Chapter 5: I Want You To Help Me Win Over The Future You
Rooftop.
When Jessica heard the first sentence Lin Xiuyuan said, she instantly straightened her back while leaning on the railing, her eyes wide open, clearly in disbelief.
The next two sentences were fairly normal. Fashion brand was something she had always yearned for, and singer identity was also an inseparable part of her.
However, as the following sentences unfolded, the plot twisted once again.
This time Jessica finally completely lost it, exclaiming in shock, “Impossible, I’m not that stupid to be cheated out of so much money. And Soo Jung’s side couldn’t possibly turn out like you said because of me. You’re lying to me.”
Putting down the mobile phone, Lin Xiuyuan turned around, leaned on the railing with a smile, and said, “Indeed, the final outcome of the matter was influenced by many factors. But the source that left the entire internet with no room for argument was indeed on that incident when you left the group.”
Jessica frowned, staring intently at Lin Xiuyuan, while he casually shrugged.
After a moment, Jessica reached out her hand. “Give it to me. I’ll look myself.”
“You’re dreaming if you think I’ll give you the information. Then how would I have leverage over you?”
Lin Xiuyuan shook his head directly and turned off the mobile phone screen.
Although he had no plan, that didn’t mean he had no brains.
Hearing this response, Jessica’s emotions gradually intensified from the content of those earlier messages. She bit her lower lip, her gaze sweeping over the night scenery below her feet. “Even if you don’t give it to me now, that won’t stop me from going somewhere to investigate. Unless you tie me up. Unless you plan to do that.”
“No, I won’t do anything like kidnapping. But before we reach an agreement, if you dare to step out of this villa even one step, then I’ll go back to the past, work diligently for a few years, and not come over to this side anymore.”
Saying these chilling words that made Jessica shudder all over, Lin Xiuyuan still looked utterly unconcerned. “At that point, whether you get sliced and diced or the old timeline side falls into total chaos, it’ll have nothing to do with me. Anyway, with this information, I can still live well in the old timeline bit by bit.”
“Then why did you call me over to this side?”
Jessica, who had been teased repeatedly by the person in front of her, finally couldn’t hold on any longer. Her mentality was clearly collapsing. She let out a low roar to express her anger and confusion. “And I went into the room with you. The surveillance saw it all. You can’t get away unscathed.”
“Who will judge me without evidence?”
For some reason, when he said this sentence, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly felt a chill piercing through from his spine to the back of his head.
All the pores on his body instantly opened, and an indescribable sense of exhilaration that he had never experienced before enveloped his entire body.
“You…”
Jessica, who had wanted to say something more to continue refuting, suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
Fortunately, Lin Xiuyuan, who had grown up on the red soil since childhood, had no criminal tendencies, just a bit of rebelliousness in his personality.
So after seeing Jessica scared, he immediately revealed a smile. “Don’t be so tense. I just said, what I want is win-win cooperation, not to be some criminal.”
At the same time, Jessica also remembered what Lin Xiuyuan had said before, so she quickly spoke up. “How to cooperate? Can I buy the information with money? Any amount is fine. You name the price. As long as I can afford it.”
“Money, I definitely want that. But cooperating with you isn’t just for the money. There’s also one condition.”
“What condition?”
Jessica almost blurted it out, afraid that Lin Xiuyuan would go back on his word.
Looking at Jessica in front of him, Lin Xiuyuan remembered an idea that had suddenly popped into his head that afternoon. But instead of telling her directly, he introduced the differences between these two time-spaces to her again.
“You know, Jessica, actually these two time-spaces are basically the same apart from the differences I mentioned to you earlier—whether people, companies, or the global situation.”
“So my problem in the past was the first pot of gold. After that, I can completely rely on future information to snowball it from there.”
“But the problem on this side is every sum of money, because the money you give can only be used in the old timeline, and I don’t even have work here. So the issue arises: how to handle life on this side?”
Jessica, holding an empty can in her hand, felt for the first time that the alcohol wasn’t enough, but she still listened carefully to Lin Xiuyuan’s words.
After he finished speaking, she furrowed her delicate brows and made a suggestion. “Didn’t you say before that the gold exchange rates in the two time-spaces are different? You can buy and sell more, get rich all at once, and I can give you the money.”
“Suddenly doing a large private gold trade, Jessica, it seems you really want to send me to the police station or research institute.”
Jessica fell silent. Moments later, she continued, “Then do it little by little.”
“No, same as above. The internet big data ten years from now is far more advanced than you can imagine.”
“This won’t work, that won’t work either. Then what should we do? I don’t understand this side at all. I really can’t think of any method.”
After several of her suggestions were rejected, Jessica, while venting, also revealed her little scheme.
If he wanted her help, wanted win-win cooperation, he should let her understand more about the future time-space.
At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan finally told her his other idea. “Actually, it’s not that there’s no way. It just needs you to help me a bit. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come to you.”
“How do you want me to help you?” Jessica said.
“Very simple. I want you to help me win over the future you.”
“Huh?”
……
……
Spring 2025.
Seoul’s streets were filled with a faint floral fragrance, and the air carried a slight chill.
In the warm afternoon, the spring light was just right.
At a street corner, inside a low-key and elegant coffee shop, young people wearing light jackets sat leisurely in the sunlight, enjoying the rich aroma of coffee.
But soon, this coffee shop welcomed a long-absent highlight.
Former Girls’ Generation member Jessica brought her younger sister Krystal and gently pushed open the shop door, stepping into this serene space.
Their appearance didn’t cause much commotion, yet it naturally drew quite a few gazes.
Jessica wore a simple white shirt and high-waisted jeans, elegant with a touch of casualness, like a splash of color in the spring breeze.
Krystal wore a gentle pink jacket, her temperament serene. The two sisters were like the most beautiful scenery in this city.
As soon as they sat down, Krystal looked at her older sister first and smiled. “Older sister, why are you in such a good mood today to invite me out for afternoon tea? We haven’t seen each other in a while.”
“I do have something with you.”
Compared to Krystal’s straightforward naturalness, Jessica sitting across from her seemed somewhat distracted. After ordering two cups of coffee, she unlocked her mobile phone, opened a text message, and pushed it in front of her.
“Soo Jung, help me look. When did I ever write this IOU?”
Signed contract, read with confidence.
