so immersed in everything? Whether it’s work or… those things in life.”
Ishihara Satomi was stunned for an instant, clearly not expecting this somewhat forward question from her.
So she looked at Jung Soo Yeon seriously, quickly recognizing her as a rather popular female artist from the neighboring country recently.
Then she noticed the other’s slightly drooping eyelashes and the faint fatigue on her face, seeming to understand something.
So she put the skirt back on the hanger, showing a relaxed and gentle smile, “Probably honoring my own instincts. That’s my consistent personality, so scandals are more frequent too.”
This short sentence hit a certain button in Jung Soo Yeon’s heart.
She stood there stunned, many scenes flashing through her mind.
Hesitations at work, waiting and hesitation in plans, and recently that person popping up frequently.
Thinking of this, Jung Soo Yeon gently exhaled, suddenly feeling like a vent had opened in her chest, cool wind pouring in, yet surprisingly comfortable.
“Thank you.”
She looked up, giving Ishihara Satomi a smile from the heart.
In response, Ishihara Satomi nodded with a smile, her gaze gentle, like adding another fire for her, “Yeah, just do what you want to do, don’t wait too long.”
By the time Jung Soo Yeon returned to the hotel from outside, Tokyo’s night had fully lit up, the city like a huge gem emitting cold, glamorous light.
After taking off her jacket, she casually placed her bag on the sofa, changed into slippers, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside the window was Ginza’s night view, endless car lights like a continuously extending light band; she stood quietly, as if her whole person was swallowed by that sea of light.
Ishihara Satomi’s words “honoring one’s own instincts” echoed in her mind over and over, like someone knocking on her heart and gently parting the emotions she’d been suppressing.
She suddenly thought of her 2025 self, that is, Soo Jung over there.
That woman was always so calm in front of cameras and media, even a bit scarily cool-headed.
She remembered asking Lin Xiuyuan if the other regretted it, and the answer was that she just lived according to her own thoughts, no regrets.
Actually, Jung Soo Yeon could understand Soo Jung, and thinking back now, wasn’t this exactly the “honoring instincts” Ishihara Satomi mentioned?
At this thought, she slowly sat on the edge of the bed, her gaze falling on the carpet, silent for a long time.
Yet her chest didn’t feel as stuffy and uncomfortable as before, but instead had a refreshing openness like wind blowing through.
…
…
In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.
In these few days, Lin Xiuyuan was almost completely drained of energy by Lin Xiaolu.
The cause was Im Yoon Ah’s casual provocation a few days ago, which completely ignited some competitive emotion deep in Lin Xiaolu’s heart.
So she seemed to have made some determination, proactively coming to find Lin Xiuyuan almost every evening, or simply having him come to her apartment.
It was just savoring the taste and knowing no restraint, Lin Xiuyuan knew.
But as Lin Xiaolu suddenly seemed enlightened, no longer always in loose pajamas and casual home attire like before, but carefully trying various “battle robes,” he realized something was off.
Although her legs and figure still had some gap compared to Im Yoon Ah’s, that youthful greenness was something no one else could imitate.
For example: when Lin Xiaolu, wearing a battle robe, stood shyly at the doorway, her ear tips slightly red, fingers subconsciously tugging at the hem, her watery eyes gazing at Lin Xiuyuan on the bed, like waiting for a judgment.
Who could resist that.
So these little actions and expressions directly hooked Lin Xiuyuan’s heart up and down.
To the point that he lingered in that apartment for two days, and if not for Sulli calling relentlessly every day to urge him to pick up Krystal, he probably really wouldn’t have gotten out of bed.
Today’s situation wasn’t much different.
Lin Xiuyuan, who slept until noon, wasn’t fully awake yet when his phone vibrated.
On the other end was Sulli, her voice full of amusement and teasing, “oppa~ Time to work, your situation is a bit like your side’s emperors skipping morning court. Is older sister so captivating that you linger? Which older sister is better~”
Lin Xiuyuan’s mouth twitched, couldn’t help laughing and scolding, “Nag.”
Casually rolling over to sit up, his voice still carrying lingering sleepiness, “I remember Krystal said she had some work today, free at noon?”
“Ah, I don’t know.”
Sulli, who had been on the film crew lately, really didn’t know Krystal’s situation, since the other went back to 2025 after classes in the daytime.
After all, they weren’t like Lin Xiuyuan, that kind of idle street bum without work.
“I’ll go ask.”
“Mm.”
After hanging up, Lin Xiuyuan got up to wash up. This apartment, originally somewhat unfamiliar, after bumping around and marking spots these two days, every corner seemed to echo last night’s traces, so it had become much more familiar.
After washing up, he immediately opened the room door and headed straight to the villa in 2025.
The moment he pushed open the door, the scene in the living room made him raise an eyebrow.
Two people were sitting on the sofa, chatting animatedly.
“Yo ho, we were just talking about you, and Xiuyuan you come back.”
Big Dragon Cub looked up with a smile; recently, after learning about the member matter and intersecting with Park Ji-yeon, her mood had lightened a lot.
Right now, she looked more vibrant than before, even more curvaceous, with a softness at the corners of her eyes.
While Krystal had her arms crossed, her mouth hooked in a teasing smile, “I thought I’d have to wait a bit longer, Xiuyuan~ Your recent schedule is a bit tight.”
And wasn’t it? Dropping her off during the day and then passionately declaring in broad daylight, then returning to 2013 at night to hold another piece of soft jade to sleep.
In such a situation, if not for Krystal being worldly and mentally prepared, she’d definitely slice someone’s little head into squid rings during some sleep time.
“Serving the member~”
After giving this sheepish answer with a grin, Lin Xiuyuan looked at the two again and asked, “How did you two end up together.”
“I came to find that little brat, Soo Jung brought things over, and we just happened to meet.” Big Dragon Cub said while pursing her lips in a smile.
Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan turned to look at Krystal, “I remember you said yesterday you had work today?”
“Mm.” Krystal nodded, her long eyelashes blinking lightly, “A movie is releasing, I need to do some promotion, heading out soon.”
As she spoke, her gaze suddenly carried a hint of teasing, “Now it’s good, without me and Yoona older sister, you can be free and easy, right, Xiuyuan~”
But as soon as she finished, Big Dragon Cub chimed in, “Don’t, Soo Jung, I won’t give him a chance to run, there’s still me.”
After saying that, she leaned over, eyes sparkling, grinning like a kid whose prank succeeded as she looked at Lin Xiuyuan, “Xiuyuan~ We haven’t properly played for a while, taking advantage of the last summer time…”
“Ah? What?”
“Hehe~ Soo Jung just said, you have a swimming pool upstairs!!!”
Originally planned to do Ten Thousand Daily today, but caught a bad cold first thing this morning, throat feels like it’s been cut by razor blades, plus headache and stuffy nose!!!
Just took some cold medicine last night, been drowsy all along, so really sorry.
Skipping Ten Thousand Daily today, count it as taking a day off from doing four~
