Chapter 198: Fixing Jessica

Evening, inside the 2025 villa.

After dinner, Zheng Xiuyan pulled Xian Enjing and Lin Yun'er back onto the sofa to continue chatting. Seeing this, Kim Taeyeon just smiled, then happily chatted with Xueli while clearing the dining table.

After all, it was 2025; who would wash dishes by hand? A simple tidy-up was enough, as there was a dishwasher.

As for Lin Xiuyuan, he prepared two fruit platters and, once the two had finished, called them over to sit on the sofa and rest.

Kim Taeyeon, having taken a bite of an apple, looked at Zheng Xiuyan. "Xiuyan, can you really afford to ignore communications for such long periods? I'm worried that if the company can't reach you, they'll have something to say about it."

Zheng Xiuyan, who had been focused on talking about work, glanced at the time—it was past 10:00 PM—but she shook her head. "It's fine. Since we agreed there were no schedules, if they can't find me for something temporary, they'll naturally look for someone else."

After speaking, she glanced at Xian Enjing and Lin Yun'er. "What about you two? I hope I'm not bothering you."

"If you have time, Unnie, how could I be busy? Aside from necessary activities, filming, and promotions, I'm basically in a state of vacation," Lin Yun'er said with a gentle smile. After all these years, if she still had to keep up a non-stop schedule, then these years would have been a failure.

Xian Enjing, sitting beside her, gave a similar answer with a smile. "I'm about the same as Yun'er, though compared to Zhiyan and Li Juli, I'm far behind. They are truly semi-retired."

"And me, and me," Kim Taeyeon raised her hand to join the conversation.

The group smiled at each other, the atmosphere relaxed and pleasant.

Lin Xiuyuan pulled Xueli over, picked up the remote to change the channel, selected a variety show featuring Jin Zaizhong, and sat down quietly to watch.

With the show playing, the conversation among the others drifted back to their trainee days. Lin Xiuyuan ended up trapping himself; Xueli, who had been watching the show with him, shifted her seat and scurried over to join the others.

He was left alone, staring blankly at the program and occasionally scrolling through videos on his phone.

Even Liu Zhimin in his chat box was too busy to reply, seemingly rehearsing choreography for a new album.

Just like that, more time passed. When Lin Xiuyuan forked another piece of watermelon into his mouth, his phone suddenly rang.

He glanced down, his eyes showing surprise, and answered, "Hello, Krystal."

As he spoke, the lively sofa fell silent instantly, and everyone's gaze turned toward him.

"Xiuyuan, are you free right now?" Krystal's voice was a bit fast, sounding somewhat urgent.

Lin Xiuyuan sat up straight and asked with immediate concern, "I am. What's wrong?"

"I left a contract in my apartment bedroom and forgot to bring it with me. Could you go over and take a photo or scan it for me?"

"The apartment? Sure."

Hearing it was the apartment, Lin Xiuyuan stood up quickly, waved at the curious figures on the sofa, and walked easily toward the Time Gate.

The group behind him watched as he walked over, reached out, pulled, and stepped through, the door closing behind him.

The whole sequence took only a few seconds to describe, but he had vanished instantly from the eyes of Kim Taeyeon and the others.

"Every time I see this, it feels magical, and it reminds me of a saying," Lin Yun'er suddenly muttered.

Zheng Xiuyan, looking at the empty doorway, turned her head. "What saying?"

Lin Yun'er smiled, glanced at her young Unnie, and blurted out, "Global flight and air-drop available, price negotiable."

As soon as this was said, Xian Enjing and Kim Taeyeon burst into laughter. Only Zheng Xiuyan and Xueli remained bewildered.

It wasn't until Kim Taeyeon leaned over to whisper an explanation to Xueli that Xueli's face flushed red, and she pouted at Lin Yun'er, "Ah, Unnie~"

Zheng Xiuyan was left blinking alone.

What the heck?

What does that mean?

Lin Xiuyuan hadn't heard Lin Yun'er's "jargon" back at the villa, or he might have felt a bit depressed.

After all, his rates were much higher than those little "fire-starters" on the blue bird—or rather, X.

At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan was walking through Krystal's apartment, phone in hand, asking, "Is it in the master bedroom?"

On the other end, Krystal's voice came through softly. "Yes, it's on the master bedroom desk. You'll see it when you go in."

"Go in?" Lin Xiuyuan chuckled. "I'm already here."

On the other end, Krystal was sitting in a modified business van; her eyes paused for a moment before she spoke. "You're there?"

Lin Xiuyuan had already walked into the master bedroom, turned on the light, and saw the contract on the desk. He replied calmly, "Yes, I see it."

He continued, "I'm going to hang up now. I'll send it to you after I scan it."

"Oh, okay... wait, Xiuyuan, what is going on..." Krystal's voice was puzzled; she couldn't figure it out.

"I'll explain when you get back. Hanging up." Lin Xiuyuan interrupted her, his tone relaxed but carrying a hint of a smile.

Krystal, interrupted, realized it wasn't the time to ask more, so she nodded slightly. "Okay, send it to me. I'll come find you tomorrow."

"Alright, see you tomorrow." He hung up after answering.

Afterward, Lin Xiuyuan opened the scan function on his iPhone, scanned the contract into a document, and sent it to Krystal.

Then, after thinking about it, he took a few photos and sent those too, figuring she could use whichever format she needed without him having to decide.

Just as Lin Xiuyuan finished sending the photos and was about to leave after glancing around the master bedroom, he suddenly heard the sound of someone opening the door outside.

This made him frown, because since learning about the Time Gate, Krystal had changed her apartment password, so no one should be able to get in like this.

A thief? Or something else?

Just as Lin Xiuyuan thought this, the lights outside turned on, which made his tense mood relax significantly.

Such a bold move meant it probably wasn't a thief.

He abandoned the idea of sneaking back to the villa and walked straight to the door, opened it, and stepped out to look at the visitor in the living room.

Seeing the familiar figure, Lin Xiuyuan couldn't help but pause. "Jessica?"

The other person's eyes widened as she looked at him, her tone filled with surprise. "Lin Xiuyuan?"

A few minutes later, on the sofa in Krystal's apartment, Jessica sat back, her gaze drifting unintentionally toward the bedroom as she recalled Lin Xiuyuan's answer.

"Oh, so Krystal asked you to come over to help with a contract. I thought you were a thief or some criminal gang; you scared the life out of me."

"You scared me too. I remember Krystal saying only she knew the password here; how did someone else get in?"

Lin Xiuyuan, responding casually from the armchair, let his gaze drift past Jessica's face and toward her small handbag.

A pair of pajamas had fallen out of the bag, a corner of the fabric slightly covering another piece of cloth.

Even though it was just a small corner, Lin Xiuyuan recognized it immediately; it looked very much like the "Passion Butterfly" style he had recently seen on Li Juli.

That was a lace, low-rise, hollow-out, breathable thong.

Yeah, the very sexy kind.

Jessica, hearing his response, glared back, furious. "Ya, Lin Xiuyuan, what do you mean? Am I 'someone else'? I'm her sister."

But then she noticed Lin Xiuyuan's gaze was focused on her small hemp bag. She looked down, saw the clothes had fallen out because the bag had tipped over, and quickly gathered them up to hide behind her back.

She didn't scream like a young girl, but instead asked coldly, "Have you seen enough?"

Lin Xiuyuan smiled and said lightly, "Oh, it's alright, looks pretty good."

After a small comment, he asked curiously, "But why did you bring clothes down to Krystal's place?"

Jessica rolled her eyes at him. "None of your business. I'm her sister; it's not surprising for me to be here. It's you who's the weird one."

Lin Xiuyuan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then why didn't she ask you to come down and help, but asked me instead?"

"..."

This question left Jessica speechless.

She couldn't help but recall the scene at the airport that morning; it was so similar to this moment. Being provoked by Lin Xiuyuan like this again at night made her want to go crazy.

At the same time, she couldn't help but want to lecture Krystal—she was right upstairs, so why didn't she ask her, but instead asked this man... Hmph!!!

Seeing Jessica had nothing more to say, Lin Xiuyuan smiled. "Alright, I won't bicker with you. Are you going back, or what?"

"I'm not going back. You should leave quickly." Jessica rolled her eyes, her tone impatient.

Lin Xiuyuan narrowed his eyes and smiled. "So, you came down to take a shower?"

Thinking of the pajamas and underwear he had just seen, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly understood something. "What's wrong? Did the pipes upstairs have a problem?"

Jessica originally wanted to say "None of your business," but the words died on her lips. She looked away and said softly, "Yeah, I don't know what happened, there's no hot water."

Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan looked at Jessica, then thought of Zheng Xiuyan's words from the afternoon. He sighed lightly and stood up. "Let's go. I'll go up with you and take a look. I heard that plumbers in Seoul nowadays like to install cameras in people's homes."

The situation Lin Xiuyuan mentioned was exactly one of the main reasons Jessica had mentioned the cause, and whenever her house had issues, she usually needed a friend to step in and call a plumber for her.

Otherwise, as a famous artist and former popular idol, her address would have been sold off by malicious people long ago.

So when Lin Xiuyuan offered to help, Jessica felt a small sense of gratitude. She was really afraid that this guy would keep acting arrogant and force her to lower her head.

If that were the case, she would rather wait until tomorrow or whenever a friend was free to fix it. Hmph~

So Jessica stood up, looked at Lin Xiuyuan, turned her eyes away, bit her lip, and said softly, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me too early. I might not be able to fix it. Let's go up and see first." Lin Xiuyuan smiled.

He turned and walked toward the entryway. "Let's go, you lead the way."

Jessica didn't hesitate, walked past Lin Xiuyuan, opened the door, and headed toward the elevator.

Lin Xiuyuan, following behind, had the image of that small piece of fabric flash through his mind, and his gaze couldn't help but drift down to the swaying hips in front of him.

No one can refuse the instinct of that first glance in such a situation.

Even for a woman, it's hard to avoid that moment of heartbeat.

But some say a man's first glance is instinct, and the second is character.

Lin Xiuyuan, however, thought that if he didn't look away, it would always count as the first glance.

As the elevator arrived, Jessica stepped in and turned to look at Lin Xiuyuan. Their eyes met, and the strange feeling she had felt on her back the whole time was finally discovered by her.

But there wasn't much anger; instead, there was a sense of pleasure in catching someone in the act. She gave a playful smile and said coldly, "If you don't want those eyes anymore, you can donate them to someone in need, or I can help you take them off."

Lin Xiuyuan smiled, unbothered. "That won't do. I still have to fix the water pipe in a moment."

Lin Xiuyuan looked away calmly, watched Jessica press the floor button, and asked, "Why did you two sisters buy apartments in the same complex and the same building? Was it planned?"

"Otherwise?" Jessica replied impatiently. "Even so, Krystal still asked you for help. Is that what you want to say?"

"You're being a bit unreasonable. I didn't think that at all."

The three-floor elevator ride was instantaneous, and since it was one household per floor, they didn't run into anyone else before arriving at Jessica's home.

Entering the entryway, they changed shoes.

"Where are mine?" Lin Xiuyuan asked.

Jessica glanced at him and walked straight in. "I don't have men's shoes here. Just step in; I'll have someone come clean tomorrow."

This answer made Lin Xiuyuan raise an eyebrow, but he didn't ask further and followed her into the living room.

His gaze swept across the room, and he immediately saw the pizza on the coffee table; less than two slices had been eaten.

Looking around, the living room lights were dim, and the air was filled with an unspoken sense of loneliness.

Seeing all this, Lin Xiuyuan couldn't help but click his tongue, a complex thought surfacing in his eyes, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Without asking for Jessica's permission, he walked to the light switch on the wall and pressed it.

As the lights turned on instantly, the whole apartment seemed to wake up.

The dark corners and walls dissipated under the bright light, and the air seemed clearer, as if everything had been renewed.

This sudden change made Jessica pause for a moment, then she turned to look at Lin Xiuyuan, her gaze meeting his.

In that instant, some emotion in the depths of her heart was touched, as if pulled by an unknown force.

A complex emotion flashed in her eyes, then she looked away, lowered her head, and said in a low voice, "Let's go, let's go into the bathroom and check the water pipe. I don't know why there's suddenly no hot water."

Lin Xiuyuan nodded and followed her to the bathroom.

After entering, Lin Xiuyuan first assessed the environment. There were no small toys stuck to the wall as he had imagined; the vanity was filled only with normal skincare and toiletries.

Then, at Jessica's signal, he turned on the hot water faucet in the sink; sure enough, there was no hot water.

He looked at the showerhead next to it; same thing.

But the cold water flowed perfectly fine without any sputtering, so Lin Xiuyuan turned back to Jessica. "Where is the water heater?"

Jessica led him to a corner of the kitchen and pointed to the gas water heater.

Lin Xiuyuan looked at the gas water heater, first checked the casing, then turned on the hot water faucet in the kitchen.

Watching the electronic screen on the heater flicker without any hot water flowing, he said, "Find me a screwdriver."

After a while, Lin Xiuyuan got the screwdriver, opened the battery compartment of the heater, looked at the batteries, and asked, "Do you have new batteries?"

"I'll go check."

Jessica didn't say much and went to the cabinet in the living room to search, soon finding a pair of leftover batteries.

After replacing them, there was still no reaction.

Lin Xiuyuan's brow furrowed slightly, and his gaze shifted to the gas valve.

When Lin Xiuyuan discovered the gas valve was fine, he leaned in to look at the meter reading, sighed lightly, and said, "So that's it."

His voice was relaxed but carried a hint of helplessness as he looked at Jessica. "You've run out of gas credit; how are you supposed to get hot water? Do you expect the heater to ignite out of thin air?"

"How would I know? It worked before."

Hearing Lin Xiuyuan say this, Jessica frowned, not knowing how to argue back.

Lin Xiuyuan looked back at the kitchen counter, which was clean except for a layer of dust, and continued, "How long has it been since you last cooked here?"

"Rarely. Basically never." Jessica recalled the situation and answered.

"Top it up; it'll work once you do."

As he spoke, Lin Xiuyuan put the battery compartment back, washed his hands, and prepared to leave.

But just as he was about to leave, the image of the pizza on the coffee table flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but click his tongue again.

While Jessica was operating the gas top-up process on her phone, he walked to the refrigerator and opened it to see what was inside.

Jessica thought he wanted water, so she said, "I went to the supermarket this afternoon and bought some drinks and food. Help yourself."

But Lin Xiuyuan's gaze was fixed on the eggs and tomatoes, then he opened the freezer to see two packs of beef. He stood up, turned to Jessica, and asked, "So you just ate pizza for dinner?"

Jessica, following the steps to top up the gas, looked up at Lin Xiuyuan, then toward the coffee table. "Oh, I wasn't very hungry. Just ate a little."

"Tsk, female celebrities are really something. If you starved to death in this apartment, would anyone even notice?" Lin Xiuyuan teased.

This made Jessica look up and glare at him, but she saw Lin Xiuyuan taking out the eggs, tomatoes, and the two packs of beef from the fridge, saying, "Finish that, then go take a shower. For Krystal's sake, I'll make you something fit for human consumption."

This simple sentence caused a roar in Jessica's mind, as if struck by some invisible force, and she lowered her head, feeling somewhat at a loss.

(End of chapter)

"After you finish, go take a bath. For Krystal's sister's sake, I'll get you something people can eat."

This simple sentence made Jessica's mind roar, as if hit by some invisible force, and then she lowered her head at a loss.

(End of chapter)