Chapter 16: Xiujing, just leave it to her

Still that same stone pot bibimbap restaurant, still that same sign, still this same alley.

Everything, every single thing, remained so familiar.

Under the umbrella, Krystal leaned tightly against Lin Xiuyuan beside her, standing at the restaurant entrance, her eyes filled with nostalgia, her very body trembling slightly from excitement.

Only Lin Xiuyuan did not quite understand her emotions; sensing her excitement, he mistakenly thought it was...

"Are you too cold, or what's going on?"

The windy and rainy weather made the temperature much lower than usual, and the damp, cold air drilled straight into the bones, which was why Lin Xiuyuan asked this.

And his words successfully pulled Krystal out of her immersion in memories; she looked at him, pursed her lips, and smiled, "I believe now that you are the little boy from the past in 2013."

"Hm?"

Krystal let out a soft breath, "Hoo~ This restaurant was the base our group found after we debuted, and later, whenever we had free time, we would often come here to eat. But after 2016, it was gone."

Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan said, "Demolished?"

With his stereotypical impression of things in the country, if a building was gone, it was mostly likely demolished for development.

"No, it closed down. Because this place was too remote and couldn't make much money, the boss and his wife went back to the countryside."

After explaining, Krystal looked at Lin Xiuyuan and smiled very softly, "Let's go, let's go inside. I'll treat you to this meal; it's really delicious. You and Unnie are both from Huaxia, and since she likes to eat here, it should suit your taste too."

"It's fine, I'm not a picky eater."

After saying this, Lin Xiuyuan followed in Krystal's footsteps and walked into the restaurant.

At this moment, because of the rain, there were no customers inside, so when the two walked in, the proprietress spotted them immediately, recognized Krystal, and greeted her enthusiastically.

"Oh, Krystal, didn't you just come to eat at noon? Why are you here again in the evening?"

The sudden greeting made Krystal's whole body stiffen. Knowing the other party had mistaken her for someone else, she still went along with it and replied, "I didn't get enough, your cooking is just too delicious, Madam."

This sentence seemed perfunctory, but it was actually her true feelings.

After many years, the taste of this shop still lingered in her heart, unable to be forgotten for a long time.

The proprietress sitting at the counter laughed happily a few times, then mentioned, "Sulli came by this morning and said the same thing. I'm really grateful for your continued support."

——Sulli!

As soon as this name popped up, it made Krystal, who was standing to the side, freeze in place once again. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and if one looked closely, they were trembling slightly.

Fortunately, Lin Xiuyuan noticed her abnormality in time, then took a step forward to stand between her and the proprietress, blocking the view, and asked the other party for a private room.

Hearing this, the proprietress did not suspect anything. After looking at Lin Xiuyuan's appearance with some curiosity, she led the two into the same private room from noon, indicating that they could just call her in to order when they knew what they wanted to eat.

As she went out and closed The Gate, Lin Xiuyuan looked at the dazed Krystal beside him; he knew that she must be feeling complicated right now.

So he didn't disturb her, stood up himself to pour some water from the kettle nearby, and poured a cup for her as well.

After a long while, Krystal's voice sounded again, a bit hoarse, and it was the first time she had addressed him directly by his name, "Lin Xiuyuan, did you bring me back here to smooth over my regrets?"

"I can't do that for you; whatever you want to do, you should do it yourself. I'm just looking for a sponsor," Lin Xiuyuan gave his answer.

Seeing that Krystal didn't quite understand, he continued to add, "On your side, although I have a Villa and a luxury car, in my actual bank account, there is only the 20 million that your sister gave me."

"So you want to freeload off me?" Krystal understood.

"How could that be? You can think of it as an entry fee," Lin Xiuyuan laughed.

Facing this explanation, Krystal furrowed her delicate brows and looked at him, "Then, by telling me the situation like this, aren't you afraid I'll go and report you to some department?"

Listening to the familiar question in his ears, Lin Xiuyuan stated, "Your sister said the same thing to me not long ago. As for you, do you think you can give up this space-time?"

The latter sentence struck Krystal right in the heart, but at the same time, she had doubts about the first sentence.

"My sister? Unnie? Jessica?"

"No, it's Zheng Xiuyan, it's the Zheng Xiuyan on this side."

Listening to Lin Xiuyuan's words, Krystal quickly connected various clues in her mind. From the moment she met him, everything quickly pieced together into an answer, "Oh, so that Debt Note was written for you by the Unnie on this side, and then she asked you to take it to 2025 to find us, is that it?"

"Yeah, that's why I told you earlier that this matter can't be explained clearly; you have to come see it for yourself."

Now Krystal understood. She raised her eyes to look at the private room in front of her, which had previously only existed in her memories and which she hadn't seen for a long time, "Indeed, this kind of ability that only appears in movies and television, who could explain it clearly? I still feel a bit dizzy even now, and I still find it hard to believe."

"Let's order first, I'm hungry."

Lin Xiuyuan, who hadn't eaten much at noon, reminded her.

Krystal nodded. While calling the proprietress over, she turned her head and began introducing the signature dishes here to Lin Xiuyuan.

And she was still the same as before; she wanted to taste again whether the flavor was the same as in her memories.

Very quickly, two large plates of steaming stone pot bibimbap were brought in front of the two, and along with them came a large number of side dishes and some snacks.

After the first bite, having tasted that familiar flavor in her mouth, Krystal looked at Lin Xiuyuan again and said, "After we finish eating, will you accompany me for a walk outside?"

"It doesn't matter to me, it's mainly you; it'll be real trouble if you get caught."

As he spoke, Lin Xiuyuan told her about the matter he had agreed upon with Zheng Xiuyan yesterday, and asked her to do the same in 2025, "It shouldn't be a problem, right? Anyway, Jessica can also get new documents."

"It shouldn't be a problem, but we have to wait for Unnie to come back; she's busy overseas right now."

Krystal nodded while eating.

"That's fine, we just won't let Zheng Xiuyan go over for the time being."

"Why do you call Unnie's name differently every time you say it?"

Having heard this strange behavior multiple times, Krystal finally couldn't hold back and asked.

And Lin Xiuyuan laughed, "To distinguish them. Two people who are exactly the same, I have to call them something different. What about you? Do you want the name Krystal, or Zheng Xiujing?"

Krystal, who understood Lin Xiuyuan's intention, did not reply immediately.

Because some memory fragments began to surface in her mind—those were the various ways a certain delicate figure would call her.

……

"Xiujing-ah."

"This is my little crystal, hee hee."

"Xiujing, I'm hungry."

"Hey, Zheng Xiujing, you're stealing my food."

Finally, the image faded to black and white.

Immediately after, a sigh filled with self-mockery escaped Krystal's lips, "Heh, forget it, you had better just call me Krystal; as for Xiujing, let's leave that for the her on this side."

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(End of this chapter)